Facebook, google, amson, snapchat amazon, news organizations and anyone who wants to get a message across or sell something. The media has been transformed in the last decade. The vast bulk of Advertising Money now corporate, nonprofit, political is spent on digital platforms. Most of it goes to google and facebook. Those digital providers have been able to dominate primarily because of the power of data. Theres so much data that they can target advertising and messages so that they reach us most effectively. But those companies are now under fire like never before over issues such as privacy, political bias and the sheer scale. Theyre being investigated by regulators and politicians of both parties alike. So how might the world of media now evolve . Will the digital giants continue to dominate, or will their power be cut down . How will politicians get their message across . What needs to be done to protect us all, and how are companies changing the way they do business . Well, im joined now by mark penn. He, of course, is no stranger to politics. Among other things, he was bill clintons pollster and Hillary Clintons chief strategist. Now hes managing partner at the stag welk group, a Digital Marketing investment firm. Mark, thanks for joining us, and you look very suitably attired for the south of france. Welcome. Thank you very much. Gerry this issue of advertising, these days its primarily digital, and digital is about data. And its a very effective way of companies being able to target advertising or people being able to target advertising to their consumers, but it does create privacy problems. How do we get the balance right between our desire to have advertising thats relevant to us . Well, first of all, most advertising is still conventional advertising. But all of the growth in the Advertising Industry is online as people shift their budgets. Now, think about conventional advertising for a minute. There were only so many shows and so many spots. It was a very limited good. So you would then buy an individual spot. On line advertising, though, is a virtually unlimited good because of the multiple of times that you can reach people. So the question is how do we get the right ad to right person at the right time. That requires data. Otherwise youd be receiving ads all sorts of nonsense that you have absolutely no interest in, and the market would break down. So data is the glue, the oil, the gold that makes it work. Gerry and the traditional complaint of advertisers was that they would just put an ad in a newspaper tv, and they know it would reach their audience some way, but they didnt know who they were or how to reach them. That was it. Ask youd try to come up with a clever way, you know, people who watch baseball tend to do more fishing, so youd sell them fishing rods. Now you can actually find people who are interested in fishing and sell them fishing rods. Gerry and you know that because, essentially, youve given them that information taken some picture of their fishing trip or posted some different fish theyve caught. So you have a very different indication of what theyre interested in so that the ad can match the person. And in theory, that should make for a more interesting marketplace. The question is, is that what we see happening. Gerry but the other question is how much information, how much of our personal information about our personal Online Activity or our lives do we Want Companies out this to know. Well, i think thats where youre seeing a real conflict now between the information thats necessary to drive efficient advertising and what people are comfortable giving out. I know when i one of my jobs was chief Strategy Officer at microsoft, i know people didnt like their mail being read for advertisements, and so a lot of the companies stopped doing that. Microsoft never did it. But when people say, hey, im looking for a television set, they dont mind getting television ads. So most consumers are okay with most information. They dont want their name, Social Security, date of birth out there, they dont want personally identifiable information, and they dont want their zone of privacy invaded. Gerry Tech Companies like google and facebook who do dominate Digital Advertising are getting investigated by government, and theyre raising a lot of concerns. Listen to what tim cook, ceo of apple, of course, said just last weekend giving the commencement speech at Stanford University about the dangers to privacy from what these companies are doing. If we end as normal and unavoidable that everything in our lives can be aggravated, sold or aggregated, sold or even leaked in the event of a hack, then we lose so much more than data. We lose the freedom to be human. Gerry its a threat to our freedom, to our very humanity. Do you think thats right . Well, let me give you an astounding poll finding from a recent Harvard Harris poll. And which im a codirector of. So, but we asked are you comfortable sharing your political views at your workplace or with your family. 