Ozy Media#Magazine

Ozy was launched as a digital magazine and daily newsletter in September 2013. The company raised a $5.3 million seed round of funding in December 2013 backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, founder of Emerson Collective.{{Cite web |date=December 28, 2013 |title=Ozy Media raises $5.3M in seed round |url=https://www.vcpost.com/articles/20273/20131228/ozy-media-raises-5-3m-seed-round.htm |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website=Venture Capital Post |language=en}} Additional early investors included Louise Rogers and Ron Conway. Powell Jobs became a board member.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Ben |date=September 27, 2021 |title=Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/26/business/media/ozy-media-goldman-sachs.html |access-date=September 27, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Laurene Powell Jobs, who had co-founded a college prep nonprofit with Mr. Watson in 1997, invested and joined the Ozy board}}

In October 2014, Ozy announced that German media giant Axel Springer had invested $20 million in the company.{{Cite web |last=Yu |first=Roger |title=Axel Springer invests $20M in startup Ozy |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/10/06/axel-springer-investment-in-ozy/16764657/ |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} In January 2017, Ozy announced a $10 million Series B round of fundraising, led by Michael Moe's GSV Capital.{{Cite news |last=Alpert |first=Lukas I. |date=January 24, 2017 |title=Ozy Media Raises $10 Million to Expand Video, Events |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ozy-media-raises-10-million-to-expand-video-events-1485234000 |access-date=July 16, 2020 |issn=0099-9660}} In November 2019 Ozy announced a Series C round of $35 million, led by businessman Marc Lasry..{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2019 |title=OZY Media makes a big bet on content |url=https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/11/01/ozy-media-avenue-capital-streaming-content-squawk-box.html |access-date=February 5, 2020 |website=CNBC |language=en}} Ozy also received funding from the Ford Foundation.{{Cite news|title=Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 million conference call gone wrong|newspaper=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/goldman-sachs-ozy-media-and-a-40-million-conference-call-gone-wrong/articleshow/86548510.cms}}

In January 2021, Watson said that the company had reached profitability for the first time. He stated that Ozy brought in $50 million in revenue in 2020.{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |title=OZY hits profitability on $50 million in revenue |url=https://www.axios.com/ozy-revenue-profitability-carlos-watson-cdd726df-2e3d-49d7-abad-7ac6036f7013.html |access-date=October 4, 2021 |website=Axios |date=January 12, 2021 |publisher=Axios Media |language=en |publication-date=January 12, 2021 |quote=OZY brought in $50 million in revenue last year, helping it hit profitability for the first time in its 7-year history. … The company has received acquisition offers from at least two major media companies, its founder and CEO Carlos Watson tells Axios.}} Several major news outlets questioned the legitimacy of these claims, and investors subsequently sued, alleging fraud and concealment.{{Cite news|last=Griffith|first=Erin|date=2021-10-09|title=Lifestyles of the Rich and Gullible: Theranos and Ozy Edition|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/09/business/ozy-theranos-startup-lawsuits.html|access-date=2022-01-07|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|last=Primack|first=Dan|date=2021-12-01|title=Ozy Media strikes severance deal with ex-employees|work=Axios|url=https://www.axios.com/ozy-media-strikes-severance-deal-ex-employees-5dcdab26-7d09-41d7-be30-f733611ddc28.html|access-date=2022-01-07}} The company also said that it had received acquisition offers from unnamed media companies.

In March 2021, Ozy and Dentsu announced a multi-year partnership as part of Dentsu's investment in "meaningful media" focused on millennial and Gen Z consumers.{{Cite web |title=Dentsu Media Enters into A New Multiyear Partnership With OZY |date=March 2021 |url=https://www.adweek.com/media/dentsu-media-ozy-partnership-carlos-watson/ |access-date=March 3, 2021 |language=en-US}} In October 2021, Variety announced that such media-buying agencies were no longer willing to do business with Ozy in light of its duplicitous and alleged illegal behavior. WPP's GroupM, which makes buying decisions for advertisers including Ford Motor, Unilever and IBM, wrote in a statement, "We suspended all campaigns with Ozy Media on behalf of our clients … We have also terminated our agreement with Ozy Media at this time."{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Brian |date=2021-10-04 |title=Ozy Media May Have Worn Out Its Welcome With Media Buyers |url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/ozy-media-advertisers-groupm-dentsu-carlos-watson-1235080541/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |work=Variety |language=en-US}}

