Throughout the summer, we’ve spotlighted the industry’s top producers; getting the inside story about their shows, how they got to where they are, and advice they have for future TV journalists.
Here are some of the best takeaways from our five-part series, “Behind the TV Scenes.”
Don Nash, “Today” EP 
“I never wanted to go anywhere else. I got out of college, I got a job as a page at NBC, and I never thought in a million years I’d ever work for a show as great as “Today.” I never thought in a billion years I’d ever be running the place. And I never had any desire to go anywhere else because I didn’t think it could get any better. It’s absolutely important to be loyal to whoever you work for, be it at a network or anywhere else. Loyalty is something I value in a big way; it’s something I value in the people who work for me, and it’s something I value in the people I work for.”
Susie Xu, “OutFront” EP 
This one’s always tough. I think as a producer you never talk about yourself; it’s all about the anchor. What’s shaped me a lot is being the second child in a Chinese family after the one-child rule was imposed. From the beginning of my life, I was really not supposed to be born. The government came down on my parents and said, ‘you’re not supposed to have a second child, we have a one-child policy here, and you already have one daughter and you don’t need another.’ But my parents defied them, and I think that’s shaped a lot of who I am, and I always think, wow, I wasn’t even really supposed to be around and I’m so lucky to be where I am and have the awesome opportunities I have. It’s pretty cool.
Kathy O’Hearn, “Ronan Farrow Daily” EP 
I always followed Ronan’s career through the State Department and read his Wall Street Journal op-eds. I was just intrigued by his intelligence and charm. When we first spoke, we just hit it off immediately. It was one one of those great moments that you get only a couple times in your career when you really connect with the way someone thinks and how they think. We really found ourselves intrigued by the same kind of stories and the vantage point of what matters about journalism and also the need for a new type of news program that actively engages the viewer. It’s a real interesting moment in our industry where I think we need to keep creating the next new thing. And the opportunity to do that with someone of Ronan’s capacity and breadth was exciting. He’s just a fabulously funny and smart guy, and it’s also a lot of fun being around him.
Steve Capus, “CBS Evening News” EP 
I’m not one of these guys who begins the day thinking about what kind of an impact I can have. I instead think about it as what kind of work are we going to do today, how can we make the broadcast better, how can we work as a team, how can we draw on the resources of CBS overall and use them to make the Evening News that much stronger. That’s really what we’re doing. And remember, I spent many years producing an evening news broadcast before, and it was great fun doing it. That’s why I wanted to come back here. CBS right now is the place with a great deal of positive momentum and my role in all of this is to help drive that momentum, not kind of be along for the ride. I want to help marshal the incredible resources that this place has all around the world and work with some really talented journalists like Scott Pelley to really make the Evening News as strong as it can be. That’s the gig.
Gary Schreier, “Closing Bell” EP 
9/11 was certainly a general news story, and a horrible story, and not something I like to talk about. But remember what it was: it was a target at our financial capital, and we tried to look at it from a human capital point of view, the human capital that was lost. A lot of good people, really special people, talented people, men and women, people’s mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, killed that day. We came at it that way, and I was always very proud of that and that we tried to really make an effort to remember who we lost, who they were, what they contributed to the financial community, which is a close-knit group. Other than that, the financial crisis, housing crisis; it’s all fascinating, and what I think is an important learning experience for everyone. If you don’t learn from history you’re doomed to repeat it.