Embrace the Future. Interview with Amy Chiaro

After a successful 13 year career at NBC network news, Amy Chiaro made a dramatic career move in 2008 joining the development team for a new health-focused syndicated show featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz. “The timing aligned,” she said, “Dr. Oz was the one guest that we could not get on the Today show. He was on GMA at the time and on Oprah, but we just could not get him on the show. I was always interested in working with him and was also impressed with the teams at Sony and Harpo so I decided to take the leap into daytime programming.” It was a good move. She is currently heading into her eighth season as Executive Producer of The Dr. Oz Show.

I sat down with Amy and asked her the following questions:

Charlene Weisler: Since you started on Dr. Oz in 2008, has reportage on the health field changed and if so, how?

Amy Chiaro: Absolutely. There has been a radical shift in the access to health care and health information over the past several years. When we first launched the show, we hosted multiple free health clinics, because it was very difficult at the time to get access to basic health and wellness information and treatment. Many of the topics we covered in our first few seasons have now become commonplace, for example Greek yogurt sales have exploded and sales of soft drinks have declined. It is a different world, awareness has changed and we now have many more tools available to us to take control and take our health into our own hands. In response, the show has evolved and we are now able to delve into more complicated areas of discussion and offer insight into issues that you cannot easily look up online or get access to. So that is a really good place for the show to be in.  

Charlene: Can you give me an example of one of these more complicated issues?

Amy: A big conversation we had this past season was around the epidemic of opioid abuse and addiction in our country.  We were one of the first to address this. In fact, 60 Minutes did a story on it right after us. We had a symposium show featuring the US drug czar, Michael Botticelli, who has personally battled addiction in the past, to talk about what is really happening. This is the type of conversation that has real impact.

Charlene: How do you achieve work / life balance?

Amy: I have a two and a four year old and a five year marriage, so balance between my family and work is a constant negotiation. That said, I love my work and I believe that if you work hard and are ambitious you can have a full life. I am “all-in” when I am at home with my family and also when I am at work. So while balance is still a work in progress, I know that to be a good mother I have to be happy and fulfilled.

Charlene: What are your thoughts on mentorship?

Amy: I work with a great staff and I especially love working with our junior members. If they are still deciding what they want to do in their career, I advise them to not get bogged down in making a decision. Be “all-in” at that moment and do the best job you can. Work hard and remember that no experience is wasted.

Charlene: Any final words of wisdom?

Amy: When I am looking for inspiration, I always think of my mother. She had to reinvent herself in mid-life, going back to school for her MBA and then a second Master’s degree. She instilled in me that hard work and drive will result in success. You have to believe in yourself and you should never be afraid of what is coming in the future.

The Return of Nostalgia in Programming. Interview with Holly Jacobs

Holly Jacobs, EVP of U.S. Reality and Syndicated Programming for Sony Pictures Television (SPT), oversees and directs all non-scripted TV programming development for broadcast, cable and first run syndication. 

Her efforts have created such landmark programs as  the multiple Emmy Award winning shows Shark Tank on ABC, , and The Dr. Oz Show for first-run syndication. She has deep experience in program development with stints at Fox Television Studios as EVP of Alternative Development, Buena Vista Productions as EVP Programming and Development and ABC Daytime as VP Programming where she had oversight for The View.

In addition to her professional responsibilities, Holly also devotes time to mentoring as part of the Women in Entertainment Big Sister program. “Mentoring has to be part of one’s internal job description,” she explained, “It has to be more than just your own corporate climb. It is also who you are lifting up.” 

I sat down with her and asked the following questions:

Charlene Weisler: How is non-scripted programming evolving in this more technological, data driven media ecosystem?

