How To Build A Media Company

How To Build A Media Company

Years ago, Jasmine Brand wanted to stand out at red carpet events, so she settled on a tactic used by Hollywood stars: She transformed her hair. She dyed it a blazing hot pink to catch the attention of the people she wanted to interview for her recently created entertainment news blog. The Jasmine Brand started in 2010, during a boom in black celebrity blogs. Outlets like Crunk & Disorderly, The YBF, Necole Bitchie, Concrete Loop, Media Take Out, Straight From the A and Sandra Rose pioneered digital spaces that prioritized news and gossip about well-known black celebrities — Beyoncé, Will Smith, Tiger Woods — as well as “black famous” stars either unknown to or disregarded by their print predecessors and white peers. “I always knew I wanted to shed more light on black celebrities because they didn’t get the same kind of exposure,” Ms. Brand, 35, said. “I also figured I could be objective and neutral and give a newsy point of view, but still talk about celebs that my audience cares about.” Now, a decade later, The Jasmine Brand has outlived most of those same websites that inspired her own, having grown from a one-woman passion project into an operation that, according to Ms. Brand, garners up to 195,000 page views daily and 2.1 million unique visitors monthly. The Jasmine Brand has freelance writers and contributors who find scoops and write stories. Although some stories are sourced from social media posts or aggregated, it’s the website’s reporting on everything from “Love and Hip Hop” casting to messy divorces that have bolstered the brand’s reputation, making it a source for outlets like “The Wendy Williams Show,” Page Six and the nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club.” “I usually source them because they seem to be pretty accurate with a lot of the things that they post,” said Charlamagne Tha God, a host of “The Breakfast Club.” “Her stories are different,” said Angela Yee, another host of “The Breakfast Club.” Ms. Yee has developed a close friendship with Ms. Brand over the years and said she checks The Jasmine Brand every day. “I tend to find things that aren’t as widely distributed on all the other websites.” She also appreciates how Jasmine Brand’s editorial voice tends to be either “unbiased” or has more of a “positive slant.” How a Brand Becomes a Brand Dissatisfied with a well-paid corporate marketing director job in Washington, D.C., Ms. Brand, then 25, wanted a hobby that allowed her to write. She had a degree in mass communication and was an avid reader of celebrity news sites. Ms. Brand was also the go-to source for the latest celebrity stories among her friends. Her daily schedule consisted of blogging before and after work, during lunch hours at a nearby Starbucks and on the weekends, writing up to six to eight stories a day. This lasted until someone at her company discovered a blog post that Ms. Brand had published about Kim Kardashian West. She was informed that the blog was a potential conflict of interest to clients — so she quit and decided to pursue The Jasmine Brand full-time. Over the next two years, she sourced, reported on and published most of the daily content herself, earning only a few hundred dollars a month through advertising revenue based on rates Ms. Brand determined by combining her upcoming bills. Being a self-funded entrepreneur with no business background soon caught up to her, and Ms. Brand was forced to drain her 401(k) and savings to cover her living expenses. Her luxury car was repossessed, and she was evicted from her apartment; she decided to move in with her mother. In 2013, Mahir Fadle, an investor with a background in finance and computer science, offered investment and continued future funding. The two had been in touch for years, with Mr. Fadle acting as an informal adviser to the website. “She used to tell me about how she’d get up super early and work before going to work and at lunch and then after work,” Mr. Fadle, 42, said. “And I’m an early riser, so I was like, ‘Is she really doing this? Let me go ahead and randomly text her at four in the morning.’” Ms. Brand would always text him back a few minutes later. “I was like, ‘Oh, she’s serious,’” he said. The two ultimately agreed on a 50/50 financial partnership. Mr. Fadle, 42, would not specify how much he has invested, but said it was enough to cover expanding into the Los Angeles market (The Jasmine Brand also has offices in Atlanta and New York), as well as hiring freelance writers, editors, correspondents, and videographers; increasing the advertising budget; and obtaining office space and equipment. The business model is advertising — display ads, video ads and social media ads coming through both agencies and direct brand buys. “The more traffic we have, the more ads we can display, the more profitable we become,” Mr. Fadle said. They have applied cost-efficient alternatives to traditional media practices — sometimes sidestepping photo agencies by working directly with freelance photographers to license images. Mr. Fadle said the website saw a significant profit increase in less than a year. “A lot of people think that if you have this huge office, a big staff, and all these accessories, it looks sexy and you’re successful,” he said. “It just comes down to how you look at your books and how you budget.” Having a popular newsletter also helps. Ms. Brand started the daily “e-bulletin” shortly after creating the website, abandoned it once her workload grew as a solo entrepreneur, then restarted it in 2013 on Mr. Fadle’s recommendation. It now has more than 263,000 subscribers. The website’s traffic eclipses the newsletter’s, yet the emails, which simply list the day’s top 25 stories, have proven to be a “game-changer,” Ms. Brand said. She said that these emails “land” in the inboxes of high-profile celebrities, agents, editors and other industry powerhouses and foster valuable brand recognition. (Some editors, including several at The New York Times, find The Jasmine Brand in their inbox without having ever signed up.) “Everyone knows the newsletter before they know the site,” Mr. Fadle said. What’s Next? “It is different now,” Ms. Brand said, about the current black celebrity news landscape. “I think we are one of the few sites that are still around from that era. But I understand when it’s time to move on, try something else and go to your next chapter.” She said her daily look at Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes “ugliness” has jaded her outlook on celebrities, but she preserves her passion for movies with weekly trips to local cinemas, preferring sweatpants and matinee showings over red carpet attire and premieres. “We’ve seen a lot of sites come and go during this time. And we’ve seen sites get really hot and then fall off,” Ms. Yee said when asked about Ms. Brand’s decade-long run. “Longevity is a big deal. That’s definitely a testament to Jasmine’s professionalism.” Today, mindful of their audience’s maturation and evolving interests, The Jasmine Brand team plans on debuting at least two spinoff sites, one focusing on health and the other on lifestyle; there are also plans for a makeup line in the coming year. Ultimately, Ms. Brand wants to land exclusive casting announcements, publishing trailers, and on-set images. That’s a path to becoming a trade publication along the lines of Deadline and Variety, albeit more cognizant of celebrities that her current audience cares about. About that: She and her team reject labels like “urban” and “gossip site” that Ms. Brand said often relegates sites like The Jasmine Brand to “second-class” status. Instead, she says the site’s defining characteristics are two rather unglamorous assets that have carried the brand this far: perseverance and consistency.

