I’m Kellie May and I’ve been part of the Public Media Connect (CET in Cincinnati and ThinkTV in Dayton) staff for nine years. I was a PBS kid growing up – my mom worked part-time third shift and my dad worked during the day – so Mister Rogers and The Count were my besties, especially after school. I started my career as a local news reporter in 2008 and, although I thought I always wanted to work in news, 2008 was a tough year. I was writing more than 12 stories a week, all with videos or photos, in addition to attending council, trustee and school board meetings for only a little more than I made waiting tables and was constantly afraid of layoffs with the recession. After three years, I found that while I loved the work, I didn’t actually love the job like I thought I would.
In the fall of 2011, Kathy Lehr, the public information officer for the county I covered and the host of one of CET’s shows at the time, told me the promotions person at CET was leaving to take a nursing job after going back to school. With a passion for PBS and the skills to do the job – but no actual experience in public relations – I applied. I got the job and the rest is history.
When I started at Public Media Connect, the regional partnership of CET and ThinkTV had just formed. Someone had created Facebook and Twitter pages for both stations, CET had a defunct pre-partnership online interview show and ThinkTV was posting some of their broadcast educational content on YouTube, but that was where digital stopped. Today, as the Manager of Communications and Digital Initiatives, I oversee a team of four (Web Developer, Art Director, Communications Specialist and Digital Content Specialist) and together we work to make sure we are serving our audiences and telling our stories across all platforms while exceeding the goals of our Digital Strategic Plan, which our Digital Task Force created as part of my time in Digital Immersion.
As is true with so many of our digital-first colleagues across the system, I think the most challenging and the most rewarding part of my job is the same – making sure digital gets the attention it needs to thrive. While everyone, in theory, wants to be part of the digital future, it’s hard to make the time and the needs are never-ending. When I’m able to work with a producer or editor on a digital segment and it’s successful or I partner with the development team for a digital-only fund drive and it goes well, I’m over the moon. (Curious what those look like? Sometimes it's a digital sub-series like Art in Isolation, sometimes it's a recut of an episode from one of our broadcast shows like SHOWCASE with Barbara Kellar and sometimes it's a full digital project, like Hobby Hunting.) Not only do I feel like silos came down in a way that helped us do something great, but it’s like I can watch the needle move toward a more digitally-focused future. After nine years of carrying the torch, it’s awesome to see us move forward as a team.
If I could go back in time, I think I’d send myself to a support group for Imposter Syndrome. When I applied for my job at Public Media Connect back in 2011, I knew I had the right skills, but I had never worked in communications. There were more than 125 applicants for the job… so why me? What made me qualified? And could I even do the job, even though I had the technical skills? And back then we had fewer arguments for the importance of digital, so how do I prove myself? How do I keep from being that “girl in the corner who does that thing called Facebook?” While it’s important to have “proven” yourself before trying to move the needle in any job, I think I wasted my time and my stations’ time over that Imposter Syndrome. Now that I’m a manager, I try to make sure my team knows that I’m here to support them and will work to remove the roadblocks that might stand in the way of pushing forward and help us make our station stronger. They are part of my team because they are the right people for the job. I’m not here to stand over their shoulders – I’m here to have their backs and help them grow.
After almost nine years in public media, I can’t see myself anywhere else. While I’m not sure what the future holds for me or for our stations, I know I want to be part of our efforts to serve the community, both as a member as an employee. I am excited to continue to connect with my colleagues at PBS and throughout the system to help me grow as a person, a professional and a leader through training and mentorship. I hope, especially with our Digital Strategic Plan as an ever-changing guiding light, that I can help lead our stations into the future.
Looking to connect with Kellie May to learn more about her experience or obtain additional career advice? Email her today at: KMay@cetconnect.org.
