"It's all about storytelling."
Chuck Floramo, senior editor of "The Oprah Show," came to talk to media and communication students yesterday, Monday October 4th, at 7pm in the Student Lounge. To my surprise, he mentioned how not only was he a graduate from Saint Xavier College in 1980 with only three other communication students but he single-handedly started WXAV, the university's radio station, in 1977.
It came from "very, very humble beginnings" he stressed before telling the story about how he went into a phonebooth that was by the switchboard desk with a microphone, mixer, P.A. amps, and cassettes. He mentions public safety being confused and nuns being shook up. However, he had support from the Dean to progress with the ideas but not from the students. "They wanted their jukebox time" he recalls. He went on to say he was impressed with the growth the radio station had since he began it, saying it was all about getting "from the students to the students."
He got an internship through Dr. Joel Sternberg and went on to work at an ad agency, which essentially got him a job doing promotions at Harpo.
Now senior editor, he talked about how much work there is for a single, one-hour episode. It takes 12-16 hours to work on a two-minute piece, and 300 tapes (studio and field) and 200 hours of editing make up a full episode. For editing, he uses Avid Media Composer but knows all the editing platforms, including Adobe. When it comes to producing, "Oprah" has a very large staff. There are 12 teams and each consist of eight members.
Aside from technicalities, his main job is to set up discussions and put them together to tell stories. "It's all about storytelling... A frame can be the difference between a trainwreck and tears of emotion. Every frame counts." Bringing emotion to a story is the most important thing as well as entertaining and enlightening. The most valuable moments that he strives for are when the subject forgets the camera is there; that is the goal.
In response to the incredible prizes Oprah gives her audience, he gets none of them but says, "The prize is to work there." He gets to go along to Maui and cruises with 1,500 of his closest friends for taping, but it's not all glamorous, he reminds us. When Hurricane Katrina hit, he had to rush to the airport and fly to Houston so promptly that he didn't have time to pack a suitcase.
At this time, he is undecided about moving with Winfrey to her new network in Los Angeles. He can do anything from anywhere with the help of internet access and his MacBook. He wants to stay in Chicago because his family is here, so he's considering commuting to Los Angeles every so often.
In addition to "Oprah," he also works with NBC to cut news for "The Today Show" and "The Nightly News with Brian Williams" occasionally, all from Chicago while the shows are taped in New York.
Since he began with radio here at SXU with WXAV, would he ever go back to it? Absolutely. His "first love," if he were to leave television, he'd be a music producer for a station. Which one? He has no idea, since he listens to a range, from NPR to Jack-FM.
The issue about treating the internet as a medium such as television or radio wasn't one he was too worried about, since he's "not big on government." He would like to see it stay not regulated and free, keeping it as a neutral source. He'd hate to see people having to pay to send an email. What it comes down to is freedom and "freedom of speech should be on top" priority-wise.
About working in the media industry, he says to keep smiling. "Seriously, it's your strongest tool," he clarified when a few students chuckled, thinking he was joking. He says smiling brings out your personality and is a light shine without stepping on the egos of others.
One thing he said that really stood out to me that creative minds should remember is: "If you can be creative with nothing, you can do anything..."
Photo courtesy of his website.
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