Seth Magalaner is a producer for Bloomberg TV but a teacher at heart. You’ll love him the second you meet him. We promise…
1) Tell us about your TV background?
I came to TV out of left field — literally.
In the summer of 1986 I took a part-time job as the scoreboard operator for the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park; a perfect fit as I worked towards a PhD in American Literature at Stanford.
Over the next decade, as regional sports networks blossomed and burgeoned, I wriggled out of academia and found a foothold in TV production. I started producing pre-and post-game shows, then moved on to news, magazine series and documentaries. This took me from San Francisco to Seattle to Philadelphia, and most recently to New York where I created and EP’d Bloomberg Television’s first sports business show.
Now I’m producing features, specials, and series for Bloomberg on a wide range of business topics.
The takeaway? There’s no one route, one template, for entering this business and succeeding in it.
Take chances, avoid ruts, have fun, and above all keep learning and listening.
2) Craziest memory from your first TV job?
Running the Candlestick scoreboard during the 1989 World Series…there was this teeny little earthquake.
Since I didn’t come up through TV news, the stories aren’t typically crazy.
Though when we meet, ask me about the time Barry Bonds granted us a 1-on-1 spur-of-the moment interview — and I stepped on the lav mic while dashing down the clubhouse tunnel with an armful of gear.
3) What are you favorite types of stories to cover?
Where the reporter finds a way to show rather than tell — breaking the dull format of bite, track, bite — first-person involvement can be challenging to write, but it almost always gives the piece more impact.4) What makes a reporter reel memorable?
A reporter or reel is memorable when it’s distinctly you. Speak another language, jump out of a plane, or feature at least a few seconds near the top that showcases your uniqueness.
5) Why Coach?
Because the great fun of this business is collaborating with people, working as a team. Teaching and learning moments are collaborative moments. Let’s have some, and we’ll both be better for it.
To work with Seth and our team in Philadelphia, email us at info@reelmediagroup.tv.