Why Storytelling Still Wins in the Age of AI with Kelly Andresen

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Mary Liz McCurdy, SVP of Business Development at The Atlantic, to discuss:— From the Stanford Daily to Google to The Atlantic — a career built around saving journalism— Turning The Atlantic into a subscription-first business based on loyalty and community— How The Atlantic maps threats and opportunities across the entire content supply chain— The four C's every publisher needs in any AI deal: consent, credit, compensation, and control— Why blocking bots by default is non-negotiable, and how to build a smart allow list— Partnering with startups to fight misinformation, deepfakes, and AI slop— What tech culture gets right that media companies still haven't figured out— Why betting on early-stage startups is The Atlantic's big, hairy, audacious goalAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed. 

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Kelly Andresen, EVP of Demand Sales at OpenWeb, to discuss:From Washington Post ad innovations to building branded content studios from scratchWhy storytelling is still the most underrated skill in advertisingWhy human relationships matter more than ever in a world run by AIThe role of agencies in this new digital landscape.Why the open internet is becoming more attractive as walled gardens get crowdedThe shift from impressions to outcomes as the core advertiser metricWhy sales teams are changing and what great salespeople actually look likeHow attention, not scale, should define advertising success going forwardAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed.

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Nikhil Kolar, VP, Product & Engineering at Microsoft to discuss:— From Amazon and Bing to leading Microsoft's content ecosystem— Why publishers need a seat at the AI table this time— Flipping the bot strategy: only allow the ones that pay you— The Microsoft Publisher Content Marketplace and fair content compensation— How agentic experiences are driving conversions two to three times higher— How to get found and monetize in a world run by agents— Why ethically sourced content is becoming a business imperative for enterprises— The future of content compensation as AI consumption scalesAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed.

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Karen Oh, Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Partnerships & Initiatives at Ziff Davis, to discuss:• Building a career across Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, and Meta before landing in media• The story behind one of media's rarest roles: Chief of Staff at a major digital publisher• The real reasons publisher traffic is declining beyond Google Zero• The growing pressure on publishers to diversify beyond a single traffic channel• How Ziff Davis thinks about blocking AI bots, and when that strategy backfires• AI scraping as a business model threat, not just a content problem• The enduring value of authoritative brands in a world of AI-generated answers• The duality every publisher is living: fighting AI scraping while using AI every day• The case for one-on-one aha moments as the key to internal AI adoptionAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed. 

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Vineet Khosla, Chief Technology Officer at The Washington Post, to discuss:— Building Siri, Uber Maps, and now the Washington Post’s AI strategy— How AI is reshaping news creation, distribution, and consumption— Why journalism remains essential in a world of AI-generated answers— The growing importance of first-party audience, trust, and community— Reimagining comments, conversations, and source transparency in news— How AI can make engineers, journalists, and product teams more effective— Why publishers need to move faster on product, personalization, and habit formation— The case for protecting journalism as both a public good and a real businessAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed.

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Matt Sanchez, Chief Operating Officer at Yahoo, to discuss:From startup founder to product and operations leaderWhy media companies need stronger product thinkingRebuilding digital products around utility and daily habitsHow AI is changing product speed and consumer expectationsWhy attribution and trust matter in the next wave of searchThe growing importance of community and social proofWhy durable media brands need more than trafficWhat survival looks like in a Google Zero worldAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed.

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Caroline Harris, SVP of Content Monetization at USA Today.In our discussion, MSG and Caroline discuss:Early career shaping streaming distribution and pricing models at the BBCFront-row seat to the shift from cable to streaming and platform ecosystemsBuilding partner success strategies across major media platforms and appsLeading USA Today’s expansion into off-platform distribution and new revenue streamsStructuring high-impact partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and emerging AI platformsApplying lessons from streaming to AI licensing, pricing, and marketplace strategyThe critical role of local journalism, trust, and fact-based reporting in an AI-driven worldAnd more.

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Sara Beykpour, Co-Founder and CEO of Particle News.In our discussion, MSG and Sara discuss:— Her 12-year journey at Twitter across Android, Vine, and Periscope— Building during Twitter’s “lightning in a bottle” era of real-time media— Founding Particle and rethinking how news should be consumed in the AI era— Designing a neutral, aggregated news experience with built-in bias transparency— The shift from infinite feeds to structured, fact-based information products— How AI is collapsing product development timelines from months to hours— What AI agents mean for publishing, product velocity, and competitive advantage— Why knowledge work is being redefined as engineers and operators become exponentially more productive

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Marc Guldimann, Founder and CEO of Adelaide.In our discussion, MSG and Marc discuss:Mark’s path from decision science and wireless startups into adtech entrepreneurshipHow years of experimentation shaped his thinking on attention and media measurementWhy attention matters in advertising — and where it can go wrongThe idea behind AU and measuring media quality, not just impressionsHow broken metrics created bad incentives across digital advertisingHow broken incentives, “lemon markets,” and cost-plus buying have pushed digital advertising into a race to the bottomWhy publishers, agencies, DSPs, and SSPs all need a better common language for qualityHow AI may hurt low-quality content but strengthen quality publishingMoving from impressions and viewability toward a more durable media-wide currencyAnd more. 

On this episode of The Community Exchange Podcast, we welcome Jonah Goodhart, Co-Founder and CEO of Mobian. In our discussion, MSG and Jonah discuss:Jonah’s career journey from founding early internet ventures to co-creating Right Media, Moat, and now MobianLessons from building and scaling companies that reshaped digital advertising, measurement, and verificationWhy attention—not impressions—is the scarcest resource in today’s media ecosystemHow Moat pioneered viewability and attention analytics, and what it taught about publisher–advertiser dynamicsThe disruptive impact of AI on brand safety, verification, and the contextual value of contentHow publishers are losing monetization opportunities due to misclassified “unsafe” inventory—and what can be done about itWhy context, data, and content remain critical assets in an AI-first worldThe future of publishing, personalization, and community in a zero-click environmentAnd more.New episodes of The Community Exchange Podcast are released each week. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest right in your feed.