OPENING MINDS by sharing information, by telling stories and by selling entertainment -- that has motivated Monica to explore the use of different media throughout her 40+ year career in magazines, newspapers, television, video, theatre, film, digital services, games and theatre.
Opening minds and hearts, that is the promise of the media. Too often, today’s media foster the opposite. TV and online news are often structured to highlight clashes in ideologies, to revel in partisanship, to dramatize discord, to savor the excitement of violence. This builds audiences, but not harmony or understanding. Media can reduce conflict and intolerance, emphasize shared experiences and common ground, can savor idiosyncrasies instead of despising differences… Entertainment can enlighten, or it can close minds.
Monica seeks to build audiences through story-telling and amplifying characters, true or fictional. Her preferred themes tell of individuals overcoming traumatic or deprived backgrounds, people pushing through personal challenges, groups defying prejudices, or outsized talent being discovered and sparked. She has a knack for spotting talent early: directors like Simon Godwin, Stephen Daldry, Julian Fellowes, Rufus Norris, Cary Fukunaga; performers like Marcelo Gomes, Dominic Cooper, Juliet Rylance, Trevor Noah, plus over 60 Soros Fellows and other scholars she has helped select or fund.
According to Monica, her working life could not have been more fulfilling. Employed initially to reinvent magazines, books and a global wire service, she then pursued journalism at the United Nations, investigating persistent global issues such as how to save the oceans, preserve the environment, conserve water, help refugees, share technology or advance women’s rights in developing countries. Monica’s early work was primarily in publishing and journalism. After graduate Business School, her favorite job was to create new media businesses during the adolescence of cable TV, video and satellite, and at the dawn of the digital age.
After a career at Time Inc/Time Warner and then Disney/CapCities/ABC , Monica went independent to combine her love of media with raising three children. She enjoyed the versatility and built experience in various functional areas (finance, marketing, market research, strategy, applied technology, general management) whether producing, co-producing, publishing, consulting, underwriting, mentoring, directing, or serving on Boards… in for-profit or non-profit.
Monali Media LLC was founded in 1990 to manage the intellectual property of Monica and Monali Media and to handle the projects. Send our team an email to introduce yourselves.
