Cal State Fullerton students had the opportunity to learn about full-time paid internships in unscripted/reality television production from professionals in the industry.
The presentation, “Getting Real: Unscripted Internship Program,” took place Oct. 10 in the Laurel Multipurpose Room on campus, and was put on by the Television Academy Foundation, the charitable arm of the Television Academy.
Part of the academy’s mission is to promote creativity, diversity and innovation toward the advancement of the telecommunications arts and sciences.
Through paid internships, the foundation aims to promote the voices and stories of underrepresented communities and increase diversity and inclusion in the field.
Among the presenters were CSUF graduate Cris Abrego, chairman of Banijay Americas, a collective of more than 130 production companies in multiple countries, and Jonathan Murray, co-founder of Bunim-Murray Productions
Abrego and Murray helped launch the Television Academy Foundation with personal donations and are the chair and vice chair of the foundation, respectively.
CSUF graduate Chris Abrego, chairman of Banijay Americas, talks with CSUF students about internship opportunities with the Television Academy Foundation. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)
The internship is offered during the summer and provides opportunities in casting, development, production and post-production within unscripted/reality television. Applications will be accepted starting Nov. 8.
Also sharing his experience with the 30 or so students in attendance was comedian/producer Grant Cotter, who was an intern in the program in 2022.
The moderator for the presentation, which also included a Q&A session, was Bey-Ling Sha, Dean of the College of Communications.
Abrego and Murray are two of the biggest names in reality television, said Hunter Hargraves, associate professor in cinema and television arts, and having them on campus to interact with students can prove to be a valuable experience that students at a state university might not normally get.
“So, it’s kind of an insane opportunity to get this level of pioneers,” Hargraves said. “Just interfacing with students and encouraging them to get their foot in the door early to compete with students at richer universities so they have the same opportunities as everyone else.”
Hargraves recently published his first book, “Uncomfortable Television,” which examines the methods television uses — violent dramas, ironic comedies and trashy reality programs — to make its watchers find pleasure through feeling disturbed.
Abrego, who graduated from CSUF in 1995, said he has returned to campus several times and has fond memories of his experiences and the foundation he built for his future career in television.
“It’s special to be coming back here because this is where I kind of really cut my teeth in the business,” said Abrego, who attended CSUF on a wrestling scholarship. “It’s really when I started to become even more passionate about television.”
Abrego said he was pleased to see that not all of the students at the presentation were in the Communications Department.
There were a handful of students present who were business majors, and there are definitely opportunities in the business side of the television industry, he said.
“People think about this industry as a way in, in just those big roles that you hear about all the time on television, which is writers, directors, producers and actors,” Abrego said. “But there’s a really massive push on the business side of this, and what it looks like and how to be fiscally responsible to create premium content.”
Student Julia Klidaras said the presentation provided great insight, and she planned to apply for the internship.
“I thought it was amazing,” Klidaras said. “And I feel like the internship opportunity is an amazing opportunity, so I’m looking forward to applying for that when it comes out.
Student Luciana Manicone, a theater major with a minor in entrepreneurial hospitality, said the presentation provided assurance that she was moving in the right direction.
“I feel very grateful that the university hosts this kind of event because I think for many years, people have commented that university students are not prepared for life, and that’s one of my fears,” Manicone said. “Just knowing that my university has these kinds of opportunities and these kinds of resources, I know I made a wise decision in my life.”
