Valued, engagements seemingly abstract and appearing as subjective concepts are finally acquiring a new life significance.
I am a multilingual media maestro who decades ago entered a newsroom for the first time and I can safely say now - what an awakening it was to be able to study the hyperlocal editorial process. I proceeded to remain engaged five days and 40 hours a week for 3 months. It was a crash course in Dr. Ken's Newswatch10.
Today, I'm still in touch with a couple of colleagues, now lifelong acquaintances, and some have become good old friends.
How often do we get to reconnect decades later and meet his new wife and help his kid with Spanish, then introduce them to mine and thank him for mentoring me?
Let me tell you about Dr. Ken. He was once the news chief at The Washington Post-Newsweek owned WPLG newsroom in Miami.https://www.local10.com/ He is my mentor. I trained under Ken at WPLG-TV 10 Miami, Florida, and later at OCN in Orange County California. Ken Tiven single-handedly changed how TV news was transmitted. He not only developed a double system film chain to cover jump cuts, but he also streamlined news blocks that flowed and show what was going on. This man is truly a media maestro and also an innovator. He was one of the founders of CNN.
I watched him work while I was a student intern in Miami, Florida at https://welcome.miami.edu/ and then https://www.fiu.edu/ where I earned my advanced degrees. I learned much more in those three unpaid months than I was expecting. They were priceless.
Over Summer vacation devoted my five-day 40-plus three-month-long vacation as an intern when he kindly chatted with me and asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up.
My multilingual abilities were a plus, and although short on experience after three months of intense service, Lois, from Personnel had me in her cross-hairs and worthy of consideration.
Molly, Anne, Frank, and Manolo all needed production help, so I was hired as an assistant and the rest is history,
My girlfriend, who is the mother to my smart beautiful daughters and I packed our belongings into a 55 Chevy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-Hv-7U
The 1K + Mile journey south from New Jersey and I started a week later. A few weeks into my experience Dr. Ken became a mentor and role model.
And when cutbacks impacted the news department, they resulted in my position being eliminated since I was the junior staffer (one married with children, I found an opening in Radio. And it was off to the races - with a rewarding career of 36 years. And now, 11 years as your executive editor.
Asa my life and career continued to focus on becoming useful. All this stuff about finding happiness and doing what you’re passionate about can be a distraction.
I focused on building value for the world. I experiment with lots of stuff first but gradually begin focusing on being great at less. Happiness will spring out of your sense of contribution. Instead, focus on creating experiences, making others happy, and building cool things. Society wants you weak and depressed. There is more wisdom in you than in the crowd.
Keep putting money aside. When it seems like you have all the time in the world, saving money seems pointless.
But you will thank your younger self for putting away a little cash because that stash grows and accumulates fast. Create that account, then make an effort not to take money out.
You don’t need ‘fixing.’ Ignore people who say you need to work on your issues. There’s nothing wrong with you. Thinking you have baggage and trauma keeps you in fear and limits you.
The net result of tuning into what the masses want for you is depression and a one-way ticket to Loser Ville. Follow what you know is right and ignore trends. Don’t believe anything mainstream.’
Mainstream media is nothing more than entertainment designed to make you fearful so that you depend on them for solutions. The only advice or motivation I ever get is from happy people who are doing well.
Schools, the news, dietary advice, mainstream entertainment — all clueless. Don’t become dependent on coffee or other stimulants, so the less you need, the freer you are.
Stimulant addiction plays a major severe stimulation like porn, sugar, caffeine, nicotine, and video games.
Enjoy them occasionally if you need them, but never get dependent.
Focus on making others happy through technology.
We live in a narcissistic culture. You must fight against this trend that will inevitably lead to its downfall.
You will win, regardless of the chaos, when you let go of yourself and focus on improving the lives of others.
Emotional control is your most important skill. There’s no better way to ensure a terrible life when you struggle to manage your emotions. You have lots of explaining to do if you fly into a rage at a triggering. This kind of thing can ruin your entire life. Developing the habit of remaining calm is the most important skill you can nurture. Start becoming exceptional at one thing.
While everyone else is running around trying hundreds of things and never getting good at any one, I decided to do news media startups and turned around projects at:
Univision https://www.univision.com
Telemundo https://www.telemundo.com
News 12 https://bronx.news12.com/live
Imaginus https://www.imaginus.biz/
And training young people at several colleges and universities. https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/search/professors?q=roberto%20soto &nb…;
I learned to diversify experiences and skills and not to sacrifice becoming a master at any one thing in the process. The world lacks focused expertise, whether in fixing cars, marketing, plumbing, writing, or journalism.
I am now married to an amazingly wonderful woman. and after all these years I was for to run into Dt. Ken once again and he too got remarried. The media has a way of spilling and splashing our lives in many different directions. Nie happy and healthy we both shared memories of what we did when we finally grew up.
Some life lessons - This will get you far. Trust no one, but be gracious. Trusting no one doesn’t mean you’re a sociopath, it means you protect your time, energy, and resources. You can be pleasant and courteous, but you can never assume trust from anyone. That’s ok. Humans aren’t perfect, but you must remain rational and careful at every step.
Start and remember that we are capable of finishing what we begin. Do not get excited about some novelty, because the excitement wears off, and then on to the next shiny thing. Concentrate on strength, not boredom. Consistency and believing in yourselves are then inevitable, which lies at the heart of true success.
Don’t make choices that could trap you for decades. Before making a costly decision, I avoid it, and if it's hazy, steer clear.
A trick is to train the body. and mind cause eating healthy shouldn’t be a habit you start during your midlife crisis. It starts yesterday and continues now.
Not only will your older body thank you for taking care of the only one you've got, make sure you are eating well. It will allow us to spend our lives looking and feeling better than everyone else and it is an advantage over those who are hungover and full of it.
Travel also shaped my character like little else, and I’m so grateful for it. There is no freedom without being geographically flexible, especially in this chaotic media world. I’ve collected adventures and friendships across the globe, and this serves me and the man I am today.
So how about that folks? Have you experienced meeting an early key career contact later in life like the one who trained you? I hope you’ll tell your story.
To learn more about Dr. Ken Kenneth's Newsletter | Kenneth Tiven | Substack https://kennethtiven.substack.com
The good, bad, and ugly of information business. Click to read Kenneth's Newsletter, by Kenneth Tiven.