In Black America; SRB Communications, with Sheila Brooks; Part 2

From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. I guess with a single parent, single divorced mother, she had to figure out how to be the mother and the dad, okay, and how to entertain us and how to ensure that we had everything that we needed in the form of, you know, not only those essentials, but to make sure that we were being entertained and had fun and had family time. So our family time was at six in the 10 o'clock news. Now in the early years, we didn't get to stay up till 10 unless it's special occasions, but I'm gonna tell you something. I watched every six o'clock news cast that I can remember from the time I was by four years old. Sheila Brooks, founder, president, and CEO of SRB Communications LLC located in Washington, D.C. Brooks is an Emmy award-winning journalist, entrepreneur and dedicated advocate of the Norwegian women's issues and small businesses. Prior to starting SRB Communications in 1990, Brooks built a distinguished television career as a news reporter, news director, anchor, and documentary producer.

At T.B. stations across the nation that were owned, operated, or affiliated with CBS, NBC, PBS, and Fox. François B. Communications, a full service communication agency, and post-production facility to help clients develop their brand, positioning and strategies in creative campaigns through integrated media formats, and broadcast, print, and multimedia. Brooks is an expert in entrepreneurial education and minority business issues. Also, she is the founder of the National Association of Black Journalists TV Project. I'm Johnny L. Hanson, Jr., and welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week's program, SRB Communications LLC with founder, president, and CEO Sheila Brooks, part two, In Black America. After three years in business, I finally got America's most wanted. I never worked for them one whole time when I was in the business, but I went to them and I said, hey, look, you have five production companies or four at that time.

You work with N.D.C. to produce some of your fugitive segments, to produce some of your news, the profiles, capture segments, and those were news, not the reenactment stuff. And I said, look, our company can do that for you. We had just bought avid equipment, and we're buying, you know, equipping the production facility room by room. Right, remember, and we, and won that contract for five years, and for five years, I had two producers in myself who were full-time employees, and America's most wanted, became Fox, became one of our clients, where we would produce segments for them. In June 1990, Sheila Brooks started SRB Productions as a home business with limited resources and staff to produce television programming and video production services for the government, major corporations, and national nonprofit organizations. In 2008, the agency rebranded SRB Communications, expanding their services into a one-stop shop for communication solutions.

Today, their communication services now include branding, media buying and placement, public relations, media relations, and marketing. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Brooks is a product of a single parent household. As a young child, she was determined to forge a career as a news reporter. Brooks earned a BA degree in communications with a major in broadcast journalism from the University of Washington, in Seattle, and a master's in political science from Howard University. Brooks is a sought after national speaker on entrepreneurship and small businesses. On today's program, we conclude our conversation. Well, what I did is I spent three years in Seattle, because I knew the only way I was going to get the big job is they had that three years. I ended up, after the first year of being a production assistant, I got into a reporter training position. That's when they were, remember, that's the affirmative action years. We're talking about the late 70s, where there's not too many people that look like you and me. So, and certainly not reporting, not on the air, whether it's public affairs, entertainment, shows, or news.

So, I got into a reporter producer to your training position at that TV station, and not only did public affairs, but also did entertainment news. And that's when, but you know, I not only did that full time. At night, I went to school to get a master's, and then on weekends, I worked at the black radio station as a news anchor, because I wasn't, you know, like in a newsroom during the week, I was in a public affairs documentary unit, and doing entertainment. And so I did all of that, and even, you know, contributed stories to the black newspaper. But those three years, I had all that going on. So, at the end of that time, the NBC station there in Seattle said, okay, look, it's time for you. We really would love to have you come work for us, but we can't give you a reporter job right here right now. Maybe we can give you some more training. I didn't want to do any more training. I already did that. So, they called me back, and they said, you know, we have a reporter job, and an anchor, a reporter anchor position.

And Spokane Washington, our sister station, which was the 70th market. I went to Spokane Washington and became the first black reporter and the first black anchor woman. And I stayed there for the next three years, and it was from there that I started, I decided that I really wanted to go into management, because there I got to not only as an anchor, I got to produce all my shows. That was, you know, see those were back in the days when you didn't have a producer. You were the producer. And so, I had all this great producing experience, from all of those jobs, reporting, anchoring. And I applied for a job in college station, Texas, as an anchor and news director. And got it. And that's how I got to college station. I was running a newsroom with 25 reporters, anchors, photographers, anchoring, the 6 o'clock, newscast, and a clock newscast every day, and also doing a weekly talk show as well as, you know, I taught a little bit at Texas A&M University, because that's where I was. And that's how I got to Texas. And then, after being there a couple of years, knowing my interest was management, I was at an ABJ convention. I always got to credit the National Association of Black Journalists, where I had been a member since I was a student member.

