A quick climb up the TV ladder

Elizabeth (Beth) Thompson, AS ’04, an associate senior producer at Paramount Studios for the Dr. Phil Show, is responsible for screening and interviewing potential guests and then presenting them to her boss. The pivotal moment arrives when she and the producer don headphones, and they watch their work unfold in the hands of Dr. Phil. Watching the show, she reports, “is extremely exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time.”
One of the youngest associate senior producers on the show, Thompson, who majored in mass communication with a concentration in television production and English, shares her experiences in her career in television production with Messenger readers.

Q: Just what do an associate producer and a producer do?

A: I have worked on both reality and talk shows, and my main responsibility as associate producer was to find guests, contestants, mentors, plaintiffs, etc. To find the best guests, it’s important to conduct many phone calls and interviews to make sure they are what the show is looking for. Once the guests arrive before the show, I am responsible for briefing/prepping the guests and preparing them for their appearances. At times, I am responsible for trade-outs, approaching different companies to donate their services or products in exchange for show credit. Depending on the show, you must always be ready to wear several hats and help with whatever needs to be done, whether it’s dealing with logistics, catering, travel, props or anything else. Producers have more responsibility for writing interviews and scripts and also dealing with talent and guests.

Q: How did you get your first job in television production?

A: While at UD, I occasionally interned for Banyan Productions in Philadelphia, which produced Trading Spaces, Ambush Makeover, Wedding Story, Baby Story and others. I met a ton of people from the company who were so friendly and so much fun that I knew I wanted to work there after graduation, and I put all my efforts into getting a job there. I succeeded, and two weeks after graduation, I bought a car, packed up my belongings in Pittsburgh and moved to Philly to begin my first TV job as assistant to the executive producer on a show on Fox called Design Invasion. It was canceled the following December.

Q: What happened then?

A: My boss, who was my mentor, lined me up for another job in the company, and I jumped right into it. I became a researcher for the first children’s travel DVD, called Are We There Yet? and a scary storytelling DVD, Scared to Death. I researched facts, organized talent auditions, planned logistics, travel and field shoots. In March, my boss on the DVDs asked me to move to New York and work on an MTV show for him. I accepted and made the move.

Q: What did you do for MTV in New York?

A: It was a great opportunity working for MTV but also a truly crazy summer, full of traveling and late, late nights of working. I worked for a company called Fearless Entertainment and was associate producer for the show Nokia Unwired at Hard Rock Live on MTV. I traveled to Universal Studios in Orlando nearly every week to work on live concerts and met more than 20 talented bands such as Weezer, Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy and more. I interviewed them and during concerts would log the performances and note special parts to include on the TV show. Then it was back to New York to Sony BMG studios, spending time in the edit bay with the producer picking out the best bites, bumps and teases for each episode. I also was back and forth, delivering shows, dealing with standards, rights and clearances and more. In the fall, I worked on the red carpet opening of the Nokia Theatre on Times Square as talent wrangler for host Jeremy Piven, a fun and crazy night.

Q: Where did you go from MTV?

A: After my commitment to MTV was finished, I worked for Bravestreet Productions and worked on two shows for them, Katrina Weddings, A Second Chance for WE Channel and This Job’s a Trip for the Travel Channel.

Q: What did Katrina Weddings involve?

A: As associate producer, I located two couples whose weddings had been canceled due to Hurricane Katrina. In November, I traveled to New Orleans to arrange surprise, special weddings for the couples. The city and suburbs were a complete disaster—my wildest dreams had not prepared me for what I saw, and it was heartbreaking to see all that had been lost. But, it was a great project because I knew both couples were going to be completely surprised and shocked when they saw all their friends and families gathered for the weddings of their dreams. Planning the weddings was such fun, and when I talked to store owners and businesses, it was amazing to see how giving everyone was. It was encouraging to see the strength and hope in everyone and the sense of renewal.

Q: From New Orleans, you hopped off to Alaska for a reality show. How did this come about?

A: Working for This Job’s a Trip was awesome. It involved discovering people who wanted to pursue their dream job for a few days. One exciting episode involved Alaska where the “job trippers” wanted to learn to dog mush and to race. I found a past Iditarod competitor to teach them (and me) how to mush and also got to fly in a small prop-engine plane over the beautiful mountains as a cameraman taped the contestants from the sky on their final race. Alaska is a beautiful state but lives up to its very cold reputation.

Q: You then became a legal eagle on courtrooms shows. What was that experience like?

A: I worked on three court shows, including the Judge Hatchett show and the Judge Maria Lopez show, and was promoted from associate producer to producer. It was another crazy job with really crazy hours, working from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. or later, six or seven days a week. For Judge Hatchett, I was the DNA booker. This meant finding couples who were fighting over paternity issues and getting them to take DNA tests, then come on the show and find out the true paternity of the child. Needless to say, I talked to all sorts of people from different walks of life. For Judge Lopez, I taped four shows a week, a nonstop schedule. She ran a small claims court where people sued over car accidents, BB guns and even a stuffed bull’s head. It was a fast-paced environment that pushed me to the limit and taught me a lot. After a season of the judges, I decided to follow my dream and move to Los Angeles.

Q: Is this when you became involved with Dr. Phil?

A: My first job in L.A. was as a producer of a workout show on Lifetime. Then, thanks to a referral from my boss at Banyan in Philadelphia, I got a job as associate producer on Dr. Phil and worked for five weeks before the show was on hiatus, but I signed on with Dr. Phil for two more seasons and am now in season six. It is the second biggest talk show with 9 million viewers, and I have learned a lot from some of the best.

Q: What did you do during the hiatus?

A: I was approached by another former boss to work on Pussycat Dolls Present for the CW network as a casting associate. I was sent on the road for 18 days, going from Nashville to Houston and back to L.A., looking for young, talented girls who could not only sing but dance, holding auditions and making choices for the final cast. It was a totally different (and chaotic) experience.

Q: Looking back, did your years at UD prepare you for your career?

A: UD definitely prepared me for my career, and several professors played a big role. Ralph Begleiter [Edward and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Communication and distinguished journalist in residence], Jenny Lambe [assistant professor of communication] and Nancy Karibjanian [instructor in communication] all had a big impact on me. As executive producer for Begleiter’s class documentary, Behind Bars, I learned how to manage a producing team and organize a show, and he also suggested producing as a career to me. As a teaching assistant for Lambe, I learned editing skills that have helped me as a producer and editor. As a student and then intern for Karibjanian, I learned that news was not for me, and that you really have to be aggressive if you want to excel in the TV industry. I think another factor that helped me in my career was my focus on clearly defined goals.