From OZY's launch in September 2013 until the summer of 2014, Watson (or sometimes authors of recent articles in OZY) appeared in a weekly installment of NPR's All Things Considered called "The New and the Next," in which he would lay forth on "People, places and trends on the horizon" appearing in OZY articles.{{cite web |title=Special Series: The New And The Next |url=https://www.npr.org/series/236318221/the-new-and-the-next |publisher=NPR |access-date=6 March 2023}}

In 2014, the company announced a content syndication partnership with National Geographic.{{Cite press release |title=National Geographic Introduces Content Partnership with OZY Media |date=October 7, 2014 |publisher=National Geographic Press Room |url=http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/07/content-partnership-with-ozy-media/ |access-date=January 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017062545/http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/07/content-partnership-with-ozy-media/ |archive-date=October 17, 2014}} In 2015, Ozy had a newsletter partnership with The New York Times and Wired. Ozy claimed that these partnerships helped the company secure a number of new newsletter subscribers.{{Cite news|last=Bilton|first=Ricardo|date=17 February 2016|title=How Ozy leans on The New York Times and Wired to build its newsletter subscriptions|work=Digiday|url=https://digiday.com/media/ozy-leans-new-york-times-wired-build-newsletter-subscriptions/|access-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928115107/https://digiday.com/media/ozy-leans-new-york-times-wired-build-newsletter-subscriptions/|archive-date=28 September 2021|quote=Since last July, the site has had co-branded newsletter partnership deals with Wired and The New York Times [...] OZY’s co-branded emails feature articles from both its own site and its partner brand}} However, Ozy employees allege that the company lied about the nature and success of these partnerships, stole email contacts from these partners, and violated data privacy laws throughout the duration of the partnerships.{{Cite news|last=Fischer|first=Sara|date=2021-10-02|title=How Ozy Fell|work=Axios|url=https://www.axios.com/how-ozy-fell-26c02594-7e08-4e71-80e8-45f142a1f2f0.html|access-date=2022-01-06}}{{Cite web|last=McEvoy|first=Jemima|title=Ex-Ozy Media Employees Say Company Used Dubious Tactics To Build Newsletter Following, Raising Legal Questions|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/10/08/ex-ozy-media-employees-say-company-used-dubious-tactics-to-build-newsletter-following-raising-legal-questions/|access-date=2022-01-07|website=Forbes|language=en}}

In 2019, Ozy produced a television show that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network and won an Emmy for Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis.{{Cite web|title={{Title case|NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR THE 41ST ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS}} – The Emmys|url=https://theemmys.tv/news-41st-nominations/|access-date=August 18, 2020|website=theemmys.tv|date=August 6, 2020 |language=en-US}} That same year, the company produced a show for PBS that won an Imagen award for Best Informational Program.{{Cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=August 11, 2019|title=Imagen Awards Winners: 'Pose', 'One Day At A Time', 'Monsters and Men' Among Honorees|url=https://deadline.com/2019/08/imagen-awards-winners-pose-one-day-at-a-time-monsters-and-men-latinx-1202666097/|access-date=November 1, 2019|website=Deadline|language=en}}

In 2021, the company co-created a podcast with the BBC.{{Cite web |last=Hays |first=Kali |date=September 23, 2020 |title=Katty Kay Launching First Podcast With BBC and Carlos Watson |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/media/katty-kay-bbc-podcast-on-america-with-ozy-media-carlos-watson-1234595512/ |access-date=October 6, 2020 |website=WWD |language=en}} It had 33 episodes, the last of which aired in April 2021.{{Cite web|title=When Katty Met Carlos on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/when-katty-met-carlos/id1532878053|access-date=2022-01-07|website=Apple Podcasts|date=April 30, 2021 |language=en-US}} Ozy also partnered with Lifetime, The History Channel, and with the History Channel's channel's parent company A&E Networks.

