Carlos Watson (journalist)

Carlos Watson
Watson in 2013
Born (1969-09-29) September 29, 1969 (age 55)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Stanford University (JD)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, journalist, television host
Known forFounding Ozy Media

Carlos Watson (born September 29, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, journalist, and television host. A former contributor on MSNBC, he was the CEO of the media company Ozy Media, which he co-founded in 2013.[1]

As an entrepreneur, Watson co-founded Achieva College Prep Service in 2002, which he later sold to The Washington Post and Kaplan.[2] Ozy Media raised over $70 million from investors.[3] Watson was the host of The Carlos Watson Show, a daily interview show on YouTube.[4]

In September 2021, Watson attracted public controversy in the wake of a New York Times article by Ben Smith alleging that Ozy had made significant misrepresentations to investors. Following the incident, Watson resigned from the board of NPR on October 1, 2021.[5] Later that day, Ozy's board of directors announced that it was shutting the company down.[6] Watson, in an October 4 interview on Today, said that Ozy would remain in operation.[7]

On February 23, 2023, Watson was arrested on fraud charges.[8] Ozy shut down on March 1, 2023, as a result of charges against Watson and other executives.[9] On July 16, 2024, Watson was convicted in New York of repeatedly lying to investors about the financial health of Ozy Media.[10]

  1. ^ "OZY | A Modern Media Company". OZY. Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  2. ^ "Kaplan Buys Achieva and 3 Vocational Colleges". www.chronicle.com. 14 January 2002. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  3. ^ Mathews, Jessica (October 7, 2021). "How Ozy Media collapsed in 6 days". Fortune. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Haring, Bruce (2020-07-31). "'The Carlos Watson Show' Brings Emmy-Winning OZY Cofounder To YouTube Talker". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  5. ^ Folenflik, David. "Ozy's Carlos Watson resigns from NPR corporate board after week of scandal". NPR. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Smith, Ben (October 1, 2021). "Ozy Media Will Shut Down". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson speaks out exclusively on TODAY". TODAY.com. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Spangler, Todd (2023-03-01). "Ozy Media Shuts Down After Founder Carlos Watson Charged With Fraud, Identity Theft". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  10. ^ Fanelli, James (July 16, 2024). "Ozy Media and CEO Carlos Watson Convicted of Fraud". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 16, 2024.