Excerpt from a CRACKS PODCAST episode featuring Francisco Gonzalez Albarn (CEO of Grupo Multimedios). The guest discusses the economics of news (‘good news never sells’), the threat of fake news in digital media, responsibilities of media organizations, and his family’s multigenerational media-business legacy and reinvestment strategy. The host (Oso Trava) emphasizes audience responsibility and plural news consumption.
Good news has never sold anywhere in the world. It's the DNA of communication. It also depends on how you tell it. News is still news, and now there's another very important factor. Because there's fake news. Things have happened in digital media that we don't publish that are altered, and that's why we get sued. What we need are responsible people to create good content. If you told me to dedicate myself to publishing only good news, I'd have to change my job. Francisco Gonzalez Albarn, CEO of Grupo Multimedios Sultanas de Monterrey, take another victory. Poncho is one of the most influential businessmen in Mexico, although, as he himself says, he rarely appears in front of the camera. An industrial engineer with degrees from Harvard and the Instituto de Empresas in Madrid, Francisco is the CEO of Grupo Multimedios and Millenio from Monterrey. He leads Grupo Firmas Globals, a conglomerate with a presence in media, real estate, food, energy, sports, reforestation and wine. With more than 5,000 employees. Heir to a family legacy that he helped transform, Poncho has driven a profound organizational renovation, turning the group into an ambidextrous and professionalized organization. And I don't want to take credit away from my grandfather, who is the founder. But my grandfather started in radio almost 100 years ago, and the one who truly multiplied and exponentialized the entrepreneurial empire is my father. And the truth is that there is no better entrepreneur that I know of. Ever since I can remember, there have been no dividends. It was reinvestment year after year. Knowing both sides of the coin, how objective is the news?
Obviously, I tell them, read Millennio, but read five more and believe whoever you want. So I'm going to ask you, what kind of world do you live in? Because I agree that the problem can be exacerbated by mass producing news. But the problem does exist. Every day there is entertainment, every day there is news. And you have a responsibility. The most important thing is the audience. The moment my audience starts to drop, that's when I'll realize that I'm doing something wrong, which hasn't happen.
