Carlos Watson (journalist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carlos Watson
|
|
|---|---|
Watson in 2013
|
|
| Born | September 29, 1969 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Stanford University (JD) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, journalist, television host |
| Known for | Founding Ozy Media |
Carlos Watson (born September 29, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, journalist, and television host. An entrepreneur is someone who starts and runs their own business. He used to contribute to MSNBC and was the CEO of a media company called Ozy Media. He started Ozy Media in 2013 with a partner.
As an entrepreneur, Watson co-founded a company called Achieva College Prep Service in 2002. This company helped students get ready for college. He later sold it to The Washington Post and Kaplan. Ozy Media was able to raise a lot of money, over $70 million, from different investors. Watson also hosted his own show, The Carlos Watson Show, which was a daily interview program on YouTube.
In 2021, Ozy Media faced some public challenges. Following these events, Watson stepped down from the board of NPR on October 1, 2021. Later that day, Ozy's board of directors announced that the company would be shutting down. However, Watson later said that Ozy would continue to operate. Ozy Media eventually closed down in March 2023.
Contents
Carlos Watson's Early Life and School
Watson was born and grew up in Miami, Florida. He was one of four children in his family, and his parents were from Jamaica. He started first grade in 1975.
Watson went to Harvard University and graduated from there. After college, he worked as a Chief of Staff and Campaign Manager for a politician named Daryl Jones in Florida. He also helped manage Bill Clinton's election efforts in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1992. Later, he went to Stanford Law School. While there, he was an editor for the Stanford Law Review and was the president of the Stanford Law School Student Government.
Watson's Career Journey
Starting Businesses and Investments
After finishing law school in 1995, Watson started working at McKinsey & Company. This is a big company that advises other businesses. After two years, Watson left McKinsey to start his own company, Achieva College Prep Service. This company was located in San Mateo, California. Watson sold Achieva in 2002 to another company called Kaplan, Inc. Later, he worked at Goldman Sachs, a major investment bank, where he was in charge of education investments around the world.
In 1997, he also helped start College Track with Laurene Powell Jobs. College Track is a program that helps students from underserved communities get into and graduate from college.
Working in Journalism and Television
Watson began his television career in 2002. He appeared as a political expert on shows like Fox News and Court TV. In early 2003, he joined CNBC, and then moved to CNN later that same year.
For two years, he was a regular political commentator on CNN. He notably covered the 2004 U.S. presidential election and wrote a main political column for CNN.com. Watson also hosted a show called Meet the Faith on BET. In October 2004, Watson had a special interview with Barack Obama. At the time, Obama was running for the U.S. Senate in Illinois and was the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He later became the U.S. President.
In 2007, Watson started hosting a series of one-hour interview specials. These shows were called Conversations with Carlos Watson and aired on Hearst Television stations across the country. The show won an award called the Gracie Allen award in 2008 for "Outstanding Portrait/Biography Program." It also won an Accolade Award that year.
Watson was recognized by People as one of the "Hottest Bachelors" in 2004. He was also on Extra's list of most eligible bachelors in 2008.
Watson was a founder and investor in The Stimulist, which was a daily blog that operated in 2009.
In March 2009, Watson became a daytime news anchor for MSNBC. From June to September 2009, he hosted an 11:00 am newscast on the channel.
In March 2016, PBS announced a new debate program called Point Taken. Watson produced and hosted this show.
Watson was chosen to be on the Board of Directors of NPR in 2018. NPR is a well-known public radio organization. In September 2021, NPR announced that he was reelected for another three-year term. However, Watson resigned from the NPR board on October 1, 2021, due to issues related to Ozy Media.
Watson was also an executive producer for a show called Black Women OWN the Conversation for the Oprah Winfrey Network. One episode, "Motherhood," won an award at the 41st News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2020. He was supposed to present awards at the 2021 show but stepped down after reports about Ozy Media.
Founding Ozy Media
In September 2013, Watson launched Ozy with Samir Rao. Ozy was a digital news and culture magazine that published daily. Samir Rao was also a former colleague from Goldman Sachs.
As the CEO, Watson helped Ozy raise over $70 million from investors. These investors included people like Laurene Powell Jobs, Louise Rogers, and Ron Conway. The company grew from just publishing daily news online to also producing TV shows and podcasts. Ozy worked with other companies like A&E Networks, iHeart Media, and Live Nation.
Watson was also the host of several of Ozy's TV shows. He also hosted the Ozy Fest events, which were held in New York City.
In late September 2021, Ozy Media was featured in a New York Times article. This article brought attention to some business practices and statements that were questioned. Watson sent an email to all Ozy staff and posted it on Twitter, calling the Times article a "ridiculous hitjob." Some former Ozy employees said that Watson's ideas and plans were sometimes not realistic.
Sharon Osbourne, the wife of rock star Ozzy Osbourne, said that Watson had falsely claimed they had invested in Ozy. She called Watson "the biggest shyster I have ever seen in my life." Watson told NBC News's Today show that he referred to the Osbournes as investors because they received shares of Ozy stock as part of a legal agreement. However, Osbourne told CNBC that she was offered shares in Ozy many times and always said no.
On October 1, 2021, Ozy announced that it would stop operating. But on October 4, Watson said that the company would continue to do business.
In February 2023, Ozy held a presentation in New York to promote itself to advertisers. Watson hosted a live version of his talk show at this event.
Ozy announced that it was shutting down on March 1, 2023, after some legal issues arose concerning Watson and other executives.
|
