Talking about TV

Campbell is interviewed by BU student Joe Fisher.

Not all television stars spend most of their time in front of the camera.

Television executive and Bloomsburg alumna Rebecca Campbell returned to campus in February to share her insights into the future of her industry.

Campbell, president of the ABC-Owned Television Stations Group, is responsible for the company’s local TV stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno. Based in Burbank, Calif., she also oversees other businesses within the group, including ABC National Television Sales, The Live Well Network and the syndicated series, “Live with Kelly and Michael.”

She gave an evening lecture and met with mass communication students and did a television interview the next morning. Her insights include: 

• The local TV market is relevant. For example, in some markets, local morning shows are competitive with network offerings.
• It's all about the content. Television was once largely  dependent on ad revenue. Today, the revenue streams are more disparate with licensing fees coming from outlets such as Netflix and Hulu.
• A bit of advice for ambitious students: Love the job you have — opportunity will follow.
• The most important qualities for success: intelligence, passion and integrity. And "without integrity, the other two don't matter."

A 1983 BU graduate with a dual major in journalism and political science, Campbell began her broadcasting career as a college student working on a local teen magazine show at KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh. Campbell previously served as president and general manager of WABC-TV, New York, and president and general manager of WPVI-TV, Philadelphia. She joined WPVI-TV as program director and also held programming and production positions at WFMZ-TV, Allentown, and WGAL-TV, Lancaster.