Flash back a year ago

Let's look into our crystal ball and see what I was doing just over a year ago today...

Oh, it's me and Tandi predicting out futures in broadcasting after graduation. Luckily for both of us we haven't had to beg just yet! Tandi's doing awesome at a radio station in Florida, and I have some good leads on potential jobs for next month. Hopefully after July 15th I won't have to resort to this source of income.

A Lot of Endings

It's been a while since I updated last. That's mostly because I've been pretty busy at work, but what else is new? My assignment in News Media ended two weeks ago. I had a really great time helping with publicity and it definitely piqued my interest in PR. Not only did I have fun, but I learned a lot and gained some great contacts and references for the future.

NBC had their 2006 Upfronts at Radio City Music Hall a few weeks ago. Us Pages got to help out w/ the wrangling and seating of the audience. A few of us were also lucky enough to work the green room where all of the talent waited before going on stage. It was great to see all of the present and future NBC stars all in one place. Everyone from news talent to sitcoms and drama stars were waiting down in the room. The stage manager asked us to go get the talent and bring them to the staging area, so that was also really fun! I got to escort Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet and the rest of the cast of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Not bad! It was exciting to be a part of NBC's new season.

;">Last weekend was the season finale of Saturday Night Live. Kevin Spacey was the guest host and Nelly Furtado was musical guest. It was a pretty good show, but also sad. It wasn't until the show ended that I realized I had been a part of something truly amazing. It's very cool to think that in 30 years or so I can say that I was in the studio for an entire season of SNL. I think as Pages we're a little decensotized from celebrities and TV after a few weeks in the building, but every time I tell someone outside of the program about my job they're always so excited for me. It's cool. I can't complain. Several Pages, as well as me and the other SNL Pages, got to work the finale after party on the Rockefeller Center skating rink. I can't describe the feeling of being surrounded by so many talented and important people. Not only that, but realizing that we were dancing to really loud party music at 3am outside in the middle of New York City. It's been a good year...

Unfortunately my year is coming to an end. My official last day is July 15, 2006. The bad news is that I cannot do anymore assignments because I don't have enough time left in the program. Basically that leaves me back on the job hunt. Funny how I was doing this whole thing exactly one year ago today. The great thing about having done the Page Program is that a year ago I was looking for jobs at local TV and radio stations in Pittsburgh, and now I'm looking for jobs at major networks and companies. It was a nice way to up the ante. Coming out of Westminster I would never have the resume or confidence to walk into a place like NBC or MTV and interview for a job. Now I feel like I have the knowledge and ability to take on almost any challenge. It was definitely worth it.

On the job front, I've interviewed at MTV and I'm waiting to hear back. My potential boss said that she really wants to get me back in for a second interview, but she's busy with the Movie Awards until June 5th. After that I'm going back in and talking with her boss. Sounds like a plan. I also interviewed at The Dowd Agency, which is a private PR firm that reps Mark Burnett, Yahoo! and several other big-name clients. The interview went really well, and I'm headed back in the second week of June to talk about how I can fit into the company. Things are looking good.

I'll keep you posted!

Cinco de Mayo!

It's almost 80 degrees in the city today. Perfect for some Cinco de Mayo celebrations after work. Can't really beat that. The bad part about that is that I'm stuck behind a desk for the majority of the day. The good part is that I only have one more week at News Media before I'm back to a (somewhat) normal schedule. I really have learned so much as this assignment and it has definitely piqued my interested towards publicity and PR.

I haven't heard back from MTV just yet, but they told me it would take a few weeks. Probably around mid-May so I still have some time. I found out that I didn't get the PA job at VH1 News because they hired someone internally. That makes a lot of sense, so I'm not upset. It was definitely nice to get an actual "yes" or "no" instead of nothing at all. I've had a few other leads here and there, but nothing too serious. Of course I'll keep you updated when I find things out.

If I can't find a job here in the States it looks like I could always find work in Brazil! Just kidding, but funny story! A few months ago I gave a tour to a crew from a Brazillian TV show who were filming NBC and the tour for a tourism video about New York. The host of the show interviewed me and a fellow Page, and came on the tour and video taped it. We finally got sent a copy of the video and it's pretty ridiculous. It might be kinda boring if you can't speak Portuguese, but my part is still in English, just voice-overed! For some reason I can't post the video so email me if you'd like to see it. It's pretty ridiculous.

