Riley Burke

This summer, with the generous support of the Carsey Wolf Center, I have had the incredible opportunity to live and work in Los Angeles as a Media Relations Intern with HBO | Max. In my 11 weeks with Warner Bros. Discovery, I gained practical experience within the industry I have long dreamed of working in and around. I made lasting connections with the wonderful HBO team and expanded my network outwards through meaningful chats with employees at other major streaming companies, such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. After this life-changing experience, all thanks to the Carsey Wolf Center’s Internship Scholarship, I am more confident than ever in my chosen career path and job prospects post-graduation.

My day-to-day work in the HBO offices consisted of a wide-range of engaging and educational tasks. I spent time compiling coverage reports and coverage book deliverables for titles such as And Just Like That …, The Idol, Our Flag Means Death, Winning Time, among others. I also had the opportunity to assist on the press campaign for the limited series Full Circle from start to finish. Prior to the SAG strike, I was even able to work with publicists, journalists, and talent to coordinate a virtual press junket. Additionally, I have assisted publicists during in-person press days in which I coordinated logistics with press and navigated schedules in a fast paced, high-stress environment. Another highlight included my writing several submissions to trade outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter and Variety for placement in a number of lists ranging from “Top Showrunners” to “Rising Actors to Watch” for names such as Emma D’arcy, Michael Patrick King, and Mike White.

While these day-to-day tasks were highly fulfilling, I also branched out on my own to create and execute a project that involves cross analyzing the relevance of traditional news outlets across social media platforms. With this project, I hoped to help the Max Media Relations team better strategize about and understand social media placements. I designed and presented a slide deck that included platform demographics, individual publication analytics, reference lists, and my own analyses of relevant platform phenomena.

My experience this summer would not have been possible without the support of the Carsey Wolf Center’s Internship Program, which allowed me to secure housing only 10 minutes from the HBO | Max offices in Los Angeles. I am sincerely grateful to the Center for allowing me to participate in this amazing experience.