The Town with Matthew Belloni
Hollywood’s Midterm Election Aftermath and James Gunn Out at DC
Mixed — shifts registermedium candor
Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw said the midterm result could affect congressional scrutiny of media companies, a federal production tax incentive, and LA production policy, while Belloni later reported James Gunn and Peter Safran were out at DC. The register was mixed: the political and deal talk was cautious and speculative, while the DC segment was more concrete but still leaned on unanswered process questions. Watch whether a lame-duck tax credit moves, whether Congress signals Skydance or CNN scrutiny, and how Skydance structures DC under Jeremy Latcham.
Board status: Sponsor or conflict flagged. Entertainment advertising in an entertainment business episode — The recording promoted FX's Adults, Possible Love, and The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth while the editorial conversation analyzed Hollywood politics, production policy, and franchise management.
AdTechGod
Smarter Advertising Decisions, Not Just Automation: With John Hoctor of Newton Research
Mixed — shifts registermedium candor
John said Newton Research uses analytics-heavy agentic workflows to help agencies make better media decisions rather than simply automate dashboards. The register is mixed, with candid founder history alongside product-forward language, and the transcript has apparent jumps in two important answers. Watch whether named partners and customers publish concrete workflow results or case studies.
Board status: Affiliations named, no board tie. AdTech God: Host of the AdTech GodPod, presenting the guest as an AI leader and asking questions about Newton Research, agency workflows, partnerships, and the future of advertising. · John Hockter: CEO and co-founder of Newton Research, explaining his company, naming customers and partners, defending the relevance of agencies, and stating that Newton is hiring.
