Shyla Duff has been a Social Media Associate Producer for PBS News Hour and Washington Week with the Atlantic. She grew up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and she graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a BA in Digital Culture and Design and a film minor. She held multiple internships at PBS NOVA and the Wall Street Journal.
Interview
Transcript
Shyla Duff
My name is Shyla Duff. I’m actually from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I’ve grown up here. I’m a Social Media, Associate Producer if that makes sense. So, like video, but like specifically for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and I think Facebook and Twitter.
Emma Plutnicki
Cool. Awesome.
Emma Plutnicki
And just in general, how did you get into this field?
Shyla Duff
This is what’s interesting, because it’s long and convoluted. But it starts CCU [Coastal Carolina University], with the Athenaeum Press. So, I transferred to Coastal in 2019, from USC [University of South Carolina], and USC are like, okay, I could start from the very beginning, which is that I went to Charleston, College of Charleston, they didn’t have a video or film, or I think a Communications Degree, or major. So then I transferred to USC. And then from USC, I actually ended up coming home and transferred to CCU [Coastal Carolina University], and then I remember talking with them and being like, what kind of video work do you guys have, or like a major? And I got placed into digital communication, or digital culture and design. So that was 2019. And then I hopped on the Athenaeum Press, as this might have been, I think 2020 Because I remember the pandemic started. But I hopped on anything in price as a video, Videographer, and Video Editor. And that was like my foray into, like, video production and digital media as like an educational type of, I don’t know the word, like, route, I guess. Or like platform. I just really, are you guys still doing the Gullah Geechee [Digital Project]?
Emma Plutnicki
I think, I think that project finished, but—
Shyla Duff
Okay, so that’s what I was doing. It was great that digital archive. So, it was like, create, it was a binding like local, with history with educating the public. And so all of that I just like, really, really love. So, I started there. And then because the pandemic hit, I was able to get a remote internship with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. And while I was there, I was a digital, or I was like, I was a digital video intern, or I think it was a video production intern, but video. And there, what I was on was for creating content that was surrounding like S.T.E.M. [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics], and science and like, space and stuff like that, for middle, middle school students. So it was the same type of thing where it’s like educational, but it’s also like, kind of breaking down topics so that like the general public can understand them. And, but, it still stayed in the video sphere. And I really like video editing. So, like, because it was remote. I couldn’t film anything. So I was just like, they would give me interviews and stuff that they already filmed, and I would edit them.
Shyla Duff
And then after that, I got an internship with PBS Nova as a digital video intern. And it’s still remotes; all this is still remote. And so then it was the same thing. That’s their science show or, like, organization. And, I was working on YouTube videos, and I got to produce my own video while I was there. And I got to help, like, basically, like cut down their documentaries for social. They didn’t have Tick-Tock off at this time. So it was just Twitter, and, Facebook, and YouTube. And so I got to do the same thing there that was like science oriented, but complex topics, breaking them down for the general public to understand and also like history is involved there too, in some ways. And then after that, I think I graduated, and then I got an internship with the Wall Street Journal’s podcast, the Journal, and it’s a daily news podcast. That’s like 20 minutes a day. But it’s business news and stuff like that. And so I was a podcast intern remotely still.
And so this was my first news job. But it was still like breaking down there to break down these like crazy news stories that were happening like in like the political sphere or like business sphere and things like acquisitions and stuff and we would like help them break it down into like, 20 minutes that like, again, the general public could listen to on their commute to work and like understand and stuff. And so that was really interesting. I I’m glad that I did the podcast because I kind of just learned that I still love video. Like I was missing video that whole time, but it gave me like firsthand News. From experience, which I don’t think I would have been able to get the job that I just got if I didn’t have any newsroom experience. So I did that for a few months, and then the internship ended. And then I got my full time job of a digital production assistant remotely, but for PBS Nova, so I went back to them, and they hired me full time. And then I was like a contractor, but it was full time. So then I worked with them for a year being a digital production assistant.
