Sam Ford

Sam Ford consults and manages projects with leadership teams in journalism, media/entertainment, academia, civic engagement, and marketing/communication. In addition, he is leading various initiatives of the Future of Work in Kentucky with the MIT Open Documentary Lab, the University of Southern California Annenberg School’s Civic Paths team, and other partners.

As a 2017 Knight News Innovation Fellow with Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, he is co-leading the project “From Polarization to Public Sphere” initiative in Kentucky. He is also co-founder of the Artisanal Economies Project, led by Grant McCracken. Sam serves as a research affiliate with MIT’s Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing and as an instructor in Western Kentucky University’s Popular Culture Studies Program.

In 2015-2016, Sam was VP, Innovation & Engagement, with Univision's Fusion Media Group. From 2008-2015, he was a director at Peppercomm, a NYC-based strategic communications firm. Previously, he helped establish and run the MIT Convergence Culture Consortium and the related Futures of Entertainment conference at MIT.

Sam co-authored the 2013 book Spreadable Media with Henry Jenkins and Joshua Green, released in paperback in Spring 2018. He was also co-editor of the 2011 book, The Survival of Soap Opera.

He has spoken at prior SXSW events on his book, Spreadable Media, as well as on ethical engagement on Wikipedia for corporate representatives and on how companies/producers may utilize negative online audience reaction. He has also been a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Inc., and a range of other publications, and is a Kentucky Press Association award-winning writer.

Sam can be reached at samford@mit.edu and found on Twitter @Sam_Ford.

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