The Community Exchange Podcast by OpenWeb

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Will Lee, CEO of Adweek.

In our discussion, MSG and Will cover:

• Will Lee’s journey from finance to leading major media brands
• The transformation of digital media from print to online journalism
• How AI is reshaping advertising, creativity, and media strategy
• The evolving role of agencies and marketers in a digital-first world
• The business of media: monetization strategies ...

In this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Gabriel DeWitt, Head of Monetization at Yahoo.
In our discussion, MSG and Gabriel cover:

• Gabriel’s journey from software engineering to ad tech leadership
  
• Digital advertising's evolution from direct sales to programmatic
  
• Header bidding's rise and its impact on the open internet
  
• Challenges of monetization, privacy regulations, and the cookie collapse
  
• The ongoing battl...
  

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Mike O'Sullivan, Co-Founder and CEO at Sincera. In our discussion MSG and Mike cover:

• Mike O’Sullivan’s journey from Microsoft to founding Sincera
• The evolution of programmatic advertising and ad tech
• Challenges in reporting, transparency, and data management
• Google’s antitrust cases and its impact on the ad tech ecosystem
• Unlocking hidden revenue and optimizi...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Rich Caccappolo, Vice Chair, Media at Daily Mail General Trust (DMGT).

In our discussion MSG and Rich cover:

• Rich’s journey from CTO at iVillage to Vice Chairman at Daily Mail
• The future of direct traffic and its role in publisher growth
• Post-cookie challenges and the rise of curated audiences
• Fixing attribution to prove ROI for advertisers
• AI's impact on content creation...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Dr. Jonathan Roberts, Chief Innovation Officer at Dotdash Meredith.

In our discussion MSG and Jonathan cover:

• Jonathan’s journey from physicist to media and publishing innovator
• Becoming the official cartographer for Game of Thrones
• Adapting legacy brands like About.com to the digital-first era through verticalization
• Building audience connections through intent...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome David Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer and President at Contxtful to discuss:

• David’s debut at Advertising.com during the early days of digital advertising
• The potential breakup of Google and its impact on the publishing industry
• The rise of competition in ad servers and its implications for publishers
• Challenges for publishers as search traffic from Google dec...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Jeremy Kaplan, Content Director at Future PLC. In our discussion, Jeremy and MSG cover:

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome David Rowley, VP of Revenue Technology at News Corp. In our discussion, MSG and David cover:

• His unlikely journey from artist to media and tech executive
• Consolidation within ad tech and publishing
• The need for publisher alignment to tackle current challenges
• The emergence of new ad servers
• Competing with the walled gardens for advertising dollars
• The inte...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Andrew Q Kraft, the former President and COO of The Arena Group, currently on a listening tour working to diagnose the media industry’s needs, connect key players, and help chart the future of the industry. In their discussion, MSG and Andrew cover:

• Diagnosing media’s needs by listening to over 200 media professionals
• Gen AI’s role in editorial and content creatio...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Andrew Casale, President and CEO at Index Exchange. In our discussion, MSG and Andrew discuss:

• Andrew’s journey building Index Exchange
• How publishers can navigate the loss of signals by becoming a destination
• The current state of measurement and attribution in publishing and CTV
• How curation can help publishers increase CPMs
• Index Exchange’s biggest strategic...

Could separating buy and sell at Google drive innovation in adtech?

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Paul Bannister, Chief Strategy Officer at Raptive to dig into that and more, including:

• Adtech at the dawn of programmatic
• Generative AI’s role in changing news and information consumption habits
• The effect of declining search traffic on lifestyle publishers
• Building and maintaining a remote co...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Larry Allen, VP & GM of Data and Addressable Enablement at Comcast.

In our discussion, MSG and Larry cover:

• Improvements and advancements in measurement and attribution
• The changes coming to CTV in the next 5 years
• How to use AI to optimize ad placement
• Comcast’s role in delivering great viewing experiences for users during major events like the 2024 Olympic...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Johnny Won, Global Head of Martech, Ad Tech, and Operations at EssenceMediacom.

In our discussion, MSG and Johnny discuss:

• His entrepreneurial background and unlikely career path
• Building and scaling businesses
• The role of privacy sandbox and cookies in shaping the future of advertising
• The current advertising landscape and the new emerging signals
• Generativ...

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Jennie Baird, Chief Product Officer at BBC Studios.

In our discussion, MSG and Jennie discuss:

• Her methods for building and leading product teams
• Building the product functions at News Corp
• Her role as Board Chair of the Ethical Tech Project and their work to ensure the ethical use of data and technology
• The effects of generative AI on the media landscape

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Amanda Martin, Chief Revenue Officer at Mediavine.

In our discussion, MSG and Amanda discuss:

• Her professional journey from buy to supply,
• Her experience working at Goodway Group,
• Her current role helping independent publishers build sustainable businesses with Mediavine,
• The current state of the media and publishing industry, and much more.

About O...

This is The Community Exchange Podcast, brought to you by OpenWeb: an interview podcast series featuring the leaders building the media ecosystem of the future.
This season, our host is industry veteran Matthew Scott Goldstein (a.k.a. MSG). Each episode he explores our guests’ journeys through the media world, the work they are currently doing, and how they’re shaping the media and publishing industry.

Learn more about OpenWeb a...

The engagement game is getting trickier. Sure, producing high-quality content is extremely important—but how else can publishers truly stand out in an increasingly crowded field?

The answer lies with a loyal, engaged community. When audiences find more reasons to interact with content and engage with others, publishers win.

Take The New York Post—one of America’s largest newspapers, and one of OpenWeb’s 3,000+ loyal communiti...

AI innovation is showing no signs of slowing down. It’s tough for even the most forward-thinking publishers and brands to keep up with the latest developments in AI.

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we dive into the unstoppable force of AI innovation with our Guest Rob Meadows. Rob is the President and CEO of The AI Foundation and AI Advisor to OpenWeb. 

As a leading voice in the AI industry, Rob’s insi...

How did IGN grow to become one of the web’s most active communities of enthusiasts?

This week, we’re joined by Peer Schneider, one of IGN’s founders and current Chief Content Officer, and Jada Griffin, Head of Community. These two leaders have built IGN into the essential gaming and entertainment hub it is today.

And given that this team has been publishing content for over 25 years — from the early days of wide internet adop...