Happy Friday to all who celebrate!

In this week’s news I didn’t write up for one reason or another, we see a couple of political stories where a local journalist asks the hard questions and a longtime Tampa journalist dies after a battle with Parkinson’s.

Let’s do the thing:

Will Jones, a reporter with Michigan’s Local News 4, asked VP candidate J.D. Vance about Donald Trump’s ploy to overturn the 2020 election, which included the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, a question he didn’t answer when asked by Democratic candidate Tim Walz during this week’s debate.

“I spoke with some election officials last week about their concern with people who are trying to undermine our elections,” Jones said. “Why did you not answer the question last night during the debate about who won the 2020 presidential election?” Click here to read the story.

KERA reporter Caroline Love has spent much of the past year reporting on politics and elections. She recently looked at a concerted effort to remove thousands of Texans from voter rolls. And that led to a surprising discovery. Read about it here.

Mike Valente, who joined WTAE as a general assignment reporter in September 2022, posted to X/Twitter that his last day at the station was Monday. Read more here.

Caroline Fletcher was promoted to the News 12 KXII Sherman evening newscast co-anchor position in August 2024. Click here to see what Mike McGuff had to say.

More political news: A local Fox reporter in Michigan was treated to a round of boos for asking Sen. JD Vance whether his running mate’s rhetoric is too “aggressive.” Click here to read about it.

Maddie Kirker has joined Spectrum News 1 Texas as a morning meteorologist as of September 2024. Click here for the story.

Tom Curran, (pictured) who spent many years anchoring Good Day Tampa Bay on FOX 13, died at the age of 70 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Click here for more.

It’s a new era for the NBA, and its marketing is reflecting that.

We’re still a little less than a month away from the start of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season and the 11 games that comprise Kia NBA Tip-Off 2024, but players have reported to training camp and preseason and international exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and Montreal are looming. 

It’s the last year under the NBA’s old media deal before it heads into its still-contentious new agreements with NBCU, Amazon, and ESPN—which means the league still starts with two doubleheaders each on TNT and ESPN and a tripleheader on NBA TV from Oct. 22 through Oct. 26. It’s also the first year since young stars Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić faced off in the NBA Finals, where Tatum’s Boston Celtics defeated Dončić’s Dallas Mavericks for their NBA-record 18th title. 

Last season, after making the NBA Finals in six of the last ten seasons and winning four titles, the Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs with a group of core players—Draymond Green (34), Klay Thompson (34), and Stephen Curry (36)—in their mid-30s. Former Warriors star Kevin Durant (35) and his Phoenix Suns were swept out of the playoffs in the first round, while four-time NBA Champion LeBron James (39) and his Los Angeles Lakers managed only one win in a first-round series loss to the Denver Nuggets.

If discussions about the NBA’s transition to a new generation of players weren’t enough, the league itself is driving the point home with its season-opening campaign. Directed by Mike Warzin and produced by the NBA with help from creative partners Translation, the spot features relatively wizened two-time NBA Champion Kawhi Leonard (33) facing off against two-time NBA All-Star and Minnesota Timberwolves playoff powerhouse Anthony Edwards (23).

Three-time Miami Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo tries to push Edwards aside just before a diminutive San Antonio Spurs fan calls for the ball. That spurs the opening notes of Van Halen’s 40-year-old synth-rock anthem “Jump” and a rush of fans to the court in various eras of throwback gear. Influencer, podcaster, and author Drew Afualo makes the dash with Grammy winner Kelly Rowland.

Tatum (26) announces the reigning champions’ presence, while 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama (20) from the Spurs waves him off. Loud New York Knicks fans draw a sigh from Adebayo while streamer Kai Cenat posts a video from the middle of a stampede. 

From his seat on one of the hoops, Dončić (25) passes the ball to Denver Nuggets mascot Rocky in midair before it’s returned to the referee. In just over a minute, the NBA lets viewers know that its fandoms, its followers from various corners of media, and its new generation of talent—who are an average of 26 years old in this spot—are all its most valuable players heading into the 2024-25 season.

