OK, November sweeps are over, so now's the time to get your tapes in the mail. And, if you missed an earlier post, you have an extended job hunting season this year since February sweeps have been moved to March due to the digital switch fiasco that's headed your way.
No openings, no problem. Send tapes to places in which you'd like to work. There will be openings eventually. Going home for the holidays? If your home is in a good market, try to set up interviews and at least hand deliver some tapes.
Remember, you have absolutely nothing to lose by sending tapes to a station without an opening, and everything to gain.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving is time to smell the roses
My problem, and I suspect many of you have the same flaw, is that I think too much.
When you're young and starting out in the business, you think too much about the future. When you're on the back nine of your career, you think too much about the past. When you're young you run into all sorts of forks in various roads that can send your career soaring or straight into the dumper. When you're older you wonder what might have been had you chosen a different direction.
Almost all of my clients have five years experience or less, and some are still in college. The common denominator is the worry I hear in their voices when presented with a choice. And with the future of broadcasting so much in doubt, the level of anxiety has gone up since I was a rookie reporter. But while you're looking to the future, and it is very natural to do so, you're missing the present.
Looking back I've gotten to do some pretty neat stories and visit some places the average person never would. Walking on the floor of a national political convention, hanging out with Jay Leno is his garage, talking with baseball heroes in Cooperstown. During all those times, the undercurrent of the future was always flowing through my brain. Instead of just enjoying the moment I was always too busy wondering if this might be the story that got me to the next level. The memories are wonderful, but it is almost like I was an observer, that these things didn't really happen to me.
While most of the topics on this blog relate to job hunting, I hope you'll take the time to enjoy that fact that you really don't have to work for a living. Sure, you're not making a ton of money, but would you rather be a roofer, wait tables, work on an assembly line? Most of those people have no dreams, no shot at the brass ring. Most of them can't make a difference, make the world a better place.
When I graduated from college my dad offered me the keys to our delicatessen, but I didn't go to college to make two hundred sandwiches every day for the next forty years. That was hard work, with nothing creative about it. I wanted to take a blank page every day and fill it with something unique.
So if you're going to be thankful today, consider the fact that despite the fact that you might have a News Director who needs to be on the side of a milk carton, you have a pretty cool job. Take the time to enjoy each day. You can keep an eye on the future, but keep your feet firmly planted in the present.
You may make it to the top or you may not. But at least enjoy the ride.
When you're young and starting out in the business, you think too much about the future. When you're on the back nine of your career, you think too much about the past. When you're young you run into all sorts of forks in various roads that can send your career soaring or straight into the dumper. When you're older you wonder what might have been had you chosen a different direction.
Almost all of my clients have five years experience or less, and some are still in college. The common denominator is the worry I hear in their voices when presented with a choice. And with the future of broadcasting so much in doubt, the level of anxiety has gone up since I was a rookie reporter. But while you're looking to the future, and it is very natural to do so, you're missing the present.
Looking back I've gotten to do some pretty neat stories and visit some places the average person never would. Walking on the floor of a national political convention, hanging out with Jay Leno is his garage, talking with baseball heroes in Cooperstown. During all those times, the undercurrent of the future was always flowing through my brain. Instead of just enjoying the moment I was always too busy wondering if this might be the story that got me to the next level. The memories are wonderful, but it is almost like I was an observer, that these things didn't really happen to me.
While most of the topics on this blog relate to job hunting, I hope you'll take the time to enjoy that fact that you really don't have to work for a living. Sure, you're not making a ton of money, but would you rather be a roofer, wait tables, work on an assembly line? Most of those people have no dreams, no shot at the brass ring. Most of them can't make a difference, make the world a better place.
When I graduated from college my dad offered me the keys to our delicatessen, but I didn't go to college to make two hundred sandwiches every day for the next forty years. That was hard work, with nothing creative about it. I wanted to take a blank page every day and fill it with something unique.
So if you're going to be thankful today, consider the fact that despite the fact that you might have a News Director who needs to be on the side of a milk carton, you have a pretty cool job. Take the time to enjoy each day. You can keep an eye on the future, but keep your feet firmly planted in the present.
You may make it to the top or you may not. But at least enjoy the ride.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
"Get me outta here"
We've all been there. (Or, for those of you just starting your first job, you'll get there in no time.) Working at a job that simply sucks all the enjoyment out of what should be a fun career. Bad managers, run down buildings, cheap companies, backwater towns. Any or all can contribute to the feeling you have to get out as fast as you can anywhere you can.
And when you're in a bad situation, that is the worst thing you can do.
It's called "moving for the sake of moving." I've done it. Most in this business have. And guess what? Chances are, when you jump at the very first offer that comes along, you might just be going to a similar situation.
"Get me outta here" is the most common phrase I've heard from clients. I've said it to agents when I was a client.
Seriously, take a breath. Making a hasty decision to get out of a bad situation can set your career back.
