Anthony A. Papa
Award-winning, strategic, and visionary Executive with a successful track record in content creation, television, public media, digital media, technology, leadership, and business endeavors. Demonstrated expertise in production, operations, fiscal management, multiplatform delivery, and strategic planning. Seeking a position to leverage fiduciary and content creation experience, enhance impact, and lead the organization to new heights.
Professional Experience
Director of Operations | Executive Producer
KVCR Public Media - PBS TV24 & NPR Radio 91.9 FM
FNX - First Nations Experience
Led KVCR Public Media - PBS, NPR & FNX, into the digital era under budget, increasing efficiency, audience, and content delivery. Functioned as station Interim General Manager (July 2021 - January 2023).
Managed and developed a financial, creative, and strategic vision for content and operations at local PBS, NPR, and First Nations Experience (FNX), a national television network accessible to 29 affiliates across 32 states through PBS’s satellite and digital streaming systems and also streamed nationally via the FNX app.
Managed a team of 34 consisting of union employees, part-time staff, interns, and contractors.
Oversaw multi-year forecasting and cash-flow management and created, on average, a yearly $8 million global budget in Fiscal years 21-'24 for TV, Radio, FNX, a nonprofit foundation, and an average of 28 restricted or grant-funded programs per year.
Responsible for decreasing operating expenses and fixing a budgetary deficit of 2.8 million in FY20 & FY21.
Developed and presented a 5-year budget forecast, organizational structure chart, and strategic planning goals focusing on Civic Information and Education.
Managed acquisitions, programming, and budgeting; directed business development, content acquisitions, and partnerships with Public Media, Indigenous communities, and the Inland Empire.
Negotiated and executed multi-year content and distribution agreements with key partners such as (PBS Digital, Universal Production Music and Public Media Management LLC).
Fiscal responsibility manager overseeing the management of local, federal, county, and state-funded grants.
Designed monthly reporting comparing total membership to audience engagement across distribution platforms.
Created an innovative underwriting application that effectively monitored internal tracking and external collection.
Designed, negotiated, developed, and managed live streaming solutions for KVCR-PBS/NPR and FNX (First Nations Experience) Television nationally, generating new data and revenue streams while increasing audience engagement.
Secured as Executive Producer $1.4 million in funding from San Bernardino County Schools for thirty-six episodes of a children's biliteracy animated television series, "Learn with Me".
Executive Producer - Regional Emmy-Winning "Indian Rodeo - Voices of the INFR" and Regional Emmy Nominated "Native Hope Champions: Riding for the Missing" for FNX Television.
Executive Producer- FNX's "Native Shorts: Season Four", presented by Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous program, a television series featuring short films showcased at the Sundance Film Festival.
Executive Producer - 'Inland Edition", a radio program created for the community during the pandemic, as of 2023, a weekly public affairs television program with California elected officials and community leaders.
Executive Producer - "Native Vote", a three-hour live FNX news program covering the 2022 Election Night.
Executive Producer - "IE Latino Voices", a grant-funded radio and digital program featuring Latino-led organizations.
Executive Producer - 'Expression of Art", a multi-platform series highlighting local community artistic endeavors.
Served as a board member of Inland Futures Foundation (2020-2022).
Director of Broadcast Media Systems | Executive Producer
KVCR Public Media - PBS TV24 & NPR Radio 91.9 FM
FNX - First Nations Experience
Managerial position overseeing radio, engineering, traffic, programming, digital, and production teams; supervising staff, managing budgets, and participating in strategic planning and programming.
Created and executed long-range plans for the TV, Radio, and FNX channels, as well as business development, staff, content, technical, equipment, and signal expansion.
Launched the KVCR Mobile App and rebranded web and social media platforms, increasing engagement by 56%.
Responsible for station reporting and license management with the FCC, CPB, PBS, and NPR.
Oversaw content and technical operations for the website, social media, digital marketing, and broadcasting.
Created cross-platform digital fundraising campaigns that align with local content airings.
Executive Producer - "21st Century Dialogues", a talk show where students and local experts discuss difficult issues.
Executive Producer - "Midday News Report", a KVCR Radio program providing local news coverage.
Executive Producer - 'Uncovered in the Archives", a local travel show uncovering the region’s historical events.
Project Manager | Post-Production Supervisor | Producer - Editor
KVCR Public Media - PBS TV24 & NPR Radio 91.9 FM
FNX - First Nations Experience
Served as the Station Project Manager for the $16 million KVCR Modernization project, funded by the proceeds from the FCC Spectrum Auction Repack sale. This involved upgrading TV and radio studios, acquiring $350,000 in new field equipment, constructing a new broadcast tower, and successfully completing the project on time and $170,000 under budget.
Post-production supervisor of 10 staff members.
Integrated Adobe Cloud and Premiere, DaVinci Resolve into a legacy-based environment, and trained KVCR/First Nations
Experience (FNX) teams on asset management and cloud-based video collaboration tools.
Responsible for cross-departmental tracking of post-production deliverables and establishing workflows, budgets, and best practices to improve station efficiencies.
