Every year around this time in March, Donna Speciale, President of Ad Sales for WarnerMedia, brings together her salespeople, to share with them the latest priorities from the brand teams and how they will go to market, all to rally them into the Upfront season.

It’s the nonsense that simply won’t go away.  Oddly, that’s for a good reason.  It is part of the political zeitgeist.  Partisan positions at odds don’t really have to make any sense.  Republicans, citing regulatory over-reach, eliminated the Democratic regulations of the internet … in a lot of pages, they, the Wheeler Democratic majority on the Federal Confusion Commission, regulated the internet under Title I … kind of like the once-upon-a-time monopolistic telephone company (you know, the one that originally called itself American Telephone & Telegraph … not today’s company run by Randall Stephenson).  But today’s AT&T (originally Southwestern Bell which now owns DirecTV, U-Verse and Warner Media) isn’t a monopoly.  And it wasn’t one when Wheeler’s FCC regulated the internet.  Nor was it one when Ajit Pai’s FCC de-regulated it and essentially reverted regulations back to the “light touch” of Wheeler’s predecessor as Chair, Michael Powell.

Media agencies are facing major challenges from media vendors going direct and from their clients setting up in-house operations.  That’s to name but two. It’s a good time to ask, what exactly are agencies for?

Throughout Women’s History Month, the media has been calling attention to the accomplishments of women in all areas of life.  For purposes of this column and those that will follow it throughout the month, I am going to confine my thoughts about the history of women to those who worked in television and advanced their fellow females on-screen, behind the scenes, or both -- at a time when women weren’t exactly welcome to do so.  The women who come immediately to mind are the major female television stars of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s whose work changed the game in one way or another.  I am struck by the fact that they accomplished so much – often through the careful creation and protection of iconic television characters who motivated and inspired millions of women to reach for more in life -- while never failing to entertain.  I am also struck – stunned in fact – that they do not often come up in present-day conversation about limitations placed on women.  How did they accomplish what they did, when they did?

Jack Myers, founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity, spoke with Publicis Media Americas CEO, Tim Jones, at the 2019 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Induction Experience, held January 9th at ARIA Resort and Casino during the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Have to love Minjae Ormes' Twitter bio: "Neither a Ninja or Minaj."  But based on my recent conversation with her, I'm still going with "marketing ninja," evidenced in part by the smart out-of-home campaign she implemented in L.A. to launch Verizon's Visible, a new disruptor phone service.  As the current Chief Marketing Officer for Visible, the previous Global Head of Partnerships for YouTube and an all-around ally to aspiring female leaders everywhere, Ormes is blazing a trail across the digital landscape with her own unique brand of "disruptive marketing."  In this episode of Insider InSites, hear how her journey as an immigrant, academic and industry professional led to success in building communities and communicating with consumers (even through some old school means).  If the edited topline below leaves you wanting more, the full version of the podcast is available here -- or listen anywhere you get your podcasts: Spotify, iHeartRadio, GooglePodcasts, Apple, Stitcher and TuneIn.