Job Title: Senior Manager, Scheduling (Disney Channel)
USC Course of study: Communication Management master's degree
Describe your current occupation: I am responsible for the entire scheduling team (both short-form and long-form) for Disney Channel. On a daily basis, I manage the traffic editors and media planning coordinators who are putting the daily log together that will go to air. Longer term, my team also plans and schedules all series and movies for Disney Channel as well as stunts, tickers, bugs, logs, promotional material and on-air interstitial. We work about three months to one year out, planning what will air on Disney Channel and when, and then my job is to execute that stunt or series roll-out on air as envisioned by the planning team.
How did you get there? I started at Disney Channel as an assistant for Home Video while keeping my eye out for a TV position. I was able to transfer to Disney Channel after 2 years as a coordinator. My job then was just to schedule series – that was it! Then slowly I started taking on more – contract management, long term planning, movies – and then moved up a level every few years.
How did you get your first job? My first job was an internship that I got in television research at MGM studios and I found the notice on the job board at Annenberg.
How did your experience at Annenberg help? I loved that I got to take classes in communication law (an ever changing field), economics and statistics, it was a very broad based education that made it easy for employers to see that I could apply to these broader principles to a variety of communication fields, not just the specific field of television.
What advice do you have for current Annenberg School students in your occupation? The television industry is changing fast. You have to be prepared to respond (especially in an interview) to curves. Where are the opportunities for new growth – a few years ago, no one saw the success of TV series on DVD coming, and DVD bonus footage area has created a cottage industry. What can independent producers and big studios get from Video on Demand? These are the challenges ahead. Second – don't ever go into an interview blindly. Nickelodeon and Disney are different – if you walk into an interview you should know how they are different and why and be able to express that. When someone comes through our door and they've obviously done some research, we will always look twice at that candidate.
In your opinion, what is the Annenberg Advantage? The degree covers such a broad range of topics and students should take advantage of it. Students can get hands experience in a variety of areas: TV, journalism, PR, law, business. The school is flexible enough that you can customize your classes so that you can either have a lot of experience in one field or a little bit of experience in a lot of fields. It's a great place to try on a bunch of different areas of communication and find the one you like best before heading out into the workforce.