Finding the Balance

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.

By Olivia Accardo

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 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.

‘Tara your interview is in 5’ and I’d be like ‘OH MY GOD!’” Reid said through nervous laughter.

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.

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.”

Tara Catherine Reid

Credit: Sarah Ratner

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 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.”

For nights like Oscars night, Reid can prepare for long days with deadlines, but working in entertainment also means being able to react to breaking news and dropping everything else to report the current news. “Today my whole day was consumed around Luke Perry dying, my other projects were put on hold and I basically made a Luke Perry through the years video,” Reid said.

Reid also has to keep up with what people are talking about online. “I think the best thing to do is take it one task at a time. When I know I have to get an edit out I put my headphones in I would take deep breath try to focus on what I have to do. I try to work smarter not harder so I don’t take too long for things,” Reid said.

“I knew Tara would be successful wherever she ended up,” Daniela Stefanelli, Reid’s friend, explained. “I’ve known her since we were 10 years old, we both went to Rutgers and she has always given everything to the job at hand.” Stefanelli smiled as she reflected on a time when Reid studying for finals, working two internships, and applying for jobs and still made time to help Stefanelli study for her exam. This ability to manage her time and prioritize is one of the reasons Stefanelli thinks Reid has found success in the entertainment industry.

Even on the craziest of days, Reid finds the time to get a cup of green tea at 3 p.m. to give herself a relaxing moment among all the craziness. Reid relishes in these moments in her day and finds little things the can bring her joy and inspiration. She uses these moments to find and keep her balance. “There’s a girl, Carly, on our studio management team and she’s really sweet,” Reid said. “I love having conversations with her and there’s times where we could spend 20 minutes in the kitchen talking to each other and it just kind of recharges you.”

“She has amazing coping skills, she finds a way to make it work for her,” Stefanelli said. “I remember when she told me she was going to minor in Philosophy. It made so much sense because she always looks for ways elicitpositivity in her life and question things that don’t be her joy.” Stefanelli joked that Reid even makes Stefanelli’s life feel more balances just because she is a part of it.

Reid uses moments like her midday tea or chats with Carly to motivate her in her professional life but has started to use it to keep her personal life balances and positive. “Keep friends close to you that inspire you and uplift you but also pay attention to if people who you surround yourself with online,” Reid said. “If they aren’t bringing you happiness think about why you’re following them. I personally like to do a little clean out of who I’m following. Do a little Marie Condo on your social media and follow accounts that inspire you. I follow a lot of women empowerment pages like Create Cultivate or Boss Ladies where I am constantly seeing quotes and things that will trigger me to do something.” Reid has been triggered to do something.

Finding the moments that bring her joy is how Reid is able to keep a happy and healthy balance in her life. Reid explained that there have been overwhelming moments and there are people in this industry that “think they are hot shots.” Reid continued to say after she works with these rude people she works with someone wonderful and it reminds her why she loves what she does and why she surrounds herself with people and things that inspire her to be succeed.