Former Student Rises to Executive Producer at NBC 7
By Jerry McCormick
David Villasenor does more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day.
If you’re a watcher of “NBC 7 San Diego News Today,” you’ll see the fruits of his and his team’s labor.
Villasenor is an executive producer at the station and has worked there for nearly 14 years. He attended Cal State San Marcos and majored in communication. He now oversees the news programs for the morning show from 5-7 a.m. and the midday show at 11 a.m.
His job consists of proofreading scripts for the show and working with staff, including writers, producers and anchors. He also handles breaking news for both NBC 7 San Diego and Telemundo 20, which are both located in the same building in Kearny Mesa.
On Aug. 2, he’ll celebrate his 14th anniversary at the station. It’s a day that’s special to him.
“I remember that date because that’s the day my son was born. He was born at 7 o’clock in the morning,” Villasenor said.
Villasenor is a fourth-generation San Diegan who chose CSUSM because it offered night classes, which allowed him to support himself during the day. At one point, he worked three jobs to put himself through school.
He also had a goal: to work for NBC 7 one day. His journey there began as a boy in the sixth grade.
“My middle school multimedia program teacher came into the class to promote the program,” Villasenor said. “Ever since then, I fell in love with it. I was the little 8-year-old nerd coming home from school watching Marianne Kushi (current morning anchor) on TV as a kid. I was a news junkie from a very young age.”
His average day consists of waking up at 2 a.m. and starting to send emails to his staff. He arrives at the station at 3 a.m., immediately has a quick meeting to discuss the news of the day and then starts working with the anchors to read scripts to get ready for the first show at 5 a.m.
He also listens and watches out for breaking news that needs to be added to the shows. Once the show goes off the air at 7 a.m. to make room for the “Today” show, he has a wrap-up meeting with staff and then repeats the process for the next show at 11 a.m.
His hard work has paid off, as he won a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Award, also known as an Emmy, in 2022.
The path to this award wasn’t easy, but he kept his eye on the prize.
“I was in construction for 10 years, and then I knew I wanted to be in media,” Villasenor said. “My goal was to be on air. But I had a lot of responsibility with family and siblings. I had to stay home and be the dad in a sense to my younger siblings, so I ended up staying here and applying for a cameraman job at KUSI. They said, ‘We don’t have a cameraman job, but we do have a job for writing.’ Now, writing was not my best subject and neither was grammar and spelling, so I had to fake it until I made it. I was working at KUSI while I was at Cal State San Marcos.”
He got his big break after a producer at the station got into an argument with the anchor on set on Thanksgiving and then walked out.
“I was the only other person there, so I had to jump in the seat,” Villasenor said. “And from that day on, I’ve produced and then moved up to executive producer.”
He said he likes working at NBC for a few reasons.
“I have great coworkers. They make you want to come to work,” he said. “The majority of people I work with love what they do because you have to love what you do in this industry.”
He has this advice for anyone wanting to break into the media or any other career:
“Don’t pass up an opportunity because every opportunity that presents itself to you, whether it’s an internship or the opportunity to meet someone to make a connection, whether it be through your teachers at school or someone who knows somebody, can connect you to somebody in the business.”
Media Contact
Jerry McCormick, Director of Strategic Communications
jmccormick@csusm.edu