40 now, in a democracy, in a free society, are uncomfortable sharing their own political views. So freedom and the online world where everyone gets a say, i think, is resulting in somewhat of the opposite, that instead people can be targeted more effectively in a way that can constrain their freedom. I, frankly, think we need to expand the First Amendment to workplace so that no person can be fired or thrown out of a school for something that they have said as opposed to something theyve done unless it violates the First Amendment a standard. Gerri that is going on on University Campuses and companies, people are genuinely afraid to say whether they support a political party. There are people who are afraid to say that, and what was supposed to give us enhanced freedom is doing the opposite. I dont want a school or a company to say to then have to bend if to mobs who want people fired because they said something. The First Amendment is for unpopular stances. [laughter] t not for popular stances. Gerry you say you should extend the First Amendment, presumably, it does already cover that. No. Gerry we havent seen it enforced, right . No, it actually doesnt. Gerry people can be fired for speaking out . Politics . Yes. There are very few cases where thats not the case. Gerry let me ask you about this issue, Companies Like google and facebook are facing tougher scrutiny, the European Union introduced gdpr, major constraints on sharing data. The u. S. Government is now investigating. What, in your view, what needs to be done about protecting peoples privacy . Well, i think youll eventually see additional legislation. I dont think itll happen in this gridlocked congress, so probably in two or three years. I think that legislations going to be like gdpr. Look, you should be an informed consumer. Many consumers are okay with getting Free Services in exchange for data and information. But as we say in the business, no such thing as a free app. A free app is secretly selling all sorts of information and data, and you ought to at least give a knowing, informed consent for that process. And that will set the boundaries pretty well. And then there are some things like the bill of rights. We have to be careful with basic personal identifying information and giving that out. Gerry what about companies, very quickly because weve got to take a break, google and facebook and twitter, do you think they do discriminate against people on political grounds . I think the question is not whether they do it, but how they do it. Because they have the power of the platform. And so unless we change, you know, i think that well see action on the antitrust front long before well see action on the privacy front because the regulatory agencies are moving on antitrust. The question is they realize how do they discriminate on content, whats the process. Right now theres a move towards hiring thousands of censors. I would actually rather the users have the option of what they want to hear and see rather than a prior restraint. Gerry up next, ill be talking with mark about the 2020 election, of course, and the president s chances of reelection. Were at the cannes Lyon International festival of creativity in the south of france. This is something big. This is something bigger. [ movin on up by primal scream ] that is big. Not as big as that. Sure thats big. Thats bigger. Big. Bigger. Big. Bigger. Big. But thats bigger. Wow, big. So much bigger. This is big. But thats. Well, you got this. What do all these people have in common, limu . Oug [ paper rustling ] exactly, nothing. Theyre completely different people, thats why they need customized Car Insurance from liberty mutual. Theyll only pay for what they need [ gargling ] [ coins hitting the desk ] yes, and they could save a ton. Youve done it again, limu. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. When crabe stronger. Strong, with new nicorette coated ice mint. Layered with flavor. Its the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. For an amazing taste. That outlasts your craving. New nicorette ice mint. Gerry im back with mark penn. Lets talk about 2020 president ial election. President trump launched his official Reelection Campaign this week. Youre a seasoned political pollster, youve advised president s and candidates in the past. Right now where would you rate the president s chances of reelection . Well, we look pretty much at the job Approval Rating for an incumbent. If youre at 4045 , probably going to lose. If youre at 4550 , probably going to win. If youre over 50 , youre almost definitely going to win. President trump right now is hovering around 45. Hes right on the kind of cusp. You know, i look at his numbers, 62 approve the job hes doing on the economy, only 32 like him personally. Its the biggest gap i have ever seen, and that is what is weighing the president down. Gerri do you think some of those underrate the president s approval . Maybe people are understood comfortable we just talked about people saying theyre Trump Supporters to pollsters, to stranger, but when they get into the polling booth, they are Trump Supporters. I dont trust those polls that have his ratings in the 30s, because 90 of his previous supporters support him, i dont trust anything below 43 right now. I do