IQ Interactive Special Report: SHOCK TROOPS/THE media

MegaChannels.com's president Paul Turcotte goes where the action is. Dining at a corner table at Eleven Madison Park, Paul Turcotte peers out the restaurant's ceiling-to-floor window front and admires the view. It's an early spring day in New York and the city is alive, buzzing with Manhattanites who have ventured out from hibernation to partake in the unseasonably warm weather. "There's nothing like springtime in New York," Turcotte says, almost wistfully. The recently named president of MegaChannels.com, an Internet-based broadcasting company, is reflecting on his tenure in New York and his imminent move to Orlando, where his new employer is headquartered. From his first apartment in Tribeca as a newlywed to his current home in Westchester as a family man, from his humble beginnings as an advertising director for Video Review magazine to his latest stint as vice president and publishing director at Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, the Detroit native has carved out a nice existence for himself in New York, both privately and professionally. Right now, as Turcotte reminisces, the land of Mickey and Donald seems a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Madison and 24th. Yet after 13 years in the Big City, Turcotte is preparing to shed the trappings of urban life and start a new chapter in the Sunshine State. The firmly rooted Turcotte had no intention of relocating when he first accepted the job with MegaChannels.com. Happy where he was, he planned to work from the company's satellite office in New York City. But it became increasingly clear that the startup's president was needed in Orlando, and Turcotte and his wife decided to make the move. It was a tough decision, but Turcotte is looking on the bright side. He won't miss the Westchester-Manhattan commute for one thing. In Florida, he says, "I'll only be an eight-minute drive away from my children." Until summer's end, however, he will split his time between Orlando and New York, hoping to make the transition easier for his wife and three young children. While perhaps a bit ambivalent about relocating, Turcotte reveals nothing but enthusiasm about his new job. He practically beams as he touts MegaChannels.com's potential as an Internet broadcasting mainstay. Founded in June 1999, the company promises on-demand delivery of movie, television, music, sports and other entertainment programming. Turcotte admits the PC won't replace the TV as a programming venue. But unlike traditional television, which was created to appeal to the masses, MegaChannels is entertainment for the individual, he points out. The broadband network will offer customers access to special-interest programs (such as foreign news and films) that can't generate the audience numbers required for national TV. As MegaChannels' president, Turcotte oversees all aspects of the company's operations, from interviewing prospective employees to signing deals with major film studios and television networks, as well as independent producers and filmmakers. This particular week he was in New York interviewing possible candidates, mostly young, Internet-savvy twenty-somethings, for a couple of job openings. This isn't Turcotte's first foray into the world of startups. In September 1996, he joined Ziff-Davis to launch Yahoo! Internet Life. At first, the idea of bringing the Internet to print received much criticism from skeptics. "They said 'Why would someone read a magazine about the Internet?' " he recalls. But Turcotte hushed the naysayers by growing the advertising sales to more than $28 million, making the magazine profitable. He then extended the brand by creating the Yahoo! Internet Life Online Music Awards in 1998. By its second year, the awards show boasted a star lineup that included Seal, Public Enemy and emcees Penn and Teller. But the coup that Turcotte remembers most fondly was when "the artist formerly known as Prince" volunteered to perform, a signal that the awards show had arrived. Turcotte's vision didn't stop at online music. He also wanted to establish an event to pay tribute to innovative online filmmakers, but he shied away from mimicking the awards show format. Instead, he invented something new--the Yahoo! Internet Life Online Film Festival. It was another idea that captured the moment. While 500 to 700 attendees were expected, more than 1,800 people packed the March 2000, Los Angeles event. So why did Turcotte bow out after catapulting Yahoo! Internet Life to the top? Why join yet another startup? He craves the challenge, Turcotte admits. "It's the classic case of David and Goliath."--Ann M. Mac

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IQ Interactive Special Report: SHOCK TROOPS/THE media - Mega Ideas

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