THE BEST OF POTENTIALLY FOCUSED INTERVIEWS AND COMMENTARY!

Welcome to Potentially Focused and the day before July 4th! In honor of the holiday, we’re publishing our Thursday edition one day early this week and breaking the format!

Since many of you will be busy at the beach or a barbecue or taking some well-deserved time for yourself, we’re keeping it a breezy read for this holiday weekend.

One of my favorite things about doing this newsletter is getting to interview so many interesting people. Below are my favorite answers to the questions we’ve asked our guests so far.

One question and answer from each interviewee. It’s a fun way to catch up with some of the interviews you may have missed.

And, as a bonus, we’re also including a short excerpt from the great commentary pieces of each of our guest writers so far.

If you want more, the full-length interviews and commentary pieces are all available in the library of published Potentially Focused editions on LinkedIn.

PS - one of our guest writers who you'll see an excerpt from below, Eliot Goldberg, co-hosts Sonic Impact, a terrific music podcast with his daughter, Olivia. They have a new episode dropping today with Train's Pat Monahan. Here's a link to their podcast if you'd like to check it out.

Potentially Focused is a newsletter for busy people in the TV business (or not) who are curious. Anyone interested in growth. Great new possibilities, and the stories we tell ourselves that get us there or hold us back. Each (regular) edition features quick links to at least one great piece of content on professional development and one centered on personal growth. It's practical information and it’s all just a click away.

Please subscribe and share with your most or least patriotic friend! This newsletter is for all!

Thank you and happy July 4th to all,

Marco

THE BEST OF POTENTIALLY FOCUSED WITH…

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KRISTIN WENDELL

VP of Development, Cineflix Productions

Question - I'm struck by your work with your networking group. Tell us about it.

The genesis of our networking group, Media Mavens, emerged from a desire for inclusivity in an industry that sometimes felt exclusive. We first called ourselves Bitches with Pitches as the original 4 women were all TV development people - and our monthly brunch gatherings served as a haven for camaraderie. Over time, we evolved into a more expansive and inclusive community. Almost 10 years later, we have grown to over 13,000 members and an LA chapter with a goal of fostering community and sharing job leads. As we continue to grow, our commitment to diversity and inclusivity remains steadfast, with exciting developments on the horizon!

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ROY ACKERMAN

Executive Producer

Question - After a long and very successful TV career in the UK, a few years ago you decided to move to the US. As someone who’s done great work in both markets, what’s helped you succeed in both places? And did you have to call on different skills?

We are two film & TV cultures, divided by a common language. I think that, to succeed in both markets, you need to be sensitive to the ways the industries work in each place. In unscripted TV formats, the US versions of my shows were at least 30% more entertainment-focused and the social issues had to be sweetened, like with American food and drink, with a lot more sugar. For a long time, British TV was at the forefront of cutting-edge unscripted commissioning, led by the public service tradition in the BBC, Channel Four and ITV where we fought for audiences but were able to deal with complex issues without bowdlerizing them or talking down to the audience.

The streaming revolution has reversed the polarity somewhat, with big checks being paid by US-based buyers. I tried to bring the best of the British development process, which involves a lot more interaction with buyers before the full pitch, with the directness and audience awareness of the US end of things.There are hundreds of subtle differences between the skill set of top US and UK producers, and each are different for each genre.

For example, so-called Premium Unscripted in the age of Netflix supremacy, differs in many ways from the best of British unscripted, more cinematic, more global in approach, with bolder big populist-relatable themes. All in all, with the current reset in the market, I think streamers are going back to focusing on audiences, and less on reputational and cool vibes, becoming a bit more like a mix of pre-streamer cable and networks so the mix of skillsets for both markets is changing yet again.

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ERIK PARKER

Filmmaker & Executive Producer

Question - In your career, you went from writing about hip hop and other topics as a journalist to making an acclaimed Nas documentary with your creative partner, One9, who is an amazing storyteller as well. These days you're an in-demand EP and director working on projects centered on a wide variety of topics, what is it about you that allowed you to transition to new mediums, roles, and genres so successfully?

