A Media Operator
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© Copyright 2024 Jacob Cohen Donnelly
Description
A Media Operator is a community for entrepreneurs and operators in the digital media space. This podcast is a natural extension of the newsletter (www.amediaoperator.com) and community that has already been built. Each week, I will interview entrepreneurs and operators that are building these media companies. Over the course of approximately an hour, we'll discuss their businesses, their success and failures, and, ultimately, what they learned about building media companies.
This podcast will provide actionable insights for current and prospective media operators. That means we're not only talking strategies in media, but also the tactics. We'll be diving into business models, audience development, subscription, commerce, advertising, audio, video—you name it, we'll be discussing it.
A Media Operator is also very much about niche media. That doesn't mean small. To me, niche media means depth. We should celebrate these stories and there are plenty of them. On this podcast, you'll finally hear them.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, hit that subscribe button so you know when I release an episode. As the show starts, considering rating it and leaving a comment so I know how I'm doing. I view A Media Operator as a tool for you; if I'm failing, I want to know.
Thanks for tuning in today and I'll be talking with you soon.
This podcast will provide actionable insights for current and prospective media operators. That means we're not only talking strategies in media, but also the tactics. We'll be diving into business models, audience development, subscription, commerce, advertising, audio, video—you name it, we'll be discussing it.
A Media Operator is also very much about niche media. That doesn't mean small. To me, niche media means depth. We should celebrate these stories and there are plenty of them. On this podcast, you'll finally hear them.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, hit that subscribe button so you know when I release an episode. As the show starts, considering rating it and leaving a comment so I know how I'm doing. I view A Media Operator as a tool for you; if I'm failing, I want to know.
Thanks for tuning in today and I'll be talking with you soon.
45 Episodes
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My guest this week is Richard Lander, Director at Citywire, a UK-based media company that serves the asset management and wealth industries. In this 40 minute conversation, we talked about the various parts of the business, why the pandemic ultimately killed the print business, their events model, the various ways they generate revenue from licensing, and an interesting intent-based product they call Goldmine. I hope you enjoy this discussion.
This week we have a special edition of the AMO Podcast with Todd Handy, the chief revenue officer at SEBPO, a leading global outsourcing partner that serves the advertising, media, and technology industries. In this discussion, we dig into how companies should properly think about outsourcing, the scale, save, and succeed framework, how to overcome or avoid the common mistakes and fears in outsourcing, and why media companies need to be thinking about dual transformation. I hope you enjoy this discussion.
My guest this week is Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO of Axios. In this hour long conversation, we talked about the importance of advertising for the main business and why they never paywalled that, the company’s expansion into niche subscriptions, events, local news, entertainment, and software, how they've structured the team to build these various division. We also dug into a couple of M&A what-ifs tied to Politico and The Athletic, and then ended with his new book, Just the Good Stuff. I hope you enjoy our discussion.
My guest this week is Andrew Perlman, co-founder and CEO of Recurrent. In this 45 minute conversation, we talked about the firm’s M&A strategy, their thesis on content to commerce and the various revenue sources, how they are thinking about platforms cutting into traffic to publisher sites, and how they’ve structured the teams with various GMs across the portfolio. I hope you enjoy our discussion.
My guest this week is Andy Cates, the President and founding Chair of Memphis Fourth Estate, a 501(c)(3) that launched and operates The Daily Memphian. In this conversation, we talked about why The Daily Memphian care so much about reaching break even on operating revenue versus purely fundraising, the inherent challenges they have raising money from national journalism funders due to this belief in building sustainably, how they’ve thought about growth over the six years of its existence, and so much more. I hope you enjoy our discussion.
My guest this week is Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Her Campus Media, a network of brands that serve college students across thousands of colleges. In this conversation, we dug into the early days of the business, the various advertising products they take to market, how they think about the inevitable graduation of their audience, and where they see the business going from here. I hope you enjoy our discussion.
