Photo credit: Jana Haynes
The business of a television executive is typically a man’s world, but as the funk legend, James Brown, stated, “It would be nothing without a woman or a girl.”
Jana Haynes, known as JP, is breaking multiple barriers and is infecting change within the realm of entertainment as the visionary of one of the first black woman-owned digital streaming platforms, Infecting Change TV, or simply ICTV.
Black women have always been in key leadership positions, and Haynes is in that number!
She has made a name for herself that still resonates beyond the reach of her small hometown in Mississippi. Inspired by her mother, who is a presiding judge, Jana’s leadership and tenacity to bring diversity and change to a stagnant industry has been anything but easy.
After many failed contracts and disappointments, Jana found success after adapting the stage play “Selma: The Untold Stories” into a mini-series for television. It was pitch meeting after pitch meeting and rejection after rejection until Jana and her team’s TV show gained the interest of well-known streaming platform executives. They quickly rejected the offer upon discovering they’d lose all ownership rights. This experience birthed the idea behind ICTV, highlighting the realization of a great disconnect between creators and Hollywood.
“I’ve wanted to quit so many times, but I know this journey isn’t only for me; it’s for all of the creatives, actors, artists and musicians who want to showcase their art without sacrificing their ownership. I’ve built my own table where others can not only sit, but OWN their seat as well,” said Haynes.
When asked about the network’s future, Jana revealed,
“IC is more than television. We have IC Broadway, IC Music, IC Films. I want kids to dream big and expose them to something they might not have had an opportunity to see growing up. I want creatives like me to know they have a home here; I believe in integrity and if I take care of those who bring their art to this platform, they’ll continue to come back again and again. Ownership over censorship.”
Breaking the mold in diversity and shifting the paradigm in media and entertainment, ICTV is certainly the streaming platform the world desperately needs.
Connect with JP:
Facebook: JP Haynes | Infecting Change Television, Inc.
IG: @jphaynes31 |@ictelevision
Twitter: @jpaige31 |@ictelevision1
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/j-p-haynes-07a15132