Skills for Success
"Skills are important: can you direct and shoot? Do you have a good
eye? Are you a good writer?" asks KBYU Television's general manager
Duane Roberts. "Those kinds of things are important, but I think my
ability to survive--even flourish--in the broadcasting environment is
directly related to the fact that I like people. I like working with them, I
like problem solving; that has made all the difference. I love telling stories
and using media to tell stories. Those are skills that I have learned and
been able to gather that have been really helpful. Over all, I think it's
really about understanding and caring about people, because that's who
your audience is. It's not about making the product; it's about helping
people who are on the receiving end of that product. That sounds kind of
philosophical, but I really believe it. That's the way I operate."
Advice for Someone
Seeking This Job
To obtain a management
position, candidates generally
need advanced education.
Experience will be gained
while getting that education.
Though it is much more diffi-
cult, another avenue is to make
an independent film that
someone might see and then
offer you a job. It is important
to define what you want to
achieve and then set your
course to obtain it.
Professional Profile:
Duane Roberts,
General Manager of
KBYU Television
A high school English
teacher's writing assignment
led Duane Roberts to discover
his passion for media production. Students were instructed to write about
what they wanted to be when they grew up. Roberts wrote about being a
policeman, even though he had no desire to be one. "I wrote my theme,
turned it in, and she gave me an `F'. I'm an `A' student; I was pretty upset
about it." The teacher asked Roberts what he did want to be, to which he
What do you like
least about your job?
"I like least, I think, the
challenges of trying to
reach your vision with
resource issues that are
constantly upon you.
You spend more time trying to find resources
to do things than actually doing things."
--Duane Roberts
What do you love most
about your job?
"I think what I like most is the opportunity
to be involved in creating and delivering
content that can change people's lives. To
help people be better, to really enrich their
experience. I like that at KBYU . . . we really
have a focus on enriching people's lives and
their experience. I like that the best because
I'm involved in something that is good."
--Duane Roberts
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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