YPDaily: Nicole Winchester

As an interactive producer at CBC, Nicole Winchester has to bridge the gap between traditional television and modern online conversation. Find out more about this 36-year-old young professional with a gusto for life and a love of travel in today’s YPDaily.

Elevator Pitch: Describe your job in a nutshell.
I bridge the gap between the traditional television producer and the online producer. I develop strategies to get TV online, get conversations started about TV, and get people watching TV – online and offline.

Why did you start working at your company? What was the inspiration for this career route?
I started working in television because I love TV, so much so that my career and academic shift in that direction beforehand seemed pretty obvious in retrospect. I love watching TV, talking about TV, and spent a lot of my early years online talking about TV on the internet – so I’ve always been interested in the marriage of traditional and social media, and working with fan communities online.

I started working at CBC just over three years ago, with the Steven and Chris Show – I’d been wanting to work at CBC for some time, I had a background in lifestyle television, and I really loved the “boys” and the show. I still do – they are the nicest people in the world, and the best dressed!

Do you plan on starting your own company in the same industry one day?
I definitely have ideas I’d like to pitch and projects I want to work on – I’m not sure that my path will lead to me starting my own company, but anything is possible. For the time being, I keep myself busy with my blog run with my husband Gary, Culture Addict/History Nerd.

What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of my job is developing ways to engage with viewers, and engage with them directly. Television has an incredible power to affect people and even the ‘lightest’ show can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Seeing and responding to viewers’ reactions can sometimes be amazing and transformative. The people I work with come in a close second, as they’re all super-smart, remarkably skilled and talented, and I learn a lot from them.

The most challenging part is ensuring that I’m cognisant of all the people who need to be aware of what’s happening online for any particular property I’m in charge of, and making sure updates go out to everyone when necessary.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I don’t think I would have predicted myself being here five years ago, so wherever I’ll be, I imagine it’ll be a bit of a surprise. However, I’d really like to have developed some multi-platform travel projects I have in mind.

nicole winchester

What does success look like to you?
To me, success is being a decent person and causing as little harm as possible to others and our world. On another level, success is the ability to make decisions in your career and life influenced by desire, not necessity.

What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
Helping to trend [the hashtag on Twitter] #canadaforhaiti worldwide during the multi-network Canada For Haiti telethon.

Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Find great people to work with and learn from them. Learn from your mistakes and admit them when they happen. Go for the opportunities that feel right. Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge – people appreciate it. Do your job and try not to worry about politics.

Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
Yes! I usually support charities that aid animals in our community and around the world, like the Toronto Humane Society and the International Welfare Fund of Animals. Animals have no voice, so it falls to humans to provide one for their fair treatment. There’s also a real problem with people seeing pets as something less than a responsibility, so when they have a reason to give the animal up, places like the Humane Society are the first to see these discarded animals. It’s important to make sure that these organizations can care for any animal they’re brought so more don’t end up on the streets. I love cats, we have four. One is a stray that is as close to ‘rehabilitated’ as he’s likely to get.

I also support relief efforts, like the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, Greenpeace, and the Daily Bread Food Bank, and microlend to projects at Kiva whenever possible. They are now loaning to businesses in Detroit!

What is Notable to you?
Since I’m just back from the #NASATweetup for the final Space Shuttle mission: Chris Hadfield, one of our astronauts, is slated to become the first Canadian to command a spaceship – the International Space Station – in 2013. I think that’s pretty awesome.