About HJM
Hey Joe Media is a content creation and strategic communications agency dedicated to helping social justice nonprofits hone their message, amplify a compelling narrative, and foster positive community transformation.
Since our inception in 2022, Hey Joe Media has been instrumental in elevating clients such as the Reclaim Your Future campaign, which offers pro bono legal aid to those with marijuana-related convictions, through extensive media outreach, digital advertising campaigns, and engaging video content.
We’ve designed intuitive, user-friendly websites for organizations like the Missouri Justice Coalition and Arouet that effectively communicate their mission and engage supporters and new sources of funding.
And we love helping organizations like Just Communities Arizona, Rasa Legal, and Climate Power effectively amplify their work through local, regional, and national media outlets, yielding exceptional outcomes.
Joe Watson
principal & founder
As a journalist for nearly a decade, Joe wrote in-depth narrative stories for the likes of Food & Wine magazine, Phoenix New Times, Maxim magazine, The Arizona Republic, and PHOENIX Magazine, which won local, regional, and national awards. He interviewed celebrities and politicians—from BB King to John McCain, Kevin Bacon to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Ice Cube to Kyrsten Sinema, to name just a few—but mostly enjoyed writing stories about people pushed to the margins, people who had been largely forgotten or ignored by their communities.
After battling and overcoming his own personal demons, Joe began his career anew in 2017, working as a criminal justice reform advocate for American Friends Service Committee, People’s Action, LUCHA, and other nonprofit organizations. He led campaigns for sentencing reform, dignity for incarcerated women, and mutual aid projects—all the while earning media coverage for these campaigns in publications like Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and more.
In 2021, Joe was appointed the Director of Communications for newly elected Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, becoming the only law enforcement spokesperson in the US with a serious conviction history. During his time with the County Attorney, Joe institutionalized people-first language in the office, developed an office website that is more accessible to the community, and led crisis response throughout the new County Attorney’s first year in office.
In February 2022, after much encouragement from a network of friends, supporters & mentors, Joe started Hey Joe Media.
Our Collaborators
