Latest news with #mediaStrategy
Fox News
10-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Mamdani campaign dishes out millions to firm of key media strategist for Obama campaigns: 'She's the best'
FIRST ON FOX: The campaign of New York City's Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has dished out millions to the firm of a key media strategist that helped shape the media-buying strategy of former President Barack Obama's campaigns. Over the past few months, campaign finance records show the Mamdani team has disbursed over $3 million to the Los Angeles-based Debra Schommer Media Group for expenditures that were described as going toward television ads, TV production and digital advertising. Schommer has more than 30 years of experience in the media planning and buying field, according to her website bio, and lists herself as a previous director of media planning and buying for AKPD Message and Media, a consulting firm started by Obama confidantes David Axelrod and David Plouffe. Schommer's website also touts her work managing and forming media strategies for political campaigns, including the presidential campaigns of Obama and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020. "As the Director of Media Planning and Buying for David Axelrod, since the inception of Axelrod and Associates (which later formed AKPD Message and Media), Debra built the department, led, managed, and worked on media strategies for Democratic candidates – Local, State, and Presidential (including Obama and Buttigieg), Independent Expenditures, and Advocacy campaigns," her bio reads. "She made sure every dollar we spent counted," Axelrod wrote in support of Schommer's work. "She's the best!" Schommer's archived bios from 2009-2015 on AKPD's website listed her as the director of media planning/buying and later the vice president of media planning, describing her as "a seasoned and skilled expert" and saying she has an "impeccable reputation in the media community along with being known for her passion and commitment to politics." In addition to Plouffe and Axelrod, an archived AKPD website says Mike Donilon, a decades-long advisor to former President Joe Biden and Democratic strategist, was a partner at the firm. Reports from 2008 said AKPD had received over $2 million from the Obama campaigns since 2005 and played an instrumental role in marketing Obama to voters. AKPD would later make headlines the following year after it was revealed it was one of two firms "working on the $24 million in ads" selling the ObamaCare push. "Mamdani and his team will throw millions at voters to run from his positions," Targeted Victory Executive VP Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. "Consultants can work wonders, but they're not miracle workers. A communist is still a communist." In addition to Mamdani, a Fox News Digital review found that her firm played an instrumental role in crafting television ad buys for far-left "Squad" Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, who were both defeated last year during their Democratic primaries. Both ex-lawmakers were vocal about defunding the police, along with other radical proposals like reparations, and their campaigns dished out hundreds of thousands of dollars to Schommer's firm, according to the FEC website. Mamdani's surge to the forefront of the political landscape has sparked divisions within the Democratic Party between moderates who have opposed his socialist platform and the progressive wing led by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Mamdani. In the wake of Mamdani's primary victory last month, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) highlighted that "this movement is bigger than one person, election, city, or organization." "We encourage all people inspired by the Zohran campaign to join their local DSA or YDSA chapter and get involved so we can continue to fight alongside Zohran and DSA elected officials across the country to create the future we all deserve," they added in a statement. Fast-forward to Wednesday, and DSA leaders are apparently mulling running primary challengers against Jeffries as well as other House Democrats whose districts are in New York City, including Reps. Ritchie Torres, Jerry Nadler, Dan Goldman and Yvette Clarke. However, Democratic strategist Andre Richardson, a top Jeffries political advisor, pushed back hard and told CNN that they will "teach" Mamdani's "Team Gentrification" allies "a painful lesson on June 23, 2026."
Times of Oman
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Need for a clear media strategy to strengthen national identity urged
Muscat: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth on Tuesday organised a seminar titled 'Media and National Identity,' highlighting the significance of national identity as a cornerstone of nations and societies. Held at the Literary Forum and moderated by Badriya Al Amri, Director of the Ministry's Communication and Media Department, the event featured Dr. Mohammed Awad Al Mashikhi, an academic and expert in public opinion and mass communication. Dr. Al Mashikhi emphasised that the erosion of national identity can lead to societal fragmentation, leaving communities vulnerable to foreign cultural influences. In the era of globalisation and digital technology, he noted, national identity faces formidable challenges, with digital media accelerating the spread of Western cultures and ideas that may undermine individuals' pride in their heritage. Dr. Al Mashikhi stressed the need for a clear media strategy to strengthen national identity by producing visual content aligned with religious and cultural values. He also underscored the role of educational and research institutions in fostering cultural and social awareness to safeguard this heritage against contemporary challenges.
Wall Street Journal
23-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Axel Springer Aims to Boost Value With AI, Calls Time on Clicks-and-Ads Model
Axel Springer said it plans to double its value within five years supported by artificial intelligence, calling time on the business model of maximizing clicks and advertising. The German media group behind Politico and Business Insider outlined the goal of doubling its value on Monday, as part of a strategic update following a split of its publishing and classified-advertising businesses.
Fox News
02-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Tim Walz says Harris campaign media strategy fell way short
Former vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz said the Kamala Harris campaign's media strategy fell short during an interview last week, criticizing the campaign's focus on traditional media venues during the campaign. As podcast host and former Montana Sen. Jon Tester argued that the campaign didn't use Walz effectively, Walz said his argument spoke to a broader point about the Democratic Party not entering "every media environment," including podcasts and local media. He said, "My God, they're not watching 'Meet the Press,' they're listening to you guys, as they're going somewhere, listening." The former Democratic vice presidential candidate spoke to Tester and journalist Maritsa Georgiou, hosts of the "Grounded" podcast, on Thursday about the 2024 campaign and the Democratic Party's next steps. Though Harris did speak to some podcast hosts, she also visited traditional media outlets such as CNN and CBS' "60 Minutes," and waited weeks after her campaign launch to do media at all. "I think you got to flood the zone," Walz said. "And I would argue we didn't see, you know, the vice president when she got in front of people, and I watch her talking to young people, she was magnetic with them. She was optimistic. She was hopeful. But in today's world, you got to have a lot of that, or it gets lost in the noise. And if you think you're just going to do a, you know, a '60 Minutes' interview, and that's going to get across, boy, that's not it." Walz added that he didn't agree with those arguing that the Democratic Party needed to find a "Joe Rogan of the left," but said the party needed to be "in places where a reach of like somebody like Joe Rogan is getting out there." Harris' "60 Minutes" interview became the basis of a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global. Trump's team and CBS remain at an impasse as they attempt to resolve the president's $20 billion lawsuit against the company through mediation. Fox News Digital confirmed that Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit, according to a source familiar with the matter. The president's legal team is also demanding at least $25 million and an apology from CBS News. Trump's attorneys even floated another lawsuit against the company. Walz said in March that the campaign shouldn't have played things so safe. "I think we probably should have just rolled the dice and done the town halls, where (voters) may say, 'You're full of s---, I don't believe in you.' I think there could have been more of that," Walz said during an interview with Politico. Walz argued that Democrats "are more cautious" in engaging with the media than Republicans, while adding that he felt as if the campaign was never ahead, comparing it to a "prevent defense" strategy during a football game. "In football parlance, we were in a prevent defense to not lose when we never had anything to lose because I don't think we were ever ahead," he said, which bolsters reporting following the election that internal Democratic polling showed Harris lagging behind Trump in the lead-up to Nov. 5," the Minnesota governor said.
