Chapel Bill, WBD’s New Zazonomics, Gabbard’s Charm Campaign

Happy Friday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon dispatch featuring Puck’s best new reporting.

Before jumping in, we’re thrilled to announce that the legendary Hollywood journalist Kim Masters is joining Puck! Starting in February, Kim will reunite with Matt Belloni and Eriq Gardner on What I’m Hearing, while also breaking news and participating in our ever-growing suite of podcasts. (If you’re not signed up for What I’m Hearing for some crazy reason, remedy that now.) Welcome to the team, Kim!

On that note… Don’t miss Matt’s chronicle of the turbulence surrounding “Hollywood’s silliest awards show,” the Golden Globes, two years after billionaires Todd Boehly and Jay Penske turned the organization that puts on the event into a for-profit business—a notoriously fraught deal that has been plagued by conflicts of interests and a state attorney general inquiry related to its charitable arm. More on that below the fold.

Also in today’s issue: Lauren Sherman charts an especially thrilling round of designer musical chairs after Chanel finally confirmed Matthieu Blazy as its creative director. John Ourand deciphers how ESPN might capitalize on Bill Belichick’s voyage to Chapel Hill. Tara Palmeri connects with veterans advocate Paul Rieckhoff to assess the very real concerns surrounding Pete Hegseth. On The Grill Room, Dylan Byers is joined by Bill Cohan to dissect the financial calculus behind Zaz’s decision to restructure WBD. On Impolitic, John Heilemann reunites with MSNBC host (and his former Circus co-star) Alex Wagner. On The Town, Matt and the Entertainment Strategy Guy sort through the state of streaming. On Fashion People, Lauren and Skims C.E.O. Jens Grede discuss the brand’s rapid rise, their sold-out North Face collaboration, and the Kim Kardashian of it all. And on The Powers That Be, Ben Landy and Tara consider Tulsi Gabbard’s charm campaign on the Hill.

MATTHEW BELLONI

Two years after the Penske-Boehly takeover, and with the publicists’ war in the rearview, a new set of cascading challenges is befalling Hollywood’s perpetually scandalous awards show: apparent profiteering, marginalized membership, and an A.G. inquiry that threatens the whole party.

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LAUREN SHERMAN

The appointment of Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, which the company has finally confirmed, represents a legit sea change in the industry—away from brand-manager-style creatives and back toward designer-designers. The move, of course, also set into motion a few others, all of which follow the same theme.

JOHN OURAND

For the past two seasons, Fox executives cashed in by betting on Deion Sanders’ ratings potential. Now ESPN, which has rights to the ACC, will run the same play with Belichick’s Tar Heels.

TARA PALMERI

A no-holds-barred conversation with Paul Rieckhoff, a fellow Iraq War vet turned activist, about the political atom bomb effect of placing Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon.