last-ditch effort: the media has been no stranger to criticism over its coverage this election season. the explosive news on friday that the fbi has found new emails pertinent to the investigation into hillary clinton<u+2019>s use of a private email server proved no different. as the huffington post reported, a number of outlets faced backlash for initially mimicking a republican congressman<u+2019>s language that the fbi case was being <u+201c>reopened,<u+201d> rather than saying the agency is taking <u+201c>investigative steps<u+201d> to review the emails, as fbi director james comey wrote in his letter to congress. such reporting is causing confusion about what exactly the actual news is , wrote variety, and it only got more confusing over the weekend amid reports of an internal feud at the fbi and justice department over how to handle the investigation. both campaigns used the sunday news shows to try to shape the narrative , while donald trump criticized the media<u+2019>s alleged effort to bury the email probe. given the new revelations, it will be interesting to see what mr. trump has in store for a last-minute ad blitz. the republican nominee wired $10 million of his own money into his campaign on friday to help buy $25 million in new tv ads , the wall street journal reported. not that face: ad targeting has frequently raised privacy concerns for its ability to aim messages at specific groups of people. now, facebook is under fire for helping advertisers avoid them. when investigative news site propublica purchased an ad for a housing-related event from facebook<u+2019>s self-service ad portal, it had the ability to target members who were house hunting and to exclude groups of people facebook calls <u+201c>ethnic affinities.<u+201d> that meant propublica could exclude users with an <u+201c>affinity<u+201d> for african-american, asian-american or hispanic people. federal law forbids housing and employment ads from discriminating based on race and gender. facebook says its policies prohibit advertisers from <u+201c>using our targeting options to discriminate.<u+201d> steve satterfield, the company<u+2019>s privacy and public policy manager, said the <u+201c>ethnic affinities<u+201d> option isn<u+2019>t the same as race and described it as a way for marketers to both include and exclude groups to test how marketing performs. facebook followed up with a post from its head of multicultural describing the benefits of targeted messages. the atlantic wrote that the site <u+201c> has a responsibility to ensure that advertisers cannot perpetuate discrimination right under its nose,<u+201d> while the guardian called propublica<u+2019>s revelations <u+201c>a chilling illustration of the power and reach of big data .<u+201d> full of surprises: a 56-year-old, spanish-speaking republican from oklahoma, at&t ceo randall stephenson has developed a knack for stepping outside his comfort zone . his latest adventure: media and entertainment, thanks to a deal to buy time warner, owner of hbo and warner bros. as wsj reports, this isn<u+2019>t the wireless industry veteran<u+2019>s first bold move. last month, he delivered heartfelt and nuanced remarks about the black lives matter movement, advocating for social change in front of hundreds of employees. in 1992, he moved to mexico, where he learned to speak spanish and built a relationship with billionaire businessman carlos slim. if the time warner deal wins regulatory approval, he<u+2019>ll soon be a hollywood mogul<u+2014>though he has assured creative executives that they<u+2019>ll continue to oversee their operations. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ll be the first to tell you, i<u+2019>ve never run a movie studio,<u+201d> he said at last week<u+2019>s wsjd live conference . the new york times examined the inner-workings of mr. stephenson<u+2019>s failed bid to buy t-mobile and how he learned from his mistakes. since then, he has engaged more with washington and become chairman of the business roundtable. <u+201c>we<u+2019>ll get the deal done,<u+201d> he told the times. bustle<u+2019>s hustle: at a time when many media business stories are about consolidation or demise, stand-alone site bustle is offering a glimmer of hope as it proves its naysayers wrong. the three-year-old site targeting millennial women says it<u+2019>s on pace to triple revenue this year to about $30 million , surpassing its target for 2016, reports cmo today. its financial gains likely owe to a combination of funding that it invested in hiring and sales and a smart bet to lure marketing dollars away from print instead of tv like many of its digital competitors. <u+201c>so many ad dollars have been tied up in decades-old relationships with print publications which can no longer deliver the kind of value they could years ago,<u+201d> said founder bryan goldberg. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re seeing that money shift substantially now and that has resulted in a big increase in the size of our average deal.<u+201d> bustle<u+2019>s traffic is in the same camp as popsugar and refinery29, hushing critics who originally questioned the notion that mr. goldberg, a co-founder of sports site the bleacher report, knew how to create a site for women. just in time for halloween, cmo today<u+2019>s mike shields writes about how video clips of baby cannibals and scary clowns are raking in the views and brand dollars at crypt tv. the site, which debuted on facebook in april 2015, already has 1.6 million facebook fans and is generating 30 million views a month across social media. [ cmo today ] hbo ceo richard plepler doesn<u+2019>t think a deal between parent company time warner and at&t will affect the way he runs his premium entertainment network. for at&t executives, <u+201c>the last thing they have any interest in doing is messing with a winning game,<u+201d> mr. plepler said. [ nyt ] wpp is seeing the first signs of <u+201c>brexit anxiety<u+201d> as its u.k. business softened in the quarter ended in september. while u.k. comparable net sales slowed, the brexit-weakened british currency contributed to overall revenue growth of more than 23% at the global advertising holding company. [ wsj ] some publishers are nixing <u+201c>around the web ads<u+201d> that are disguised to look like links to real stories, as they rethink the effect on their brand despite the revenue. [ nyt ] jared kushner, son-in-law of donald trump and owner of the new york observer, has been building a database of 14 million trump supporters that could be the foundation of a new trump media company, writes gabriel sherman in a broader piece about mr. trump<u+2019>s final campaign stretch. [ new york magazine ] during the world series, fox sports eschewed the typical commercial break for two minute and 30 seconds of game analysis <u+201c>brought to you by t-mobile.<u+201d> the sponsored time looked more like paid editorial, or <u+201c>native<u+201d> ad content, than the traditional tv commercial. [ digiday ] the mlb and nba are enjoying popular seasons, rubbing salt into the nfl<u+2019>s wound as it grapples with falling ratings. [ cnn ] a judge dismissed criteo<u+2019>s request to serve an injunction to steelhouse, a competitor the ad tech firm accused of being involved in a click fraud scheme. [ business insider ] recode<u+2019>s staff offers up advice for twitter to help lure new users, including adding an edit button, a periscope tab and a news page. [ recode ] follow us on twitter: @wsjcmo , @digitalshields , @vranicawsj , @jackmarshall , @perlberg , @alexbruell , @srabil , @asharma subscribe to our morning newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox, at http://on.wsj.com/cmotodaysignup . corrections & amplifications: the mlb and the nba are enjoying popular seasons, according to cnn. an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated nfl was experiencing a good ratings season, instead of the mlb. write to alexandra bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com
cmo today: media scrutinized over coverage of hillary clinton email probe - wsj
alexandra bruell