Celebrating AAPI Month: Peggy Kim’s Mission For Diversity In Media & Entertainment

As we celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Month, it is important to discuss and recognize efforts around increasing the presence of diverse professionals in media and entertainment. One of these efforts is pioneered by writer, producer, director, and Founder & CEO of FUTURE NOW Media Foundation, Margaret “Peggy” Kim.

I recently met Peggy during her induction into the Media Village’s Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors event in NYC. She was recognized for her efforts in leading the Future Now Media Foundation, an organization she created to increase diversity and representation in the media and entertainment business. Below is an edited version of our conversation about her background, career, and foundation.

Isaac Mizrahi – How did your background as a Korean American impact your early years?

Margaret “Peggy” Kim – My parents came to the U.S. from Korea in the late sixties to do their post-graduate studies and met here in NYC. I was born in the U.S. and am a New Yorker through and through. But I didn’t speak English when I first started school because we only spoke Korean at home. So, I had a tough time. I had no idea what was going on at school. Kids would tease and bully me. They would lift the corners of their eyes and call me a “Chink” or a “Jap.” I literally cried every single day in kindergarten and first grade. These early experiences of feeling lost and like an outsider impacted me deeply. I determined never to be in a position where I didn’t understand what was happening and to always help others feel included.

Mizrahi – How have diversity and culture shaped your career?

Kim – My father was my hero, and I followed in his footsteps to pursue a career in journalism, though on the T.V. side. He traveled all over the world as a foreign correspondent, and wherever he went, he would bring us gifts that gave a flavor of that country and culture. And he would send each of us postcards from the road.

Growing up, I wanted to be a journalist and aspired to be like Connie Chung. My dad told me that to be a good journalist, I needed to study history, politics, economics, and languages so that I could understand the context of what was happening and why. I didn’t want to be a parachute journalist, just reporting on a surface level; I wanted to go deeper and tell stories with more understanding and authority. I had studied Spanish in school, but he also encouraged me to take Russian in college—I also studied Polish and German.

The summer after my junior year, a few months after the Berlin Wall came down, I worked in Poland as an editor for the English edition of the underground Solidarity newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza. A few years later, I received the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship and worked at ZDF German Television in Bonn. I have also traveled to third-world countries on various humanitarian mission trips. All these experiences have stoked my passion for telling more diverse stories and doing so with a deep appreciation, understanding, and sensitivity.

Mizrahi – When did you realize the gap in relevant, diverse content and talent in American media?

Kim – In the first 20 years of my career working at major media corporations, I was often the youngest, only woman or Asian in the room. I did not have mentors and there were times when I was passed over for promotions and opportunities despite my clear performance and achievements. Women were also not supportive of other women a lot of times because there was a scarcity mentality. And, if you add being another kind of minority on top of being a woman, it is even harder.

However, I never dwelled on these challenges or complained. I forged ahead and just kept it moving, because I love what I do and am passionate about the industry. Things are better now than when I first started, but a significant gap still needs to be closed. That’s why I founded the Future Now Media Foundation to help build a diverse, inclusive, and ready pipeline of future leaders in the media industry, where mentorship is core to everything we do.

Mizrahi – What is Future Now?

Kim – Future Now is an answer to everything I needed when I started my career and what our future leaders and industry still need today.

We are a leadership incubator. We engage, mentor, train, and connect college students and recent graduates to become the best and brightest future leaders in the content, business, and technology sectors of the industry. Our goal is to gather and nurture a truly diverse and thriving community of present and future leaders in the media and entertainment industry.

We organize an annual Future Now Media & Entertainment Conference, which is designed to give students the opportunity to hear directly from today’s top executives, thought leaders, and industry professionals and to connect, network, and be mentored by them.

In addition to the conference, we produce monthly leadership talks, workshops, and recruiting, mentoring, and networking events throughout the year. We are also celebrating the fifth year of our formal nine-month mentoring program, which matches students with industry professionals on a one-on-one basis.

Our goal is to fill the gaps of access, knowledge, professional readiness, and support, to help our future leaders go further faster and build the diverse and ready workforce that recruiters seek and compete to hire.

Mizrahi – What have been your biggest learnings since creating the Foundation?

Kim – I have learned that this young generation is hungry for mentorship. When they are connected to mentors from the industry who genuinely want to see them succeed and invest their time to teach and guide them, they blossom and grow. I started Future Now in 2017 with our first Future Now Media & Entertainment Conference, and our alumni are now several years into their careers. Many have been promoted twice already, and they are volunteering with Future Now on the marketing, podcast, newsletter, and programming committees.

They also return as speakers and moderators at our annual conference and mentor those coming up behind them. It’s beautiful to see their hearts for service and paying it forward even now, as they are still early in their careers. Some of the most promising future leaders are those who come from less privileged backgrounds, those who are the children of immigrants, and those who might be the first to go to college in their families. They are so sensitive to and appreciative of the sacrifices of their families, and they do not take anything for granted. They are so bright, full of hope, and highly motivated, and my heart is full when I see them thrive, do well, and do good.

Mizrahi – How can corporations and brands support the Foundation?

Kim –We are looking to expand our programming and our impact, and we need the help of committed partners to journey with us and together make these things a reality. This is a marathon, not a sprint, a relay race, not an individual event. This is about impacting not just today’s generation, but future generations.

We are also looking to partner with corporate partners, who can support our mission in a myriad of ways: capacity building, marketing and reach, data & analytics, event space, P.R., production, and operations. We have a lot of opportunities for employee engagement.

We are also looking to add new board members with the ability and will to help elevate, amplify, and grow our mission.

Mizrahi – What’s your vision for the U.S. market from a multicultural perspective?

Kim – I would love to see a truly robust and healthy multicultural marketplace that is reflected in every part of the ecosystem so that everyone can contribute and benefit. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Initiatives like this are essential since diverse consumers have expressed frustration with the need for more representation in media and entertainment. This frustration applies not only to on-screen talent but also to those behind the scenes, the ones who decide and produce what stories and ideas are created. A lack of diverse talent creates a lack of authentic stories, and that risks alienating the only growth segment today and for years to come.