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Hey, my name is Brittney Marie Cadott. For the next semester, I will be posting about such topics related to TV and Radio. Currently a Junior at Rider University, I am also serving my third season as a Varsity Competitive Cheerleader for Rider.

Interview with Avi Eshed, Line Producer at Pilgrim Films and Television

Posted by Brittney Marie Cadott |

Avi Eshed is a line producer for a production company called Pilgrims Films and Television. They are known as the largest reality television production company in Los Angeles, CA. I had the opportunity to ask him some questions about being a line producer. 
Brittney Cadott: How did the company get started?
Avi Eshed:  - If you go to this website it will tell you the entire history of 
Pilgrim Films and Television.  http://pilgrimfilms.tv/about-us/

Brittney Cadott: What are some of the experiences that led to your position?
Avi Eshed: - like 90% of everyone that is in this industry, I started at the 
bottom as a PA (Production Assistant) in 2002.  I was a PA on "The Man 
Show".  I quickly showed the company that I could do more than just 
sweep the stage and run errands.  By the next season they had promoted 
me to Associate Producer on "The Man Show".  After that I moved to 
another company and got a job as a production Coordinator.  Gradually, 
over the course of four years, I worked my way to Production Manager 
and, eventually, Line Producer.  I've been a line producer since 2006.

Brittney Cadott: What do you like or dislike most about your job?
Avi Eshed: - The job is exciting and no two projects are the same.  On past shows 
I got paid to travel around the world with the crew.  The worst part 
about the job is having to fire people and settle disputes between 
cast members or crew members.

Brittney Cadott: How do you feel new technologies will impact the media industry in the 
future?
Avi Eshed: - I think 3D and interactivity will create a whole new world of 
television programming.


Brittney Cadott: What recommendations do you have for students?
Avi Eshed: - If you want to get into film or Television you have to go where the 
work is.  Los Angeles or New York would yield the best results.  
You'll have to start at the bottom as a PA.  From PA you can go to 
just about any area in TV production.  My advice would be to let 
people know what your goals are.  There are a lot of PAs that just 
show up, do their job, and go home.  If you don't want to be a PA 
forever you have to take some time to learn the field in which you are 
interested and talk to the department heads in those areas.  They will 
remember you when they go to their next job.  Networking is what keeps 
people employed.

Brittney Cadott: Where and how can students get started?
Avi Eshed: - Start with people you know.  If you don't know anyone it's a bit 
tougher to get in the door.  I'd recommend, if you are a student, 
trying to enroll in a summer internship program.  NBC and MTV both 
have internship programs.  Or, you can apply for any open PA positions 
by going on websites like realitystaff.com

Brittney Cadott: How important is experience and what is the best place to get 
experience?
Avi Eshed: - Everyone has to start at the bottom.  PA is an entry-level position 
so the hardest part about getting the first PA position is finding 
it.  The best place to get experience is an established production 
company (not an indie film or student project).  TV is a hands-on type 
of learning environment.  No college or trade school will ever train 
anyone well enough to get them straight into a camera or upper-level 
position right out of school.  You start as a PA and work your way up.

Brittney Cadott: What qualities/characteristics are important for someone getting 
started in the industry?
Avi Eshed: - Upbeat and motivated.  The people that complain or are incompetent 
don't last very long.  If you are very sociable and aren't afraid to 
ask lots of questions you'll have no problem building a network of 
friends and coworkers.  PA is one of the hardest jobs in the industry 
for a reason.  The tough ones that can work 16 hours doing dirty work 
get promoted.  The ones that can't hack it do not.

Brittney Cadott: Is there an Industry Journal/Trade Publication you would recommend reading?
Avi Eshed: - Hollywood reporter will help you get a grasp of the industry as a 
whole.  I'd also recommend Entertainment magazine.  For jobs, your 
best starting point would be realitystaff.com


Brittney Cadott: What is it like working with the show of Ghost Hunters?
Avi Eshed: - as the line producer, I run the show from the corporate office.  I 
rarely go out into the field unless there is a problem that needs to 
be resolved in person.  This, however, is not the norm for Television 
shows.  I also worked on America's Next Top Model and the line 
producer would travel to all the locations with the cast/crew.


