594: How to Break Into Management in Broadcast Journalism With Travis Mitchell, Maryland Public Television [Espresso Shots]

Travis Mitchell is senior vice president and chief content officer at Maryland Public Television (MPT). In this position, he oversees all content created, acquired, and aired on the statewide public television network.  Travis brings more than two decades of media experience to his role at MPT.  Prior to his current role, he was chief content officer for the University of North Carolina Television (UNC-TV) where he provided editorial vision and guided UNC-TV content on its four TV channels and in its online properties. Earlier in his career, Travis served as president of Communities In Schools of Wake County, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based nonprofit that helps schools remove the barriers that put students at risk of wasting their potential. He also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Atlanta-based Black Family Channel, where he managed a $40 million operation and a team of 75 people. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE: How his family is doing in the wake of George Floyd’s death and what the significance of Juneteenth was (especially this year in 2020) (3:02) How African Americans, especially, should look to break into the broadcast journalism industry on the management side (9:04) What entry level jobs to look out for (11:12) What are useful hard and soft skills to hone to be a more competitive candidate (19:27)  Why to build relationships with people in management while you’re an intern (23:34) What life experiences are most useful for someone wanting to go into this field (27:18) What the best part of being in broadcast journalism is (30:12) What part of the job sucks the most (31:46) Why input equals output was the best career advice Travis ever got (34:32) Why to read Split Image: African Americans in the Mass Media to get a better understanding of what this field is like for African Americans and The Business of Television if you want to get into management (36:27) If you want to learn more about what Travis does in his current role at MPT and how he built his career please tune in to his main T4C interview episode #488