So then we launched our TikTok, that’s when they launched the TikTok, and I went like all in on that. But my job wasn’t social media producer. So it was kind of hard because I was also doing a bunch of other stuff for them. Like, I was like working on their website, and I actually wrote a few articles or a couple articles for them. And then I also was helping them produce tiktoks Like, I’m talking like scripting factchecking, finding scientists interviewing them, then editing the tech talks and captioning that like I was doing I was we were like cranking them out. And then just just like that was just on top of my regular job. But it still was really fun. Because I like we had we got to experiment a lot with that, which was fun. And it was still video focus. And so that was my last like, full time job. But during all of this, I was a social media intern in Myrtle Beach with the Children’s Recovery Center, which is a nonprofit. So I did that for like, I think like two years to three years. And so I was making content for them on Instagram and Facebook. And we didn’t really do Twitter, but I was filming. I got to film stuff for them, like interviews and things there. So that was like the only like, local thing I was doing on the side. While I was just like hopping around to all these other different places. And then I ended up with PBS NewsHour, which is really exciting.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, wow. That’s such an amazing journey.
Shyla Duff
It’s kind of crazy. When I like look back on it. I’m like, Yeah, I’ve done that, too. Like when people ask me, like, if they’re just like, oh, like what got you into it? I’m like, Well, I just like had a lot of different things I had to build off of the other. Yeah, that’s
Emma Plutnicki
amazing. So in your job that you’re going to start soon, do you know like, what day to day life will look like or what projects you’ll be responsible for, or what your responsibilities will be?
Shyla Duff
I know that Washington Week is the show that they said they’re just gonna give me and then I have to like produce for it. It’s following the it’s following their roundtable show of their anchors, and I think, don’t quote me on this, it might be someone with the Atlantic, but we can look it up. But I know it’s a roundtable discussion every week about like what’s happening in the political sphere and like the election, so I know it’s gonna be political focused, but I have to grab content from their discussion every week, every program, and then pick sections of it that are going to go on YouTube, and then tick tock. And then they said, I was going to also work with the Atlantic on picking out Instagram segments or something for Instagram, too. So I know it’s gonna be social media base, but like, I think directly around the election and like, just because that’s in November, that it’s like, they told me is a little crazy right now. But I’m working on the Washington Week show. And then PBS News Weekend, because I’m going to work weekends. So that said that it’s both social focused, and like clipping, clipping things from the Friday 8pm show. And then I think I work through the weekend. So it wasn’t I think I said it was on Saturday or something. But it comes out Friday eight, and then they like, discuss, then I work on clipping through the weekend. And like, it says, I’m going to work with the Atlantic and like send them stuff. I think so.
Emma Plutnicki
Cool. That’s so cool.
Shyla Duff
So that’s not to like vague.
Emma Plutnicki
No, no, that’s good. And just in general, has it been challenging to kind of find your way in this career?
Shyla Duff
Yes. So there was like a ton of media layoffs last year, because I applied for this job in December. But I saw that their opening has been up since October. And then I didn’t start interviewing till January. And it took two full months of interviewing. So that was like really stressful, because I just like I’ve been applying and stuff and just like didn’t know how long the process is going to take. And like they weren’t—like I had four interviews, which I’ve never had four interviews before, that was just like a lot. And I also had to take a very extensive writing in pitching test.
And so on top of applying with cover letters and everything and find and trying to find these jobs, I found this job by—this is also how I felt my internships, they weren’t a like, I think I found one of them on LinkedIn. But most of them I would have to just like I’d signed up for newsletters, journalism, and I’m signed up for like a freelance newsletter, and that would come out weekly, and I would just have to search through them and they kind of would lead me to other websites. And I found most of these on their official website in their job stuff. Because LinkedIn was just like not always reliable and I used Indeed as well, but it felt like a lot of these jobs were hidden. And then a lot of media layoffs were going on on. So there are a lot of hiring freezes. And then there are a lot of times where I was applying for jobs.
And there was one that I wanted really bad. And I had a connection, I had two connections there. And they told me to reach out, email them. And so I did. And then the girl that I have a connection with, she was like, I’ll text him and let him know to look out for your application. And I was just really excited because my old boss was like, I’ll put in a word for you. And then never heard a single thing back, like not even like an email back, not an interview, nothing.
