Asjia Garner
Class of 2019
Double Major: Journalism and International Studies
Position:
Warner Bros. Intern (for 3 summers)
Emma Bowen Fellow
NBCUniversal Custom Content Marketing Intern
1. How did you apply for this internship?
I received a 3 summer internship at Warner Bros. through the Emma Bowen Foundation fellowship. I applied through their website: www.emmabowenfoundation.com and would encourage any and all to apply! The second internship at NBCUniversal, I received by attending a National Association of Hispanic Journalists conference. I was interviewed by one of the talent acquisition recruiters, who then introduced me to the hiring manager. She first offered me an intern position at E! News, but asked me to turn down my Warner Bros. summer internship instead. I politely declined, but clarified that I was grateful for the opportunity and wanted to consider other NBCU opportunities in the future. I made a commitment to WB and Emma Bowen and knew I would not be a competitive candidate without my start at both companies. Two weeks later, the hiring manager emailed me and offered an internship with the NBCU Custom Content Marketing team for the fall. The funny thing is, I applied through the nbcunicareers.com website, but was rejected the day before I attended this conference! So I 100% recommend attending any media conferences run by organizations like NAHJ, NABJ, AAJ, who have such a prolific network. Pitching your story in person is often easier than on paper. You can make more authentic connections that way, and build your network!
2. What were your daily tasks?
At Warner Bros. I was a Pretty Little Liars Production Intern, a Media Research Intern, and a Stage 13 Digital Marketing and Creative Development Intern:
As a Pretty Little Liars Production Intern I…
Assisted the production supervisor to simultaneously maintain the daily production schedule of two shows: Pretty Little Liars and Famous In Love
Shadowed and assisted the directors, line producer, editors, and on-set and office administration production teams
Distributed production related documents and performed clerical work
As a Media Research Intern, I…
Crafted the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative: conducted primary research, focus groups, and presented to SVP executives
Performed ad-hoc analysis to support WBTV, non-scripted programming & development teams, distribution, marketing, promotions, ad sales, consumer products, publicity, business, and DC Entertainment using multiple data sources (such as Nielsen, ComScore, Tubular, Shareable)
Created category/sales presentations positioning research to tell compelling insights for agencies and clients, such as The Ellen Show, TMZ, and Hulu.
As a Stage 13 Digital Marketing and Creative Development Intern, I…
Managed and initiated diversity partnerships with external brands and media companies such as Color of Change
Researched diverse key creatives to staff feature films and TV series development projects
Crafted diverse digital marketing and social media campaign strategies for Stage 13 shows on Netflix and HBO
At NBCUniversal I…
Edited content using AVID media composter and non-linear editing for scripted and unscripted shows: This Is Us, The Voice, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers
Produced satellite media tours for news affiliates and radio stations
Assisted producers and editors projects from concept to completion with digital marketing production
Conducted interviews with talent and edited footage to the completion of The Voice First Looks
3. What skills were needed for this position? And do you think CSULB prepared you for it?
CSULB prepared me by teaching me the fundamentals and foundations, such as understanding and applying media ethics, honing my writing skills, and teaching me effective research methods. But most of the skills at an internship are learned on the job. School teaches you 20%, but the job and the company teach you 80%. Especially because every workplace has a different culture, workflow, and technological system. The easiest example is some companies use Google suites and Adobe Premiere, while others use Microsoft Office, AVID, and Final Cut. So you have to advance your skills in the applications used by the department.
4. What was the highlight of your internship?
The highlight of my internship was being able to build relationships with my peers and mentors. Hands down! The other interns with were such a huge support system. I consider some of the interns at WB and the Emma Bowen fellows to be my some of my closest friends. Additionally, the professionals I met taught me tons, not just about the industry and career, but about life!
5. How do you think this internship benefitted your career?
Before I became an Emma Bowen fellow and worked at Warner Bros., I wanted to be the next Anderson Cooper. But interning allowed me to figure out that I have a diverse voice in entertainment. I couldn’t have figured it out alone. I owe it to the professionals and peers I met at these companies, as well as my professors at CSULB for everything they’ve taught me. I aim to push the industry into one that doesn’t need to talk about multicultural content, diversity and inclusion, because it will just be. There’s a lot of work to do to create change, but that’s what makes this career path so exciting.