Lunch at Michael’s with Ben Silverman of Propagate Content

Sometimes even a producer and executive as deeply immersed in media as Ben gets a reality check from outside the business amp8220I took my mom and six of her friends out to dinner on Sundayamp8221 he told Jack Myers and me over a recent lunch at Michaelamp8217s restaurant Ben left and Jack are pictured aboveamp160amp8220They were asking about media Their main point was amp8216How do we know whatamp8217s on Where do we find itamp8217 They were asking about everything Broadcast cable Netflix YouTube Where to find things Some of them have just thrown up their hands and said amp8216Iamp8217m out I shut it all offamp8217 The others are trying to navigate and then they discover different players donamp8217t work with different platforms Itamp8217s frustrating for all of us as consumersamp8221The complexity of it all is not lost on Ben amp8220Weamp8217re dealing with divided demographic habitsamp8221 he said amp8220There is a group thatamp8217s using traditional linear TV remote controls watching on the couch Thereamp8217s a group in the middle thatamp8217s using Uber and Netflix Thereamp8217s a group coming thatamp8217s using Snapchat and WhatsApp Three kinds of demographic segments Theyamp8217re more amp8216habit segmentsamp8217 than agedefined There are a lot of 70amp160year olds on Facebook and a lot of 20 year olds watching primetime in a traditional wayamp8221After a brief pause to chat with Hoda Kotb who was lunching at the next table with her Today cohost Kathie Lee Gifford and was making her way across the room to say hello to CBS Morning News anchor Gayle King Ben talked at length about his childhood and how he knew from a very young age exactly what he wanted to do with his lifeHe grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan specifically 86th Street and 7th Avenue on Central Park West with a amp8220nonpark interior court yard viewamp8221 he recalled amp8220It was great It was the hood back then I got mugged I got robbed The projects are on 87th and Amsterdam You literally wouldnamp8217t go north Out the door you never went left You only went right The park was scary The doormen were my babysitters Iamp8217d have to play just in front Iamp8217d throw the ball against the wall that was my playingamp8220But I did begin walking to school alone at age fouramp8221 he continued amp8220I knew how to navigate My parents were divorced when I was four and I had to go to school on my own My mom told me to always go to the doormen if I was scaredamp8221Ben told us that his mom Mary Silverman had been a theater producer and had worked at a company that amp8220made interesting programs for PBSamp8221 but amp8220had to leave theater to pay for my private schoolamp8221 A career as a amp8220serial cable television executiveamp8221 followed taking her from USA Network to Lifetime Hallmark Channel Court TV and others His dad Stanley Silverman is an avantgarde chamber music composer writer and artist so between the two of them young Ben was amp8220always around the arts and show businessamp8221 That combination planted the seed for the career to come which has included positions at The William Morris Agency NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios and the three companies he founded Reveille Electus and currently Propagate Content at which he is Chairman and CoCEO with Howard Owensamp8220Being around them I loved entertainment and show business but also living in New York City I loved businessamp8221 Ben explained That came from knowing the parents of his friends including future Game of Thrones executive producer David Benioff whose father Steve Friedman was the Chairman of Goldman Sachsamp160 And then there was investment banker Herman Sandler whose company was headquartered in the Twin Towers and amp8220who got murdered on 911amp8221 Ben added with momentary intensityamp8220Herman was my selfappointed godfather because I was best friends with his kidamp8221 he said amp8220I remember going into their closets and seeing rows of shirts with monogramsamp8221 That was quite a departure from amp8220my divorcee artistamp8217s homeamp8221 he reflectedamp160 amp8220These married people were happy with multiple homes and monogrammed shirtsamp160 I was like okay I want in How do I bridge these two things I want to be in the business of entertainmentamp8221After graduating from Columbia Prep Benamp160went to Tufts University and had internships every summer at Warner Bros that his mom helped him get During spring break of his senior year he told her that he wanted to go to Los Angeles and get into the entertainment businessamp160 amp8220She said amp8216Okay come to the office Xerox my Rolodex and start calling peopleamp8217 I did that I started callingamp8221Benamp160made the trip to LA driving across the country with his best friend from college and once there stayed with another friend sleeping on his couch In a sign that he was fated to work in television that friend was