Workin' everywhere - Interview with Maria Villalobos, freelance TV producer.

Maria Villalobos lives in California. She is a  local news reporter on TV.  Network Producer for breaking News Stories, and Co-Excutive Producer of a cooking show in Spain that airs in the U.S. “Made in Spain.” 

Zazie's bags blog recently interviewed  Maria about some of our favourite topics : technology & life, technology & style, technology & fashion, the future of media and entertaining...

Here are Maria's answers :

You & Technology. 

How important is technology in your life? 

Lap is my life.  It is my portable office. I have all my photos,music, movies,  I have all my important files, documents, I use it for email.  My resume is saved on a document.  It’s all very important info.

In which ways has technology changed your life / your job?

Just the other day I prepared my computer for an I-chat interview.  Instead of the client flying me in, they will interview me over I-Chat. WOW, things are changing.  I send all my work in attachements. I entertain myself with technology as well, I enjoy Facebook .

For which purposes do you use social networking and blogs (if you do) ? 

Social networking I use to comunícate with friends  and to stay on top of being the “modern women”—whether you like it or not, you must stay on top of  the networking sites.  Otherwise just call yourself a “Dinosaur”.

Quick story:  My friend was upset that her company hired a young person for an impotant job. She didn’t think this young person deserved such a high position.

While at a cocktail party,  I asked her boss, “Why are you hiring such young people?”  She responded, “This young person that I just hired  (talking about the person my friendo was upset about)  has great ideas for Twitter, and Facebook. He is changing the way of our station.”

I then called my friendo and said, ‘Are you on Facebook or on Twitter?” and she  said, “NO.”  And I said, “Well the YOUNG person is and has some great ideas that your boss fell in love with.” 

Do you think they have a really important media impact?

Of course, they keep us informed.

Do you think TV is threatened by online entertaining?  

Yes, we no longer have to watch TV we can find it all the Internet.  It’s now at our disposal anytime.  I can log on to the Internet and see the news of the day or watch my favorite TV program on my time.

Is there any interesting rumor or personal thought about how TV people see TV in the future that you would like to share?  I still enjoy my job in televisión.  I know my friends are upset that some of them have to video tape their own stories and edit them.  It seems like the “Glamour” of TV is fading for local news stations.  Yes, there are still some people making  good incomes, but that’s changing Fast. My husband tells me all the time that our son will be watching the computer as he gets older and not TV.  

Your & fashion.

I guess your work is a lot about travelling, working quickly, carrying not sexy equipment or other working utilities,  etc... But also, we associate TV with trendy people, and a place where you meet fashion icons. How do you deal with these two opposite worlds?  I try to stay trendy by staying in shape and exercising. After that comes the clothes.  If your’e in shape then jeans can look trendy.  I love jewelry and comfotable shoes. 

I have to also think about being confortable. I think there are SO many options on how to dress.  I think it’s easy.  You can wear flat shoes, or high heels, you can wear a blazer or a nice blouse. Clothes in America is not expensive and there are many options. 

I always think about what I am going to wear the night before, because getting Ready always takes more time than you think, so at least I am ready in the morning. I get very upset when I can’t find the “other boot” early in the morning or the matching sweater, but if I do it the night before I have plenty of time.

What stylist from a TV show do you most admire / why ?

I like the way women my age dress:  Katie Couric, Elizabeth Vargas, Oprah…these are all Network  women on American Television. There style is professional and clean. 

Is there any particular crazy story  from a shoot that you would like to tell?

I was in Mexico city when the big earthquake happened and I ran out of the hotel very Fast. I didn’t go back into the hotel and slept on the floor with just the clothes on my back. Looking back it was funny and kind of fun, but back then I thought I was going to die.

I always enjoy my productions.  I am lucky to do something that’s fun and pays well. I get paid to enjoy myself.