The Grill Room

Wall Street Journal’s Josh Dawsey joins Dylan to discuss how the recent $16 million settlement between Trump and Paramount came to fruition—a far cry from Trump’s initial demand of $100 million. They also dig into Dawsey’s new book on the 2024 election, the Democrats’ strategic malaise, and why the Journal is well-positioned for this political moment. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See...

Julia Alexander rejoins Dylan to pick up where they left off on Tuesday, shifting the focus to legacy media’s slow unraveling and the uphill climb of the creator economy in the news space. They dig into the harsh realities facing independent journalists and legacy media refugees attempting to build sustainable businesses without institutional backing—and why, for most, true scale remains out of re...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to address a handful of media industry questions and provocations: why YouTube’s success with niche content doesn’t mean Netflix should necessarily follow suit, how the entertainment pendulum is swinging back toward quality over quantity, and what a bombshell A.I. ruling means for content creators and copyright law. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See...

Adam White, founder and C.E.O. of Front Office Sports, joins Dylan to recount how he transformed a college class project into a fast-growing, multi-platform media company—now majority-owned by RedBird. Adam explains the company’s editorial thesis, how they stay relevant in an oversaturated sports media landscape, and why he’s betting big on their newly launched Front Office Sports Studios, a long-...

Oliver Darcy, founder of Status, joins Dylan to reflect on the highs and hurdles of launching his own media venture. He discusses the challenges of building a sustainable business without external capital, the pressure to deliver distinctive reporting, the looming influence of A.I., the enduring value of editorial integrity—and much more. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways...

In a special anniversary episode, Dylan and Julia ponder how YouTube has totally transformed the media business over the last 20 years: the proliferation of the creator economy, the amateurization of news, and whether Jake and Anderson should grab a microphone and ditch the suit.  The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: ⁠https://www.bp.com/InvestingI...

Steve Grove, the new-ish C.E.O. of The Minnesota Star Tribune, joins Dylan for a rollicking conversation about the existential threats facing local journalism—and the strategies he’s deploying to combat them. Grove, the former director of Google’s News Lab, gets into the weeds of why homepage traffic still matters, how he’s targeting affinity groups, the surprising value of high school sports cove...

Dylan and Julia weigh into the chaos surrounding WBD’s breakup and what it means for HBO and CNN as the company’s biggest brands go separate ways. They also discuss Apple’s underwhelming developers conference earlier this week, and how Google’s A.I. “overviews” are bleeding the media business. Then Lauren Sherman swings by to chat about Anna Wintour appointing one of her deputies to run Vanity Fai...

Axios’s Alex Thompson joins Dylan for a deep dive into ‘Original Sin,’ the Biden exposé he co-authored with CNN’s Jake Tapper. They discuss the role and responsibility of journalists in today’s media climate, and particularly, the media’s culpability in allegedly covering up Biden’s cognitive decline while he was in the White House. They also address Karine Jean-Pierre's pivot to independence, the...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to unpack the shifting logic behind sports streaming deals—and how platforms are rethinking how to value audience engagement and viewership. They also discuss how generative A.I. is poised to disrupt the advertising business and the unexpected opportunities it could create. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: ⁠...

Dylan welcomes his Puck partner Bill Cohan to discuss the latest revelations at Warner Bros. Discovery, which just suffered a credit downgrade. Is Zaz about to spin his cable assets? Can he even afford to at this point? The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: ⁠https://www.bp.com/InvestingInAmerica To learn more about listener data and our privacy pra...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to break down a pair of media industry talking points: whether Disney’s strategic acquisition of ‘Cocomelon’ can help the business reclaim its foothold in the kids content space, and what YouTube’s brazen poaching of ESPN’s Justin Connolly signals about its ambitions in the live sports arena. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re inve...

On this special crossover episode with The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly joins Dylan to unravel the plot twists in Rob Manfred’s ongoing MLB’s media rights negotiations, highlighting their potential deals with NBC and Apple. Then they dive into the firestorm ignited by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book, ‘Original Sin’—and the fractures it’s revealing within the Democratic Party. The Grill Room...

