Media in Minutes

Eugene Obah: Broadcast News Professional, Filmmaker and Content Creator

• Angela Tuell • Season 4 • Episode 22

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In today’s episode, Eugene discusses his early interest in journalism, influenced by his family’s nightly news viewing habits and his high school newspaper involvement.  He details his career at RT America and T&R Productions and shares about his freelancing for Bloomberg.  As co-founder of Common Sense Entertainment, Eugene produces shows like Fit to Speak and Damn, That’s Good.  He highlights a significant story on the missing University of Maryland broadcast professional, Terrence Woods, and the importance of raising awareness of such cases.

Follow Eugene’s life and work here:

X: https://www.x.com/commonsense_ent   

Common Sense Entertainment: https://www.instagram.com/commonsense_ent/ 

Common Sense YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCSEChannel  

 

University of Maryland: https://merrill.umd.edu/ 

Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/ 

Larry King: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_King 

20/20: https://abc.com/show/316bd540-412e-4480-b801-1b59dda0ec99 

60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/ 

RTTV America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_America 

T&R Productions, LLC: https://www.trproductionschicago.com/ 

Balance of Power: https://www.bloomberg.com/btv/series/balance-of-power 

Fit to Speak: https://csemedia.co/products/featured/fit-to-speak-53189316 

Damn, That’s Good: https://www.youtube.com/@damnthatsgood1368 

Crime Redefined Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-redefined/id1436779460 

Raw TV: https://www.raw.co.uk/ 

Dateline NBC: https://www.nbc.com/dateline 

Missing in America series: https://www.nbcnews.com/datelinemissing 

John Walsh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walsh_(television_host) 

America’s Most Wanted: https://www.fox.com/americas-most-wanted/ 

Radio Rahim Renaissance Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLG9qAU3lyU&ab_channel=CSETV 

A Hole Lotta Cheese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmIWqou6cB4&ab_channel=CSETV  

 

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662  

Angela Tuell:

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. On today's episode, we are talking with award winning broadcast news and media professional Eugene Obah. Eugene is a broadcast operator for Bloomberg, a filmmaker and also the co-founder of Common Sense Entertainment, an award winning Washington DC based independent production company. Hi Eugene. I'm so excited to have another fellow Terp on the podcast today.

Eugene Obah:

Oh, this is very, very exciting indeed Angela. Go Terps. Great to, uh great to be on.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, an- we weren't there at the same time, but have the same background and training through the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. So I'm looking forward to our conversation.

Eugene Obah:

Yeah, same here. I think this is going to be a fun one.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, I have to ask to start with, you know what led you to the college and to journalism?

Eugene Obah:

I think I'll start with the path to journalism first, I'll answer that second part first. I think what led to even pursuing journalism, even having an interest in journalism. Think it started with my family, because it was mandatory watching in our house to watch the news, whether it was Larry King every night, when he was on CNN. Every day, nine o'clock this was over, you know, dinner, that sort of thing, we usually ate pretty late by typical standards.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Eugene Obah:

Yes, etc, etc. Yeah. So, I mean, we had Larry I was gone up to co-editor in chief, and that was

Angela Tuell:

Activities. King on every night. We had 20/20 every Friday, 60 minutes every Sunday. So it really got the bug. I really got the bug really, really a lot of fun that I thought to myself, Oh, the very, very early, and I was a very good writer. Still like to think that I'm a very good writer. So even in high school, I remember my biology teacher and even my English teacher, one of my English teachers in middle school, they were like, your writing is so good, can we use your papers that you submit as class assignments as a sample for future students? So yeah, I mean, it was really, something else right here. So that kind of sort of led to, okay, do we need to find an outlet for this writing and so forth? So this is where being part of the high school newspaper came in. next logical step, when I got accepted to University of Maryland. I was like, hmm, the next logical step, I thought would have been that, let's continue on the print drills and routes, do the diamond back, that sort of thing. But then I was like, I was kind of seeing where her drills was going, even then I was, I graduated in 2011.. Okay.

Eugene Obah:

And yeah, it was something else. So that's how that sort of came to be. And then I turned to broadcast, and I haven't looked back.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, so in your career, you've worn many hats, are you currently even wear many hats, from broadcast operator to co-founder of an entertainment company and a filmmaker. Let's start first at the broadcast operator part. You know, you started in this at RTTV America, and were there for more than 10 years, correct?

