Blavity’s Morgan Debaun, An Oprah for Black Media’s Internet age?
In the four years DeBaun has been CEO, Blavity has expanded to include a network of five Black-centric websites — plus conferences such as EmpowerHer and AfroTech. In all, she says they reach an audience of more than 30 million people per month. DeBaun is disrupting a field dominated by old giants, like Ebony and Jet, Essence and Black Entertainment Television.
How about the internet age’s version of the Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey? She’s a fan, but not an aspirant: “I don’t want to be Oprah, but I do want to embody this world where I’m just going to be Morgan. If that doesn’t fit, that doesn’t matter. I’ll just make the space.”