"An open letter to TV news people
A recent posting on one of the industry bulletin boards dealt with layoffs at yet another television station. One participant asked, "Are they really losing that much money?" Yes, they are. Everybody is, and it's a reality.
My work as a new media consultant provides me with insight into the economic problems facing the local television industry. These problems are very real, and what you think about them doesn't matter. What does matter is your reaction, and I hear two constant refrains that are deeply troubling as the industry makes its necessary transformation into multimedia distributors.
One, TV news people are reluctant to get involved on the Web side of their stations. While I'm sure a lack of knowledge contributes to this, there is a sense that newsroom employees view the Internet as a bastard stepchild. If true, this is appallingly short-sighted and extremely self-destructive. I don't care what your current priorities are, you are contributing to the demise of your industry by not personally gaining the skills necessary to compete in a multimedia world. Moreover, you are accelerating your own demise. Denying the realities of the shift from broadcasting to the Internet only accelerates your own obsolescence. Why on earth would you do that?
What will you do when a youngster walks in the door armed with skills that are completely foreign to you and is able to outperform you in all aspects of multimedia distribution? What are you waiting for?
Where is the passion to get out in front of where the industry is going? TV newspeople are generally curious and intelligent, so this puzzles me. If you're not moving in that direction, you're moving in the opposite direction, for there is no standing still in this rapidly changing environment. I'm reminded of the FedEx commercial where the woman informs the new worker that his help is needed. Upon learning that the problem is in shipping, he says, "But I have an MBA."
Secondly, TV newspeople are reluctant to assist in the economic well-being of the companies for which they work. This is a very dangerous time for broadcasting. 2005 is the nervous-breakdown year, and yet you are concerned with your resume tape and growing your broadcasting career while the foundation upon which it's built is crumbling. Again, you are supposedly intelligent people. Why would you do that?
I cringe when I read the threads at various industry discussion boards, for they reveal a group of people oblivious to reality, taken with their own importance, and cavalier in their attitudes towards others. Topics like "What's a good second or third station market?" drive me up the wall, because they reveal a core belief that the career ladder is unaffected by economic pressures on the industry -- that everything's better farther up the ladder. It isn't.
I'm not talking about pay cuts and such. I'm talking about efficiencies and hard work. You are in the same boat as your employer. You can bail water or you can be dead weight. Which will it be?
A recent post on TVSpy Watercooler asked for career advice:
Which is better,..
Resume wise....(to eventually move up to a top 10/20). Weekend meteorologist in a mid market (40-70), or chief in a smaller market (90-120)?
Pay is actually a little better at the weekend spot.
This post is generally reflective of a corroding influence in our newsrooms today — that all positions are stepping stones to others. It says volumes about the values of the poster, for he's got one foot out the door before it's even inside, and believe me, this will influence his performance. Jobs are not jobs anymore; they're just points on a northbound scale, all built on the notion that somehow we're doing these companies a favor by allowing them to benefit from our magnificence — even if only for a year or two. So it is with ego gone to seed.
Somehow, somewhere, news people have been given the idea that this is the way the business operates. Who is originating such thought?
There are good television stations and there are bad ones, just as there are good and bad managers. Given the economic challenges facing the whole industry, it's not surprising that most newsrooms today are functioning in a defensive posture. Meanwhile, however, there's a whole new world growing right before our eyes, and it's going to be up to every one of us to participate.
The problems of the industry belong to everyone, and only by working together will we find our potential in this new world."
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