Mediabistro.com is a Web site that publishes various blogs and job listings for journalists. The site was founded in 1993 by Laurel Touby as "a gathering place for professionals in journalism, publishing and other media-related industries in New York City"^[1], mediabistro.com has since grown^[2] into an international resource for media professionals.

The site claims 1.4 million users have registered for its various services including job postings, educational courses, events, forums and its premium subscription service, AvantGuild. mediabistro.com is also home to a number of industry-specific blogs including TVNewser (covering broadcast & cable news), GalleyCat (book publishing), UnBeige (design), AgencySpy (advertising), PRNewser (public relations) and MobileContentToday (mobile apps).

On July 17, 2007, the site was acquired^[3] by WebMediaBrands for $20 million in cash plus a two year earn-out that could result in an additional $3 million.

The site publishes several popular blogs such as TV Newser, about the broadcast industry, and various FishBowl blogs, covering gossip in the journalism communities of New York, Los Angeles and DC.

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Mediabistro
• "How I Did It," Laurel Touby, Inc. Magazine profile

Spike Lee
Lee at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Shelton Jackson Lee (1957-03-20) March 20, 1957 (age 55) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma mater	Morehouse, NYUTisch School of the Arts
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Tonya Lewis (1993–present)

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.

Lee's movies have examined race relations, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won numerous awards, including an Emmy Award. He has also received two Academy Award nominations.

Early life[link]

Spike Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Jacqueline Carroll (née Shelton), a teacher of arts and black literature, and William James Edward Lee III, a jazz musician and composer.^[1][2] Lee moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York when he was a small child. (The Fort Greene neighborhood is home to Lee's production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, and other Lee-owned or related businesses.) As a child, his mother nicknamed him "Spike." In Brooklyn, he attended John Dewey High School. Lee enrolled in Morehouse College where he made his first student film, Last Hustle in Brooklyn. He took film courses at Clark Atlanta University and graduated with a B.A. in Mass Communication from Morehouse College. He then enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Television.^[3]

Film career[link]

Lee in 2007

Lee's thesis film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, was the first student film to be showcased in Lincoln Center's New Directors New Films Festival.

In 1985, Lee began work on his first feature film, She's Gotta Have It. With a budget of $175,000, the film was shot in two weeks. When the film was released in 1986, it grossed over $7,000,000 at the U.S. box office.^[4] The reception of She's Gotta Have It led Lee down a second career avenue. Marketing executives from Nike^[5] offered Lee a job directing commercials for the company. They wanted to pair Lee's character from She's Gotta Have It, the Michael Jordan-loving Mars Blackmon, and Jordan himself in their marketing campaign for the Air Jordan line. Later, Lee would be a central figure in the controversy surrounding the inner-city rash of violence involving Air Jordans.^[6] Lee countered that instead of blaming manufacturers of apparel, "deal with the conditions that make a kid put so much importance on a pair of sneakers, a jacket and gold". Through the marketing wing of 40 Acres and a Mule, Lee has also directed commercials for Converse, Jaguar, Taco Bell and Ben & Jerry's.

Awards, honors and nominations[link]

Lee's film Do the Right Thing was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1989. Many people, including Hollywood's Kim Basinger (who announced her feelings live during that year's Oscar telecast), believed that Do the Right Thing also deserved a Best Picture nomination. Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture that year and according to Lee in an April 7, 2006 interview with New York magazine, this hurt him more than his film not receiving the nomination.^[7]

His documentary 4 Little Girls was nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award in 1997.

On May 2, 2007, the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival honored Spike Lee with the San Francisco Film Society's Directing Award. He was the recipient of the 2008 Wexner Prize.^[8]

Use of actors[link]

Recurring actors[link]

A number of actors have appeared in multiple Spike Lee productions. Spike's sister, Joie Lee, and John Turturro lead the list at nine films, followed by Roger Guenveur Smith and the late Ossie Davis, with seven films.

