What legacy media is learning from creators

The Brand Brief 1.14.26: Jacob Frey, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland, Jerome Powell, Scott Adams, Mike Johnson, Joy Reid, and Ilhan Omar

Via Nieman Labs

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

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📣 Driving the Conversation…

1,355 words | 6 minute read | Written to be skimmable (13+ hours of media covered in The Brand Brief)

1. What Matters: Newsrooms to embrace new media tools

2. New Media Voices: Remembering Scott Adams

3. Leading FOX: Frey on FOX, Iran, and Powell

4. Trending and Pouncing: Audio from inside the Supreme Court

5. What the Right is Writing: Iran, Somalia, and Minnesota

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✍️ WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE’RE GOING…

Nathan’s quick take on where we’re headed…

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

According to a new report from Nieman Lab this week, legacy media is preparing to embrace many of the tools that have fueled the rapid rise of new media in recent years.

The survey of 280 news executives points to a growing focus on creator-driven platforms, particularly YouTube and TikTok. Plus, 76 percent of respondents plan to encourage their journalists to behave more like creators. - NRB

I would love to hear your feedback - survey here. Thank you!

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🎙️ NEW MEDIA VOICES

The Megyn Kelly Show - 1/13

• While talking to Alliance Defending Freedom President Kristen Waggoner, Kelly predicts a 6-3 decision upholding the ban on men in women’s sports, ACLU attorneys avoided defining sex, claimed hormone treatments eliminate all male advantages

• Guest Andrew Klavan of the Daily Wire gives his thoughts on the rise in violence against ICE officers following the death of Renee Good

• Kelly gives a tribute to Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams, who died of prostate cancer and accepted Christ just days before his death

The Ben Shapiro Show - 1/13

• While some Republican lawmakers express concern about the potential investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump says he has no knowledge of the case

• Shapiro takes Powell’s side, saying artificially low interest rates could create speculative bubbles and erode trust in the central bank

• Mortgage rates fall below 6%, GDP estimates for Q4 2025 exceed 5%, home-building costs are expected to drop significantly with robotics

• DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin says ICE is targeting criminals first, describes the shooting of Renee Good as self defense

• The Iran protests could signify the strongest opportunity for internal regime change in years

The Matt Walsh Show - 1/13

• Walsh’s producers infiltrated anti-ICE online groups, uncovering handbooks telling members to fake emergencies via 911, chase ICE with whistles, form crowd blockades, and track license plates

• One such group, Defend the 612, operates out of a 501(c)(3) youth nonprofit, receiving money from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and indirectly Minnesota state funds

• The state of Minnesota is suing the Trump admin, saying the ICE deployment is an invasion, while Walsh says that violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution

• Data shows a 250% increase in births by unmarried women in their 40s over the past 30 years, Walsh blames IVF

• A Chinese dissident claims China’s real population is under 500 million people, not 1.4 billion; Walsh agrees with the skepticism

• Walsh concludes with a tribute to Scott Adams, the artist behind Dilbert

Timcast IRL - 1/13

• The Clintons refuse to testify in an Epstein Files hearing, may be in contempt of Congress, the panel makes fun of politicians writing multi-page letters claiming they’re not pedophiles

• The panel jokes about Trump being the “avatar” or “id” of America, referencing the president flipping off a Ford employee that called him a pedophile protector

• Guest gun rights activist Kaitlin Bennett says she’s tired of the podcaster blackpilling issue, Pool says it’s frustrating to see other podcasts pay for their guests and that Trump’s success is dependent on moderates and disaffected liberals

• Pool compares addicts injecting themselves with drugs to transgender people injecting themselves with hormones, saying both are a mental illness, the panel agrees the trans sports debate is more a battle for truth than just women’s sports competitions

• TV personality Stephen A. Smith, a potential Democrat frontrunner, said the shooting of Renee Good was justified, the ICE agent isn’t expected to face criminal charges

• In other news, the team thanks Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams for his work, and discusses how the government uses your data to build AI machines

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📺 LEADING FOX NEWS

The Five

• “These people are pathetic,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claims about the Trump Admin in response to affordability rhetoric

• Joy Reid says white women are taking the lead in ICE protests because black women would get shot or arrested, as attacks on officers continue across Minneapolis

• The Supreme Court is likely to uphold the ban on men in women’s sports across 29 states

• Comedian Bill Maher says Democrats make men “feel bad for having a d*ck.”

