How to improve your media diet
The Brand Brief 2.10.26: Nancy Guthrie, Bad Bunny, Jeffrey Epstein, Hunter Hess, voter ID, TPUSA, Netanyahu, Sydney Sweeney, ICE, and Susan Collins
Actionable media intel to keep you ahead: The Brand Brief delivers a daily snapshot of the conservative media ecosystem - FOX News, podcasts, and more. | Brought to you by On Brand Strategies | Written by Carly Moran and Nathan Brand
📣 Driving the Conversation…
1,554 words | 7 minute read | Written to be skimmable (12+ hours of media covered in The Brand Brief)
What Matters: A YouTube media diet
New Media Voices: Guthrie, Bad Bunny, and Epstein
Leading FOX: Guthrie, Cuba, Costco influencer
Trending: Olympians show country pride
What the Right is Writing: Guthrie, halftime shows, and Epstein
✍️ WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE’RE GOING…
Nathan’s quick take on where we’re headed…
When you walk into a DC newsroom, you’ll usually see a wall of TVs tuned to a combination of FOX News, CNN, MS Now, CNBC, and, for the real nerds, C-SPAN. This is also true of congressional offices, political committees, and public affairs firms.
This, however, is not how Americans consume news. As the Super Bowl numbers roll in, one trend is clear: YouTube is massive and only getting bigger. More Americans are turning to it for news - and even halftime shows.
So how do you add a healthy dose of podcasts to your news diet? Start by switching one TV to a YouTube playlist of podcasts (here’s today’s playlist of the shows below). If that still feels like too much, keep reading The Brand Brief, and we’ll track it all for you. - NRB
P.S. Katie Harbath has a new insightful piece about the political considerations of YouTube’s growth.
I would love to hear your feedback - survey here. Thank you!
🎙️ NEW MEDIA VOICES
The Megyn Kelly Show - 2/9
The Nancy Guthrie case still has no identified suspects, Kelly expresses concerns about Guthrie’s medication and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos attending a basketball game during the investigation
Brian Entin of NewsNation discusses two ransom notes sent demanding millions in Bitcoin, the Guthrie family responded with a video offering to pay and begging for her return to “celebrate with her”
Daniel O’Shea, host of “Into the Lion’s Den,” questions whether it was a true kidnapping, referencing the search of Annie Guthrie’s home
James Fitzgerald, co-host of “Cold Red Podcast,” and Chad Ayers, former SWAT leader, discuss Trump saying they’re looking at “solutions”
The Ben Shapiro Show - 2/9
Shapiro praises the halftime Show’s production value but questions Bad Bunny’s messaging on national identity and migration
He criticizes American Olympic athletes for expressing ambivalence about representing the United States, and calls out President Trump’s deleted TRUTH social post
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis joins to outline her “Healthy Florida First” initiative, highlighting state-level testing of food products for heavy metals and criticizing FDA oversight
Podcaster Winston Marshall details scandals surrounding Labour figure Peter Mandelson and his past associations with Jeffrey Epstein
The Michael Knowles Show - 2/9
Knowles labels Bad Bunny’s halftime performance as anti-American while praising Kid Rock’s TPUSA alternative event
He condemns the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony for featuring “pagan” imagery, specifically a fiery pentagram
Knowles calls for the removal of Team USA skier Hunter Hess after the athlete expressed “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S.
