Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Leif! I work on the Station Products & Innovation Team in PBS Digital & Marketing. I came here from Twin Cities PBS in heart of frozen Minnesota. The “SPI Team” works with and on behalf of our member stations to help them reach their digital goals and needs.
What does an average day look like for you?
We don’t have average days! Since I started, the larger PBS Digital team has launched several products and started initiatives such as the Digital Immersion Project. Yesterday we helped Vermont PBS get started on launching a new site, and today I’m joining a webinar focused on 24/7 KIDS Streaming -- there’s always something different to do.
What's your best professional fist bump and face palm?
Fist Bump: Getting through my first conference season (TechCon, Annual Meeting) as a PBS staff member.
Facepalm: When taking the call to accept this job, I answered the phone and said “Hi Katie!” assuming Katie Wilson was on the other end. In fact, it was Max Duke, and he thought I said “Hi Cutie!” ….The offer still held and here we are.
What’s the best lesson you've learned in your professional career?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you’re not clear on something, it’s likely the rest of the room/universe may also be lost as well.
What does PBS offer that other streaming services and TV channels don’t?
PBS offers a world of education and entertainment to anyone with nearly any kind of screen near them. For. Free. Nowhere else can you watch spawning salmon LIVE and then hop over to a drama about Civil War-era hospitals. I’m not a chef by any means, but I attribute my love of cooking to discovering Mind of a Chef one night on Netflix --- and I applied at Twin Cities PBS the next week.
What advice would you give someone going into or just starting a job in public media?
Get to know your peers at other stations and producers! This may be an avenue to furthering your career, but it might also help you do your job better or shine a light on something someone else is missing. We’re all in this together and it’s incredibly important not to forget that.
If you could start doing one thing professionally what would it be? (i.e.: more collaborations, learn a new skill; or overscheduling, procrastinating, etc.)
I keep thinking I want to learn how to build an “This Day in History of PBS Content” app. Yet, it’s not tied into my job. Maybe in my free time!
Do you leverage any resources to help you with your job (i.e.: certain podcasts, trade magazines or websites, conferences?)
eMarketer! Sign up here for access
Who would play you in a bio-flick? And why?
John Krasinski. He’s probably too tall, but people used to tell me I looked like him in college. I strive to be Jim from The Office in every second of my life.
Rapid Fire Favorites
- PBS Show - Mind of a Chef
- Vacation spot - Rock Island, Door County, Wisconsin
- Podcast - 1A (WAMU) Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell/Panoply) or How I Built This (NPR)
- Book - Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods (for now)
- App - Strava (fitness tracking)
- Social platform - Twitter
- Drink - Water, coffee, or a crisp wheat beer
- Food - BREAKFAST
