About Chez
Chez Pazienza is a veteran journalist -- a producer and manager of network and local news, with more than 20 years experience in broadcasting. He's currently an author, columnist and new media consultant living in Los Angeles. Chez is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and the Village Voice, and he's been featured in and interviewed by the New York Times, the New York Observer, New York Magazine Online, U.S. News and World Report, the American Journalism Review, NPR, the IFC Media Project, Radar Magazine and Wired Magazine, as well as websites like Gawker and Fark. In addition, he's been a regular on-air guest on Sirius XM's POTUS and Indie Talk channels.
Chez began his career in broadcasting at WVUM in Miami, the University of Miami's radio station, where he hosted a weekly specialty talk and music show. In 1992, he joined the editorial staff of WSVN Channel 7, Miami's Fox affiliate and one of the most influential local news organizations in the country. There he was a producer and executive producer, helping to create a brand of news -- lightning pacing, highly stylized delivery -- that would go on to set a powerful, if not controversial, new standard in television. Chez swiftly developed a reputation for being one of the most creative talents in the business and eventually moved to Los Angeles, as a senior producer for KCBS, producing Emmy-winning daily content and acting as a manager of the station's Special Assignment Unit. He's also produced and managed at WTVJ Miami, and KNBC and KCAL Los Angeles. In 2001, Chez moved to New York City immediately following 9/11 and served as a producer of MSNBC's extensive coverage of the World Trade Center attack. He co-launched and helmed the daily production of A Region in Conflict with Ashleigh Banfield, and was eventually named producer of Lester Holt Live. In 2004, Chez was hired by CNN. He became the senior producer of CNN Live Today and went on to manage New York City production of CNN Daybreak and produce full shows, segments and short-form news packages for American Morning.
In mid-2006, Chez started a blog called Deus Ex Malcontent, the focus of which was news, politics, pop culture and the media -- often delivered with a satirical acid-tongue. The site was quickly linked by Fark, Gawker and Pajiba, causing DXM's daily traffic to grow exponentially. In February of 2008, CNN fired Chez for his work on the blog and at the Huffington Post -- this, despite the fact that he had never identified himself online as a CNN employee nor had he written about the daily goings-on at CNN. This event placed Chez front-and-center in the media's consciousness and instantly made his name synonymous with the vast divide between traditional media and new, as well as the constant battle between a way of thinking that's quickly becoming antiquated and the digital revolution that's changing how information, particularly news, is disseminated to the public. He's gone on to write dozens of articles for various publications -- as well as for his own blog -- analyzing and sometimes criticizing the mainstream media's inability to effectively understand and target the blogosphere. His sharp mind and take-no-prisoners writing style, combined with his years of experience with both established and new media, has led Terry Heaton, vice president and internet media specialist for Audience Research and Development, to call Chez, "A brilliant new media writer... and a damn fine observer; a sensational talent... with the kind of skills needed to communicate with this generation."
Chez has two L.A. regional Emmys to his name as well as a prestigious Golden Mic award. He's also guest lectured on media ethics at UCLA.
As an author, he's repped by Adam Korn at DeFiore and Company, New York, NY. His first book is Dead Star Twilight, and he wrote a featured entry in The Huffington Post's Complete Guide To Blogging (Simon & Schuster, 2008).
Contact/Hire Me
In addition to writing regularly for several outlets including my own successful site, I'm an expert on mainstream and digital media and the sometimes uncomfortable collision of the two. I'm qualified to discuss the state of media across all platforms: radio, television, internet, etc. As a guest, I tend to be fiercely opinionated, discussing even the most complex topics -- not just media, but politics and culture -- in a down-to-earth manner with a heavy dose of provocative wit.
In addition to this, I'm a consultant who works with clients to maximize their brand recognition and promotion through smart, targeted marketing within both traditional and new media. My work reaches thousands of people every day, and I understand how to get a product or message into the right hands -- bloggers, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr users, YouTube viewers, even old fashioned newsroom desks -- and make sure it spreads virally and gets noticed. What's more, I know how the online community's most potent connectors talk and think -- how to get past the finely honed BS-meters that stop most broad-spectrum PR campaigns dead in their tracks.
If you'd like me to write or blog for you, appear on your program, or just talk PR strategies, feel free to contact me.
chez@dxmmedia.com
