LEMON DROP | Ashley Allison: Taking Back the Narrative with The Root
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Why did Ashley Allison decide to buy The Root in today’s digital media climate?
hi everyone welcome to the don lemon show the economy is in rough shape right now we all know that unemployment is rising inflation sky high and the trump administration's taco tariffs are only making the situation worse the media industry has been hit particularly hard every day i see headlines about layoffs declining viewership on consolidation but there are exceptions and that's independent media independent media is killing it right now it's having a moment the don lemon show is on fire i mean if you talk to the people who are watching we'll discuss that with my next guest. And my guest today is also killing the media game. I'm so happy to have Ashley Allison on. She's a political strategist and communications expert.
She is a former senior staffer in the Obama and Biden administrations. And she is the founder of Watering Hole Media, the company that just acquired the digital media outlet The Root. And I could not be prouder of her. She is an old colleague and a friend. Ashley, good to see you. How are you doing?
I'm doing great. We were saying I'm tired because it's been a big week. I'm excited. I'm humbled. I am overjoyed. I'm really just ready for this moment and excited to be the new owner of The Root.
Thanks for having me too, Don. Thank you for doing what you do. So having said that, congratulations. I'm really excited for you. You already know You're very pragmatic. You know that it is this is going to be tough work. You said to me now the hard work begins. Why in this economy? I'm sure people ask ask you why in this media environment did you want to buy a media company? Why did why are you wanting to buy and run the route?
Well, look, I come from a family of storytellers. My father used to write for the Black newspaper in our hometown. I recently learned one of my great uncles was part owner of the Collin Post, which is a Black newspaper. And media and storytelling is essential to the Black community. And historically, we have had publications like Ebony and Jet and Essence published that really tell our story from our perspective. And when The Root was founded in 2008, it was really one of its first of its kind for Black media. It was a digital first publication. And right now with independent media, digital first, social media is how most people get their news. I understand there might be challenges, but I also see great opportunity here, particularly in the moment that we are in being able to tell our stories as Black people.
Amen to that. When you said it was, I think it was revolutionary in the, for the digital moment to be, you know, a digital, right? Media space. but now it's having to evolve. And I think you're going to bring it into the present and into the future. Did it lose its way somehow? Was it not able to keep up? Like what happened with The Root? Because man, if you got a notice saying you're being honored as one of The Root 100, you'd be like, yeah, shit, I made it, right? You know what I'm saying? And so can we bring that back?
It's back, it's here, it's ready. We are gonna do the Root 100 this year. I always wanted to be on the Root 100. And I actually learned some strategy about what type of jobs I should get in politics from studying people that were on the Root 100. So it is, the Root is just such a part of my story. I'm so excited now I can be a part of it. But let's just talk about like when the Root was started.
How does Ashley’s personal and family storytelling background shape her vision for Black media?
2008, the election of the first black president, Barack Obama. He uses digital first really to get elected, social media, getting small donors. And so Henry Louis Gates, someone who was also in relationship with Barack Obama, starts it with Donald Graham at the Washington Post. Like I said, first of its time, revolutionary. Since then, it has had different owners. It's been sold to Univision. We just bought it from Geo Media. And each owner, because of the time and when they actually owned it, had their own vision. Our vision for The Root right now is to go, as Professor Gates said, take it back to its roots. Be a place where you can get news of the day, political commentary, understand what's happening in the culture.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Why did Ashley Allison decide to buy The Root in today’s digital media climate?
0:13–3:37
2
How does Ashley’s personal and family storytelling background shape her vision for Black media?
3:37–18:56
3
What is Watering Hole Media’s strategy to revive The Root’s editorial identity?
18:56–19:40
4
How will The Root balance written journalism with video and social distribution?
19:40–26:09
5
What lessons has Ashley learned about independent media and audience engagement?
26:09–31:51
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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