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Five years ago, Logan Huntzberger's appointment as CEO of MediaCorp, the conglomerate founded as Huntzberger Publishing by his grandfather Elias in 1940, was hailed as the return of the prodigal son.
After a brief stint working at MediaCorp's London office, Huntzberger, now 43, left the family business at age 26 and headed west. He became one of Twitter's earliest business development hires and later invested in a number of digital and social media success stories, most notably Tumblr and Snapchat.
"Logan built his reputation from scratch out here," says Andrew Lundgren, another early Twitter hire. "I think a lot of people were skeptical about whether he was legit, but he proved them wrong pretty quickly."
Venture capitalist Jeremy Collins, who invested alongside Huntzberger in one of Snapchat's first funding rounds, agrees. "People can write off one success as a fluke--right place, right time. But I don't think anyone can say that Logan identified multiple unicorns based on luck. He has an uncanny eye for new ventures."
To his critics, that uncanny eye has a mercenary's glint. "Logan Huntzberger may be able to see the potential for growth, but his track record suggests a willful blindness to whether the companies he invests in do any social good," says tech journalist James Denning.
Huntzberger, for his part, is quick to note that he sold his Twitter stake long before its pivot to X, and he describes it as "unrecognizable" in its current form. "Rory [Gilmore, his wife of fifteen years] once told me that Twitter could be the online version of the Algonquin Group. While I'm sure Dorothy Parker would have something witty to say about X, I don't think it would be particularly flattering," he says.
After cutting his teeth in California, Huntzberger's return to MediaCorp after his father's sudden death was greeted with a spike in investor confidence. "Here's a guy who's grown up in one of the country's most powerful media dynasties, but one that's floundering in the digital age. He makes a name for himself in Silicon Valley, then brings those experiences back to MediaCorp. Investors ate it up," says Goldman Sachs analyst Anne Thomas.
Huntzberger is more circumspect. "Believe me, I've heard all of the Succession jokes," he says wryly. "People text me the 'I am the eldest boy' meme at least once a month."
But these days, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in the media C-suites who would compare Huntzberger to Kendall Roy, the ill-fated son in the HBO series. Competitors and colleagues alike describe him as a savvy executive who has combined fluency in new media with knowledge of legacy publications. And the numbers don't lie: MediaCorp has posted consistent year-over-year growth under his stewardship, with record profit posted in the most recent quarter.
"I don't see myself as a bridge between old and new media," he says. "I think that whether we're talking about a new website or a magazine that's been around for a hundred years, I want to invest in the same thing, and that's great content. Media consumers don't want to be spoon-fed or talked down to."
This pragmatic approach, while undeniably effective at padding the bottom line, is not without its detractors. "Huntzberger is in the volume business," says Jessica Greer of the Center for Ethics and Accountability (CEA), a media watchdog group. "MediaCorp owns some of the most hard-hitting publications out there, ones that are doing great, factual journalism that holds institutions accountable. But it also owns quite a few outlets that are toeing perilously close to the fake news line, if not crossing over it."
Regulators have also taken notice. MediaCorp's acquisition of NewsGen was halted last summer after the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the sale. When asked about the argument that MediaCorp has become a media monopoly, Huntzberger declines to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
This tight-lipped reply is vintage Huntzberger, whose political views have long been the subject of speculation. With nativism on the rise, Greer says that executives like Huntzberger should be more outspoken to counter extremist views.
He shrugs at this. "I'm certainly aware that there are some who believe that I should endorse candidates and donate to political campaigns, but I don't think that's my role."
So what does he believe? "Look," says a longtime Huntzberger confidante who requested anonymity, "at the end of the day Logan is a small 'l' liberal. He votes for Democrats pretty much all the way down the ticket, and he's a capitalist."
His friend Finn Morgan agrees. "RIP Adam Smith, you would have loved Logan Huntzberger. And that's a compliment, to be clear."
Those who work most closely with him say that the image of a calculating media kingpin doesn't accurately reflect the man who famously leaves the office by 6 each night to have dinner with his family. (He and Gilmore, the author of the bestselling memoir "Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers," have three children, ages 12, 9, and 5.).
"Plenty of CEOs will say that they put family first, but I've never met an executive who is as devoted to his wife and kids as Logan is," says Jeff Ramos, MediaCorp's longtime COO.
Huntzberger's Midtown office reflects the dichotomy between corporate profiteer and family man: panoramic views of Manhattan, decorated with framed drawings of stick figures, flowers, and hearts. He confirms with a smile that these are his children's art projects, not the latest in Bushwick abstract expressionism.
In a nearby alcove is a small writing desk--his oldest daughter's, who insisted on having her own workspace in his office. A MediaCorp CEO in training? He pauses and clears his throat. "That's a complicated question. I never want my kids to feel a sense of obligation to the family business. I hope they choose whatever paths make them happiest."
Some have speculated that were it not for Mitchum Huntzberger's unexpected passing, Logan may never have returned to the family fold. Whether he's driven by avarice, obligation, or pragmatism (or perhaps a combination of the three) depends on who you ask. But if there's one thing his critics and allies agree on, it's this: his boldest moves are still to come.