Actionable media intel: 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…
1,469 words | 6 minute read | Written to be skimmable (12+ hours of media covered in The Brand Brief)
What Matters: Legacy media winning on new platforms
New Media Voices: Natalie Harp, Eric Swalwell, and the mRNA cancer vaccine
Leading FOX: Matt Calkins, Abdul El-Sayed, and Gavin Newsom
Trending: Lindsay Clancy, Karmelo Anthony, and generosity
What the Right is Writing: Eric Swalwell, Ro Khanna, and Haitians
✍️ WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE’RE GOING…
Nathan’s quick take on where we’re headed…
While we spill a lot of ink on new media growth, legacy cable outlets post monster YouTube numbers. This week, FOX News touted its top spot, beating out MS Now and CNN.
According to Emplifi, the cable giants posted major YouTube view counts in July:
FOX News: 324 million views
MS Now: 246 million views
CNN: 172 million views
New media is certainly growing on YouTube, but legacy cable is already entrenched, massive, and still expanding its footprint on the platform. - NRB
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🎙️ NEW MEDIA VOICES
The Megyn Kelly Show - 8/20
Kelly and guest Maureen Callahan theorize Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are fleeing America due to financial woes or even divorce, not politics
True crime podcasters Arthur Aidala, Dave Aronberg, and Ashleigh Merchant join to discuss new texts in the Karmelo Anthony case proving he had murder on his mind
They discuss whether people may be found guilty in the death of Hayden Panettiere, and if the DEA should be involved
Kelly debates whether Lindsay Clancy should go to prison or a mental health facility, depending on if she is diagnosed with postpartum psychosis
Sara Gonzales Unfiltered - 8/20
Gonzales exposes how the H-1B visa program is outsourcing jobs to India, impacting American employment
She slams the “educated elite” for abandoning American education by using the H-1B program to import workers with fake degrees
Gonzales details an investigation into WhatsApp and Telegram chats where H-1B visa holders allegedly hire proxy workers from India
She references a video of a white woman leaving India due to “bad culture” and linking it to examples of immigrants polluting waterways and taking excessive freebies at Costco
Gonzales criticizes Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for his alleged ties to terrorism and the DSA for hating the US Constitution
The Michael Knowles Show - 8/20
Knowles argues Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s return to the UK epitomizes liberalism’s pursuit of “appearance without substance” over genuine commitment to their role as royalty
He condemns the legalization of assisted suicide in New York, drawing parallels to abortion arguments
Knowles criticizes CNN for covering the disproven rumor that White House aide Natalie Harp is having an affair with President Trump
He praises Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos-Duffy’s decision not to send their daughter to Harvard
Knowles argues mass hysteria over the tragic Lindsay Clancy murder trial never would have happened without social media
The Alex Marlow Show - 8/20
Marlow slams the media’s hysterical focus on Natalie Harp’s role with President Trump, dismissing it as a distraction from critical issues like former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s ties to Chinese spy Christine Fang
He criticizes Florida candidate Angie Nixon’s radical agenda, including her support for government-funded dental care and a $25 federal minimum wage
Marlow expresses skepticism about polls and emphasizes the importance of fielding strong conservative candidates, questioning Sen. Darline Graham’s knowledge of foreign policy
He exposes the media’s obsession toward Treasury bond buyback programs, arguing they are routine and not a scandal
Marlow celebrates the new mRNA-based cancer vaccine from Merck and Moderna, which he says is only possible with capitalism
TimcastIRL - 8/20
Pool reacts as Eric Swalwell’s home and tech are raided amidst sexual misconduct allegations
He argues the globalist agenda runs off of China’s totalitarian model to usher in a “corportocracy”
The panel weighs the pros and cons of the new cancer vaccine by Moderna and Merck, noting the pervasiveness of big pharma, while condemning the treasonous actions of the US funding bioweapons labs in China
They all address frustration with the “attention economy” and the decline of X’s revenue share
Pool warns against the dangers of AI-powered surveillance, like Flock cameras and ALPRs
📺 LEADING FOX NEWS
The Five
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom pretends he “doesn’t know” whether he’d be a good president
DSA Co-Chair Ashik Siddique praises Fidel Castro to a Cuban CNN anchor, while DNC Chair Ken Martin excuses interparty concerns about the DSA by claiming Democrats are a “big tent” party
A homeless camp overruns a student housing community by UC Berkeley, while LA mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Nithya Raman blame each other for the homeless crisis
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani realizes his city-run grocery stores could destroy competition with local businesses
Gen Z women are supposedly sick of men, while men still are hopeful about women
An Amazon delivery drone dropped a package in a pool
First Lady Melania Trump announces a partnership between Fostering the Future and IndyCar
FOX & Friends
A charter plane crash in Alaska kills all eight passengers
VP JD Vance says the War in Iran has entered a “new phase,” USS Lincoln returns to the U.S.
