
Michelle Merker
Program Development Coordinator
PBS SoCaL
PBS SoCaL
Program Development Coordinator
I help producers get their programs on TV.
My department reviews content or ideas from producers, and we decide if their program might fit in well with our schedule or viewers. We help producers develop their content so that it has wide-ranging appeal. We work with scheduling, marketing and promotion of the program, and appropriate content is also guided and molded to share with a national audience. It would be fine if these things happened one at a time, but we are juggling hundreds of projects in all different stages at once!
Here's the first step for professionals
I've made a lot of transitions in my career, and the only thing that stays the same in this business is that nothing stays the same. You need to be able to anticipate and prepare for the changes in technology, what viewers want to see and how they receive the information. Then you need to figure out how your skills will fit with what is needed going forward.
"It's such an unpredictable business. You won't have a future in TV."