Thursday, November 14th, 2019

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Session I: Herscher Hall, Guerin B, Webcast Live

Podcasting in Hollywood: Leadership in the Industry: Content - Distribution - Advertising

Jen Sargent, Chief Operating Officer, Wondery

Tyler Moody, V.P./G.M., WarnerMedia Podcast Network, WarnerMedia

Conal Byrne, President, iHeartPodcast Network, iHeartMedia

Herb Scannell, President And Chief Executive Officer, Southern California Public Radio

N'Jeri Eaton, Director of Programming & New Audience, NPR

Lee Schneider, Founder of Red Cup Agency & FutureX Podcast Network, Moderator

Conal Byrne is the President of the iHeartPodcast Network for iHeartMedia.  iHeartRadio carries more than 250,000 podcasts from its own to other major podcast publishers and Conal oversees the iHeartPodcast Network of more than 750 original shows that amass more than 127 million downloads a month, making it the No. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally. He also oversees a team of over 50 podcast producers throughout Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. He led the launch of the HowStuffWorks (HSW) podcast program 10 years ago as CEO, making it the central focus of the company. Byrne joined iHeartMedia when the company acquired HSW in October 2018. He also previously served as Senior Vice President of Digital Media for Discovery

Communications, where he ran digital for all of Discovery’s U.S. networks and led the launch of Discovery VR. Byrne graduated from Georgetown University Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He also went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University in New York City where he received a Master’s in Literature. In his free time, Byrne also writes and records music, supports up-and-coming indie film directors and tries to keep up with his four young kids.

Jen Sargent, Chief Operating Officer, Wondery: Jen Sargent is a successful entrepreneur and executive with 20 years of digital media experience. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Wondery, the largest independent podcast publisher in the world, known for its immersive storytelling with hits such as Business Wars, Dr. Death, Imagined Life and The Shrink Next Door. Jen oversees strategy, marketing, partnerships and all non-advertising revenue streams for the Company. Prior to Wondery, Jen was most recently President of Uproxx, a Comscore Top-100 digital publisher and award-winning content studio programming cultural content for Millennials. As President, Jen led the strategy, revenue generation, partnerships, and operations across the organization. Uproxx was acquired by Warner Music in Summer of 2018. Prior to Uproxx, Jen was the CEO and co-founder of HitFix, a multi-platform entertainment news brand focused on helping consumers discover and experience movies, TV and pop-culture.  HitFix featured entertainment’s most celebrated tastemakers and a cross-platform reach of 300 million monthly viewers.  HitFix was acquired by Uproxx in 2016. Previous roles include head of Online Marketing & Development for Reed Business Information (parent of Variety); the International Media Group of top ad-serving technology company DoubleClick; venture capital experience from BV Capital in Hamburg, Germany; and finance experience from JP Morgan investment banking in New York.  Jen earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Tyler Moody is vice president and general manager of WarnerMedia Podcast Network, a division of Turner Content Distribution (TCD), the domestic distribution arm of Warner Media. In this capacity, Moody oversees podcasting for WarnerMedia’s portfolio of brands, leading the publishing and production for all company branded podcasts and assisting with developing and launching new branded podcasts. Moody is responsible for the news, sports and entertainment podcast content as well as providing the brands with content development support, operational management, production assistance, podcast distribution and coordinates with sales to develop a promotional and marketing strategy. Moody is based in Atlanta and reports to Jennifer Mirgorod, executive vice president of content distribution and strategic partnerships for Turner Content Distribution. Previously, Moody served as vice president at CNN Newsource Sales where he managed the digital audio business for CNN including handling the licensing of CNN Newsource & CNN Wire content to terrestrial radio affiliates. Prior to CNN Newsource Sales, Moody was vice president of CNN Radio where he led the editorial team in terrestrial radio news service and converted the business to all digital audio. Moody is a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Audio Group. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications from University of Illinois at Chicago. About WarnerMedia Podcast NetworkThe WarnerMedia Podcast Network was created to implement a portfolio-wide network that centralizes production, distribution and sales for all WarnerMedia podcasts in order to develop and launch new branded podcasts across WarnerMedia’s news, kids and entertainment brands.  WarnerMedia’s podcasts reach an average monthly audience of over 10 million unique users and 17 million downloads.  About WarnerMedia WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others.

N'Jeri Eaton is the Director of Programming and New Audiences at National Public Radio (NPR) where she is charged with sourcing new content, partnerships and talent. As a part of her portfolio, she oversees NPR programs such as Believed, Latino USA, Throughline and White Lies. N'Jeri is also a freelance documentary producer and editor. Her feature film First Friday was broadcast nationally on AfroPop in 2016. Previously, N'Jeri was the Content Development & Initiative Manager at the Independent Television Service (ITVS) where she managed two of their largest funding initiatives and was the consulting producer on almost 80 films.  N'Jeri received her M.A. at the UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Lee Schneider is Editor-In-Chief at Red Cup Agency, a digital publisher of podcasts and ebooks. The award-winning agency is known for its work with leaders in food, fitness, and education startups. He is the producer and host on the Future of Food Podcast, and is writing a book about food activists and innovation called Future of Food. He has produced many podcasts, including the Cult/Tech Podcast, the TechSmart Podcast*, and EdTech NOW. His upcoming podcast for Fall of 2018 is called Baby Crazy. He is an instructor at the USC School of Architecture, teaching a media course for graduate-level architecture and design students. Lee has more than 20 years of experience in journalism. He has been a writer for Good Morning America, a producer for Dateline NBC, and a producer and executive producer on many hours of programming for The History Channel, The Learning Channel, A&E, the Travel Channel, The Food Network, Bravo, and others. He is the author of Be More Popular: Culture-Building for Startups, an Amazon Kindle #1 bestseller, Los Angeles: Chronicle of a Startup Town, Powerful Online Delivery Systems: Free and Low-Cost Platforms for Creative Companies and Individuals,  The Angel Playbook: An Essential Guide for Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors, and ACE YOUR EBOOK. His next book, about parenting, is titled Baby Crazy: Confessions of a Three-Time Father. Fun facts: In the 1980s, he was a writer on the iconic cartoon series ThunderCats. He is the father of three and married to a goddess.