10 Questions with Valerie St. John

As interviewed by Junior Davis, November 2009

British born Valerie St. John grew up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. Valerie is a rising Media Personality through her Blog (StJohnDaily.com) known for intelligent, sharp witty commentary on TV and the Entertainment industry.

Q: What's your favorite TV show?
VSJ: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Larry David has such a dry sense of humor and the writing is complex (Multi-layered) brilliant exaggeration of minutia.

Favorite Movie?
VSJ: Have a number, Kill Bill, Wall Street, The Devil Wears Prada, The Matrix (Original), Triple X, The Transporter. More commonly, my favorite movies are usually in the Action genre. If something blows up, gratuitous fight scenes and mass car chases - I like it...

Who is your favorite Actor?
VSJ: Samuel L. Jackson - brilliant. Second, would have to be Keanu Reeves - no specific reason, but did you happen to see 'Point Break'? Hot.

How about favorite female Actor?
VSJ: Oh, there are so many - Julianne Moore, Drew Barrymore, Regina King, Sigourney Weaver, Charlize Theron, Sharon Stone - all of them are amazing.

Who are your role models?
VSJ: My greatest inspirations were actually not in the blaring spotlight, but parents (Mine of course) and media personalities. I am a combination of 1/3 Donald Trump,1/3 Oprah, Arianna Huffington, and my mother in there somewhere.

How did you get into the business?
VSJ: I started in News Broadcasting out of High School and began working for a commercial radio station. I was re-writing AP stories and reading news updates on the air every 15 minutes and was incredibly nervous (Although, I had been practicing being a News Anchor since about the age of 5 years, if you can imagine I had my career path already determined).

How was your success in News?
VSJ: I continued to work for the station for about 5 years (Off and on) while I was attending college and worked my way up to Public Affairs Director with my own show and then became News Director/Producer over 2 stations at age 23 - the youngest News Director in the country - the pressure was tremendous. It eventually went to my head, but the experience subsequently allowed me to pay my way through school and move on to my "Real interests".

What happened?
VSJ: Well, I experienced an "A-ha" moment, because somewhere along the way, it was discovered that I did not really like hard news reporting (Too political, too subjective, and too depressing). I preferred the Entertainment side (Less serious) as it was more fun and far more aligned with my personality.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
VSJ: The question is what do you do after you have already done everything you had declared. I did want to become a Commercial Airline Pilot, but I may be well beyond that career path now.

Quite frankly, I'm interested in owning a Network or a Studio. Although, I did aspire to one day owning 'E!', I will most likely own something functional such as TV Guide, The Weather Channel or a Shopping Network.

...That or become a Game Show Host.

Have you ever considered a foray into comedy?
VSJ: Well, when I am not busy planning world domination and enslavement as they say (Smile), I'm actually quite hilarious. Does this hilarity make me a comedian? Probably not. I can't tell jokes, really, because I can't remember punchlines, but love to tell stories with what I have been told is a very dry sense of humor.

I have another friend that has a personality similar to mine (Lorna W.) - I never laughed so extreme (Tears and out of breath, literally), I'm convinced that we would have made a side splitting comedy writing team. We were in Drama and Theater class and it was an amazingly creative experience.

You have an extreme interest in Technology - How does this relate?
VSJ: Yeah, I'm big into that...Technology has always been a basic fascination. I attempted to build my own computer when I was in grade 5 or 6 from an old television, since then, I have built a number of computers for my own personal recreation. My thinking was that if I built a computer, I could access information by simply typing in my questions (Pre Internet/Pre Google) - of course, I did not realize that computer required programs back then to work (80's).

Now with the Web, I have an outlet for my interest in Technology through a social environment (Online). I love conversing with programmers, software app developers, and the like...

I'm actively involved in Media convergence (TV to Web). In the past I have worked, consulted and initiated a number of Media based businesses (With my most recent experience working for what is now Fox Interactive). I have found that my area of expertise is largely Strategic Operations -creating, developing and maximizing revenue opportunities from television to an online environment.

I could go on about the subject but basically, yeah, I'm a GEEK...

What are your other interests?
VSJ: Absolutely love photography. I volunteered in a gallery and it was one of the best experiences -I would highly recommend.

Favorite food that you could eat every day?
VSJ: Definitely Japanese.

So, why do people call you VSJ?
VSJ: Ah, my initials - it's better than being called JVC.

Why are you called a "Social Influencer"?
VSJ: I appreciate the compliment, someone at one of the cable networks had mentioned to a PR rep that I was an active influencer (My involvement with Social Media and the masses?). I have people everywhere and talk to a lot of people -

I would absolutely love to believe that when I say something people listen, plans change and mountains move - well, at least not the people on the payroll that work for me.

Oh, and that was way more than 10 questions...

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Valerie resides in Los Angeles and has rescued three precious Siamese darlings: Big Bot, Olly, and Lemon, and can be often seen around town with long-time love and 'Gorgeous Hunk O'Man' ex-footballer, Kevin, or socializing in West Hollywood with friends. You can also find her at SuperFantastic! LLC.