Meet Carlos Watson, Founder of The Stimulist.com
Photos: Meet Carlos Watson | MSNBC Anchor and Founder of The Stimulist.com
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Social Entrepreneur - Carlos Watson is the founder and publisher of a new daily digital magazine, <b><a href = "http://www.thestimulist.com">The Stimulist.com</a></b>. He his one of MSNBC's fastest rising anchors and is based in New York City.
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TV Anchor - This month, Carlos began anchoring his own hour on MSNBC. He’s known for standing up to Joe on “Morning Joe” and has appeared on Fox News, Court TV, CNBC, CNN and BET’s very own “Meet the Faith.”
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The Stimulist.com - Watson launched The Stimulist in May 2009. It is a streamlined online daily featuring "6 Things You Should Know" each day: which includes one big idea, one opinion piece, a profile of an interesting person, a cool thing to do and a historical anecdote.
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New Media Voice - The Web is flooded with online publications and social networking sites, Watson observes, but nothing that thoughtfully speaks to the growing segment of web users that snack on tidbits of information, covering everything from politics and pop culture to sports, news and music. It’s unlike watching Fox News or NPR programming, which specifically target people of certain political leanings.
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"Educated But Edgy" - “I started The Stimulist for my generation. My feeling is that we, the Obama generation – primarily, but not only, those in their 20s, 30s and 40s – are educated but edgy, more down-to-earth, more digitally savvy, more diverse than the yuppies of twenty or thirty years ago,” says Watson. “They are curious. They want to know about this world and they want to be engaged with it. They need good news and information.”
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Close Family Ties - Watson comes from a close-knit and supportive working-class family. He grew up in Miami with two siblings and parents who were both school teachers. He is pictured with his mom and dad at his Harvard graduation in 1991.
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News Junkie - In addition to his TV work, Watson writes a daily blog on The Stimulist called 'The C-Note.' He does a lot of his own research and typically gets up before 5 a.m. to start browsing his favorite online publications.
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Generation O - Watson, pictured here at his Harvard College graduation in 1991, says Obama's presidency has ushered in an exciting moment in American history. "The moment hasn’t passed," he says. "I think it will only get bigger, brighter and better. That young person who likes math should know that there will be more opportunities to build your billion-dollar tech companies."
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Rising Above Labels - In kindergarten, Watson was labeled a "problem child" and was asked to leave school. He says he was also declared "retarded" by some teachers. Rising above those experiences is one of the things that keeps him motivated.
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Mentor - Watson serves on the board of College Track, a program he helped to create. He mentors kids in Oakland and East Palo Alto, Calif., and works to ensure they get into college. Most of the kids in the program are the first in their families to attend college.
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Emmy Winner - Watson, pictured here interviewing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, won an Emmy Award for his interview with President Obama. That Q&A took place on the presidential campaign trail – shot on location in Chicago’s Altgeld neighborhood where Obama was a community organizer.
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Radio Host - Carlos’ most recent work includes the week-in-review news show "7 Days in America” with Huffington Post founder, Arianna Huffington, who is a good friend. The show, which runs every weekend on the Air America radio network, centers on news analysis, debates and interviews.
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Interviewing Obama - “I really enjoyed it,” Watson recalls his first of two exclusive interviews with Obama. “It was when he was running for the Senate. I found him compelling, thoughtful, humble and reflective.”
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Educator - Watson co-founded Achieva College Prep Service based in San Mateo, Calif. He sold it in 2002 to competitor Kaplan, Inc., who became a launch sponosr of The Stimulist.com.
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Hot Bachelor - Watson was named one of People’s “Hottest Bachelors” in 2004. In 2008, Extra TV listed him as one of its most eligible bachelors.
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CNN Years - For two years, Watson appeared regularly as a political commentator on CNN, most notably covering the 2004 presidential election with Wolf Blitzer, Larry King and Jeff Greenfield. Also while at CNN, Watson wrote a column on CNN's Web site and hosted two airings of his own prime-time show interviewing Shaquille O'Neal, Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Heidi Klum.
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Organizer - After Harvard, he worked as Chief of Staff and Campaign Manager for Florida Representative Daryl Jones and managed Bill Clinton’s 1992 Election Day effort in Miami-Dade County.
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Stanford Law Review Editor - Before entering the world of television – where he has landed interviews with everyone from Pres. Obama and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to Oprah Winfrey and NFL great Joe Montana – Watson attended Stanford Law School. While there, he was editor of the Stanford Law Review and president of the Stanford Law School Student Government.