JOE MANDESE

Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.
- Spin Fast And Synthesize Things in
Red, White & Blog on
07/23/2026
In a new spot, Meta says it's "betting" on us. Based on its social media winnings to date, it's the last company I want gambling on my AI future. No matter what the odds are.
- In Transparency We Trust, All Others Would Pay Cash in
Media 3.0 on
07/22/2026
That's right, roughly half of consumers would pay brands more - an average of 7% more - for AI transparency, according to the 2026 edition of an annual digital trust study.
- Replacing Digital Pennies With AI Half-Pennies in
Media 3.0 on
07/22/2026
Decades ago, then NBCU chief Jeff Zucker famously quipped how search engines were replacing news publishers' "analog dollars" with "digital pennies." Twenty-one years later they are becoming AI
half-pennies.
- 3.know: Analytics Pioneers Spaeth & Dittus On The Impact Of AI in
Media 3.0 on
07/20/2026
At a time when marketing analytics is becoming increasingly synthetic, industry pioneers Jim Spaeth and Ed Dittus weigh in on the impact of AI.
- The Bullshit Pulpit in
Red, White & Blog on
07/17/2026
If anything good came from last night's pants-on-fire-side-chat, it's that we are becoming increasingly skeptical about disinformation wherever it comes from - both foreign and domestic.
- MRC Clarifies Nielsen One, VideoAmp Accreditation Status in
MediaDailyNews on
07/15/2026
The Media Rating Council revised its status for both services no longer being under review for accreditation: VideoAmp plans to reassess its application next year, while Nielsen One Ads is being
updated.
- May Ad Market Flattens, K-Shape Growth Continues in
MediaDailyNews on
07/15/2026
U.S. ad-spending growth continued to decelerate in May - expanding just 0.7% vs. May 2025 - the worst month since year-over-year Olympic spending comps in July and August 2025, according to
just-refreshed estimates from Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker.
- CIMM Unveils Task Force To Fix 'Gap' Between Kids Media Use, Measurement in
MediaDailyNews on
07/15/2026
The announcement comes with the release of a study identifying social, economic, legal and advertising issues, and the role advertisers, media and measurement need to address.
- VideoAmp, Nielsen One Pull Out Of MRC Accreditation Process in
MediaDailyNews on
07/13/2026
The reasons for withdrawing were not disclosed, but both have implications for an increasingly competitive measurement marketplace.
- Coming To A Polling Place Near You in
Red, White & Blog on
07/10/2026
You may never have heard of the Election Assistance Commission, but it's the next big chapter in Trump's Election Takeover Playbook.
- How Do You Top $100B In Ad Revenue In Less Than 4 Years? Just Ask ChatGPT
by
Joe Mandese
(Media 3.0 on
07/10/2026)
@Joel Rubinson: Congratulations.
- Made For Bill Duggan
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
05/08/2026)
@Geoffrey Precourt: Full disclosure, everything I know about being an ad industry journalist I learned from you.
- I've Got 47 Problems But 86 Ain't One
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
04/29/2026)
@Adam Buckman: Doh! Great catch. Hope there's a TVBlog in the future about that. Lift the Cone of Silence, please. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Adams#/media/File:DonAdams.jpg
- I've Got 47 Problems But 86 Ain't One
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
04/29/2026)
@Dan C. from MS Entertainment: You're conveniently ignoring my "for illustration purposes only" disclaimer on Gemini's (not my) analysis. I wouldn't put statistical significance in that. As I noted there has been a conflation between the terms "86" and the lesser known/used mobster term "8 miles out 6 feet under." Perhaps my most important points were about "gaslighting" and "Mandela Effects" and the collective misremembering and twisting of reality that happens when someone like Donald Trump is using the powers of his office to distort the meaning of things, including a pop culture term like "86." It clearlly has never been meant to "kill" someone, but to get rid of someone. The real meaning of words is about the context of who, what, when, where and why people use them. If a mob hit man were using the term "86," I'd grant the meaning was to execute someone. If a top career law enforcement official who happens to be a president's political rival is using it, I believe the context was to remove that president from office. #seashells
- New Programmatic 'Transparency' Initiative Excludes Advertisers
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/21/2026)
@Anthony Katsur from IAB Tech Lab: Thanks for the update. Interesting you didn't say that when you announced it and only after MediaPost pointed it out. Your release reads like a supply-side and agency-side intiative with the only reference to advertisers being a quote from an agency executive stating agencies "are responsible for navigating a massive supply chain on behalf of advertisers" -- coming years after advertisers undertook for themselves (see above). Feels like catch up, but others can read for themselves @ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iab-tech-lab-launches-industry-council-to-address-transparency-in-200b-us-programmatic-ad-market-302748778.html
- Nielsen: Move Along, Nothing To See Here (*)
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026)
@Ed Papazian: Also for your knowledge: https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/nbcuniversal-says-nielsen-devalues-media-companies-with-inaccurate-metrics-d2490068
- Nielsen: Move Along, Nothing To See Here (*)
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026)
@Ed Papazian: For your knowledge... https://mediaratingcouncil.org/sites/default/files/News/MRC%20Releases%20Update%20on%20the%20MRC-Accredited%20Nielsen%20National%20Big%20Data%20%2B%20Panel%20Television%20Service.pdf
- Nielsen: Move Along, Nothing To See Here (*)
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026)
@Ed Papazian: While the first part of your comment is definitely true, in this case, Nielsen is knowingly publishing data it knows is not accurate and misrepresents what it is giving clients now (in the form of impact data so they can make upfront planning estimates) and what they will be publishing as actual "currency" beginning this fall. They are willfully publishing data they know is not representative of the marketplace, but which happens to benefit streamers in the meantime. Read into that what you want.
- Can An Ad Industry Award Save Democracy?
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
04/06/2026)
@Ed Papazian: The U.S. definitely is still characterized as a liberal democracy, but its ranking has fallen precariously in V-Dem's index. In terms of skewing democracy's weight,.the U.S. is only 4.5% of the world population.
- The Ben & Jerry's Of Tomato Sauce Brands
by
Joe Mandese
(CPG Insider on
03/31/2026)
@Dan C. from MS Enterainment: That's the thing you zero in on? I don't understand why you always comment on some personal slight instead of commenting on the overall substance of something we publish. It's like you're always looking to make a dig, and I suspect that's your real objective.Personally, I tolerate that when you do that with my commentary, because I'm editor-in-chief, but I don't understand why you're always looking to stir up some kind of personal criticism about someone posting something on MediaPost. In any case, you're entitled to express your own opinion about "sauce" vs. "gravy," but that's literally why I put the word "gravy" in quotes. It was an homage to my Italian American ancestors, not what I personally use to describe tomato sauce.In fact, my article referred to "sauce" five times and referenced "gravy" only once, and that one was in quotes.But I suppose you'll pick a fight over those quants too.