Written by Bryan Frye | July 31, 2023
When I was a child, I was a PBS Kid. I was a superfan of shows like Maya & Miguel, Arthur, Dinosaur Train, and Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, just to name a few. Even though PBS has been a staple in my family, it wasn’t until I walked on my college campus at the University of Central Missouri that my love for PBS skyrocketed. Being a student, I had the opportunity to work with KMOS-TV, the university owned and operated member station for central Missouri, as an Assistant Traffic Coordinator. Working with KMOS made me feel like I had a purpose, and that I was making a difference in my community. Since I enjoyed working in the system at a member station, this is where my internship story begins.
In December of last year, I set a goal for myself to obtain an internship at either a large market public television station or a major contributor to the public television system. I was on a quest to gather skills that will help me obtain a lifelong career in public media. At the end of February, PBS posted their summer internships and I applied for the On Air & Digital Fundraising Intern position with the Station Services team! Before I knew it, I was nervously sitting in on an interview with Toanya Kesse, Jen Newmeyer, and Marie Guinto. I wanted to impress them because nothing meant more to me than to get this internship.
When I walked through the doors on my first day, I felt excited to be here, a desire to impress my new bosses, and the determination to hit the ground running. The morning consisted of an orientation with Ingrid Ortega and 21 of my fellow interns. We were given a tour, the history of PBS, and a schedule of the next couple months at PBS. That afternoon I met my supervisor, Toanya Kesse, and my fellow Station Services Intern Renee Corriveau. Then it was time to get down to work!
As I set up my email and other PBS office necessities, I was assigned some amazing tasks to help with this summer. Working on the On Air and Digital Fundraising team, it was important stick to the mission of the team which is to assist stations in the fundraising process through pledge programming and their online and digital presence. Through this mission, I was able to work on a long list of incredible projects. Working with Marie Guinto, I had the opportunity to quality check upcoming pledge programs for both break placement and content standards. Jen Newmeyer tasked me with setting up and participating in Mystery Donation Audits of 10 member stations on test ideas that could increase their donation experience. I also worked with Deirdre Gabriel on uploading media resources to both MyPBS and The Source for stations who create their own pledge breaks.
It was also crucial to establish my own set of goals for the internship as well. One of those goals was to gain a working knowledge of the corporate environment at PBS through in-person discussions with other department leaders and become familiar with the collaboration necessary between different departments. It is through these informal conversations that I was able to get a real sense of how the PBS corporate puzzle fits together.
My time as a PBS intern also provided a ton of opportunities to network with my fellow interns! Even though our internship was hybrid, Renee and I both decided to get the full internship experience and decided to come into the office every workday. Renee and I became close friends as were assigned desks next to each other. I was also able to set up a time to hang out with my fellow interns through a casual dinner. Ingrid Ortega was also very helpful in finding wonderful networking opportunities through a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR, a tour of the Operations Center, and a networking event for young media professionals at WETA, PBS, and NPR. PBS Interns are even given tasks to help with special events, such as PBS Kids Day where I was assigned the task of character escort for Daniel Tiger!
My summer as a 2023 PBS Intern on the Station Services team has been SPECTACULAR! I strongly encourage anyone considering a PBS Internship to go all in for it. The experience is something that you will never forget. You’ll make amazing connections, friendships, and skills that will help for years to come. I want to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude to anyone I had the pleasure of connecting with this summer, including the station services team, department leaders, and my fellow interns.