HWS News
1 February 2019 Behind the Scenes in New York City
Led by Associate Professor of Media and Society Lisa Patti and Assistant Professor of Media and Society Rebecca Burditt, Hobart and William Smith students participated in the Behind the Scenes program in New York City during winter break. Through the three-day experience facilitated by the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional and Experiential Education, students met with HWS alums, parents and friends of the Colleges who work at a range of companies including: ABC, CBS, CNN, Facebook, Merkley + Partners, MTV, MWWPR, Psyop, Spark Foundry, Showtime and The Hollywood Reporter.
Through presentations, tours and networking sessions, students were exposed to careers in the competitive media industry from professionals who are involved in content creation, production, news, advertising and marketing.
"The Behind the Scenes trip opened my eyes to companies I have never been exposed to," says Nicole Katchis '19. "I now realize how different every single conglomerate in the media industry truly is."
At Facebook and Instagram, Katchis '19 says she enjoyed the opportunity of being integrated into the everyday lives of each employee, as well as the ability to learn from people in diverse departments. "It was interesting to see such a fun environment full of game rooms, gelato and massage chairs, while also seeing thousands of people working hard at one of the most popular and successful companies in the world," she adds.
Behind the Scenes Gallery
Whether learning from MTV News Correspondent Josh Horowitz '98 or networking with Senior Director of East Coast Television at The Hollywood Reporter Scott Perry '91, students met passionate alums who shared their stories and offered career advice.
Mikaela Benny '19 is thankful for the many alums who offered advice such as CNN Account Executive Brianna Burtman '08, who led them on a backstage tour of the news floor. "We were fortunate enough to watch Kate Baldwin do a live interview and discuss the recent killings in the Middle East that happened that morning." Benny also appreciated Burtman's role in sales and advertising, a field she became interested in pursuing after taking the course Cultures of Advertising. "She shared insight on the different roles at CNN, and there were many I could see myself pursuing in the future."
For Matthew Hogan '19, fun and education coalesced perfectly at Showtime when Timothy DeLaney '80, Senior Vice President of Network Operations, introduced them to "the video and audio editors who took us through live demonstrations of their techniques, complete with explanations about their editing decisions."
The Behind the Scenes event was coordinated by Director of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional and Experiential Education Brandi Ferrara who was accompanied by Presidential Fellow Sydney Gomez '17.
The sites and hosts included:
ABC Television Group: Karl Brautigam '04, Manager of Digital Advertising; and Gregory Stern '12, Account Executive
CBS This Morning: Katherine Gilhool '16, Broadcast Associate
CNN: Brianna Burtman '08, Account Executive
Facebook: Christina Rosado '09, Technical Account Manager
The Hollywood Reporter: Scott Perry '91, Senior Director of East Coast Television
Merkley + Partners: Alexander Gellert '86, Chief Executive Officer and Partner; Sonya Weekes, Human Resources Manager; Mason Barron '15, Lucy Carr '17 and Anna Worcester '18
MTV: Josh Horowitz '98, MTV News Correspondent
MWWPR: Brian DiFeo '00, Senior Director of Influencer Strategy; Amanda Rosa, Human Resources Manager; Rebecca Strauss, Senior Research Manager; Jane Hayes, Account Coordinator; Emma Fetonti, Human Resources Coordinator; Carolyn Lasky, Account Supervisor of Digital Strategy; Johnnie Tran, Senior Account Executive of Paid Media
Showtime: Timothy DeLaney '80, Senior Vice President of Network Operations
Spark Foundry: Brett Danziger '17, Associate, Strategy; Lindsey Lefelhoc, Director of Talent Acquisition
Psyop: Eve Strickman '02, Executive Producer