Max Tani

Media Editor, Semafor

Max is a New York-based journalist covering media for Semafor. He previously was a member of the White House team at POLITICO, where he co-authored the daily West Wing Playbook newsletter. He has also written about media and politics for the Daily Beast and Business Insider.

YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’

The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.

Paid actors, AI writing: How a new kind of video business cashed in on America’s divided politics

‘Ghost creators’ are reaching millions of viewers with nearly identical, sensationalized videos that take aim at Democrats.

Axel Springer invests in Abu Dhabi-based outlet The Circuit

Axel Springer is latest Western publisher to take a greater editorial interest in the business story in the Middle East.

Eleanor Kaufman/Semafor

UTA goes to war with Hollywood news giant

The CEO of United Talent Agency is going after a Variety reporter.

Courtesy of United Talent Agency

New York Times tests out AI-generated search summaries

In recent weeks, the paper has quietly rolled out a new AI-powered search page for a small subset of visitors.

Kylie Cooper/Reuters

MS NOW to launch membership program for ‘super fans’

The cable news network will roll out the program next month in an effort to grow its digital business and reach new audiences.

Via MSNow

‘The Daily Show’ faces uncertain future under Paramount

Jon Stewart’s deal is up at the end of the year, and while there is strong interest from Paramount to renew, the two sides have yet to ink an extension.

Daily Mail brings on exec as it plans video expansion

The US outpost of the UK tabloid told Semafor that it had hired Mike Rothman as the company’s new general manager.

CNN president pitches giving network an editorial board to shield it from Paramount

The editorial board is intended to assuage concerns about any future meddling by Paramount in the news network’s journalism.

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl on AI, streaming power, and why music royalties are the safest asset on Wall Street

The Warner Music Group CEO joins Mixed Signals to explain what a record label actually does in a world where anyone can upload a song to Spotify.

Spotify’s new ‘skip’ button could end the podcast business as we know it

The Swedish streaming giant cast the move as streamlining a feature that already exists, the Spotify app’s 15-second skip button.

The AI ‘news’ accounts hyping a blue-state dystopia

AI-generated videos are flooding YouTube with fake narratives about chaos in California and New York.

Senate Democrat’s new bills would restrict AI-powered ads and paid influencers

California Sen. Adam Schiff plans to introduce two new bills that would attempt to illuminate who is paying influencers for political speech online and restrict AI-generated likenesses of politicians.

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on loneliness and why he’s more worried about your phone than your body

Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins Mixed Signals to make the case that America’s loneliness crisis is a public health emergency.

Steve Hilton on the Murdochs, David Ellison, and conservative media’s California

Steve Hilton has lived many lives: a key strategist to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, a populist Fox News host, and — after renouncing his UK citizenship — the Republican nominee in California’s gubernatorial race.

Katie Nolan on the sports gambling takeover, covering politics, and the slow return of the boys’ club

Sports media host and “Casuals” podcast creator Katie Nolan joined Mixed Signals live at Cannes to talk about navigating two decades of upheaval in sports media.

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman on LLMs, fighting the bots, and why it’s good that you can’t get famous on Reddit

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman joins Mixed Signals during the platform’s 21st birthday to talk about what it means to be the internet’s anti-social media hub.

Alex Cooper on flipping ‘Call Her Daddy’ into a media business and entering the creative agency space

Call Her Daddy host and Unwell co-founder Alex Cooper joins Mixed Signals live at Cannes Lions to talk about what it takes to turn a hit podcast into a real media business.