A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to connect with and interview a man who many celebrities are intimidated by. That man is Fred Mwangaguhunga, former lawyer and current CEO and Founder of MediaTakeOut (The most visited urban website in the world).
In one sentence—what do you do? I provide gossip to the masses.
Why did you create Mediatakeout?
There was an opportunity in the media market not being filled to address the African American and urban audience and I truly believed in trying to fill it and it proved to be the right choice.
I read that MediaTakeout is consistently ranked among the top 500 most-visited sites in the country. Is that still the case? MediaTakeout is continuing to to grow month over month and year over year. The first six years there was no social media that we leveraged and now there is-- Facebook is one of the key growth drivers for traffic to our site and will help get us to the next level.
Speak on the evolution of urban culture in media/celebrities topic:
There have always been African American celebrities. Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy are prime examples of African Americans who crossed over and became mainstream celebrities. What you see now is the unabashedly, African American celebrity such as Beyonce dropping a new album that is almost like a black anthem. Part of it is due to the way media has changed, particularly how African Americans are polarized.
When I started MediaTakeOut – the general belief was that he should not focus on African American celebrities because the fan base wasn’t large enough. At the time, there were many blogs that covered similar topics but within three years I was able to scale an idea into a viable business. I remember talking to a very well-known African American female celebrity and how paparazzi didn’t believe there was a market for a-list African American photo so they put their cameras down when she hit the red carpet; present day its changed completely and now paparazzi are chasing these people with cameras in hand.
Do you ever think about practicing law again? No, not at all. [insert chuckle here]
MediaTakeout's reported 16 million readers a month—is that still the case? What are the numbers present day? A lot more than than that now; 30M visitors a day. Quality always rises to the top and benefits you in the long-run. Do things the right way and focus on exclusivity and engaging content, that is how you win over your readers.
MediaTakeout is often referred to as "the black TMZ," – what is your take on this? I think it is fine. Our primary focus is urban celebrities who tend to resonate more with our target audience who engage with us.
What is one story you wish you released to the masses?
Gilbert Arenas locker room incident involving a gun. I was told about this firsthand from a good friend and really wish we would have broken the news on this story but we didn't.
What is something you know now that you wish you would have known when you got started? Nothing happens in a day. It’s a journey and takes time. You become a lot more patient once you have this realization.
You have a lot of haters-- how do you deal with them? You have to take it with a grain of salt. Never take yourself (or the haters) too seriously. If you peel back the business, its about enjoying life and having fun with it. You see the criticism for what it is.
As we come to a close I have a few lingering questions for you-- You’ve been listed as the most intimidating man in hip-hop—would you agree? What are your thoughts on this? Tell me more about your unique relationship with Kanye West. Umm…Definitely not. This is a business and people in it understand there are two sides to everything. We don’t attack people on how they make money- at the end of the day.
Fred’s unique relationship with Kanye-- I though Kanye and I were cool, but I was wrong. In pop culture, there is a general swell of “anti-kanyeism”. Mediatakeout tore his Madison Square Garden fashion show to pieces from the show to clothing and everything in-between. Kanye felt that Mediatakeout was trying to shut him down, I then received a call from Kanye’s camp. We went back on the story and I took into consideration the magnitude of what Kanye achieved as an African American entertainer and designer. Whether the clothes were "good" or "bad", he was showing out at MSG where many were eagerly awaiting his collection so we re-reviewed a good portion of Kanye’s line which we never go back on a story to do, and it was a longer and more thoughtful piece. The following day after the new piece was published, Kanye attacked MTO again. We push the limits and go over the edge [long pause]…sometimes, but that is the business we are in.
When your time on earth is done, what do you want your legacy to be?
I want to be remembered as a good dad and someone who did whatever it took to be successful. I also want to see my kids do well and be happy.
What are your future plans/projects?
I am currently tied up with relaunching the MTO website which is happening for the next 2-3 months. I am also expanding into other areas (i.e. Television, Radio). Additionally, I am angel investing in startup companies I see potential in.
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