The next three weeks are going to be very busy at work. The NBC upfronts are coming up. That's where the network debuts all of their new shows and specials and advertisers, executives and talent come to check it all out. It's a big media frenzy and I'm very excited about seeing it first hand. Saturday Night Live is back for the last three shows of the season. Tomorrow's show is hosted by Tom Hanks with musical guest Red Hot Chili Peppers. I couldn't be more excited about both! My job is fairly awesome.

I was lucky enough to head home last weekend to see the family and my friends at Westminster. It was a short trip (just the weekend) but I got to see everyone who I really care about. We had a cookout at my aunt's house and then I headed back to WC to party with everyone. Although Theta Chi didn't win Sing & Swing for the 7th year in a row (sorry, guys) everyone did a really good job and I was very proud. I was really happy to see everyone. Here are some pix from the cookout:
UPDATE: There has been word going around that the cake pictured below has been altered from its original state. This picture clearly shows that the cake was to welcome Patrick home and no one else. It's obvious by the photo.

It's job season!

It was just one year ago that I was on the mad search for a job, and here I am again doing the same thing! Luckily for me it's much easier to find a job when you're currently employed. Technically I'm not finished with the Page Program until the 2nd week in July, but once my assignment is up in three weeks I will be giving tours of NBC until the end. Not really a fun option, sorry! So I'm starting to look now.

It's all about who you know in this business. I've made a few contacts through my assignments at NBC, some with supervisors and some with former Pages who are out of the program and employed elsewhere. My roommate Carolyn actually set me up with some awesome opportunities, as well as my supervisor (and former Page) Lauren. The network of Pages is really going to drive a lot of my success in the future. There's a Page alumni list of almost 700 people that have went through the program and are currently employed in the media industry. Some of the people that I currently work with will be running big companies in the future. Pretty cool.

I have interviewed for two jobs so far. The first is at MTV (sweet) for the assistant to the directors of production events. Production events are the Video Music Awards, the Movie Awards, Spring Break events and things like that. Basically my dream job. I guess I never realized how much "events planning" I did in the past. Hello, block parties! The interview went really and I should hear back within the next few weeks. Wish me luck.

The second interview was this morning at VH1 News! It was for a production assistant in the news department. I've always said that I want to work at MTV news so I guess this is the next best thing. The interview went well here, too so I'll let you know!

I'm headed back to the 'burgh and to Westminster this weekend to see the family and to see Sing & Swing! Theta Chi has won the past 6 years (3 under my reign, a'thank you) so I hope they can pull out another! Good luck, guys.

Now, for no reason, here are some cool pictures I took a few weekends ago when the weather was nice. I love my camera.

A Historic Week at NBC

What a week it has been! I have to admit, my new assignment in news publicity was going pretty slow for the first three weeks or so, but all that changed this week! In case for some reason you haven't heard (which I don't think is possible) Katie Couric announced on Wednesday that she would be leaving TODAY after 15 years in the anchor seat. After her contract expires in May she will join the CBS Evening News as the first solo female news anchor in history. Not a bad gig, Ms. Couric! The buzz surrounding the announcement was huge and made our office very busy as you can imagine. Lot's of people calling, lots of press releases and meetings to arrange and things like that. It was all pretty exiciting!

Just when I thought things couldn't get busier, they did. The day after Katie announced she was leaving NBC held a press conference to announce that Meredith Vieira would be joining the TODAY family. Very exciting again! Meredith comes from a long news background with local news, 60 Minutes and eventually cohosting The View on ABC for the past 9 years. We had to contact all of the press for the event and make sure everyone important was attending. I also go to personally make all of the press kits for everyone in attendence, so that was fun. I'm saving one for myself if you ever want to see it!

It was such a great experience to be a part of this historic day at NBC. There hasn't been a major anchor change since Bryant Gumbel left in the late 90s so it was definitely a big day for NBC News and especially news publicity. I'm really lucky to have been a part of the change, and it was exciting to know all the info weeks before everyone else!

Everything else is pretty good. SNL has been on a three week break but it's back again tomorrow night with Antonio Banderas and Mary J. Blige. Should be an awesome show. Next week is Lindsay Lohan with Pearl Jam which is going to rock in a major way. My work hours are nuts (I'm going to clock around 75 this week) but I'm hanging in there. It will all be over soon.