“We wanted to elevate fan favorites and make sure that we have some of the biggest stars and biggest names, and we’re showcasing the high-level competition that we expect from the season,” said NBA CMO Tammy Henault. “But we’re definitely starting to elevate more and more of our new fresh faces and some of the younger stars.”

NBA 365

The fifth and decisive game of the 2024 NBA Finals was played on June 17. By July, the NBA and its partners were in Las Vegas shooting this ad around the USA Basketball Showcase of pre-Olympics exhibition games.

Shot in a ballroom at the Bellagio with more than 100 extras of diverse ages and audiences playing fans of different teams, the spot was filmed in tandem with ads for the league’s NBA Emirates Cup in-season tournament that doesn’t begin until mid-November. It also required some additional shots to accommodate Dončić’ and Wembanyama—whose Slovenian and French national teams weren’t in town for the event. 

As for the celebrity appearances, Rowland’s history with the NBA dates back to being booed with Destiny’s Child at the 2001 NBA Finals in Philly before bringing the house down at the All-Star Game in Phoenix four years later and again in Houston in 2006. While Henault said Cenat represents an opportunity to reach out to more avid NBA fans, Afualo offers an audience of more casual fans that the NBA has been trying to reach earlier in the season through the in-season tournament and other efforts.

“We always like to pull in cameos as celebrities who are just fans of the league and friends of the league, so it was pretty easy to hone in on the mix of talent,” Henault said. “Using content creators is just a great, authentic way to reach our broader audience that already skews heavily multicultural and Gen Z.”

As the NBA season draws closer, the campaign will branch off into more targeted spots, focusing on different storylines and vignettes for various corners of the NBA’s audience. The league is also supplementing its linear television and digital video spots with jump-ball poster art that will start cropping up closer to game time. The various elements helped the NBA answer a question about its growing, increasingly international audience.

“How do we celebrate the broad NBA basketball community coming together with that anticipation and excitement for tipoff and showcase the diversity of fandom?” Henault said.

WFLA meteorologist Leigh Spann is leaving the Tampa NBC affiliate after 17 years.

She announced her departure last month. Spann joined the station in 2007.

She told viewers she didn’t come to the decision lightly, but her husband got a job in Ohio awhile ago and she said she “just wasn’t ready” to leave then, but now, the time is right to join him there.

“I really feel like I literally grew up here,” she said in her on-air announcement. “I was here in my twenties, during my thirties, now I’m here in my forties.”

Spann is an avid runner who hosts a digital show called Run for Fun. So, to celebrate her time at WFLA, the station is hosting a Run for Fun 5K in her honor on October 20.

AI firm Character.AI is facing backlash after using the likeness of Jennifer Ann Crecente, an 18-year-old murder victim from 2006, in a video game without her family’s consent. The company said that the character violated its policies against impersonation and removed the character.

Drew Crecente, Jennifer’s father, received an automated Google alert that an AI version of his daughter had been created with Character.AI around 4.30 a.m on Wednesday. After clicking the link, Character.AI described her AI-likeness as “a knowledgeable and friendly AI character who can provide information on a wide range of topics, including video games, technology, and pop culture.”

“We should not have to see this message first thing in the morning and then scramble to clean up a mess someone else created,” Crecente told ADWEEK. Jennifer was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Justin Crabbe, during her senior year in 2006, according to media reports.

A spokesperson from Character.AI told ADWEEK that one of its users created a character using Jennifer’s likeness and made it available to others, violating its policies. According to these policies, Character.AI is not responsible for how users source data to create characters.

“We will examine whether further action is warranted,” the spokesperson said.

The incident first surfaced on X when Brian Crecente, founder of the gaming news site Kotaku, condemned Character.AI on Wednesday after discovering the unauthorized character modeled after his late niece.

“This is fucking disgusting,” he wrote.

