Jason Brennan, the owner of Nish Media, stressed the importance of being invested in your work during a recent discussion with television broadcasting students.
“As a producer, this might seem excessive but you have to be ready to die for that show because you are selling it,” Brennan said.
Brennan talked with the students for an hour on March 30.
Brennan started the presentation by talking about how he got to where he is today. He stressed to students only the best make it in the industry, so they have to work as hard as possible.
“It’s a tough business, you need to really work hard,” Brennan said. “Only the best make it, that’s the bottom line. Out of my graduating class, we had three classes back then of about 30 people. I think there’s maybe 15 of us really working.”
Brennan told the students he had to sacrifice to get where he is today, including working two jobs.
“He’s a prime example of what going that extra distance can do for your career,” Susan Stranks, a professor in the television broadcasting program, said.
Nish Media produced a drama in 2021 called Pour Toi Flora. The show was the first completely Indigenous-created drama series in Canada. The show was extremely popular and won awards over shows on Apple TV and Netflix.
Nish Media is known for its work with Indigenous peoples.
“Not only is he alumni of the broadcasting television program and a very successful producer, but he’s also the owner of an Indigenous production company whose philosophy really is to promote Indigenous content and culture around the world,” Stranks said.
“I think the messages were there for the Indigenous students to be inspiring and the students who are not Indigenous can certainly learn from that experience,” Stranks said.
Throughout all his success, Brennan has stayed local in Quebec and is a great example of how an Algonquin College graduate can succeed without going to big cities like Toronto or L.A.
“Not only is he a grad, not only is he an award winner, but he’s also still local,” Stranks said.