Meet Imani Jackson of Manijtv

Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Jackson.

Imani, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been a storyteller for as long as I could remember. I loved writing and was always that student who couldn’t wait to get picked to read in popcorn reading.

As a child, I knew I wanted to be a news anchor. I could picture my big lips and eyes reporting to the masses. I’d imagine myself sitting at the desk with my pearls around my neck and a nice fitting dress to compliment my curves. I had a wild imagination.

I didn’t notice any anchors that were as eclectic as me. No one I knew was from the entertainment industry, so I didn’t really gather that as a career possibility until I got into college. I studied broadcast journalism and learned editing, producing, being on camera, doing stand-ups, interviewing subjects for my stories, and writing.

I learned that if you could write, you could do anything. My sophomore year, I became a news assistant for my school’s newspaper.

Just in 2016, I received the opportunity to write for my second pop culture blog, Hubwav, under Mando Fresko of Power 106. I wrote multiple stories a day, assisted with filming monthly cover stories, and pitched content for the website with a focus on the latest pop culture news. I started with the site before its launch with one other intern and it is now a publication that reaches over 200,000 people. After working for Hubwav, I realized that I could write for myself and become an on-camera personality for my own company.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t come from an affluent or privileged background. So, I couldn’t go to anyone in my family for money nor could I expect my immediate family to understand why I’ve been unemployed for so long. No one in my family had a business so this venture of mines was foreign to them. On top of that, I’m a black woman from an impoverished community starting a business in a male dominated field. Right of the bat, money was an issue. Another struggle was finding a supportive and collaborative team.

Oh yeah, creating my own deadlines and sticking to them was a struggle amid trying to balance school and freelance jobs in the entertainment industry.

Working on Manijtv has not been a smooth road. But, that’s what makes starting a business so exciting. I’ve learned to enjoy the not-so-enjoyable moments because the obstacles always deliver a lesson. Besides, I don’t plan on giving up anyway.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Manijtv – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Manijtv is a growing team of intelligent creatives. We are the Internet culture of innovative youth. We are not distracted. We are both interested in the important stuff and the not-so-important stuff. We report on trends in hip-hop, pop culture, music, fashion, and world news. We include Op-Eds from real people on things they are observing. We are also passionate about redefining quality Internet TV through innovation from interviews, documentaries, and original content.

What makes Manijtv unique is that we are based out of Los Angeles, unlike Complex The Fader, and many other publications that are based in New York. Since Los Angeles is made up to be predominately of the Latino community, Manijtv offers our content in Español and English.

I am proud of the growth I’ve been able to witness with Manijtv. I have an incredible editorial and production team. We’ve been able to book a lot of interviews with different people. I’m excited to see what’s to come. I believe it can only get better from here.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to expand Manijtv and make it a notable brand. We plan on continuing to book different artists and influential people like Paul Rodriguez, Timothy DeLaGhetto, Issa Rae, Ashton Sanders, Polyester the Saint, Ron Finley, and the list goes on… We hope to make an impact on our community in the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: manijtv.com
• Instagram: manijtv
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manijtv/
• Twitter: manijtv

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