Matthew Segal is the co-founder of ATTN:, a Los Angeles-based media company that makes entertainment that informs, and an American social entrepreneur, media commentator, and political activist. He previously co-founded Our Time, a nationwide non-profit network of young Americans promoting economic and voter empowerment.
After the reported 12 hour-long voting lines at Kenyon College in 2004, Segal provided testimony to the US House Judiciary Committee, which was investigating election irregularities, at the age of 19, noting that "It seems almost hypocritical that a society so focused on the importance of the vote did not concern itself more heavily with the actual process of voting." When a junior in college, Segal founded Student Association for Voter Empowerment with the stated aim of "work to bring young Americans into the political process by breaking down barriers to electoral participation and encouraging youth-led policy solutions." He founded SAVE at age 21, which expanded to 40 college campuses in more than 15 states, and worked on election protection initiatives as well as expanding voter access through initiatives such as the Student VOTER Act. After the 2008 presidential election, Segal co-founded the 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs Coalition, the largest campaign of organizations in the United States that addressed youth unemployment and other economic challenges facing individuals under 30. In this capacity, Segal spearheaded a national jobs summit in the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of young leaders, provided testimony to the House Education and Labor Committee, and was the only youth representative invited to attend President Barack Obama’s conference on jobs and economic growth.
Our Time
In 2010, Segal combined SAVE with Declare Yourself, a voter registration non-profit founded by TV producer and director Norman Lear to form Our Time with the goal of bringing economic power to his generation, in the midst of the recession and beyond. As an initiative of Our Time, Segal and his colleagues also launched Buy Young, an online marketplace of businesses founded and run by entrepreneurs under 30, encouraging Americans to purchase products from young companies and support youth job creation. Segal convened more than 125 young CEOs and executives in Washington, D.C. on July 13, 2011, at the White House, the Chamber of Commerce and Capitol Hill to launch the effort and push for greater job creation and economic opportunities for young Americans.
ATTN
Segal and Our Time co-founder Jarrett Moreno launched ATTN: in 2014 to create "content that breaks down complex issues, making politics interesting for millennials, and analyzes the world from the perspective of the social media generation." The company is based in Los Angeles and currently has about 130 employees. In 2019, ATTN: was named to Fast Company's list of Most Innovative Companies. The company produces original video content of all length, short form for social consumption, midform for Facebook Watch, IGTV and other platform, as well as long form for linear television and streaming services. Segal oversees the original content development department for company. In 2019, the company launched an events division, dubbed ATTN: Moment. ATTN:'s most popular short-form videos are custom made for consumption on social media: short viral videos with subtitles for viewing without sound. Within this format, they have found particular success with a series they call "American Versus." "Between January and October , The show, which compares various U.S. policies to those in other nations, averaged four-and-a-half times as many views as the median Facebook video," according to Digiday. In January 2018, the company announced that, together with Paramount Television, they would be taking the hit series to television. The company has also developed several original mid-form series for Facebook Watch, including a modern dating hit entitled "We Need to Talk" with Nev Schulman and Laura Perlongo with has been renewed for a fourth season by Facebook Watch and has also been developed into a live event franchise. They also have a franchise with actress Zooey Deschanel called Your Food's Roots that is a series on Facebook Watch, as well as an event franchise. ATTN: also created an original IGTV with former Vice President Joe Biden that Segal was integral in developing and producing. In 2018, ATTN: partnered with Freeform to produce a one-hour documentary that aired on the network called a documentary that follows the lives of student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Media commentator
Segal is a contributor to ABC News and has been a contributing writer to the Huffington Post. He is frequently quoted in the press, and appears regularly on MSNBC and other TV networks as a correspondent to discuss the political opinions and attitudes as well as consumer behavior of young Americans. Segal has written many editorials about topics pertaining to young Americans, including unemployment and media misrepresentation. He has publicly called for expanded access to funding for entrepreneurs and increased public service opportunities for young Americans. Segal has been featured on C-SPAN, MSNBC, Fox, and CNN.