FOX & Friends

• ICE protests intensify across Minneapolis, guest Mayor Jacob Frey defends his federal lawsuit, Trump says, “we’ll stop the fraud bleeding taxpayers dry.”

• The Supreme Court is poised to uphold the ban on men in women’s sports

• Guest former ambassador Nathan Sales says Iran has been put on notice following slaughter of protesters

• The trial for an ex-Uvalde police officer resumes today

• Global Head of YouTube Health Dr. Garth Graham announces new parental control options

• Guest Reverend Franklin Graham calls for a national time of prayer

FOX Newsroom

• ICE protesters disrupt multiple arrests in Minneapolis, guest DHS Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin echoes Trump saying sanctuary cities breed violence

• Trump says assistance is coming to Iranian regime protesters in Tehran

• A South Carolina police officer was ambushed by gunfire

• In Detroit, Trump touted economic growth and toured Ford

• Guest Speaker Mike Johnson discusses the stock trading ban bill

• Olympic Games Chairman Casey Wasserman says more than 11,000 athletes will compete in the LA 2028 games

• Republican senators introduce an anti-fraud bill

• Trump said on CBS that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is either “corrupt or incompetent”

• Actor Kiefer Sutherland has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a rideshare driver

• The Supreme Court is expected to defend women’s sports in final decision

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🍿 TRENDING AND POUNCING

Tomorrow’s news today…

• Ketanji Brown Jackson: “We are now looking at the definition of a girl and we’re saying only people who were girl-assigned at birth qualify.” [X, Blaze]

• Disgraced Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey doubles down on telling ICE to “get the f–k out” - despite agents facing attacks and threats in his city. [X, RNC Research]

• Ruby Corado, founder of LGBTQ+ nonprofit Casa Ruby, sentenced to over 2 years in prison and ordered to pay $956,215 in stolen Covid-relief funds [X, Breaking911]

• In July 2025, Axios reported that Democrats were being told by their base to be “willing to get shot” when resisting ICE. [X, Guest]

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🗞️ WHAT THE RIGHT IS WRITING

FOX News Digital

• Supreme Court presses trans athlete’s lawyer to define ‘girl’ [FOX News]

• US military launches wave of strikes in Somalia targeting ISIS [FOX News]

• President Trump gave ‘appropriate’ response after heckler confrontation [FOX News]

Breitbart

• Rep. Vindman Sees ‘Irony’ in Iran Killing Thousands of Protesters vs. ICE Agent’s Self-Defense [Breitbart]

• Ilhan Omar: ICE Officer Committed a ‘Clear Murder’-- It was an ‘Execution’ [Breitbart]

• Scott Adams, ‘Dilbert’ Creator, Political Commentator, Dead [Breitbart]

Wall Street Journal Editorials

• The Affordability Problem in One Chart [WSJ Ed]

• DNC Chair Ken Martin on Iran and ICE [WSJ Ed]

• How to Shrink Credit for the Poor [WSJ Ed]

• Lawfare for Dummies, Monetary Edition [WSJ Ed]

New York Post

• Gad Saad says New Yorkers were duped by ‘smiley guy’ Zohran Mamdani in ‘Pod Force One’ interview [NYP]

• I’m living through Iran’s bloodthirsty, murderous crackdown — the horrible truth about what’s really happening [NYP]

Washington Free Beacon

• Who Funds the Groups Harassing ICE Agents in Minnesota? The Left’s Premier Foundations and Dark Money Networks Have Given Millions, Records Show. [WFB]

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NEED HELP NAVIGATING CONSERVATIVE MEDIA?

On Brand Strategies would love to help you navigate the conservative media ecosystem. Learn more at OnBrandStrategies.com, or connect with Nathan (Nathan@OnBrandStrategies.com) and Carly (Carly@OnBrandStrategies.com).

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