Actor	Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983)	She's Gotta Have It (1986)	School Daze (1988)	Do the Right Thing (1989)	Mo' Better Blues (1990)	Jungle Fever (1991)	Malcolm X (1992)	Crooklyn (1994)	Clockers (1995)	Girl 6 (1995)	Get on the Bus (1996)	4 Little Girls (1997)	He Got Game (1998)	Freak (1998)	Summer of Sam (1999)	The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)	Bamboozled (2000)	A Huey P. Newton Story (2001)	25th Hour (2002)	She Hate Me (2004)	Inside Man (2006)	When the Levees Broke (2006)	Miracle at St. Anna (2008)	Red Hook Summer (2012)
Danny Aiello				N					N											N
Rick Aiello				N		N
Michael Badalucco						N			N						N
Thomas Jefferson Byrd									N	N	N		N				N
Ossie Davis			N	N		N	N				N	N								N
Rosario Dawson													N						N
Kim Director													N		N		N		N	N	N
Chiwetel Ejiofor																				N	N
Giancarlo Esposito			N	N	N		N
Robin Harris				N	N
Zelda Harris								N					N
Michael Imperioli						N	N		N	N					N
Samuel L. Jackson			N	N	N	N
David Patrick Kelly							N	N
Joie Lee		N	N	N	N			N		N			N		N					N
John Leguizamo														N	N								N
Delroy Lindo							N	N	N
Bernie Mac											N					N
Lonette McKee						N	N						N							N
Coati Mundi					N					N			N				N		N
Charlie Murphy					N	N	N		N
Bill Nunn			N	N	N								N
Christopher Perez				N		N							N		N
Wendell Pierce							N				N											N
Dania Ramirez																			N	N
Theresa Randle						N	N			N
Miguel Sandoval				N		N
Roger Guenveur Smith			N	N			N				N		N		N			N
Wesley Snipes					N	N
Leonard L. Thomas			N	N	N		N		N	N
John Turturro				N	N	N			N			N	N		N					N			N
Nicholas Turturro				N	N	N	N
Denzel Washington					N		N						N								N
Isaiah Washington								N	N	N	N
Kerry Washington																				N			N
Michole Briana White																			N	N
Steve White				N	N		N		N
Isiah Whitlock, Jr.																			N	N

Public figures as actors[link]

Several well-known public figures have appeared in Spike Lee films portraying characters other than themselves. They include

• Ray Allen (He Got Game)
• Travis Best (He Got Game)
• Mark Breland (Summer of Sam)
• Jim Brown (He Got Game, She Hate Me, Sucker Free City)
• Rick Fox (He Got Game)
• Evander Holyfield (Summer of Sam)
• William Kunstler (Malcolm X)
• Nelson Mandela (Malcolm X)
• Bobby Seale (Malcolm X)
• Al Sharpton (Malcolm X, Bamboozled)
• Wyatt Tee Walker (Malcolm X)

Controversy[link]

Lee in September 2011

After the 1990 release of Mo' Better Blues, Lee was accused of antisemitism by the Anti-Defamation League and several film critics, who pointed to the characters of club owners Josh and Moe Flatbush in the film, which have been described as "Shylocks". Lee denied the charge, explaining that he wrote those characters in order to depict how black artists struggled against exploitation. Lee further expressed skepticism that Lew Wasserman, Sidney Sheinberg or Tom Pollock, the Jewish heads of MCA and Universal Studios, would have allowed antisemitic content in a film they produced. He also said he could not make an antisemitic film because Jews run Hollywood, and "that's a fact."^[9]

In the Knicks' 93–86 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, Reggie Miller scored 25 points in the 4th quarter. Lee was apparently taunting Miller throughout the 4th quarter, and Miller responded by making shot after shot. Miller also gave the choke sign to Lee. The headline of the New York Daily News the next day sarcastically said, "Thanks A Lot Spike".^[10] This was parodied in the Seinfeld episode "The Susie", in which Kramer, Lee and Miller ultimately reconcile and go to a strip club together.

