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Media Mogul In The Making: Meet J’na Jefferson

Media mogul in the making, J’na Jefferson. Photograph provided by J’na Jefferson.

This week’s featured media mogul in the making is none other than journalist, creative and on-air talent, J’na Jefferson! Jefferson’s work has been featured in platforms such as Billboard, BBC Music, MTV News, Playboy, The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs, Cosmopolitan, The Root, VIBE, Paper, BET, Red Bull, Okayplayer, and XXL to name a few. Get to know J’na and her professional journey below.

You are a multi-talented individual dipping and dapping in a bunch of other expressive fields. So, what was it about journalism or media that piqued your interest?

“I’ve always been interested in reading and writing, ever since I was a little kid, those have been my “things.” I knew what I wanted to do as a journalist when I was about nine years old. I saw an on-the-street reporter doing a standup when walking with my mom through New York City, and stopped dead in my tracks and confirmed that it’s something I needed to do when I ‘grew up’. I’ve always liked reading the news and watching news programs and learning about the world around me, so I made it my mission to touch as many facets of journalism as I could.”

How did you get your start in the media field? Did you study communications in college? Internships? Hobby writing?

“I made sure to take writing classes all through grade school and settled on studying journalism for my undergraduate studies. I graduated from Rider University in 2015 with my BA in journalism and digital media studies.

I had a music blog on the side when I was in undergrad, but I took an interesting detour to get to the professional music journalist gig I have today. I was interested in becoming a television writer, and I had a comedy writing internship with College Humor right out of school. However, I wanted to get back to my journalism and music writer roots, so I applied to *everything* I could before College Humor ended. I got an internship with Vibe basically as soon as CH ended, and I’ve been grinding ever since.”

Tell us how you built up your platform. What’s your mission/goals? Who’s your audience?

“My platform as a journalist and media mogul in the making is based on being as authentic as possible. Journalism is all about being truthful, and being myself—as transparent, as real, as candid as I pride myself on being in my personal life—is just as important in my professional life. Sometimes the truth can be a tough pill to swallow, but life is full of hard truths…but someone has to be the one to say what others won’t. I’m never afraid to open my mouth (or my computer) to say or write what needs to be said. My goal is to keep it “a buck” at all times!

I’m not sure who my audience is because it’s virtually all over the board! I come from a very diverse upbringing from family to friends, and I think my work has garnered fans from everywhere and anywhere. I recently got praise from a ‘new fan’ from Oklahoma, and gave career advice to a writer currently living in France. I never know who I’m reaching with my work, and that’s the beauty of it.”

So far throughout your career, what has been your proudest personal media moment?

“I think my proudest personal media moment is when I got to speak with Tarana Burke, the founder of Me Too. That conversation and subsequent feature was the catalyst for me realizing that my writing and the crux of my mission is to also to protect and amplify marginalized voices, particularly women of color. My work often focuses on the intersectionality of music and culture, and women of color/Black women ARE the culture. To be one and to use my gifts to show the world just how important we are, and how important it is to help us is one of my greatest joys as a writer.”

What advice would you give aspiring mediapreneurs looking to enter the field?

“My advice would be to focus on yourself, and keep pushing even if you see other people doing things you believe you need to be doing. Your timeline is your timeline, and their timeline is theirs. Just keep your nose down, do the work, and be patient.”

Stay connected with J’na Jefferson by following her on Instagram and Twitter. To commission J’na, visit her official website HERE.

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Media Mogul In The Making: Meet Jonathan Ramsey

Media mogul in the making, Jonathan Ramsey. Photo by Anthony Steverson.

This week’s featured media mogul in the making is the founder and editor-in-chief of budding music and entertainment site, What’s The Movement, co-host of the podcast A Side B Side, and our very own director of programming, Jonathan Ramsey. Get to know Jonathan and his professional journey below.

You are a multi-talented individual dipping and dapping in a bunch of other expressive fields. So, what was it about journalism or media that piqued your interest?

“In high school, we had a television station where we produced a news show for our morning announcements. Between being in front of the camera or in the control room I got my feet wet early with media. I was even running our media ministry at my church at that time. When I got out of high school, I originally contemplated public office, but I also didn’t like the idea of politics versus the actual governing. I figured I’d get my bachelor’s degree in Journalism rather than pre-law because if I was still passionate, I could go to law school post-graduation. My parents wanted me to be the black Anderson Cooper and I went the music route instead.”

How did you get your start in the media field? Did you study communications in college? Internships? Hobby writing?

“I attribute my real media start at William Paterson University working at our on-campus radio station WPSC 88.7 FM. During my tenure, Brave New Radio was one of the best college stations in the country and won many IBS awards in addition to an MTV Woodie nomination in 2014. At that time I was DJ-ing, producing and hosting my own show, interning at a few platforms like Vibe magazine covering entertainment, and the Star Ledger covering local stories and policy. I was also writing on my own Tumblr blog now a multimedia brand, WhatsTheMovement.net (WTM). I’d even begin hosting live events and shows. I graduated from Willy P with degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Music Management.”

Tell us how you built up your platform. What’s your mission/goals? Who’s your audience?

“WTM began on Tumblr where I’d write about mainstream music and whatever I found digging around on SoundCloud during the blog era. I was always passionate about music and played a few instruments in orchestra and marching band. Post high school I’d even study music theory so I knew it’d always be in my life. As I was building a name for myself, I found a lot of local acts would reach out for coverage on my radio show which at the time wasn’t geared towards Hip-Hop and R&B. I got to work on transitioning WTM the blog, to a radio format where we’d talk about mainstream music as well as play music and interview the talented artists local to New Jersey.

