KBTV

KBTV::The Staff

It had become painfully apparent that I needed a staff. Perhaps because I had been born out of “traditional media” and the whole idea of working alone was completely foreign, or maybe it was pretty simple: I was simply no longer 25 years old. One thing was clear, for KBTV to be successful, I knew I needed to hire a team – and I needed it now.

Shoot. I’d forgotten the once romantic ideal of the start-up shoestring budget! Wait, that fact had seemed so romantic at the time! Now, it was a reality. I called my mom. She always knows what to do.

“Kate, just head over to one of the local colleges, and go see someone in the education department. Tell them you need some interns,” my mother spent her entire career in academia, retiring as the Dean of the Parallel Program at the University of Delaware.

“Just show them your resume. They’re not picky.”

She sounded convinced. I, however, was not. But I was motivated by how empty and depleted I felt -- not only for ideas, expertise, and energy, but for camaraderie. I was lonely. I had moved to Florida on a dime, and I knew no one.

Braced with the inspiration that fine journalism is inherently collaborative, I set out one morning in January – clutching an armful of fliers – and headed over to the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University. It was that scene at the end of the cult 70s film “Logan’s Run” – a ghost town after the apocalypse. Classes had not yet come back into session after the Holiday break.

Out of desperation, I stopped a professor who turned out to teach in the Theater Department. He pointed me in the direction of the Communications Department to go see Susan Reilly, head of the School of Multimedia Journalism. I was lucky, I was later told, that she happened to be in. I climbed up to the second floor, rounded the corner and stepped into her office. There, in a neat pile on her desk, was my resume, a pile of clips I’d authored and my book, “Trump: The Art of the Comeback.”

“You’re Kate Bohner!” She eeked out in a little shriek – stringy, long graying hair flying behind her as she stood up. “I was just about to call you!”

Sometime in September, at the behest of my mother, I had sent this woman, Reilly, my CV, clips and book seeking a position as an adjunct professor.

This morning she seemed pleasantly surprised to see me. She offered me a seat and we talked for more than an hour. I left her office with the promise of a summer position, teaching a class called “The Evolution of Journalism,” which would be a joint appointment with the Business School. I also walked out fortified with two names: Rachael Joyner and Jason Parsley. Both, she assured me, were the absolute stars of FAU. According to Reilly, the two graduating seniors had transformed the school newspaper from a ho-hum sheet to a multimedia “experience.” She called and left messages for them from her office before I left. By the time I’d arrived home they’d both called me back.

The following day, they were perched on my couch. Seven days after that, we were eating pizza on the floor of my town house in our first “Staff Meeting.” Rachael and Jason would be KBTV Segment Producers, and I, the anchor and Creator. Four weeks later I met their friend and colleague at the University Press, Andi Galpern, and after seeing her amazing work signed her up as Creative Director.

God works in mysterious ways. Looking back on that time when we first began – and we were all getting know each other’s strengths weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, I am very grateful. I feel like I’ve got the greatest staff in the world.

Yet there was still something missing. Writers…check. Creative director…check. Talent/anchor…check. Hmmm, what else was missing from this video blog equation?

Yes, of course, someone to actually shoot KBTV. I knew it, and so did everyone else. We needed a pro – someone who could shoot, edit, field produce, drop graphics and deal with weird perfectionism. But what pro would be crazy enough to jump on a video blog put out on YouTube by a staff of college students and former TV personality turned Trump book author?

I went to the only place you can when you have no idea where to find what you’re looking for…the web.

To be continued …

posted by katebohner @ 12:59 PM