Don Nelson brother of Ozzie brotherinlaw of Harriet uncle of Ricky and David together the true first family of American television Housing proved to be a bit more comfortable than transportation In LA Ben39s first car was amp8220a horrible Honda Accordamp8221 with a broken shift and no airconditioning amp8220I had to drive with my foot on the gas and the clutch at the same timeamp8221 he recalled with a laugh amp8220I would go to my meetings during the summer and I was sweating so much with what it took to drive this car without it breaking down amp8230 I would pull in and they would check my ID and then I would have to get changed in the parking lot I was driving around in my underwear trying to keep cool going from one interview to anotheramp8221Even with all of the stress and sweating Benamp160said he remembers every meeting he went to back at the beginning amp8220Regardless of the outcome of the meeting I was going to leave with another meetingamp8221 he said amp8220I still give that advice Even if I was going to be rejected at the meeting for a possible job in that moment I always left with a referral amp8216You donamp8217t need to say yes but do you know anyone else who might want to hire meamp8217amp8221His first gig was at CBS in International Program Development working for a woman named Marion Davies amp8220There was a guy named Jonathan Levin who was running drama developmentamp8221 Benamp160recalled amp8220He liked me and she tolerated me He started to bring me into his world more and more and I would sit in on meetingsamp160 I was 21 years old and I was like a pawn between them He would make me do cooler and cooler stuff and she would make me type more and more amp8216passamp8217 letters and deal letters I was a horrible typist I was sitting outside her office with a row of assistants amp8230 before they were called assistantsamp8221It was amp8220an amazing initial experienceamp8221 Benamp160said but he knew it wasnamp8217t for him so he put out word that he was looking for a new job He ended up working for producer Barbara Corday then based at Warner BrosOn Ben39s first day Barbara decided that an announcement should be made about his move to her company and that led to accelerated advancement for him amp8220At lunch Barbara said amp8216Instead of calling you Development Assistant we should call you Development Coordinatoramp8217 That afternoon she said amp8216Letamp8217s call you Manager of Developmentamp8217 Then later she said amp8216Director of Developmentamp8217 I was 22 years old and I had been promoted four times in one dayamp8221Corday took Benamp160with her when she later went to New World only to be replaced when the legendary Brandon Tartikoff was brought on board amp8220She told Brandon amp8216I know youamp8217re firing me Iamp8217m just telling you to take care of that kid Youamp8217ll want him near youamp8217amp8221 Benamp160recalled amp8220So then I was reporting to Brandon and he was taking care of me That really launched me into the Hollywood worldamp8221Benamp160and his wife Jennifer have two children a son Meyer 5 and a daughter Madeline 19 months amp8220We named Meyer after my gangster granddadamp8221 Benamp160said with a smile amp8220I had one granddad named Max and one named Meyer When our son was born I said amp8216Weamp8217re naming him after my carwash owning bulletproof cardriving boozerunning Grandpa Meyer who at 6amp82171 and 300 pounds would break up Nazi bund rallies with baseball bats and teamstersamp8221When he isnamp8217t running Propagate Content or spending time with his family Benamp8217s interests run toward helping others amp8220Iamp8217m very civic minded very philanthropic across a number of causes and issuesamp8221 he told us amp8220I love supporting diverse voices diversity tolerance openness as is evident through his work as executive producer of Jane the Virgin and Ugly Betty and the recent feature film about boxer Roberto Duran Hands of Stoneamp8220Iamp8217m doing public diplomacy work because weamp8217re losing our global conversation and the obvious ideals of selfdetermination and opportunity and tolerance and not blowing ourselves up and killing ourselvesamp8221 he continued amp8220Iamp8217ve been to the Middle East many times over the past five or six yearsamp160I continue to support Jewish causes Iamp160see a lot of antiSemitism in the world and antieverything Iamp8217m CoChairman of the AntiDefamation League Sports and Entertainment Board with Larry Scott whoamp8217s the commissioner of the PAC 12 Weamp8217re trying to work with the government in promoting our language and our messageamp8220Itamp8217s all integratedamp8221 Benamp160concluded amp8220I always say without The Office or Jane the Virgin and Ugly Betty I donamp8217t have the ability to have the conversationsamp160Your currency is your currencyamp8221The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Lunch at Michael’s with Ben Silverman of Propagate Content

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