LeBron James Will be the King of the Media Empire
The new way to use media.
Media has more power than we thought. How does James change society using media?
What Happened
June 25, 2020, LeBron James became the leading character in Bloomberg Businessweek. When COVID-19 is ravaging the world, James and Carter formed a new media company named SpringHill Co. after raising $100 million. They described this company as “a maker and distributor of all kinds of content that will give a voice to creators and consumers who’ve been pandered to, ignored, or underserved.” Nowadays, there are many methods to tell stories such as social media, films, sneakers, and sweatshirts. L.A. investment banker Paul Wachter thought that this company is about a point of view, the community people serve, and empower; it will move the culture. Because of the death of George Floyd, issues of inequality grasp people’s attention. Carter said: “we’ve always been about empowering people who feel like us and come from the communities that we come from and want to believe in our mission.” Springhill is a platform to help people of color get creative control. Maybe because of the company’s grand mission and deep meaning, people have many expectations for what this company will do in the future. However, James is not afraid of the pressure; he said that this is his responsibility since he represents so many people.
My Opinion
I respect James to use media in a meaningful way. Issues of inequality exist for a very long time. People tried to fix these issues using speeches, parades, and other activities to protest. Because of the development of technology, people have more tools to protect themselves, but a few people did it. Maybe because they did not have enough power to influence society, someone like James becomes more critical. James said: “I speak about things that I’m knowledgeable about, that I’m educated on. And at the end of the day, right is right, and wrong is wrong. I want the betterment of people — no matter skin color, no matter race, no matter anything.” I am glad that James has a big plan to use digital media to change the world. This reminds me that marketing and media can make a huge difference for society; companies can make money and simultaneously improve the world. When people were protesting inequality crazily, Carter and James started to build their media empire. Carter signed a T.V. production deal with Walt Disney Co and was working with Netflix on a basketball-themed movie. I cannot wait to see this company’s mission comes true. I hope there will be more people who can use the media in a meaningful way to make people’s lives better.