I was one of the first student members, one of the first 100 of those folks. There was only about 100 people when I joined an ABJ in 1977, as a student member. And met, you know, you meet folks, and I met some folks from below. And they were really pleased with the experience I had in news management, as well as reporting and anchoring. And they said, you know, we're about to start this program. We have this program. They already had started it, but they had only given it to a family member. But they said, we want to extend our management training program. And we're looking for a person of color that we can train to be in a high management position at the Dallas Morning News in newspaper and or at WFA at the television station. But in this management training program, it's a three year program. We want you to come and what you do is you will work at the Morning News and learn every department of that Morning News.

And I worked in all 33 departments. I was even, you know, in the press room and I was in the circulation. And then we'll send you over to the TV station and do some summer. And all I was going to take three years, well, what happened was I finished and you do it at your own pace. You move from department to department. And that department had says, oh my goodness, she knows everything. Well, it didn't take me three years to do that at the Morning News and at FAA. It took me 18 months. It took me half the time. So when I finished it half the time, they didn't know what to do with me. Okay, because, you know, though it was priming you to move into either a business side management position at the newspaper or a position news position or business side position at the TV station. And they looked at they were looking at retirement and nobody was going to retire for three or four years. You know, so that's, that's what happened.

If you're just joining us, you're listening to in black America from KUT Radio. I'm Johnny Hansen Jr. And we're speaking with Sheila Brooks, founder, president and CEO of SRB Communications, LLC located in Washington, DC. And we're broadcasting the day from the KERA studios in Dallas, Texas. Sheila, you had mentioned your involvement with the National Association of Black Germans. I want to touch on that for a few moments. You're the creator of NABJ TV. How did you come up with that idea? Well, you know, it's so interesting, John. And thank you so much for mentioning that because, you know, NABJ TV, like it is for me and you and so many others of us who worked on that project back in the day to make it what it is. Today, we should all be very proud of it. And I could not have done that without you, Alexis Jansi, John McKay, all in Dallas now. And so many others, Janet Johnson, I could go on and on Everett Marshburn. But what happened was, as a student member of NABJ, what I realized is that NABJ, it here it is in the early 1980s.

And we had all these professional development workshops, seminars at the convention throughout the country for all of us who were professional journalists. But we didn't do a whole lot for students. And I'm like, wait a minute. We have to become the professionals. And I didn't have any of those kinds of mentors coming up. And I'm like, we need to be doing more mentoring and training these young people. And here's what really happened because there are a few, there are a couple people who like today to say that they are the creator and founder because it becomes very important project. But what happened was, I was at the morning news in the management program. And I was working with a friend of mine, Maggie Rebus, who was a reporter, Hispanic woman, journalist, who said, Sheila, this is mid 1980s. You need to come to the Hispanic journalist convention and see this project that I think I'm going to grow. And I just have started it.

And I walked into, and the Hispanic journalists were having their convention in Dallas, Texas. And I walked over there to the highest. And I walked in this little closet room. And there's like six or seven or eight young people on typewriters. Okay, you know, now you hear me now. It's right as word processors. And they're trying to put out a daily newspaper for the convention. So she started telling me about the concept. And then I gave her some feedback on what I thought she should do with that. And then I said, you know what? I should take this idea to NABJ. And I, when I do that, because I was on the board of the National Association of Black Journalists there. And when I do that, what I'm going to do is also figure out a way that we can do it for TV. And do this at our conventions and make it a big deal. So I took it to the board in 1986. It took me four years and three NABJ board administrations to get approval. By 1990, we started NABJ TV and the NABJ Monitor in 1990 at the Los Angeles Convention, if you remember.

And that one didn't go well because it was our first. And by the time we got to Kansas City in 1991, we had perfected it. And yes, there were so many of us who worked on that project. And so many board members at that time, even our young Roland Martin, who was a student member, who was right there supporting us, you know, at those board meetings to get it passed. But yes, I found that the project created the idea. But you know, no ideas created without somebody else thinking about it first. Believe me, you just do it differently. And it was the Hispanic journalist that already had a newspaper project and it's very infancy that I initially got the idea from. And that's what's made. And over the years, that project has grown from the Monitor, the newspaper, and the TV project where young people come to the convention and do an entire week at the convention. Under the leadership of professional working journalists, they are producing a daily newspaper for four or five days of the convention, a daily newscast.

