We live by these words: “Quality work done purposefully and with heart.”
ABOUT PIZETTA MEDIA
Jason Mraz sings, “You can turn off the sun, but I’m still gonna shine.”
We love this line, and we think it fits our heroes because no matter the situation, no matter how dark and bleak things may seem, “Heroes are still gonna shine.” They have an inner light that guides and pushes them towards danger for one reason—to help others.
And that makes the everyday heroes we feature different.
Simply put, PiZetta Media is a streaming platform and production company.
However, who we are is really not that simple. Our unique mixing of local storytelling with the streaming platforms model is one of the first of its kind. Most competitors use streaming to redirect licensed/existing content. Not us.
We live by these words: “Quality work done purposefully and with heart.”
This sets PiZetta Media apart.
- We’re storytellers and story listeners.
- We’re curious. Collaborative.
- We’re Jen and Mike. Married. To each other. With kids.
- We’ve been told we’re “sweet people with unique skills.” We like that.
- Some think PiZetta comes from a love of pizza.
- It doesn’t.
- Jen was Jen Pijor.
- Mike was and is Mike VanZetta.
- Together, we’re PiZetta Media.
- Makes sense now, right?
More about Mike
Mike Van Zetta has been in the “biz” for more than 20 years producing, creating, writing, and directing content for news programs. He’s spent most of his career working with stations in Washington, DC and Virginia. In other words, Mike knows his stuff, and that stuff has given him the skills and knowledge to attack and succeed in his and Jen’s joint endeavor.
More about Jen
Jen’s background includes years of experience as a public school teacher in Virginia. She holds a degree from William & Mary and a master’s degree from George Mason University. At PiZetta, Jen is the numbers person and runs the business end of PiZetta.
What’s Next?
Sharing a Dream
Okay, we’re going to share our dream with you. We have some great ideas, and in five years of hard work, we want to:
- Create all original content by building an in-house production staff
- Have regionalized brands and Spanish-language versions
- Increase our number of brands
- Have a larger staff—while still keeping it small and efficient
- Find balance in our programming,
- Find balance in our lives.
And, someday, we hope to have raised enough to move beyond just showcasing people’s stories. We envision the opportunity for PiZetta to positively impact the people, communities, and nonprofits of the communities we are fortunate enough to work in.
Why We Do What We Do.
Shine a Light
No matter how bright the inner light of a hero shines, their accomplishments often go unnoticed by their communities. Yet, those who have directly benefitted from the heroics are forever grateful, and they shine their light on their hero. But the rest of us may never know that anything extraordinary or heroic happened.
How many of us have a hero living next door and not realize it? Probably more than a few.
A true hero certainly isn’t about to shout out to his or her neighbors, “Hey, I helped save a life today,” or “You should’ve seen the size of that fire I ran into.” Heroes don’t do this–brag. It seems unheroic.
At PiZetta, we give a voice to those with important stories to share but have a platform. We cultivate compassion between authentic storytellers and the lives of those they touch. We’re a conduit that creates connections. More than anything, we use our skills to help shine a light on our heroes – an enormous, bright light. We want to brag for them and want that light to spread, infect, and impact our viewers.
When is a Story More Than Just a Story?
Content with a Cause
When it creates relationships, develops empathy, shares experiences, binds people in friendship or respect, and opens new doors to learning. When it puts the viewers in others’ shoes and creates an understanding that unites them. And a story is more than just a story when a good cause is involved.
This is why PiZetta Media exists. To find and share these stories and all the good that accompanies them.
The Importance of Being Relevant
We want our content to be relevant. To accomplish this, we:
- Listen to our audiences and storytellers,
- Promote and prize collaboration between storytellers and the PiZetta every step of the way,
- Create solutions for each individual,
- Provide a supportive and understanding culture, and
- We’re data-focused and methodical.
Relationships Built on Trust
We must create trust with our audiences, whether that audience is the viewer, the storyteller, or the hero. That’s a big deal to us, and we work hard to earn it, to be good stewards of the content we show and the stories we tell.
We will never “sell out,” so we have to be extremely careful when curating content to guarantee it’s authentic, honest, and accurate.
Where Are We?
Purpose
We have a purpose. We’re driven to make a difference in our communities. And here we are, after years of planning and working towards this, we officially launched our creation in November of 2021.
In just a few months of existence, we’ve curated more than 600 hours of programming and have developed five brands. These programs are currently streaming on more than 10 platforms, including YouTube:
- Frontliners TV
- Valor TV
- Dispatch Network
- Health 24/7
- Zoo Animal Antics
Interested in teaming up with PiZetta heroes?
Sponsorships welcome. Learn more here.
