The Must Knows from a TV Insider
By Jennifer I. Quinn, N2Arts Correspondent
How to break into television
 

uentin Tarantino, Alfred Hitchcock, and Spike Lee have something in common. They established their skills behind the camera before achieving fame in front of the camera. Most television reporters also begin their careers doubling as talent and producer. How can young people develop production skills? World Wrestling Entertainment’s Senior Creative Producer, Chris Chambers, offers his guidance.

“I thought I was going to get arrested,” recalls Chris. Every Saturday, Chris would sneak into NBC to help an intern analyze baseball games.  “She didn’t know anything about baseball...I did all her work for her.” One day her boss, an NBC producer, walked in “‘Ahhh hah! I knew you were getting help!’” Surprisingly the producer befriended Chris. Whenever possible, Chris came to watch him produce shows. His career took off when the producer helped him land a Major League Baseball internship. Twenty years later, Chris’s ideas have helped launch WWE’s Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and many other wrestling celebrities.

Chris Chambers almost took the wrong path. His guidance counselor said he couldn’t study television in college, so Chris thought he’d “drive around in a van.” Fortunately, another guidance counselor intervened and Chris went to Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications.

Today, many high schools offer classes that introduce communication studies. This was not the case in the 70s. Chris recalls the class that helped him most, Sociology. Sociology?

“We wrote essays and the teacher taught us the proper structure. The structure of a sentence, the structure of an essay or a story is the same as the structure of a video. A music video needs to tell a story, a movie has to tell a story...and the easiest way to learn how to do that, initially, is writing,” said Chris. Good writing skills have helped Chris achieve his success.

Although, technological know how is important, it can be less marketable than solid writing skills. CBS Sports, NFL Films, and WWE all produce a similar product with different means. Aspiring producers will have to learn different technology when hired by a new company.

“If you have Syracuse or Ithaca on your resume it doesn’t hurt,” Chris explains. When conducting job interviews he says, “I never look at their grades...it’s more your looking at the human being,...do they speak well, do they dress well, do they have any experience at all at actually working.” He seeks people who work hard wherever they went to school.

Internships help students make the most of their education. “I interned one summer at a radio station...that next semester I got a 3.8. because my writing skills had improved so much, and the whole idea of how to tell a story...started to come clear to me.” Internships also allow students to display talents to potential employers. Chris adds “experience life because good storytellers are people who have life experiences,” and good storytellers make the best producers. 

Jennifer I. Quinn worked in television production for five years where she rose to the position of associate producer. She is also a certified teacher who has taught English and Communications to high school students. She can be reached by email at jennifer@jiqreview.com.