Brian Frons doesn’t sugarcoat about breaking into the television business.

‘Long pay, long hours, obnoxious bosses and a lot of work that is not along the lines of what you want to do right out of school,’ he said, ‘Did you see ‘The Devil Wears Prada’? Agent’s assistant.’

Frons, the president of Daytime Disney-ABC Television Group, would know. Prior to that, he held executive positions at CBS and NBC.

He spoke at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Wednesday about living in and adjusting to Los Angeles, as well as his experiences in the television industry. Students had a chance to soak in advice from someone who had been in his or her shoes.

Frons earned his master’s degree from Syracuse University and was nominated by faculty members for the opportunity to be chosen by CBS during a national search for young talent in the communications industry.

‘CBS went to eight universities, SU being one of them,’ Frons said. ‘They interviewed 10 people from each university. Three of us eventually got picked. I finished with Newhouse on a Friday and started with CBS programming on a Monday.’

Frons did not hold back when describing how he moved up in the television industry, one fierce with competition.

‘Just being a caretaker is not in my personality,’ he said, ‘so I broke down the production people first. I made friends with the writers and producers so eventually they would rather work for me than for the people who paid their bills.’

Although Frons has spent the past 25 years in Los Angeles, he grew up in Brooklyn and began his career in New York City.

Moving to Los Angeles in 1978 was ‘somewhat surreal,’ Frons said.

‘In New York, people will stab you in the chest,’ Frons said, ‘and in L.A, I think they find other orifices to put the knife, and you never know quite where it’s going to go.’

He described moving to California as a tough adjustment, and advised Newhouse students to make connections with people in the business and to be open to all kinds of jobs.

When asked about how well his education at SU served him in his career, Frons emphasized the value of real-life experience compared to that of education. He said the education he got from Newhouse became less significant as he grew older, but it was still meaningful.

‘In terms of education, I think the real-life experiences that professors shared were the most useful to me,’ he said.

Frons also said the success rate is ‘pretty bad,’ but ‘you can’t focus on the failure rate. You have to focus on success. It’s about the ideas and the perseverance to execute them.’

This is what stood out most to Jeff Sadden.

‘He said to be persistent and to be open to accept other things,’ said the junior television, radio and film major. ‘He knew a lot, and I enjoyed it.’

Marisha Kelly, a junior magazine journalism major, said though Frons was sympathetic toward the students and offered advice, she could see how he could seem intimidating.

‘He has been in our situation before, so he is a good person to learn from,’ Kelly said, ‘But it is a more cutthroat business. He said it himself: He’s not a caretaker.’

Frons advised the students on how to get ahead in the industry, especially when it comes to promotions and dealing with bosses.

‘If you understand how they make their money and then help them make money, they will reward you,’ he said.

Varun Vira, a junior economics major, admired Frons’ attitude toward the industry because he thought he had a realistic perspective.

‘He had an insight that not many other people have,’ said Vira. ‘It was good in the sense that he knew what he was talking about.’

Frons also stressed the importance of being ‘original, creative and fresh,’ as well having the ability to work well with others.

‘The bulk of your life in TV, you work in small groups,’ he said, ‘The more I relaxed and focused on other people, the more successful I became.’

Published on October 24, 2007 at 12:00 pm