Francesca Ellana is a former Miss Northern Virginia Teen USA and Miss Teen Icon winner who began competing in beauty pageants which launched her career followed by red carpet hosting. She has interviewed celebrities such as Jimmy Kimmel, John Stamos, Terry Crews, Meagan Good, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart and many more. She is the owner and creator of Pop Fuzion TV; a media company catered towards millennials.
Pop Fuzion TV encompasses two 30-minute talk shows which are airing weekly on 8 cable channels, a red-carpet hosting academy, video production services and a weekly podcast.
The Woodbridge, Virginia native was inspired to start the talk show because she was exhausted in seeing shows that focus on bashing celebrities focusing on all the negative aspects of their lives. She used her platform to promote positivity and inspire others to spread social good. In the next 5 years Francesca Ellana envisions the show being the number one positive nationally syndicated talk show and blog site for good news reporting and all things pop culture.
To promote philanthropy and the positive image of others, what made you decide to turn to hosting as opposed to other types of journalism/interviewing?
Growing up I have always had that curious side of me that naturally wanted to know what people were doing and why they were doing it. For as far as I can remember, I would walk around the house as a child with a paper towel holder (my fake microphone) and would interview my mom, cousins and whoever came to visit. It was like second nature to me. That along with doing pageantry and always being on stage, on-camera hosting was the perfect combination of my love and skillset.
Gossip/drama sells! With your current trends, do you believe you feel it has been difficult gaining new supporters over time on your platform, or do you believe you have had a steady rise and people also want to see more good than the bad?
It is extremely hard gaining followers when reporting on good news topics. That is one of the reasons why we fuse it with entertainment and positive celebrity news, so that we can build a strong audience. However, I truly believe it is not impossible as long as we remain consistent within our brand and mission. There is absolutely a niche and core following for every type of topic these days.
How do you separate your own beliefs and ideas/images of others you may interview despite negative portrayals in the media? Do you avoid those interviews? Or do you take all opportunities and focus more on the contributions the individual has made?
It truly depends on the severity of the negativity. If it is something we don’t feel good about covering, we definitely avoid that situation. However, there have been individuals who we have interviewed, and did just that, by covering the positive qualities and aspects of them and their careers. Aside from celebrity good news, we also like to cover topics that are happening monthly such as lupus month, mental health awareness month and more. It is always fun and informative when adding those topics in the mix. Popfuzion TV is the fusion of entertainment and positive news. We recognize, cultivate and honor celebrities, charitable organizations and leaders who are making a lasting, positive change in the world.
Do you provide ways or also encourage patrons who tune in to your show to also give back?
Yes absolutely. We do this a lot through social media. We ask community driven questions and ask our followers to leave insightful comments in hopes that their insight will help others. Whenever we also interview charities, we provide links and resources for our viewers in the event that they are in need of that specific resource or in hopes that it will lead them to the resource that they are looking for.
What is the biggest difference from pageant life to now hosting on the online blog/ video networking? Do you miss pageant life? Are you satisfied with the change you made?
I miss competing in beauty pageants so much. Pageants taught me the skillset of interviewing, fitness (self image) and community service. These are 3 tools that I have taken with me throughout life and my entire career. There are so many similarities when it comes to pageantry and hosting. Both careers are extremely competitive and you truly have to look and be the part. Both careers push you to be your best. The interview portion of pageantry really teaches you how to be yourself and speak your organic truth, similar to being a television personality/host where you are yourself and interviewing people from all walks of life, giving off a natural conversation while making it engaging for an audience. Although I do miss pageantry, I am extremely fulfilled with the change I made into a hosting career and running Popfuzion TV with its online blog and television show. I love producing episodes of Popfuzion and creating impactful stories that I hope are changing the entertainment industry and people’s lives.
How important is networking in your line of business and to your brand? What networking/marketing tips do you apply to your day-to-day?
This industry is all about your network. The phrase, your network is your net worth truly applies. It is so much easier to build a relationship with someone and be able to email them and get a response, verses sending a blind email and getting caught up in all of the other emails. When you network and get to know people, people begin to respect you and will go to you directly versus you having to go to them. There is nothing like building a strong reputable and trustworthy brand. It is so hard to build a good reputation and even harder to clean up your reputation if something goes wrong. Day to day I try to attend as many red carpets (before Covid-19) and networking industry events just to get my name out there and so that people can attach a face to the brand.
“If you could be any age, what age would you be and why?”
If I could be any age, honestly it would be just any age when my mom was alive. My mom was my biggest supporter, my best friend and role model. I miss her dearly and would go back in time just to spend more moments with her. She is my angel. Love you mom!!
