Contact: kyle@kylecommunications.com

FAKE(D) POLITICAL ADS

In the 2024 legislative session, at least 45 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C., introduced AI bills. And 31 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands adopted resolutions or enacted legislation. That includes Indiana, which created an AI Task Force.

Most of the laws are getting bipartisan support.

An FCC proposal of 46 pages seeks to bring uniformity and stability to this patchwork of state laws, according to the commission’s website. A lot of legal definitions and commissioner statements are included.

There are already ripples here in the gubernatorial race.

A ad from a photo in the South Bend newspaper showed altered signage by the D candidate supporters – probably meaning mostly nothing to Hoosier voters.

The images show D supporters carrying a NO sign over an image of gas stoves (but were really images of coffee makers). If you want to understand why gas stoves are a symbol for the GOP, you can read more here from the Public Health Law Center. It is byzantine and laughable. Therefore, making a poor choice of altered substance for a campaign ad in general. Or as the Wall Street Journal shrieked: “They are coming for your stoves.”

Is a gas stove really a flash point for a culture war that translates on the state level? The Associated Press dubbed it the “stove wars” as Republicans in Congress introduced bills in 2023 to “protect gas stoves from overzealous government regulations.”

The conservative Heritage Foundation wrote: “The Department of Energy’s controversial conventional cooktops rule would introduce draconian energy-efficiency standards for gas stoves, making them unaffordable for many Americans. Gas stoves are the top choice for many people, because the temperature can be quickly adjusted. It’s not surprising that the prospect of eliminating gas stoves is unpopular, and that Americans want the government to stay out of their kitchens.”

I am betting if a poll were done of Hoosiers on this "issue" few would be aware. And if they are, I doubt most Hoosiers would react in such a way as to sway a vote in November. Statista reported last year that electric stoves are overall more common in the U.S., with 68 percent of households owning one opposite 38 percent which have a gas stove. In a majority of states, electric stove ownership surpasses 70 percent of households.

Better yet – the gas stove ad assumes some knowledge of this ridiculous kerfuffle. Braun tries obliquely to tie it to a McCormick proposal for a new environmental justice group in state government.

Do media companies have culpability for not doing better screening in altered ads? Here’s the take from the Broadcast Law Blog with some recent references to lawsuits.

This was a fun ball for media to kick around before the televised debate scheduled by WXIN/FOX59 (that excluded the Libertarian candidate). The ad, without and with the disclaimer, did run on the station for this debate.

As for how AI altered ads are handled elsewhere – here is Meta’s policy.

And it isn’t just the GOP taking advantage of manipulating what you see online. Axios uncovered some shade with Kamala Harris’ campaign rewriting media headlines without consent and making them look news-like via Google. More here.

Do altered ads make a difference to you? We'll see come election time.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“When you stop asking ‘why’ – you really get into trouble.” – Author Ta-Nehisi Coates on the “What’s Now?” podcast discussing his new book “The Message.”

ETHICS SCHMETHICS

Via WFYI: The Department of Justice ordered Hendricks County to pay $300,000 and change its policies after alleging the county illegally denied zoning approval to an Islamic organization’s proposed development. The organization, Al Hussnain, wanted to develop a mixed-use community that would include a religious seminary, school, and residential housing at two different locations in Hendricks County. The Justice Department alleges that the county denied Al Hussnain’s applications by citing concerns that lacked a legitimate basis. The DOJ also said that in denying the development zoning approval, the county departed from its own zoning ordinances and treated the application worse than similar applications brought by non-Muslim developers. It adds that the county did so after community pushback. “Animus directed towards the Muslim community masked under the guise of ordinary zoning restrictions violates the law and runs contrary to the principles of fairness and tolerance that are core in our democracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division. The DOJ said the county’s actions violated both the Fair Housing Act and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The DOJ ordered Hendricks County to pay $295,000 in compensation to Al Hussnain and $5,000 to the United States to resolve a lawsuit the DOJ had brought against it. The county is also required to adopt Fair Housing and Religious Land Use Policies, train its employees on the requirements of the FHA and RLUIPA, and establish a plan for resolving future complaints.

ICYMI: Another spotlight for Indiana that makes Hoosiers look like mean twits. In Will & Harper, a travel doc that shares Will Farrell’s friendship with transitioning friend Harper Steele, the duo stops and visits a Pacers game in Indiana and have a momentary hob nob with Gov. Eric Holcomb. They learn later the Hoosier governor had signed a law banning all gender affirming care for minors. It was a moment. If you haven’t seen this one, it’s worth viewing. Their worst transphobia experience was in Texas – but a cruel social media post was also pulled out from that visit to the Pacers game. 

