This week’s featured media mogul is content creator and artist with an entrepreneurial spirit, Ebony Anderson-Brown. Ebony is the founder/editor-in-chief of HangTime Magazine + HangTime and Friends podcast, DJ and photographer. Learn more about Ebony’s creative 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 always had an interest in media and journalism, mainly because I was able to mix my passion for writing and photography together. Media and journalism especially piqued in my interest when I was in high school because I discovered that I could have a career in it.”

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

“I was always involved with the school newspaper and yearbook committees. But outside of school, I also loved creative writing. In elementary school, my poem ‘Heaven,’ was published in a book called, “Brilliance,” along with several other talented students across the United States. Aside from poetry, there was screenplay writing, songwriting, and short stories. In high school, a lot of my experiences and outside interests influenced my writings. There was this screenplay writing workshop my mother enrolled me in, and soon I discovered that I didn’t have to write extravagant novels, I could write short films and TV shows. While interning at The New-York Historical Society I was inspired by the artifacts and paintings to incorporate history with teen drama in my short stories. I did a lot of experimenting up until I started college. 

My professional media career began while I was earning my Bachelors in Media & Communications at The City College of New York. You could say that I tired myself out all throughout my college years and not just because of the intensity of my coursework, but the number of extracurricular activities I was involved in on and off-campus, and various internships I secured, but I enjoyed every moment of it. During all of this, I had a blog and radio show called, Unrated Ebony, where I would play music by people no one has ever heard of and interview artists I met on campus or at a music venue. I felt like what I was doing was bigger than me, and so I wanted to make it into a magazine. Something that can reach everyone around the world, and that’s when HangTime comes into the picture.”

Tell us about your platform. What’s your mission/goals? Who’s your audience?

“HangTime Magazine is a magazine, website, podcast, the list can go on because, since 2015, HangTime’s main purpose was to highlight independent artists and all their talents. We thrive to help creatives discover, connect, and create with who and whatever is out there. As we continue to grow, another element would be added making it even greater than what it originally was.

Before we only had one audience, music lovers. They just loved music, listening to it, sharing it with their friends, or playing it themselves. Soon we discovered another audience and it was the artists themselves. Our content has developed and changed over time based on the people looking at our work.”

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

“Building a team. Doing all of the work by yourself can feel lonely. I personally felt so good and proud of myself knowing there are others who want to do the work and see the growth.”

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

“Just do it! It sounds cliche, but I found myself asking so many friends or mentors how they were able to do it, and they would all give this elaborate story then end with they didn’t know…they just did it. No one is ever going to have the right or wrong answer, and sometimes the work we put out won’t always look that great, but if you just keep working at it, you’ll only get better.”