Next in Media

Mike Shields spent years covering the media and advertising industry for publications like The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider, and Next in Media is basically him applying that reporting instinct to a weekly conversation format. The show focuses on the business layer underneath all the journalism: how media companies make money, what the ad tech stack actually looks like, where the creator economy is heading, and who the power players are that most readers never hear about. With 281 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from 43 reviewers, it has built a loyal audience among professionals who work in media, marketing, and advertising. The guest list consistently features executives and founders who are genuinely shaping how media gets made and sold — people like the CEO of a major DSP, the head of a connected TV platform, or the founder of an influential creator agency. Shields asks the questions that matter to practitioners rather than the general public, which means the show gets into specific details: how a particular deal was structured, what a certain metric actually measures, whether a new platform is overhyped. Recent episodes have examined agentic advertising, AI measurement challenges, and the ongoing fragmentation of the attention economy. Episodes typically run 30 to 50 minutes. The show is most valuable if you work in media, advertising, or marketing, or if you're a journalist trying to understand the financial dynamics behind the outlets that employ you. It treats media as an industry with its own economics, which it absolutely is.