MEDIA MOVES

ON THE LOCAL FRONT

From the Rick Gevers newsletter: "WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, IN...NICOLE BLOCK has left this Tegna owned NBC affiliate. Emails sent to her station email are returned with this message: Nicole Block is no longer employed at TEGNA. She joined the station two years ago from KDKA-TV(CBS) in Pittsburgh where she was the assistant news director for two years. At WTHR, she reported to Director of Content SCOTT HUMS." (Nicole had been posting some pseudo warnings on this via her LinkedIn profile as well – by quoting Biblical passages.)

Media Win via WFYI: A federal judge has temporarily halted enforcement of a 2023 Indiana law that criminalizes anyone who gets within 25 feet of an on-duty police officer after being told to stop. Lawmakers argued HEA 1186 was meant to protect police. A group of media organizations and Indianapolis newspaper and television stations sued the state last year over the law. Judge James Sweeney said the measure is unconstitutionally vague. He said it allows police to order someone to move back at least 25 feet for any or no reason at all. “Simply being within 25 feet of a police officer is not a crime,” Sweeney wrote. “And indeed, important First Amendment rights are regularly exercised within 25 feet of law enforcement every single day.” Sweeney also said the law doesn’t identify any behavior that would require police to order someone to move back.

Carrie Cline, formerly of WTHR, formerly of IPS and now at IndyGo, just got promoted to chief public affairs officer for the bus system in Marion County.

Sad but True: The Indiana Daily Student (IDS) has come to the end of its weekly print run at IU-Bloomington. According to the paper: “The IU Media School plans to eliminate the Indiana Daily Student’s weekly print edition beginning this spring as a key part of its plan for student media, claiming the move will save money and help make a converged IDS, WIUX and IU Student Television operation revenue neutral within three years.” The school has been bleeding money for years – and now coming to terms. This article claims there was little input into the decision. No doubt faculty and staff will be losing jobs as a result.

The Times of Northwest Indiana has a new executive editor who was introduced to the newsroom staff at the Munster office in September. Kathy Chaney, 51, will be the first Black female executive editor in the Times history when she joins the newsroom on Oct. 1. Amazing that it took this long – but there you have it.

Via Greg Weaver on LinkedIn: “I'm pleased to announce that I have taken on a new role at IBJ Media. I'm the new editor of Indiana Lawyer.” So he’s moving over from the Indianapolis Business Journal, a sister publication. You can still reach Greg at his current email: gweaver@ibj.com.

Also at the IBJ, John Russell announced his retirement at the end of this year. But he also noted he might be available for freelance work.

Exiting WTHR-NBC is Anchor Gina Glaros, who announced her departure on X. Her family runs a local ice cream shop and she said she plans on sticking around Indy.

Indy J Couple: Kayla Dwyer (IndyStar) and Peter Blanchard (Mirror Indy) are newly hitched and made that legal in the state of Pennsylvania.

About the News Director at WISH-TV: Brady Gibson was flown down to Miami to ump for the HS All American game held at the home of the Miami Marlins.

Presto Fonto: Chalkbeat Indiana gave up its adventures in font land after readers objected. They have assured their digital readers that they are going back to an easier-to-read sans serif saying “we heard you.”

Amber Hankins, a former lifestyle TV host for WISH, is the new managing editor of Hendricks County ICON, a hyper-local lifestyle magazine for the county.

Overlooked/Underreported: “IU’s School of Medicine is the largest in the U.S., and the OB-GYN residency program is one of the Midwest’s largest. Indiana couldn’t offer a safe and legal place for residents to train in spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss so they had to come up with something new. They are now required to leave Indiana to complete their training, costing more time and money.”

Newsmaker Micah Beckwith, second in command to GOP candidate Mike Braun as they come in a pair, is proposing an advisory God Squad in state government (my description – not his). Here’s the breakdown from the Indiana Capital Chronicle – with no names being divulged yet. He also recently called the D gubernatorial candidate a “jezebel spirit.” And yes, there are already coffee cups and t-shirts.

Nexstar decided not to include Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Donald Rainwater to debate with other gubernatorial candidates. Rainwater said on X: “Since I will not be able to participate in the Fox59/CBS4 debate on Wednesday, October 2, I need to reach voters before early voting starts who do not know about me from social media. The most cost-effective method that we have found to do this is by sending text messages to registered voters.” Nexstar habitually excludes three-party candidates in debates across its U.S. footprint of stations.

Food News: His Place Eatery in Indy was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" this month. Two locations in the city. Check them out on IG.

My Two Cents: Will The Pharos-Tribune in Logansport be interested in citing or commenting on the loose “reporting” done by WXIN-FOX on the impact of the growing legal migrant population there? This was some of the worst TV reporting I’ve seen in a while – but you can absolutely guess how this happened in a news meeting after Springfield.