Julia Alexander returns to discuss OpenAI joining forces with Jony Ive, the legendary iPhone designer, to build an entirely new, A.I.-powered device category. Then Julia and Dylan exchange notes about ESPN’s monumental pivot from a cable TV brand into a full-fledged app and direct-to-consumer platform. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: https://...

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro joins Dylan for a deep dive into ESPN’s digital transformation as they prepare to launch their highly anticipated D.T.C. product this fall, named… ESPN. Pitaro unpacks the marketing strategy behind the new app, ESPN’s rights portfolio, the state of their MLB negotiations, the integration of sports betting, and much more. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all...

Jeff Collins, Fox’s head of advertising sales, joins Dylan to discuss the network’s strategic focus on live sports and news, which has led to significant growth despite the broader decline across the cable industry. Jeff breaks down how Fox’s diverse portfolio is fueling ratings and advertiser demand, and also explains why upfronts remain a crucial moment for the business. The Grill Room Podcast i...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to explore the key themes emerging from this week’s upfronts in New York, from NBC’s live sports strategy to David Zaslav’s expected decision to spin off WBD’s decaying linear assets. They also consider Fox News’s status as the lone thriving cable news business, and why the NBA might be the best-positioned sports league for the next era of media. The Grill Room...

Gerard Baker, former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, joins Dylan to explore the Journal’s critical approach to Trump’s economic and foreign policies—and its unique position as a conservative-leaning publication actually willing to challenge him. Gerard also reflects on the Journal’s influence in this political moment, its editorial stance within the Murdoch media empire, and the streng...

Build the life of your dreams and learn from the world’s most successful people. Emma Grede, one of America’s richest self-made women - wants you to make the most of your life. On ‘Aspire with Emma Grede', learn through thought-provoking conversations with some of the most successful and smartest minds on the planet. Each episode will unpack their habits, philosophy and strategies, covering career...

Julia Alexander is back on the pod to discuss the “Bravo-fication” of the internet—where multi-platform content ignites a 24/7 media cycle, endless engagement loops, and new lanes for monetization. Julia also digs into how platforms like LinkedIn and Substack can be leveraged for content distribution; the influence of niche communities in media, the impact of tentpole events on media consumption,...

Julia Alexander rejoins Dylan to chew over all the challenges facing legacy media brands, like CBS News, in the twilight of the cable TV era. They also dive into the latest twists in the ‘60 Minutes’ saga, as Paramount’s billionaire owner, Shari Redstone—under crippling pressure to close the Skydance deal—has leaned on the network’s prestige newsmagazine to go easy on Trump. The Grill Room Podcast...

The one and only Graydon Carter, architect of Vanity Fair’s golden era, joins Dylan for a candid conversation about the magazine industry's past, present, and future. Fresh off the release of his new book, ‘When the Going Was Good,’ Carter reflects on his legendary tenure with VF, dissects the publication’s decline after his departure, and grapples with the broader headwinds facing today’s media i...

Julia Alexander returns to The Grill Room to chart the media industry’s biggest flashpoints: the D.O.J.’s landmark-in-the-making legal battle against Google and the implications for its ad-tech empire; the tantalizing potential of a YouTube–NFL alliance; and Brendan Carr’s escalating campaign against the media. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America...

MSNBC’s Jen Psaki joins Dylan for a candid convo about her next chapter: hosting the network’s forthcoming nightly show. With today’s political discourse more combustible than ever, Psaki reflects on how she’s drawing from her tenure as White House press secretary to navigate a political-media ecosystem in overdrive. She also dishes on what it takes to cut through the noise in today’s oversaturate...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan for a deep dive into the media industry’s most compelling flashpoints: Formula One’s fantasy of a $180 million rights deal, the growing anxiety around non-football sports rights, Mark Zuckerberg’s F.T.C. showdown, and more. As Julia explains, with audience engagement plateauing, streaming giants are under pressure to reinvent the playbook—because where engagemen...