When Mike Kravinsky went to work as a video editor at ABC News in 1981, he figured he would spend a year there and then head out to Los Angeles to become a filmmaker.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Over the course of 29 years, he worked as an editor and technical director for news broadcasts like World News Tonight and Good Morning America, and news magazine shows like 20/20 and Primetime Live.
“ABC turned out to be a great place to work,” Kravinsky says. “They gave me great opportunities and experiences and one thing led to another.” But then the day came when the jig was up. He accepted a buyout. “I was ready,” he says. “It had become routine.”
After retiring in 2010, the 65-year-old is now following his dream to be a filmmaker once again, although he’s not in Hollywood, but Arlington, Virginia. His independent film company: Nextnik Films, LLC.
From the start of his transition, Kravinsky had his wife, Liza, a composer, urging him to “do what makes you happy.” And the couple, who have no children, has a knack for living frugally. “We’re not living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but we do drive a 12-year old car, and we don’t buy expensive clothes and furniture. It’s just our lifestyle,” he says.
Nonetheless, one of his first moves was to tap an adviser at a no-load ...
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