When One9 and I (along with a few other friends) got together to start making Time is Illmatic, it was a learn-on-the-job experience for us all. Prior to that, I worked as an editor for the Source and Vibe magazines. I was receiving pitches all day from many angles: From writers, artists, authors, politicians, entrepreneurs, as well as the reps for all of them. Aside from my time as a print editor, I've written for many?publications which?has?gotten me very comfortable interviewing people. Doing so helped me to be okay being uncomfortable. From there, you develop?a skill of traveling down rabbit holes. Exploring stories, pulling at threads. So?my training as a journalist did help the transition to documentary storytelling less bumpy.

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LISA FOX

Director of Talent Development, Office of Industry Relations, USC

Question - I love what you're doing at USC. Please tell us about it and your goals there.

Being the Director of Talent Development at USC is similar to what I used to do as an agent. I got clients jobs and now I’m matching our students/alumni with paid professional career opportunities.

After helping create SCA’s Internship Program, our First Jobs program at USC and having overwhelming success placing our graduates in jobs; I’m helping develop a 5+ years out program to assist those graduates that may have been affected by the strikes and/or pandemic.

The mensch in me gains satisfaction from helping people and matching them with their perfect jobs. My close friends have told me that I’m also a great personal matchmaker so who knows, if USC decides they get sick of me one day, maybe you will see me launching a professional matchmaking business. Or not…

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KEVIN DREYFUSS

Deputy Creative Director, Head of Digital, Biden for President Campaign

Question - What's the best lesson a mentor ever taught you? And not naming names, what lesson have you learned from a bad boss or situation?

Ha, this is a good one. I've had some great bosses and mentors in my life, and I've had some truly shitty ones. And I guess I've learned valuable lessons from both, but I don't know if the abuse of a crappy boss is worth the lesson.

From the best, I learned to value people, really. I had a boss in advertising who knew he wasn't some creative genius but was such a beautiful soul and was so great in empowering us working under him, and really giving a shit about?us as people -- that it pushed us to do better work than any insane genius taskmaster ever could. I still love that guy, and that was like 15 years ago at this point.

Conversely, some of the worst bosses I ever had saw their employees as nothing more than human robots like those poor bastards the Russians forced to clean up at Chernobyl. And they were just assholes to boot. We've both been in entertainment long enough to know that the "asshole genius" trope has let a lot of people get away with a lot of bad stuff for a long time. There is no need to be an asshole to do great work. There just isn't. And even if you are a literal genius, if you don't know how to deal with people, I got no time for you.

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ALICE ROSSO

Screenwriter & Development Producer

Question - Networking is a skill and one that you excel at. What would you share with people who feel they struggle to network effectively?

Our industry is founded on collaboration. Amazing things happen when we connect with like-minded people, and I love the energy I feel when my mind connects with another. In networking, I found that a lot of people are scared of approaching someone out of the blue or "bothering" them. But every time I am on the receiving end, I always feel flattered that someone found my work interesting enough to want?to know more. When I make the approach instead, I ask?myself: what's the worst thing that can happen? They don't reply to my email? I am always polite and respectful of people's time when approaching, even when I am "following up." And finally, I recommend always approaching with an objective; nobody wants to know what you've done so far just for the?sake of it, but most people do want?to know what you can do for them, or what they can do to help you out (if you're nice enough!).

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JOSH READER

Founder, CreatorCut

Question - For those reading this who have worked in the traditional unscripted world, what would you want them to know about the creator economy? Should we all just start making our own content?

Absolutely not, we should not all just start making our own content! There are over 200 million content creators worldwide, and a significant number of them create content just for fun. Among those who create professionally or semi-professionally, they have various reasons and motivations, such as marketing a business, securing brand deals, or making authentic content that resonates with a specific audience.

If you want to start posting your own content, it's important to understand your motivations and adapt your strategies to achieve your goals. Additionally, many traditional entertainment professionals mistakenly prioritize follower counts over audience engagement, and I’m afraid many in the traditional television world will miss out on the potential of passionate fanbases that may not be reflected in gross subscriber or follower numbers.