So it was like pretty, it was just like a lot of challenging, like trying to find these opportunities and stuff. And they don’t really like make it that easy. Like, a lot of the times it’s on their website under careers. And it’s not like on a full job board. So you have to kind of just like, I would kind of have to just like think about like, what company? Like I could try it like it might have an opportunity and then go directly there and like search through their stuff.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah. That definitely makes it hard. And also, just like throughout your entire professional career so far, have you had one project that you’ve worked on that like particularly stands out as having like a significant impact on you?
Shyla Duff
Yes, this is so funny, because I actually said this in my interview, and I think that helped me get it. So this is just like, it’s just like the whirlwind that it was. So when I was an intern at PBS Nova, they were like you are tasked with like producing throughout the few months you’re there, you get to produce your own video. And it is in partnership with the documentary at the time that is coming out. So I didn’t pick this. But the documentary that was coming out is called The Cannabis Question. So it was all about cannabis. And like, its health effect, or its effect on PTSD. And veterans and stuff like that, because it has a really big impact on them, and people who have seizures. So it was like a medical approach. But also, the approach was like incarceration stuff, too. So they touched on a lot.
But that was the overarching documentary. And so they were like, you get to produce a video during your time here that could be like a supplemental short form video on YouTube that goes along with it. And I was like, “Okay.”
And so they were like, “You get to pick the topic.” And so I pitched a few topics, but the one I was the most excited about was a history-based one, but that goes with science. And I pitched the genetic history of the cannabis plant. And at first like the executive, my boss liked it. But the executive producer was like, “This is too history focused.” And I was like, I just like really talk to my boss about it and kind of fought for it. I was like, I really think like, this is a very interesting topic. And there was actually a scientific study that came out like a few months before I started that was about how the plant… Everyone thinks that it originated in India, but they they actually like traced it back to China. So I was like everyone thinks is in India, which makes sense, but because it grows like crazy there. But this scientific study, which we worked a lot with scientific studies while there, kind of debunks that. And so I was like, this is just super interesting. Like, I really think there’s something there and there’s no one’s really talking about it and like this format.
So I fought for it, they approved it. And then they tasked me with finding two to three women of color scientists that are in the cannabis research field. And that was so insanely hard because one there’s not a lot of women of color in science anyway. But like in cannabis specifically, like research it was was really hard. So that gave me one that was in the documentary or in one of their videos or something like they only worked with her. So I had her, which was great. And then I had to find another. And I was searching so many places, so many academic institutions, just everywhere. It was so hard. And then I finally was like, I couldn’t find anyone in America. And so I was like, let me check Canada, and I found this girl on LinkedIn, she had a private profile. So I don’t even know like I was like, I don’t even know if she’ll answer my request. And then I have to talk to her and like vet her and stuff. But I found her in Quebec and she agreed she like answered my message. She agreed to it. We did a phone call, or like a zoom. And because she was in Quebec and even though I was remote, PBS Nova is in Boston because it’s this is confusing, but it’s produced by GBH, which is their like, public media station, but they produce PBS Nova. So they’re in Boston, so they set someone to fly to Quebec and film the interview for me and then send me all the footage. And then the other girl they gave me she worked at like Arizona University or Arizona state. And they have this thing where like you can for free like you can just like they can film an interview for you and send you the footage. I was able to get like professional footage of both because we’ve done like Zoom interviews, but it was just like it’s better quality if it’s like an actual interview with the camera. So I was able to have those sent to me, and then edit this videe. Go through a few things like I had someone else do the narration because I do not like the sound of my voice.
And so we did all this, edited everything, the script turned out well, it was cut down to like four minutes. So the video was like four minutes. And it performed so well, they were able to get it out right before like on my graduation day in December of 2021. And that was rare because usually they were saying like, they hadn’t like when I got there, they still hadn’t, I think like put out there other interns videos, it’s just hard to get an intern video out. But because I was graduating, my boss was like, I really want to make sure we get this out and just like be done with it and like have it out there for you. And so they got it out. And then it ended up performing like so well. And it was one of their top performing videos of the year. It’s over 500,000 views, which is like literally crazy. And they said it was the best an intern video has ever done on there. And then when I joined as a full time employee, when they were going over like the last years, like statistics, everything that my video was on there, and they would like shout me out, because I was working there now. And I was like, “Oh yeah, that’s me.”
