Michelle Won – Fresh, Fun and Fired Up

Michelle Won just finished covering the 2006 World Cup soccer fervor from K-town on Wilshire in Los Angeles when I caught up with her. “It was insane, but so unique. My story is about Korean Americans supporting the Korean team rather than the American team.” Always wrapped up in a story and on the go, twenty-three year old Michelle Won has got her game together. She juggles a busy schedule and has her hands in a multitude of projects with a bubbly, energetic and positive attitude. However, amidst all of this frenzy Won is realistic and grounded. Read on to see what goals Michelle Won has scored and why she is on the path to success’‚¬¦and has no time to date.

ASIANCE: Can you share with us where you are in your career and how you got there.

Michelle: I am an associate producer for KNBC in LA and a producer/reporter for TVK. In July 2005 I moved to LA to be an editorial assistant at KNBC. I was working the 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. shift and it was really rough, but right after my editorial assistantship I moved to special projects where the special feature pieces are done and they let me associate produce a couple pieces. Since they liked what I was doing, within a couple of months I was an associate producer at KNBC.

Michelle Won

TVK came up two months after in September 2005, so I decided to do that on the weekends. My co-anchor, Leland, did his Master’s with me at Stanford and one day I went to go visit him at TVK where I met the CEO and he asked if I wanted to do a camera test. I said, “Sure, why not. ” The next day they called me with a job offer. I’m one of those people that go with the flow. If things happen I’ll just give it a shot. I had no idea I’d end up in ethnic media.

ASIANCE: What drew you to major in Political Science at Stanford University?

Michelle: I actually wanted to go to law school. Ever since I was three I had a really big mouth on me, so my parents thought, “She can talk, let’s make her a lawyer.” Since I was three, I was brainwashed going into law school. During my senior year at Stanford, I had applied for a job at Skadden, a big corporate law firm in New York. They were going to hire me, so I went there to look around and talk to people and decided law is definitely not for me. I saw the rest of my life being this boring hallway. Right there I walked out of the building and decided to do something else.

I flew back to Stanford in December and decided to apply for the Media Studies master’s program. I had been accepted, so I had an extra year at Stanford. My best friend’s dad knew an executive producer at KNBC and was able to arrange an internship. It wasn’t something planned.

ASIANCE: What captivated you about television?

Michelle: It is the fact that T.V. is a medium that is so powerful. You have the sound, the images and the writing that goes underneath it. It dawned on me that so many people watch T.V. and people are very much affected by it. My goal as a reporter and as a person is to bring more Asian Americans to the media and create a presence for them. I thought this was possible through T.V.

ASIANCE: What is your perspective on the landscape of Asian Americans in the media?

Michelle: Right now there is a lot of movement. Obviously AA women are en vogue right now, so they are ending up in T.V. and movies, but there’s still a ways to go. Asian American men are still emasculated and desexualized. That’s something we need to work on.

Michelle Won

It’s a lot of hard work. Obviously I haven’t made it to where I want to be yet. All my mentors keep on telling me you have to wait 10-15 years before you’re going to make it into a position where you’re powerful enough to make a difference. People need to keep that in mind, but at the same time I always encourage anybody who is young and Asian American who wants to be in television to do it because there is not enough representation yet. Anybody who wants to do it and has the passion to do it, just really go for it.

ASIANCE: What advice do you have for those that want to pursue a career in broadcast journalism?

Michelle: I would say if your goal is sincere, one where you really want to do good and you see a true meaning behind why you are getting into television, no matter what kind of crap you run into you’re always going to be in the right place. I think a lot of people get caught up in becoming famous or having their face on T.V. and that’s really not that important if you keep your real goals in mind. I’ve seen a lot of people get into T.V. for the wrong reasons and generally, in my opinion, it doesn’t work out for them because what they are looking for is not that sincere.

ASIANCE: What has been your most interesting/challenging assignment so far?

Michelle: It is a series on Korean Americans (KA) who go outside of stereotypes and do unique things. It features people from very different industries movies, music, fashion, etc. I had to fight hard to get this series into the show. Digging up those people was more difficult than you would expect, but in the end it was a week of reports that I still look back on with pride and inspiration. There are so many Korean Americans out there taking risks and succeeding! How great is that!

Since I work at a Korean station they tend to not want me to do pieces on Asian Americans, but focus on Korean Americans. It’s kind of a struggle because I have to fight for my stories a lot of times. The Korean American issues are important, but our news director often wants to cover local KA politics or Korean businesses, which I don’t think is applicable to second generation Asian Americans or Korean Americans. They don’t really share my vision, so I have to fight a lot to get my stories in there. I can only speak Korean to them, which is hard because I’m not that good at Korean.

