Bill de Blasio or DeBlasio? What happened when a longstanding newspaper failed to verify its source

If you read Thursday’s version of this newsletter, you saw an item about a story in a respected British newspaper — The Times of London — having quotes from someone they claimed to be former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. What made the quotes so interesting was that they were critical of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, which was in contrast to de Blasio’s known stance on Mamdani.

Turns out, the Times of London reporter Bevan Hurley hadn’t talked to the former New York City mayor. The actual former mayor put out a statement on social media saying the quotes were not his, and that he never spoke to Hurley. The paper quickly yanked the story from its website and said it had personally apologized to de Blasio.

The story made the rounds in media circles as a cautionary tale — a news outlet should always double-check its sources.

So how did it happen? Well, initial reports were that Hurley sent out an email to an address he thought belonged to de Blasio. And the person who received the email answered it with quotes criticizing Mamdani.

But now for an update on this story.

Many — including The New York Times and this newsletter — called the person who provided the quotes via email an “imposter.” That’s not exactly right.

Turns out, the person who answered the email and gave the critical quotes really is named Bill DeBlasio. He’s just not former-New-York-City-mayor Bill de Blasio. Semafor’s Brendan Ruberry and Max Tani reported, “He is, instead, a 59-year-old Long Island wine importer named Bill DeBlasio, who merely responded to an email from a journalist seeking his views on Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s policies.”

Tani spoke with the other DeBlasio on Wednesday evening. He spoke with Tani through his Ring doorbell in Huntington Station, Long Island, from his current location in Florida, and said, “I’m Bill DeBlasio. I’ve always been Bill DeBlasio. I never once said I was the mayor. He never addressed me as the mayor. So I just gave him my opinion.”

It appears that Hurley sent an email to two different email addresses he thought belonged to the former mayor. But one went to the Long Island wine importer who spells his last name with an uppercase “D” as opposed to the former mayor who uses the lowercase “d.”

DeBlasio — the one who isn’t the mayor — knew that the reporter was probably looking for the former mayor, but used ChatGPT to come up with an answer criticizing Mamdani’s tax plans.

DeBlasio told Semafor, “It was all in good fun. I never thought it would make it to print,” adding he thought the reporter would “have all his people check it out.”

One more interesting tidbit in Tani’s story is that DeBlasio met actual-former-mayor-de Blasio once at a 2016 New York Mets playoff game.

Anyway, the bottom line here is that new outlets better be sure they’re talking to the right person even when that person has the same name as they person they’re looking for.

Meanwhile, the former mayor told CNN’s Erin Burnett that it was “surreal” to see quotes attributed to him that weren’t from him. He added that what he thinks about Mamdani is the exact opposite of the quotes that appeared under his name.

De Blasio added, “It felt like the ultimate disempowerment.”

He then added that Hurley did contact him over the phone, and was very “sheepish.”

But, de Blasio said, “Here’s what I don’t get. Was there no effort to confirm identity? Did he not want to see the person’s face? Do a Zoom? Do a Facetime? Do something? Did editors say, ‘Hey, it’s kind of strange this guy would change his mind a week before the election.’ Something’s missing here that I don’t fully get.”

King-sized breaking news

Gayle King is leaving as co-host of “CBS Mornings,” according to a report Thursday from Variety’s Matt Donnelly and Brian Steinberg. Variety says King will shift to a different role with CBS News. This is all going to happen sometime early next year.

Donnelly and Steinberg write, “King’s existing contract is set to expire in May. There are signs CBS would like her to stay on board with the news division, potentially with a deal to produce her own programming for the network.”

A CBS News spokesperson told Variety, “There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026. She’s a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future.”

It’s a time of turmoil at CBS News. Earlier this week, its parent company, Paramount, laid off 1,000 staffers, including 100 or so at CBS News. In addition, “CBS Evening News” co-anchor John Dickerson announced he will leave the network at the end of the year.

And more changes are expected under new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

King has been on the CBS morning show since 2012.

