Writer and producer Rift Fournier!

“I always wanted to be a writer” was Rift Fournier’s opening statement as he talked about his career to our Professional Media class. Rift got Polio at a young age leaving him in a wheelchair. One thing that stuck to me was a comment Rift’s daughter said to her new friend… “This is my daddy. He’s in a wheelchair but you won’t be able to tell.” Rift, who was born in Kansas, had a “cool” mother who was an artist who later married a Frenchman (his father). His mother and father had a “rift” (fight) about what to name their child so needless to say they decided to call him Rift and baptize him after his father. During Rift’s speech, he talked about reading saying “you have to read, it’s important.” He went on explaining if you want to write you better know how to. Rift’s life was quite interesting as he told us his life story. Rift couldn’t decide what to do as he changed from a med student to law school which he worked his way through. He then ran a morgue and a jail in which he worked as a Deputy. After that, he worked his way over to California to become a writer. There, Rift sold jokes for five dollars a piece, and wrote comedy. Then, he later went on to write children’s television shows such as “Go” which he won an Emmy for, and other popular televison series.

He even travelled to Germany and Norway to write shows. Rift told us how working so many different jobs benefited his writing. “Work all different kinds of jobs because they will benefit you,” he said. Rift also said to drive people crazy and bug them if you really want a job because that’s how you are going to get it. Many of the cop stories that he shared with the class were hilarious. Rift said the hardest thing about being a writer is facing that blank sheet of paper. With his opinions on media, I agree with him a lot. The internet changed everything and will continue to change life. Media constantly changes and media professionals have to keep up with technology.