A Note from Anna Carugati: To Gratitude and Open Doors

There is a famous saying from Alexander Graham Bell: “When one door closes, another door opens.” I have one closing behind me. My nearly three decades as a full-time employee at World Screen will end this year.

I’ve been doing a lot of remembering and reflecting, and the common themes through all my recollections are a deep sense of gratitude and acknowledgment of so much serendipity. I am immensely grateful to my parents, whose daily lives were examples of duty, responsibility, hard work, grace and dignity. They also raised me bilingual and bicultural, as we lived in the U.S. and Italy.

An internship during my last semester in college placed me in the CBS station in Chicago and cemented my desire to work in journalism. A position opened up in the newsroom, where I answered phones and distributed mail at first before eventually moving into researching and field producing. I learned from some of the best reporters, camera crews and editors in the business.

In the spring of 1983, while visiting family in Milan, I saw a job posting in a newspaper. Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest (the company’s name before it became Mediaset) was looking for TV producers. I called and got an interview. Little did I know that a few days before, one of the Fininvest networks had signed a deal with CBS for entertainment and news programming, which also included a vaguely defined clause for consulting services. I met with the head of personnel, and several hours later, I was sitting in Berlusconi’s office, where he told me he wanted me to manage the CBS consulting clause. What resulted was a unique experience bringing Fininvest executives to New York and Los Angeles to observe and learn about on-air promotion, marketing and news. I also brought CBS execs to Milan, including Walter Cronkite, one of my heroes!

I settled into the news and sports departments, but Berlusconi would call on me to translate for him whenever he had interviews with English-language press. He also asked me to translate during his meetings with Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch. While the lunch with Turner was cordial and “simpatico” and led to collaborations between Turner Broadcasting and Fininvest, the atmosphere at the one with Murdoch wasn’t as relaxed.

When my son was born, I couldn’t imagine being a mom while maintaining the work and travel schedule I had, so I left Fininvest and began freelancing as a reporter. I paid my way to major conventions such as NATPE, MIPTV and MIPCOM so I could continue to learn about the business. I collaborated with several magazines, including World Screen, and the rest, as they say, is history. It has been a privilege and thrill to interview so many executives and A-list actors, showrunners and directors. Thank you to the PR executives who facilitated these interviews. I’ve had a front-row seat to so many developments in the media business, from the birth of commercial television in Europe and the explosion of pay-TV channels to the home-video business. From the slow build of peak TV in the U.S. to the multidimensional flawed characters coming from around the world. From video-on-demand and “wherever, whenever” viewing to streaming and bingeing. From the slow decline of linear viewing to the rise of YouTube and social media as content destinations. From SVOD to AVOD and FAST.

I’ve also had the honor of moderating one-on-one keynotes and panels at MIPTV, MIPJunior and MIPCOM. Thank you, Lucy Smith, for taking a chance on me, and to your current team, Tania Dugaro and Carole Ollerdissen—what a delight it is to work with you!

So, with one phase of my career behind me, I’m searching for the door that will lead to new opportunities. I feel that the media business is in a somewhat similar situation. It’s searching for a passageway to a steadier new normal after several tumultuous years that have upended traditional business models: consolidation, the race for subscribers and the subsequent boom in commissions and production, the pursuit of profits and budget cuts, often resulting in thousands of layoffs.

I believe history will look back on this period and wonder if it all could have been done differently. Yes, shareholders are essential, but in the content business, aren’t creators, writers, producers, directors and crews indispensable? Franchises draw fans. Classic IP engenders nostalgia. But every franchise and classic started as an original idea. I hope the risk aversion in the market eases and paves the way for more originals.

The system cannot make it harder for the young to enter the business and be mentored by pros—young people of all backgrounds and ethnicities—so a multiplicity of voices may be heard, and all viewers can see themselves represented on-screen.

Thank you, Ricardo, for believing in me. Thank you, Chris and Alessia, for putting up with a mother who had to serve dual masters—your needs and deadlines. Buoyed by your love and grateful for my immense good fortune, I am looking for that next door.