For many marketers, their journeys have been filled with moments they expected, and others they did not. Regardless, that sum total of their experiences made them the professionals they are today. In this episode of the Can You Hear Me? Podcast, co-hosts Eileen Rochford and Rob Johnson welcome Tam Lawrence, CEO of Exposure + TV, who will discuss “Betting on Yourself: Turning Pain into Purpose.”
About Tam Lawrence:
I built my career in public relations before I built media infrastructure. After more than two decades working across brand communications, publishing, and executive visibility, I recognized a structural breakdown in how communities access trustworthy media. Local journalism was collapsing. Civic participation was declining. Digital platforms prioritized algorithms over accountability.
That observation led to the creation of PIQSTAR INC., a public benefit corporation engineered to restore civic mass media infrastructure through streaming television.
As Founder of PIQSTAR INC. and CEO of Exposure Plus TV, I have invested millions to launch a platform reaching over 1.3 million interested viewers and more than 264,000 loyal subscribers. Our model integrates OTT/CTV distribution with equitable labor frameworks designed to revive displaced journalists, empower local content producers, and create sustainable monetization ecosystems.
Our flagship application, Economic Relief for Content Creators, establishes a structured pathway for community-based filmmakers, daytime television producers, and independent journalists to generate revenue through aligned partnerships and fixed-placement media models. This is not simply a streaming platform. It is a civic utility.
We are rebuilding local journalism, restoring public access to government proceedings, and creating a media infrastructure that places community ownership at the center. My work sits at the intersection of: Civic engagement. Media innovation. Economic liberation for creators. Public benefit governance.
If you are building the future of trusted media, I welcome the conversation.
https://www.exposureplustv.tv/
https://canyouhearmepod.beam.ly/
Rob Johnson: [00:00:20] Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the Can You Hear Me podcast. I'm Rob Johnson, president of Rob Johnson Communications. [00:00:26][6.2]
Eileen Rochford: [00:00:27] I'm Eileen Rochford, CEO of the marketing and strategy firm, The Harbinger Group. For most successful business people, at one point or another, you've had to bet on yourself. In other words, maybe you've have to believe in yourself even when success was not a sure thing and the answer was not right in front of you. [00:00:45][17.9]
Rob Johnson: [00:00:45] I'm so glad we're talking about this because as I was making my transition from journalism to consulting, I had wonderful supporters and mentors like you, but I also had to believe that I would be good at this. I would have something to offer that others would want and need that's crucial. With that in mind, we have a wonderful guest today to talk about betting on yourself, turning pain into purpose. Her name is Tam Lawrence. Her resume is lengthy and we'll get to that in a moment, but she is a media TV and even more ventures that we're going to get to. Tam, welcome to Can You Hear Me? I'm glad that we have you. [00:01:20][34.6]
Tam Lawrence: [00:01:20] Can you hear me? [00:01:21][0.6]
Rob Johnson: [00:01:23] We can hear you. Do you know what? We've done a hundred and something of these, and that's the first time anybody ever asked that, and that is a very valid question. [00:01:29][6.3]
Eileen Rochford: [00:01:31] Bravo. [00:01:31][0.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:01:31] And before we get into too much, I must also point out this is another excellent Marquette graduate raising us with her presence. Eileen, I know you love when that happens. [00:01:45][13.5]
Eileen Rochford: [00:01:46] Seriously, thank you, Bob. And thank you for just like, you know, anticipating that on my behalf. I'm just so pleased. Tam, Golden Eagle, hello. Welcome to the show. Next time when you come back in the future, we'll wear our colors. It'll be so fun. [00:01:59][13.8]
Tam Lawrence: [00:02:00] Oh my god. [00:02:00][0.3]
Eileen Rochford: [00:02:02] Okay. Later, you can tell me all about your National Marquette Day. Getting back to our focus here, friends. Okay, Tim, before we dive any deeper, we always like to invite our guests to start off by sharing some context for our listeners about their origin story, backstory, whoever you like to think about it. Tell us about yourself. [00:02:23][21.2]