Eugene Obah:

Yeah, I was there for I was at that production company for one of two production companies, actually, the other one was T&R Productions LLC. I was there for, yes, a little over a decade, about 11 years.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, and what tell us more about that work?

Eugene Obah:

Oh, yeah. So, I mean, what's not to tell I mean, especially given all the geo, geo political stuff going on.

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Eugene Obah:

But I, what happened was, was that I started there at RTTV America in January of 2011 this was at my senior year, my final semester at the University of Maryland. I was an intern and during that period for just for your listeners, paid internships were very rare.

Angela Tuell:

Oh yes, oh yes.

Eugene Obah:

At that time, so a few of my friends were jealous that I got paid to do the internship. But hey, I will take the little money that I, that I got at that point.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, that's impressive.

Eugene Obah:

Yeah, no, absolutely. It was indeed that I was running the teleprompter and robotic camera at that point. And then after that internship ended, I came back after a call from my boss at that time asking, Hey, would I like to come back essentially for vacation relief, and that two weeks became 11 years in all, actually. And I was, yeah, basically behind the scenes in that non editorial capacity and that sort of thing. So yeah, that's pretty much what that work was all about.

Angela Tuell:

And then now you're freelancing with Bloomberg behind the scenes as well, right? And have been for a couple years. What is your role there? Specifically?

Eugene Obah:

So as a broadcast operator, we kind of do a little bit of everything. I primarily run the robotic cameras for two of the shows that we do out of DC, a radio and YouTube simulcast called Balance of Power. We also have the TV version as well, and we also bring in live feeds, monitor what's going on with the campaigns, especially now that we're about a few days away from the election, and it has been a lot of fun. It really, really has. We have a good group of people, and the hosts that we've got doing Balance of Power are absolutely fantastic.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah. What is it like for those who don't know? You know, being behind the scenes, it's such an important role. There's a lot of people that don't know all that goes into a new show to make it happen.

Eugene Obah:

Oh, absolutely. They see the end results, Angela.

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Eugene Obah:

They see the end result, but they don't see. Most people don't see what goes behind that. And I can tell you that what goes behind it. I always tell people that it's like a symphony in the control room, where everybody kind of sort of plays an instrument to kind of form the whole song, the whole song that is being the show. And what's great about what we do at Bloomberg is that the particular shows that I do on the Bloomberg behind the scenes is that they're both produced out of DC and New York. Where New York, Bloomberg headquarters, that's the main hub of it. And as I said, everybody plays a certain role, and it all just comes together pretty nicely. So whether it's the robotic cameras, whether it's the audio, whether it's the lighting, or the producing that we have a great group of producers, you know, from booking to field to segment that sort of thing. But it just all comes together and everybody knows what they're doing. So, I mean, it makes it even better.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, and if you lose one of those things, you don't have the show, so.

Eugene Obah:

Right, exactly. I mean, you know, yeah. I mean, there are ways that you know, sometimes, you know, people can get around this stuff.

Angela Tuell:

Sure, sure.

Eugene Obah:

At the end of the day, it's like, you know, we need every role filled in some form or fashion so.

Angela Tuell:

Well, let's also talk about another very important role that you have, as the co-founder and vice president of Common Sense Entertainment, a Washington, DC based independent production company where you host a filmmaker and producer. I would love to hear more about this company and the work you do for it.

Eugene Obah:

Yeah, so, Common Sense Entertainment, my business partner and I, we started it after graduating from Maryland. We wanted to do that as an outlet to provide the ability for us to create the kind of content that we want. You know, that's how YouTube now, especially, has democratized the way that, you know, we get media, the way that we consume, produce and interact and so forth. And as far as the work that we're doing, one of the first shows that one of the shows that we're doing now, which has now come back for a fifth season, Fit to Speak, is our monthly news program where I sit down and I provide commentary and do guest segments on topical issues in the news media and culture that people care about. And we want to have conversations that are in good faith, which is kind of sort of lost art form, I think, in terms of some of the kind of stuff that we see out in much of the current media establishment. So that's really that show in a nutshell, and then we do, Damn, That's Good. Which is our food show, where I, you know, go around DC, Maryland, Virginia, and search of the best local places. So this is kind of -

Angela Tuell:

A hard job, right?

