The whole exercise of media buying and selling can be both complicated and rudimentary, finds May Lee in ‘May Lee Live and in Person’ (www.wiley.com). “Complicated because of the variables involved when negotiating a licensing deal, such as time period, territories, exclusive or non-exclusive, and platforms - cable, Internet, mobile.” And, rudimentary, because oftentimes the programming decisions of an entire channel will be made by just one or two people, she rues.
“This means that the tone of an entire channel can be determined by the tastes of those one or two people. If they have bad taste or poor judgment, or are feeling lazy or are hungover one day when selecting content, then you get crap on TV.”
Lee also bemoans the lack of women in the top posts in Asian television, though there are plenty of women in managerial-level and secondary executive roles at media companies. “But I am talking about the big cheese, the top gun, the ultimate seat of power. At last count, there is only one woman who truly has a top post at a major media company. Pathetic.”
What can be the reason for such an imbalance? Perhaps, because of the differences between men and women, when it comes to perspective and behaviour, the author postulates. Most women don’t want to be a part of the ‘corporate crap’ that goes on, whereas men are driven by a different instinct, the need to ‘play the game’ and ‘fight for survival,’ she reasons.
“As much as we women want to reach the top of our profession and prove our worth, there is something – call it ‘instinct’ or ‘innate behaviour’ – that guides us to make decisions that maybe are more inclusive and less cut-throat.”
While adding, however, that women are not incapable of ‘reaching the top and of kicking some serious ass,’ Lee wonders how many women would really want to resort to that kind of behaviour. “It may be a kind of sport for men, but I highly doubt that we would find many women who would warmly embrace that kind of tactic and be high-fiving each other over martinis.”
To those who doubt if women can be successful as entrepreneurs, she has helpful insights in a chapter titled, ‘Lotus Media House.’ Starting a business from scratch is no walk in the park, Lee observes. “It’s more like trekking across the North Pole, without a map… naked. To put it bluntly, sometimes it completely sucks.”
But when it represents something that you believe in so strongly, and with such deep, unending passion, then it’s worth the blood, sweat, and tears, she assures. “Even in the darkest days, when I really wanted to give up, it was passion and perseverance that got me through. Ask any entrepreneur who has stuck it out and they will say that they never knew they were capable of such tenacity and strength of purpose.”
Among the many anecdotes in the book is an instructive one, about the valuable advice that author received from Oprah Winfrey, during the latter’s visit to the studio. “I said that there were times when I felt conflicted as a host, because of the way the producers approached a topic versus what I thought was more appropriate. I asked Oprah how a host can reconcile these two things and make the approach work,” Lee narrates.
Oprah’s reply was simple: That it’s all about intention. You should always ask yourself, ‘What is the intention of this story or interview?’ she told Lee. “What do you want to get out of it? What do you want the audience to get from it?” And, importantly, Oprah guaranteed that if the right intention is there, then the story will be what it should be and will somehow make a difference, an impact.
Looking back, Lee says that this counsel about how to be a better television host has always stayed with her. “I think about intention before, during, and after anything I do both on and off television. It’s a great philosophy to live by, because it keeps things focused and true.”
Passionate presentation.