In May 1999, the New York Post reported that Lee said of National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston, "Shoot him with a .44 Bulldog."^{[citation needed]} Lee contended, "I intended it as ironic, as a joke to show how violence begets more violence," Lee said. "I told everyone there it was a joke. I said I did not want to read in the papers, 'Shoot Charlton Heston.'" Insisting that he had no reason to apologize, Lee further explained that his remark was in response to a question about whether Hollywood was responsible for the then-recent rash of school shootings, saying, "The problem is guns," he said. Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey issued a statement condemning Lee as having "nothing to offer the debate on school violence except more violence and more hate."^[11]

In 2002, after remarks made by Mississippi Senator Trent Lott regarding Senator Strom Thurmond's failed presidential bid, Lee charged that Lott was a "card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan" on ABC's Good Morning America.^[12]

Lee sparked controversy on a March 28, 2004, segment on ABC when he said that basketball player Larry Bird was overrated because of his race, saying, "The most overrated player of all time, I would say it'd be Larry Bird. Now, Larry Bird is one of the greatest players of all time, but listen to the white media, it's like this guy was like nobody ever played basketball before him—Larry Bird, Larry Bird, Larry Bird, Larry Bird, Larry Bird."^[13][14]

In October 2005, Lee commented on the federal government's response to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. Responding to a CNN anchor's question as to whether the government intentionally ignored the plight of black Americans during the disaster, Lee replied, "It's not too far-fetched. I don't put anything past the United States government. I don't find it too far-fetched that they tried to displace all the black people out of New Orleans." On Real Time with Bill Maher, Lee cited the government's past atrocities including the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.^[15]

At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, Lee, who was then making Miracle at St. Anna, about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during World War II, criticized director Clint Eastwood for not depicting black Marines in his own WWII film, Flags of Our Fathers. Citing historical accuracy, Eastwood responded that his film was specifically about the Marines who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, pointing out that while black Marines did fight at Iwo Jima, the U.S. military was segregated during WWII, and none of the men who raised the flag were black. Eastwood also pointed out that his 1988 film Bird, about the Jazz musician Charlie Parker featured 90% black actors, and sarcastically said that Invictus, his then-upcoming film about post-apartheid South Africa, would not feature a white actor in the role of Nelson Mandela. He angrily said that Lee should "shut his face". Lee responded that Eastwood was acting like an "angry old man", and argued that despite making two Iwo Jima films back to back, Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, "there was not one black soldier in both of those films".^[16][17][18] He added that he and Eastwood were "not on a plantation."^[19] In fact, black Marines are seen in scenes during which the mission is outlined, as well as during the initial landings, when a wounded black Marine is carried away. During the end credits, historical photographs taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima show black Marines. Although black Marines fought in the battle, they were restricted to auxiliary roles such as ammunition supply, and were not involved in the battle's major assaults, but took part in defensive actions.^[20] Lee later claimed that the event was exaggerated by the media and that he and Eastwood had reconciled through mutual friend Steven Spielberg, culminating in his sending Eastwood a print of Miracle at St. Anna.^[21]

During a lecture at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada on February 11, 2009,^[22] Lee criticized how some in the black community wrongfully associate "intelligence with acting white, and ignorance with acting black", admonishing students and parents to maintain more positive attitudes in order to follow their dreams and achieving their goals.^[23]

In March 2012, after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Spike Lee was one of many people who retweeted a message which claimed to give the home address of the shooter. The address turned out to be incorrect, causing the occupants to leave home and stay at a hotel. Lee issued an apology, and reached an agreement which included compensation.^[24][25]

Personal life[link]

Lee and his wife, attorney Tonya Lewis, had their first child, daughter Satchel, in December 1994.^[26] Spike Lee is a fan of the American baseball team the New York Yankees, basketball team the New York Knicks, and the English football team Arsenal.^[27] One of the documentaries in ESPN's 30 for 30 series, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, focuses partly on Lee's interaction with Miller at Knicks games in Madison Square Garden.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Spike Lee

• Spike Lee at the Internet Movie Database
• Spike Lee on Charlie Rose in 2010
• Spike Lee on Charlie Rose
• Spike Lee collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Spike Lee collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Spike Lee collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Ubben Lecture at DePauw University
• Criterion Collection Essay on Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing
• Lee's Lens Exposes Inequalities, but he's no Revolutionary by Brendan Kelly, Canwest, April 11, 2009

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

LeVar Burton
Burton in May 2012.
Born	Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. (1957-02-16) February 16, 1957 (age 55) Landstuhl, West Germany
Other names	LeVar Burton
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, author
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Stephanie Cozart Burton
Children	1 daughter

Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. (born February 16, 1957), professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer, and author.