On September 26, 2021, the New York Times reported that Samir Rao, COO and a co-founder of the company, had impersonated a YouTube executive on a conference call with Goldman Sachs. The meeting was an attempt to secure a $40 million investment. Goldman Sachs contacted Google, YouTube's parent company, and confirmed that no YouTube executives participated in that call. As a result, Goldman Sachs did not go forward with the investment. Google referred the matter to federal law enforcement. The New York Times report also discussed inflated traffic numbers, which BuzzFeed had reported on in 2017.{{Cite web |title=These Publishers Bought Millions Of Website Visits They Later Found Out Were Fraudulent |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/these-publishers-bought-millions-of-website-visits-they |access-date=September 27, 2021 |website=BuzzFeed News |date=December 27, 2017 |language=en}}

Following media coverage of Rao's impersonation, Ozy's board of directors asked him to take a leave of absence and announced that they had engaged the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to undertake a review of the company's business practices.{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2021 |title=Ozy COO Samir Rao Takes Leave of Absence After Impersonating Google Exec |url=https://www.thewrap.com/ozy-coo-samir-rao-takes-leave-of-absence-after-impersonating-google-exec/ |access-date=September 29, 2021 |website=The Wrap}} Upon the company's relaunch, Watson said he doubted that the review would happen.{{Cite news |last=Folkenflik |first=David |date=October 5, 2021 |title=OZY Media CEO says he will not shut down the company |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1043278967/ozy-media-ceo-says-he-will-not-shut-down-the-company |access-date=October 5, 2021}} Elsewhere it was reported that the board members who had requested the review were no longer with the company.

A number of prominent people and organizations distanced themselves from Ozy following the publication of the Times article. Television journalist Katty Kay, who had joined just three months prior, resigned from Ozy Media. SV Angel announced it would give up the shares it had acquired in Ozy in 2012. A&E canceled the broadcast of a documentary it had produced with Ozy.{{Cite tweet |number=1443223415813550094 |user=KattyKay_ |title=Yesterday morning I handed in my resignation to Ozy Media. I was looking forward to working with the talented young reporters but I did not expect this! https://t.co/fc5Ii6ifav |author-link=Katty Kay |date=September 29, 2021 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002020729/https://twitter.com/kattykay_/status/1443223415813550094 |archive-date=October 2, 2021 |url-status=live |last=Kay |first=Katty}}{{Cite news |last1=Robertson |first1=Katie |last2=Smith |first2=Ben |date=September 29, 2021 |title=At Ozy Media, a Star Journalist Quits, and a Key Investor Backs Away |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/business/media/katty-kay-ozy-media.html }} The company's chairman Marc Lasry resigned after three weeks on the job and said in a statement, "I believe that going forward Ozy requires experience in areas like crisis management and investigations, where I do not have particular expertise."{{Cite news |last=Kovach |first=Steve |date=September 30, 2021 |title=Marc Lasry resigns as chair of Ozy Media after 3 weeks, following reports of alleged misconduct at firm |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/30/marc-lasry-resigns-as-chair-of-ozy-media-after-3-weeks-following-reports-of-alleged-misconduct-at-firm.html |access-date=October 1, 2021}}

Shortly after the Times article was published, Sharon Osbourne responded to a request by CNBC to verify a statement Ozy CEO Watson had made in a 2019 interview with them that Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, after having sued Ozy over infringement on their Ozzfest brand, "decided to be friends and now they're investors in Ozy." Osbourne denied that she or her husband had been investors, saying, "This guy is the biggest shyster I have ever seen in my life", adding that during their legal battle she had declined shares in Ozy that Watson offered her.{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Brian |date=September 30, 2021 |title=Sharon Osbourne says Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson lied when he claimed the Osbournes invested in his company |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/30/ozy-media-founder-carlos-watson-lied-about-investment-sharon-osbourne-says.html |access-date=October 1, 2021 |quote=Osbourne said she had reviewed Watson's claim after CNBC reached out to her team}} On October 4, 2021, Watson said that he had described the Osbournes as investors because they had been granted shares of stock in Ozy as part of a legal settlement.