Tam Lawrence: [00:02:24] Mmm, wonderful. Thank you so much for having me first and foremost. Backstory, I grew up in a house of pan-Africanists, so my parents were Thesbians and historians. They loved history and I spent a lot of time in the theater. So I thought, God, one day I want to be on stage. So in college, while attending Marquette University, I began. As a comic. So I was a stand-up professional comic, and I toured around the country. I did BET Comic View in New Orleans with Bruce Bruce. Then I traveled with Jamie and Samore as their opening act. So media, this whole entertainment industry is in my DNA. It's not on you, it's in you. So that is the beginning portion of it. But I had other things that I wanted to address from a societal standpoint that was issues. Were not being talked about in the media. And so I quickly kind of navigated towards public relations and communication, even though I majored in psychology and I double major in communication. So I wanted to be able to share the stories that are not told, especially the stories of women or little girls who looked like me. [00:03:37][73.4]
Rob Johnson: [00:03:38] Well, Cam, as we mentioned a second ago, the title of today's episode is betting on yourself, turning pain into purpose. And when you and I were talking to prep for this episode, you actually chose that title. So I wonder if you would explain to our audience what you mean by it and why is it authentic to who you are. [00:03:56][17.7]
Tam Lawrence: [00:03:57] Mmm. Thank you so much for sharing. You know, I often thought that one day I would be sitting on stage with Oprah sharing this story. And so as a cut, I was attacked by somebody at the age of 14. And then I was in a situation that is talked about so often today as human trafficking by the age of 17. And so what really helped me to understand that I was not a victim of those circumstances is when I heard Judge Judy one day say, beauty only lasts for so long, but dumb lasts a lifetime. And so, um, how I got into Marquette University is I shared my story, uh, with the admission counselor and they took that letter to the president of the school who offered me an opportunity to come on a McNair scholarship, a full scholarship, that is. And so. Seeing that somebody gave me a chance and opportunity, I wasn't going to let Marquette down. And I felt like if I could just be able to help one person by telling my story, by being able to capture that moment and share it, maybe somebody else would have an opportunity or a chance. And so for me, it's personal. It's never about just business. It is personal. [00:05:13][76.4]
Eileen Rochford: [00:05:13] Oh my gosh, wow, I'm just overwhelmed. That's just a lot. [00:05:17][3.2]
Speaker 4: [00:05:18] Mm-hmm. [00:05:18][0.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:05:18] And I'm really, wow, and I love you for being so brave to share what happened to you. And I love my alma mater for recognizing the opportunity to help someone just, you know, take that step forward. That's wonderful coming together, both of those things. Wow. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Do you want to talk a little bit about how you got into the other aspects of television, production, broadcasting, the things that you were doing since you were in reality TV? Tell us more about that aspect of your incredibly layered and rich background and history. [00:05:58][39.7]
Tam Lawrence: [00:05:59] Oh my gosh, um, getting into the television side of it is while I was working, I started with athletes, pro athletes was like. One of the things that I wanted to jump into as far as public relations was concerned. So I took on two clients, one in the NBA, the other in the NFL. And he was telling me these stories about things that he was going through in terms of his loss of memory. And I tried to pitch the story to a mainstream media platform and they denied me. So immediately I said, you know what? When you got a problem, what do you do? You fix it, you figure out a way to create a solution, right? So in 2012, I launched Exposure magazine and I started to tell the stories of these NFL players who had concussions that were struggling with the onset of early all-time. Dementia and Contagious came out the movie. There was this movie that not Contagous and Succution came out and that right there just told me I was on the right track. I produced a TV show called All Men Rock. It was about men who had overcome life obstacles to achieve their greater goals. I had to understand my rapists. I have to understand the men who what they were going through. I think that in this society we listen to men to respond and not understand. And so in order for me to really truly dive into what could have happened to him, that he did this to me to free myself, I did All Man Rock. And I produced the show in Atlanta, Georgia at AIB studios. And then I pitched it at I pitched in in Washington, DC at all of the different festivals that take your television programming to TV. And everyone