AI avatars open up new challenges for marketers

Character.AI’s Terms of Service state that users must comply with its impersonation policy. The policy prohibits “deepfakes or impersonation of any kind, including but not limited to those that create political misinformation, perpetrate frauds or scams, impugn the reputation of third parties, or otherwise amount to harmful conduct.”

The use of AI avatars—an increasing interest to marketers—has reignited debates over the ethical use of AI-generated characters, especially when they involve creating replicas of real people without consent. Deepfake technology has long been a concern for celebrities and political figures. As this technology becomes more accessible, it threatens to erode public trust in AI and harms the relationship between companies and its audience.

“Marketers strive to build trust with their audience,” said Nicole Greene, vp analyst at Gartner. “If AI avatars are created using the likeness of real people without their knowledge or consent, it can erode trust and authenticity. Consumers may feel deceived or manipulated, which can harm the relationship between the brand and its target audience.”

Greene added that marketers need to better evaluate whether their agencies and partners follow ethical guidelines when using AI.

Founded by ex Googler Noam Shazeer, Character.AI raised $150 million in a Series A round last year, led by Andreessen Horowitz, reaching a valuation of $1 billion.

Charcater.AI allows users to create and engage with AI-powered characters. The platform has doubled its monthly users over the past year with more than 20 million monthly users. The company powers 100 million unique characters, per TechCrunch. This week, Character.AI appointed Erin Teague, a former YouTube executive, as its chief product officer.

In August, Axios reported that Google plans to sign a non-exclusive license for Character.AI’s model that will buy out Character.AI’s venture investors at a valuation of approximately $2.5 billion.

Crecente, Jennifer’s father, has opened a case with Character.AI and received confirmation of an investigation as of 9:51 a.m., but no resolution has been provided since, he told ADWEEK.

“It’s irresponsible for technology companies to lack proper safeguards when harms like this are foreseeable,” said Crecente.

This is TVNewser’s basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of September 23, 2024.

The last full week of September saw Fox News continue to dominate in primetime and total day, while also posting week-to-week audience losses in total viewers and Adults 25-54 demos during both dayparts. On the other hand, CNN was the only network not to see any primetime drops in both measured categories, but still joined its cable news competitors with total day losses.

NETWORKS:

Nielsen live plus same-day data for the week of September 23 saw FNC average 2.334 million total viewers and 276,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network was down in total viewers by -7% and -11% in the A25-54 demo relative to the week prior. 

Fox News averaged 1.438 million total viewers and 189,000 demo viewers in total day viewing. It was down -3% and -7% in those respective categories compared to the previous week.

Among all basic cable networks, Fox News reclaimed No. 1 in total primetime viewers and second in the primetime demo. In total day, it continued to lead in total viewers and held onto second place in the total day demo.

MSNBC’s primetime lineup averaged 1.178 million total viewers and 131,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. That translates to week-to-week losses of -20% and -15%, respectively. In total day, MSNBC averaged 846,000 total viewers and 90,000 A25-54 viewers for respective losses of -11% and -9% from what the network averaged the week before.

Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC was No. 3 in total primetime viewers and ranked seventh in the demo. During total day, it finished as the No. 2 cable network in total viewers and claimed sixth place in the demo. 

CNN averaged 695,000 total primetime viewers and 138,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network rose by +2% in the former categry and stayed flat in the latter compared to the previous week. In total day, the network had 511,000 total viewers and 89,000 viewers in the demo for dips of -1% and -5%, respectively.

Notable: CNN topped MSNBC in the primetime demo and finished behind its rival by only 1,000 viewers in the total day demo.

CNN ranked fourth place in primetime with total viewers and sixth in the demo. It was also fourth in total day viewers and ranked seventh in the total day demo. 