On October 1, 2021, Watson, who had just been re-elected to a second three-year term as a corporate director of NPR, resigned immediately before a governance committee was planning to meet to determine his future.{{Cite news |last=Folenflik |first=David |title=Ozy's Carlos Watson resigns from NPR corporate board after week of scandal |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041506435/ozy-carlos-watson-npr-board-resignation |access-date=October 1, 2021 |website=NPR |date=October 2021 |publisher=NPR}} The same day, Ozy edited its website to remove Samir Rao's staff page.{{Cite web |title=Samir Rao - Biography |url=https://www.ozy.com/ozy-tribe/samir-rao/1330/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927022926/https://www.ozy.com/ozy-tribe/samir-rao/1330/ |archive-date=September 27, 2021 |website=Internet Archive |publisher=Ozy}} The board announced the company's closure, saying, "It is therefore with the heaviest of hearts that we must announce today that we are closing Ozy's doors." A majority of the staff were laid off.{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Ben |last2=Robertson |first2=Katie |date=October 1, 2021 |title=Ozy Media, Once a Darling of Investors, Shuts Down in a Swift Unraveling |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/business/media/ozy-media-carlos-watson.html |access-date=October 4, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}

On October 4, 2021, Watson said that Ozy would remain active. In an interview on NBC's Today, he announced the company is open for business, saying, "This is our Lazarus moment, if you will, our Tylenol moment." The next day, LifeLine Legacy Holdings, a fund management company that invested more than $2 million, filed a lawsuit claiming Ozy "engaged in fraudulent, deceptive and illegal conduct."{{Cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Ben|last2=Robertson|first2=Katie|date=2021-10-05|title=Ozy Media is accused in a lawsuit of 'fraudulent conduct.'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/business/ozy-media-securities-fraud-lawsuit.html|access-date=2021-12-03|issn=0362-4331}} On June 13, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed LifeLine's lawsuit.{{Cite web |title=Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Complaint, Finding Investors Failed to Sufficiently Allege Amarin's Statements Were False or Misleading |url=https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/third-circuit-affirms-dismissal-of-3002593/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=JD Supra |language=en}}

Axios noted the company would continue to face multiple issues in its attempted recovery, including investigations by the U.S. federal government and by outside law firms. They also noted that it remained unclear how much cash Ozy has on hand, and that the board of directors now includes only Watson and venture capitalist Michael Moe.{{Cite web |last1=Fischer |first1=Sara |last2=Primack |first2=Dan |date=October 4, 2021 |title=Former staffers blindsided by Carlos Watson's surprise announcement that OZY is returning |url=https://www.axios.com/the-ozy-media-rollercoaster-continues-744f57b5-0ef6-4a7c-b571-0a389f21443d.html |access-date=October 4, 2021 |website=Axios |language=en}} The publication was skeptical about Watson's claims, noting that it was unclear how many employees still worked at Ozy and that Ozy's team page still listed "many people who are long gone" from the company.

Ron Conway, an early investor, was highly critical of Watson's decision to reopen. Conway said that he did not think the company should spend any money on a relaunch and that, instead, Ozy should have used its remaining cash to pay two weeks' severance to about 75 former Ozy employees. Conway subsequently surrendered his shares in Ozy and hired law firm Wilson Sonsini to represent the ex-employees in a suit against the company. In late November 2021, Ozy reached a severance settlement with most of its former full-time employees. It included final paychecks, requested reimbursements, accrued but unused PTO, and other owed wages such as commissions.

In November 2021, it was reported that the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had opened investigations into the company. Watson confirmed that he had heard from the SEC.

In February 2022, Watson tweeted a link to an article that quoted him at length and that described the future vision of "Ozy 2.0" without mentioning any of the controversies that had led to the original Ozy's closure. Vice World News observed that the article's author, "a journalist with the suspicious name of Hugh Grant", was depicted with a stock photograph. Tech Bullion, the news site that ran the Ozy 2.0 article, charged money for publishing articles, according to a reporter at The Information. Watson deleted his original tweet and followed up by tweeting, "I gave an interview. Shared all of the exciting things happening at OZY. I had the expectation the interview would be published in a mainstream business news outlet. It wasn’t and the author used a pseudonym. The content is all true. Great content, wrong delivery." The Tech Bullion article has since been deleted.{{cite news |last1=Butler |first1=Gavin |title=Article About the New, 'Ethical' Ozy Media Appears to Have Been Written by a Fake Journalist |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/carlos-watson-ozy-media-fake-journalist/ |access-date=March 12, 2022 |work=Vice World News |date=February 13, 2022 |language=en}}

On February 23, 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that multiple Ozy executives had been charged with fraud. Samir Rao pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Suzee Han, Ozy's former chief of staff, pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy charges on February 14, and told a magistrate judge that she falsified financial information about the company at the direction of two unidentified executives. Carlos Watson was arrested and pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. Rao, Watson, and Ozy also face a civil lawsuit from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges that the executives and the company lied to investors.{{Cite news |last=Fanelli |first=James |title=WSJ News Exclusive {{!}} Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson Arrested After a Former Executive Pleads Guilty to Fraud |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ozy-media-ceo-carlos-watson-arrested-after-a-former-executive-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-355e9f89 |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}

On March 1, 2023, Ozy posted on its Twitter account, "In light of its current operational and legal challenges, the Ozy board has determined that it's in the best interests of its stakeholders to suspend operations immediately." The company's web site became unreachable on the same day.

