1/ I run Media Matters (a media watchdog organization). I want to say something about @ewarren's departure from the race. Horserace, polls, nomination aspect aside aside, we will all feel the effects of Warren's absence from the race, whether you realize it or not. Here's why...
2/ No matter what the issue is, the way that media is dealing with it is going to shape the outcome. Almost nothing you care about or work on is not in some way connected to the media.
3/ No other Democratic candidate has demonstrated as deep and consistent an understanding of the information asymmetry that we are all dealing with nor a recognition of just how bad the right-wing media truly is. There are lots I can point to, but one example sticks out to me:
4/ Last spring, @MMFA was in middle of one of its biggest campaigns ever. After tussling with Tucker Carlson, we were trying to convince media buyers/advertisers at Fox News' upfronts (an event where networks sell 65-70% of their ads for following year) to drop Fox entirely.
5/ We (and other activists) made great progress. Fox fought back hard by actively soliciting Democratic presidential candidates to "partner" with for town hall events. Fox desperately needed these events to try and convince advertiser that it was "safe to come back in the water."
6/ Some Dem candidates, despite having all the information ahead of time and full recognition how Fox News would use the event, did the town halls anyway. Other candidates quietly refused to do the town halls them (thank you very much, Senator Harris. Much appreciated)
7/ But, few high profile town halls Fox secured were actually starting to the turn the tide. We were struggling to hold the line with advertisers.
8/ We only needed to hold the line another month or so too until the upfronts ended. But it was so hard given that some of these candidates were doing the town halls and thus bolstering Fox's case.
9/ Warren not only rejected the town halls, she started making public case for why town halls were a bad idea. She didn't need to do that. She got no benefit from going out there and explaining the business of media buying and how Fox was modifying its sales pitch. But she did it
10/ I am proud to say that Fox News was one of the only media companies in 2019 that FAILED to sell off all of its ads at its upfronts. And in total, Fox News lost hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising revenue. (Be sure to let that soak in a second).
11/ Warren's public rebuke and explanations froze the gains that Fox News had been making with advertisers. It was a firewall and helped us continue the campaign and ultimately be successful.
12/ Without Warren doing what she did back then and in the way that she did it, Fox News with its phalanx of Democratic presidential town halls would have overwhelmed our efforts. And, I bet they would have ended up successfully completing their upfronts, erasing all the progress
13/ Beyond the Fox campaign itself, it also helped me. That was truly one of the worst few weeks of my professional life. There was so much hard work that went into that campaign.
14/ And, Democratic presidential campaigns were literally partnering with Fox right in middle of upfront sales (they wouldn't even wait until sales period was over!) and helping Fox undo all success Media Matters was having. I felt so frustrated, disappointed, angry and isolated.
15/ Then bam! Here comes this presidential candidate who stepped up, going above and beyond.
16/ In that moment, Warren not only buttressed the campaign, but she buoyed my spirits when I really did need it.
17/ And all that was so natural and normal for her that I don't even think she thinks what she did was extraordinary at all. She just took information, processed it, make decisions based on it and then worked to explain to others with no expectation of benefit to herself.
18/ The media matters. So yea, we will all suffer without someone like @ewarren in the race that sees it and fights those media related fights that need fighting (especially against right-wing media) so that all the other fights that come after it are a bit more achievable.
19/ And with that, here's Warren explaining why it was a bad idea to partner with Fox (just before this part of the clip, she explained how she was doing a lot of other events to reach conservatives and talk to conservatives and thus the idea that anyone needs Fox is bunk).
20/ Thank you, @ewarren. Onward!
21/ (As reminder: Media Matters is a neutral; I am as well. This was a thread about Warren's work and how it directly touched the mission of the organization as well as me personally. Don't read more into than that. Ty).
