Jesse Brown: Rethinking Local Storytelling
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The media landscape is changing, and there are fewer and fewer resources going toward telling local stories. Today’s guest, however, believes that there is so much to explore and honor in our own backyards. In this episode, Shawn Berry speaks with Jesse Brown, a serial founder and entrepreneur with over 20 years of media production and storytelling experience. Jesse believes deeply in the power of place and brings a comprehensive set of skills to the table, from content creation to advertising, sales, and event production.
Jesse loves to connect people and organizations in ways that help everyone realize their goals, and he is currently channeling that passion into local streaming platform, HUDSY, which features stories made in the Hudson Valley, about the Hudson Valley, and is challenging the usual tech playbook with its egalitarian business model. HUDSY is a non-traditional business, cooperatively owned and delivered by a small group of locals who are dedicated to protecting and celebrating the Hudson Valley’s talent, diversity, and culture. HUDSY empowers its members by providing a path to ownership and by keeping funds in the local economy.
Tuning in, you’ll learn how Jesse is leading the way forward in local storytelling, cooperatives, and next economy development in the Hudson Valley, New York, as well as how HUDSY is providing skill building and direct access to capital for filmmakers to bring local stories to life, plus so much more!
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Key Points From This Episode:
What led Jesse to start his first business at the intersection of localism and storytelling.
The inspiration behind HUDSY: honoring the stories that already exist while building a platform to create new narratives.
How HUDSY builds upon the cultural legacies of regional magazines.
The valuable role that local storytelling can play in stimulating local economies.
Understanding how HUDSY is founded on the principles of platform cooperativism.
Original creative content that viewers can look forward to seeing on the HUDSY App.
How HUDSY provides skills and direct access to capital for the next generation of filmmakers.
What Jesse has learned about the power of collectivity from some of his greatest challenges.
Who has influenced Jesse to build new systems and models in the ‘niche platform world’.
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Tweetables:
“[HUDSY builds] upon the cultural legacies of other magazines that have represented regions before and [takes] it into video streaming. [It takes] it into the innovation of equity and thought around creatives and artists in the fact that it’s also structured as a cooperative.” — Jesse Brown
“I don’t know if we all realize that, by shifting our attention to more local models, there’s real value there. That value can create a regenerative form of income that can continue to spur local economies.” — Jesse Brown
“This is such a competitive word, but [we want to see] some ‘big wins’ in the co-op space because, if we see those, it could give us more energy and more excitement and continue to usher more people into this space.” — Jesse Brown
“We’re super excited to help give the skills and the resources to the next generation of filmmakers—and it only helps us, because our platform will be better because of it.” — Jesse Brown
“There’s no shortage of capital in the world. We need to start putting capital into places and investing in people who are really committed to making a difference, not just creating more wealth for a small group of people.” — Jesse Brown
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Jesse Brown on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-brown-5ab8b214/
Jesse Brown on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/digi_ranch/
HUDSY — https://hudsy.tv/
HUDSY Community Content Fund — https://hudsy.tv/grants/
Good Work Institute — https://goodworkinstitute.org/
Trebor Scholz — https://www.newschool.edu/public-engagement/faculty/trebor-scholz/
Platform Cooperativism Consortium — https://platform.coop/
Means TV — https://means.tv/
kweliTV — https://www.kweli.tv/
Revry — https://www.revry.tv/
BRIC — https://www.bricartsmedia.org/
DCTV — https://dctv.org/
Start.coop — https://www.start.coop/
Zebras Unite Co-Op — https://zebrasunite.coop/
Bloc by Block News — https://blocbyblocknews.com/
Wild Earth — https://wildearth.org/
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