On July 16, 2024, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York convicted Ozy Media and Ozy founder Carlos Watson of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Watson faces up to 37 years in prison. Two other Ozy executives, co-founder Samir Rao and chief of staff Suzee Han, had pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution at trial. The 2021 meeting with potential investors, where Rao had impersonated a YouTube executive, figured prominently in the case.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/ozy-media-founder-carlos-watson-convicted-new-york-fraud-trial-2024-07-16/|title=Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson convicted in New York fraud trial|first=Jack|last=Queen|publisher=Reuters|date=2024-07-16|accessdate=2024-07-16}}{{Cite news |last=Schoonover |first=Nika |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Jury finds Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson guilty on all counts |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/jury-finds-ozy-media-ceo-carlos-watson-guilty-on-all-counts/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |work=Courthouse News Service}}{{Cite news |last=Kaye |first=Danielle |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Carlos Watson, Ozy Media Founder, Is Found Guilty of Fraud |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/business/media/carlos-watson-ozy-media-guilty.html |access-date=2024-07-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

File:Ozy Media logo.svg

Following the various allegations of fraud and illegal behavior in September 2021, the company ceased most all operations across its media channels. It ceased production of podcasts and videos but was reported to continue producing a newsletter.

Ozy's digital magazine focused on profiles of rising stars and trends, often rehashing stories covered previously by other media without any original interviews or reporting.{{Cite web |title=Ozy says it's great at discovering big names before the mainstream media. But is it? |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/09/ozy-says-its-great-at-discovering-big-names-before-the-mainstream-media-but-is-it/ |access-date=October 2, 2021 |website=Nieman Lab}}{{Cite web |title=About OZY {{!}} When we launched OZY, we had a big idea. |url=https://www.ozy.com/about-ozy/ |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website=OZY |language=en-US |archive-date=July 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716004148/https://www.ozy.com/about-ozy/ |url-status=dead }} Reporters were given budgets as small as $150 per story and were instructed not to cover topics covered by other mainstream media outlets. This led to the publication of some articles focused on issues of very narrow interest.{{Cite news |last=Wise |first=Jeff |date=October 1, 2021 |title='It Was Weird and Culty': Carlos Watson's Mismanagement of Ozy |language=en-us |work=Intelligencer |publisher=Vox Media |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/10/carlos-watsons-mismanagement-of-ozy-it-was-culty.html |access-date=October 3, 2021}}

In 2017, Ozy reporters visited all 50 U.S. states for a project called "States of the Nation." The year after that, Ozy produced a series called "Around the World" in which they committed to report on three stories in every country. CNN reported that both series were largely delivered as promised, although the latter grouped some smaller countries together.{{Cite news |last=Flynn |first=Kerry |date=September 30, 2021 |title=18-hour days and panic attacks: Former Ozy staffers allege an abusive environment |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/30/media/ozy-work-culture/index.html |access-date=October 3, 2021}}

In 2016, Ozy's first television series, The Contenders: 16 for '16, aired on PBS.{{Cite web |last=Castillo |first=Michelle |date=July 30, 2016 |title=OZY Media expands its empire to broadcast with PBS agreement |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/30/ozy-media-expands-its-empire-to-broadcast-with-pbs-agreement.html |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=www.cnbc.com |language=en}} It later produced three additional series for PBS.{{Cite web |last=Dillon |first=Nancy |title=New debate show 'Third Rail with OZY' to address contentious topics |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/pbs-rail-ozy-address-contentious-topics-article-1.3481073 |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=nydailynews.com|date=September 9, 2017 }}{{Cite press release |title=OZY Media Announces New Primetime Television Series, 'Take On America' |publisher=OZY Media |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ozy-media-announces-new-primetime-television-series-take-on-america-300730059.html |language=en |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=www.prnewswire.com}}{{Cite web |last=de Moraes |first=Lisa |date=May 9, 2018 |title=Trevor Noah To Kick Off OZY-Produced 'Breaking Big' Interview Series For PBS |url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/trevor-noah-lee-daniels-michael-strahan-kirsten-gillibrand-breaking-big-pbs-1202384936/ |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=Deadline |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Watch OZY's New TV Show, Breaking Big |url=https://www.ozy.com/breaking-big/ |access-date=November 1, 2019 |website=OZY |language=en-US}}