Knowles argues specific anti-white rhetoric from Democrats validates a defensive rise in white racial consciousness
He addresses viral claims attributed to Jeffrey Epstein and child sacrifice, saying it reflects broader corruption regardless of the claims’ authenticity
The Brett Cooper Show - 2/9
Cooper debunks media reports that VP JD Vance was overwhelmingly booed during the opening ceremony
She condemns Team USA athletes like Chris Lillis and Hunter Hess for “virtue signaling” by expressing shame over representing America
Journalist Owen Lewis baits athletes with political questions, Cooper contrasts to US tennis players who refused to engage in similar traps
Cooper praises skiing legend Lindsey Vonn for her patriotic gratitude, arguing the Olympics should remain a time for national unity
After Party with Emily Jashinsky - 2/9
Peter Schweizer joins to discuss his book The Invisible Coup, arguing powers like China and Mexico weaponize mass migration to undermine U.S. sovereignty
The two discuss new emails revealing how Jeffrey Epstein leveraged connections with media outlets to rehabilitate his reputation
Jashinsky analyzes the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show and the TPUSA alternative, contrasting it with the perceived “monoculture” of past performances like the 2001 Aerosmith and NSYNC show
Comedian Hannah Berner and reality star Jill Zarin were dragged online for making jokes that violated progressive taboos
📺 LEADING FOX NEWS
The Five
Savannah Guthrie releases a new video during the ransom deadline calling for the public to aid in the search for her mom
Joe Scarborough compares Bad Bunny’s halftime performance to Ronald Reagan’s farewell address, TPUSA’s show scored 10 million views across platforms
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claims the GOP wants to steal elections using the SAVE Act to mandate federal voter ID
Some Olympians politicize the games, saying they have mixed emotions about representing the U.S. under the Trump admin
FOX & Friends
After the ransom deadline passed last night, Savannah Guthrie urged the public to share tips on her mother’s location
Google will give its opening statement today in the social media addiction trial
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler estimates California accounted for $8.6 billion in covid-era loan fraud, California Post Opinion Editor Joel Pollack reacts
The Kirkland King, a pastor, uses his platform as a Costco influencer to bring Gen Z to Christianity
The Dow closed above 50,000 for the first time in history on Friday
Teen hockey player Connor Kasin lost his life due to cardiac arrest, his family’s foundation offers no-cost EKG screenings for student athletes
FOX Newsroom
The Guthrie family has not paid the ransom after the deadline passed last night despite saying they would, FBI reports the family is not in contact with the kidnappers, former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker reacts
Today’s House Oversight hearing will have testimonies from top DHS officials
Cuba warns airlines they don’t have enough fuel for commercial flights
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump tomorrow at the White House to address Iran negotiations
Comedian Bill Maher criticizes Jimmy Kimmel for cutting off Republican family
At the Winter Olympics, medals have been breaking off their ribbons
The daughter of Minnesota GOP governor candidate Jeff Johnson was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband
Sydney Sweeney rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange
A small plane made an emergency landing on a busy Georgia street
Trump’s 2024 political director James Blair discusses the economy ahead of midterms
On The View, Rosie Perez says she warned Kamala Harris she would lose, as Harris reboots her Headquarters account, Trump doubles his media engagement
🍿 TRENDING AND POUNCING
Tomorrow’s news today…
“Being able to represent the US at this stage in the #Olympics is one of the greatest honors I’ve ever had.” The Tkachuk brothers are in Milan, and ready to get to work for #TeamUSA. [X, Miller]
Swalwell: "Will you resign from ICE?" Lyons: "No" Swalwell: "Why not?" Lyons: "Because that child that you're showing right there, the men and women of ICE took care of him when his father abandoned him and ran from law enforcement." [X, Price]
FBI releases video of individual as Nancy Guthrie’s door [X, Patel]
Thousands are demanding criminal investigations after Somalis met in Minneapolis to officially “claim” a portion of Minnesota for the Somali government. [X, Daugherty]
The IRS document to get a Trump Account is Form 4547. [X, Guest]
“I’ve always been someone who has been intellectual” - Jasmine Crockett [X, Libs of TikTok]
Senator Susan Collins is ALL-IN for 2026. [X, Collins]
🗞️ WHAT THE RIGHT IS WRITING
FOX News Digital
Family insider reveals Nancy Guthrie was never headed to church when she vanished [FOX News]
Dan Bongino reveals ‘three possibilities’ in Nancy Guthrie case [FOX News]
Appeals court issues ruling on Noem decision to end TPS for 3 countries [FOX News]
Breitbart
Trump Called Police About ‘Disgusting’ Epstein in 2006, Blasted ‘Evil’ Maxwell [Breitbart]
Turning Point USA’s All-American Halftime Show Wins the Super Bowl [Breitbart]
Bad Bunny Ends Spanish-Only Super Bowl Halftime with Political Immigration Message [Breitbart]
Eileen Gu, American-Born Olympian Competing for China, Blasts Trump [Breitbart]
Wall Street Journal Editorials
The Political Battle for AI in Space [WSJ Ed]
Good Sense on Transgender Children [WSJ Ed]
Federal Tax Revenue Soars, but So Does Entitlement Spending [WSJ Ed]
Jimmy Lai Gets a Death Sentence [WSJ Ed]
New York Post
Inside Trump’s 2006 phone call with police thanking them for investigating Epstein — and pointing toward Ghislaine: FBI docs [NYP]
How Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper ‘showed his Achilles’ in ransom note, according to crypto expert [NYP]
‘CBS Saturday Morning’ hosts fêted after Bari Weiss fired them [NYP]
Washington Free Beacon
Hamas Works To Replenish Military Arsenal as Trump Admin Demands It Disarm [WFB]
Washington Reporter
Trump-Kennedy Center hosts shows to counter historic and current anti-Semitism [Reporter]
The Hill: The Movement
Four takeaways from Turning Point USA’s halftime show alternative [Hill]
NEED HELP NAVIGATING CONSERVATIVE MEDIA?
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