said, damn, it's not enough. It wasn't Murray. It wasn't Jerry, Jerry. It was boring to them. They didn't care about those types of stories. So I said, I'm gonna hold on. One day I'm going to own my own network. So I wrote it down and I promised myself that the day that I get a chance to do this on my own, I'm never going to be where people can't come and share their stories. I'm not going to feed the beast of negativity. I wanted to inspire. So at Marquette, what we learned is our vocational calling is so important. And my superstar was Dorothy Day. So I leaned into everything that she was and said, you know what? I'm gonna head out to Anaheim, California. I jumped on a flight. I did not know one thing about OTT, CTV, didn't know how to talk streaming, but I was going to learn. So on this flight, I educated myself. I got off, met with all of these guys. I'm the only black girl in the room. And I learned as much as I could. And I developed the app in 2019. Today I'm at 1.3 million subscribers. [00:08:49][169.6]
Eileen Rochford: [00:08:50] Wow, oh my god, that's so just inspiring. I love it. [00:08:54][4.0]
Rob Johnson: [00:08:54] But the cool thing that I love about this is you took something very traditional like TV, realizing that the landscape. That they wanted you to be, if you wanted to sell it to them is like, I don't think I want to do this. And then you wanted it to do something that was more positive. And then, you know, you're developing an app in 2019. Like that's, that's pretty forward thinking. People that think about linear TV don't, think, you, know what, I should have an app. So, but you did. So I'm just amazed, you know as we sit here and talk about this, and Tam, the conversations you and I've had before, just like what made you, what made, you do that? So I think it's really impressive you were that forward thinking. So you started with Exposure Magazine and then all of a sudden you have Exposure Plus TV. How did that come to be? And what is the offering that you have for your clients and the visibility that you provide them? [00:09:42][47.6]
Tam Lawrence: [00:09:42] Hmm, so always sticking to the word exposure because it's so important. I've been a shadow all my life Like If there's one thing in the world that people will always need is exposure, because without it, you would be invisible. So you don't have to sell something that people need. But the reaches 440 million households today are using this product. Our benchmarks right now, they show that this is a trillion dollar industry. One of the most important things that people can expect from it is that we've created what is called a civic mass media infrastructure. So think of it as a utility, like water, gas. Electricity, this kind of thing. We've created that space where now we can go into communities that are media deserts and supply them with an infrastructure that would allow them to get their stories out. It's so important for us to do this. The first thing that any tyrant will do, if you look at Idi Amin, Gaddafi, or anyone who's ever done anything to control people, the first thing they will do is take out media. So media is the most important aspect or critical element of our lives. Media has the ability to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent. And I plan to utilize this tool to help spread joy, positivity, and power and inspire. So for my clients. Uh, television shows that are based on their community is so important. It's important for us to wait for metaverse and move back to our verse, which is our community. [00:11:13][90.4]
Eileen Rochford: [00:11:15] That's fantastic. And the timing is perfect. You were so ahead of this. I mean, the acceleration of the shrinkage in the media landscape that we've seen, you know, in the last six years has been terrifying, like nothing short of terrifying. And you were just ahead of that curve altogether. That's amazing. [00:11:31][16.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:11:31] So tell me, so for exposure plus TV for a client, who you're going into these media deserts, they're able to tell their story, but how does the platform work for them where they can get that message out? Because you were talking about hundreds of millions of eyeballs, potentially, and I think that's fascinating. [00:11:48][16.3]