Burton first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley. He is also well known for his role as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as the host of the PBS children's program Reading Rainbow.

Early life[link]

Burton was born to American parents at the U.S. Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in West Germany. His mother, Erma Jean (born Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator. His father, Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and at the time was stationed at Landstuhl.^[1][2][3] Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.^[4] Burton was raised Catholic and, at the age of thirteen, entered St. Pius X seminary in Galt, California to become a priest.^[5] He attended Christian Brothers High School and graduated in the class of 1974. He is a graduate of University of Southern California's School of Theatre.

Early career[link]

Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Show's televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows. In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.

Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people ages 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.

Burton was host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS.^[6] The series ran for 21 seasons, making it one of the longest running children's programs on the network. Furthermore, the series garnered several awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and twenty-six Emmy Awards, ten of which were in the "Outstanding Children's Series" category.^[7]

[edit] Roots

LeVar Burton rose to prominence in 1977 when he played Kunta Kinte (Toby) in the ABC award-winning drama series Roots. Burton's audition for the role of Kinte was the first of his professional career.^[8] As a result of his performance, he was nominated for the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Burton reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal impacts of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying, "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."^[9]

[edit] Star Trek: The Next Generation

In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached him with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. La Forge is blind, but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR, which is worn over his eyes. La Forge is the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, its Chief Engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to the fame he gained from starring in Roots. The Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock."^[10]

Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, beginning with Star Trek Generations in 1994 through 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. Burton directed the season two episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled "Dreadnought." Burton also directed and appeared in the season five episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled "Timeless" and directed several episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Other appearances[link]

Burton with social activist and former Second Lady Tipper Gore

On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.

In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 "Death Takes a Dive" starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.

He has also lent his voice to several animated projects including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series, and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.

Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark–hosted Pyramid, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $189,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).

He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.

Burton at the Schlow Centre Region Library, January 29, 2007

Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.^[11]

He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.^[12]

He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.^[13]

In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".

In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" and the following week on CBS's The Big Bang Theory in the episode "The Toast Derivation".

Directing[link]

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.^{[citation needed]}

Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.

Burton has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the documentary The Tiger Woods Story.

His first theatrical film direction was 2003's Blizzard for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart."

He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen.

His most recent directorial project Reach for Me, in which he also played a supporting role, was released in theaters in March 2008. The film was produced by longtime producer and exec Mark Wolfe, whom Burton officially teamed with in 2010, forming Burton/Wolfe Entertainment. BWE will produce motion pictures, television, web content and more. Says Burton, "We are looking to tell stories everywhere there will be a screen, BWE will be there. That is our plan."

Personal life[link]

Burton married make-up artist Stephanie Cozart Burton in 1992, and in 1994 they had a daughter, Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. Burton and his wife and daughter currently live in Sherman Oaks, California. Burton also has one son named Ian, born in 1980, decided by the courts after paternity suit. He won joint custody. A DNA test linked Burton to the Hausa people of Nigeria.^[14]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Burton with Brent Spiner and William Shatner in July 2010

Director[link]

Awards[link]

Nominations[link]

• 1977 Emmy — Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series — Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
• 1998, 2001, 2005 Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — ' Reading Rainbow ' (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
• 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 Daytime Emmy — Outstanding Children's Series — Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
• 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 - Daytime Emmy — Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series — Reading Rainbow (Self)
• 2004 Genie Award — Best Achievement in Music-Original Song — Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
• 2006 Black Reel Award — Best Director-Television — Miracle's Boys

Wins[link]

