By Debbie Mitchell
Based on your feedback it appears this summer series How Did You Get Into Television? is a success. I've been told that it's quite informative and entertaining. Thank You! The series gives TV professionals the opportunity to tell us about their entry into the television industry and give advice on how to survive it. How Did You Get Into Television? is the question I ask television folks when I meet them, since there isn't only one way to get into this very interesting, fun and competitive industry.
In the post Television Survival 101, I told my story. Today we hear from my long time friend and talented writer Steve North. I met Steve, who grew up in the television industry, during my years working on Geraldo Rivera's talk show where Steve, who had a long work history with Geraldo, worked with Rivera on a variety of projects including being his Senior Producer for the CNBC show Rivera Live. Years later, Steve and I reconnected on CBS The Early Show. The show is now titled CBS This Morning and Steve North is its Broadcast Writer.
What’s your job title today and what are your job responsibilities?
I am Broadcast Writer for CBS This Morning. I write the entire 2 hour broadcast. When you see the three hosts , Charlie Rose, Gayle King or Erica Hill looking right into the teleprompter, they’re reading what I wrote.
How did you get into television?
This year is my 55th anniversary in television, in a way. I was born into television. My father, Jules North , was working at NBC at the time as film librarian. When I was born my birth announcement was in the form of a television, with my father listed as Director and my mom was listed as Producer. NBC had a monthly magazine where they listed staff births. A month after I was born my birth announcement was in the magazine. I started going to work with my father by the age of three. I was always interested in his jobs.
At the age of four, I made my first appearance in 1957 as a member of the Peanut Gallery on “The Howdy Dowdy Show.” Also that year, I had my first paying job. My dad would get me work... I did voice overs for PSA’s and a few commercials. My father had friends who were producing a recruiting film for the Navy and I was in it. I got a check for $100:$75 for my acting services and $25 for the use of my parent’s car. In 1962, I was nine and had my first paying gig in television on "Kiddie Camera," a show about kids’ news events. I would narrate it.
I never wanted to do anything else, and my dad’s career was so fascinating. I grew up seeing the entertainment side and the news side of the television business. At 16, there was a radio station across the street from my high school. I told them I wanted to work there. When I turned 17, they called me and offered me the job of assistant to the News Director of the station. I kept the job through high school and college. I produced their commentaries. After college in 1975, Geraldo Rivera hired me to write his ABC Radio Network commentary, which only lasted 6 months. But then, he asked me to stay on to work with him in television and I became his producer at ABC on “Good Night America".
What has been your favorite television job to date and why?
The time with Geraldo working on Now It Can Be Told, a syndicated magazine show where I was Senior Reporter. I supervised the other reporters and I went out and covered stories. In 1992, I was the first to show on television… since 1963… the gun that killed Lee Harvey Oswald. I spent 15 tumultuous and very interesting years with Geraldo, covering everything from the JFK assassination to the O.J. Simpson case, and the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Covering stories of this magnitude has always been an attraction for me in this business.
If you could go back and say anything to yourself at the start of your television career, what would it be?
I would probably say, just enjoy every minute. Don’t get stressed out by the daily difficulties. Producing TV news is inherently stressful and difficult but find a way to enjoy being a part of this fascinating process. At the end of the day it’s just television, it’s not brain surgery.
What is your biggest regret in your television career?
When I was working for Geraldo in the ‘70’s, someone said I could stay in my job as an associate producer at ABC and I could keep moving upwards to different producer jobs,which were all very stable. But I was offered other work possibilities, including being an on-air newscaster and correspondent on radio. It was much more interesting to have a diverse set of experiences in the broadcast world. I don’t have any regrets. After 42 years, I am still employed.. sometimes to my own amazement!
What are your top three tips for television survival?
BE FLEXIBLE-the nature of the job is unexpected, so be flexible enough to deal with the unexpected on a daily basis
BE AWARE-be interested and aware of everything going on in the world. Know a little about everything and be an expert in a few topics.
APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY-Don't take the opportunity for granted. Realize that you are meeting fascinating people and doing interesting things. Your work maybe difficult, but it is more gratifying then other people’s jobs.
What are you most proud of in your broadcast career?
Doing stories that really cause change by telling the truth. I was one of the first reporters to pursue the Agent Orange issue in the late 1970’s and early ‘80’s, and I’m very proud of the award I got from the Agent Orange Victims’ Association for my work on that issue. I’ve won other awards for my reporting on the difficulties faced by developmentally disabled people when they try to move into group homes, and for my coverage of the drunk driving epidemic… after a colleague of mine at NBC was killed by a drunk driver. These kinds of things really lead to a feeling that what one does for a living on a daily basis can make a difference.
I also feel good that I’ve given a number of people their starts in TV and radio, ranging from Tavis Smiley to Donny Deutsch to Howard Stern’s producer Gary Dell’Abate, better known as “Baba-Booey”!
When you think about a career after working in television, what does it look like?
For me, I have a lot of different interests. I used to do interviews for Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation. We interviewed 52,000 holocaust survivors over two years and it occurred to me that everybody has a story to tell and they should be preserved. It's something I’d like to do when I leave television.
In his free time, Steve continues to write. He is a great curator and has photos of almost any celebrity or newsworthy person you can name. Check out his Facebook page to see a few. Steve also has an interesting collection of famous voices on his home answering machine. So when you call him, you never know who will tell you "Steve's not home and you should leave a message." To read more of Steve North's writings click here.
####
TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is an Emmy nominated producer who is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards Committee. If you are a brand interested in blogger outreach campaigns, a blogger or personality interested in television placement follow Debbie Mitchell @TVProducerDeb or contact TheBloggerConnection.com.
More Ready4Air: (Summer Series)
Brilliant! Steve turned out to have just as fascinating career to all of us that his father's seemed to him. Bravo.
ReplyDelete