Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Two Women on Balcony
Two Women on Balcony
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Woman of the Year: Madeline Turrini, SOC ’15

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Mikala Rempe
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.

I have never been as inspired and humbled as I was after interviewing Madeline Turrini. She is passionate about changing how women are treated in the entertainment industry. In her senior year as a Film and Media Arts major with a Political Science minor, Madeline is already working her full time job in the production department of NatGeo Wild. Madeline also works as one of the general managers of ATV, AU’s premiere television station. Since beginning her time with ATV, Madeline has changed it from the boy’s club that it used to be by teaching her staff how to write for strong female characters, addressing internalized misogyny, and creating a safe space for students of all backgrounds. One of Madeline’s colleagues wrote of her, “Madeline is accepting of all races, genders, sexual orientations, etc, she has no time for anyone who discriminates against others on the basis of any of the above factors. Sexism, racism, misogyny, and other forms of hateful bias are not tolerated – Madeline has always been very adamant about this.” Another mentioned,

“She’s friendly, welcoming, an amazing leader and makes sure that everyone around her has a voice. ATV’s become a great environment because of her and I can’t thank her enough for all the contributions she has already made to the world of film. Because of her, we’re going to have female scriptwriters, directors, editors, and producers in the world who know how to stand up for themselves. ” 

This was so evident to me when I met Madeline and she told me about her own struggles with being a woman in the industry and what she plans to do about it in the future.

Her Campus: As a second semester senior you’re already employed and working fulltime; that is so amazing! Can you tell me a little more about that?

Madeline Turrini: I’ve been interning throughout my time at AU. One of my internships was at NatGeo Wild. Two days after I left my internship there was a posting for a full time job, and I thought to myself, “I can do this!” So I applied and got called back for interviews, and got the job. I kind of uprooted my whole life for this opportunity, changed my class schedule for night classes so I could be a student and work full time. I work in the production department. My position is really diverse; I fill in for people who are out of the office, so I bounce around from taking notes at screenings to making some creative decisions.  My days are long, but so rewarding. I work a regular job and then come to ATV to do all my work there, I typically don’t leave until eleven or twelve at night, but I wouldn’t it any other way. It’s like coming home to my family every day.  

HC: What does a typical day look like for you at ATV?

MT: I work on the day to day ratings reports. I get website analytics to get a better idea of how we’re being received by generating an idea of how many hits we get to get a quantitative assessment of our work. Then I also go through every show in depth for quality assessment about what we are putting out. I’ve also created an archive of everything ATV has ever done. I also do a lot of work fostering community.

HC: What’s the community at ATV like? Many people mentioned in your nomination form how you’ve transformed the environment at ATV.

MT: ATV used to be not the most welcoming place for women, not because it was intentional, but because it was almost natural. I almost didn’t come back after my first year at ATV. I really had to push my way in here. I signed up for every show. I think people were a little thrown off by that, just because they weren’t used to seeing women pushing for more influence like that. They were never nasty to me intentionally, but it was almost like there was this internalized misogyny that made men there uncomfortable around me. I was very lucky that I came to ATV with a sizeable class out outstanding women. We worked on our retainment of women a lot that year, as well proving ourselves to the rest of the staff. We couldn’t be afraid anymore; we weren’t going to do busy work anymore. We just started saying, “Let me do it.” I knew I could hold a camera steadier than some men, so I did it. You always have to prove yourself not just with actions, but reasons.

HC: What are some specific struggles you have seen women face working in the entertainment industry?

MT: A few years ago at ATV we had a woman that was working on editing this project for ten plus hours. When the finished product came out they forgot her name on the credits. Again, this certainly was not intentional, but it’s just so easy to forget about women in the entertainment industry. Everyone knows how to write for male characters, but men are never taught how to write for female characters. Often times they don’t know how to write female characters, so they just don’t. When I worked at the programming director for ATV writers would give me three female characters 1) the bitch 2) the lesbian and 3) the bimbo. I finally let everyone know this just wasn’t going to fly; I wasn’t going to put it on air. Before these women didn’t have an advocate at ATV, I hope that I am constantly doing everything I can for the advancement of women in ATV.

HC: What are your hopes for the next generation of women at ATV?

MT: Don’t be afraid to get involved. ATV gives you so much real life entertainment experience. I tell all female broadcast majors I know to join ATVNews. At your internship you’re gonna get coffee and that might be it, at ATVNews you’re gonna get a reel.  Women are so great at promoting their passions; I’d love to see more of them doing that through media. I want ATV to continue to be a safe space for women to come to. We can always be doing more for women in media. I never want women to be blamed for being women. I work with powerful women at NatGeo. When my female bosses are authoritative and need something done now, no one ever comments about them being emotional or “in a bad mood.” I don’t want women to feel like they ever have to take criticism for their gender. Being a woman isn’t a con of who you are or what you are capable of. 

HC: What advice would you give to women who want to empower other women just like you do?

MT: SPEAK UP. Don’t be afraid to say when you’re uncomfortable, or when you have an idea. Be polite though, everyone should always be polite. Give reasons behind what you do. No one can stop you if you have strong convictions behind what you’re doing. 

HC: What makes you feel powerful?

MT: Doing whatever I want and not caring what other people think about it. Not worrying. Not being scared. Always having reasons behind doing what I do.

HC: Who are women you look up to?

MT: Shonda Rhimes. For the past 15 years people haven’t been familiar with the female voice, she is reminding us what that sounds like. Of course Tine Fey, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and all the women of modern comedy. People think that funny women are weird, and yeah they are, but they’re also my heroes. Being funny isn’t always cute; women who aren’t afraid to be ugly for a laugh make my world go round like Lucille Ball and Gilda Radner.

HC: What do you want to see next for women in the entertainment industry?

MT: I want to see a female late night host on a major network. My goal in life is to produce that show. Women can do it and we can do it perfectly.

Photography: Kristie Chua

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Mikala Rempe is a sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., originally from Omaha, Nebraska. She is a literature major with a minor in creative writing. In addition to writing for Her Campus, Mikala is on staff for the AmLit, AU’s premiere literary arts magazine. In her free time she loves to read, and cook. She spends most of her days accidentally spilling coffee on her own poetry. She hopes this isn't a metaphor.