Holly Jacobs:  When we launched the Dr Oz show in 2009 it was a very different world. There was not the wealth of information at everyone’s fingertips.  Everyone can now google every ache, pain and funny looking spot on their skin. As the show has always been a key destination for conversations about health & wellness, we’ve learned to adapt & evolve with the times. While the show continues to lead these conversations, we’ve also shifted focus and now also help the viewer curate & have context for what they gather online. We don’t just present, we help decipher the vast amount of information out there. 

Charlene: Are the types of non-scripted shows changing over time?

Holly: Yes. We are always evolving. And it also goes in cycles. There is a trend now in nostalgia. ABC is launching Sunday Night Fun and Games block which includes classic game shows from the 1970s and 1980s like our new version of the $100,000 Pyramid, hosted by Michael Strahan 

Charlene: The nostalgia trend is interesting. Is it coming from Millennials and if so, why?

Holly:  I think it is a combination of things. Millennials are embracing origin stories and are interested in knowing where things began. Birkenstock shoes are a great example of a nostalgic brand making a comeback. But there is also a comfort zone of nostalgia that is multi-generational, particularly in a time where there is a 24-hour news cycle.  People are looking for an escape.

Charlene: How much do you depend on research and data to help guide programming decisions?

Holly: I love research but I am not a slave to research. We don’t just gather data, we also follow the narrative and cultural relevance behind the results.  We also use online panels to get a real time pulse point on content. Then we compare and contrast to look at the 360 of the brand.

Charlene: How do you find talent today? 

Holly: There are many platforms where we can find talent so we look everywhere and on everything. It is a creator economy – everyone creates content – and we like to see who is bubbling up, who is connecting and resonating. We look at Vine stars, YouTube stars and of course recognizable talent from traditional media.

Charlene: Is it easier or harder to make talent decisions with all of these options?

Holly: Well, it makes it exciting and exhausting. It is a very dynamic time.

Charlene: Where do you see content creation and development evolving in the next five years? 

Holly: I wish I had a crystal ball. We are in a creator generated universe now where everyone has a voice. There is a lot of information out there and I am not sure how it will translate. I believe that Virtual Reality will be a significant part of how we experience content, is but it is not clear to me yet all of the ways in might be used. 

Charlene: How do you achieve work / life balance?

Holly: It is an interesting question. I am a curiosity hunter so my work blends easily into my identity. Having a job that’s immersive in media and culture, the lines are blurred.  But part of being good in your job is also being well rounded. I have a family and a daughter and I am not sure I always achieve work life balance, but I try to be present and am doing my best.

Charlene: What advice can you give a college student seeking a career in media?

Holly: You have to be a student of the culture and immerse yourself in  all of the platforms. Things are evolving so you have to stay on top of the trends. But most importantly, your career goals have to be rooted in passion. You have to love the space and let it be your North Star. 

Charlene: Can you tell me more about your views on mentoring?

Holly: I am very lucky to be part of the Women in Entertainment Big Sister program. Our goal is to ultimately get more girls into four year colleges and give them more access to successful women in business. I currently mentor a 16 year old girl and it is very important for me to take the time to nurture her curiosity and help her understand the world of corporate culture. I believe that mentoring is everyone’s responsibility. We have all gotten where we are because someone supported us. It is good to be mindful of that and how we can then help others.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com

Q&A with Amy Carney

Amy Carney is President, Advertiser Sales, Strategy and Research for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) where she leads its worldwide research group across all of SPT's businesses.  She also oversees U.S. ad sales in SPT's first-run and off-network programs, including The Dr. Oz Show, Seinfeld, The King of Queens, Rules of Engagement and Community.

A media industry veteran, Carney began her career at TeleRep, followed by leadership roles at Univision Online, CitySearch and WTVR-TV. The combination of research and sales experience garnered throughout her career has given her a unique perspective on the industry and propelled her to her current role at SPT.

In this fascinating interview, Carney talks about her career path, her work at SPT, the impact of research, data and programmatic on the business, how her mentor shaped her career and how she achieves work-life balance.

CW: As a syndicator, who would you say is your competitive set?