Variety writes, “Moving King is a risky maneuver, especially because morning-TV is built on the relationships viewers build with the hosts. If audiences feel King was pushed out for no good reason, they could be ripe for the picking by rivals like NBC’s ‘Today’ or ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’”

“At the same time,” Variety adds, “CBS’s morning programs have long run in third place behind NBC and ABC, despite multiple changes of format and the talent behind the early-hours desk. ‘CBS Mornings’ lured an average of just 1.8 million viewers during the five days ended October 20, according to data from Nielsen. During that same time frame, ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ captured an average of nearly 2.71 million, while NBC’s ‘Today’ attracted an average of nearly 2.69 million.”

I’ll have more in the coming days on this developing story.

Gannett’s debt falls below $1 billion for the first time

For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague Angela Fu.

Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain, announced Thursday its debt had fallen below $1 billion for the first time since its 2019 merger — a bright spot after a rough quarter marked by massive cuts and declining revenue.

The company ended its third quarter with a loss of $39.2 million, a worse performance compared to the $19.7 million loss it suffered during the same period last year. Total revenue also decreased 8.4% year-over-year to $560.8 million. Part of the decline was driven by several large clients shifting their spending from the third quarter to the fourth. The company also experienced unplanned expenses stemming from its $100 million cost reduction program, which included staff cuts.

Gannett did hit one milestone during the quarter: paying down $18.5 million of debt so that its total debt fell below $1 billion. The company merged with GateHouse in November 2019 via a $1.1 billion deal. It now owes $996.4 million.

To increase revenue, Gannett has sought to diversify its streams, striking deals with artificial intelligence companies and focusing on verticals like sports that attract more audience engagement. The company has already signed a deal with the AI-powered search engine Perplexity, and on Thursday, it announced a new deal with Microsoft. As part of the deal, Gannett will join Microsoft’s “publisher content marketplace,” which Gannett CEO Mike Reed described during an earnings call as “one of the first large-scale efforts to fairly compensate publishers for AI usage of their content.”

Ever since generative AI achieved mainstream popularity in 2023, news outlets have complained that AI companies are using their content without permission and consequently diverting users away from their websites. To rectify the issue, some outlets have struck licensing deals with AI companies, while others have filed copyright infringement lawsuits. Gannett has thus far taken the former approach, and chief financial officer Trisha Gosser said there may be more AI deals coming in the future.

“Today, we are blocking over 99% of AI-verified bots, other than Google, that try to scrape our content without licensing agreements in place. In September alone, we blocked 75 million AI bots … the vast majority of which were seeking to scrape our local content,” Reed said. “About 70 million of those came from OpenAI. This is a clear signal of just how valuable our content is to these AI engines.”

Other areas where Gannett sees potential are sports coverage and video — which chief content officer Kristin Roberts called “the most critical format” for the company’s future. In the last quarter, Gannett launched several sports “hubs” that feature vertical video, realtime scores and other coverage. People spend double the time on those hubs compared to traditional browsing. Gannett also launched USA Today Play, an entertainment hub that includes comics, horoscopes and games, which Roberts said will be a “key focus” for the rest of the year.

“If we can get one more percent of our audience to play games at our current… rates, that equates to an additional $10 million in digital-only subscription and digital advertising revenue,” Roberts said.

Gannett’s investment in games echoes The New York Times’ successful strategy of attracting long-term subscribers through its lifestyle verticals. Its Games section, in particular, is so popular that some joke that the Times is a gaming company that produces news on the side.

A royal scandal

Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, will be stripped of his title as prince because of his alleged ties with convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. The New York Times’ Mark Landler called the move “unheard-of in the annals of the modern British royal family.”

In a terse statement, Buckingham Palace said in part, “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him. Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

The Associated Press’ Brian Melley and Jill Lawless wrote, “It is almost unprecedented for a British prince or princess to be stripped of that title. It last happened in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus, who was a U.K. royal and also a prince of Hanover, had his British title removed for siding with Germany during World War I.”

Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and will have to leave his Windsor home, Royal Lodge — a sprawling 30-room mansion. But it’s not like he’s getting kicked out onto the street, however. He will move to a property on the private Sandringham estate located in Norfolk, which is often used as a retreat and has been in the royal family’s possession for five generations, according to The Independent.

The news was a major story in the U.S. — at one point Thursday leading the websites of various news outlets. So you can imagine just how big of a deal it was in the United Kingdom.

BBC News went to live wall-to-wall coverage, while the story dominated the various newspapers and tabloids.

Sean Coughlan, royal correspondent for the BBC, wrote, “After accusations that the Palace had done too little too late, this is now a root and branch attempt to draw a line under the scandal surrounding the former Prince Andrew — now plain Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.”

Coughlan added, “This is an even more dramatic fall from grace for Andrew — with royal sources saying the decision reflects how seriously his lapses of judgement are being taken. Andrew, who has consistently denied allegations against him, is said not to have objected to the changes. It’s hard to imagine that he had much choice.”

Media news, tidbits and interesting links for you weekend review

• Here’s an exclusive from The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer, Missy Ryan, and Ashley Parker: “Top Trump Officials Are Moving Onto Military Bases.”  They write that a growing number of senior Trump administration officials –– including Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and Stephen Miller –– have moved out of their Washington-area homes into military housing. The reason? To not only be shielded from potential violence, but also from protest. The Atlantic writers add, “It is an ominous marker of the nation’s polarization, to which the Trump administration has itself contributed, that some of those top public servants have felt a need to separate themselves from the public. These civilian officials can now depend on the U.S. military to augment their personal security. But so many have made the move that they are now straining the availability of housing for the nation’s top uniformed officers.”
• From the Bet-You-Never-Thought-You’d-See-This file, Republican Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will appear on ABC’s “The View” next Tuesday. “The View” has said it wants to start adding more right-leaning guests. But inviting Greene, traditionally one of the more outspoken and extreme members of the MAGA movement, is a surprise. It should be noted, however, that in recent days she has been critical of President Donald Trump and the Republicans’ stance on the government shutdown, particularly when it comes to healthcare benefits.
• Better think twice with what you post on social media. For Philly Mag, Victor Fiorillo with “How a Philly Mag Journalist Sued an Angry Facebook Commenter – and Won.”
• The New York Times’ ​​David McCabe with “Little Word of a TikTok Deal Out of Trump-Xi Meeting.”
• The Guardian’s Emine Saner with “‘It’s been a cesspit, really, my life’: war photographer Don McCullin on 19 of his greatest pictures.” (Warning: some of the photos are tough to look at.)
• Terrific work from NBC News’ Mike Hixenbaugh and Elizabeth Chuck in “Assemblies of God churches shielded accused predators — and allowed them to keep abusing children.”
• Fifty years ago — Oct. 30, 1975, to be exact — the Daily News of New York ran a headline that remains famous to this day. President Gerald Ford said in a speech at the time that the federal government would not bail out a near-bankrupt New York City. The Daily News headline was: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” This week, The New York Times’ Bill Brink wrote, “50 Years Ago, My Father Wrote the Headline That Refuses to Die.”
• For Nieman Lab, Neel Dhanesha with “NBC and CBS cuts hit race and culture verticals.”
• Awful Announcing’s Brendon Kleen with “The 2025 Awful Announcing sports podcast power list.” Not sure I agree with everything on the list (No Kelce brothers? No “Pardon My Take?”) Then again, you’re supposed to debate these kinds of lists. That’s what makes them fun.

More resources for journalists

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• Stop wasting hours on repetitive tasks — automate them instead. Learn how.
• Access a list of mental health reporting resources on funding, source-building and more.
• Deepen your coverage of incarcerated women and women with incarcerated family members and get the chance to apply for one of five $10,000 reporting grants. Enroll now.
• Master the tools to connect Washington decisions to local stories — essential coverage as the 2026 elections approach. Enroll now.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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