When yesterday’s news cycle was disrupted by the unlikely headline that of all the folks in the United States with a bar degree somehow Florida congressman Matt Goetz emerged as the choice of the incoming president for Attorney General, it sent shock waves and even some disgust through pundits and even some elected officials. THE BULWARK’s Mark Caputo tried to put it into some degree of perspective in his most recent newsletter:
Of all the lawyers Trump interviewed to be his next attorney general, the Florida congressman checked the most boxes. Gaetz is a loyal, longtime adviser, an acid-tongued debate champ, and—perhaps most important to the oft-investigated former and future president—an aggrieved target of the feds. Gaetz was the subject of a federal sex-crime probe that he survived and labeled a Deep State fix.
As Trump began formulating the type of individual he wanted atop the DOJ, he was drawn to those attributes and to the idea that Gaetz would help him investigate the investigators.
As the ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Meg Kinnard detailed, he has a paper-thin legal resume that she tersely summed up with two telling sentences:
Gaetz earned a degree from the William & Mary Law School in 2007, going on to work for a firm in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
The Florida bar briefly suspended his license in 2021 due to unpaid fees, but the association’s website on Wednesday listed him as a member in good standing.
Well, he was a bit preoccupied that year as he was being investigated by House ethics committees, and he actually did get married around the same time. So maybe that Florida bar bill got lost among all of the other paperwork.
The WASHINGTON EXAMINER’s Tiana Lowe Doescher offered up her own take yesterday:
All in all, Gaetz has spent a grand total of two years practicing law, during which he didn’t handle criminal cases, let alone prosecute one. Needless to say, the response among Republicans on the Hill has included audible laughter, gasps, and disbelief.
But as Kinnard noted, that’s superceded by a far more crucial line item: loyalty.
Having just won his fifth term representing much of the Florida Panhandle, Gaetz, 42, has been a frequent defender of Trump on cable news.
He traveled to New York earlier this year when Trump stood trial in his hush money case. He shared a photo of himself and other congressional Republicans standing behind Trump. His caption echoed the language Trump once used to address the extremist Proud Boys: “Standing back, and standing by, Mr. President.”
But as someone who has seen this played out in the media landscape for decades, I’m far less surprised than so many folks on the Hill seem to be. I once saw a top-tier research position at a studio filled by an out-of-work salesperson who had zero experience with ratings beyond regurgitating them to make a deal. But the personwas fiercely loyal to the head of the operation who was once his colleague, and in this situation that was more than enough. It also didn’t hurt that he happened to be married to a top-market programming decision maker. After all, you never know how much pillow talk can impact deals.
And I’m still seeing the concept of loyalty being both a saving grace and a strategy by yet another research executive who’s lately been in news cycles in that world as much as say, Matt Goetz.
ADVERTISING AGE’s Parker Herren dropped this teaser headline yesterday in front of their substantially expensive paywall which is the latest salvo fired in what has become :
Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao sends letter to clients addressing ‘unfortunate turbulence’
In a nutshell, Rao is apparently seeking the support of media buyers to remain loyal to Nielsen and reject what their now former client Paramount Global has been offering as proof of performance. Earlier this week, the company’s skeleton PR crew referenced Videoamp data in crowing about the success of the premiere of the (potentially) final half-season of YELLOWSTONE. As POP CULTURE.’s Allison Schonter gushed:
Airing across eight cable networks as well as CBS, the Paramount Network series continued its trend of reaching new ratings milestones. According to data from VideoAmp, per The Wrap, the episode drew in 16.4 million viewers across all of cable and CBS, marking the largest first-night audience in the show’s history. The viewership data, which includes three additional repeats on Paramount Network and CMT, does not include streaming or a further breakdown, including viewership numbers for Paramount Network VideoAmp, per The Wrap, the episode drew in 16.4 million viewers across all of cable and CBS, marking the largest first-night audience in the show’s history.
Except, as COWGIRL’s Jillian Sinclair reported, that’s a substantially higher number than what she was able to obtain from Nielsen:
According to Nielsen data, the initial airing of the premiere brought in impressive numbers. The episode drew 5.4 million viewers on CBS and another 5.85 million on Paramount Network. Factoring in additional broadcasts and encore showings on networks like MTV, CMT, and Pop, the total viewership climbed to an astounding 13.62 million.
Rao’s missive attempted to appeal to the mentality of media buyers who like to use lower-than-projected numbers as leverage to extract extra considerations from nervous networks. According to Herron’s article, the jury is apparently split down the middle between those that willing to consider Videoamp as an accurate source and those who he hopes will remain loyal to his gold standard.
Rao himself knows the concept of loyalty. In some ways, in the same manner that Matt Goetz does.
After all, he’s been the focus of a few “witch hunts” of his own. Recall what the NEW YORK POST’s Josh Kosman and Alexandra Steigrad wrote about him in that apparently fateful year of 2021:
TV-ratings firm Nielsen hired outside lawyers in September to investigate its No. 2 executive for having an affair with a company lawyer, The Post has learned.
The internal probe — sparked by an anonymous whistleblower — found that Chief Operating Officer Karthik Rao didn’t violate the company’s code of conduct, sources said. But the alleged affair with the Nielsen lawyer — who also got a promotion during the trysts — has raised eyebrows during an era of “Me Too” corporate scrutiny.
The attorney eventually broke up with Rao and left the company, a source familiar with the matter told The Post. After the breakup, Rao sent the woman a rambling email with the subject line “My thoughts…..” saying, “I have done the work to know it is not your fault.”
Rao not only survived the scrutiny, but was promoted to run the whole place in 2023 when his boss David Kenny departed the company after it was sold. Apparently, he’s pretty darn loyal to those who bought it, and is fiercely determined to win his quixotic battle over price with Paramount, as we’ve previously detailed.
But as long as there is acceptance of a Nielsen alternative and a major company appears both hell-bent and tone-deaf to employing it on the rare occasions when they have something to brag about, Rao’s ability to deliver on expectations–and perhaps the magnitude of the eventual buyouts he and his overinvested superiors might eventually get–is somewhat compromised.
One would hope this standoff will eventually get solved. I’ve gone on record that once the holidays are over and upfront planning for 2025-26 commences something will finally happen. The “unfortunate turbulence” is a distraction that no one actually trying to do their job–even intrepid Ad Age reporters–really needs.
But if it does happen to escalate and become an even greater cause celebre, Rao may just find a kindred spirit to appeal to in the guise of AG Matt Goetz. And we kinda know how his boss feels about the likes of CBS these days.
Consider that my two cents, Karthik. The next move’s on you.
Until next time…