Tam Lawrence: [00:11:49] So viewers can download the application on any, uh, smart television device, Roku, Amazon, fire stick, Apple TV, Android, as well as your iOS or your Google play store, I'm also on United and American airlines. So no matter where you go in the world, you can be able to watch any piece of content because it's video on demand. Uh, the other thing that people can do is the fact that you can do live events, so that's really important to me. Is that we can do educational events. I think financial literacy is my number one thing is that people need to understand how that application works. But there's another part that is so successful right now is that, people are trying to learn more about our government system, how it works. How to hold people accountable. And I think this is a wonderful and amazing platform because you can send a URL. You can do engagement from our platform. You can monetize your content. You can set whatever paywall you want across the top of that. So we've created a space where you can monetized, you can stream. If you dream it, I can stream it. [00:12:51][62.5]
Eileen Rochford: [00:12:53] I love that. That's great. But you make an excellent point about the need for knowledge about how government works. And so any institution, association, you know, you name it, who wants to create content about that subject, yours would be the perfect place to share it, it sounds like. [00:13:09][16.6]
Tam Lawrence: [00:13:10] Mm-hmm. We have over 500,000 movies that we can choose from, but I am one who is, I'm really born to do one thing and that is to create a positive space. Uh, where people feel valued. I think that the most important thing that we can do today in media is, is to let people know that until people are willing to handle your own affairs, government is going to continue to keep handling those affairs. And I think, that that's where we slipped up at. Period, even in the news, right? Everyone is very much opinionated from talking heads to pundits that visit. We need to understand as constituents, consumers, taxpayers, it is a time for us to take back handling our own public affairs. If you feel like a subject right now, that is probably like the reflection of what's happening to us from not handling our own business and. I take that from Dr. Sharon Lamb Hartman, who wrote this wonderful and amazing book called The Authenticity Code. Is to break the authenticity code is to acknowledge the things that have hurt us. So I use my pain to manifest my purpose. And I never allow my call and then take me somewhere my character can't show up. And so in spaces and places today, we have to show up accountable, be proactive. And I believe that all of that has something to do with the first stage of media. Cause one of my professors asked me, does media make us or do we make media? And I said, well, we make me here. We make movies. And she was like, no, no no, no, media is what helps. What drives our perception of the world, how we see it, how we ourselves. And so if we're not willing to create content that really depicts us as humans, not animalistic, or there's this thing that's desensitizing us from feeling like humans right now, we are human and we are built on humanity. Skip the constitution, we are humans first. And so, I'm sorry, I am getting off on a tangent. Oh, I love it. You just keep going. [00:15:19][129.7]
Rob Johnson: [00:15:21] We weren't going to interrupt, Tamm, keep going. [00:15:22][1.6]
Tam Lawrence: [00:15:23] Yeah, but that is the luster in where it comes from is it's a place of pain. And I felt like if I could just keep taking that because since then I've lost four family members over the last two years. And so I me and my sisters are the last with the last matriarchs in our family, but we are what we are. Because our parents were, you know, activists and were out there marching, they taught us these things. And it's like, okay, how can we take everything that we've had to experience in our lifetime and be the change that the world needs to see? And it is not just talk. So we can't keep having conversations, to have conversations about the conversation that we had last week. Like, I'm so tired of those type of meetings. Like I can't do it. I can do it, listen, we put 10 toes down and make action. We don't have time to make a plan, to make another plan. And this is the other thing is that I I think that people continue to try to go back on history. We learn from history, not repeat it. It's about evolution, you know, and I think we keep evolving back to the same, oh, let's march, let do, no. Let me just explain that the revolution will be televised. And so we have to understand how to use advanced technology to get the messaging out there. The other thing that keeps me going is 794 is attacking our babies through their gaming devices. And parents don't know that. So we have get this information in front of people like, hey, protect your children. There are children who are dying from. You know people saying hey commit suicide using your gaming device This is how important media is you would not know that that was happening if it didn't get to us Infrastructure is important in terms of media because there was this little girls who just died in a camp Because they did not have media to warn them that hey the water is coming So we we have so much work to do in the media arena that the state of america I would say the state of media in America is being attacked, but we can fight back. But you don't fight, my grandmother said, you can get more bees with honey than you can with salt. So sometimes we have to learn how to have infrastructure that does not sound like we're tacking, but we're making sure that we aid in keeping the public safe. And assuring that we are not treated like subjects because we are knocked. [00:17:50][147.