think hes somewhere between that 43 and 47 . I do believe the polls that show him behind biden. Look, ive run incumbent president ial campaigns before. Incumbents versus challengers, hes got to show a record, that hes got a whole plan for the next term so that he can make a difference, and he has to deal with his his personality issues to reassure suburban voters or hes not going to get them back. Gerry people arent focused on the election, so theyre not looking at what joe bidens saying or campaigning on . Well, theyre not yet focused on the Democratic Candidates. They are focused on president trump. [laughter] i do think thats going to come into focus. Hes had no opponent, so essentially the president is running against himself at this point, and hes winning or losing depending upon how you look at it x. The Democratic Candidates will have the first debate, and that will begin to create a focus on how theyre all doing. I think so far youre seeing as expected, but mayor pete is the surprise of the pack so far. Gerry just quickly, again, youve advised incumbent president s. How important is the economy . The economy in the u. S. Is strong right now, people feel pretty good about the economy. Is it likely, is it even conceivable that a president could lose with an economy . Its conceivable because of the numbers i outlined. Right now hes getting incredible performance numbers on the economy. The American Public recognizes its his economy, not obamas. But those personal ratings are the lowest ive seen for somebody with those economic ratings. Hes got to close that gap if he wants to do what normally happens which is the economy is the number one variable. Gerry you mentioned mayor pete, joe biden, is it bidens to lose, and if its not, then its mayor pete or Bernie Sanders . Who do you think is plausible i think its a little early. I think biden is a frontrunner. You dont like to be a democratic frontrunner, as i can tell you [laughter] gerry with hillary clinton. Theres 23 other candidates. That means theres 22 that are going to to be fighting to bring you down, and thats why biden is avoiding some of these places where hes just going to be attacked. I think hes ahead of the pack, but i think Kamala Harris has a good opportunity, i think sanders and warren have a good opportunity, and mayor pete, i think they may well have a convention where nobody gets the majority on the first ballot, and deals are going to have to be made. Gerry what would make biden stumble . Well, look, i think people are going to see him, and part of the big momentum for biden was that he was a moderate. I think if he shifts too far to left to try to please the left, he wont pick up any votes from sanders or warren, hell just throw away his own. Gerry thank you very much. We shall see. Theres lots more political commentary and analysis to come over the next year and a half. 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Id rather not. Gerry this week in cannes is all about creativity, and its not just the modern media and Digital Companies seeking that creativity. All businesses are looking for new ways to reinvent themselves too. Traditionally, they turn to Management Consultants to help them innovate their brands and products, but there are new ways of achieving that. Joining me now to talk about her business and the way its using a very new way is the founder of mesa and codera. Barbara, welcome. How do you work with companies to change the way they do business . Okay. The way we look at it, you have a problem, and you have to assemble a team that has every single piece of knowledge and everything that you need to solve that problem. Most of the people people are not working like this. They get a problem, and they say im going to work with my team, and thats wrong. The first thing is the problem itself, and thats gerry youve worked with some of the Biggest Companies in the world. Yes. Google, cocacola, netflix gerry and the companys called mess a saw for a reason, its spanish and portuguese. Perfect. We believe tables are the perfect combination between pleasure and commitment. And we think work should be like that. In fact, we believe work is the best thing in the world and should be, but most of the time people deal with it as if it was a boring thing, you know . It was the least exciting part of life. And sometimes we joke that when people want to make work great, they bring out all the things that have nothing to do with work like pingpong tables. And at mesa what we do is we bring out everything that makes work right, the opportunity of creating something new, getting to know new people and also working with every single piece of knowledge that you need which makes a huge difference. Gerry literally bring people around a table, who comes together and works with the company . A lot of different partners, something that a lot of companies are not doing. They have talent spread around their organization, and they dont use it. And we also bring experts, people who are running some of the most extraordinary companies in the world to Work Together with the teams organization. Gerri its not just brainstorming, you actually