The Media Machine You Don't Need a New Identity, You Need a New Container
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Season 2 of The Media Machine opens with a reset.
In this episode, host Johanna Salazar is joined by new co-host Julie Kellman Reading to set the tone for a season focused less on hot takes and more on how media actually works. Together, they unpack what happens when legacy models break, why reinvention is often the wrong frame, and how builders who understand systems, not just ideas, are shaping what comes next.
This conversation is about media as infrastructure, with power shifting from institutions to operators and creators. And about why this moment, while uncertain, is also one of the most generative periods the industry has seen.
If you're navigating a pivot, questioning old paths, or trying to understand where leverage really lives in modern media, this episode lays the foundation.
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Framework Takeaway
When old models collapse, clarity comes from understanding systems, not chasing identities.
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What This Episode Covers
- Why media should be understood as a system, recognizing your skills and leaving your previous titles behind
- The difference between reinvention and reframing
- How creators, producers, and executives already have the skills needed to build what's next
- Why generalists and systems thinkers are gaining an advantage
- How technology has shifted power from institutions to individuals
- What it means to be a "media systems builder" (Coined term by Johanna Salazar)
- Why this industry moment feels unprecedented, and why it isn't
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Key Themes
- Process over prestige
- Profit as a requirement, not a taboo
- People as infrastructure
- Responsibility in how media is built and scaled
- Designing new containers instead of chasing new labels
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Why This Conversation Matters Now
The media industry is in a structural transition, not a temporary downturn. Understanding how systems break, rebuild, and reconfigure is now a core skill, not optional knowledge. This episode reframes uncertainty as a design phase and invites listeners to see themselves not as displaced talent, but as builders with leverage.
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CREDITS
- Created by: Johanna Salazar
- Hosts: Johanna Salazar and Julie Kellman Reading
- Executive Producers: Johanna Salazar and Julie Kellman Reading
- Edited by: Love + Daydreams
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PODCAST LINKS
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-media-machine/id1805996037
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/66NrkMVorc47Ov6qDsvfwn
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d9671a97-b026-45a5-8cf0-1e389f052b9e/the-media-machine
YOUTUBE
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ABOUT THE PODCAST
The Media Machine is a podcast about the systems behind modern media. Hosted by Johanna Salazar and Julie Kellman Reading, the show explores how media is built, scaled, and sustained across platforms, creators, and emerging technology through the lenses of Process, Profits, People, and Planet.
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
Johanna Salazar is a media systems builder with more than two decades of experience operating across television, streaming, sports, and digital platforms. She brings an operator's lens to the industry, breaking down how media systems function and how power actually moves.
Julie Kellman Reading is a creative executive, executive producer, and founder who has built across linear television and digital content, and independent ventures. She brings a people-first perspective and deep creative insight into how media is made, scaled, and sustained.
Johanna Salazar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_johannasalazar/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannasalazar/ Website: https://johanasalazar.com/
Julie Kellman Reading Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveanddaydreams/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliekellmanreading/
Shop: https://www.loveanddaydreams.com/shop