The four-part show Black Women OWN the Conversation aired in August and September 2019 on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The episode "Motherhood" won the Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis award at the 41st News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2020.{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=September 28, 2021 |title=Ozy CEO Carlos Watson Steps Down as Host of Documentary Emmy Awards Following Controversial Report |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/ozy-carlos-watson-goldman-sachs-emmy-awards-host-1235076161/ |access-date=October 3, 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=June 25, 2019 |title=OWN Orders Four-Part Series 'Black Women Own The Conversation' From Ozy Media |url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/own-four-part-series-black-women-own-the-conversation-1202637686/ |access-date=August 1, 2019 |website=Deadline |language=en}} The show featured conversations with an audience of 100 black women.{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Eva |date=October 4, 2018 |title=Watch Now: Black Men and White Women Take On America |url=http://www.ozy.com/video/series/watch-now-black-men-and-white-women-take-on-america/89692 |access-date=November 1, 2019 |website=OZY |language=en-US}}

In January 2020, Ozy announced a partnership with A&E Networks to co-produce at least two additional television shows.{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=January 9, 2020 |title=A+E Networks And OZY Media Sign First-Look Production Deal |url=https://deadline.com/2020/01/ae-networks-ozy-media-sign-first-look-production-deal-1202825080/ |access-date=February 5, 2020 |website=Deadline |language=en}} By September 2020, the number of titles announced under the partnership had grown to five, including two scripted shows, a dating show, and a re-editing of the company's first TV show, The Contenders, updated for the 2020 election.{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=September 18, 2020 |title=OZY Media Moves into Scripted With 'Ripped From The Headlines' Drama at Lifetime |url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/ozy-media-ripped-from-the-headlines-drama-lifetime-1234579610/ |access-date=September 19, 2020 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}

In July 2020, Ozy announced The Carlos Watson Show, a new daily talk show focused on long-form interviews, which would be distributed on YouTube.{{Cite web |last=Haring |first=Bruce |date=July 31, 2020 |title='The Carlos Watson Show' Brings Emmy-Winning OZY Cofounder To YouTube Talker |url=https://deadline.com/2020/07/the-carlos-watson-show-emmy-winning-ozy-cofounder-youtube-talk-show-1203001253/ |access-date=July 31, 2020 |website=Deadline |language=en}} Brad Bessey, executive producer of The Carlos Watson Show, told The New York Times in September 2021 that he had been misled to believe that the show would air in prime time on A&E when he was hired. Talent bookers provided similarly misleading statements to guests on the show. Bessey resigned after learning that the show would instead be produced by the company for YouTube distribution. In his farewell email to Watson and Ozy COO Samir Rao, Bessey wrote, "You are playing a dangerous game with the truth. The consequences of offering an A&E show to guests when we don't have one to offer are catastrophic for Ozy and for me."{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Ben |date=September 30, 2021 |title=Ozy Built a TV Show on a False Claim, Says Its Former Producer |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/business/media/ozy-media-carlos-watson.html |access-date=October 1, 2021}}

Ozy produced several podcasts, beginning with history podcast The Thread in 2017,{{Cite web |title=OZY Media launches reimagined home page, launches its first podcast series – 'The Thread' |url=https://www.talkingnewmedia.com/2017/09/13/ozy-media-launches-reimagined-home-page-launches-first-podcasts-called-thread/ |access-date=July 16, 2020 |language=en-US}} an episode of which was featured as one of the 25 best podcasts of 2017 by The Guardian.{{Cite news |last=Verdier |first=Hannah |date=December 27, 2017 |title=From Dirty John to S-Town: the 25 best podcast episodes of 2017 |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/dec/27/from-dirty-john-to-s-town-the-25-best-podcast-episodes-of-2017 |access-date=July 16, 2020 |issn=0261-3077}} The company also produced a science and technology podcast The Future of X,{{Cite web |title=The Future of X |url=https://www.ozy.com/future/ |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website=OZY |language=en-US}} and Ozy Confidential, an interview podcast.{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Eugene S. |date=January 1, 2019 |title=OZY CONFIDENTIAL – Stories From the Edge |url=http://www.ozy.com/html/true-and-stories/ozy-confidential-stories-from-the-edge/90802 |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website=OZY |language=en-US}}