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:17:51] Love it. What role does the app play in all of this? I'm just trying to connect the dots just a little bit, because I'm tracking with you. I just wanted some clarification on the app part, if you don't mind. [00:18:02][10.9]
Tam Lawrence: [00:18:02] So the application allows us to put content that does exactly what we were talking about into the system so that people can actually catch up on the news or understand the municipalities, understand their government. And so what we're going to see, as far as March 3rd is concerned, the app is about to take a new look and we're really pushing that right now and getting content from journalists. So we want to have channels that we provide to journalists. I don't care where you're at in the world. If you're a displaced journalist, if you are somebody who works in that field, we want give you a news channel to report on your local community and get you back to work. Uh, the second format of that is for content creators. We have an economic liberation where we get 85% of all of the earnings for that piece of content or their channel back to them. So we're not an algorithm. We're algorithm free. So we don't operate on algorithms. We can geo target. We have all of infrastructure that you will see on a Netflix and Amazon or a Roku device, all of those, uh, applications are built into our app so we can do that so one of the things that we want to do is to ensure people that listen positive content does have a space [00:19:17][74.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:19:17] I'm so glad you said that because for years people were like, why do you report on the negative stuff? I'm like, because you watch it and they say you should do something positive. And I was like, that's a great idea. And here you are in the flesh on our podcast doing exactly that. So Bravo. [00:19:30][13.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:19:33] Oh, this is great. We're going to love promoting this, especially for the displaced journalists. That's fantastic. Really great. So we're gonna make sure that we spread the information from this episode far and wide on your behalf. But there's one more thing that we want to ask you about. And that is one of your other endeavors. It is called Pickstar, I believe. I'd love to hear, you know, an explanation of what is Pickstar and Um how it was the product of having to pivot again, because I think you were pivoting to focus on public benefit. Just tell me a little bit more about Pixar, if you don't mind. I think he alluded to it at one point earlier, but let's get some more about it. [00:20:12][39.4]
Tam Lawrence: [00:20:13] I'm gonna have to grab my tissue for this one. [00:20:15][1.9]
Eileen Rochford: [00:20:15] Oh no. Okay, I will too. [00:20:17][2.2]
Tam Lawrence: [00:20:17] I got mine. [00:20:18][0.4]
Eileen Rochford: [00:20:20] Whoo, snack! [00:20:20][0.6]
Tam Lawrence: [00:20:22] So, after being my mom's caregiver for almost six, seven years, when she passed away, I realized that... I had hidden my talent and, and I had never got a chance to do what Tam wanted to do. And that's because as a publicist, if I couldn't move and be in New York or DC and thank God, I don't want to mean the pandemic was a blessing, but the pandemic stopped the world for a minute for me to just unravel everything, right? And I saw that like, there was more to me than being behind the scenes. When you're a publicists, you're behind somebody else's dream. And it was time for me to step out on the front line of my own dreams, my own ambitions, and figure out how do I take time and put time in that seat. That's when I have started to read on civic infrastructure. So at that time that when my mom passed April 18th, I had to sit down and said, I quit. I was a former, a former Oh my God, Wisconsin lobbyist. And I decided that, you know what, it's time for me to make this shift. And I see where the problem is, is that a lot of times silence allows systems to continue to keep operating even if they're in compliance or they're against the people. And so for me, it was how can I take my time the whole app and turn it into something that is a public interest corporation and I started to read up on Claude Claude is Claude