Look on My Works, Ye Mighty: Ozy Tweets ‘We’re Back!’ Amid Media Scandal

Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images.

I met a traveler from an antique land, who said — “Did you hear that Ozy is actually not shutting down?”

It was one week ago today that New York Times media columnist Ben Smith shattered the visage of Ozy Media and revealed a lot of stunning details and allegations of fraud, including the revelation someone at Ozy pretended to be a YouTube executive on a call with investors.

What followed was unbelievable fallout from this colossal wreck, with Katty Kay jumping ship, the chairman of Ozy Media resigning, and Ozy founder Carlos Watson stepping down from the NPR board.

And then Ozy Media announced this past Friday it was completely shutting down. So that’s it, right? Nothing beside remains?

Well, apparently not, because Watson announced Monday morning that Ozy is officially back.

And then Ozy itself tweeted hours later, “Yes, we’re back! Stay tuned for more.”

Yes, we're back! Stay tuned for more.

— OZY (@ozy) October 4, 2021

And in case you think the above puns are unconnected, Ozy was in fact named for the famous Percy Bysshe Shelley poem “Ozymandias.” But they have a very… different interpretation of its meaning.

The poem is commonly read as a warning against outsized egos and the impermanence of power. But we choose to read it differently. To us, it’s a call to think big while remaining humble. Admittedly, ours is an unconventional interpretation — because that’s who we are. In a world littered with conformity, we like to see things differently.