Emma Plutnicki
That’s amazing.
Shyla Duff
I know. That was actually really cool. It was just like, the payoff was just really, I don’t obviously expect every video to go viral or anything, and they don’t of course. But I just worked so hard on it and like as a student like, and I had to fight for my topic. So it was just really gratifying to be like I really believed that people were interested in this topic, and then it like came true.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that’s amazing.
Shyla Duff
Let me see. I don’t remember the name of it. But okay, it’s at 749,000 views right now two years ago, but the title is “Where did the cannabis plant come from?” So it’s like the genetic history, the genealogy of it.
Emma Plutnicki
Amazing.
Shyla Duff
Very confusing. By the way, it was I remember putting out the scientific study and having to read it like 10 times, because I was like, We got to figure out what they’re talking about.
Emma Plutnicki
I’m gonna have to go watch that.
Shyla Duff
I’ll send it to you. I’ll send you a link.
Emma Plutnicki
Okay, perfect. And so within, like this field, if you’ve been going through application processes a lot. So do you think there’s any, like specific skills that an applicant should have or explain so that they can do better in like the job market?
Shyla Duff
Sure. That is a great question. 100% cover letter. I feel like once I changed my cover letter, I started to get more, at least, at least interest. Like there’s a few jobs I’d never gotten interviewed for. But they would tell me that I got moved into like a category… Like an example is I was applying for like Smithsonian social media jobs to because I wanted to play I want to be in DC. So that’s why I always kept doing that area. But they have this thing where they go to veterans first, but they would email you if you got moved. And they were like, if we can’t find a veteran, we would go to you. So like it was still positive feedback. But I really think the cover letter is very important. And my cover letter starts with, it’s like three paragraphs is still one page. But the first paragraph is like something that grabs you. It’s not just like, Hi, how are you? That’s not like that at all. I was applying for the New York Times Fellowship a few years ago when I was a student, and one of the fellows, they were like, reach out to me with any questions. I asked them specifically about cover letters. And they were like, if you I think this only kind of applies for people in creative fields. Like if you’re like a computer science major, like this wouldn’t make any sense. But in the creative field, they were like, narrative cover letters and approaches like work, like that’s what they did. And so I made my first paragraph kind of narrative, where… because I’m trying to look for Social Media Video positions. So I immediately start kind of talking about how everything is on our phone. And then I actually put in a statistic from the Pew Research Study, which is about how like 53% of Americans get the news on their phone, or like on social media. But I kind of started with a narrative approach where it’s not just about me, but it’s not super long, but it’s something just to grab them. And then I go into my experience. And then I say like how the experience applies to the first paragraph, which is like how social media how everything’s on our phone, like what I can bring to the table. But ever since I changed my cover letter to that, I feel that I’ve gotten at least like further in the process.
Shyla Duff
And then also my portfolio which I made, it was like our senior thesis or a senior project while in digital communications or Digital Culture and Design. And I like am able to put everything on there and link everything there. And so I’ve had like interviews where they’re like, or I’ve had applications where they asked you to link a portfolio and like three videos you’ve done or something like that. So portfolio I think is very important. But if you’re a video person, then you have to do an editing reel, which I’ve tried to do that. And I don’t think mine’s good. So I’m just like, stick with my portfolio because it’s just like it’s writing. It’s social media. It’s video, it’s podcast. But I really think a place where everyone can find, like your work, and it’s easy to navigate is really helpful. And then my resume, I don’t know, I actually like, don’t I don’t like that you don’t get any feedback on your resume. But honestly, because I’m in a creative field, my resume is colorful, I made it on Canva. I haven’t heard anyone say like, this is a bad resume or anything. But again, if you’re like, like, I have a friend who’s in accounting, and she was like, my resume is not allowed to look like that. But it’s because she had to have like a specific format for business. But in the creative field, I think mine kind of is more fun and kind of shows like I’m in a creative like person. And then the color scheme goes with my portfolio. So if they’re looking at both, they’ll see that like, the text is like the same color, stuff like that. But I really think that’s only allowed in the creative field. And like you have to be more like, you know, like by the book if you’re in like a more business field or something like that. Yeah, that makes professional I guess. I don’t know.