They're doing radio, television, and multimedia because of all of the convergence that has happened in the country. I know that's right. I skipped a part of your professional life, but I want the audience to know that you were one of the brain thrust behind America's most wanted when you moved to Washington. I don't know if I would say I was one of the main brain trust behind it. What I will say is that after I finished up in Dallas at the newspaper and then went over to FAA, I found love many, many, many, many years later. And decided that it was time for me to just go back to television. So I came to Washington, remarried after all those years, went to Fox to be the executive producer and run the documentary unit. And what we did is we launched the first Fox morning newscast here in Washington, and I was the executive producer who launched that newscast.

And at that time, that's when I decided, you know, I've been in news for 13 years. I had grew tired of really hitting the glass ceiling. I had grew tired of bosses saying we need you to train the person who didn't look like me, who didn't have the experience that I had, and then that person ultimately became your boss. And I just said it was time for me to actually leave the newsroom aside my own business. And when I did that, while we are now a strategic communications firm and we deal with advertising, marketing, PR, media relations, and broadcast production, at that time, we only did a production. We were just a production company. And of course, when I started the company, I said, how do I grow this business? So I started reaching back to those television networks that I work for because what I knew is that much of the programming that they did, that programming that they would hire production companies to produce the program. So after three years in business, I finally got America's most wanted. I never worked for them one whole time when I was in the business, but I went to them and I said, hey, look, you have five production companies or four at that time.

You work with NDC to produce some of your fugitive segments, produce some of your news profiles, capture segments, and those were news, not the reenactment stuff. And I said, look, our company can do that for you. We had just bought avid equipment and we're buying, you know, equipping the production facility room by room. I remember that. Right, remember? And we, and, and, and won that contract for five years. And for five years, I had two producers and myself who were full-time employees and America's most wanted became a fox became one of our clients when we were produced segments for them. And so did so many other networks, BET, TV, one, the first two years of TV, one when they had original programming. We had a multi-year contract to produce at least 10 to 12 one hour shows a year, ABC in Baltimore, the affiliate there, Drew Berry, who was a news executive for many years, high profile in this country.

Very well respected and admired, hired us to produce two weekly shows. So as a production company, the first 18 years of our business, the networks were our clients along with, of course, the military and the federal government, because I said in the seat of that in Washington DC. So that's how I have been able and managed to grow a, a business over these years. You will not believe what I have in my hand today, a kinko produce capability statement that says srb production ink television and video production media consulting and when you were at 1511 K street Northwest. Oh my goodness, that is so funny because I am standing in my office at six on 16th street at 16th and K right now that office you're talking about is a block away.

That was our first off. No, that really wasn't my first office was in the home right for the first two years, but that was my first office out of my home at 1511 K street. It was a small little office that only about three people could be in and we stayed in that building for six years until we had half of the floor. And then we moved to other offices because I would move every five years because when the lease was up, I always found the better deal. But I've never left this corridor of downtown Washington and K street. I'm two blocks from the White House and yes, now the production company in the last five years. The production company has become a full service strategic communications firm because as you know, with the recession in 2007 and eight, I had a double whammy, not only the recession, but the media world changed all those contracts, production contracts with all those networks. They went away because what do the networks and television do that? They focus on reality programming, more social media.

We're in a digital media revolution. So I had to figure out a way. We lost a couple of million dollars in revenues. And I had to decide whether or not five years ago with all that going on, whether I was going to shut my doors like so many production companies in this town did. And call it a victory or whether I was going to be the entrepreneur that I had thought I had become to be after all these years, reinvent myself, reengineer the company and focus on some other verticals and other marketing areas. And then we expanded to multi-cultural advertising, marketing, and public education campaigns because when you do a campaign, you are doing cross-platform work. You're doing radio, TV, commercials, spots, print, strategy. You're doing a multiple things plus have long-term contracts. And that's what we've been able to do and have been able to garner work long-term, five-year contracts with energy companies, utilities, the gas company, electric company, universities, Howard University of District of Columbia.

We just finished crisis communications plan for Gremlin University. So we have some of the largest, not only government work, but universities, energy companies, utilities in this region. And we've been able to recoup all of those revenues we lost five years ago and really grow the business. Don't want to keep you too long, got a couple more questions. Understand that you all received the contract to do video surveillance during the first inauguration? Is that true? Oh my goodness, I can't believe you remember all of this. Yes, we did. That was so wonderful. That was back in the day. That was with the Metropolitan Police Department, the DC Police Department. And we had a six-year contract with them. But the Police Department called us up one day and said, hey, she works. We got a company that is not doing the job, but we understand you know television and can you do this video surveillance?

