37 episodes

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.

A Media Operator Jacob Cohen Donnelly

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 23 Ratings

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.

    Brian Van Heuverswyn of Active Interest Media on Building for Enthusiast Audiences

    Brian Van Heuverswyn of Active Interest Media on Building for Enthusiast Audiences

    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.

    • 39 min
    Scott Jamieson Talks About Building Annex Business Media

    Scott Jamieson Talks About Building Annex Business Media

    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.

    • 52 min
    Mitch Bettis on the Various Brands of Arkansas Business Publishing Group

    Mitch Bettis on the Various Brands of Arkansas Business Publishing Group

    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.

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Sam Parr on Launching and Growing Hampton

    Sam Parr on Launching and Growing Hampton

    Sam 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.

    • 45 min
    Tim Hartman on GovExec's Rapidly Growing Business

    Tim Hartman on GovExec's Rapidly Growing Business

    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.

    • 50 min
    Chris Ferrell on The Incredible Growth at Endeavor Business Media

    Chris Ferrell on The Incredible Growth at Endeavor Business Media

    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.

    • 42 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
23 Ratings

23 Ratings

CityGirlnChi ,

Please make more!

Love this podcast, learning a lot, and I hope you make more episodes!

mpm318 ,

Five Stars for Jacob

I’ve recommended this podcast already to many people. Not only is Jacob one of the most well researched hosts but he’s also picking the best guests which show his subject matter expertise. By best I mean most adored niche B2B media companies. Highly recommend.

cdmbdt ,

A Media Operator is a Must Listen

Jay is a crusher. If you are in the media business, you need to listen to his podcast. If you aren’t, you will be fired because you are missing knowledge bombs from Jay.

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