Emma Plutnicki
Okay, so just in general, do you have any advice for someone who’s trying to get into your field?
Shyla Duff
That’s a good question. Oh, I forgot to mention that. Right. before I graduated, CCU added a film minor. And I immediately was like, I have to have that and hopped on that. So if someone’s interested in video, specifically, I would say the film minor, obviously, everything went remote while I was there, so I don’t know what it’s supposed to be like in person. But I think like, we were supposed to have like, production studio stuff. And I remember like, we had to go remote. Because the studio look really cool at CCU.
I would say 100% do the film minor. And then internships, like do like as many or do an internship at least one or two, because you get credit for it. So because I think they let you do get at least two credits for an internship and so are basically they let you do an internship for credit. And they let you do that twice. I mean, so I was able to get like two credits towards my degree, because I had two internships at the time. And so I would say just like, go that route, obviously, it was easier for me because everything was remote. So like, like, everything opened up, like, there’s no way I could have moved all around to that where those places were. But the children’s Recovery Center was local. And then I got credit for the Athenaeum Press too. So I would just say, like, internships for credit, but also just like, for experience, even though it’s remote, so it wasn’t like in an office or anything, but gave me experience like in the professional world, like you’re still learning how to do like, like how to send out emails and stuff to people, and set up phone calls, and you just get like thrust into the professional space. And I think that was that really helped me feel more confident. And just like, it’s just something you have to learn, like, you have to learn how to talk to your co workers.
And we use Slack and Teams and stuff like that at different places. So you’re always like, communicating with one another. And just like learning how to collaborate, if that makes sense, with everyone. And it’s kind of fun, because like, obviously, like I was the youngest person there, because I was just an intern. But like, it still was really fun. It wasn’t, it’s not as intimidating as like, someone would think because like I can get intimidated very easily, but it’s just nice to be like say even if like you’re doing nothing, you’re doing a bad job, but they want to help you succeed. They want to help you learn like you can’t really do a bad job if you unless you’re like not trying, but it’s just a fun experience in general that I think like just really helped me feel more confident like going to the next internship or something like knowing like, okay, they want to see me to see like succeed they want to see me learn like I can do it and then helps me like like stepping stone to others.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that makes sense. That’s really good advice. Just in general, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Shyla Duff
That’s a good question. I don’t want to forget anything like I got the film minor. Because honestly, the second they were like we’re adding a film minor and I was about to graduate. I was like, I have to have that because, what’s funny though, is like obviously like I was Digital Culture Design, but like I don’t know if anyone knows what that is. So I was like having the film minor, I could just be like I didn’t video stuff or like digital media and could just like lump it in, and it wasn’t like I mean I did it right before I graduated, so it wasn’t like I had to add on like a ton of classes or anything, and like couldn’t. So minor for sure. Internships definitely. I’m trying to think…
Oh, well in the meantime, like while I’ve been job searching and stuff, I just like love TikTok and so I have like a history-based TikTok account that I just use to keep practicing my skills Unlike my video production skills just so they don’t get like rusty, I guess like, while I haven’t been like working a nine to five, so honestly, like, advice that someone gave me was: Just create what you want to create, and it’ll help you get to where you want to be. So like, I really want to be in the like history, still the educational sphere, but like history content, stuff like that for video. And so I would just like was like, let me just start making it for myself and for my portfolios, at least is going somewhere and I have something to like show. But it helps you kind of like channel your like creative ideas and stuff, and just help you focus on where you want to be headed. But also, I think it’s totally okay not to know because in the beginning, I didn’t know I just knew I wanted to do video, but I was like, how the heck am I going to figure out like what path I wanted to go? And it wasn’t until I went to the Athenaeum Press and work there that I was like, I love history and local stories and like stories that really matter (or not that others don’t matter) but like really are like just important and like underrepresented and stuff. And so by just trying out a bunch of things, it’s just kind of how you find out like the lane you want to go.
Emma Plutnicki
Yeah, that makes sense. Perfect.
