Between Profession and Parenthood: My Job Shadowing Experience at HRT

By Jelena Havran Vukmanovic, RTV

At last! After several visits to Zagreb, both personal and professional - I finally had the chance to truly feel at home in a place I deeply respect and personally cherish: Hrvatska radio-televizija (HRT). And I genuinely did feel at home, because from the very first working day, my job shadowing experience felt less like an assignment and more like visiting old friends.

The editorial team of the Children and Youth Department welcomed me with great care and respect. They even organized a special editorial meeting, where we introduced ourselves and shared our expectations for the week ahead. It meant a lot to hear that they had prepared for my arrival—offering thoughtful comments about the work we do at the Children and Youth Program of Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV). They were already familiar with our shows, our production pace, and right from day one, we were able to exchange experiences about what connects us all: educating, informing, and entertaining children and young audiences.

Over the following days, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how content for children is created - content I have followed for years, both professionally and personally. I spent two full days with colleagues in the studio and video control room during the recording of “Juhuhu”. I asked many questions, freely and without hesitation, and received open and generous answers to every single one. Those conversations deepened my own ideas for my home editorial team, especially because my colleagues at HRT work with innovative formats and have strong access to digital and multimedia production. But, of course, it was equally reassuring and comforting to recognize how much we share at the core. Despite differences in funding and production conditions, our craft is the same. Our professional conversations are the same. Our dedication and love for this work are the same. That is why opportunities like the Innovation. Media. Minds. Programme (IMM) should not be missed: you learn by comparing, by connecting, and by growing alongside those who understand your work best.

A particularly exciting part of this experience was gaining insight into the broader television ecosystem. I had the opportunity to attend recordings of shows I had previously known only “from the other side of the screen.” The atmosphere on the sets of programs like “Nedjeljom u 2” and “Superpotjera” (which also involves a live audience) deepened my understanding of television production. At the same time, I felt a kind of childlike excitement - the same feeling our viewers often have - I was finally able to take a peek behind the scenes.

Having missed the previous two calls for applications, I knew this third one was now or - who knows when again. Still, I hesitated. Like many women working in media, outside of my professional role, I am also a mother of two young children, one of whom I am still breastfeeding. When I shyly mentioned this, I was met with genuine understanding and flexibility by the team at the Goethe Institut, who fully supported my decision to bring my family along on this work trip. So instead of staying in a hotel alone, we stayed together in an apartment. Instead of flying by myself, we drove to Zagreb as a family. And in that way, I was able to be both - a mother and a journalist, open to collaboration, learning, and new opportunities that should not be postponed. I truly believe there will be more programs like IMM in the future, and I hope my experience of balancing professional and family life can encourage other parents who may be hesitating, waiting for a better time to invest in their careers. As it turns out, that moment doesn’t have to be postponed.

And now that I’ve felt so warmly welcomed among colleagues, it’s hard to imagine any future work trip to happen without HRT becoming one of my stops along the way.

Funded by the European Union, the Innovation. Media. Minds Program: Support to Public Service Journalism in the Western Balkans, is managed by the Goethe-Institut on behalf of the European Commission and in collaboration with its implementing partner DW Akademie. The contents of this story are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.