Turn on your television and you’ll see the glow. The polished presenter. The perfect lighting. The seamless transitions. The confidence that fills the screen.

What you won’t see, at least not immediately, is the army of minds and hands that made that moment possible.

Behind every smooth broadcast is a quiet storm of creativity, pressure, decision-making, and problem-solving. Producers shaping the narrative. Directors calling the shots in real time. Camera operators chasing the perfect angle. Editors stitching hours of footage into coherent magic. Sound engineers balancing chaos into clarity. And channel managers or creative directors are often invisible, curating ideas, approving concepts, allocating resources, and fighting battles behind closed doors to make sure content survives, evolves, and reaches audiences.

Yet for decades, media spaces have trained audiences to celebrate the face on screen while forgetting the backbone behind it.

The Invisible Architecture of Television

A presenter does not “just show up”. They are guided, sometimes tightly, sometimes gently, by producers who understand story arcs, pacing, audience psychology, and timing. Directors translate that vision into live execution, juggling multiple cameras, cues, graphics, and human emotions at once. Camera personnel don’t merely point lenses; they frame mood, authority, vulnerability, and drama. Editors don’t just cut clips; they shape memory, deciding what the audience will feel, remember, and talk about tomorrow, this but to mention a few…..

Channel managers and creative directors sit even further behind the curtain than strategists, more than technicians. They make the hard calls: which ideas live, which die, and which evolve. They balance creativity with budgets, ratings with values, innovation with risk. When a show succeeds, the applause is loud. When it fails, the silence is even louder and often unfairly theirs alone.

And yet, these roles remain largely backstage, unnamed, uncelebrated, and under-credited.

Why This Old Model Is Cracking

The industry is changing and it has to.

Digital platforms, social media, and creator culture have disrupted the idea that only on-screen talent is “the brand”. Audiences are now curious about process. They want to know who writes, who edits, who directs, who decides. Credits are no longer enough; visibility is becoming currency.

More importantly, media professionals themselves are waking up to a truth: talent that stays invisible is easier to undervalue.

Today, some producers are becoming known voices. Editors are building followings. Directors are speaking at panels. Channel managers are writing, consulting, pitching, and being recognised as thought leaders. Slowly but surely the backstage is learning to step forward without abandoning the work.

Branding the People Behind the Power

This shift also places responsibility on backstage professionals themselves.

The industry no longer rewards silence alone. Skill still matters but visibility now multiplies value. Backstage staff must learn to project themselves, not arrogantly, but intentionally. To speak about their process. To document their work. To claim authorship. To build personal brands that reflect competence, leadership, and creative intelligence.

This doesn’t mean chasing fame. It means owning contribution.

When producers speak confidently about the stories they shape, they command respect. When directors articulate their creative philosophy, they become indispensable. When channel managers and creative directors share insights on strategy and innovation, they move from “internal staff” to industry voices.

The magic doesn’t disappear when you explain it.

It becomes more powerful.

A More Honest Future for Media

The future of media is not presenter versus production. It is ecosystem recognition. A space where excellence is acknowledged at every level. Where credits are meaningful. Where leadership is visible. Where young professionals can see clear pathways not just to the screen, but to influence.

Because the truth is simple:

Presenters shine because someone else lit the stage.

Shows succeed because someone else fought for them.

Television works because invisible people choose excellence every single day.

It’s time we stopped treating the backstage as background.

That’s where the real magic lives.

About the writer

Every industry has that one person who walks into complexity and leaves things better than they found them. In Ghana’s finance and now media space, Edith Edem Agbeli is known as that person - the fixer.

With a strong foundation in finance, Edith has spent years resolving tough financial and operational challenges through cost reduction, policy development, risk management, and strategic restructuring. She brings clarity where systems are broken and direction where processes stall.

Her academic background is as solid as her execution. She holds advanced qualifications in Business Consulting, Enterprise Risk Management, Industrial Finance and Investment, and an MBA, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in Leadership – learning not for theory, but for impact.

Now serving as Channel Manager at Joy Prime, Edith has successfully transitioned from finance into production and creative leadership. She understands budgets and branding, systems and storytelling, making her uniquely effective in a fast-paced media environment where structure fuels creativity, a writer of scripts and an author of beyond perfection Edith has shown her versatility.

Calm, strategic, and deeply intentional, Edith doesn’t just manage challenges, she fixes them. And in an industry that runs on pressure, timing, and people, that makes all the difference.

By:

Edith Edem Agbeli

Channel Manager – Joy Prime (Multimedia Group)

Risk assessment and cost reduction strategist, finance specialist, writer and author (Beyond Perfection)

Email: mzjudyed@gmail.com

www.everything-me.com