ASHTABULA — The road from the halls of Jefferson High School to the red carpet of a presidential inaugural ball is proving an interesting journey for 1985 graduate Gregory Mantell.
“We are an independent talk show, but the plan is global syndication,” said Mantell, who began his communications career as editor of the high school newspaper.
Mantell has been able to take advantage of new Internet media possibilities. During the last two years, he has developed a talk show in Los Angeles, which is broadcast through YouTube on the Internet. It is sold to other outlets as well, Mantell said.
The financial side of Internet media has improved to the point Mantell was able to quit his day job as an information technology specialist for an oil company.
A variety of relationships with numerous media have presented the opportunity to cover the Purple Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20, 2009, at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C. Mantell said Lou Gossett Jr. is hosting the event, and a variety of celebrities are expected to attend, including actors Ashley Judd, Patricia Arquette, Amy Brenneman, Susan Sarandon and John Cusack, and Lisa Marie Presley.
The talk show has grown in the two years since Mantell started it. The show has registered more than 1.5 million Internet hits. Many of those are on the Web site YouTube.
“We are a YouTube partnership, which means we get a cut of the ad revenue,” he said.
The way to success includes a significant maze of relationships, which led to contacts, which lead to new guests, which in turn lead to higher visibility and eventual advertising profitability.
The 26-minute show airs regularly and has Internet viewers from all over the world.
“I have gotten video or e-mails from every continent,” he said of the growing viewership.
Mantell said the success of an Internet show grows in cycles.
“There’s a point where it just explodes,” he said. Mantell believes his show is getting to that point.
The format of the show includes interviews and stories relating to social issues, celebrity interviews and fitness information. He said the move to celebrities is important for viewership, but the plan is to continue solid socially relevant programming, as well.
“The bigger celebrity we have on, the more hits we get,” Mantell said. He wants to find the proper balance for the program.
“We don’t want it to be depressing, and we don’t want it to be fluff,” he said.
Mantell said he always had a love for writing and worked as news editor at the University of Chicago and also started his own paper while still in college.
“I made the big jump to California because of the weather and with an eye on the entertainment industry,” Mantell said of his having headed west in 1996.
Mantell was approached by contacts he had made at the show about covering the inaugural ball and has connected with a cameraman for the show.
His talk show is filmed two episodes at a time at a Los Angeles-area TV station with three cameras rolling.
“I am the producer and the host,” he said.
The new Internet medium has allowed Mantell to make the talk show his full-time occupation.
“I love doing it (the show). I would do this till the day I die. They’ll have to pull me off (the set),” he said.
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WITH THE HELP OF YouTube
Jefferson grad to cover inaugural ball in Washington, D.C. as talk show host
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