AlumKnights Magazine
May 2019
Finding the Balance
more responsibilities, and I actually took a course for TV hosting and interviewing outside of work. Since my boss knew I was doing that, she could see I was actually practicing the skills I said I wanted to be putting into action at work,” Reid said.
By Olivia Accardo
Reid finds the work she is doing now both exciting and challenging. “I think what I chose to study at Rutgers and the experience I had as an undergraduate student perfectly helps me now,” Reid said. Reid graduated from Rutgers University in 2017, and majored in Journalism and Media Studies, minored in Philosophy and received a digital filmmaking certificate through Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Tara Catherine Reid, associate producer at Entertainment Weekly, applied herself, followed what makes her happy and found success since graduating from Rutgers University in 2017.
Credit: Sarah Ratner
On a chilly, windy day in early March, with a crisp wind that made her eyes water as she walked out of the local Starbucks to head back to her office, Tara Catherine Reid raced inside to get out of the wind, hopped into the elevator and hit the button for the fifth floor. Reid made it back to her desk and watches the wind blow through the streets of New York as she decompresses with her midday cup of calming green tea. News just broke about actor Luke Perry’s death and as Reid sipped her tea she looked over her personal daily “to do” list knowing she wouldn’t be able to get to any of it. Reid, an associate producer on the video team at Entertainment Weekly, has learned how to balance this fast-paced industry and juggle multiple tasks, while being productive and positive. Reid was first hired as a video editor for Newsflash, EW’s news franchise, where she converted Entertainment Weekly articles into videos. “I don’t want to say I was doing less creative work but it didn’t take as much brain power as the stuff I’m editing now,” Reid explained. In a year and a half, Reid has navigated through EW and advances her trajectory through the company. Reid took advantage of the opportunities she saw and worked towards the projects she was passionate about. Reid credits her experiences thus far in her career to her perseverance when seeking out new opportunities. “I would always nudge my boss and say, ‘Hey I’m really interested in interviewing, I’m really interested in being on set’ and kept asking for more and
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‘Tara your interview is in 5’ and I’d be like ‘OH MY GOD!’” Reid said through nervous laughter.
However, Reid said the most important thing she learned at Rutgers is to ask questions and go after the things she wants. “I actually had seven internships in my undergraduate career, some through Rutgers. I think after I had like three or four Rutgers internships it made it easier to apply for internships with bigger corporations,” Reid said. “I applied to NBC and I spent a semester at NBC. After that, an NBC HR person told me to apply for a CNBC digital video team internship and I worked for the CNBC digital video team for a semester.” All of this work has lead Reid to some exciting and stressful situations such as her recent work trip to the Atlanta Television (ATV) Festival Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). While in Atlanta, Reid interviewed multiple cast and creative teams for shows like New Amsterdam and Pen 15 - to name a few of Reid’ favorites. “I think I did three interviews a day, but my role in Atlanta was to interview and then edit there on the spot. There were times when I would interview someone, grab the camera cards from my teammate Ethan and then go behind this little curtain, stick them in and start making that video,” she continued, “It gets stressful, my pits sweat so much in those situations. I was editing something and they’d say
Reid interviewing the cast of New Amsterdam at the ATV Festival at SCAD.
As the associate producer, Reid is becoming accustomed to high pressure situations and quick deadlines. EW focuses on entertainment content rather than celebrities’ personal life so Reid must stay up to date with all of the new entertainment events. “I worked the Oscars night,” Reid said. “I come in on a Sunday night and there’s like four other people in the office total and I’m basically watching the show and trying to think about what are the moments that people are going to talk about for the next few days.”
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