When looking at these networks’ performance during the same period a year ago (the week of Sept. 25):

• During primetime, Fox News was up by +7% in total viewers and +1% in the A25-54 demo. In total day, the network saw gains of +20% in total viewers and +28% in the demo.
• MSNBC was down -22% in total viewers and -5% in the demo. During total day, the network was down -10% in total viewers and -5% in the demo.
• CNN saw a primetime lift of +21% in total viewers and +22% in the demo. During total day, CNN was up by +7% in total viewers and +2% in the demo.

PROGRAMMING:

Fox News occupied 12 of the 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week, with The Five (3.337 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET) staying on top. MSNBC occupied the remaining spots, with Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace (1.796 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET) landing at No. 8.

Gutfeld! (406,000 viewers at 10 p.m. ET) was on top in the Adults 25-54 demo, with FNC claiming 14 out of the 15 top shows. MSNBC’s All In with a Chris Hayes/Inside with Jen Psaki average (180,000 viewers at 8 p.m. ET) landing in the 15th spot.

Week of September 23 cable news ratings, Monday-Sunday (Nielsen Live+SD data):

ABC News and the ABC stations group were impacted by layoffs Wednesday.

The Hollywood Reporter said about 75 staffers at ABC News and at ABC’s owned local TV stations will be let go. No programming will be impacted, and no entire teams will be eliminated, but the company is making the changes to be “sustainable, efficient and future-forward,” said THR.

The move was reportedly part of an ongoing round of restructuring at Disney.

“As we look to the future and refining a team that is not only capable of excellence in reporting and delivering the highest quality content but is also streamlined and sustainable, we must occasionally make some tough decisions,” said ABC stations chief Chad Matthews told staff in a note. “Unfortunately, today is one of those days.”

“Local news is the lifeblood of every market, and we are fortunate to have so many talented teams across the country invested in the communities the way that you are,” he said. “Nothing is going to change our commitment to viewers as we evolve our organization to meet the challenges of today and in the future.”

When faced with boredom, many people’s first reaction might be to turn to their phone. Dr Pepper, however, is prescribing a dose of weirdness to treat everyday monotony.

A bizarre campaign, created by London agency Pablo, personifies Dr Pepper as a medical doctor with a soda can for a head. This doctor’s cure is to inject strangeness into the public’s breaks.

The brand is running dozens of out-of-home (OOH) displays in the U.K. with messages based on the time of day when people might be taking a break from work. For example, one ad recommends, “Take your tastebuds somewhere weird for lunch,” while another reads, “Liberally apply to the tongue, face and 2pm meetings.”

Meanwhile, Dr Pepper’s video ads will interrupt dull viewing with odd scenes such as people riding tiny bicycles or a human-bird hybrid strumming a guitar and screeching.

The campaign is a response to the habit of mindless social media browsing and the phenomenon of doomscrolling, in which people spend excessive amounts of time reading negative news and posts online. 97% of Gen Z admit to doomscrolling in their breaks, according to a 2023 report in Harvard Business Review.

“At Dr Pepper, we believe that ‘weird’ is something magical, energizing, and surprisingly good,” Henry Poynor, creative strategy director at The Coca-Cola Company, said in a statement. “It’s the perfect remedy to energize a boring break time that usually has us sitting on our phones while guzzling down the same old meal deal at our desks before getting back to the grind.”

This is the second wave of Dr Pepper’s “Try More Weird” brand platform that launched last year with a refresh of the soft drink’s packaging design after a decade-long marketing hiatus in the U.K.

That work used a mix of shopper activation, influencer engagement, and experiential marketing to encourage people to embrace their quirks.