Patience is a virtue that few in the news business posess. But when you're making a job change, you have to take a serious look at the opportunity. Wearing rose colored glasses to disguise what you don't want to see can land you right back where you started.
So evaluate every offer carefully. The first one might be great. Then again, it might not. Do your homework and check on the station, the company, management. If it honestly doesn't feel right, pass.
You might spend another few months in purgatory, but it might save you a trip to hell.
And when you're in a bad situation, that is the worst thing you can do.
It's called "moving for the sake of moving." I've done it. Most in this business have. And guess what? Chances are, when you jump at the very first offer that comes along, you might just be going to a similar situation.
"Get me outta here" is the most common phrase I've heard from clients. I've said it to agents when I was a client.
Seriously, take a breath. Making a hasty decision to get out of a bad situation can set your career back.
Patience is a virtue that few in the news business posess. But when you're making a job change, you have to take a serious look at the opportunity. Wearing rose colored glasses to disguise what you don't want to see can land you right back where you started.
So evaluate every offer carefully. The first one might be great. Then again, it might not. Do your homework and check on the station, the company, management. If it honestly doesn't feel right, pass.
You might spend another few months in purgatory, but it might save you a trip to hell.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The great Thanksgiving challenge
Bad enough that I have to suffer through the Detroit Lions every Thanksgiving Day, but then I have to sit through the annual Local-Politicians-Wear-Aprons-And-Serve-The-Homeless package on every single station in America.
I've worked Thanksgiving. I've done the story. Many times. You know what? I'm not sure it made a difference.
So, for those of you needing something for this last week of sweeps, here's my challenge.
-Today or tomorrow, find a homeless person or family whose life can be "turned around." I'm not talking about a lifelong wino, but someone down on their luck. A veteran who lost his job. A single mom living on the street with her kids because her husband took off. Contact the local shelters. They will know someone who is just one lucky break away from turning their life around. In this economy there ought to be plenty of people who fit the bill.
-Profile this person in your late Sunday newscast or on Monday. At the end of your package, do a tag that asks the community for help. Now, before Thanksgiving. This person or family will need a job, a place to live, clothes, maybe furniture, and a pantry full of food. It can be a job sweeping floors, busing tables, washing dishes. The place to live can be a room over a garage. Find the friendly employer, the landlord with an empty room he can't rent out.
-Follow the progess through the week. Show the person getting a a new job, a place to live, clothes and toys for the kids, eating a decent meal in a new home.
-On Thanksgiving the shelter package can be just a voiceover (and everyone, please, leave the politicians out of your stories. They're only there until the cameras leave.) Then do your regular package on this formerly homeless person or family who really has something to be thankful for.
You might think that isn't much time to do all that, but trust me, viewers can be in a really giving mood this time of year.
So there's your challenge. Save a life instead of just doing the same old story every year.
Let me know how it turns out if you accept the challenge.
I've worked Thanksgiving. I've done the story. Many times. You know what? I'm not sure it made a difference.
So, for those of you needing something for this last week of sweeps, here's my challenge.
-Today or tomorrow, find a homeless person or family whose life can be "turned around." I'm not talking about a lifelong wino, but someone down on their luck. A veteran who lost his job. A single mom living on the street with her kids because her husband took off. Contact the local shelters. They will know someone who is just one lucky break away from turning their life around. In this economy there ought to be plenty of people who fit the bill.
-Profile this person in your late Sunday newscast or on Monday. At the end of your package, do a tag that asks the community for help. Now, before Thanksgiving. This person or family will need a job, a place to live, clothes, maybe furniture, and a pantry full of food. It can be a job sweeping floors, busing tables, washing dishes. The place to live can be a room over a garage. Find the friendly employer, the landlord with an empty room he can't rent out.
-Follow the progess through the week. Show the person getting a a new job, a place to live, clothes and toys for the kids, eating a decent meal in a new home.
-On Thanksgiving the shelter package can be just a voiceover (and everyone, please, leave the politicians out of your stories. They're only there until the cameras leave.) Then do your regular package on this formerly homeless person or family who really has something to be thankful for.
You might think that isn't much time to do all that, but trust me, viewers can be in a really giving mood this time of year.
So there's your challenge. Save a life instead of just doing the same old story every year.
Let me know how it turns out if you accept the challenge.
Friday, November 21, 2008
JFK, 45 years later
Hard to believe it has been that long since JFK's assassination, but even now the images and events of those days are burned into my brain, as vivid as though they happened yesterday. Back then people trusted their government for the most part, and the media... trust that is now gone in both cases.
JFK inspired people in a way that hasn't happened since. Looking back, you can see he was a flawed human being with character issues, but when you're a nine year old kid you need heroes. Mine were JFK and Alan Shepard. Kennedy told us anything was possible and Shepard proved it was.
We talked about Kennedy in class a lot, especially during the Cuban missile crisis. Being so close to Manhattan we knew we could all be vaporized in an instant. There was a team spirit back then, a patriotism I never saw again until 9/11... and even that faded quickly. Kids were inspired to reach for the top.