Eugene Obah:

It's a tough job. You know, we have, what's interesting, is that you have, I mean, it's almost an embarrassment of riches doing that show, because we have a great culinary scene here in this region, contrary to what some people like Keith Lee and others may believe, but we have a great food scene and deciding what to put in the show, deciding the kind of cuisines that we have. It's very tough because it changes even during the edits. And the edits are pretty intense on that program. So

Angela Tuell:

There's awesome, by the way. I was watching some of it. It looks it's really well, you know, produced, edited all of that.

Eugene Obah:

Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, we put takes a lot of time, a lot of lead time to get that show together, and a lot of late nights, a lot of early mornings, sometimes, but we do it, and we, the audience has responded at a very, very good way for us, so very, very thrilled with what we have. And the hope with Common Sense is to really provide really underrepresented voices, you know, as well and narratives in the process of the content that we create. So we're having a lot of fun and we're kind of bent on the tear in terms of our viewership up to this point, so especially over the last two years. So it's been great.

Angela Tuell:

That's great. So with Fit to Speak, what are some of your favorite episodes or interviews you've had, or most memorable, I should say?

Eugene Obah:

Oh man, you know, it's almost like asking who's my favorite child. But if I had to, if I had to pick one of the stories that we've done that I think has been memorable and I think has made a real, real impact, it's been the one that all the missing broadcast professional at the University of Maryland, Terrence Woods. Yeah, that has been a very, very tough story, because now it has been as of the early part of October 2024, and it's been six years that he's been missing. But he was reportedly missing from Idaho that apparently that's where he was last seen. And I'll tell you, interviewing the father, earlier this year, we had an exclusive interview with the Father, Terrence Woods Sr., and that was probably for me, one of the most powerful interviews that I've done up to this point, because to hear from him and his lived experience being in his house, because I could have done this, you know, Angela, I can tell you I could have done this, like I do with most of the shows. I could have just done this via Zoom, you know, and all that sort of thing. But I kind of sort of felt my team. We kind of sort of felt that we needed to be in the family home really taken that environment like the like Terrances room was left intact, the same exact stuff when he left for Reagan National Airport.

Angela Tuell:

Ugh.

Eugene Obah:

So there are a lot of things, I think, in this case, and part of it, Angela, you know, just real quick, is that when we first did our special at the five year mark, which I'll encourage all of our your audience to check out on our YouTube channel

Angela Tuell:

Yeah and we'll put it in the notes as well.

Eugene Obah:

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And when we did that special, that spurred, that spurred Mr. Woods, he was not on the show at that point, but after seeing what we did with the two people that are based in LA that are doing an independent investigation on the case, and they also have a podcast as well, Crime Redefined hosted by Mehul Anjaria and Dion Mitchell. What that spurred after Terrence Woods senior saw our show was that now we have an independent investigation that they are conducting, and the hope is that that will spur even greater attention that we on the my show, have some updates that the crime redefined people reported that we hope again the audience will be aware of because we have to raise the consciousness of this story. We really do.

Angela Tuell:

If you can give a little bit, you know, we will link so our listeners can, can check out all of the details. But can you give a little brief background on on what we know?

Eugene Obah:

Yeah, so what we know to this point is that we, actually now know that, according to the investigatory findings, the independent investigatory findings, not the investigation that was done by the Idaho County Sheriff's Office, but the independent investigation that is being done right now by Mehul Anjaria and Dion Mitchell, is that the exact coordinates of the last known location of Terence is now known, and is now known where the last known location was, and that's huge, because that's going to lead that investigation in possibly other different kinds of directions, you know, at all, and even to just kind of go back to kind of get your audience up to speed with some of the developments that have happened up to this point. We know that he was part of a production crew, a UK based production company called Raw TV, and he he was part of a 12 person crew that were filming in Idaho at the Penman mine for a show called Gold Rush Dave turns Lost Mine. And with that, there are some conflicting narratives that, Oh, apparently he ran down a cliff. That he ran pretty fast, like a hare, that he grabbed a drone out of the sky. These are kind of things that we have found, or at least, I kind of sort of found, kind of sort of almost nonsensical. Given that, you know, I've done the Google Earth

Angela Tuell:

Yeah. of that terrain, you would need a, you know, a four wheel drive like pickup or small SUV or something to even kind of sort of traverse some of that terrain. And, you know, this is where Angela, I think the trail kind of, kind of goes cold. There have been some things that, you know, we're thinking that some of the crew may know some stuff, but may not be forthcoming with some of the information. We go through some of that on my show. There are certain theories that have been kind of, sort of bandied about, about, okay, what's happened to him, where he's Where is he? Apparently, what's there was some reporting that, oh, he went up to some, you know, road somewhere. And you know, in the original investigation from the Idaho County Sheriff's Office, apparently they weren't able to corroborate some of those, those claims. There was something about, you know, one of the people involved in the transports. So there's a lot of things within this Angela. It's not easy to summarize, right.

