Shira Lazar

Shira Lazar

Shira Lazar at the 2011 SXSW
Born Shira Lazar
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Known for Lifecasting, Video journalism
Notable work Mahalo Daily, What's Trending
Website http://www.shiralazar.com/

Internet information

Web hosting service(s) YouTube, Viddler, Ustream
Signature phrase "on-air, online"

Shira Lazar is a Canadian television personality, actress, writer and video blogger who currently resides and works in Los Angeles.

Lazar's writing has been featured on Hollywood.com, CBSNEWS.com, MSN.com, and others, and she has appeared as a host or as a guest at The Oscar's (online red carpet host), CNN, Fox News, The Grammy's, Yahoo! (Entertainment Host).

Lazar currently runs DISRUPT/GROUP, an online production company she co-founded, and was once a regular feature writer and video blogger for the CBS News.com blog 'OnTheScene'[1] She is the creator and host of Partners Project, a YouTube talk show which has interviewed such YouTube stars like iJustine, Shay Carl, Freddie Wong, Lisa Nova, Michelle Phan, Ok Go, and Nice Peter.[2]

She is also the creator, executive producer and host of What's Trending. It consists of a blog that is updated daily, as well as a live interactive talk show covering the most popular videos on YouTube that airs daily on WhatsTrending.com.[3]

Biography

Lazar was born in Montreal, Quebec to Jewish parents [4][5][6] After graduating from St. George's High School she went on to study at Dawson College where she worked on The Plant newspaper. After finishing college she moved to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Emerson College[7] and obtained a BA in TV/Video production. Shira was the voice of the Peach in "Annoying Orange: Jalapeno ". She is the stepsister of American Apparel founder Dov Charney.

Career

Lazar began her media career in 2004 as host of the College Sports Television program "1st Person". In 2005 she went on to become a host and producer for Music Plus TV and hosted celebrity Q&A video's on Yahoo. In 2006 she contributed feature pieces to Hollywood.com, and wrote that year's Oscar's awards night preview feature for Los Angeles Confidential.

Lazar developed and hosted an online reality competition for MSN.com at TasteMaker.[8] In 2009 she became the host of the Mahalo.com online weekly video program This Week in YouTube.[9] In April 2008 Lazar began hosting "LX TV", a lifestyle entertainment show for NBC4 in Los Angeles.[10]

Lazar covered the latest technology and media trends in a blog for CBSNews.com called OnTheScene.[11] Lazar is a co-founder of the digital production company DISRUPT/GROUP,[12] which produces online content such as The Partners Project, and interview show that profiles and features viral video stars.[13] Lazar is also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post on issues of new technology, digital life and viral web trends.[14] In 2009 Lazar was a featured writer and blogger on Travel Channel's "Confessions of a Travel Writer".[15]

In 2010, Lazar was a guest speaker at the Mashable and CNN Media Summit.[16] Also in 2010, Lazar was nominated by Wired as one of the sexiest geeks of 2010.[17] In 2011, Lazar was featured in Fast Company magazine as one of the "Most Influential Women in Technology".[18] Lazar was also the host of Fashion's Night Out for Macy's in September 2011.[19] Also in 2011, Lazar was featured by The Huffington Post's "Women in Tech" series as "Women in Tech You Need to Follow."[20]

Lazar hosted the online red carpet event for the 2011 Grammy Music Awards.[21] Lazar also hosted the live stream red carpet and backstage access for the 2011 Oscar's coverage for oscars.com.[22]

On September 20, 2011 Lazar started a weekly blog series on Entrepreneur titled, "Social Media Breakdown."[23] In October 2011, in partnership with MTV's A Thin Line Campaign, Lazar began an anti-bullying campaign using the Twitter hashtag #StopBullying.[24]

On December 6, 2011, Lazar was interviewed by Leslie Bradshaw of Forbes where she stated, "Not only is Shira a powerhouse in her own right, but she is also a pioneer in the field. Many have dabbled in vlogging, but few have stuck it out and brought immense value along the way. When I think of the modern correspondent, I think of Shira."[25]

In October 2012, Lazar was listed in Variety's Women's Impact Report 2012, under the Creatives category.[26]

For the fourth year in a row, Lazar joined Tyler Oakley as the host of The Trevor Project's Trevor Live red carpet livestream.[27]

In February 2015, VH1 announced a new digital series starring Lazar called, Huge on the Tube.[28] The following month, HLN announced in March 2015, Lazar as the West Coast contributor for The Daily Share.[29]

In April 2015, Cynopsis Media honored Lazar as one of the Top Women in Digital.[30]

On May 17, 2011, Lazar began hosting a weekly, live, interactive television show called What's Trending. The show consisted of two celebrity panelists discussing news that was currently trending or was during the week in addition to live performances and special events.

What's Trending was nominated for a 2012 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media, Original Interactive Television Programing.[31]

In August of 2012, What's Trending announced a partnership with YouTube to go from live weekly to daily as the "MTV of YouTube".[32]

In December 2012, What's Trending participated in the 1st Annual Tube-A-Tweet-A-Thon."[33] People would go to Twitter and tweet using the hashtag #Tubeathon and $1 would be donated to Covenant House to try and raise $50,000 to serve homeless youth.

