The Insider: April Kalloo

The Insider takes you right in to the busy newsrooms and behind the bright studio lights with access to Canada’s top journalists and brightest media personalities. In this edition, The Insider sat down with April Kalloo, segment producer for Toronto’s most popular morning show, Breakfast Television.

April Kalloo Segment Producer, Breakfast Television Toronto @aprilkalloo

Born in the heart of Toronto and growing up in Markham, April always knew she was a city girl. After completing her Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University, she jumped right in to the industry. Networking was key and she wouldn’t take no for an answer! Numerous resumes and interviews later, she finally landed a job working the morning shift as a receptionist at Chum Television.

She quickly bonded with the Breakfast Television morning crew and soon became part of the family as one of their Floor Directors. Her hard work and persistence paid off and she proved to be the perfect ‘fill in’ for a mat leave replacement as a segment producer. She also fills in for Jennifer Valentyne on occasion and reads Celebrations on air.

When April isn’t booking segments, working through hundreds of pitches, or waking up at 4am, she can be found on her BlackBerry*, watching reality TV, and spending time with her family and friends! (*Disclosure: BlackBerry is an Edelman client)

What types of pitches capture your attention?

The best pitches are the ones that relate back to show. We like Ideas that are creative and fun.

We get so many emails so the ones that are shorter and get to the point are easier for us to read through and then work internally to see if it’s a fit.

I also like to know all the details up front; everything from segment ideas and options that are available. I usually pass on pitches that are too generic.

What makes a great segment for Breakfast Television?

The best segments are the ones that are out-of-the-box and that haven’t been done before. We know this can be a tall order since the show has been around for so long. We know that our viewers are busy in the morning as they get out the door so if they are tuning in we want to be sure we’re catching their attention.

How do you use social media to help with your day-to-day job?

I have my own Facebook account, which is mostly for personal use, and we also all contribute to the official BT Facebook page.

Twitter is great, and I use it both personally and professionally. I use it a lot for sourcing story ideas or finding out who might be in town. It’s also a great resource for chatter segments between Dina and Kevin. The whole team is on Twitter, which helps us promote contests, giveaways and behind-the-scenes. All of our Twitter accounts are also streamed to the BT website.

Overall, our viewers already view us as family, and the Facebook Page, Twitter and the BT website allow us to bring them more into our personal lives.

With the changing media landscape, how has this impacted your role at the show as a whole?

Social media has allowed us to promote and showcase BT Toronto in a new and exciting way.

We’re all certainly allowed to have our own opinions and can be ourselves, but we’re always mindful of what we say since we are part of the BT brand.

Being part of the Rogers umbrella is certainly a benefit. We are like a big family that has the advantage of sharing talent and top stories with eachother.

What is a day in your life like?

I start my day at 4am. I get in to the office around 5:30am to check email so that I can check in on the upcoming segments. I could have up to 40-50 stories on the go at the same time.

I make sure the contest and booking sheets are written up before we go to air. We work closely with our sales team to build a schedule of giveaways each week.

During the show I work with Dina to bring her up to speed on the guests she will be speaking to that morning.

After we wrap the show, the production team has a meeting to talk about what is on deck for the next day. We usually book a few weeks ahead, but cancellations can happen and we sometimes have to fill a spot.

What makes a good PR pro?

Professional is the key word.

Building and maintaining a two-way relationship is really important. We appreciate open and honest communication with full disclosure about the program.

Showing your interest and knowledge of the show also goes a long way. Nothing is worse than getting a pitch for a segment on a topic we just aired.

What is the best part of your job?

The people I work with and the viewers!

We’re like a real family at BT; we get along so well. I also love producing. I get a chance to be creative and put my personal stamp on the segments.