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Good morning. Gallup has released a new "trust in mass media" poll, PEN America has published a book banning report, and Kamala Harris has reached No. 1 on the NYT best seller list. Plus, the latest on Netflix, Mario Guevara, Brendan Carr, Taylor Swift, and much more...

EXCLUSIVE

Back to its roots

The Root, a groundbreaking website for and about Black America, is returning to Black ownership for the first time in a decade. Ashley Allison, a Democratic political strategist and CNN commentator, says she is acquiring The Root from G/O Media, the private equity-controlled media company that has been selling off its assets.

Allison tells me she plans to invest in video content, strike new partnerships with experts, and launch in-person experiences for The Root’s readers. "This isn't about making more content but rather about making meaning of this moment," she said, describing a precarious political time "when journalism is under attack and audiences are seeking independent sources for news." Here's my full story...

Second/third/fourth life for websites

It's encouraging to see G/O Media's titles find new owners with new ambitions after Great Hill Partners abandoned the business. The reality is that groundbreaking sites like The Root, The Onion and Kotaku couldn't post the kind of rapid growth that Great Hill's investors expected. (G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller admitted this in an essay over the summer.) So the titles are better off with other owners. Look at what Ben Collins and co. are doing with The Onion — it's a model for breathing new life into a longtime brand. 

 >> In a statement about her plans, Allison said "owning the power to tell our own stories is a rich tradition The Root is committed to upholding."

Another new low

Gallup just released its annual measurement of trust in media. Here's the topline: "Americans' confidence in the mass media has edged down to a new low, with just 28% expressing a 'great deal' or 'fair amount' of trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news fully, accurately and fairly," down from 31% last year and 40% five years ago. Republicans' confidence "has dropped to single digits (8%) for the first time in the trend."

When this topic comes up, I always try to point out that everyone has a different definition of "media" nowadays; that skepticism of "media" is a healthy thing; and that these low numbers reflect not just the real flaws of journalists, but also a decades-long political campaign to label real news "fake" and destroy trust in reliable news coverage.

All that said, this stat is really worrisome: "Generational divides further underscore the erosion" in trust, "with older adults holding significantly more faith than younger Americans in the media." Read on...

Treating the shutdown like a joke

"Evidently, 'The Late Show' has outlasted the United States federal government, because we’re still open, and they done shut down," Stephen Colbert said last night.

The threat of firings hangs over DC as the government "will remain shut down through at least Friday," CNN's team reports. The NYT's Tony Romm writes that President Trump is using the standoff "to maximize pain and punish political foes."

The Bulwark says the GOP's shutdown argument is "a giant lie," while Breitbart claims the left is lying. Meanwhile, the WH is running that "racist, vulgar AI video of Jeffries and Schumer" on a loop, CNN's Kit Maher notes. VP JD Vance says the video is just a joke. I guess someone is having fun amid all of this...