AC: In syndication, I think our competitive set has become digital.  There is an assumption that the genre we are selling has gotten older, is a little less sophisticated, and that the data that is available to track those audiences is not up to the same level that is available to digital or others who can control their own distribution. And because of that, money has been diverted from syndication to other media platforms. I don’t see my competitors as being other syndicators. At some point we compete for those budgets, but they are probably my biggest allies in trying to get people to refocus on the importance of syndication, the lack of clutter in syndication and the fact that syndication is viewed live, which differentiates it from other emerging platforms and TV media outlets. So I look at competition a little differently these days.

CW: Earlier in your career you worked in research, and now you are the head of research and ad sales at SPT. How has research changed over the years? 

AC: When I started in the business, research wasn’t as much of a discipline as it is today.  The people that I have the great opportunity to work with at SPT in research are so knowledgeable and skilled, and they have to have one eye looking back and one eye looking forward at all times.  When I started out in research, we were only looking at a couple overnight reports, and there were three stations in a market.  It was just not as complicated as it is today; the research we did then was only for the purpose of supporting sales.  Now, the research we are doing at SPT is supporting every aspect of the business, from sales, marketing, distribution and programming, to the overall strategy of the company.  We are almost in some cases like the “canary in the mine,” trying to figure out what’s the right path going forward.  Because the media business is changing so fast, research has a real voice and a seat at the table that it didn’t have when I started out. 

CW: Can you talk about any data initiatives you are undertaking at SPT? 

One of the big challenges we are facing in the media business is to understand what “data” means: what it means to a studio, what it means to an ad sales group, what it means to a distribution team. It used to be that for every program, there was one set of “data” you would use to measure success.  Now, for every show that we have, there are countless data sources supplying us with information.  From Nielsen, to Rentrak, to our primary research, to the advanced analytics we now have, there are many different sources supplying us with information.  Managing the data, organizing it, and getting it out to the different business units so that they can best make use of it, is a very important initiative that we are very focused on.  The question of what’s important, what is noise, and what brings direct value back to the business and to our partners, is something we work on every day. 

CW: Amy, do you have an opinion on programmatic, and how that might have an impact on your business right now? 

Programmatic could be a good thing for the TV business if done right. The ability of fusing data with technology and content is an important next step for TV and TV advertising spend. I really believe it could help syndication if we can figure out how to get the data attached to the content, but there are some challenges with that.  When people do figure out programmatic, and it’s not just looked at as a remnant solution but as a solution that elevates the level of targeting and the amount of information you have about who a viewer is—and giving those tools to the buying community—it could really be a boon for TV advertising spend.

CW: Looking back over your career Amy, do you, or did you have, a mentor and if so, who was it?

AC: That would be my Dad, Don Carney. He was a producer and director of sports and special events.  He brought me to work with him from a very early age.  I was very fortunate to be able to be present at many different productions from The Officer Joe Bolton show, to Local News, to the St Patrick’s Day Parade, and countless NY Knicks and Yankee games, both home and away. Watching my Dad direct a ball game was something that you would never forget.  His preparation was so exhausting that he knew the strengths and weaknesses of each player and he could direct the camera position based on where he anticipated the ball would go.  He was a perfectionist who never missed a day, never compromised a standard, and required that from himself and from his control room. He was also a child of the depression, and a World War II vet. I can still hear his voice every day.

CW: How do you achieve work - life balance, if you do?

AC: I think I do, actually. It is something that I am proud of. My single greatest achievement is my family. I have been married for 30 years and I have two children – my son is 25 and my daughter is 21. I believe it was the CEO of Avon who at one time said, in order to have work life balance, you have to accept that one day you are going to be a really great mom and not so good a CEO, and one day you are going to be a really great CEO, and maybe not such a great mom, but at the end you hope that it balances out. There is some truth to that.  But every day, you wake up, and give it everything you have.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com