The future of millennial-news network Cheddar post-Altice acquisition and layoffs

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for October 16. I'm Lauren Johnson, a senior advertising reporter at Business Insider. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Send me feedback or tips at ljohnson@businessinsider.com.

Today's news: Inside the future of millennial-news network Cheddar, the FBI interviews former Ruder Finn employees, and the ad experts up for hire.

Inside Cheddar, the millennial-news network trying to find its footing after a $200 million exit and big layoffs during the pandemic

• Ashley Rodriguez spoke with Cheddar's founder, former employees, and analysts about the future of the "post-cable-network" model the company was built on after it sold to Altice last year and went through a round of layoffs this year.
• Founder Jon Steinberg said the network was focusing its distribution efforts on free streaming-TV services like Samsung TV Plus and growing direct and programmatic ad dollars.
• But some insiders questioned whether ad revenue alone could sustain Cheddar's growth — and how much more Altice is willing to invest in making the network a household name.

Read the entire story here.

The FBI probed public relations giant Ruder Finn about prospective work for the Chinese consulate, former employees say

• Sean Czarnecki reports that the FBI questioned former employees at public-relations firm Ruder Finn about work the agency pitched for the Chinese consulate.
• The FBI asked the former employees questions like who was involved from the firm and the consulate and what the potential scope of work was.
• Lobbyists and representatives for foreign governments, including PR firms, are required to register with the US government, and the US government has been stepping up enforcement of this requirement, said Joshua Rosenstein, a lawyer at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock.

Read the full story here.

Meet 18 top advertising and marketing pros who are expert at positioning brands, persuading consumers — and are on the market

• Michael Kaminer identified 18 respected pros on the market who can help confront brand challenges in these turbulent times.
• While the pandemic has significantly cut ad spend, agencies and brands still need talent.
• The list includes agency veterans like Ed Gorman, formerly of Carat; and ex WarnerMedia CMO Chris Spadaccini.

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• Inside Dallas ad agency The Richards Group, whose founder just stepped down after a racist remark caused clients like Home Depot and Motel 6 to flee (Business Insider)
• Meet the 11 execs who are leading Walmart's effort to challenge Amazon's advertising business (Business Insider)
• Amazon abandoned Prime Day promotions from celebrities this year because it shifted spending to meet demand amid an online shopping boom (Business Insider)
• The New York Post's dubious Hunter Biden article was shared 300,000 times on Facebook even after the company said it limited its reach (Business Insider)
• Leaked emails show L'Oreal is requiring employees to clean their desks three times a day and giving them two face masks daily (Business Insider)
• 'We want to be as frictionless as possible': Samsung ramps up its pitch to advertisers across Europe (Digiday)

Thanks for reading and see you on Monday! You can reach me in the meantime at ljohnson@businessinsider.com and subscribe to this daily email here.

— Lauren