Thomas Yun, Executive Chef and Owner of Flemings Steakhouse in Woodland Hills, CA http://livedigital.com/content/146277/u11540

Esther Kimm, Commedienne at the age of almost 40 she has performed at the legendary Laugh Factory in LA http://livedigital.com/content/134149/u11540

Gene Hong, Art Director for Justin Timberlake's clothing line William Rast http://livedigital.com/content/142857/u11540

Paul Cho, Co-producer of John Legend's Grammy award-winning album “Get Lifted” http://livedigital.com/content/140138/u11540

Michelle Won

ASIANCE: What are some upcoming projects you’re involved in that you’re excited about.

Michelle: I have a new show coming out that I’m executive producing. It’s called “Kickin’ It with Michelle and Danny.” Danny Cho is a comedian who shares the stage with Dave Chappelle, Jon Lovitz, and other big names. The two of us are going into different fun venues, whether it’s a nightclub or just places where lots of people are gathering. We basically make fun of people. It’s going to be interesting because we’re trying to bring Danny up as a strong Asian male who’s not into Kung Fu or is a nerd. He’s funny, cool and fun to be around. The two of us go out and have fun. I’m really excited about this because I’m gaining a lot of production experience under my belt. We’re trying to stack 12 episodes, which is kind of hard right now since I’m working weekends, but we’ll probably start running it in a couple of months.

We are working with a production group called Wong Fu Productions, to make this happen in a very polished format. Wong Fu has a huge following so I think it will end up being a successful project. Of course, in T.V., you never really know. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

ASIANCE: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Michelle: I really would love to be involved in a show like Primetime or 20/20 whether behind the scenes or in front of the camera. I like looking in depth at stories instead of doing two-minute pieces on them. Further down the line that is where I would like to be, but while I’m young I want to be in an outlet that reaches young people such as VH-1 or MTV. I see what MTV correspondent SuChin Pak does and I really, really admire her. What she is doing is truly great because even as mainstream music reporter she is still able to talk about Asian American issues in her own way and I would love to be doing that.

ASIANCE: What do you enjoy during your down time?

Michelle: I really love music and actually manage a hip-hop group called Magnetic North based in the Bay Area (one of the rappers is Chinese American and the other is Vietnamese American). I spend most of my other time working on music with them and helping them come up with different concepts. I’ve also been playing the piano since I was three, so music has always been in my heart. They talk a lot about Asian American issues, which is why people like them. They have a strong heart and foundation. Magnetic North is moving to L.A. soon, so I will have the opportunity to work with them a little more.

ASIANCE: Since you grew up in New Jersey, can the Big Apple be expecting your arrival soon?

Michelle: I really, really hope so. I was visiting my family not too long ago and I really missed them. I think that is the main reason I am dying to get back to New York. It’s been hard as I’ve been away from them for six years. I don’t have to stay in LA, but all the opportunities have been here so far so I’m sticking around. I briefly went to New York to work for 20/20. One of my mentors there told me to work in a local news market, so I came back to LA. 20/20 is network news and at that time I wanted to be a producer and to be a producer at 20/20 would take five years, but go to a local market and you’ll (possibly) move up and be a producer within a year, which was my goal. However, as soon as something comes up in New York I’m out of here.

ASIANCE: How do stay organized and balanced?

Michelle: I’m really glad I seem balanced because I don’t know if I am. My life is a little crazy and I try to stay organized, but I’m really a disorganized person.

Michelle Won

I call my parents every single day. Without them I don’t know what I would do. They keep me grounded. They always give the best advice and make sure I’m eating right. My dad asks, “Did you eat your vegetables today?” I also have a really strong support network in LA, having people around you who want you to do well too is important. A lot of my mentors live in LA. When I’m having a bad at work or am discouraged about my career they always bring me back up. I think that is very important, you need people around you who are going to support and tell you you can do it even though you feel like you can’t.

ASIANCE: Why do you love your job?

Michelle: I really love it because partly I get to make a statement about things, but also because it doesn’t get boring. Being a reporter is so fun because you cover something different everyday and you meet all these new people. You can connect with a lot of different people. Even though you are sitting down with them for fifteen minutes you really get to know them. I don’t think most jobs will allow you to learn a little about everything. I know more about finances, starting a retirement fund, rock, hip-hop, etc. Things I wouldn’t have known about if I weren’t a reporter.

ASIANCE: Who are your role models?

Michelle: I look up to Barbara Walters a lot because she is so respected and has been in the industry for so long and is so good at what she does. Her questions are always on the mark. She’s not afraid to say anything and knows how to get the right nuggets of information out of people. I base my study of question asking off of her. This is really cliche, but my mom is also my role model. She is the most independent woman I have ever met and is so intelligent. She has two master’s degrees and wants to get her PhD. When I’m alone in LA and get a little homesick, I always try to keep in mind that my mom came to America alone and I say, “I can do this.” My mom has such a strong spirit.