Eugene Obah:

It's not easy. It's not easy to summarize, because there are just a lot of things that have been kind of thrown at us with this case. And I think that there is definitely stuff that I hope that your audience and everybody that watches actually listens to this podcast, will be able to kind of go back and see and hear directly from Mr. Woods, because I think that there are certain things that you know may be nefarious, that you know there may be some foul stuff that has happened. I'm not saying that there is I'm not saying that there isn't.

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Eugene Obah:

But I think that there are certain things about what has happened here that does not quite pass the small test for me.

Angela Tuell:

Well, that's a great teaser. I'm sure we'll have, I'm sure we'll have everyone listening, and hopefully it will, just like great journalism bring, errr it's already bringing that awareness, you know, for that investigation, and hopefully we can see some positives come from it.

Eugene Obah:

That's the hope Angela, because this has gone on for six years. This has gone way too long without answers. You think about we're coming up now on the holiday season here, and to think that now six years, you know, without, you know, a Thanksgiving or Christmas, or, you know, any of the other you know, holidays and things. It really is gut wrenching. And I tell people on the show, look, I'm not a parent, you know, but I cannot imagine the pain that Mr. Woods deals with on the day to day basis. I mean, this is a man who has to be reminded every time he goes into his family home, because he still has got the pictures of his son. You know, some of the stuff, if you look around

Angela Tuell:

Yeah. his house, that sort of thing, some of the artwork, some of the writings, some of the things from a young age, and some of the stuff going back to the time at the University of Maryland. And you know, again, what we have to do Angela at the end of the day is that the consciousness has to continue to be raised on this case. And I'm glad that again, we have, of course, the crowdfunding campaign that may hold a deal on have started. And also, I will just add really quickly that we also on the back of what we've done, Dateline NBC, they did a podcast as part of their Missing in America series. They did, the podcast. Now, this stuff did was released during the Olympics, but, you know, this put out, you know, I think a good, nicely reported. I thought that they were missing a few things that I think would have moved the needle. I think they should have, quite candidly mentioned the independent investigation that was that was done, and I think it's a pity that they didn't, but I think, you know, for those that listen to Dateline's podcast, I do think that it provides, I think, a nice, you know, fairly reported primer as to what we know about the case up to this point. Yeah, great. Well, how did you find this story? And how do you decide what stories you cover and who you have on Fit to speak?

Eugene Obah:

Well, you know, I think in terms of finding the stories that we cover, and I think particularly about Terrence Woods, you know, the impetus of even covering Terrence Woods the story was the case of Gabby Petito, right? That was a very, very sad case in and of itself. But as you know, you know, and as I think a lot of the people that listen to your program know, that case got plenty of coverage. It got plenty of wall to wall coverage. I mean,

Angela Tuell:

Yeah. John Walsh, you know, host of America's Most Wanted was involved. You know, in this Dog the Bounty Hunter, was involved. He was all over the cable news and that sort of thing. But we do not see the same kind of fervor in coverage for Terrance. And what we are trying to do, especially at Common Sense, is part of the kind of sort of the credo of what we are doing, is that we have to raise the consciousness of stories that are not either told enough or are not told at all. So that's part of the guiding principle of the way Terrence's story was selected. I kind of sort of knew that, you know, this is something that we had to really, really put out there. And then, in thinking about some of the other stories that we have covered on Fit to Speak, we let the news kind of sort of drive the interest of what you know we decided to cover, but we run the gamut. I'm sure you've seen on the show, whether it's on politics, sports, especially the UFL, that sort of thing. Uh huh.

Eugene Obah:

So we let that kind of stuff and what we think the audience will be interested in and what maybe they should be interested in, really drive the content for Fit to Speak.

Angela Tuell:

I love that.

Eugene Obah:

And you, yeah, absolutely. And then you just real quick. I'm sorry, you mentioned all the guests on the show, right?

