Stories Beyond Newhouse: Dan Menzel, Warner Bros. Senior Vice President
Newhouse is widely acknowledged as a school with a talented alumni base, as many graduates of the School go on to do amazing things in the field of media and communications. Having the Newhouse brand goes a long way in an industry rapidly growing in competition and opportunity—that’s what we pay the big bucks for.
Fortunately, current Newhouse professors recognize the prowess of past students, actively encouraging alumni to guest speak in their lectures. Professor Larry Elin, instructor for my TRF 635 Industry Forces class, brought in an esteemed former Newhouse student and current member of the Newhouse 44 to speak to us about the regulation of media and how media ownership is important.
Dan Menzel ’88, the Senior Vice President of Cable Network/Digital Sales at Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, spoke to our class on September 21st about the many intricacies involved in selling content such as syndicated shows, theatrical motion pictures, and off-network TV programs to local broadcast TV stations. Based in NYC, Menzel has enjoyed working within the business of sharing content people love, maximizing the profit margins and value for all parties involved. If it were not for the versatile skill set he built during his time at Newhouse, many of the opportunities he has been able to take advantage of may not have transpired.
“The skills I learned at Newhouse I still use today, whether it was learning about research, sales, marketing,” Menzel told me in an online interview. “Taking law classes was very important too. This foundation has always helped me be a student of the business.”
Menzel’s testament of his Newhouse experience truly resonated with me. As a Media & Education student, I am not required to take TRF 635. I chose to take this class as an elective to broaden my horizons of the media industry, even if the course is known to have a ton of work not necessarily focused around navigating the media landscape as an entrepreneur. Nonetheless, I am learning key information about the business side of media, a side Menzel encourages current Newhouse students to learn while on campus.
“Be a student of the business. Study all media. Try all new apps, and technology,” continued Menzel. “Be familiar with how they work. Use SVOD services. Watch lots of programs. Understand how advertising is moving forward. Look at how younger viewers are consuming media.”
The plethora of advice Menzel relayed to me will aid greatly in my pursuit of becoming a successful multimedia entrepreneur. Picking his brain about how to be effective in media innovation truly set me in the right direction as far as building my own platform. Although Warner Bros. is a very established company, it encourages intrapreneurship across all divisions of their company. He even had some great advice for media entrepreneurs trying to make their own breakthrough on an individual/team basis.
“I would suggest really understanding all platforms on digital,” added Menzel. “How they make money. What is their business model? How do they reach viewers?”
Overall, it was a huge honor getting to meet Menzel and have the chance to get to know him a little more after his guest appearance in my class. With over 25 years of media experience, he has worn many hats in this industry and has even managed to consume a lot of media himself.
“I love Seinfeld and Friends, and Two and a Half Men, I was a big fan of The Good Wife. I like Billions, Homeland, and House of Cards. Love HBO too. Big Little Lies was amazing. I always respected Chuck Lorre as a writer and producer.”
Friends is one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and I’ve seen a lot of the other shows he mentioned here and there. Perhaps I should check out more of Chuck Lorre’s work.
What are some of your favorite TV shows or movies? Let me know in the comments!
He has been published across a wide variety of media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, the Cornell Daily Sun, SportTechie, Clutchpoints, Cavs Nation, the Cornell Chronicle, and many more.
Tobe has a plethora of hobbies, including writing, athletics, drawing, acting, and collaborating with others about ideas and startups working in the multimedia space.