NEARBY MEDIA

In Grand Rapids, MI: A federal judge overseeing a defamation case brought against Nexstar Media Group by two former news managers will be allowed to proceed. A judge denied Nexstar’s motions to dismiss, saying former Wood TV News Director Stanton Tang and his assistant news director Amy Fox met certain legal burdens in order to move forward with separate but related defamation cases against the broadcaster. Tang and Fox lost their jobs last year after distributing a memo that was viewed as critical of the station’s coverage of Pride Month events in the greater Grand Rapids area. The memo reminded newsroom employees that station viewership consisted of people who identify politically as conservative and encouraged them to better weigh whether an event was worth covering.

In St. Louis, MO: Who took over this alternative paper that closed in May? This story too long and convoluted to abbreviate, but here’s the long form of it from the local NPR station there.

In Cincinnati, OH: Turns out a well-known WCPO anchor in Cincinnati will not be charged after a family brawl at a popular restaurant. Kyle Raleigh, the son of WCPO meteorologist Steve Raleigh, was indicted on felony charges in connection to a violent incident that occurred at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse on June 22.⁠ Raleigh knowingly caused physical harm to an unnamed victim or victims "while under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage."⁠ Troy Morrow, the victims' son, is also being indicted on one count of menacing, which is a misdemeanor.

Chicago Newsmaker: Hmm. Optics non answer. (via NBC Chicago in an interview with the mayor on IG - worth evaluating)

ON THE NATIONAL FRONT

Netflix experienced a surge in cancellations after its chairman gave a $7 million donation to a pro-Kamala Harris Super Pac and publicly endorsed the candidate. According to reports, customers in the U.S. canceled their Netflix subscriptions at a rate of 2.8 percent in July — higher than any other month since February, according to a Bloomberg report. Subscribers also likely axed their accounts en masse because the streaming giant killed its basic plan — which was its lowest-priced ad-free option — in the same month.

CNN has put a paywall on its website as TV revenues decline.

The Department of Justice is considering a court-ordered Google breakup due to its monopolistic search engine Chrome.

The FCC has approved of Audacy’s plan to emerge from debtor-in-possession status — a move that makes Soros Fund Management the controlling interest holder in the audio content creation and distribution company founded by the Field family. The Commission's Memorandum Opinion and Order was adopted in a divisive 3-2 vote with Republicans disapproving the deal over Soros' ties to liberal and Democratic causes.

Also, the FCC granted approval for SpaceX to temporarily operate its direct-to-cell Starlink service in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. Starlink's cellular service went online on Saturday in North Carolina. Though Starlink is officially partnering with T-Mobile, the emergency service supports phones regardless of carrier. Just one day earlier, the U.S. House said it’s investigating the commission’s decision to deny SpaceX satellite internet unit Starlink $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies. The FCC has until Oct. 21 to respond with documents.

Speaking of Elon Musk (owner of X and SpaceX), the Supreme Court Justices denied to hear an appeal relating to an appeal from X/Musk, over the election interference investigation into former president Trump. The justices did not provide any reasoning for the denial and none dissented from the opinion. X argues that a nondisclosure order preventing the company from informing Trump about a warrant issued by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.

And Musk’s love affair with the former president continues with his new testosterone-charged political action committee called America PAC. He has poured $8.2 million into key congressional races in a bid to preserve House Republicans’ majority in November, according to finance reports. And he’s spent more than $77 million in support of Trump against Vice President Kamala Harris. Just like bazillionaires buying newspapers, what could possibly go wrong here?

DirecTV is buying Dish Network, ending multiple decades of on-and-off talks about the satellite services merging. Both companies have struggled to retain subscribers. Under the deal, DirecTV will pay Dish’s owner, EchoStar, just $1 for Dish in exchange for assuming its billions of dollars in debt. Private equity firm TPG, meanwhile, will acquire AT&T’s remaining 70 percent stake in DirecTV.

Also, Dish has submitted a request for monetary sanctions against Soo Kim and his Standard General, calling his lawsuit against the FCC for alleged civil rights violations — a legal action that includes Dish and head Charlie Ergen as non-government defendants — a costly response from "an entitled entrepreneur" who simply didn't get what he wanted.

Scripps is laying off 200 people as it closes its broadcast news channel. The CEO blamed the cuts on financial challenges, noting “the prospects for the necessary revenue growth haven't materialized,” since the company launched the 24-hour news channel. It will shutter by Nov. 15. Scripps launched this initiative three years ago originally as Newsy until it rebranded to Scripps News. About 50 staffers will remain to contribute coverage for local broadcast stations across the country. WRTV in Indy is a Scripps station.

Some 75 individuals across ABC News and the ABC-owned stations broadcast TV group held by The Walt Disney Company are reportedly losing their jobs, as part of a layoff at the Burbank-headquartered company. WRTV in Indy is the ABC station.

NBC Host Hoda Kotb announced in late September she is leaving her perch to pursue other endeavors (hinting at a possible role in the wellness business). This should make for much sloppy TV with tears and homage video goodbyes (er, ratings).

HAVE A TIP? SEND IT TO KYLE@KYLECOMMUNICATIONS.COM. AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR READING.