Speaker Profile – Michael Bloom

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Michael Bloom is President of First Look Media — a bold independent media company that empowers the most ambitious voices in journalism, arts and entertainment. Launched by eBay founder and philanthropist, Pierre Omidyar, First Look Media today operates across several areas, including an entertainment studio, Topic, which develops, produces and finances feature films, documentaries, television and digital content; the newly launched digital storytelling destination, Topic.com; the award-winning investigative journalism outlet, The Intercept; the critically acclaimed documentary film unit, Field of Vision; and the popular political satire cartoon, The Nib.

The company’s first feature film, “Spotlight,” won the 2016 Academy Award® for Best Picture.

Key upcoming Topic Studio projects include “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” a legal drama starring Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington;  “On the Other Side,” starring Carey Mulligan as veteran war correspondent Kate Webb; “My Abandonment,” directed by Debra Granik and starring Ben Foster; Rodrigo Prieto’s directorial debut of “Bastard” with Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and Jordan Horowitz; the Netflix documentary “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” directed by Brian Knappenberger; “Hunger,” a TV drama under development with Alex Garcia Lopez attached to write; and “Gold Fame Citrus,” another scripted drama with writer Jack Paglen attached. The studio also produced one of the top podcasts of the year, “Missing Richard Simmons,” among others.

First Look Media staunchly supports the First Amendment and houses the Press Freedom Defense Fund, through which it has awarded several million dollars in grants to strengthen the ability of journalists, filmmakers, non-profits and whistleblowers to pursue legal fights where a substantial public interest is at stake.

Early in his career, Bloom built and sold several internet startup companies including Stockpoint.com, and iAmaze, an early cloud company acquired by AOL. He next led Viacom’s MTV Networks digital music business as Sr. VP and General Manager for Digital Media. Prior to First Look Media, Bloom was CEO of Guardian News & Media, North America, which he led into becoming one of the top digital journalism brands.

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