Benjamin BrazilWhile on a book tour in 2007 during a historic presidential race, Barack Obama spent part of a morning casually chatting with a Chapman University alumna. His scheduled news segment on Good Day LA had been pushed due to breaking news, and he had some time to kill.
Michelle Pulfrey ’98, then a full-time producer on the show, said it was a surreal moment speaking with the man who would be elected president just a year later.
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, what a passionate guy, he’d really make a great president,’” she said, laughing.
Pulfrey, who majored in film and television with a broadcast journalism emphasis and a minor in production, has had innumerable moments like these during her more than two decades working on Good Day LA. During the journey to her current executive producer role on the show, Pulfrey kicked back at Lionel Richie’s home while he played “Ballerina Girl” on the piano, had breakfast with Carrie Fisher in her backyard while setting up for an interview segment and relaxed at Tommy Lee’s house with the drummer and his personal chef.
Pulfrey credits her success to the commitment to being a humble, lifelong learner. This insatiable curiosity and drive to learn and improve was molded at Chapman, where she also made connections that guided the trajectory of her life.
“It’s both odd and makes sense that on my 25 year anniversary from both working on the show and graduating from Chapman that I was both promoted to the executive producer role and started teaching at the university,” said Pulfrey, who has been a lecturer at Chapman for the last three semesters. “The skills I learned and people I connected with in school had such a strong impact on me.”
The Chapman Connection
The Chapman Family played an integral role in Pulfrey’s position on Good Day LA. She made critical connections while learning hands-on skills in broadcast journalism. Currently, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts offers a BFA in broadcast journalism and documentary, though it wasn’t part of the college when Pulfrey obtained her degree.
During her senior year in 1998, a friend and fellow Chapman student who was interning on the show noticed that Pulfrey had a close resemblance to television host Jillian Barberie. For their senior project, Pulfrey and her fellow students filmed a reenactment of a Good Day LA segment with Pulfrey in the Barberie role. Once the show’s hosts saw the project, they invited the students on the show to play each of them.
On the verge of graduation, Pulfrey brought a resume with her to the set and spent months “hounding” the assistant news director until she earned a production assistant job, which she started just a few days after graduation.
It didn’t take long for Pulfrey’s career to gain momentum. Within just three months, she was asked to be a field producer, writing scripts for the hosts of the show and reporting on camera.
“It was incredible, all of a sudden I was meeting these amazing people,” she said. “We did set visits to every major television show.”
Before being named the executive producer last year, Pulfrey worked as Barberie’s full-time producer and a senior producer. She put together a fashion-oriented segment called StyleFile, cooking demonstrations, lifestyle stories and interviews with in-studio guests.
As the executive producer, Pulfrey sets the creative tone of the show. With her years of experience at Good Day LA, she knows how viewers connect with the hosts and what stories impact their lives. It has been a fulfilling journey for Pulfrey.
“What makes this chapter of my life fun and interesting is I am really dedicated to bringing people a morning show that is a little lighter with relatable topics and a little less of a focus on all the bad things that are happening,” Pulfrey said.
Dream Team
Over the years, Pulfrey regularly returned to Chapman to speak with students about her experiences and the keys to success in her industry. She always provided her email and urged students to get in touch. Like many Chapman alumni, Pulfrey has always felt a strong connection with the university, and she knows that Dodge students have the necessary skills to excel in the news and entertainment industries.
Pulfrey believes giving students the opportunity to learn from lecturers who are currently working at the top of the field sets Dodge’s program apart from other colleges. She noted that successful lecturers include Peter Weitzner, a well-known anchor in Southern California, and Dorothy Lucey, former co-host of Good Day LA.
As a lecturer, Pulfrey is always impressed with the genuine curiosity of her students and their unique problem-solving abilities. This was evident during a recent field trip to the Good Day LA set, when students started devising a social media strategy for the show without any prompting from Pulfrey.
“This is why I love teaching Chapman students,” Pulfrey said. “They’re already thinking of ways to improve my show without me saying anything.”
The Chapman alumni currently working for Good Day LA include reporter Chelsea Edwards ’06, segment producer Mallory Aubele ’19 and producer Jasmin Sani ’21.
Aubele, who majored in broadcast journalism and documentary, became interested in the role at Good Day LA after Pulfrey gave a talk at one of her classes. Aubele said it sounded like a “dream job.” Aubele initially took another job at CBS, but kept in touch with Pulfrey and was offered a job at Good Day LA in early 2022.
“Newsrooms are better off having Chapman students because the level of training you need to get them up to speed in this fast-paced environment is not the same elsewhere,” Aubele said.
Sani had a similar experience, initially working at a CBS affiliate in Florida before starting as a producer at Good Day LA in April 2023. Sani said she immediately felt the connection with the other Chapman alumni.
“It has been a collaborative experience,” Sani said. “Teamwork is really important in the news industry and having that Chapman background has definitely been beneficial.”
