MIKE BLINDER is the Publisher of Editor & Publisher Magazine (E&P) and CEO (Chief Evangelist Officer) of its parent company, The Curated Experiences Group. E&P has served as the authoritative voice of the news publishing industry for over 140-years. He is also the author of “Survival Selling,” a popular (media-based) B2B (business-to-business) sales guide.
Mike is also the host of E&P's popular Vodcast series: "E&P Reports," which offers weekly timely interviews with newspaper, broadcast, online and all forms of news publishing and media industry leaders.
Mike has been in love with media his entire life. In high school, he worked part-time as an intern at WPEN radio in Philadelphia and at Radio Shack, where he sold the 1st generation of home computers.
While attending George Washington University, he held a full-time job as a DC Deejay, becoming a station manager within five years. Mike then worked at various radio station groups still appearing onair while managing all facets of broacast operations and sales.
From radio, Mike moved to TV and eventually print, starting one of the 1st digital newspapers in the United States where the Newspaper Association of America nominated him as a “Digital Pioneer.”
Before taking over E&P Magazine, Mike spent 20 years as founding manager of one of the world’s most respected media consulting firms, The Blinder Group. In addition, Mike personally trained over 10,000 media salespeople to adapt to digital revenue concepts and solutions. Mike was best known for his SMB (small/ medium-sized business) marketing training sessions throughout those years. He brought his life-long learning and love of media together in entertaining and engaging classes to cities and towns worldwide. Over 100,000 business leaders have attended his sessions on using all forms of media more effectively to guarantee maximum results.
Mike has won numerous media awards, is past president and board member for several media/marketing associations and has been a sought-after speaker at conferences worldwide. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and business partner, Robin and their miniutre golden-doodle "Dolly.
In this episode, E&P spoke with two prominent figures in the newspaper industry: Matt Paxton, publisher of The News-Gazette in Lexington, Virginia, and past president of the National Newspaper Association (NNA), and Brad Hill, CEO of Interlink and an NNA representative on the USPS Mailer’s Technical Advisory Committee. They explore the ongoing relevance of print media, the intricacies of postal delivery and the NNA’s advocacy efforts to help community publishers address today's news publishing challenges.
As a follow-up to this month's E&P cover story, Mike Beaudet, an investigative reporter for WCVB-TV in Boston and a journalism professor at Northeastern University, shares his vision for adapting local news to resonate with Gen Z through his pioneering Reinventing Local News Project, designed to help repackage traditional broadcast content to meet the digital consumption habits of younger audiences.
In a recent interview with Howard Homonoff, senior national advisor for the media and entertainment industry at Grant Thornton LLP and a weekly columnist for Forbes Magazine, E&P delved into the current state of local journalism. The conversation was sparked by Homonoff’s recent Forbes article titled “Presidential Debate In Focus But Local Journalism Battles For Its Life,” highlighting the severe challenges local journalism faced, including a long-term decline in newsroom employment and the emergence of “news desert” communities.