In today’s newsletter I discuss the economics behind the freedom of the press, the NY Giants just cut Odell Beckham Jr. before even giving him a chance, Taylor Swift just dropped a new music video called ‘Patient Zero’, which she wrote, directed, and acted in - because she’s that good! More people are opting to own cats than dogs in this economy, Angelina Jolie just sold her historic 11,000 square foot Cecil B. DeMille estate in Los Angeles, California for $24.75 million dollars, there a controversial trailer for a new movie about Elon Musk that just dropped, Nike co-founder Philip Knight and his wife just pledged $1 billion dollars to the University of Oregon, and Caitlin Clark’s new signature Nike Caitlin 1 sneakers just sold out

Let’s get into it!

In the United States today, too many of us take for granted our freedom of speech, and the freedom of the press. What if we were to lose those freedoms? Imagine if you couldn’t say anything you want anymore, and the press couldn’t report the news without fear of being censored. You’re probably thinking that could never happen in this country, or that’s only something that happens in authoritarian countries like Russia, China, or North Korea. Well, we just came dangerously close to this happening right here in the United States, but luckily we’re still a country of laws, and there are still patriots who are willing to stand up for our freedom of the press. Let’s get into it.

The business behind the freedom of the press is a multibillion-dollar industry here in the United States. The core U.S. news and informational media industry, excluding things like movies, streaming, and gaming, is currently worth around $130 billion dollars. This number comes from the major publishing and news broadcasting industries. The publishing industry in the U.S. is valued at $65.8 billion dollars, and newspaper publishing accounts for $29.6 billion dollars of that number. Digital news and publishing generates $56.51 billion dollars a year in the U.S. Traditional television and radio broadcasting contributes around $65 billion dollars in local and national news advertising revenue in the U.S. each year. Organizations like the New York Times generated $2.82 billion dollars in revenue in 2025, with a net profit of $344 million dollars.

Not all news organizations are as lucky or profitable. The Washington Post, which is privately owned by billionaire Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos, lost $100 million dollars in 2025, which is the fourth year in a row they’ve lost money either because of or as a result of the ownership of Jeff Bezos. CNN, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery is currently being acquired by Paramount Skydance in a deal worth $110 billion dollars, is estimated to bring in $1.8 billion dollars in revenue for fiscal year 2026 with a projected profit of $600 million dollars.

The entire media industry’s business model relies on the free flow of information to keep the public informed. If reporters are blocked from reporting the news, it disrupts an industry that employs roughly 85,000 people across the United States. Restricting the freedom of the press directly impacts the economic engine of the news industry.

We talk a lot about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but do you really know how we got those freedoms? Let me take you on a field trip back in time to 1791 when James Madison drafted the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. When James Madison sat down to write the First Amendment he wrote in an early draft, "The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable."

James Madison went on to work with George Mason to ensure the press could operate without government interference. It was George Mason who wrote “That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments." These legal principles have gone on to allow modern media companies to invest heavily into investigative journalism without fear of the government silencing them.

Just for a hot minute, let’s imagine a future where the United States were to censor your First Amendment rights, and impose restrictions on the free press. This dystopian future could lead to:

Those are just some of the effects that could happen if the United States were to censor the free press, and it’s not hyperbole to say that things would only get worse from there. Without a free press, the United States would end up like some third-world country that doesn’t enjoy those freedoms, and whose citizens can’t believe what their leaders tell them. I know I don’t want to live in that kind of a dystopian future version of the United States, so I’m grateful for my right to be able to write and publish freely, and those are rights worth standing up for.

Caitlin Clark’s new signature Nike Caitlin 1 sneakers went on sale this week for $140 dollars, and sold out within 2 hours as fans snapped them up. On secondary markets like StockX they were selling for as much as $200 a pair. Caitlin Clark’s deal with Nike is worth $28 million dollars over 8 years. Nike was hoping to reverse their stock price slide when they signed Caitlin Clark, but the company’s stock has been dropping since it peaked in November 2021 at $179.10 per share. Today it trades around $33 a share, for a drop of 81.57% drop in the last 5 years.

Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA by signing a four-year rookie contract with the Indiana Fever for only $338,056 dollars. If ever there was an argument for equal pay in women’s sports Caitlin Clark would be the league’s poster child. She collected $76,535 dollars in her first season, and $78,066 dollars in her second season. She’s scheduled to earn $528,846 dollars for her third season thanks to the WNBA’s new league-wide collective bargaining agreement. She then has an option for a fourth season with a salary of $597,596 dollars. To put the disparity in women’s versus men’s professional basketball in perspective for the 2026–2027 NBA season, the lowest-paid standard rookie contract salary is $1,357,763 per year. Just think about that difference for a hot minute. Good thing Caitlin Clark’s got that Nike money to fall back on!

Everyone who reads this newsletter knows I’m a big Swiftie. There, I said it. Now that that's out of the way you’ve got to check out Taylor Swift’s new music video for ‘Patient Zero’, which she wrote, directed, and acted in. The video includes amazing performances by Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.

What I love most about this music video is its a throwback to when artists made music videos that told a story. Love or hate Taylor Swift’s music, but there’s no denying her creativity.

I’m a proud cat dad times 2. There, I said it. And I’m not alone. An estimated 53 million American households own at least one cat. This represents roughly 39% of all households in the U.S.. Now, cat owning American households are reshaping the pet economy by purring….I mean pouring billions of dollars into their feline companions while at the same time they’re pulling back on other expenses.

It seems that pet owners are also favoring cats over dogs, with budget-conscious owners prioritizing owning because they’re opting for smaller living spaces and seeking smaller vet bills versus larger living arrangements and higher vet bills associated with owning a dog. And the pet industry has taken notice. General Mills, Chewy, and Petco have all upped their marketing budgets and supply chains to focus on cats.

Spending in the pet industry reached $158 billion dollars in 2025. The American Pet Products Association reported a 5% increase in nationwide cat ownership. Like I mentioned before, lower costs to adopt and own a cat are playing a big role in new pet owner’s decisions. With consumers facing ever increasing grocery, electric, and heating bills they’re choosing cats over down, and the numbers don’t lie.

Angelina Jolie just sold her historic 11,000 square foot Cecil B. DeMille estate in Los Angeles, California for $24.75 million dollars after initially listing it for $29.9 million dollars. She essentially broke even after paying $24.5 million dollars to purchase the home in 2017. The estate sits on 2 acres in the gated Laughlin Park community, and includes 6 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a tea pavilion, a gym, swimming pool, and an adjoining smaller guest cottage that was once owned by Charlie Chaplin.

After selling her Los Angeles estate Angelina Jolie no longer owns any homes in the United States, and left with only a home in Cambodia that sits on 148,000 acres of protected nature preserve that she has helped to fund with a donation of $5 million dollars. Her home is a modest structure with a traditional Cambodian thatched roof and open interior floor plan. She bought this home in 2003 after she and her ex-husband Brad Pitt adopted their oldest son, Maddox, from Cambodia in order to help him stay connected to his Cambodian cultural heritage.

I’m a sucker for a good controversial movie, and nothing screams controversial in 2026 like a movie about Elon Musk:

Nike co-founder Philip Knight and his wife just pledged $1 billion dollars to the University of Oregon for the launch of the Knight College of Engineering school in Eugene, Oregon. This donation pushes their total contributions to the University of Oregon to over $2 billion dollars. They’ve also previously donated $1.1 billion dollars to Portland, Oregon’s Providence St. Vincent Medical Center to create the state's first women's hospital, as well as donating $500 million dollars in 2013 for the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Today Philip Knight is worth around $25.8 billion dollars, and has said he intends to donate nearly all of his estate in the future.

The NY Giants just cut Odell Beckham Jr. before even giving him a chance. This is a BIG missed opportunity that I’m sure they’re going to regret. Why did they even sign him if they weren’t planning to even throw it to him? The stats tell the story:

• Games Played: 3
• Snaps: 20
• Targets: 1
• Receptions: 0
• Receiving Yards: 0

They literally had him on the field for no reason for 20 plays, and only threw a crappy throw to him 1 time. How do you sign a legend like OBJ to your 53-man roster, sign a $1.3 million dollar contract with him that had no guaranteed money, and then cut him? It makes no sense. The official line from the NY Giants is they cut him to make room for receiver Braxton Berrios who’s their kickoff and punt returner. With Jaxon Dart out for the season, and Jameis Winston playing like the journeyman QB he has been for the last 12 having bounced around from team to team never finding a home, it’s a mystery to me what NY Giants head coach John Harbaugh is trying to do with the team! Do better Giant!

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The Business Behind The News is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.