Season 6, Episode 24: Changing the Narrative : Georgia Fort : Founder of BLCK Press & President of the Center for Broadcast Journalism

Tune in as Jayzen invites listeners to look at personal branding through an unexpected—but powerful—lens: holiday decor. As homes, offices, and public spaces fill with intentional (or unintentional) signals during the holidays, Jayzen reminds us that nothing meaningful is accidental. Every design choice tells a story—about values, identity, priorities, and purpose. The message is clear: brand is not a logo or a LinkedIn headline—it’s the sum of your conscious choices.

Jayzen then bridges this insight directly to leadership and career growth. Just as we decorate our homes, we are constantly “decorating” our professional spaces—through meetings, emails, visibility, energy, and presence. Whether intentional or not, we are always sending signals. For ambitious professionals and leaders, leaving those signals to chance is risky. Autopilot is the enemy of leadership.

Key Takeaways

• Everything Is a Choice: Your brand is shaped by the decisions you make daily—what you amplify, what you edit, and what you ignore.
• Experience Beats Intention: What matters is not what you intend people to experience, but what they actually walk away remembering about you.
• Edit With Purpose: Over-decorating can dilute impact. The strongest brands know when to dial it up—and when to pull it back.
• Context Is King: The “right behavior at the right time” matters more than being loud or safe all the time.
• Know What’s Missing: Growth comes from identifying what you want to be known for next—strategic thinking, advocacy, executive presence, visibility, or new skills.
• Lead Intentionally: Choose one moment—one meeting, one conversation—where you consciously show up as the leader you want to be, not the one you inherited.
• Design, Don’t Drift: Your career, like your home, is something you get to design intentionally—not perfectly or performatively, but with purpose.

Jayzen is joined by Georgia Fort, an independent journalist, founder of Black Press, and president of the Center for Broadcast Journalism. Georgia shares her journey from traditional media into pioneering independent journalism, sparked by industry disruption, personal adversity, and a deep commitment to changing how stories about Black communities are told.

Through Black Press and the Center for Broadcast Journalism, Georgia is not only telling underreported stories but also building sustainable infrastructure and cultivating the next generation of journalists. Her story is a masterclass in aligning mission, brand, and impact—especially during times of disruption.

Guest Bio

Georgia Fort

Founder of BLCK Press &

President of the Center for Broadcast Journalism.

Georgia Fort is leading the necessary movement to reclaim media's power. As the founder of BLCK Press, a social enterprise newsroom, she’s connecting journalism to Black culture. She has a dynamic vision of mobilizing the next generation of media starting at home in Minnesota, the 12th largest state, and the 22nd most populous with about 6 million residents, in which less than 3% of journalists are Black. As a graduate of the University of Saint Thomas, Fort’s work bridges frontline reporting and executive-level strategy to rebuild media infrastructure from the ground up.

As the President of the Center for Broadcast Journalism (501c3), she’s developing the next generation of reporting. Georgia's nonprofit was created to educate and coach the future of news. From editorial to fundraising to marketing, Georgia’s hands-on leadership is proving what’s possible when we build for ourselves—and build to last.

Links

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