work, you produce new products and ideas. Yes. Its pretty unbelievable how much you can get them if you have everyone. We believe in doing over anything else, its not about talking, its actually executing something. For example, working with the Biggest Company in latin america, we actually created a whole gym, the whole facility, the whole Training System everything in five days. When we finished gerry literally created a physical gym, treadmills and whatever else in five days. We started with the problem, how can we get a new gerry did you bring in people from the company and people from outside with ideas, experts in their field . We actually only bring in people who are doers, people who are [inaudible] so its not exactly a debating environment. We actually believe that people tend to think that you need to in order to make strictly decisions, we prove over and over again the faster you move into execution, the better. Gerry and whats your track record of working over this fiveday period around the table, how successful has it been . Weve done, weve run 14 methods 164 methods, and only 17 of them didnt see the light of day. We never say were delivering manager, but we actually consider a failure for ourself is if that is not adopted by the company. Even though i have no responsibility over it after its done, but i think that speaks of the huge success. Gerry just very briefly, explain why that works better than a traditional bunch of Management Consultants coming in with their clipboards and saying this is what you should do . I think the trick is in doing instead of trying to plan. I see a lot of people wasting a lot of time bringing in really talented people, and then theyll talk about stuff. And we dont really solve complex problems just talking about them. You really have to move into executing. Gerry thank you very much for joining me. Thank you. Gerry just ahead, how diversity is lacking in the Big Media Companies in a very particular way and why that needs to change. Stay with us. Introducing the first of its kind lexus ux and ux f sport, also available in hybrid allwheel drive. Lease the 2019 ux 200 for 329 month for 36 months. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. At comcast, we didnt build the nations largest gigspeed network just to make businesses run faster. We built it to help them go beyond. Because beyond risk. Welcome to the neighborhood, guys. There is reward. Beyond work and life. Who else could he be . There is the moment. Beyond technology. There is human ingenuity. Every day, comcast business is helping businesses go beyond the expected, to do the extraordinary. Take your business beyond. Doctor bob, what should i take for back pain . Before you take anything, i recommend applying topical relievers first. Salonpas lidocaine patch blocks pain receptors for effective, nonaddictive relief. Salonpas lidocaine. Patch, rollon or cream. Hisamitsu. But some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. Fisher investments tailors portfolios to your goals and needs. Some only call when they have something to sell. Fisher calls regularly so you stay informed. And while some advisors are happy to earn commissions whether you do well or not. Fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. Maybe thats why most of our clients come from other money managers. Fisher investments. Clearly better money management. Gerri the media landscape is changing almost daily. Digital consumption is soaring while traditional print and Even Television engagement continues to decline. Giant Tech Companies dominate the advertising market, but theyre facing rising scrutiny from regulators over privacy and other issues. More and more people are viewing content and subscribers from netflix to spotify and, yes, to wall street journal, im glad to say. One thing that isnt changing much is the cultural can and political message of most of that content. The big media, entertainment and Tech Companies with a few notable exceptions still lean in one clear political direction, leftwards. Theres much emphasis on on the need for greater diversity in media, gender, ethnic, cultural diversity. And its too bad there isnt as much emphasis on political and ideological diversity. Well, thats it for us this week from the south of france. Be sure to follow me on twitter, facebook and instagram, and ill be back next week with more indepth interviews right here on the wall street journal at large. Thank you very much for joining us. [narrator] the following is a paid presentation for lifelock with norton, paid for by symantec. Angie harmon is known for her Television Roles as a lawyer and detective, but like the rest of us in her real life shes concerned about identity theft. Today shes going to help us learn how it happens and how we can help protect ourselves. Look around, everywhere we go were all on our phones and laptops, we shop, bank, fill out forms and applications all online. We give away our names, birthdays, passwords, even our Social Security numbers. In the connected world we live in our personal information is everywhere, what happens if that information gets in the hands of identity thieves