District Bear Media

The company was founded by Atia Abawi and Conor Powell, both former network news correspondents. Together they have more than 20 years of experience working in TV and digital media production. 

They’ve used their experiences covering violent conflicts, humanitarian crises and domestic political unrest to create gripping and powerful content for some of world’s largest media brands. District Bear Media knows how to work under pressure and in challenging environments. Even if your project doesn’t involve life or death situations, we will treat it as seriously and with intent.

Atia Abawi is an award-winning journalist, author, analyst and writer. 

For nearly two-decades she worked as a foreign correspondent and International Affairs Analyst. She started her network career at CNN, then NBC News and Al Jazeera English.

Atia’s first book, “The Secret Sky: A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan”was published in September 2014. Her second book, "A Land Of Permanent Goodbyes", was released in January  2018 to critical acclaim. The story is based on the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Her 3rd book, “She Persisted: Sally Ride” was released in March 2021 and is part of the inspiration children book series created by Chelsea Clinton.

In 2022, Atia began her television writing career and is represented by The Gotham Group. 

She has won numerous awards for both her journalistic achievements and written, including The George Foster Peabody Award and The duPont-Columbia Awards.

Conor Powell is a successful podcast host and writer, multimedia producer and veteran TV journalist with more than a decade of experience covering major news stories and creating gripping and powerful content. 

He spent nearly ten years in Afghanistan and Jerusalem reporting and producing for Fox News. 

After quitting Fox News in 2018, he began freelancing with CNN as a reporter and producer. And has created, written and produced several successful podcast series, including iHeart Radio’s The Lords of Soccer: How FIFA Stole the Beautiful Game and  Long Shots: A Very Political Podcast