BBC Studios– Alumni Spotlights highlight the success of THF interns with BBC Studios, a Platinum Diversity Partner.
Alejandra Batista (THF ’21)
1) Please share your internship title.
Content Planning & Editorial Strategy Intern.
2) Please describe your duties & responsibilities.
In my role, I schedule and plan content alongside the Editorial Director, using viewer data and related events. I also complete paperwork outlining the metadata for each title and our priorities for submission to our platform partners. Additionally, I QC our content once it launches to platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. And finally, I provide ad-hoc support for our digital marketing and creative teams.
3) How did your role/department fit into BBC Studios overall business objective/mission?
My department is part of BBC Studios‘ recently launched documentary streaming service called BBC Select. We help to curate and plan the scheduling for each one of our documentaries and help with the refinement of the acquisition of new content. Overall, we are the part of the business which helps to build the BBC Select library and give the brand direction.
4) What did you like most about interning with BBC Studios?
I like that it’s a global team and I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many different people with a range of perspectives. Everyone is super friendly and welcoming, and it’s made my experience that much better. Additionally, there have been many great remote networking events and meetings which have given me a lot of insight into the industry.
5) What were the most challenging parts of your role and how did you overcome those challenges?
The most challenging part of the role has been learning the different processes for each platform and navigating their differences. I think the only way to overcome that was by paying attention, taking extensive notes, and going through the process a few times. Now it all feels like second nature.
6) What skills or talents (hard/soft) were most essential to be effective in your internship role?
Organization and communication have been the most essential soft skills. There are many moving parts and I often work across teams, so keeping track of priorities is extremely important to hitting deadlines. Communication has been extremely helpful in working collaboratively and following up under tight deadlines.
As for hard skills, Excel and research have come in handy. Most of the documents I work with are handled via Excel, so knowing how to easily manipulate cells and use formulas has been really useful. Since I have to do research to build out our planning, knowing where to look for accurate information is something that is essential to the role.
7) How has your internship experience impacted your career goals?
In this experience, I’ve learned so much about what I want to do with my career. Working with data was always daunting to me, but in working alongside the data & insights team, it’s been super interesting to see what trends are being uncovered and how we can utilize them to refine our strategy. Additionally, working with the digital marketing team has helped me to learn that I’m interested in writing, content creation, and again data analytics. As I go through my career, I definitely want to do something which combines creativity and analytics.
8) What advice would you give to THF interns as they begin internships/careers in media?
I think the best piece of advice is to remain open-minded to opportunities and growth. You may go in certain you want to do one thing and then realize that maybe you don’t, and that’s okay – if anything, it’s normal. Always be proactive, attentive, and focused on your development. Take advantage of the opportunity to work hard, build connections, and ask questions. The rest will fall into place.