AI is actually a public benefit corporation. And I said, wait a minute. This is why the owner of it is completely blowing the whistle on all AI, AI character and all these other different platforms. And I'm like, wait a minute. That's what the problem is, is that we went arts and entertainment. So when this administration came in, all of my contracts got cut. Like literally, I'm sitting there with no contracts at all that would be able to fund our projects with the schools and that's because we were categorized as arts and entertainment. By resurfacing the company, Pickstar has allowed us to be what is considered a civic infrastructure. So we are never taken off the table. We now can do business with the government, with institutions, without being... Categorized as a novelty. It's not necessary, but we are now necessary. [00:22:48][145.8]
Eileen Rochford: [00:22:49] So brilliant. Brilliant. My goodness. I just love it. You don't let anything stop you. That's what I'm hearing. [00:22:56][6.4]
Rob Johnson: [00:22:57] I mean, think about what you just said a second ago, the winds change, government cuts funding for arts and entertainment, and you're like, I literally have no contract. Then you're, like, well, that's, you know, as a, as entrepreneurs, I think we're all like, that scary as can be. And what did you do? Another pivot. And, and really strategic problem solving. And the fact that you're doing all this for the public benefit, because people don't all think that like that. So I think just it all comes together so nicely. [00:23:24][27.2]
Eileen Rochford: [00:23:25] Thank you amazing. Okay. I think you have one more question, Rob [00:23:29][3.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:23:29] I do. And this is your plant the flag moment. Not that you haven't done it already, probably six or ten times. But as we wrap things up here, what do you want to leave people with? When they say, oh, I heard Tam Lawrence on the Can You Hear Me podcast, she was amazing and here are all the reasons why. But what do want to lead people with as they, you know, when this episode is over? Because you've given us a lot to think about. But what's the overarching point that you think is important for people to lead with. [00:23:55][25.9]
Tam Lawrence: [00:23:56] First and foremost, I've never had a job and I've always been an entrepreneur for 30 years I've been doing this and it's been a journey and some days I don't know but one thing for certain and two things for sure is if you never give up and if you ever fail this is how I raise my children fall on your back so you can see your way up but don't and on the world on the road to success. I can guarantee you 100% you will pass failure, but nothing beats a failure but a try. So as long as you try, you never fail. The obstacle or anything that tries to come into your way is something that can actually you can learn from. And for every obstacle that ever came my way, I got to say I took it in as a lesson and a blessing because it made me stronger and God will never put more on you than you can bear. Anything is possible. So every time you see crisis, I say opportunity. [00:24:49][53.0]
Eileen Rochford: [00:24:50] Beautiful. Wise words. Oh, Tam Lawrence, Media Maven, CEO of Exposure Plus TV, and a million other things that you've told us about today. But if I may say, proud graduate of Marquette University and a graduate of whom Marquett University is proud. Thank you for being with us today. This has been beautiful. Your story is amazing, so inspiring, and we're gonna get the word out about all of this to our folks and listeners. I just love it. Thanks for being here. Thank you. Appreciate it. [00:25:23][32.5]
Rob Johnson: [00:25:23] Well, it was an honor having you on, Tam. So, with all of that heady thought, I mean, great stuff, that's gonna do it for another episode of Can You Hear Me? I'm Rob Johnson. If you'd like to comment on the podcast or suggest a topic, please contact us at our Can You hear Me podcast page or subscribe to the Can You Hear Me newsletter. Both can be found on LinkedIn. [00:25:41][18.3]
Eileen Rochford: [00:25:43] I'm Eileen Rochford. If you liked what you heard, please consider giving Can You Hear Me? A positive review wherever you get your podcasts on Apple, Spotify, wherever that might be, because your reviews help other listeners find our show, for which we are eternally grateful. And don't forget to check out our brand new website. We're very excited about that too. Canyouhearmepod.beam.ly is our new show and we'll put it in the show notes too. We hope you guys can join us it's where we put our newsletters and lots of other additional content. So that's it. Hope you learned something today. Until next time. [00:25:43][0.0]
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