Ep 150 - Justin Barton, SVP of Digital Strategy & Partnerships at Black Enterprise

Minority Report Podcast

In episode 150, Erik and Kerel talk with Justin Barton, SVP of Digital Strategy & Partnerships at Black Enterprise, a digital resource for black entrepreneurs, black-owned businesses, and career, tech, and money content for black people. Justin was born in Brooklyn, NY to his mother and father who were both educators in New York. He eventually went on to Hofstra University to get his BA in Business Administration and got his MBA at Long Island University. Justin has been working in the media industry for about 18 years now and his repertoire includes Viacom, iHeartMedia, MTV News, and Daily Mail. Justin stresses the importance of companies using black owned media to reach black viewers as well as increasing the number of diversity hires in the workplace and media environment. He shares the different types of black stories they’re writing and sharing at Black Enterprise - lifestyle, local, financial, and more. Justin also talks through his career journey of climbing up the ladder from analyst to eventually SVP and what it took to get him there including skills, networking and experience. “Don't stay somewhere where you're not appreciated, don't stay somewhere where your opinions aren't taken seriously” Timestamps :37: Justin Barton, SVP of Digital Strategy & Partnerships at Black Enterprise shares his experience growing up in New York and where he got his education 1:35: Justin talks about his mother and father, both originally from Brooklyn and educators 3:16: Justin shares his experience at his first job out of college in Finance and then eventually moving to media at Disney ABC television 4:37: What is going on at Black Enterprise, including how the pandemic affected the company, and how they’ve had a meteoric rise in the past 3 years 7:12: Justin talks about how his career has been affected by him being a black man and one of the things that has kept him in the right place at the right time with the right people 10:19: What the “board list” at Black Enterprise is, how it has helped black people get onto executive boards and C-suite positions, and their commitment to get people of color in more of those types of roles 13:35: The effort and commitment to push more advertising dollars to diverse people and agencies and educating others on black media in general 16:12: Justin talks about the importance of getting black content out to people from a trusted source 17:35: What it takes to have a great career in media 22:20: How networking is so important to developing professional and personal relationships in your industry, especially media specific 24:09: Justin shares his top 3 apps that help keep him informed and entertained 26:16: How to connect with Justin Follow Us: Newsletter: bitly.com/2QLEY8U Linkedin: bit.ly/2ZZUBxG Twitter: bit.ly/2Qp0SzK Instagram: bit.ly/2QLfEQc