Eric Swalwell’s California seat has been replaced by progressive Dr. Aisha Wahab
Parents spend 432 hours a year accommodating picky eaters
The feds foil an ISIS-inspired bomb threat in upstate New York
Seattle Times columnist Matt Calkins resigns after more than ten years for not being allowed to publish a piece defending Sophie Cunningham
New texts reveal Karmelo Anthony was fantasizing about murdering his girlfriend
As the defense wraps in the Lindsay Clancy trial, she claims a male voice told her to murder her children
Sen. Chuck Schumer breaks, supports DSA candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Angie Nixon, while far-left nominees struggle to gain black voter support
A tornado tears through Dover, DE
Loudon County, VA becomes the data center capital of America
Prince William is allegedly blindsided by Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK
Artemis III mission commander Randy Bresnik explains the upcoming low orbit flight that will test docking on the moon
IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward shares his excitement for the upcoming Freedom250 race on the streets of Washington, D.C.
🍿 TRENDING AND POUNCING
Tomorrow’s news today…
The Karmelo Anthony legal team is in shambles after bombshell texts came out that he fantasized about murder before killing Austin Metcalf. “How many bullets u want coming out of ur chest?” [X, Daugherty]
Illegal alien from El Salvador Israel Flores Ortiz who sexually assaulted multiple girls while enrolled in public school, is set to be released from prison. [X, LibsofTikTok]
When Christians use the word “generosity” they mean “generosity with your own money.” When progressives use the word “generosity” they mean “voting for the government to forcibly redistribute other people’s money.” [X, Howerton]
🗞️ WHAT THE RIGHT IS WRITING
FOX News Digital
Fentanyl deaths plummet amid Trump’s sweeping crackdown [FOX News]
Declassified FBI files reveal what agents knew about Eric Swalwell [FOX News]
Pastor claims city is no longer ‘under American laws’ [FOX News]
Breitbart
ICE Begins Repatriating Biden’s Haitian TPS Migrants: 161 Down, 300,000+ to Go [Breitbart]
FBI Confiscates Eric Swalwell’s Electronic Devices at Airport [Breitbart]
Wall Street Journal Editorials
Ro Khanna Gets a Wealth Tax Education [WSJ Ed]
Darline Graham’s Taiwan Mistake [WSJ Ed]
How the U.S. Went $40 Trillion in Debt [WSJ Ed]
The Supreme Court’s Popular Mandate [WSJ Ed]
New York Post
True scale of Meghan and Harry’s US political plans revealed — from request for Biden Oval Office meeting to eyeing Senate seat [NYP]
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hopeful IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix will ‘bring America together’ [NYP]
Mamdani’s lefty guru Morris Katz racked up $14K in unpaid rent and left NYC pad in shambles [NYP]
Washington Free Beacon
‘Frankly, He Has Been Killed’: Angry Scholars From UK’s Top Academics’ Union Blame Jason Arday’s Death on Racist Mob, as ‘Race Realist’ Who Ignited the Firestorm Is Suspended [WFB]
Washington Reporter
While Roy Cooper runs for Senate on affordability, North Carolina energy prices rose faster than those in neighboring states while he was governor [Reporter]
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