Reality Shows are the new and upcoming trend for television programming right now. These types of shows are low in budget. That is a big plus in this recession and it is of human interest. The majority of programming now a days is reality. Ghost Hunters and America's Next Top Model, for example, generate high ratings from large viewing audiences. 




Video Clip from Season 4 Episode 7 of SyFy's Ghost Hunters

Pilgrim Films and Television
SyFy's Ghost Hunters 
 America's Next Top Model

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Interview with David Lee, Co-Owner of GP Apps

Posted by Brittney Marie Cadott |

David Lee is the co-owner of GP App, a third party company that produces various applications for the iPhone/iTouch/iPad. I had the opportunity to ask David some questions about his company.






Brittney Cadott: How did the company get started?

David Lee: My wife and I saw the growth in the mobile industry and saw potential in developing mobile apps for the iPhone. We started in August 08 soon after the. AppStore was launched.

Brittney Cadott: What are some of the experiences that led to your position?

David Lee: My wife and I have held various leadership positions and started organizations.  This has helped immensely with managing a company.

Brittney Cadott: What do you like or dislike most about your job?

David Lee: Freedom and creativity is great.  I love what I do.  Its fun to create useful products and services for people, and it's fun being at the cutting edge of tech innovation.

Brittney Cadott: How do you feel new technologies will impact the media industry in the future?

David Lee: Media will go more and more digital and will be shared not just by broadcasting it but also through personalized and interactive means.

Brittney Cadott: What recommendations do you have for students?

David Lee: Get good at something before you leave college that will be beneficial for a company in the field you want to pursue.

Brittney Cadott: Where and how can students get started?

David Lee: Start learning and start freelancing.  Learn a skill and grow it by taking freelancing jobs.

Brittney Cadott: How important is experience and what is the best place to get experience?

David Lee: Your actual skills are moor important.

Brittney Cadott: What qualities/characteristics are important for someone getting started in the industry?

David Lee: Self-initiative, early adopted, learner, eager, team player.

Brittney Cadott: Is there an Industry Journal/Trade Publication you would recommend reading?

David Lee: Macrumors.com, appleinsider.com, ycombinator

Brittney Cadott: What can the consumer expect in the next few months from your company as far as apps for the iPhone and/or iPad?

David Lee: Great apps that leverage collaboration.

iVidCam by GP Apps








Period Tracker by GP Apps



















Whats to Eat Demo by GP Apps- voice of Daniel Lee
more demos visit GPAppsDemo's Youtube Channel
Technology is advancing the future of media. Now we can do almost everything on our cellphones with these apps. GP Apps, is one of the producers that makes these apps. GP Apps is helping the future of media advance by producing these apps.


The iPad was just release by Apple this past weekend. They say it is the iPhone but three times the size. 
According to a review published for CrunchGear, The iPad is an excellent media player out of the box. It plays AAC and MP3 files and syncs with iTunes without issue.The iPad is actually a great tool for the photographer on the go. With the optional SD card or camera connector, viewing photos on this is made a matter of plug and play. I look forward to the inevitable camera tethering app.




This is the new future of protable media. The apple iPad is paving the way.
GP Apps Official Site
CrunchGear Review: The iPad 

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'Nip/Tuck,' which changed cable TV, goes out on an understated note

Posted by Brittney Marie Cadott |


News/Scholarly  Article 2

When the TV Series, "Nip/Tuck", aired back during the summer of 2003, America had no idea what they were in for. "Nip/Tuck" pushed that fine line. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon starred in the hit TV series on FX. This "alternatively emotional, outlandish, sexual, graphic, tongue-in-cheek and gothic, the story of two handsome Miami plastic surgeons," (LA Times, 1) , was an instant hit. With the show moto that beauty is a curse to the world, it's demographic did not just include baby boomers, but younger viewers as well. It has maintain that demographic for five straight seasons. After the fourth season, "Nip/Tuck" has 3.9 million viewers. 
All great things have to come to an end especially with TV programs. After seven seasons, 100 episodes, "Nip/Tuck" signed off the air. "It's the end of the first generation of cable originals that really made in-roads in television programming," said Brad Adgate, director of research for Horizon Media. "There are very few shows that have helped identify a network and that strike a chord on a lot of different fronts. 'Nip/Tuck' really hit the zeitgeist because it was so topical. It has a very secure place as one of the most impactful shows of the past decade of television."(LA Times, 1) "Nip/Tuck"  paved the way even deep for more "edgy" shows to come through in the future. Being a big human interest, TV programs are going to become far more "edgy" than "Nip/Tuck" became. 
In relation to my group's webisode, "Portable Media", one might think well "Nip/Tuck" has nothing to do with that. But, that is where people go wrong. What about the content we see on the portable media devices? Since the way was paved deeper by" Nip/Tuck" these portable media devices will have access to these "edgy" shows. The content for any type of media will be "edgy". That line keeps getting pushed, eventually it won't even exist. Even if this is a good thing or a bad thing, thats what we as a society have interest in. That is what gets us hooked on these programs. And, this is what the media gives back. Exactly, what we have asked for.

