With every new beginning comes a difficult ending.
Since around September 2009 (counting freelancing duties until the permanent spot in March 2010), I’ve been terrorizing the 3rd Floor at 30 Rockefeller Center, from Studios 3A to 3C to even a short stint on the dreaded 6th Floor (we’re excluding the NBC Philly & NBC Connecticut stuff), and to be able to go from a kid growing up in Brevoort Projects in the heart of Bed Stuy Brooklyn to NBC Universal’s Studios was something I never in my lifetime was possible for ANYONE, let alone myself. Of course I did 2 failure stints at “Aye Oh Elle” and “See Be Ess” and ended up right back in the house that Lorne Michaels built within 4 months each time, but the June 2013 departure is really tough to sink in.
Never mind the fact that heading to a business/financial news net is a major upgrade (not to mention a triumph for someone who didn’t attend school for this), but it’s what I’ve been able to establish while being a 30 Rock boy that will be tough to move on from.
As great as it was to work for Lauren Zalaznick, Michael Jack, and the entire NBCU team, the opportunity to work for Andrew Morse was just too good to pass up on any level.
I believe that the new digital video initiative at Bloombito TV will excite everyone in every corner of the world, and can also finally reach the young professional audience that these nets have long craved.
But beyond that stuff, something has been established: I’m nervous as s&*%!
I’ve been LUCKY to have gotten into this business, considering I wanted to be a cop growing up…and even as recent as 2009. I tried doing digital video at BULLETT years ago when it was launching, and as excited as I was to be involved, I don’t think I fully knew what exactly the business side of it was. With this new spot, and now with me having to deal directly with content creators and platform owners, I feel that I’m not only ready for the challenge, but also ready to show that minorities can do these things just like anyone else.
I have loads of friends who work at places like Viacom and hip-hop urban platforms, but there’s something about being at NBCU, and now something else about being at Bloombito TV that holds prestige, being that what the 2 companies deal with are not the usual run of the mill trash entertainment or the like. There’s nothing wrong with most of my colleagues who aspire to be like Jim Jones, P.Diddy, and the like, but I’ve always felt like Lorne Michaels, Richard Parsons, and the like are nothing to sneeze at either. Being able to co-produce 3 shows that made it to Bravo, Oxygen, and NBC Nonstop was a crowning achievement for me on all levels – again, it’s all about character, and even though the iron-clad arrangements made it such that I couldn’t produce outside of the Rock for any other net, it’s still rewarding to have participated in shows that people watched.
Who knows, maybe this could lead into…. who knows.
And that’s the point of it all.
Special shout out to Manny Roman, who I had the honor of working with and directing/co-producing his new documentary series that is set to premiere this summer – filming was quick but fun, and shows that keeping things simple and to the point makes for great setup.