Alumni Spotlight

When Craig Viechec was a senior broadcasting major at Montclair State University, he could remember getting out of class and routinely looking at the New York City skyline in the distance.

“It was a constant reminder of my dream to work in the city and in television,” Viechec said.

Soon after graduating from Montclair, his dream was realized.

After spending five years working at Good Morning America, a tenure that included working on the team that won an Emmy for “Outstanding Morning Program,” Viechec has been working as a production associate on the directing team for The View for the past three years.

As a production associate, Viechec has a myriad of responsibilities that turn him into a sort of liaison between the editorial and technical teams, while coordinating with the executive producers, talent team, graphics team and the director. From prepping for the show with producers in production meetings, to preparing unique graphics for a special show(like Whoopi Goldberg’s birthday special on November 13), to working the control room during the live broadcast, Viechec has his hand in a number of vital aspects of the show.

“You have to be quick on your feet,” Viechec said. “But at the same time it’s a real thrill in the control room during a live broadcast.”

For Viechec, though, the best part of his job might be collaborating with The View’s producers.

“It’s fun working with a producer’s idea and then to help make it come to life,” Viechec said. “Just knowing something went from an idea to something a million people are watching is great to see and a huge payoff.”

And despite graduating from Montclair State University eight years ago, Viechec still keeps some of the lessons he learned with him, particularly from Professor Patty Piroh’s senior seminar class, and passes them along to the interns he works with.

“She told us what it would be like working in the ‘real world;’ what we were getting into,” Viechec said. “She also taught us to treat everyone we meet at work with the same level of respect. I’ve always kept that in mind.”