Building The World's Largest All VJ (or MMJ or MoJo) TV Station in Los Angeles

Posted September 13, 2018

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Lisa and I are now in our second week of VJ (or MMJ or MoJo) video bootcamp in Los Angeles.

We are working with Charter/Spectrum (which used to be Time Warner cable) to help build what is going to be the world's largest all VJ, 24-hour TV station.

Los Angeles is the #2 television market in the United States (after NY) and SoCal-1 is going to be the very first 24-hour local content station in LA. I say local content because it is going to go far beyond news.

It is also going to be 100% VJ (or MMJ or MoJo) journalists.

No one has ever done anything like this before, on a scale like this. It is a major investment on the part of Spectrum, and it shows enormous faith in the concept. Many TV stations now, of course, have paid lip service to the VJ concept - hiring a few or using them solely for their website and social media. Occasionally, they will report for the station.

But this is the very first all VJ station in the world (at least on this massive scale).

We have been training everyone here, from MMJs to the News Director. Part of our philosophy with these kinds of stations is that everyone should be both 'video iterate' and video equipped. And here, everyone is. And everyone is encouraged to make their own stories for air.

What we find most interesting is that the emphasis here is on great storytelling and authorship. Most local TV stations create pretty much cookie-cutter stories that all look alike. We are encouraging the VJs to find and have their own voices.

When we are done, more than 125 people will have passed through our bootcamps. SoCal-1 will put more cameras and reporters on the street every day than all of the other local TV stations combined.

It's a real revolution. And we are delighted to be a part of it. And, this is just the beginning. Charter/Spectrum intends to roll this concept out in 9 more markets across the USA, creating, in effect, a massive national network of VJ (or MoJo) driven content that will run 24- hours a day, coast to coast. 

This will also provide what is likely to be the largest single hiring opportunty for MMJs. Jobs are going to open up in all of these stations for great VJ reporters, and, as I said, we are just getting started.