BSNC is pleased to highlight shareholder Jonathan R. Butzke and his innovative business, Talking Circle Media. Butzke founded Talking Circle in 1989. The multimedia company specializes in video production, website and software design, live TV broadcasting, internet video live-streaming, and AV equipment rentals for meetings, events and conferences. Butzke is also a real estate investor and partner in Alaskan Real Estate Brokerage FSBO System Alaska, LLC.
Butzke found his first jobs as a teenager while living with his grandmother, Frances Longley. He worked under the guidance of influential mentors like his uncle, Ted Cavota. Later, his media career began with an internship at Alaska Pacific University (APU), where he launched APU’s student newspaper before starting his own media company. These early experiences in business taught him valuable lessons in how to run an operation, make mistakes and ultimately grow.
One of his most significant media achievements was working with the National Park Service in the 1990s, documenting anthropologists and geologists studying the Seward Peninsula. He also contributed to the PBS documentary For the Rights of All, which told the powerful story of Alaska Native rights through the lives of Elizabeth Peratrovich and Alberta Schenck Adams. Recognizing the evolving industry, Butzke refocused his company to specialize in live video streaming and meeting support, a transition that has proven highly successful. He is now exploring new technologies like 360-degree Virtual Reality to enhance his services further.
Butzke takes great pride in his family’s history of political activism and Native rights advocacy. His great-grandmother, Ahmik Emma Toonuk, and almost all of her children perished in the 1917 flu pandemic, leaving only his grandmother and great-grandfather, Anton Nicholas Lee. His grandmother, Frances Cera Longley and her family, played a key role in the Alaska Native rights movement.
For Butzke, business is about more than just success—it’s about learning from mistakes, helping others and preserving our culture and heritage for future generations. His advice: “Don’t beat people up when they make a mistake. Help them learn and grow. Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s how you improve.”