Like, yeah. Now tell me what you want us to do. And so they share with us what we need. This is back in the day before, just remember, this is late 1990s in early 2000. And this is back in the day before the police departments have cameras on every building that they have right now downtown to do surveillance. So they said what we would like is we would like to make sure that when these big events come to town and this one was the presidential inauguration, we want to be able to be on the rooftops of some of the highest buildings in Washington and be able to videotape what's going on in a geographical area and then be able to pipe that video back to our main remote truck. Well, you know, when they tell me, I mean, police truck, I'm like, wait a minute. You know what I said? Oh, that's live television. You're telling me is you want me to produce a live show. And that's the way I looked at it. I'm producing a live show. And out of that came every year we would do about, we get contracted for about three or four of the major events.

They president Joe inauguration, the million family, March, the NBA playoff. If there was any major event that happened on the mall or in the city. And what we would do from the World Bank. I knew every rooftop back in the late 1990s in early 2000 from the World Bank of downtown DC all the way to the US Capitol. So I would have maybe a dozen photographers situated on rooftops. And we would videotape this certain geographical vicinity. And we would pipe that video back to their main truck, which was really, you know, your live truck. So that the police chief then chose Ramsey myself and a couple of my staff and their whole police department is watching what's going on around the downtown area while these major events were going on. And they would get to any issues and problems before it happened. But when 9-11 happened, oh my god, what a sweet contract for six years.

Multi-year, both a million dollar contract, but when 9-11 happened, it all ended on that day because that's when they brought all of that stuff inside. Did a lot of hearings, bought a lot of cameras and start putting them on buildings. Before we run out of time, it's not all about Sheila Brooks and SRB communication. You've been an advocate and spokesperson for women entrepreneurs and minority ownership of businesses. I have indeed, because here's what I believe, and that's what I want my legacy to be John. You know, I didn't get here without being, without being on the shoulders of someone. I mean, there are so many people along the way. My mom, certainly, for all of her courage in raising us as young girls and getting us out of that neighborhood. Those people along the way like yourself and others who have helped me achieve all of our goals.

Because, you know, to whom much is given, much is required. And I am a woman of faith, and you can't take any of this with you. So, I look at this that this is my legacy. I have been able to come from this poor neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, become a successful journalist, as well as entrepreneur, and my destiny in life. My goal in life, my crusade in life, is to share my wisdom and knowledge with every woman, African American woman, woman of color that I know. And if there are some good men out there, fine too. But it is going to be important for me to do that just as I have done over the years by sharing that journalism knowledge with young people. Because, you know, if one person that I show, my success is me nothing, what I am doing, when you put me under, they mean nothing. But if I can share all of this, and what I have been able to do, to build a company after 23 years, very successful company in Washington, T.C.

that is very competitive, and if some of my young women, entrepreneurs, black or white or minority can do two times over, three times over what I have done. You know, as I have been able to grow this multi-million dollar enterprises, I would like to think that if they can do that two times, three times, four times over, then I have made a contribution to this world. I mean, and that's what I believe it's all about. We have to take care of those who come behind us because there was so many in front of us who supported the bridge that brought me across. So I need to pass on my knowledge and wisdom for generations to come. And then it's an investment. It's an investment to other young minority entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs, because remember, in the words of Madam C.J. Walker, I love this woman, I always quote her, she's first African-American millionaire in this United States. She said, I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. You have to get up and make them.

And I'm saying and adding to that, Madam C.J. Walker, and then you have to get back. Any final comments, Ms. Brooks? Well, I just want to say I really appreciate and thank you so much for the interview. And for those of you who are listening, make a commitment in supporting women leaders, women in the public sector, the private sector, because those women serve as a catalyst to help and provide economic and social justice for all classes, for all races of people. You know, because women have overcome so many obstacles and we need to be helping each other. And when you make that investment, believe me, you will touch, if you touch the life of another woman together, we can succeed. Sheila Brooks, founder, president, and CEO of SRB Communications LLC located in Washington, D.C. If you have questions, comments or suggestions asked your future in Black America programs, email us at jhansson at kut.org.

Also, let us know what radio station you heard us over. The views and opinions expressed on this program are not necessarily those of this station or of the University of Texas at Austin. You can hear previous programs online at kut.org. Until we have the opportunity again for technical producer David Avarez, I'm John L. Hanson Jr. Thank you for joining us today. Please join us again next week. CD copies of this program are available and may be purchased by writing in Black America CDs, KUT radio, 300 West Dean Keaton Boulevard, Austin, Texas, 78712. This has been a production of KUT radio.