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BABETTE PERRY

Partner and Head of Broadcast/Hosting, Innovative Artists

Question - What's one thing you're currently excited about?

I'm working on a very important pop culture story that has not been announced yet. It will be a comeback story about someone impacted by the media, focusing on cancel culture. I'm also very excited that my oldest son Lee has a great opportunity to play professional football in Hamburg, Germany. Additionally, my younger son Shea is coaching under De Shaun Foster at UCLA and will be an intern for the Kansas City Chiefs. Watching my kids fulfill their childhood dreams has been a thrilling experience.

That said, their personal happiness has always been more important than their personal success. One of the things that will stay with me for the rest of my life is when my husband Ron left me a photograph of the boys as babies, capturing their youthful smiles with a note that said, "Being born was good enough," stressing the importance of simply existing. We've never had to put pressure on them, and I found "being born is good enough"? to be a very important concept when raising children.

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FENTON BAILEY

Co-Founder, World of Wonder?

Question - You do so many things at such a high level - directing?elevated docs, overseeing a dominant global franchise, and somehow managing?to write fantastic books in your spare time. What drives you to be so varied in your output and what's your?secret to being so productive?

?In his book 'Media Virus' Doug Rushkoff wrote about the criticisms of the short attention span fail to take into account that people today have a much broader attention range.? And while it used to be that people did one thing, or stuck in one lane, today we don't have to do that.? Andy Warhol as an artist didn’t just paint, he did sculpture, books, movies, and, really, anticipated reality TV and so much of our modern self-documenting lives - selfies, social media, etcetera.? Point is that we are so lucky to be able to work in a number of areas across a range of things. We are all able to do so much more with our time - I send a lot of emails sitting on the loo or listen to a lot of books driving in the car.??

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THE BEST OF POTENTIALLY FOCUSED GUEST COMMENTARY…

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ELIOT GOLDBERG

Head of Unscripted & Documentary Programming,101 Studios & Co-Host, Sonic Impact

On Side Hustles…

If you have been thinking about pursuing a new creative adventure or a passion project that you’ve always wanted to pursue, here are a few tips:

• Talk to people who have actually done it. Ask them what it took, how did they go about it, etc. All advice is helpful. They may steer you towards it or convince you it’s a fool's errand, but at least you won’t be going in blind.
• Be ready to exert great time, passion, and yes money. You have to be willing to really invest in yourself and your idea and remember that you’re doing it for yourself, no one else. And if it doesn’t work- whatever that means- that’s ok, you'll be happy you did.
• Listen to yourself. Everyone has an opinion of why something is a good or bad idea. If Steve Jobs or JK Rowling had listened to others… there would be no iPhone or Harry Potter. It doesn’t mean that every idea is a great one, but you'll never know unless you try.

So, whether you’re bored during a pandemic, looking for a new career path, or simply want to explore one of your passions, I am living proof that with enough hubris and naivete, anyone can do it- just like this newsletter that my good friend Marco has started.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, but it’s about the passion we have to execute and finish those ideas that is the key. So, I encourage everyone with a dream, or side hustle to GO FOR IT!

Don’t keep putting it off. You’ll be happy you did. Even if no one hears, reads, or sees it. And at least you won’t think “I really should start a ...” but never do.

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KYLE MCCABE?

Writer & Executive Producer

On Navigating Rough Patches...

Sharing your experience also helps. At this particular moment when my work is in a low gear, I’ve used the spare time to serve as a chaperone for my kid’s school field trips. Recently, they’ve been studying the Revolutionary War in New York City and went to a couple of local battle sites. This might be one of those lucky coincidences that is often the privilege of working in factual television. But I’ll run with it… as I’ve been fortunate enough to have researched and written a documentary about the Revolutionary War in NYC. So, I was able to engage in that trip and contribute to that conversation in a way I absolutely wouldn’t have otherwise. And that was awesome for my child, for the class, and for me.