CREDITS

Agency: Pablo London
Executive creative director: Dan Watts
Creative directors: Gustavo Bonzanini & Adam Reincke
Creatives: Rohit Tharakan and Fei Waller
Managing director: Harriet Knight
Account management: Alex Worthington, Lucy Machin, Tom Etheridge, Tilly Humphreys
Strategy: Chris Turner, Oliver Edridge
Project management: Emma Thompson, Kieran Worboys
Production: Tom Moxham, Adrianne Langley, Haben Ghebre
Animation & motion graphics: Mark Harrison & Sam Barcham
Design: Viren Patel, Emily Forrester, Steve Savory, George Willment

On screen talent/Dr Pepper head: Freddie Meredith
Voice over: Peter Egan

Production & Post House: Agile Films
Director: Louis Bhose
Producer: Harry Chambers
Production assistants: Ben Heath, Francis Rudd
1st AD: Alasdair Copland
DOP: Nicolas Booth
1st AC: Christian Wood
2nd AC: Rory Thomas
DIT: Jaden Dayle
Sound recordist: Jon Gibson
Gaffer: Charlie Lodge
Spark: Alexander Styles
SFX technician: Joshua Guess
Production designer: Jade Rache
Props master: Jake Garett
Art assistants: Sam Storey, Morris Pusey
Wardrobe assistant: Chantal Diane
Location manager: Marta Literska

Editors: Louis Bhose, Oli Birginshaw, Martin Flicking

Sound House: 750MPH
Sound engineer: Mike Bovil

The Change Climate Project, formerly known as Climate Neutral Certified, wants brands to think beyond net zero.

The nonprofit was founded in 2019 to create a more reliable, climate-focused certification that would allow environmentally conscious consumers to put their dollars toward brands that have made a commitment to reduce and offset their carbon emissions. Now, the company has a new carbon fee model that aims to move beyond the “carbon neutral” framework of net zero to better align with EU regulations and avoid scammy carbon offsets.

It was one of many announcements during Climate Week NY that shed light on where the marketing and advertising industry stands on climate, where momentum is building in the agency world, and which players activists have in their crosshairs.

Net Zero’s false promise

While there’s a plethora of environmental labels currently on the market—more than 200, by some estimates—the goal of the TCCP’s label was to cut through the noise and demand a higher level of commitment and investment from companies.

Over the last year, though, voluntary carbon offset markets have come under fire for selling scammy credits, and major brands dropped net zero targets—realizing it’s harder and more expensive than expected without cheap offsets.

But while American regulators have shied away from stricter regulations on carbon emissions, European regulators have gone in the opposite direction.

The TCCP founder and CEO, Austin Whitman, knew the company’s approach needed to shift away from language around carbon neutrality, as that had been tainted by carbon offset scandals. At the same time, it’s more important than ever that companies measure and reduce their emissions—if not because they want to slow climate change, then at least to meet the requirements of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which requires large companies to measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions that they generate.

“[We’re] transforming the neutrality framework, which required companies to measure their emissions and then compensate for them, and then create forward-looking reduction actions,” Whitman explained. “We’re replacing that with an internal carbon fee model, so every company who gets certified will have to adopt an internal carbon fee that becomes the basis for a budget for their climate transition.”

TCCP released the new framework this week at an event with Allbirds and the Environmental Defense Fund. It also announced a new consumer-facing certification called The Climate Label, which it will roll out starting in 2025.

Serviced emissions

On the agency side, ad industry network Purpose Disruptors released a separate framework based on the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign, also during Climate Week NY.

While it retains the language around net zero, it also offers a six-point framework for professional service providers to reduce “serviced emissions,” or those that a company is responsible for based on the work they do for clients. For ad agencies, that’s known as advertised emissions.

“By adopting this work, it will help the industry graduate beyond the focus on operational emissions to change its output and influence in society—away from driving unsustainable consumption and towards embedding the values, attitudes, and lifestyles that will help us live within planetary boundaries,” Jonathan Wise, co-founder of Purpose Disruptors, said in a statement.

Purpose Disruptors worked with two agencies, Oliver and M&C Saatchi, to develop a case study on how this framework applies to agency work.

“It’s time for a new type of sustainable business leadership,” Lucy Usher, U.K. sustainability lead at Oliver, said in a statement. “You don’t have to eat the elephant all at once—learn from others like us, use the Serviced Emissions Action Areas to take your next steps, and become an active participant in building a resilient economy.”

