Why Nicholas Carlson Left Business Insider to Build a New Media Company

In this interview, Nicholas Carlson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Dynamo and former Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider, shares his journey through the evolving landscape of digital media. Carlson talks about his career path, starting from Merrill Lynch to journalism, his time at Business Insider, and his experiences managing a global newsroom. He dives into the rise and fall of digital media brands like Gawker, Vice, and BuzzFeed, offering lessons learned from their successes and failures. Carlson also discusses Dynamo's focus on creating YouTube videos that use business as a lens to explain the world, combining engaging storytelling with insightful content. He shares his thoughts on billionaire scrutiny in journalism, legal challenges faced by media outlets, and why video is positioned to remain the most powerful storytelling medium in the future. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:47 Why Nicholas Carlson Left Merrill Lynch 4:22 Nicholas Carlson’s Path to Gawker 6:56 Was Digital Media’s Fall Inevitable? 8:38 Joining Business Insider 12:59 Running a Global Newsroom After Being Laid Off 17:36 What Is Dynamo? 21:17 What Content Will Dynamo Create? 23:17 The Pivot to Video Debate 24:41 Did Video Companies Overspend? 27:43 Starting Small with Dynamo 29:12 Is Video the Future of Media? 31:57 The Bill Ackman Controversy 35:11 Why Axel Springer Reviewed the Ackman Story 36:01 Responding to Anti-Semitism Claims 36:29 Why Nicholas Carlson Left Business Insider 39:50 Axel Springer’s Pledge and Media Scrutiny 42:40 Taking on Billionaires in Journalism Welcome to Mediaite, THE site for news and opinion on the intersection of media and politics. Join Mediaite+ https://www.mediaite.com/subscribe/ ►Subscribe to Mediaite: https://bit.ly/3MjuECB ► Website: https://www.mediaite.com/ ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mediaite/ ► X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/mediaite ► Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mediaite ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mediaite #NicholasCarlson #DynamoMedia #DigitalMediaTrends #BusinessInsider #YouTubeStrategy #ViceMedia #BuzzFeed