The truth is, we all have a lot to offer… but sometimes you have to step outside of your “normal” world to see it and engage it.

Does that mean I should give up on the career that I and so many others have worked so hard to attain? Trade it all in to become a teacher, a tour guide, or a historian? Maybe. Maybe not.

Whatever the larger macro-economic issues, for us as individuals, shifting perspective and seeing that such change could be a possibility is the more important aspect to entertain. Because seeing possibility helps you better evaluate where you really stand, what you stand for, and what you can stand to do.

With enough nurturing, shifting perspective can open up possibilities you might not have considered or imagined otherwise. And whether that leads you down a different path, or makes you more determined to stay the course, experiencing possibility is a positive and solid step forward through this rough patch.

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FRED GRINSTEIN

Media Executive & Executive Producer

On the journey forward...

With this POV, there's two theses I've developed in the last few years that drive me on the current leg of my journey.

1) The Unscripted Industry is a tech story... Once upon a time all TV and film made at scale came from big studio lots, with scripts, actors, lots of guilded departments and lots of PA's. Then smaller consumer-ready cameras and laptop-enabled high quality editing tools emerged, and soon many others. The net effect was democratizing access to storytelling on big and small screens. The proof is in the pudding for?what exploded in the early 2000's, employing many of us, vastly expanding the Cable business and arguably birthing YouTube and social video. For this reason I've been drawn to new tech intersections with storytelling, speculating on what could be the next wave of creativity and productivity.

Settling into a learner’s mindset, this Fall I'm pursuing a Masters Degree in Narrative and Emergent Media at ASU's campus here in Downtown LA. It's a unique curriculum with a small cohort focusing on XR/ AR and Virtual Production, led by two amazing filmmakers Nonny de la Pena and Mary Matheson, both pioneers in new media, but also rooted in journalism and narrative.

On the Generative AI front, I've been going out on some dates with these shiny robots, experimenting and?immersing in a new community of creators and builders. I've been doing a monthly column for Realscreen called "Brave New Worlds" documenting this journey of mine, examining opportunities but still keeping an eye on the concerns. Additionally, me and my business partner Minh Do have been conducting a new series of monthly events in LA we call "Machine Cinema", here's our new website.?TLDR we throw nerdy parties where learning and creating go hand in hand. If you, your friends, company or organization would like to learn more please do reach out. Admittedly much of the creativity in this space drives toward sci-fi, animation, fantasy. To this point, I believe…

2) The Business of Authenticity is set to boom. While AI is exploding into an age of the Infinite, my gut feeling is that the world of true and real things and the people involved in telling stories about them are exceedingly well-positioned to thrive. With predictions about so much noise and low effort AI content soon filling our feeds, I predict that "the real stuff" will only go up in value for consumers. Live content - music, sports, comedy, theater IMO are going to be stable economies and safe spaces to be in.

But outside of these genres, there’s the greater mass media business most of us call home, and it has been in trouble since well before Generative AI showed up. Let Shapiro, Rushfield, and Belloni per above help you form your own opinion. Adding my own optimistic seasoning to that prediction soup, I believe we?make flawed assumptions that our only Unscripted product?requires a TV, or a streaming service, or that it is necessarily linear. With new growth sectors?like EdTech, or the Experience Economy, new XR devices shipping from Apple and Meta, and emergent generations that spend?more time gaming/ interacting than watching passive content, I believe unscripted creators stand a chance to build wholly new products and experiences, by extension new marketplaces, using our superpowered abilities to illuminate, intrigue, and inspire other humans?with the very real world.

Some people liken this?tech x media moment to the "Wild West". In that metaphor I think there's 3 types of people, all equally valid that align with?personality type and risk tolerance.

1) the ___ folks that go West and explore

2) the smart ones that build “picks and shovels” - ie create utility businesses for those explorers.

3) the reasonable people who stay back home, read about it in the News, and make a move once the dust has settled.

For now, I'm in the first category, though not yet sure what the right adjective is in that blank. :)

THAT'S IT!

HAPPY 4TH TO YOU ALL!!