MSNBC Digital Network vs Newsweek

CNN, Politico, MS NOW to Sue Over Trump's White House Ban

CNN, Politico, and MS NOW announced plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration after being barred from the White House. The media outlets argue the ban threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism. They stated the lawsuit would be filed on Monday, aiming to establish that the government cannot decide what the press covers or publishes. The White House, under President Trump, revoked access for these outlets on Friday, accusing them of spreading misinformation. Critics view this as an intimidation tactic and an attack on press freedom. The exact reason for the ban remains unclear. Journalists from all three outlets were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday. This action is part of a broader pattern of increasing hostility toward media outlets critical of the administration.

• CNN, Politico, and MS NOW announced joint legal action against the US government over their exclusion from the White House.
• The lawsuit will be filed on Monday, according to a joint statement from the media companies.
• President Donald Trump barred the three outlets from the White House on Friday.

Trump to Ban CNN, MS NOW from White House

President Donald Trump has announced on social media that he will ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House grounds, citing cumulative stories over the past two years. Despite the announcement, the outlets are still reporting from the White House. CNN has issued a statement asserting its First Amendment rights and calling the threatened ban 'an illegal assault' on press freedom. The article also covers other TV news developments: ABC's Good Morning America debuts new weekend anchor teams, NBC News announces leadership changes following EVP Janelle Rodriguez's departure, CNBC closes its Hong Kong bureau, CBS's 60 Minutes begins its new season under Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton, and MS NOW launches a membership offering.

• President Trump says he will ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House reporting.
• CNN states it has the right under the U.S. Constitution to report without government hindrance.
• MS NOW debuts its direct-to-consumer membership on September 9, 2026.

Cable News Bundling Hits App Store; Grindr Settles Data Sale Lawsuit

This AdExchanger daily news roundup covers multiple stories. MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, launched a subscription app at $7.99/month, with a bundle deal with Calm and exclusive live Q&A access to anchors. Grindr agreed to pay $35 million to settle a UK lawsuit alleging it sold user data, including HIV status, to advertisers before its 2020 acquisition. LG TVs are reported to record audio and scan Wi-Fi even on standby, raising privacy concerns over ACR. Other briefs include OpenAI's ads ambitions, agency reactions to the FTC's Amazon suit, DHS predictive policing, Meta's CSAM ad issues, and new executive hires at Fluent, Precise, and My Code.

• MS NOW launched a subscription app at $7.99/month or $79.99 annually.
• Grindr will pay $35 million to settle a UK lawsuit over selling user data including HIV status.
• LG TVs can record audio and scan Wi-Fi even on standby, according to Gamers Nexus.

Podcast: The Hardest KPI in Political Advertising

An AdExchanger Talks podcast episode features Mark Jablonowski, CEO of DSPolitical, discussing the unique challenges of measuring political advertising where the primary KPI is an election outcome decided by secret ballot. DSPolitical, which positions itself as a “meta DSP,” combines offline voter data, privacy-compliant audience modeling, multi-bidder activation and unified reporting. Jablonowski notes that Connected TV is a growing channel for political spend but is often bought with a broadcast mindset rather than using CTV’s targeting and measurement capabilities. He also highlights political advertisers’ advanced CRM and voter-file practices and expresses greater concern about organically spreading disinformation than AI deepfakes.

• Mark Jablonowski is the CEO of DSPolitical.
• DSPolitical describes itself as a “meta DSP” and onboards offline voter data to build privacy-compliant audience segments.
• DSPolitical activates audiences through multiple bidders and consolidates results into a single reporting layer.

Newsweek About page reveals leadership and editorial restructuring

Changes include Shazia Haq moving from Senior Editorial Operations Manager to Director of Audience, Brian Lim and Connie Sideras swapping roles, new News Directors Samantha Beech and Jason Lemon, and several editorial title and role changes.

Newsweek Traffic Falls 75%; Revenue Nears $100M

Newsweek experienced a nearly 75% decline in readership year-over-year, but CEO Dev Pragad says the company is on pace to surpass $100 million in revenue for the first time in its 93-year history. Publishing revenue is expected to decline 20–25% this year, but newly built businesses—internally called Nexus (B2B: rankings and events) and Adprime (a healthcare-focused DSP acquired in June 2025)—have grown quickly enough to offset that drop. Adprime is projected to more than triple revenue from $14.8M to north of $40M and could account for roughly 40% of company revenue. Newsweek forecasts at least 10% revenue growth in 2026 (up from ~3% in 2025), is expanding non-programmatic video and events revenue, and maintains a free newsletter audience just under 2 million. The company remains cautious about future search-distribution risks from Google’s AI-generated results.

• Newsweek’s site traffic declined nearly 75% in a single year.
• Newsweek is on pace to surpass $100 million in annual revenue for the first time.
• Publishing division revenue is expected to decline 20%–25% this year, per CEO Dev Pragad.