According to the Ferguson and Eastman's textbook on Media Programming, its talks about the Super Bowl incident. "Yet, on this one night, just for the Super Bowl, almost half the country's population came face-to-face with what mainstream television had become. They didn't like it". (page 124) If we didn't like it so much, they why did we asked for programs like "Nip/Tuck"? We have to be careful what we wish for, huh? It is what it is. 




Snooki from MTV's hit show Jersey Shore gets punched.

We have since then come a long way in Broadcast Programming, and the "Jersey Shore" started to pump their fists. Again, another "edgy" program. At first it was bashed, then America fell in love with the cast. Much controversy was over the "Snooki Punch", and the full scene is not available anymore. America wanted more. Now, "Jersey Shore" will be pumping their fists for America once again this summer. Now, this brings it back to the question? America has come face-to-face of what mainstream TV has become, but they didn't like it. Then why keep asking the media for it? America loves it, there is no doubt about it.






Los Angeles Times Article
Jersey Shore Article 
Nip/Tuck Photo 
Media Programming Photo 
Snooki gets punched 




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Digital Television in Developing Countries? Reflections from the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association’s Asia-Pacific Conference in Tonga

Posted by Brittney Marie Cadott |

Scholarly Article 1



Back in February 2009, the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association held its Asia-Pacific Regional Conference. The CBA organized their conference on the main island of Tonga called Tongatapu. 
Conference Center in Tongataptu, Tonga.

The conference delegates were drawn from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Brunei, and Taiwan, as well as the Pacific Island nations of Fiji, Papua-New Guinea, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu and Kiribati (Starks, 1). The agenda for this conference involved Digital Television along with regulatory and technical planning. Australia and New Zealand had the most experience with launching Digital Television. Their strategy faced challenges on the way, and eventually will lead to an Analog shut off. The purpose of this conference was to consider the relevance of Digital Television in the smaller, less developed countries. At the start, they voiced that these smaller, less developed countries should wait a decade or two. However, Fujian government stated that they already put this transition into the works along with South Africa.










Arguments against such as development priorities had been brought up. On the other hand, since the larger countries will be fulling switch to digital, analog equipment will be extinct. If leapfrogging, by the spread of mobile phone with limited landline networks, is being use now in these countries, you can enhance the television with an all-digital design. Unemployment rates would go down, even if the switch off is a decade away, there is areas for work in the preparation, such as spectrum planning. 

Indeed, on this last point, Rick Ellis, Chief Executive of TVNZ, having described New Zealand’s own plans for digital switchover, stated:

Whilst the transition to digital in the Pacific Islands is likely to be some years out, I believe it would be strategically beneficial for the Pacific Forum of Leaders to consider establishing a working group to agree a common pan-Pacific approach to digital transition and standards, so that the Pacific  can reap the benefits of standardization and economies of scale. Some sort of harmonization with Australia and New Zealand would also make sense, so that technical support, equipment supply etc. can continue to be provided in the same way that TVNZ has supported the analogue services in the Pacific over the past several years. (Starks, 1)



The Apple iPad official commercial 2010-launched during the Oscars







According to an article written for New Zealand PCWorld Magazine, Australia has a set launch date for when they get the Apple iPad. Late April, is now the new delivery date, a full month later than expected. New Zealand does not have a confirmed delivery date yet.


Being that both Australia and New Zealand are a part of the CBA, these other countries are capable to get on the same level with technology. Yes, it might take them a little longer than the rest of us, but they will get there. 


