EmailAbout a million years ago, or maybe it was only 20, Janice Horowitz, an old friend of mine who was once the health and science reporter for Time Magazine (when Time Magazine was a really big deal) told me about a crazy idea she had.
She was going to do something she called 'podcasting'. She was going to make aucio tapes (we still had tape in those days) or medical issues and then Time Magazine could offer them up to people who wanted to listen to them.
She was WAY ahead of her time. But she kept at it. She has a dogged determination.
"Podcasting"? I said. Who is going to listen to someone when you could do VIDEO! (I have always been a big fan of video).
Well, even I can catch up, which I did this week when we launched our first Podcast, entitled Screen Nation (you can downlaod it from Apple).
Yesterday, our old friend from BET, Samson Styles came by the studio to record a podcast with us.
Samson is a case study for what the Video Revolution can bring. He has a great personal story. He grew up in the projects in one of the worst and most dangerous neighborhoods in New York, Brownsville. He was in trouble with the law by the age of 11 and spent 8 years in prison for armed robbery.
Samson doing time before he discovered video
When he got out of prison, no real skills, no formal education beyond a GED and endless street connections, he might have continued a life of crime. However, his cousin gave him a video camera and that changed his world.
With absolutely no formal training, he shot a documentary film on girl street gangs and took it to BET. At BET, they saw his potential and his talent, and not only bought the film, they also hired him as a correspondent. And that is where we met Samson. He was one of our students in our VJ bootcamp at BET, and one of our best.
For the past few years, Samson had been shooting, editing, scripting and producing his own documentary film: KILLING BEEF.
He did it all on his own, with no guarantee of anything, but remarkably (or maybe not) it was just licensed by Revolt TV, which is owned by Sean Puff Daddy Combs. Puffy saw the film and wanted it right away for his new TV channel.
The screening party for Killing Beef
Now Samson and his wife and business partner, Ty Ty Carmichael Styles are headed off to Johannesburg, South Africa for a screening and a series of seminars and lectures on the film.
Samson has come a long way from where he started, but we think even now, he’s just at the beginning. Check out the podcast (LINK) and the trailer for KILLING BEEF
OK.
I've got podcating down.
Next I might try flying in an airplane.
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