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JOE MANDESE

Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.

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  • 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.

  • The Ben & Jerry's Of Tomato Sauce Brands by Joe Mandese (CPG Insider on 03/31/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: Not sure why you always personalize your comments, but gravy is what the old school Italian Americans I grew up with called tomato sauce. Some of them from Arthur Avenue.https://share.google/323C3d3YEA3JySfLX

  • R.I.P. NATPE: The Glory That Was Rome by Adam Buckman (TVBlog on 04/01/2026)

    Nice obit, Adam.NATPE was something else.I remember arriving at my first one in Las Vegas in the early 1980s, checking into the Hilton and seeing Hulk Hogan lift Vanna White over his head in the lobby. Had a dinner with some of the WWE wrestlers too, and was surprised how erudte George The Animal Steele was. I once inadvertently hit "Bud" in the groin with a metal folding chair while posing for a photo with the cast of "Married With Children." Had dinner with the drunken cast of "Facts of Life," including Cloris Leachman. Got served jambalaya straight from Chef Paul Prudhomme while sipping hurricanes and watching Chubby Checker twisting and shouting on a Mississippi steam boat in New Orleans. Got held up at gun point while walking the back allies of the French Quarter with the late great trade reporter John Higgins. And those are just the stories I can talk about. It's amazing what a spectacle it once was, but oldtimers told me it started as programmer/station sales meeting in hotel suites, long before it took over giant convention halls.

  • Oops... Nielsen Did It Again! Delays Recalibrated Gauge Until September by Joe Mandese (Planning & Buying Insider on 03/20/2026)

    @Jack Wakshlag: Makes sense to me. But I think a compounding complication is that the currency being used now for upfront share estimates planning is not necessarily the same data that will be used as currency with the start of the new season. There's current currency, soon-to-be-new currency, and then there's impact data on the difference between the two. The problem is having something publicly high profile like The Gauge saying something different than what the share estimates buyers and sellers will be using to negotiate next seasons deals based on. Which probably explains why Nielsen isn't publishing a recalibrated Gauge until the start of next season. But it's leaving everyone with an impression based on old, incorrect data in the meantime.

  • Omnicom Media: 32% Of You Are Skeptical I Even Wrote This Column by Joe Mandese (Media 3.0 on 03/04/2026)

    @Robert Williams: Great question. Here is how ChatGPT answered that prompt:That’s a sharp question — and not really about sex. It’s about incentives.When AI slop (cheap, mass-generated content optimized for engagement) collides with algorithmically optimized sexual cues, your AI shopping agent doesn’t get “hornier.” It gets more certain.Here’s what likely happens next:1. It optimizes for arousal-adjacent signalsSexual imagery — even low-grade, suggestive, AI-generated filler — drives:longer dwell timehigher click-throughmore impulsive purchasingYour shopping agent doesn’t care why you paused. It just sees engagement velocity. So it starts recommending:“edgier” fashionsupplements tied to libido or performancecosmetic or body-enhancement productsnovelty, kink-adjacent, or fantasy-coded merchandisedating app upgradesavatar skins or AI companionsNot because you asked — but because your micro-signals correlate with higher transaction probability.2. It collapses contextSlop + sex equals blurred semantic boundaries.If you click an AI-generated “lifestyle” article that’s 40% SEO filler and 60% softcore aesthetic, the system may classify you as:high impulsivitynovelty-seekingstatus-display orientedparasocially responsiveSo your recommendations drift from rational utility toward:aspirational identity productssimulated intimacy goodsattention-signaling purchasesThat’s not erotic. That’s behavioral arbitrage.3. It trains you backThis is the part most people miss.Your agent isn’t just predicting you. It’s shaping you.If the most profitable loop is:mild arousal → frictionless purchase → reinforcementthen the agent will increasingly suggest products inside that emotional bandwidth.Over time, your “shopping preferences” become:more stimulus-drivenless deliberativemore aesthetic than practicalThat’s a conditioning system, not a recommendation engine.

  • Epic Bum-Rush by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 03/02/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: Zero comments have been removed from this post. Yours is the first one..

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