In June 2013, What's Trending received a seven-figure investment from Bedrocket Media Ventures to expand production, distribution, and ad sales.[34]

In 2014, HLN announced a development deal with What's Trending.[35] Also in 2014, Marriott announced What's Trending as part of their development studio slate.[36] As part of that partnership, Marriott celebrated its Millionth Mobile check-in with Lazar and Jeana Smith, founder of Prank vs Prank.[37] Marriott would later announce a new series, in partnership with What's Trending, titled Experiences.[38]

In 2015, the International Academy of Web Television announced Lazar as a nominee for Best Live Host.[39]

What's Trending partnered with Samsung to provide live coverage from the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2015,[40] as well as South by Southwest in March.[41]

Also in 2015, What's Trending announced a new COO in James Haffner, who most recently acted as an executive producer for DeFranco Creative.[42]

Controversy and subsequent removal from CBS News

On September 9, 2011, someone at "What's Trending" erroneously posted that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had died on the official "What's Trending" Twitter account.[43] The tweet had said "Reports say that Steve Jobs has passed away. Stay tuned for more updates,” and was soon trending.[44] The tweet was removed shortly thereafter, with Lazar apologizing, saying Jobs death was "completely unconfirmed". Later from her own Twitter account, Lazar apologized again for the inaccuracy of what had been tweeted.[45] Hours after the first tweet was posted, CBS News severed ties with "What's Trending" and Lazar.[46]

References

  1. ↑ CBSNews.com OnTheScene: Shira Lazar, "CBS News", Retrieved March 10, 2010
  2. ↑ YouTube Introduces Weekly Talk Show, Retrieved January 9, 2011
  3. ↑ Shira Lazar's Emmy-Nominated Web Series Plans to Become the MTV News For YouTube, Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  4. ↑ http://shiralazar.com/am-i-a-bad-jew/
  5. ↑ http://heebmagazine.com/jew-you-should-know-shira-lazar/23426
  6. ↑ https://twitter.com/shiralazar/status/55052293720121345
  7. ↑ Tsotsis, Alexia. LA People 2009: Tech's Popular Girl — Shira Lazar, LA Weekly, April 22, 2009, Retrieved September 14, 2010
  8. ↑ MSN.com: The Tastemaker, "MSN", Retrieved March 9, 2011
  9. ↑ This Week in YouTube, Retrieved March 9, 2011
  10. ↑ Fishbowl: New shows woo L.A hipsters, Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  11. ↑ OnTheScene Blog: CBSNews.com, Retrieved March 9, 2011
  12. ↑ DISRUPT/GROUP: About, retrieved March 6th, 2011
  13. ↑ The Partners Project, Retrieved March 9, 2011
  14. ↑ Huffington Post: Shira Lazar, "Huffington Post", Retrieved March 9th, 2011
  15. ↑ Jaunted: Find out what happens when 5 travel writers get in front of the camera, Retrieved March 10th, 2011
  16. ↑ Mashable Media Summit 2011: Speakers
  17. ↑ Vote for you Favorite Sexy Geeks of 2010, Retrieved January 6, 2011
  18. ↑ Evans, Suzy. Fast Company: Most Influential Women In Tech: Shira Lazar, Fast Company, February, 2011, Retrieved March 9, 2011
  19. ↑ Shira Lazar talks about What's Trending", Retrieved September 6, 2011
  20. ↑ Women in Tech You Need to Follow, Retrieved July 15, 2011
  21. ↑ Shira Lazar: Hosting Grammy Live! for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, Retrieved March 9, 2011
  22. ↑ Shira Lazar: Oscar's 2011 - The Digital Perspective, Retrieved March 9, 2011
  23. ↑ Social Media Breakdown, Retrieved September 20, 2011
  24. ↑ Everyone Deserves to Live in Peace: Join @WhatsTrending and #StopBullying, Retrieved October 27, 2011
  25. ↑ Some Women Wait Years to Lead a Major Media Brand, Shira Lazar Just Created Her Own, Retrieved December 6, 2011
  26. ↑ Shira Lazar, host, exec producer of online program What's Trending, Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  27. ↑ The Trevor Project announces TrevorLive honorees and star-studded talent, Retrieved November 20, 2014
  28. ↑ Shira Lazar on getting "Huge on the Tube", Retrieved February 18, 2015
  29. ↑ What's Trending's Shira Lazar Named West Coast Contributor for HLN TV Show, Retrieved March 12, 2015
  30. ↑ Cynopsis Media Announces Top Women in Digital Honorees & Event Details, Retrieved March 30, 2015
  31. ↑ What's Trending Gets Its First Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Interactive TV Program, Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  32. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/web-show-whats-trending-goes-363811
  33. ↑ The 1st Annual Tube-A-Tweet-A-Thon Holiday Spectacular, Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  34. ↑ http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/bedrocket-takes-stake-in-youtube-channel-whats-trending-1200498157/
  35. ↑ HLN Announces Nightly News Program, Social Media-Centric Development Slate, Retrieved April 10, 2014
  36. ↑ Marriott Launches Global Creative and Content Marketing Studio, Retrieved September 29, 2014
  37. ↑ , Retrieved April 2, 2015
  38. ↑ What’s Trending Checks YouTube Stars Into Marriott With ‘Experiences’ Series, Retrieved, February 6, 2015
  39. ↑ 2015 IAWTV Award Nominees, Retrieved 2015
  40. ↑ What’s Trending, Samsung Partner For Live Stream Of CES Events Retrieved January 5, 2015
  41. ↑ SXSW 2015: “What’s Trending” Streams Live from the Samsung Lounge, Retrieved March 18, 2015
  42. ↑ What's Trending Expands With Veteran Digital Executive, Retrieved February 9, 2015
  43. ↑ http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/10/steve-jobs-death-tweet-costs-shira-lazar-her-cbs-news-gig/ Retrieved July 21, 2013
  44. ↑ http://www.mediaite.com/online/cbs-severs-ties-to-shira-lazars-whats-trending-over-steve-jobs-death-hoax/ Retrieved July 21, 2013
  45. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-news-ends-relationship-source-233725 Retrieved July 21, 2013
  46. ↑ http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/10/steve-jobs-death-tweet-costs-shira-lazar-her-cbs-news-gig/ Retrieved July 21, 2013
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