Newhouse Outsider: Bob Jones – Production Executive And Entrepreneur
Leave it to Professor Chase Clifford to hook her TRF 400 Production Management students up with a slew of well-versed professionals in the field. As her teaching assistant, I have connected with media professionals she knows to facilitate guest lectures through Skype, and every speaker so far has enlightened me, even though I am not taking the course.
On October 12th, 2017, Clifford invited Bob Jones, a successful television production executive and entrepreneur, to speak, and he had plenty of industry insight to share with the class. Jones and Clifford previously worked together on a game show almost a decade ago.
“Chase and I had a lot of fun working together at GSN,” Jones told me in an online interview. “We were on a live show that required everyone to wear many hats, and we all did whatever it took to get that show on the air every day. When you’re live, you have no choice!”
Jones currently serves as the executive in charge of production for “Pickler & Ben,” daytime television’s newest “go-to” destination for lifestyle and entertainment television. The multi-segmented talk show follows the banter of Kellie Pickler and Ben Aaron, two rising media personalities to look out for.
“At the risk of sounding biased, the co-hosts of my current show, Kellie Pickler and Ben Aaron, are a blast,” Jones continued when I asked about his favorite celebrity co-workers. “They have a lot of fun together, get along famously, are truly a pleasure to work with, and are just genuinely great people.”
Jones has managed to work with a plethora of different shows and productions, and he has faced many adversities along the way. Much like entrepreneurship, production management bares plentiful instances of uncertainty, but Jones gave great advice on how to navigate in this ambiguity.
“This is an industry that can often have no direct path to a particular level or position,” Jones noted. “You must stay focused on the type of work you want to do. Sometimes you may have to take a job for the primary purpose of paying the bills, but don’t let that derail you from your goal. If you occasionally have to take a step sideways or back, see it as only temporary and try to get back on track with your next position.”
After doing my research, I was glad to find out Jones pursued an entrepreneurial venture in the past, and had respectable success. Jones pioneered Media Limousine, his own high-end service company that provided chauffeured transportation for corporate and private clients in limousines. After Jones generated exponential growth each year of operation, competing chauffer service companies had no choice but to address his business as a substantial threat. Jones ended up accepting a generous offer to have Media Limousine purchased by a rival company, creating the perfect exit for Jones.
This experience inspires me to try to actualize some business ideas I have stored on various Word documents and written notes. Jones undoubtedly paid close attention to the transportation industry and identified a problem he knew he could help fix. Because he worked with corporate and private clients, Jones likely recognized this sector of people needed reliable transportation just as much as the average Joe, so he took effective action. I made sure to ask him for some entrepreneurial advice on innovating in today’s digital media landscape.
“Stay current and don’t stop creating,” Jones said. “There is a huge vacuum out there for content and you never know who will create the next hit.”
“Don’t hesitate to use every connection you may have to help get your foot in the door,” continued Jones. “Hard work and competency do pay off, but sometimes it will be a connection that leads to an opportunity.”
Overall, Bob Jones was a great guest speaker who has deep knowledge in the production management industry. The insight he provided to Professor Clifford’s TRF 400 course will help shape their futures in media entertainment, as he helped demystify the life of producing a daytime TV program. Jones also provided invaluable entrepreneurial guidance for me as I move forward with my learning here at Newhouse.
Some of Jones’ favorite TV shows include Ray Donovan, This Is Us, and Ozark. He does not typically work on a lot of celebrity-driven shows, but he has enjoyed working with Dwayne Johnson and Billy Crystal in the past. What are some of your favorite TV shows? Who are some of your favorite actors? Let me know in the comments!
He has been published across a wide variety of media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, the Cornell Daily Sun, SportTechie, Clutchpoints, Cavs Nation, the Cornell Chronicle, and many more.
Tobe has a plethora of hobbies, including writing, athletics, drawing, acting, and collaborating with others about ideas and startups working in the multimedia space.