Fast forward to today, it’s grown and in addition to the editorial, we host live shows, concerts, a branded podcast, A Side B Side and have a few other programs and web series in pre-production. Our mission today is the same as then, provide an outlet to artists, musicians, and anything moving in New Jersey. Our name asks and answers the question: What’s The Movement? Our audience is eclectic music listeners that want to find the diamond in the rough. People who enjoy talent over popularity in such a saturated market.”

So far throughout your career, what has been your proudest personal media moment?

“My proudest moment would have to be landing my first big name interview with the late Mac Miller on my radio show. It was only a phone interview but it meant a lot for a younger Ramsey. It was confirmation that I was definitely living in my purpose and blessed that it aligned with my passion. If I had to pick a number two it’s the moment I get to come to the mic and say thank you to the people who have supported our concerts. It’s a lot of work that goes into curating and producing events. The end result is always worth celebrating.”

What advice would you give aspiring mediapreneurs looking to enter the field?

“Learn to become a one-man (woman) band. If you want to stay hired, companies want someone that can do it all. Be open to doing off-beat stories or things your aren’t accustomed to. Everything you want is on the other side of the fear of the unknown. Practice being in front and behind a camera. Learn how to shoot video and high-quality photos. Learn how to edit audio and video. It’s nice to work with a team but oftentimes this journey is lonely.

I hate to sound cliché but good relationships are essential. It really is who you know. Get out from behind that keyboard and phone, and go exist in real life. Network on and offline. Meet artists, fellow media folks, and have fun while you’re doing it. Otherwise, this becomes hard work instead of passion. Listen to all genres of music leisurely in addition for criticism. Lastly, sometimes doors don’t open. Nothing worth having is easy to get to. When you hear the word, ‘no’, but you know you have all the tools, what is your resolve? If you’re not invited to the table don’t be too afraid to build and set your own table. For me, eating a meal on my own has been more fulfilling than at the ‘big’ tables I’ve got to eat crumbs from.”

Support Jonathan Ramsey by visiting What’s The Movement‘s official website whatsthemovement.net and following the site’s official social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Connect with Jonathan Ramsey across social including on Instagram and Twitter.

Media Mogul In The Making: Meet Ashleigh Binder

Media mogul in the making, Ashleigh Binder. Photo provided by Ashleigh Binder.

This week’s featured media mogul in the making is the founder and editor-in-chief of sports new site, Sports As Told By A Girl, Ashleigh Binder. Learn more about Ashleigh’s journey below.

You are a multi-talented individual dipping and dapping in a bunch of other expressive fields. So, what was it about journalism or media that piqued your interest?

“First of all, thank you! Honestly, I never thought of journalism as a career. I was always obsessed with the media and how celebrities and athletes were covered. I was an avid sports fan as a kid and had a major opinion about them that I wasn’t afraid to express. As a woman I was always quickly dismissed for not possibly knowing as much as men do simply because I was a female and that lit the fire! I knew my purpose in life was to fight for equality for all women. Plus Beyoncé has a full female band and if you could be like anyone wouldn’t you chose Beyoncé?”

How did you get your start in the media field? Did you study communications in college? Internships? Hobby writing?

“I didn’t study communications until graduate school! I was a psychology major as an undergraduate student. I always loved creative writing and always had an opinion on sports. It wasn’t until I took a class my senior year of undergrad where I even considered writing my opinion on the internet. The class required students to maintain a website and that was it. I came up with the name, Sports As Told By A Girl, within minutes of reading the directions. It was the first college class that the professor told me that I was really good at something and should keep doing it. At first I kept it as a personal blog for me to write my thoughts. However, when I graduated and realized how hard it was to get a foot in the door in sports media, I knew I wanted to expand the site. I wanted other female writers who were also looking for a safe platform to voice their honest opinions.”

Tell us how you built up your platform. What’s your mission/goals? Who’s your audience?

“My mission is to make a woman’s voice in sports a normal thing. It’s great that we’re shattering glass ceilings, but I can’t wait until a woman is hired and she’s not the first woman in the position or the first Black woman in the position. I think we are making progress towards that and I hope I am making even the smallest impact on moving the needle forward.

My audience is all sports fans. I want everyone from the casual fan to the most diehard, never miss a game fan to check out the site. I am hoping to impact young women who want to break into sports media or media in general, but need a push to get out there.”

So far throughout your career, what has been your proudest personal media moment?

“I have two. One is that I had articles featured on Bleacher Report which is one of the biggest media outlets and an app I have on my phone which I thought was so cool! It felt like they added legitimacy to my writing.

The second moment was just recently one of the women who used to write for the site reached out to me during the height of the protests and thanked me for supporting her when she wrote about the death of Stephen Clark in Northern California and how athletes responded to it. She told me she didn’t know if it was “appropriate”, but my support pushed her to write it. That was the moment all of the hard work was worth it. I want women to feel comfortable writing about difficult topics especially ones as important as police brutality. I want to be that support system that reminds women in a society that wants to suppress your voice, please know it needs to be heard.”

What advice would you give aspiring mediapreneurs looking to enter the field?

“Keep going. This is honestly the hardest part. Staying motivated can be tough especially when you feel like your social media accounts aren’t growing, but you have to push through. It’s okay if you need a mental reset or break, but don’t give up! We all need a break from staring at our phones and/or laptops.

Be kind to others and most importantly yourself. It costs you absolutely nothing to be gracious when people reach out. We need more kindness in this world. More importantly, don’t beat up on yourself. If you haven’t posted in a while or you haven’t felt inspired, you are not a failure in any way. People still want your unique content. Your work is important and don’t doubt your talent.”

Support Ashleigh Binder by visiting Sports As Told By A Girl‘s official website www.sportsastoldbyagirl.com and following the site’s official social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.