File:Rose McGowan (12750).jpg speaking at Ozy Fest 2018.]]

In 2016 an event dubbed "Ozy Fest" was launched, which until 2018 was held in Rumsey Playfield at Central Park in New York City.{{Cite web |title=OZY Fest: July 25 in Central Park |url=https://www.ozy.com/ozyfest/ |access-date=July 16, 2020 |website=OZY |language=en-US}} The name of Ozy Fest sparked a lawsuit from Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest in 2017.{{Cite web |last=Childers |first=Chad |title=Sharon Osbourne Addresses Ozy Fest Lawsuit |url=http://loudwire.com/sharon-osbourne-ozy-fest-lawsuit-where-do-people-come-up-with-nerve/ |access-date=January 6, 2019 |website=Loudwire.com|date=November 16, 2017 }} The festival featured appearances from Wyclef Jean, Issa Rae, Katie Couric, and others.{{Cite web |date=July 24, 2016 |title=What You Missed: Photos From OZY Fest |url=http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/what-you-missed-photos-from-ozy-fest/70803 |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=OZY |language=en |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327112057/https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/what-you-missed-photos-from-ozy-fest/70803 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |last=Schulman |first=Amy |date=July 18, 2017 |title=This Is the Only NYC Summer Festival You Need to Attend |url=https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/new-york/ozy-fest-2017-central-park-lineup |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=Thrillist}}{{Cite web |title=OZY Fest 2018 Rocks Central Park |url=http://www.ozy.com/need-to-know/special-briefing-ozy-fest-2018-rocks-central-park/88191 |access-date=May 5, 2019 |website=OZY |date=July 20, 2018 |language=en}} Laurene Powell Jobs interviewed Hillary Clinton.{{Cite news |first=Nick |last=Fouriezos |date=July 26, 2018 |title={{Title case|HILLARY CLINTON TELLS OZY FEST RUSSIA COULD HACK THIS YEAR'S ELECTION}} |work=Ozy |url=https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/hillary-clinton-tells-ozy-fest-russia-could-hack-this-years-election/88193/ |access-date=October 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812121047/https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/hillary-clinton-tells-ozy-fest-russia-could-hack-this-years-election/88193/ |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |quote=the former secretary of state voiced during a wide-ranging interview with Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs}}{{Cite news |first=Dan |last=Zak |date=July 23, 2018 |title=Inside Ozy Fest, the progressive alternate reality where the brands outshine the ideas |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-ozy-fest-the-progressive-alternate-reality-where-the-brands-outshine-the-ideas/2018/07/23/4d6734f4-8e0e-11e8-8322-b5482bf5e0f5_story.html |access-date=October 5, 2021 |quote=Clinton herself is here at Ozy Fest [...] Her interlocutor is billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs}}

Ozy Fest 2019 was canceled, which was blamed on a heat wave.{{Cite web |last=Ries |first=Brian |date=July 19, 2019 |title=New York cancels OZY Fest cultural festival as temperatures climb |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/19/us/ozy-fest-canceled-heat-trnd/index.html |access-date=July 26, 2019 |website=CNN}} It later emerged that Ozy had been grossly inflating crowd projections and was ill-prepared for the event itself, with one employee saying "It was going to be Fyre Fest."{{Cite web |title=How Ozy Fest Was About To Become The Next Fyre Festival – Until A Heat Wave (And Insurance Claim) Bailed Them Out |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/09/29/ozy-fest-carlos-watson/ |access-date=October 1, 2021 |website=Forbes}}

