Latest news with #JoeJacobson
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ehibhatiomhan 'wants to stay' at Reading
Reading chief executive Joe Jacobson says the club have made a contract offer to striker Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and feels they are not "too far away" from reaching an agreement. Ehibhatiomhan was one of 11 Royals first team players to be offered new deals in May but the forward is still yet to agree terms. "We're still in contact with the agent and Kelvin himself," Jacobson told BBC Sport. "We've gone back and forth a few times like we have done with lots of other players. It's not going to be easy, he's a top player and we want to put together a package that allows him to stay."We believe we have really done that with the latest contract offer we have handed out, at the moment we're still waiting to see what happens there." Ehibhatiomhan, 22, came through the Reading academy and has gone on to make 92 appearances for the senior team, scoring 17 campaign he played 35 times and scored four times as Reading finished seventh in League One. Jacobson came in as part of the new look board under owner Rob Couhig in May. "At some point you have to kind of move on if it's not going to happen but we're doing everything we can at the moment to get him to stay," Jacobson said."The conversations that I and the manager have had with him show that he wants to stay as well."I don't think we're too far away but in football nothing is done until it's done, we're preparing for life with him and we're preparing for life without him."
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Reading sign Burns and O'Mahony on loan
Reading have signed Manchester City centre-back Finley Burns and Brighton striker Mark O'Mahony on season-long loans for 2025-26. Burns, 22, has been part of the City's academy since 2017, when he was 14, and made his only appearance for the club in the EFL Cup in has spent the past four seasons on loan at Swansea, Stevenage and most recently Hull where he played 11 games last chief executive officer Joe Jacobson said Burns' signing was a "real coup", adding: "We're delighted to have secured his signature against stiff competition." Royals manager Noel Hunt said of Burns: "His attitude is second to none and comes from a great calibre of an academy at City and has grown in stature but getting appearances in the Championship last season. "In the games he played he carried himself very well, and we're really positive."O'Mahony, 19, has featured three times for Brighton in the Premier League and scored his first goal for the club in the EFL Cup last spent 2024-25 on loan with Portsmouth in the Championship, scoring three goals in 13 duo follow goalkeeper Jack Stevens and defenders Matty Jacob and Paudie O'Connor in signing for Reading this summer.
Fox News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Dem strategist behind racy attack ads says party doesn't need liberal Rogan but does need to win the culture
Democrats don't need a liberal version of Joe Rogan to win back young male voters — but they do need to engage them on cultural battlegrounds, according to progressive strategist Joe Jacobson. "Young men, they don't give two s---- about politics," Jacobson, founder of the Progress Action Fund, told Fox News Digital. "You have to reach them where they're at." Jacobson, 31, a former policy adviser in the Obama administration, now runs a progressive PAC focused on electing Democrats in swing states. His group is part of a broader push to reclaim younger male voters, a demographic that swung significantly toward Donald Trump in the 2024 election. According to a Fox News Voter Survey last November, Trump captured 53% of young men, compared to Kamala Harris' 45%. The Progress Action Fund has gained attention for its risqué, viral ads featuring a fictional "Republican Congressman" who invades private moments in bedrooms, bathrooms and hospitals to enforce so-called conservative policies, such as stopping sex, abortion or denying care to Medicare patients. "We're trying to highlight issues we care about – whether it's trans issues or immigration – because Democrats don't really seem to have a message," Jacobson said. He argues that Democrats have a dual problem: weak messaging and unrelatable messengers. "Kamala Harris wasn't the best messenger for young men. Biden, in 2024, was old – to say the least," he said. "Young men want strong leaders who can get s--- done. It's hard to care about the fate of democracy when you've got a couple of roommates, and you're trying to find a girlfriend." Instead of chasing a high-profile influencer like Rogan, Jacobson says Democrats should amplify authentic, progressive voices, naming David Hogg and Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., as figures he believes are more relevant to young men than the party's aging leadership. Jacobson's group is working to raise $25 million to target young men ahead of the 2026 midterms through ads on gaming sites and social media. He says traditional cable news buys on "CNN or MSNBC" are great for getting out the base but don't reach young men, who are more interested in social media, gaming and sports. Trump's 2024 media strategy capitalized on digital outreach, with Trump appearing with popular podcast hosts like Rogan, Andrew Schulz, and Theo Von. His appearance on the "Joe Rogan Experience" days before the election racked up nearly 40 million views in just three days. Jacobson's message comes amid broader Democratic efforts to regain cultural relevance online. Liberal strategists are urging major donors to fund "an army of left-leaning online influencers" to rival the GOP's edge in digital influence, according to the report. The Times called it a bold – and possibly desperate – gamble, noting that platforms like Rogan's podcast weren't built overnight or by political operatives. While Jacobson emphasized the need for compelling messengers, he also says Democrats must offer bold policies on the economy and social issues. "Nobody really cares about the future of democracy if you can't afford the rent," he said. He urged his party to stop surrendering on cultural issues and start fighting back, pointing to how effective Trump's "Kamala is for they/them, Trump is for you" ad was during the 2024 campaign. His group will be releasing a new ad featuring their fictional Republican character doing bathroom checks in response to the transgender debate, and another hitting Republicans over ICE raids. Despite disappointing results for Democrats in the 2024 election, Jacobson remains hopeful: "We have to seem like we're relatable and not in the ivory tower — which I certainly think has been a problem in the past. But we can get back there because we won in 2020 with young men. Obama did well with them. We just have to get back to what made us successful."