My guest this week is Isaac Saul, founder of Tangle, a media company that tries to summarize the best arguments from across the political spectrum. In this hour-long conversation, we talked about the brand's exceptional free to paid conversion rate, where they are exploring advertising and events, the major headwinds the brand and all political media is dealing with, and how he plans to overcome it.
My guest this week is Ellen Hyslop, co-founder of The Gist, a fan-first sports media brand based out of Canada (but serving the United States). In this episode, we talked about the early days of the business, what sorts of growth tactics they used when first starting versus what now works, how their user onboarding impacts the types of content that readers see, the various ad products they take to market, and where the business goes from here.
Brian Van Heuverswyn is the chief operating officer at Active Interest Media, a portfolio of enthusiast brands, including Power & Motoryacht, Fine Gardening, Woodsmith, and so many more. In this conversation, we talk about how AIM came to be, the most recent Taunton Press acquisition, the move toward digital, and so much more.
Scott Jamieson is the CEO (COO when recording) of Annex Business Media, a network of b2b publications headquartered in Canada. In this episode, we talked about how Annex came to be along with him finding himself running the business, how the brands of Annex are stronger when united, and how they have made the transition from being predominately print to offering some very innovative digital ad products.
Mitch Bettis is the owner and President of both Arkansas Business Publishing Group and 360 West Magazine in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In this episodewe discuss how he came to own Arkansas Business, how the business has evolved from generating predominantly print revenue to diversified sources, the various consumer and b2b brands that he owns, and why he believes time tracking is so important.
1Sam Parr is the co-founder, a highly vetted membership community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs. As he articulates it, Hampton has the ability to one day become a $100m+ business. In this episode, we talked about why he felt there was an opportunity here, how they admit new members and build the monthly core groups, and his advice for operators to charge more for their products.
Earlier this month, Tim Hartman, CEO of GovExec, and I took the stage at Omeda's Idea Exchange to do a live recording of the podcast. This is the outcome of that conversation. We talked about what it was like closing on the GovExec deal only days after the Covid-19 lockdowns had taken place. We also talked about how the company has acquired and integrated various other companies. Finally, we dug into the different aspects of GovExec's business model.
Chris Ferrell is the founder and CEO of Endeavor Business Media, a b2b media company growing unbelievably quickly. His original goal? Hit $100 million in revenue. When that happened years faster than anticipated, he set a new goal: hit $100m in EBITDA. In this episode, we talked about how they have grown through acquisition, how they force all acquired companies onto the same technology stack, and how he sees market research becoming as big a part of the business as media.
Alexis Grant is the founder of They Got Acquired, a recently launched publication that covers digital companies acquired in the $100k to $50m range. In this conversation, we dug into the early decisions Alexis made when launching, how sponsorships took the business by surprise, and how they are planning to really monetize the business.
Dan Runcie is the founder of Trapital, a publication dedicated to the business of hip hop. In this conversation, we discussed how he had to put his CEO hat on to make the decision to shut the paid subscription down versus listening to the emotional side, how he thinks about the brand evolving in connection with him, and where he sees the business growing from here.
Scott Gerber is the co-founder and CEO of Community.co, which partners with media companies to create high-priced professional communities. In this conversation, we discussed what goes into making a great community, why it has become such a big buzzword in the market today, and how people should think about growing.
Arsalan Arif is the co-founder and publisher of Endpoints News, a media company that covers the massive biopharma world. During this episode, we discussed the unique subscription they offer, the various events products they bring to market, and why his advice to media operators is not to get into media unless you really love it.
Adam Ryan is the co-founder and CEO of Workweek, a new media company that brings together creators in different industries. During this episode, we discussed how the business got started, the long-term vision for the business, why new entrants into the newsletters space will likely never be able to compete with Morning Brew or The Hustle and so much more.
Amanda Hesser is the co-founder and CEO of Food52, a media, and commerce brand dedicated to the wonderful world of food. With a blend of content and commerce, Food52 has become one of the most impactful brands in the food industry and is now growing to touch more parts of the home.
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