Blue Ocean Global Technology Interviews Colin McMahon

Colin McMahon is a respected international journalist turned innovative news media executive. He currently serves as chief operating officer of StartupNation Media Group, a digital publisher and events platform focusing on entrepreneurship and small business. As editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune and chief content officer of Tribune Publishing, Colin led efforts to reimagine and restructure the newsroom and the company for the digital age. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest and political upheaval that dominated his Tribune tenure, Colin kept the newsroom focused on its journalistic mission and producing award-winning work, including an investigative series that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. Before becoming a newsroom leader, Colin spent nearly 15 years on the Tribune’s foreign staff, including a stint as foreign editor and leading bureaus in Buenos Aires, Moscow, Mexico City and Baghdad. Previously, he covered crime, politics and community as a local reporter in Chicago and Ohio.

Blue Ocean: Tell Us about Your Professional Life. Why Did You Choose to Work in This Industry?

Colin: I was drawn to journalism at a time when the press was respected, even praised. I liked writing. I wanted to do good in the world and, at the same time, be able to make a living with my work. Newspapering offered all of that—or so I thought coming out of university. Rather than try my hand at being a starving novelist, I got a job covering local news. I never regretted it.

Blue Ocean: What Does Your Typical Day Look Like?

Colin: Today, as an independent coach and consultant, I might be working on two, three, or even up to five projects at a time. So my days depend on what project is most pressing at the moment. I might be working out an audience development plan for a media client, coaching editorial teams in Latin America on agile methodology, or researching a court case for my expert witness work. Regardless of the task at hand, I rise early, check email and Slack, and usually make breakfast for my family before opening the laptop. I work from home, in the living room with a nice setup of three screens, music on a portable speaker, and the dog’s bed at my right elbow.

Blue Ocean: What Is One Trend in Your Industry That Excites You?

Colin: If “excited” also includes a bit of fright—and I think it does—I’m excited about generative artificial intelligence. I think generative AI will help people communicate more clearly. If used correctly, generative AI like ChatGPT will help journalists and researchers escape mundane tasks and devote their energies and analytical skills to what really matters. We will be able to harvest and analyze data faster and better than ever. We will be able to derive insights and suggest solutions with greater skill and confidence. Generative AI will help us connect the dots as never before. My fright, though, is not that robots will take over the world. Maybe they will. But that completely valid concern is not what worries me. My concern is that generative AI will bland everything. Creativity will be under even greater pressure in the face of productivity demands. Information will be processed and spit back out at astonishing speed. But the heart and soul of writing might be buried. It’s strange. I value clarity above all else in any non-fiction writing. I appreciate that AI can raise our game in all these terrific ways. But we have to harness AI correctly and use it smartly. And you will forgive me for wondering whether we are up to that task.

Blue Ocean: How Have You Differentiated Yourself, and What Underpins Your Success?

Colin: Effort. My teenage son struggles with academics. But the kid works very hard. And that’s what we discuss when we talk about school. We talk about putting in the work because effort is the one thing we can truly control. When I think of my success, I think of the effort that I have made throughout my whole life, from starting a paper route in the 4th grade to help out the family to taking on high-pressure dual roles as an executive at Tribune Publishing. I don’t come from a family with money or status, but I was fortunate enough to go to a solid high school, find teachers and coaches who supported me, and pay for college through jobs, scholarships, and loans that did not break my back. I recognize that the opportunities presented to me as a young white man were not open to everyone equally. We have to keep working to change that. But I also know that I seized on those opportunities when they came. I never rejected a task as beneath me or “not my job.” And if I failed at something, as I certainly have, it was not from a lack of effort.

Blue Ocean: What Is Something Unique You Offer to Your Clients?

Colin: I’m extremely practical and solution-oriented. I find ways to bring people together, to bring ideas to life, and to make projects work in ways that capture the best suggestions on offer. We all know that no one, including the client, is always right. But no one is always wrong either, not even that colleague you can’t stand or that writer you love to disagree with. I’m usually the guy who can find what’s right in what people say and translate that into an outcome that works for the client, the company, and the stakeholders. What I offer clients is seeing things through to success while capturing as much of the good stuff and goodwill as we can on the way.

Blue Ocean: What Is Something You Are Grateful For?

Colin:I have a long list, but I will say it was living and working abroad for so many years. Getting to meet people from scores of countries and seeing how other people, societies, and cultures operate was an experience that still guides me daily. I am so thankful for that opportunity.

Blue Ocean: What Are Your Sources of Happiness and Inspiration?

Colin: Seeing my kids grow up is tops. Watching people relate to each other, be good to each other, and enjoy one another’s company on a normal, uneventful, daily basis gives me strength and joy.

Blue Ocean: Outside of Work, What Passions and Interests Do You Pursue?

Colin: I love walking. I love hiking trails and city streets alike. There is no better holiday for me than exploring a new place on foot and rewarding myself with a beer, a bite, and something to read.

Blue Ocean: What Is Your Favorite Quote?

Colin: “Who said life was fair?” by my mother, Nancy Curran McMahon.