Would Ted Turner Have Prevented the Downward Spiral of Television’s Economic Value, Reputation, and Advertiser Commitment?
Ted Turner's failed 1985 bid to acquire CBS marked a turning point, as the broadcast industry chose preservation over the disruptive vision that had built CNN and cable networks. The ensuing decades saw a cascade of mega‑mergers—Viacom‑Paramount, AOL‑Time Warner, AT&T‑Time Warner, Discovery’s acquisitions—creating debt‑heavy conglomerates that eroded television’s cultural and economic clout. Advertisers, once loyal to linear TV, have migrated to data‑rich digital platforms, leaving the medium with waning trust and uncertain revenue. The commentary argues that only bold, audience‑first innovation, not balance‑sheet engineering, can restore TV’s relevance.
Disney’s Rita Ferro on Change, Curiosity, and Recalibration
Disney Advertising President Rita Ferro discusses how leaders can thrive amid accelerating change by integrating personal identity with professional role, cultivating relentless curiosity, and treating technology as an amplifier for storytelling rather than a substitute. She warns against over‑optimizing performance at...
Principal Media and F.A.S.T: Agencies Are Rewriting the Economics of Advertising
The Myers Report argues that advertising agencies are abandoning the traditional media‑buying role and becoming principals that own, package, and monetize Free‑Advertising‑Supported Streaming Television (FAST) assets. This shift turns agencies into balance‑sheet businesses that generate profit through financial arbitrage rather...
Re-Enchantment: Humantel Research Uncovers the Human Competitive Edge.
Humantel’s March 2026 study of over 2,000 U.S. professionals reveals a systemic gap between employee commitment and actual energy, labeling it a depletion of workplace vitality rather than a simple engagement issue. The research argues that organizations have unintentionally stripped...
Masculinity Was the Warning. Leadership Is the Real Crisis.
Jack Myers argues that the cultural debate over masculinity is a proxy for a deeper leadership crisis accelerated by AI. As machine intelligence makes traditional authority and performance metrics obsolete, the value of leaders shifts toward empathy, trust, and moral...
Why the Upfront Is Finally, Actually, Really Broken. (But Still Functions.)
The blog argues that the traditional Nielsen‑driven measurement system that anchored the TV Upfront is disappearing, replaced by a patchwork of competing metrics. This fragmentation creates multiple “currencies,” higher operational costs for sellers, and a pricing reset that erodes differentiation....
Jack & Tim Live: The SPORTS Episode
Jack Myers and Tim Spengler devoted an entire Lead Human episode to sports, turning their usual opening banter into a deep dive on why live athletics remain one of the last truly communal experiences. They highlighted how the rise of...
Upfront 2026–27: Who Has Pricing Power in a Commodity Market?
The Myers Report warns that the 2026‑27 Upfront will reward firms that can demonstrate measurable outcomes, integrate technology stacks, and lower buyer uncertainty. Traditional levers such as inventory volume, reach, and content alone will be repriced as the market shifts...
The Upfront Has Mutated. And Most of the Market Missed It.
The traditional TV Upfront has fundamentally shifted from selling premium inventory to selling proven business outcomes. By 2026, media buyers demand closed‑loop measurement, with retail media becoming the yardstick for performance across linear, streaming, and digital channels. Programmatic platforms now...
The Authenticity Collapse: Why Nothing Online Feels Real to Young Adults
A University of Missouri study of more than 700 adults aged 18‑24 finds a growing authenticity gap online. While 79% are comfortable with AI‑generated images and over half accept AI video, only 10% approve AI‑enhanced self‑presentation, and 63% feel social...
$250b in Ad Budget AI Reallocation: Bad News for Media.
The global advertising market is set to expand from about $1.25 trillion in 2026 to $1.5 trillion by 2030, adding $250 billion of new spend. Analysts predict AI‑native platforms could capture $200‑$300 billion of that growth, effectively reallocating most of the incremental budget. This...
Top 12: The Most-Read Myers Reports From March 2026
The Myers Report released its "Top 12" most‑read articles for March 2026, highlighting a systemic shift in business priorities. Across the pieces, empathy emerges as a core infrastructure tied to margin and trust, while integration is trumping pure innovation as the...
Performative Culture Is Expensive. Presence Is More Valuable.
Enterprises are pouring millions into high‑profile stages, resort conferences, and social‑media amplification, treating visibility as the primary brand metric. At the same time, more than 60,000 media and advertising staff were displaced in 2025, with 100,000 projected for 2026, reflecting...
The Care Economy No One Built—And the Leader Who Did. Wellthy's Lindsay Jurist-Rosner
Lindsay Jurist‑Rosner, a longtime caregiver and former media executive, launched Wellthy in 2014 to fill the missing infrastructure that supports families handling non‑medical care. The company tackles the roughly 95% of care work that falls outside the health system, offering...
Creative Is No Longer a Deliverable. Media Is No Longer a Plan. Integration Is No Longer Optional.
Peter H. Diamandis argues that intelligent systems are moving from tools to self‑designing machines, a shift echoed by Sam Altman and Dario Amodei. This convergence of exponential technologies is reshaping how creative work is produced and how media is bought....