Posted by Rat on February 10, 2009, 5:12 pm, in reply to "Re: Bob Hosfeldt services Feb. 20th in Campbell"
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In the December Spotlight:
TRFT Alum, TV Pioneer, and Community Leader BOB HOSFELDT:
Bob Hosfeldt, the man who coined the term "Pay-Per-View," came to San Jose State in 1955 after a stint in the Navy. He majored in music, but soon switched to Radio and Television, and around the same time met, and married, his college sweetheart Blanche Fritzen. Upon graduation, Bob joined ABC-affiliate KNTV as an announcer-director, and while working at the station earned a Masters in Communications from SJSU and an MBA from Pepperdine. Within a few years, Bob was KNTV's Program Director, and eventually Executive Vice President and General Manager. In 1978, KNTV was sold and Bob hopped over to the company's cable operation, Gill Cable, where he was named General Manager and president of Gill Industries. At Gill Cable he was responsible for myriad newfangled ideas, including the creation of many local origination channels (this was before satellite delivery of Premium channels), and signing with Ted Turner to carry CNN - the first cable operator in the US to do so. Under Bob, Gill was the country's first major cable system to put addressable converters into subscriber homes, making it a pioneer in Pay-Per-View and eventually the largest independent cable company in the nation. Gill Cable was sold in 1988, and Bob is currently President of Gill Properties (a real estate developer), and Managing Trustee of the Gilliland Trust, a charitable organization dedicated to cancer research. He has also served on various charitable and other boards, for example as a founding director of C-Span. He is Past President of both the SJSU Alumni Association and the Spartan Foundation. Bob graciously agreed to sit down with Performances over the Thanksgiving holiday and answer a few questions about his long and successful career in TV, and the good old days at SJSU.
What qualities and skills do you think are important for a student hoping to go into television management?
A good manager must listen! No one has all the answers - although I've run across managers who thought they did. A good manager should hire executives who want his or her job! Hiring department heads that have no desire to take your job away usually results in a non-motivated executive. Be tough, but be fair! That's probably the greatest compliment an employee can give to his manager. Also, be goal oriented. And make sure every employee knows what those goals are!
What would be your advice to a student wanting to break into television management? Is there a path you would recommend?
There is no set path as there are in many businesses. Historically, most top management comes out of the sales department. The programming department is probably the second most traveled path to management. I would guess that the third most likely path is through the news department. As I used to tell by students in the Broadcast Management classes, be prepared to move about the country. This is especially true if you work for a network owned and operated station, or a multiple station owner. You will move from Assignment Editor in Bakersfield, to Assistant News Director in Phoenix, to News Director in San Diego, to Vice-President of the News Operation in Chicago. And take some business courses along the way!
Is an MBA essential?
Certainly not, but it will never hurt your chances and it might help. I know of many General Managers who made it without an MBA or even an undergraduate degree in business. But given two top candidates for a given management position; one with an MBA and one without, which one will the Board of Directors most likely select?
What was the department like back when you were at SJSU?
We were very close. I'm not even sure that we knew if a given student was a Theatre Arts or a Radio & TV major. We were all involved in the theatre productions. The television plays that we produced, as well as the commercials, took advantage of the talents in the department no matter their major. We saw ourselves as all being in the same department. I painted sets with drama majors and drama majors appeared in my television shows. Jay Michaels, who later became the president of the promotion department for NBC, was a drama major. He ended up a very successful television executive. My fondest memories were the daily gatherings in the Green Room where no one was immune to the kidding.
What kind of classes did you take?
I took virtually every class offered by the department. I loved the Theatre Arts faculty. Every class was worth the effort, although I did think at times that some members of the faculty assumed that theirs was the only class I was taking. I was working full or part time during most of my undergraduate years, and the outside reading and homework tended to get a little heavy at times. Looking back, however, I don't regret a single class.
What was your most useful class?
That's hard to say. They all had value, but I may have used the techniques from acting classes more than any other during my career. Management often requires a bit of the thespian. Whether I was negotiating a contract with a major film studio or trying to light a fire under the news department, I found myself using my acting skills. That's not to say I wasn't sincere during these sessions, but there are times when a good manager needs to appear angry, sympathetic, contrite, frustrated, and so on. Obviously the television directing classes were important. I found myself directing a live newscast about a week after I joined KNTV. There is no way I could have done that without my experiences as San Jose State.
Who was your favorite Professor?
Another tough question! My advisor was Clarence Flick. I really liked him. My daughter, after transferring from UCLA in her junior year, also had Dr. Flick as an advisor. He was easy to talk to and was an excellent teacher. He also gave me the opportunity to teach the Broadcast Management class at the University after I became General Manager at KNTV. I learned that teaching at the University level is a tough job. Some of the students think they're smarter than the professor, and sometimes they're right!
What were the most important and useful things you learned?
Of course, I learned what went on inside of a television station. I believe I also learned to listen and have patience. When I would watch another student directing a show or a commercial, I would learn from that experience. Directing is not the same as watching someone else do it, but one can certainly learn from the successes and failures of others. But every class was important. There were certainly times when I wondered if I would ever use the skills or knowledge from a given class. I've found, however, that the discipline one learns in the college classroom is very important. In fact, it may be the most important thing we take away from the university environment.
In what way did your training at SJSU as a TV-Radio major serve you in your career as a television executive?
Certainly it helped in that the people who worked at the television station were aware that I knew what went on in the various departments. I followed a manager who had come out of radio. There were no television veterans in those days. My generation was the first to finish college with a degree in Radio and Television. There are schools of thought that say a good manager can manage any business and to a certain extent that's true, but education and experience in a specific business certainly gives one a leg up.
As a pioneer in two important TV technologies, cable and pay-per view, you clearly have an eye for the Next Big Thing. What will it be?
I think both Michael Eisner and Bill Gates have their eye on the same huge business that's shaping up before us; that will be a complete marriage of the entertainment and computer industries. The media center in the home will take on a form which will surpass anything we can conceive of at this time. It will be very exciting and I only wish I was starting my career as a young college graduate with a degree from San Jose State. Can you imagine what the classes will be like 20 years from now?
As a prominent alumnus, what do you think of the current state of the university? Are you happy with the direction it's going?
When I look at the success stories from our University I am very proud of San Jose State. The list of people from our department who have "made it" in the film, television, and business worlds is a well-kept secret from many San Jose State Alumni. I think the department's online newsletter is a great way to let people know the successes of the school. I think the same is true of the Business, Engineering, Journalism and Music and Dance Schools. I'm not as familiar with some of the other disciplines, but my guess is we fare very well in those schools also. Could we do better? Of course we could! Any time a manager, director, or president of a company (or university) is satisfied with his or her position, you can expect things to start going downhill.
What would you say to students to get them involved in community service?
Find a program that interests you and volunteer to help in any way they might need you. As you progress in your career you will find that these organizations will seek you out. This is especially true if you are in news or top management.
(Here's the link to San Jose State's TVradioFilmTheater website)
TVradioFilmTheater.com
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