• 1990 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Blvd. for television achievement
• 1992 Peabody Award — Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
• 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 Image Award — variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — ' Reading Rainbow ' (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
• 2000 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album - The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• 1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 Daytime Emmy — Outstanding Children's Series — Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
• 2001, 2002 Daytime Emmy — Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series — Reading Rainbow (Self)
• 2003 Television Critics Association Award — Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming — Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
• 2004 Chicago International Children's Film Festival — Best of Fest — Blizzard (Director)

Books[link]

• Aftermath, 1997, ISBN 0-446-67960-7

References[link]

Further reading[link]

Star Trek portal

• Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton." The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey, Jr. 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: LeVar Burton

• Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
• LeVar Burton at the Internet Movie Database
• LeVar Burton at AllRovi
• LeVar Burton at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

This article appears to be written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by rewriting promotional content from a neutral point of view and removing any inappropriate external links. (October 2011)

Steve Stoute is an author, entrepreneur, advertising executive and American record executive and artist manager.

Music Executive[link]

From 1990 to 1999, Stoute was an executive at several leading labels in the music industry. At Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Stoute served as President of the Urban Music division and executive vice president, producing best-selling albums from U2, Eve and Limp Bizkit, as well as Eminem’s debut album, “The Slim Shady LP.” Stoute has also produced several major motion picture soundtracks. Prior to joining Interscope, Stoute was president of Urban Music for Sony Music Entertainment, where he played an instrumental role in launching the music careers of Mariah Carey, Will Smith and Nas. Stoute was also former manager to Nas and Mary J. Blige.^{[citation needed]}

Advertising & Marketing Executive[link]

Stoute is the founder of Translation, a full service "transcultural advertising agency". In 2008, Stoute expanded Translation’s footprint by partnering with Shawn Carter (aka Jay-Z) to co-found Translation Advertising, which specializes in the multicultural market. Translation believes that its ability to manage ‘cultural’ nuances allows consumers to know the difference between marketing communications intended to relate to them versus those that intend to ‘sell to them.' ^[1]

In 2009 the American Advertising Federation inducted Stoute into their Advertising Hall of Achievement, the industry's premier award for outstanding advertising professionals age 40 and under.^[2] In 2010, Steve was recognized as “Innovator of the Year” at the ADCOLOR awards ceremony, an initiative launched by the ADCOLOR Industry Coalition, to promote increased diversity in the advertising, marketing and media industries.^[3]

Entrepreneur[link]

In 2005, Stoute became the Managing Director and CEO of Carol's Daughter, a line of hair and body care products made with natural ingredients. He formed a board of investors including Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Jay-Z, Jimmy Iovine and Mary J. Blige.^[4] His leadership has enabled the company to grow and has brought partnerships such as Disney's "The Princess & The Frog" via a collection of hair and body products for children and HSN via a exclusive fragrance launch with Mary J. Blige.^[5][6]

He has appeared in the HBO series and book “The Black List Project,” featuring interviews and portraits with leading African American figures on being black in America.^[7] He was also chosen as one of four extraordinary Americans featured in Target’s dare.dream.do national multi-cultural campaign in honor of Black History Month.

Author[link]

Steve Stoute released his first book The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy on September 8, 2011 (Gotham Books).^[8] In the book, Stoute draws from his diverse background in the music industry and brand marketing to chronicle how an upstart art form - street poetry set to beats - came to define urban culture as the embodiment of cool. Stoute's understanding of how hip-hop morphed into mainstream culture enabled him to relate to a new generation of thinking which catapulted him to the forefront of pop culture - where he remains today.

Philanthropist[link]

Steve Stoute is involved in a variety of civic causes. In 2008, he joined forces with Mary J. Blige to co-found the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN), whose mission is to educate, and empower women through scholarships, grants and career development opportunities. In 2009 they opened their first facility, the Mary J. Blige Center for Women in Yonkers, New York.^[9]

In addition, Steve has also played a key role in the development of minority recruitment campaigns for both the Fire Department of the City of New York and the New York City Police Department. Stoute received a 2004 Humanitarian Award from the FDNY for his work on their “Heroes Wanted” campaign. In 2003, he served as the co-chairman of the New York City Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit program offering minority children an opportunity to experience life outside the confines of the inner city.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]