Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Milkowski .
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jenny. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was a little girl, we would go to my cousin’s house and play. There were a ton of us…all around the same age. We would run around the basement yelling…throwing things. There is a VHS of us playing (google it if you don’t know what a VHS is, ha!) and in the video, amidst all the kids running around there I am. Holding a hairbrush and interviewing (or at least trying to) my cousins. There are also music videos of us dancing to Michael Jackson with choreographed routines, but that’s a whole other story. Point is, it’s always just been in me. To talk to people. To be on-camera. To entertain. To inform. And to ask questions. When I was in grade school, I would sit for hours upon hours and read books because I loved stories. I studied Advance Psychology in high school because I am fascinated with people and their behavior. I studied Broadcast Journalism at The University of Illinois. It all tied together. And here I am today…a media personality and content creator. Whatever that means! Let me backtrack a little. My first job out of college was as a Television Reporter and Fill-In Weather Anchor at an NBC station in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. I fell in love with ad-libbing and making people smile. After that I worked at Jerry Springer and The Steve Wilkos Show (man, those hours were long!) and then I started to hone my producing and writing skills. I’ve worked as a breaking news producer and writer for several Chicago stations. I started off as an associate producer at CLTV in Chicago where I also would go out and “one-man band” my stories. Which means I would take a camera and shoot a story and edit it. I produced hours upon hours of news content, including a political show and a features segment. I worked at WGN (in conjunction with CLTV) and CBS behind the scenes. I learned how to time a show, how to work under pressure and how to manage a group of people. While I held these jobs, I continued my passion of on-camera work. I studied improvisation for several years at The Second City Chicago. I studied acting, and voice-over. I flew to Los Angeles and put together an entertainment reel. I hosted digital shows ranging from food to real estate to technology. I did everything humanly possible to get a full-time on-camera job in Chicago. I worked in radio. I was on several major Chicago radio stations doing traffic. And then one day, it happened. I got my job as Traffic Anchor at WFLD in Chicago on their morning show “Good Day Chicago”. It was a dream. I was able to utilize my personality while also delivering pertinent information. And honestly, I only hated waking up at 2am like 80% of the time. (Who are we kidding, it was rough. But totally worth it) Social media was important at our station, so I committed myself to the cause. I wanted to offer people digital content that was different. That was entertaining. So after I worked a full day, I would book LIVE Facebook videos all over the city. I discovered new workouts. New restaurants. I ate the best burger in the city. I learned trapeze. I learned Teppanyaki. I interviewed a Burlesque dancer. I wanted to give the viewers what they wanted. One day a viewer wrote me and asked me to do Polish Lessons and teach them words. So I started a daily Polish lesson video. I did funny #AskMilk videos where viewers could ask me questions and I could connect with them on a more personal level. All of this work led me to be the number one social contributor in Chicago among all the television stations. It was a proud and humbling thing to be able to try and bridge the gap between the television and digital audience. After WFLD I was approached by several companies to create social content for them and be a brand ambassador. I was asked to be a host and producer of a new afternoon show “Jenny Milk and Jay” on 100.3 where we talked about relationships, hot topics and whatever ridiculous thing we wanted to.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been SO many struggles along the way. Since I had a heavy background of producing and writing (which is a great skill to have!) a lot of people just saw me as a producer and not a “talent”. So I was dismissed a lot and had to work even harder to prove myself and my talent. The media business is rough and can be very subjective. Every “no” I heard, just lit a fire under my tuchus (yes, I said tuchus) I thought to myself…why can’t they see how hardworking I am and what I have to offer? It was a hard pill to swallow, but I kept going. I kept trying. I kept meeting people and taking on new projects and growing my skills. If you take anything away from reading this…just know, that I truly believe that the people who succeed at their dream are merely the people who didn’t give up. It takes time. Hard work. And patience.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Jenny Milkowski Media Personality and Content Creator – what should we know?
I am a media personality. A TV host. A radio host. A reporter. A writer. A producer. I create digital videos. I just like to make creative things and make people smile. You can see my work at www.jennymilkowski.com
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Hard work. A good attitude. And never giving up. It sounds easy, right? Then why doesn’t everyone do it. Success is subjective and comes at different times for different people. Take joy and pride in your journey and know you will get there, if you believe in yourself and surround yourself with others who believe in you, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jennymilkowski.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennymilkowski/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennyMilkowskiTV
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennymilk
- Other: www.youtube.com/schmoozmi
Image Credit:
Maggie Ponce/Revealed Studios
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