Secure your place at the Digiday Media Buying Summit in Nashville, March 2-4
This is View from the Top, a video series from Digiday where we sit down with leaders and pioneers at brands, agencies and publishers to find out how they’re adapting to the modernization of media and marketing.
Chris Altchek is familiar with all the millennial stereotypes: narcissistic, selfish short-term thinkers. The 28-year-old CEO of the millennial-focused publication Mic thinks a vast majority of those characteristics are over-simplifications. With a staff of more than 65 young journalists, Altchek likes to highlight that his team is dedicated.
“People work their asses off to get these things done, and at the end of three months they may want the next project or a promotion or a raise,” said Altchek about how millennials don’t want to settle. “I think for non-millennial managers that’s a surprising phenomenon.”
So at Mic, millennial expectations are managed by setting short-term goals. Every three months, staffers are given a different project with a new set of goals and rewards. Watch our interview with Altchek to find out how he’s also beefing up his millennial staff by bringing in older millennial-minded managers.
More in Media
From feeds to streets: How mega influencer Haley Baylee is diversifying beyond platform algorithms
Kalil is partnering with LinkNYC to take her social media content into the real world and the streets of NYC.
‘A brand trip’: How the creator economy showed up at this year’s Super Bowl
Super Bowl 2026 had more on-the-ground brand activations and creator participation than ever, showcasing how it’s become a massive IRL moment for the creator economy.
Media Briefing: Turning scraped content into paid assets — Amazon and Microsoft build AI marketplaces
Amazon plans an AI content marketplace to join Microsoft’s efforts and pay publishers — but it relies on AI com stop scraping for free.