This Is No Sweetheart Deal: How To Shield Yourself From Cyber Criminals' Arrows On Valentine's Day 

• People searching for a partner may be more vulnerable on Valentine’s Day. These hopeless romantics are often the target for online scammers around the holiday. Veuer’s Susana Victoria Perez has more. Buzz60 Will, you be my Valentine's scam?  This is the time of year that cybercriminals like to play Cupid, and you are the object of their affections, according to a security research firm. Over the past two years, Check Point Research says it has observed them using the word "Valentine" as an arrow in their quiver during the month of February to lure unsuspecting romantics to malicious websites. In 2018 and 2019, the use of "Valentine" on malicious websites jumped more than 200% from previous months in 2019 and 2018, the largest increase throughout the year.  Turns out cybercriminals are sweet on the word "chocolate," too. In 2018, they used the word nearly 500% more as bait in February, but their affections for it drooped in 2019, up only 39%. Sweetheart deal: These zoos will name a cockroach after your ex and feed it to an animal on Valentine's Day Amazon, 1-800-Flowers and more: These retailers are already having massive sales for Valentine's Day So why is Valentine's Day such a favorite among cybercriminals? It's the perfect cover. They can camouflage their dirty tricks, such as getting you to download malware, by hiding out among the many legitimate Valentine's Day websites. According to Check Point Research, in the first week of February alone, people around the globe visited more than 10,000 domains containing the word "Valentine." Don't wait until the last minute to shop for the perfect Valentine's Day gifts. (Photo: LiliGraphie, Getty Images/iStockphoto) Last year, an email campaign reportedly spread ransomware around Valentine's Day with subjects such as: "This is my love letter to you."  "This year we already see some examples ...  that might be part of a wider campaign that will be spread later this month," Check Point Research said in a blog post. That campaign uses the subject: "I browse your profile, and I love it... So, these are my best photos...” Here's how to make sure you don't fall for one of these not-so-sweet deals: Verify you are placing an order with a legit website, Check Point Research advises. Search for retailers on the internet and click from the search results, instead of clicking on promotional links in emails. Do your research before jumping on "special" offers that sound too good to be true. "An 80% discount on the new iPad is usually not a reliable or trustworthy purchase opportunity," Check Point Research says. And keep your eyes peeled for efforts to fool you with lookalike domains. Also common in these scams are spelling errors in emails or on websites and unfamiliar email senders.

