Impactful storytelling is a skill Marc teaches to communicators and CEOs. A special report he produced and narrated on the “N Word,” has delivered the most impact for him to this day. The 8 ½-minute report detailed the nuances of how people use the “N-Word,” why, along its effect on society resulting in hate crimes and violence. Marc drove the story home through an interview featuring the late Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, who formed the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). “Eazy” explained to Marc how an epithet to some can be a term of endearment to others. N.W.A. was a  pop culture phenomenon at that time, yet still to this day Marc gets calls and emails from people across the globe, requesting permission to play the video story at symposiums discussing race and usage of the word. Other journalists found this piece so provocative, that they tried to duplicate the report, but none of them ever landed “Eazy” as an interview guest. The N.W.A. founder politely declined all interview requests saying, “I said what I had to say to Marc Watts.” The “N Word” special report landed Marc the journalism award he cherishes most in his career. First Place honors in the Hard Feature category in which Marc faced off against two of his mentors, the late Ed Bradley of CBS and NBC’s Bryant Gumbel. Marc received this award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

Marc eventually transitioned from on-air journalist to media executive because management and decision-making roles offer him more impact. He wanted to immerse himself in the business side of mainstream media, which he has done, through various TV network, streaming, OTT and entrepreneurial appointments—offering him a front row seat to global history over the course of the last 30 years. But down to his core, Marc will always consider himself a journalist by trade. A communications operative who believes (most of the time) that a singular fact-based reality exists regardless of subjective viewpoints. To Marc, gossip is not journalism nor are rumors, speculation, or conjecture. Journalism is not what a reporter “thinks, feels or guesses.”

Rarely does a content and communication executive combine the diversity of media, sports, entertainment, journalism, and social justice experience, that Marc brings. In 2021 he began working in the Civil Rights sector aspiring to lend his voice in uplifting underserved communities, some of the same communities Marc filed reports from back during his correspondent days. His work at the African American Leadership Forum in Minneapolis caught the eye of National Urban League.

Now as a fractional executive for the Los Angeles Urban League, Marc plays a prominent role in shaping the mission narrative of the organization. Marc’s work in the social justice space has proved influential, but he has expressed to colleagues he’s ready to come back home, and work for a booming media conglomerate, even if he has to create it himself.