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Eugene Obah:

How we select the guests on the show? Well, of course, you know, as you and I know, Angela, part of the thing with this business, whether it's PR, whether it's journalism, is building relationships, building the connections. You know, because it's not so much watching that way. I mean, you have to know stuff, don't get me wrong.

Angela Tuell:

True, true.

Eugene Obah:

But it is who you know that helps.

Angela Tuell:

Yes.

Eugene Obah:

And I've been very fortunate, my team and I, we've been very fortunate enough to build a Rolodex of really, really good people, people of good faith that you know, and argue their points effectively.

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Eugene Obah:

They know what they're talking about. So I think again, it's the relationships. And then, you know, sometimes we'll go online and we'll find some people and say, hey, you know, would you like to come on? And sure enough, some people say yes, and we take it from there.

Angela Tuell:

Great. So what are you most proud of in your career so far?

Eugene Obah:

Oh, you know, that's a that's a good one, right there. I think I'm proud of all the experiences that I've had up to this point. I think that even with some of the shenanigans that I think defines the end of our tea in the United States. I think that definitely every experience that you have, I think as a great teacher and all. But I think the biggest thing that I've been proud of has been helping to create Common Sense Entertainment, and especially the growth that we are seeing across the past two years. I think that a lot of people are responding to the kind of content and the kind of news that we're putting out where we're getting back to the good faith conversations, the kind of sort of journalism that Walter Cronkite, Edward R Murrow, would want to see, because we're seeing too much, you know, we're seeing too much partisanship, whether it's on the right, whether it's on the left, or whatever the case may be.

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Eugene Obah:

We need to find that middle ground of truth. And you know, say the truth as it is, and that is something that I am very, very proud of. And I'm also proud of the fact that my team and I, you know, and granted, this was a few years ago. I think that back in 2018 we won Best Short Film for our film on Radio Rahim Renaissance Man. Thank you. Thank you. And that was like, All

Angela Tuell:

Oh that's great. right, you know, we are starting to become, you know, recognized for some of the work that we've done. I mean - It validates, and credibility.

Eugene Obah:

It certainly validates it, and certainly, I mean, it has been great. I mean, we were, we've been nominated for awards, we were nominated, nominated for our first for the first food show that we did A Hole Lotta Cheese. And that was really, really fun. Now to add the award to the bell tie, I think has just been really, really great as well.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, congratulations.

Eugene Obah:

Oh, thank you.

Angela Tuell:

Do you have any special projects in the works or upcoming shows that you can mention?

Eugene Obah:

Oh, so right now, Fit to Speak is back for the fifth season of shows, which has been very, very exciting, very, very wonderful, and we are continuing to roll out, Damn, That's Good. We've got three more weeks of shows left in the season. We hope people will continue to check that out. We have some incredible restaurants that will be coming your way, so definitely stay tuned and we'll just continue to keep going.

Angela Tuell:

Awesome. One more question, what do you hope the future holds for your career?

Eugene Obah:

Well, I hope that my career will be such that people, even more people, will know Common Sense Entertainment.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Eugene Obah:

You know, I want us to be up there with, you know, the Oprahs of the world, the even the Tyler Perry's of the world and that sort of thing. We like to be really, really up there, and to do, continue to do what we're doing at a high level, and get upper people to come along with us for the ride. Because I will say that a lot of the people that I've worked with over the past, now, 13 years that I've been in this news business, media business, what have you. There are a lot of people that I think were and still are absolutely fantastic. So there are definitely a lot of people. I always take notes as to the kind of people who I want to really bring on board and, uh, you know, we hope to bring a lot of people along. So definitely, we hope that's Common Sense Entertainment, the lights will shine even brighter for us.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, we'll be watching. And I know I said last question, but if PR professionals have ideas for restaurants, for you there, or for interviewees for the show. How should they get in contact with you?

Eugene Obah:

Well, I think the best bet Angela will be on our social media. We're at Common Sense underscore ENT on both Twitter or X these days and Instagram. So that's probably the best way to contact us. But we also love people to go on our YouTube channel, YouTube.com/T-h-e-C-S-E channel, subscribe, ring the bell. Like, subscribe, all that good stuff. And I hope that people will come forward with any ideas, any concepts. We would love to hear from you.

Angela Tuell:

Thank you so much. Eugene.

Eugene Obah:

Thank you, Angela, it's great to be here.

Angela Tuell:

That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at CommunicationsRedefine.com/podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.