BBC News
14-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Reading 'want to give back to the fans'
Reading chief executive Joe Jacobson has said that he and others at the club want to "give back to the fans" and "bring them good news" regarding new contracts and signings. After Rob Couhig's takeover was completed, former Wycombe player Jacobson was announced as CEO, forming part of a fresh ownership group at the Royals. The 38-year-old has been brought in with the first task of convincing a number of first-team players to sign new deals to stay at the club. In May, Reading offered new deals to 11 players and so far just one - goalkeeper Joel Pereria - has agreed to re-sign. Since Couhig's arrival, only Pereria and midfielder Lewis Wing have signed new deals."We're competing with other teams that want our players," Jacobson told BBC Radio Berkshire. "We're working hard behind the scenes. There will be some new faces in as well. "We're hoping that some of the players will see Joel and Lewis signing and think that they want to be a part of that."If we can add to this and sign some good players on top as we build the squad, then hopefully we can be successful."At the final game of last season, despite there being disappointment at missing out on the League One play-offs, fans turned up in numbers and celebrated news of a new owner and new chapter at the club. Jacobson had been rumoured to be coming in ever since Couhig's ambitions of taking over were first despite having only recently being appointed, he said that he was well aware of the efforts supporters had made to bring attention to their ownership situation across the past few years. "The fans have been incredible so far," Jacobson said."It feels like they have someone to get behind in Rob. We want to give these fans as much good news as they can get."They almost saved this club themselves last season, not just financially but being in the public eye and demonstrating. It has been amazing and we now want to give back to them."We were here for the final game of the season when there was a near-full stadium. We want that every week and it is now up to us to put a squad together that can make the experience of coming to Reading special and making them want to keep coming back." 'Free transfer and loans' this summer For the first time in a long time this summer, Reading will be able to operate in the transfer market and bring in players without the restrictions they faced under former owner Dai Yongge. As well as tying down those whose contracts are soon set to expire, if Reading want to better last season and make a big push for promotion, then emphasis will be on adding to their transfer window reopens on Monday after being open for a brief period last week. "Right now where we are looking at is mainly free transfers and loans," Jacobson said."It's slow at the moment everywhere. It feels like everyone is after the same small group of players and just before pre-season it speeds up a bit."We have our targets and we have spoken to some that we want. There is some that we have offered contracts out to that we're speaking to daily, people we really want that would be exciting for the football club."Hopefully we can have some more exciting news quite soon."
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Reading keeper Pereira extends stay despite other offers
Reading keeper Joel Pereria has turned down advances from Championship clubs to sign a new three-year contract with the 28-year-old former Portugal Under-21 stopper - known as 'El Gato' (The Cat) - has made more than 50 appearances for the club and was runner-up in the club's player of the season former Man United youngster spent time on loan with Hearts and Huddersfield before joining the Royals in September 2023 after a spell in the Netherlands with RKC co-chief executive, Joe Jacobson, told the club website, external: "We are thrilled that Joel has extended his contract, he is a goalkeeper with immense talent and a vital part of the dressing room. "We were keen to get this done as quick as possible, he is an essential part of our plans moving forward. He had plenty of interest in his services and it is a big coup for the club."Royals boss Noel Hunt added "Joel is not just a big part in our team but a huge part of the culture we're building. I'm delighted he's decided to re-sign after having firm offers from teams in the league above."
