Ask A Former Assistant: Reggie Elzey (Associate Video Producer / Editor, E! News)

Reggie Elzey,

Associate Video Producer / Editor, E! News

Hi Reggie! Thank you so much for joining The Hollywood Assistant! Tell us more about your day-to-day as an Associate Producer and Editor for NBC’s E! News.

Thank you for having me! My day-to-day mostly consists of making video content for our YouTube pages (E! Entertainment, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, E! Rewind, and Glambot) out of the vast collection of library content we have within the E! vault. This includes long-form content from full episode cuts to mashups as well as YouTube shorts. My role falls under our E! News Originals team, and I also help develop and produce premium original content for our YouTube channels. During award season, our team also produces live streams from the red carpet that I also help produce. Additionally, I cut promotional show clips for our marketing teams to use for some of our current shows on E! like Botched and House of Villains. 

As mentioned, a pretty important part of your job is producing and editing viral video content. What’s the secret to anticipating what will go viral?

With the amount of digital content on the internet, shifting social media platforms and ever-changing algorithms, it’s hard to anticipate what will make something go viral. Some good indicators in my experience have been creating content that can become trending sounds and content that is highly engaging, interesting, or funny. I’ve also been shocked to see certain content go viral versus other content that I’ve produced. It can feel a lot like pulling a slot machine lever. You keep putting out content in the hopes that the algorithm will show favor every once in a while. 

You’ve touched pretty much every side of media. Although you eventually landed and rose at E!, you’ve also tried your hand in scripted television on both the talent agency (Creative Artists Agency, Scripted TV Assistant) and network (NBC Cable Entertainment, intern) sides. You’ve also interned in casting (Tricon Films & Television) and worked in production (Production Assistant, Icarus Film Studio). What eventually made you decide on entertainment news?

Ironically enough, my goal was always to work in entertainment news! I got here in a bit of a roundabout way. I had interviewed three separate times for an internship at E! News during college but didn’t land it each time. During my senior year of college, after learning that I didn’t get the internship at E! once again, my recruiter let me know that the scripted development team for NBCU Cable Entertainment had seen my résumé and wanted to interview me. I felt that I needed an internship at a large company like NBCU if I wanted to transition into the entertainment industry post-grad, and this was my foot-in-the-door opportunity, even if it wasn’t the internship I initially wanted.

I took the interview, and I ended up interning in scripted development for the remainder of college and learned so much about the world of scripted content—then I started at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) once I graduated in January 2021. After a few months at CAA, an e-mail came across my assistant inbox that the EVP/Editor-in-Chief of E! News was looking for an assistant, and I applied immediately! That was my way into the world of entertainment news.

You’ve spent a lot of your career with NBCUniversal in particular. You ended up interning for a year with NBC Cable Entertainment before eventually returning to be an Executive Assistant at E! News before your promotion. Do you recommend that folks find one company that they like and rise within it? Or is it better to experience many different places?

This is tough—there are benefits to both. I was fortunate to be able to experience several facets of the business early on and decide what area I wanted to focus my career. I think if you enjoy the company you are at and know there is a possibility of growth, then I believe it’s better to try to rise within. It can be very challenging to rise above the administrative level if you are bouncing around companies with the same assistant title. If you move to several companies with the same administrative or coordinator title, there is a chance you may be perceived as a “lifer” assistant by executives and recruiters, even if you have aspirations of climbing the ranks.

It’s also important to advocate for yourself and have discussions surrounding your growth with your immediate supervisor. I think the name of the game is patience; your career is a marathon, not a sprint. I had always wanted to work in entertainment news, and I was in my administrative role at E! for two and a half years, which can seem long for some folks. Ultimately, I was happy in my role even if it meant I had to wait a bit longer than what may be deemed “typical” for the opportunity to advance to the next level.

Speaking of your assistant days, what skills still come in handy from that period that still serve you today?

I would say the ability to handle multiple shifting priorities has come in handy since starting my new role, which is something I think all assistants experience at one point or another. I would also say being solution-oriented, detailed, and proactive are skills that serve you far beyond the assistant desk and ultimately make you an asset to any company regardless of your title.

You had a bit of an untraditional college path. Can you tell us more about this and how it affected your career?

Yes, definitely. I worked full-time throughout my entire college experience, which may not have been ideal, but it taught me a lot about balancing my priorities and focusing my time where it mattered most. I moved to LA from the Bay Area when I was 18 years old and immediately started working two part-time minimum wage jobs while also attending Santa Monica College full-time. My schedule the first two years of college was very hectic, and I almost burned myself out. In 2016, I took two years off from school and moved to New York City, and in 2018, I moved back to LA to finish school and was accepted into California State University, Long Beach while working full-time as a leasing agent at an apartment complex.

I wouldn’t change my path, but I do believe it affected my ability to get a head start on my entertainment career because while my peers were able to take on unpaid or part-time internships, I was financially bound to my non-entertainment jobs. Working so much during college also prevented me from investing my time on campus and taking advantage of some of the resources that are available to college students, like workshops and events that connect students to entertainment opportunities. It wasn’t until my senior year that I took a leap of faith and quit my full-time job as a leasing agent and relied on working at Uber and Lyft to supplement my income while interning part-time with NBCU.

That's devotion—I admire your drive. Let’s pivot and talk coasts for a second. You've spent time working in both LA and NYC. What’s the verdict? Which coast would you recommend young professionals start their careers on?

To answer this question, I think it truly depends mostly on where most of your network is located. We all know this business is heavily reliant upon your relationships, so most of the time, our next opportunity comes from people we know. I think every person should evaluate which coast most of their peers and colleagues are on and start from there. However, as someone who has lived on both coasts, if there is an opportunity for a role that excites you and a chance to move to a new city, I say take it and make an adventure out of it! 

Working for a talent agency: is it a necessary evil? Would you recommend that path to others? Our op-ed writer has her own take on working at talent agencies below.

I think this depends on your interests and where you see yourself in the future. I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary, but I have to give credit that being at an agency positioned me to be in the right place at the right time to see that the role at E! News had opened up. So many roles pass through the agency grapevine before they reach a job board, which is what happened in my case. If you're able to land a role at a network or studio without it, then by all means skip the agency route. I don’t believe it's as necessary as it was in the past, but there are still so many administrative roles at studios and networks that require agency experience to even land an interview.

I will say, although my time at an agency was relatively short (5 months), I was able to learn a ton and became a much more proficient assistant than if I would’ve become an assistant at E! straight out of college. I also think there is something about the work ethic and resiliency you learn while at an agency that allows you to stand out when carving out your path.

That makes a lot of sense. You've already had so many great tidbits in here, but is there any other final piece of advice you'd like to share for anyone looking to break into entertainment?

Don’t be afraid to bet on yourself and take every opportunity you can to learn and advance your skills! This may mean an internship that may not be your “dream” internship or a job that may not be 100% aligned with your interests. There is so much to learn within the entertainment industry, and you'll increase your value by learning about any area of the business, even if it falls outside of your passion. Lean into and embrace the idea that your career may not be a linear path and be patient with yourself. Everything will work itself out if you allow yourself to see setbacks, changes, and pivots as a chance to learn, adapt, and grow.