I remember the school nurse coming into our fourth grade class, whispering into the teacher's ear, and then quickly leaving. The teacher announced, "President Kennedy has been shot. You are all to go home." After a few numbing moments, the kids in the class turned into a bunch of reporters. Was he dead? Where was he shot? "I don't know. Just go home," the teacher said.
We ran home and parked ourselves in front of the television set for basically four days. The one time we left was to go to church (packed beyond belief) and on the walk home people were on their lawns yelling, "Oswald's been shot!"
The images and events are frozen in time. Cronkite wiping away a tear, John Jr.'s salute, the natural sound of the drums as the coffin rolled through DC (with nary a word from a commentator... back then they knew enough to shut up and let the pictures and sound carry the story). We trusted television back then, we believed what we saw.
Then, everything began to unravel. Lyndon Johnson escalated Vietnam and Americans began to seriously doubt the government. When the Warren Commission ruled that Oswald had acted alone and a network agreed, it was the first crack in the credibility of television journalism. No one believed Oswald had shot JFK with a mail order rifle. (When I visited Dealey Plaza years later, it only confirmed my beliefs.) We didn't believe the Warren Commission, and since the network agreed with them, we didn't believe the network. (The one dissenter on the Commission was a congressman named Hale Boggs, who mysteriously died in a plane crash later. Hmmmm.)
But before I get off on an Oliver Stone tangent, let's get back to the original point. Trust. The media has lost it, and truly jumped the shark during the 2008 election. Now we're like the cheating husband asking the wife to take us back and trust us. The wife is objectivity, while opinion is our mistress.
How do we get back that trust? Well, it won't happen overnight. We have to become objective again, do stories that really affect people instead of just chase the scanner, provide people with information that can make their lives better. Be part of the community, provide help as only television people can.
Deliver the news without an opinion or an agenda.
Many have written that America lost its innocence the day JFK was shot, and that is a perfect way to describe the time period. It has sadly never come back. Living in "Leave it to Beaver" land might seem corny looking back, but we were happy and believed in a future. I'm not sure anyone believes in anything anymore.
But we have to start turning it around. We saw a little of it during 9/11 but news slipped back into its old tricks, running sleazy stories during sweeps and being as sensational as possible.
Time to turn back the clock.
JFK inspired people in a way that hasn't happened since. Looking back, you can see he was a flawed human being with character issues, but when you're a nine year old kid you need heroes. Mine were JFK and Alan Shepard. Kennedy told us anything was possible and Shepard proved it was.
We talked about Kennedy in class a lot, especially during the Cuban missile crisis. Being so close to Manhattan we knew we could all be vaporized in an instant. There was a team spirit back then, a patriotism I never saw again until 9/11... and even that faded quickly. Kids were inspired to reach for the top.
I remember the school nurse coming into our fourth grade class, whispering into the teacher's ear, and then quickly leaving. The teacher announced, "President Kennedy has been shot. You are all to go home." After a few numbing moments, the kids in the class turned into a bunch of reporters. Was he dead? Where was he shot? "I don't know. Just go home," the teacher said.
We ran home and parked ourselves in front of the television set for basically four days. The one time we left was to go to church (packed beyond belief) and on the walk home people were on their lawns yelling, "Oswald's been shot!"
The images and events are frozen in time. Cronkite wiping away a tear, John Jr.'s salute, the natural sound of the drums as the coffin rolled through DC (with nary a word from a commentator... back then they knew enough to shut up and let the pictures and sound carry the story). We trusted television back then, we believed what we saw.
Then, everything began to unravel. Lyndon Johnson escalated Vietnam and Americans began to seriously doubt the government. When the Warren Commission ruled that Oswald had acted alone and a network agreed, it was the first crack in the credibility of television journalism. No one believed Oswald had shot JFK with a mail order rifle. (When I visited Dealey Plaza years later, it only confirmed my beliefs.) We didn't believe the Warren Commission, and since the network agreed with them, we didn't believe the network. (The one dissenter on the Commission was a congressman named Hale Boggs, who mysteriously died in a plane crash later. Hmmmm.)
But before I get off on an Oliver Stone tangent, let's get back to the original point. Trust. The media has lost it, and truly jumped the shark during the 2008 election. Now we're like the cheating husband asking the wife to take us back and trust us. The wife is objectivity, while opinion is our mistress.
How do we get back that trust? Well, it won't happen overnight. We have to become objective again, do stories that really affect people instead of just chase the scanner, provide people with information that can make their lives better. Be part of the community, provide help as only television people can.
Deliver the news without an opinion or an agenda.
Many have written that America lost its innocence the day JFK was shot, and that is a perfect way to describe the time period. It has sadly never come back. Living in "Leave it to Beaver" land might seem corny looking back, but we were happy and believed in a future. I'm not sure anyone believes in anything anymore.
But we have to start turning it around. We saw a little of it during 9/11 but news slipped back into its old tricks, running sleazy stories during sweeps and being as sensational as possible.
Time to turn back the clock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)