This in relation to my group's webisode, shows that portable media is spreading quickly all over the world, as well as into less developed countries. Even though the conference was only a year ago, look how far Australia and New Zealand had come. They have the technology to support the Apple iPad in which they will have in their hands this year.
From the Ferguson and Eastman's Media Programming textbook, It states that expanded international distribution has become the primary means of growth for cable and satellite programmers. Hundreds of millions in such countries as China and India are potential subscribers in which creates a more powerful lure for the United States cable program suppliers. Increasing access to these potentials in once-inaccessible countries helps fuel the first run of these new types of niche services. This in relation with the hopes to amateurs who dream a world market of substantial size to go with their programming. (Chapter 9, page 331)



Commonwealth Broadcasting Association LOGO
Digital Television in Developing Countries? Reflections from the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association’s Asia-Pacific Conference in Tonga *Scholarly Article from the International Journal of Digital Television written by Michael Starks ,2010.
iPad Commercial 2010
New Zealand PCWorld Magazine Article
New Zealand PCWorld Logo 
CBA Conference Photos 
Media Programming book photo 















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NBC uses Low-Cost Leno Strategy for 2009-2010

Posted by Brittney Marie Cadott |








New Media 2

According to an article, written for The Washington Post, NBC has taken on a new strategy for their programming this year. Its considered to be the "Low-Cost Leno" strategy. Instead of airing the show at its original time slot, NBC has decided to air the show five nights a week. Stated in this article, Leno bragged about his show costing a lot less than a single episode for shows like, "Law and Order: SUV", and "ER". Leno now will be hosting news shows, five days a week, for 46 weeks. With this strategy, Leno's show is providing NBC with more shows than their original programs.
The predicted downfall with the strategy, is that Leno's audience is much smaller than the original program's audience, can hurt stations owned by NBC.
As stated in this article, Michael Jack, WRC's president and general manager, says he's "cautiously optimistic" about Leno's prospects. Leno, he points out, will offer a clear alternative to other network shows at 10 p.m.; while the other guys are showing reality shows or crime-procedural dramas (or reruns of them), Leno will be doing fresh, topical comedy. Further, says Jack, Leno appeals to an audience that tends to watch the late news, providing a natural bridge between network and local programs.
NBC is trying to accommodate the affiliates by structuring Leno's Show in an affiliate-friendly way. NBC will air the usual commercial break and stream right into the news in hopes to keep the viewers watching. Among all affiliates of NBC, their channel's local nightly news is very important to their viewers.
Already showing spots of weakness in their low-cost strategy, NBC had a hard time with advertisers. NBC ending up getting advertisers on the lower side for costs. Mostly, as low as commercials aired during Dateline NBC or other similar shows.
Jay Leno's show debuts tonight.
For Group 5, we will be covering a section on programming strategies. This article is a great example of a kind of strategy that is used by a popular network we all know and watch. We also get an inside look at how effective this strategy really is. Where are the ups and the downs, and how is it effecting NBC. We see that this is not working out for NBC. According to the Nielsen Ratings, NBC has dropped tremendously.

Now NBC needs to do damage control and rebuild their prime-time. As stated in another article, written for The Wall Street Journal, NBC has mopped up its late-night mess. The network now faces a more challenging task: rebuilding its evening hours after years of cost cuts and creative missteps.
Also stated in the article, NBC's Chief Executive Tucker claims that the prime-time has been unsuccessful for the past five years, it has been a problem for NBC, and very disappointing as well. Tucker also quoted, "We shouldn't say anything other than all we're looking for is better programming."
This example, in relation to the Leno Strategy article, shows us how NBC is trying to bounce back from a bad decision in their programming strategies.
Take a look at what happened to Conan O'Brien in all of this. In this video he took a stab against NBC and Jay Leno. Conan O'Brien is not very happy with this strategy.



According to Ferguson and Eastman's Media Programming, it states that ongoing production costs make it a perfect format for the low-budget realms of both daytime and late-night television. (page 184) This would explain why NBC went down the road they did to try re-constructing their schedule with The Jay Leno Show. NBC's goal is to reach more young adults by grabbing their attention with unique programming. (page 185)








For more information...


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