Media Masters

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan is founder and CEO of WatchMojo. One of the most popular brands on YouTube with 40 million subscribers, their 25,000 videos have been viewed 17 billion times, and last year surpassed 100 billion minutes of watch time. Founded in 2006, the company has 50 full-time employees with offices in Montreal, New York City, Los Angeles and London. In this in-depth interview, Ashkan shares the highs and lows of his entrepreneurial journey - from starting the company at 27, facing financial and courtroom difficulties, eventually becoming profitable by “running out of ways to fail” and then winning Ernst & Young ‘Entrepreneur of the Year;’ discusses his relationship of “mutual dependence” with YouTube, working through copyright issues by encouraging a change in policies at the platform to protect WatchMojo’s content; and shares his ambitions to become “the most admired media company in the world” - and how he plans to get there.

José Díaz-Balart is anchor of Noticias Telemundo and NBC’s Nightly News Saturday. The only TV journalist to broadcast regularly in two languages, he has interviewed every US president since Ronald Reagan, and is an Emmy, Peabody and Alfred duPont award winner. In this in-depth interview, José welcomes the growing number of Latino voices on-air and celebrates networks’ growing commitment to diversity and representation on-screen; discusses a journalism career spanning four decades, and his inspiration to challenge the under-representation of US Latinos - with 60 million people, it ‘would be the eighth largest GDP on earth;’ and delves into his new digital series ‘American Dreaming,’ which shines a light on the human story behind immigrants’ journeys and the plight of ‘mixed-status’ families.

Juliet Kinsman is sustainability editor at Condé Nast Traveller. Founded in 1997, the luxury magazine has headquarters in New York and a monthly readership of over 5 million. Joining the UK team last year with this first-time title, Juliet has been a leading voice for the travel media for more than two decades as a successful author, writing columns for The Telegraph and as resident expert on BBC Radio London. As founding editor of Mr & Mrs Smith she was instrumental in creating a disruptive editorial brand, transitioning published hotel guidebooks into an award-winning online authority. In this in-depth interview, Juliet shares her hopes to inspire real change through “honest writing” about the travel industry – that sustainability is not “anti-flight,” but helping tourists become aware of the socio-economic impact they’re having on the environment, local economy and indigenous people; details the depth of the cataclysmic impact the pandemic has had, and the importance of educating and encouraging consumers to make better decisions; and reflects on why she remains hopeful for the industry’s future, arguing that travellers can play their part in helping the sector recover with a “postpone don’t cancel” attitude.

Joy Macknight is editor of The Banker. Founded in 1926, published by the Financial Times, the monthly magazine is the go-to industry source. After a long career in financial journalism, she joined in 2015 and was promoted to editor five years later - the first woman to hold the job in 95 years. In this in-depth interview, Joy discusses the significant economic challenge the pandemic has brought - and just how difficult the next few years could be; shares how the industry is dealing with a generational shift in millennials’ expectations - with the future of retail banking “hyper-personalised and digital-first;” and argues the sector needs to accelerate progress made on growing female leadership - suggesting practical ideas to help make it happen.

Andrew Wallenstein is president and chief media analyst of the Variety Intelligence Platform. Founded last year, the product provides insight and data to Hollywood executives, helping guide their decision-making and strategy. Andrew previously spent nine years as Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, and prior to this held senior positions at Ad Age and the Hollywood Reporter, and contributed on-air at NPR and PBS. In this in-depth interview, Andrew shares the outcome of their plan to pivot and reposition the Variety brand, which had “fallen behind the times;” discusses the sheer scale of devastation the pandemic has had on Hollywood, and difficulties in the forthcoming recovery; and welcomes the surge in demand for streaming services, but argues that the growing number of platforms is not sustainable - predicting an imminent consolidation with fewer, more dominant providers.

Josh Ellis is editor-in-chief of SUCCESS magazine. Founded in 1897, the title inspires its readers with ideas, strategies and profiles of successful people. Joining the team in 2012 after a long career in sports journalism, including writing for the Dallas Cowboys, he runs the magazine from their Texas HQ, which boasts a total reach of 8 million readers. In this in-depth interview, Josh discusses the evolution of the very meaning of ‘success’ across three centuries of publishing; argues the pandemic has “made the world feel more turbulent than ever,” necessitating time away from social media to improve mental health; and outlines their efforts to champion diversity to become a true “mirror of society” - and move away from outdated ‘alpha male’ leadership.

Angela Henshall is senior producer of 50:50 The Equality Project. Founded in 2017, the scheme is the BBC’s most significant initiative to date to increase women’s voices in the media. With 70 organisations also signed up worldwide, they have already doubled female representation on-air in just three years. She is also deputy editor of BBC.com, and before this held senior positions at the Wall Street Journal, AFP and Dow Jones. In this in-depth interview, Angela shares with pride the project’s successes, with many shows already achieving a full gender balance - including BBC Breakfast, the Andrew Marr Show and The One Show; discusses the nuts and bolts of how participating organisations report their results, with programme makers acknowledging that the very act of counting and submitting returns helps them recognise their blind spots; and describes their expansion in both scope and scale - with global corporations such as Unilever now taking part, and plans to tackle under-representation regarding ethnicity and disability too.

Clifton Leaf is editor-in-chief of FORTUNE. Founded in 1929 with headquarters in New York, the iconic business publication has a total worldwide reach of 20 million. Appointed in 2017, after a career spent at Time Inc, Dow Jones, and several other magazine companies, in 2005 he received the Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business journalism. His critically-acclaimed book ‘Why We’re Losing the War on Cancer - And How To Win It’ is a searing indictment of the limited progress made in fighting the disease, and a call-to-arms to step up the battle. In this in-depth interview, Clifton discusses the changes in strategy made under new owner, Thai blockchain billionaire Chatchaval Jiaravanon, with a renewed commitment to “provocative storytelling” and “no longer playing it safe;” argues that the Covid pandemic has brought opportunities amidst the pain, and makes the case for optimism as the world economy emerges from lockdown; and shares their ambitious plan to leverage their impactful lists - including the iconic FORTUNE 500 - to inspire change, and focus on the leadership successes of women & people of colour.

Judd Legum is founder and editor-in-chief of Popular Information. Launched in 2018, the hugely influential newsletter covers democracy, politics and power “for people who give a damn.” Beginning his career as a lawyer, he moved into journalism in 2005 and founded the news website ThinkProgress, becoming research director for Hillary Clinton two years later. In this in-depth interview, Judd discusses his decision to remove their paywall during the pandemic to widen access and increase their impact; shares his front row seat on Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the 2008 democratic nomination - and his thoughts on why she lost; and recalls recent successes, including shaming restaurant chain Olive Garden into paying their staff when absent due to illness.

Brandon Borrman is vice president of global communications at Twitter. One of the most powerful PR professionals worldwide, Brandon joined Twitter in 2018, and leads a team of 60 people - helping shape the platform’s evolution, and leading their media relations strategy. In this in-depth interview, Brandon takes us behind the scenes on the decision to suspend President Trump’s account; describes the challenge of tackling the toxicity and bullying on the platform, balanced with continuing to allow anonymous accounts; and shares his mission to fundamentally change how Silicon Valley engages with the media internationally - by encouraging greater openness and transparency.