Power of the Platform – Rewriting the Rules in Media & Music

Morgan Radford is the co-anchor for NBC News Daily (12-2pmET), the number one daily news program in afternoon television among the key demographic (25-54) and winner of the 2025 Gracie Award for “Best National News Program.”   

Her debut fiction novel, Now Then, will be published by HarperCollins in English in May 2026 and in Spanish in September 2026. The novel, which is loosely based on Radford’s story, is a sweeping, multigenerational tale that follows a Harvard student navigating her own path to self-discovery while uncovering her mother’s secret past fleeing the Cuban Revolution. 

From breaking news in the nation’s top stories to peeling back layers of meaning for voters in this fevered political climate, Radford connects with more than 1.2 million viewers daily with her signature warmth and piercing questions.  Her political reporting has appeared frequently on TODAY Show, NBC Nightly News, Morning Joe, and in Spanish on Noticias Telemundo. 

Since joining NBC News in 2015, Radford has covered the country’s biggest stories including the 2024 presidential election, the overturning of Roe v Wade, and the death of Fidel Castro.  Her coverage of the immigration debate over the U.S. southern border was part of the MSNBC “Border Special” nominated for a 2020 “News Discussion and Analysis” Emmy Award.  Radford also won the 2020 Gracie Award for National TV News On-Air Talent.  

Prior to joining NBC News, Radford was an anchor for Al Jazeera America and previously worked for ABC News at their headquarters in New York City. 

Originally from Greensboro, NC, Radford received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a master’s degree from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and a Fulbright Fellowship from the United States State Department, where she spent one year teaching in Durban, South Africa.  Radford was honored with the 2022 One To World “Fulbright Award for Intercultural Awareness and Understanding.”  

A bilingual journalist, Radford reports in both English and Spanish, and was certified by the French Chamber of Commerce for business proficiency in French in 2007.  She currently serves on the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism’s Board of Visitors and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Radford resides in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.

EJ Wright is currently the Vice President of Athlete Relations & Content at Wave Sports + Entertainment, where he oversees talent partnerships and the talent booking strategy across Wave’s premium Originals network. 

Born and raised in Detroit, Wright started his career running social media accounts for top tier athletes. He then moved over to Snapchat where he played a pivotal role in building the content team and contributed to the production of major events, including Coachella, New York/Milan/Paris Fashion Week, and the VMAs.

In 2018, he joined the team at The Players Tribune, where he assumed a leadership role in Content Partnerships & Creative Development. Notably, he created and developed the second most successful sports show in the Facebook Watch program, "Houseguest with Nate Robinson," featuring high-profile guests such as Rick Ross, Steve Aoki, Von Miller, and Lavar Ball. Wright then moved over to Quibi as a Development Executive on the Daily Essentials team, collaborating with NBC Universal on various projects -- including, “The Rachel Hollis Show,” which launched to #1 overall. 

Wright joined Wave in 2021 as the head of Creative Development, playing a key role in the company's initial launch into original content before helping to develop and co-create projects such as "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce," "7pm in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony," and "Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce," among others.

Rachel Jackson, affectionately known as "Rachie", is a native of Atlanta, GA and alumni of the Clark Atlanta University School of Business. With community servitude at the forefront of her being, she serves as a member of the St. Jude Children's Hospital Urban Music Cares Advisory Board and is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 

Professionally, Rachel worked as a membership coordinator at ASCAP, performance Right Organization, then as the Director of A&R at Roc Nation Label before transitioning to her current role as Artist & Livestream Partnerships Manager at YouTube. Her priorities include managing livestream partnerships (for Coachella and Rolling Loud) and sports streaming partnerships (NFL International Flag Football). She also emphasizes on providing equitable resources + scaled educational programs to marginalized communities while taking an immersive interest in artist content success, by optimizing and amplifying their music releases on the YouTube platform. 

Rachel is a 6x Billboard Hip-Hop & R&B Power Player in the field of Music + Content Streaming and represents artists such as BigXThaPlug, GloRilla, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, 21 Savage, Gunna, JID, BigXThaPlug, Anycia, Ludacris, T-Pain, Lil Wayne and many more.

For over a decade, Justin Grant has been at the forefront of shaping culture through innovative digital marketing in R&B and hip-hop. As Senior Vice President at Capitol Records and Head of Urban Digital Marketing, Grant oversees strategy that amplifies artist voices and pushes culture forward. 

Grant joined Capitol in 2024 following his tenure as Vice President of Digital Marketing and Sports Partnerships at Atlantic Records, where he spearheaded campaigns for chart-topping artists including Cardi B, Lil Uzi Vert, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Kodak Black, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again. His partnership with YoungBoy continues as he led strategy and guided the launch of the rapper’s MASA & Slime Cry projects at Capitol Records. 

Recognized as one of the industry’s leading voices, Grant has earned the Variety’s Hitmakers honor twice and secured three spots on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list - a testament to his ability to bridge music, marketing, and innovation in ways that resonate with both artists and audiences.