How To Install & Setup Apple TV On Firestick 

The methods and sources of entertainment have been changed with time. There was an era when traditional methods of watching movies and shows were extremely popular. Movies download sites and torrent sites were the most popular platforms for gathering resources of amusement. Later, movie streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+, Crunchyroll, etc. Came to trend. But, Apple also made a dedicated source for Apple products lovers. Apple TV is now one of the most loved platforms for watching movies and shows. A few months back, the Apple TV app was released for Amazon Fire TV devices. The app supports all Fire TV devices such as Fire TV (1st and 2nd generation), Fire TV Stick (2nd and 3rd generation), Fire TV Cube, and Fire TV Stick 4K. Millions of Fire TV users have downloaded the Apple TV app on their devices. While many of them encountered errors while using it. While exploring some Reddit threads and forums, I found that many Fire TV Stick users asking questions regarding the Apple TV app. So, here you’re gonna read the complete process to use the Apple TV app on Firestick. How To Install Apple TV on Firestick? Apple has collaborated with Amazon and made it’s official app live on the Amazon App Store. Hence, you do not need to make any changes in Device Settings as other apps require. Basically, Fire TV devices are running on the customized OS of Android and it supports all Android apps. The methods of sideloading Android APK’s are generally termed as Jailbreaking. Once you explore the search engines, you end up with tons of Firestick jailbreaking guides. But, the installation process of Apple TV on Firestick is very simple. All you need to do is, perform these steps on your device- Plugin Firestick into any TV HDMI input ports. Power on Firestick and TV. Select the HDMI source where Firestick inserted and follow the instruction to set up. Go to Firestick Home. Select the Search option. Type- ‘Apple TV‘ in the search box. Select Apple TV from the Apps & Games list. Choose the ‘Download‘ option and wait for a few seconds. Apple TV apps will be installed automatically. How to Setup Apple TV on Firestick? If you already have an Apple ID then follow these steps to enjoy all the contents on your Fire TV devices. Go to Your Apps & Channels Scroll right and select See All option. From the list of apps and channels, choose Apple TV. Click on Start Watching to move ahead. Apple TV dashboard is loaded, select Settings from the navigation. Click on Accounts then Sign In. You’ll see two options to Sign In. Choose Sign In on Mobile Device. Once you select that, a QR Code will appear on your TV screen. Open Camera/QR Scanner app on your iPhone. Follow the instructions to complete the setup. Wrapping Up Amazon has recently tied-up with Google, Apple, and Disney+ to bring a lot more entertainment for Fire TV Stick users. That’s the reason why Fire TV Stick is the most loved media streaming device globally. Those who can’t afford Apple TV but love to watch content from the Apple TV App can now enjoy it. The Apple developers are already working hard to make the app more interesting on the Fire TV interface. Enjoy watching.