Combine a passion for horses, writing and traveling, add in a heaping scoop of production experience and you get the winning formula for five Daytime Emmy Award nominations and a travel show on PBS.
At least, that’s what worked for alumna Darley Newman, the host of “Travels with Darley.” The show will debut over the next several weeks on local PBS stations and is also available as a web series.
Each episode of “Travels with Darley” follows Newman as she travels around the globe, sampling the locals-only parts of the city with resident guides and highlighting various small businesses that are just as good – if not better – than the oversaturated tourist hotspots.
“When you travel with locals it’s the best way to see a place,” Newman, who graduated in 2001, said. “We’re trying to profile things that we want other people to go and do themselves.”
For the first season, Newman has been everywhere from Botswana to Jordan, and she recently came back from a segment on England and Wales. A quick note for her production team: In the future, she’d like to venture into Asia.
From each of her trips, Newman said she left with a lesson after taking time to interview the residents there.
“Definitely when we’re filming I try to make it a conversation,” Newman said. “Make it a little more natural.”
During her time at GW, Newman majored in electronic media, a focus that has since been cut. She also had a double minor in International Business and Culture. Never heard of a minor like that before? Not surprising. Even during college, Newman knew that she wanted to work in a field that married travel and culture, and created a new degree with her adviser to fit her passions.
Before “Travels with Darley,” Newman hosted 33 episodes for “Equitrekking,” a travel show that focused specifically on horseback riding. “Equitrekking,” which premiered in 2004, was designed to give viewers an inside look into the history, culture and day-to-day life of a local in various cities around the globe, with a special focus on equestrian events.
Newman has also worked as a freelancer with companies like CBS, Frontline, 48 Hours and PBS, and worked on a short series dedicated to lifestyle videos called ULive before she pitched the idea of her first show to PBS.
In 2008, Newman founded her own Emmy-award winning, multiplatform production company, DCN Creative, through which she generates her shows. Her experience working in both small and large companies gave Newman the tools to construct a successful, large-scale operation in Bethesda with minimal employees.
Newman suggests that students who want to follow in her footsteps be creative, open-minded and take advantage of the new video platforms that have popped up on the Internet, like YouTube or even Instagram.
“What’s really exciting about this is, nowadays, there are a lot of different avenues to create your own business, your own brand,” Newman said.