Post-Production Supervisor - "Hopefuls", docuseries following a local youth boxing program with Olympic hopefuls.
Producer and Editor - "Hidden Hikes", a weekly children's show exploring local mountains.
Producer and Post-Production Supervisor for "Other Side of Coachella," a docu-special that highlights the Coachella Valley and addresses health, education, and environmental issues.
Field Producer & Post-Production Supervisor for "From Scratch," a lifestyle TV program featuring a local family.
Post-Production Supervisor - 'Vietnam Speaks", a TV film where three local veterans share similar stories.
Post-Production Supervisor - "I Remember Television', a TV program looking at shows from the golden age of TV.
Post-Production Supervisor - "The Whistle" is an investigative educational series on earthquake science and history.
Production Management | Studio Manager | Digital Media Consultant
Vision New Media, Inc / TonyPapa.tv
Vision New Media was a digital media agency that served the entertainment industry. Its expertise was in digital content and traditional production operations.
Delivered to Disney Television / ABC Digital 27 episodes of show content, including 24 audio tracks per episode, for streaming according to Disney's broadcast standards.
Produced and/or edited over two hundred content projects, including live events, television shows, commercials, photoshoots, music videos, films, and social campaigns for prominent clients: American Express, Comedy Central, Honda, Facebook, MTV, Sony, Nike, Uproxx, Vanity Fair, Vogue Italia, and more.
Video editor/project manager creating social media video content and campaigns from raw and stock footage for launching a website and a new digital channel called Lightworkers, developed by MGM.
Producer and editor of the feature film documentary The Terry Kath Experience, sold for national distribution.
Studio manager overseeing facility and production operations at a digital content and fashion photography studio.
Led teams in website development, pre-production planning, production, and post-production; budgeting and scheduling; structured and negotiated agreements with clients and vendors.
Vice President of Web Development
CarsDirect.com an IdeaLab! Company
The third employee at CarsDirect.com, an Idealab, Inc.-incubated company that launched the first generation of online
car-buying platforms, influenced major automakers and dealers to adopt digital sales strategies.
Technical Leadership: Managed a team of 23 Software, Web, and IT Engineers, overseeing consumer website
development, content teams, and IT management.
Business Development: Collaborated with the Executive Team to develop the business plan.
Strategic Collaboration: Worked with marketing and executive teams to refine early iterations of the business model.
Fundraising Success: As an executive management team member, secured over $350 million in investment funding.
Rapid Growth: Helped scale the company from startup to over $650 million in sales within its first year.
Industry Impact: Played a key role in transforming automotive retail into a consumer-driven industry.
One of the best 300 Web Sites. Forbes: 25 best e-commerce sites. Time Digital.
Education
Bachelor of Arts: Business Administration - California Lutheran University
Skills
Leadership: Proven ability to lead teams, drive strategic initiatives, and achieve organizational goals.
Operations Management: Expertise overseeing budgets, multi-platform planning, and cash-flow management.
Strategic Planning: Strong background in developing and implementing strategic plans for business growth.
Project Management: Track record of successfully managing complex projects from inception to completion.
Negotiation: Skilled in negotiating and executing multi-year agreements with key partners.
Technology Integration: Experience integrating new technologies, including live streaming solutions, video cloud tools, media management systems, and mobile apps.
Financial Management: Proficient in budgeting, forecasting, and financial controls.
Video Production: Experienced creatively and technically for content creation.
Certifications
Public Media Diversity Leaders Initiative (PMDLI)
The Riley Institute at Furman University
PBS Executive Leadership Program
University of Virginia Darden School of Business
Public Media Business Association Finance 101
Public Media Business Association
Awards & Accomplishments
56th Public Media Award Winner - Educational Resources for the Community
National Educational Telecommunications Association
Learn with Me - (Executive Producer) - KVCR Public Media
California Ethnic Media Award Winner – Outstanding Sports Coverage
Ethnic Media Services Indian Rodeo - Voices of the INFR - (Executive Producer) - FNX Television
Emmy® Winner - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences – Pacific Southwest Chapter
Indian Rodeo - Voices of the INFR - (Executive Producer) - FNX Television
Emmy® Winner - Outstanding Science & Tech Documentary
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the News & Documentary Emmys
Science Fair - (Assistant Editor|Media Management) - National Geographic | Muck Media
Emmy® Winner - Lifestyle
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences – Pacific Southwest Chapter
From Scratch - (Field Producer & Post Prod. Supervisor) - Empire KVCR
Emmy® Winner - Best Military Program
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences – Pacific Southwest Chapter
Vietnam Speaks - (Post Prod. Supervisor) - Empire KVCR
Emmy® Nomination - Instructional
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - Pacific Southwest Chapter
Learn with Me - (Executive Producer / Show Creator) - KVCR Public Media
American Advertising Award - Local TV
American Advertising Federation
Self-Promotion Campaign - (Editor) - Empire KVCR
Gold Clio Award - Film | Branded Content
Clio
Uncharted A-F-R-O - (Editor) - Uproxx Media
Webby Honoree Award - Best Online Video Series
International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
Uncharted A-F-R-O - (Editor) - Uproxx Media