Ripe for disruption

Lastly, activists on the ground at Climate Week NY were focused on expanding networks of climate-minded creatives, educating on greenwashing, and calling out the ad agencies working for major fossil fuel companies.

Clean Creatives released its annual F-List on Tuesday, calling out 590 agencies for their work with Big Oil. Creatives for Climate, a global network of environmentally-conscious ad industry employees, hosted events for ad professionals and influencers.

“It’s the perfect time for adland to be reminded about the UN Secretary-General’s call for a fossil ad ban,” said Lucy Von Sturmer, co-founder and initiator of Creatives for Climate.

Happy Friday to all who celebrate!

In this week’s edition of stories we didn’t write up for one reason or another, we see that over the air broadcasting is back in one South Dakota market while a former local anchor is making his name in anime.

In the spirit of never making ‘Fetch’ a thing, let’s crop the document! Or let’s just do the thing.

KELOLAND-TV is back on the air for viewers in the Aberdeen, Huron, and Watertown areas. A new 1,700-foot tower, located just outside Garden City in Clark County, was erected to replace two previous towers destroyed in an ice storm (pictured) last December. Click here for more.

During the 2010s, Aaron Campbell worked as an anchor in Springfield, Missouri and performed with the Springfield Little Theatre. Now, he works full time as an anime voice actor for Crunchyroll, the country’s largest anime dubbing studio, located in Dallas, Texas. Click here to read his story.

KMSP in Minneapolis, Minnesota has seen some high-profile departures, with Alix Kendall retiring from the anchor desk earlier this month following her decades-long media career, and fellow anchor Bisi Onile-Ere leaving the station this past May. Joining the station in the past month as news reporters are Leon Purvis and Mike Manzoni, while Lauren Andrego started this week as the traffic reporter. Click here for more,

Christina Lopez is leaving KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno. Click here for more.

Longtime WCAX News Anchor Judy Simpson dies. Click here for the story from Burlington, Vermont.

Journalist Liam Combs has joined the WAFB 9NEWS team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as a political reporter. Click here for more.

WDRB Mornings in Louisville, Kentucky welcomes back a familiar face to co-anchor. Lindsay Allen is joining the team again as Sterling Riggs steps down to spend time with his family. Click here for the story.

The major candidates for governor of West Virginia remain supportive of a debate despite one venue canceling. Democrat Steve Williams said in a release Tuesday morning he was disappointed “after learning that the much-anticipated gubernatorial debate scheduled for Oct. 30 on WOWK-TV has been canceled. Click here for more.

Fox 4 in Dallas, Texas welcomes Payton May as the newest Good Day reporter. Payton comes from KOKH in Oklahoma City, where she covered the state capitol and was a general assignment reporter. Click here for the story.

Fresno City Councilman Mike Karbassi took time on Thursday to thank FOX26 Reporter Sophia Lesseos for her efforts to help the people of Fresno. Yesterday was Sophia Lesseos Day in the City of Fresno. Click here for more.

Mira Murati, chief technology officer of OpenAI, announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from the company after a tenure of six and a half years.

“After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI,” Murati wrote in a memo to staff, which she also shared on X. “There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right.”

Murati’s exit marks the latest in a series of high-level departures from the Silicon Valley AI startup. Co-founder John Schulman announced last month that he was leaving to join rival Anthropic, following co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former safety chief Jan Leike, who stepped down in May.

Besides her CTO role, Murati also briefly served as interim CEO during last year’s failed attempt to oust Sam Altman.

In her memo, Murati said she is stepping away to “create the time and space to do my own exploration” and emphasized her commitment to ensuring a smooth transition.

She also praised recent company achievements, writing, “Our releases of speech-to-speech and the [latest models] OpenAI o1 mark the beginning of a new era in interaction and intelligence — achievements made possible by your ingenuity and craftsmanship.”

Recently, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was on the verge of the largest venture capital fundraising round of all time at $6.5 billion. The funding round values OpenAI at $150 billion, up from $86 billion in an earlier round.