Anthony Quinn
Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design
Degree: New Media
Year of graduation: 2000
Lessons from a Broadcasting Pioneer
I was responsible for securing an internship placement following my new media training at Sheridan, so I sent Moses Znaimer an email with a constructive critique of Citytv (which he co-founded), while at the same time expressing how great an honour it would be to work at the station.
I made about 20 guesses as to what Znaimer’s email address might be and one of them was right. That was about 11 years ago when email was still relatively new and people were actually reading everything that came into their inbox. Znaimer read the email and forwarded my plea to his assistant, asking if she could use a "dogsbody" around the office. Lucky for me, she did. Working in Znaimer’s office offered me exceptional opportunities that are not available to most interns. I shadowed the producer and director of the evening news crew. During down times and when Znaimer was travelling, I accompanied various Citytv reporters and videographers on their assignments: JoJo Chinto reporting from the Toronto courts, Peter Silverman getting involved in a dispute with a car dealer, Dominic Sciullo covering the Prime Minister at Camp Borden with refugees from the Bosnian War and, maybe the most memorable, Kathryn Humphries interviewing Maple Leaf Captain, Mats Sundin, in the brand new Air Canada change room. I even played hockey on the MuchMusic team with George Stroumboulopoulos. I also met some great "off-air" folks who made the place such a vibrant and exciting place to work.
After the internship, I was offered a full time job in the office of the President which led to the position of Executive Assistant. I was the Executive Assistant to Znaimer at CHUM Television for seven years before moving with him to his new company, MZTV Production and Distribution in 2006. As an Associate Producer, I participated in the launch of TelusTV in Western Canada.
When Znaimer was named President of CARP (formerly the Canadian Association of Retired Persons), I became Special Projects Manager, working in the offices of both CARP and MZTV. In June 2009, I joined CARP full-time as Manager, Community Development.
Much has happened I sent that first email 10 years ago. But I still remember my time at Sheridan. On the television side, Instructor Frances Rustom was particularly inspirational, mainly because she let students know exactly what would be expected of them in the working world. Her frankness was much appreciated and her words have held true in the workplace.
I was responsible for securing an internship placement following my new media training at Sheridan, so I sent Moses Znaimer an email with a constructive critique of Citytv (which he co-founded), while at the same time expressing how great an honour it would be to work at the station.
I made about 20 guesses as to what Znaimer’s email address might be and one of them was right. That was about 11 years ago when email was still relatively new and people were actually reading everything that came into their inbox. Znaimer read the email and forwarded my plea to his assistant, asking if she could use a "dogsbody" around the office. Lucky for me, she did. Working in Znaimer’s office offered me exceptional opportunities that are not available to most interns. I shadowed the producer and director of the evening news crew. During down times and when Znaimer was travelling, I accompanied various Citytv reporters and videographers on their assignments: JoJo Chinto reporting from the Toronto courts, Peter Silverman getting involved in a dispute with a car dealer, Dominic Sciullo covering the Prime Minister at Camp Borden with refugees from the Bosnian War and, maybe the most memorable, Kathryn Humphries interviewing Maple Leaf Captain, Mats Sundin, in the brand new Air Canada change room. I even played hockey on the MuchMusic team with George Stroumboulopoulos. I also met some great "off-air" folks who made the place such a vibrant and exciting place to work.
After the internship, I was offered a full time job in the office of the President which led to the position of Executive Assistant. I was the Executive Assistant to Znaimer at CHUM Television for seven years before moving with him to his new company, MZTV Production and Distribution in 2006. As an Associate Producer, I participated in the launch of TelusTV in Western Canada.
When Znaimer was named President of CARP (formerly the Canadian Association of Retired Persons), I became Special Projects Manager, working in the offices of both CARP and MZTV. In June 2009, I joined CARP full-time as Manager, Community Development.
Much has happened I sent that first email 10 years ago. But I still remember my time at Sheridan. On the television side, Instructor Frances Rustom was particularly inspirational, mainly because she let students know exactly what would be expected of them in the working world. Her frankness was much appreciated and her words have held true in the workplace.