In 2021, Ozy Fest aired a two-day virtual event to raise funds for the United Negro College Fund.{{Cite press release |title=The Future Is HBCU At OZY Fest |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-future-is-hbcu-at-ozy-fest-301289128.html |date=May 11, 2021 |publisher=OZY Media |access-date=August 17, 2021 |agency=PR Newswire |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Major |first1=Derek |title=OZY Media Announces Dates, Guests For Its OZY Fest Virtual Event |url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/ozy-media-announces-virtual-ozy-fest-in-partnership-with-hbcus-clubhouse/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |work=Black Enterprise |date=April 20, 2021}}

Ozy has hosted an irregular scholarship program since 2015,{{Cite web |date=May 26, 2015 |title=OZY Media Names Inaugural Class of OZY Genius Award Recipients |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150526006241/en/OZY-Media-Names-Inaugural-Class-of-OZY-Genius-Award-Recipients |access-date=March 3, 2021 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en}} awarding 10 college-aged applicants with a $10,000 grant to pursue a "genius idea".{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2017 |title=And the 2017 OZY Genius Award Winners Are … |url=http://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/and-the-2017-ozy-genius-award-winners-are/76605 |access-date=March 3, 2021 |website=OZY |language=en-US}} Among the 2017 class of Ozy Genius Award winners was poet Amanda Gorman, who later rose to fame for reading "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021.{{Cite web |date=January 20, 2021 |title=One 22-Year-Old's Journey From Special Needs to Acclaimed 'Genius' |url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/amanda-gorman-journey-special-needs-acclaimed-genius-2/ |access-date=March 3, 2021 |website=Black Enterprise |language=en-US}}

Axios described Ozy as one of the few U.S. digital media companies that was founded and is run by a person of color.{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |title=OZY hit profitability in 2020 for the first time in its 7-year history |url=https://www.axios.com/ozy-revenue-profitability-carlos-watson-cdd726df-2e3d-49d7-abad-7ac6036f7013.html |access-date=March 3, 2021 |website=Axios |date=January 12, 2021 |language=en}} CEO Watson said, "More than half of our company is people of color, more than half of our leadership team is female." According to employees, Ozy demanded very long work hours and high output. Employee turnover was high; employees have described executives as mercurial and abusive.{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Eugene S. |date=October 7, 2021 |title=Let Me Tell You What It Was Like to Work at Ozy |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/opinion/ozy-carlos-watson.html |access-date=2021-10-08}}

The Daily Telegraph described OZY as "a left-wing media company".{{Cite news |last=Woods |first=Ben |date=September 30, 2021 |title=Ex-BBC presenter quits woke media company over impersonation scandal |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/09/29/ex-bbc-presenter-quits-woke-media-company-impersonation-scandal/ |access-date=September 30, 2021}} Variety profiled Ozy favorably.{{Cite news |last=Littleton |first=Cynthia |date=October 8, 2020 |title=How Ozy Media Built a Brand Driven by 'The New and the Next' |language=en-US |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/ozy-media-carlos-watson-strictly-business-1234796177/ |access-date=March 3, 2021}}

Ozy Fest 2018 was criticized as a "neoliberal nightmare" by Rolling Stone,{{Cite magazine |last=Peck |first=Jamie |author-link=Jamie Peck (podcaster) |date=July 23, 2018 |title=A Neoliberal Nightmare at OZY Fest 2018 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/a-neoliberal-nightmare-at-ozy-fest-2018-702600/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=May 5, 2019}} a "sizzling hot festival for folks who love Coachella and neoliberalism" by GQ,{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2018 |title=Your Guide to OZYFEST, the Sizzling Hot Festival for Folks Who Love Coachella and Neoliberalism |url=https://www.gq.com/story/what-is-ozyfest |access-date=May 28, 2019 |website=GQ |language=en}} and "a progressive alternate reality" by The Washington Post.{{Cite news |last=Zak |first=Dan |title=Inside Ozy Fest, the progressive alternate reality where the brands outshine the ideas |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-ozy-fest-the-progressive-alternate-reality-where-the-brands-outshine-the-ideas/2018/07/23/4d6734f4-8e0e-11e8-8322-b5482bf5e0f5_story.html |access-date=May 5, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Ozy Media}}

• {{official website|https://www.ozy.com/}}
• [https://fortune.com/2021/10/07/ozy-media-startup-70-million-collapsed-6-days/ "How Ozy Media, a startup with $70 million in funding and a star-studded list of investors, collapsed in 6 days"], Fortune.com article of October 7, 2021.

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