Yes and no. First of all, I’ve always felt that you really can’t hundred percent plan a career in the media business. There’s not a linear track. It really zigs and zags and you try to jump on an opportunity that you can’t necessarily anticipate or plan for. The one gig, which I think is really integral to my career is CNN. I was covering the industry at the time for TV Newser, and I saw that Piers Morgan was going to get the job at CNN to replace Larry King. And I was just a huge fan of his interviews and felt with what he was about to do, there was an opportunity to really build out a digital presence. And I had a meeting with him under the guise of “Hey, let’s have coffee and meet, because I cover the industry.” At the end of that meeting, I said, “Hey, you know, I’d love to work for you and be your digital producer.”
I think that those are the sort of moments where you’re really trying to carve out the path you want. And then, I think you pivot if it’s not going the exact way you’re looking to go. I mean, I loved 99% of my time at CNN, but there were also some parts that I was kind of missing. I think I’ve shifted more towards an editorial point of view rather than a marketing one. And so trying to be conscious about how you want to shift your career is really crucial if you want to be able to try to get the most out of what you’re doing.
Wait, so let me get this straight. Did you pitch him a job that didn’t exist? And then they were like, that’s a good idea. Come do this job?
Basically, yes. I said that “Piers Morgan Tonight” is going to be on the air one hour a day. What’s going to happen the other 23 hours a day? You know, this is something that you’re gonna have tons of content. It’s going to be a really shareable videos. We really made it a huge part of the show. In fact, Piers now like never stops tweeting. One of my early claims to fame was that I convinced him to join Twitter because I felt like it was a perfect medium for him. And if he was doing it, it was so much more effective than what I could do from a show account. And if we could do it in partnership, he would grow the show account.
So that was the pitch. And then ultimately they decided at CNN about a year in I became the senior digital producer and we hired that position at all of the CNN prime programs.
You left New York City for a job at The Blaze located in Texas, and that then ended within a year. And you took a position that maybe wasn’t the best fit for you at the time, or wasn’t exactly what you were looking for. Do you have any advice for people who might find themselves in similar situations?