Re(2): who cares about 'local'?? Posted on December 5, 2021 at 02:09:19 PM by view fm my corner of the town
Youre right, voicework has always been a natnl business. While voices are a dime a dozen, and persuasive delivery is a learned practice, it only works if the refined talent is out selling that skill.
Smaller market talent's always done their morning shows or commercial performances locally but then flown to places like Denver, StL, Chicago for free lance work. Gettin bored, I'm starting to think about doing it. What market doesn't like fresh voices not too easily recognized from broadcast?
It'd be interesting to see the employment rates for local broadcasters with automation and consolidation (that is how many cars are in the parking lot now compared to 30 years ago).
I found the article interesting that Meridith and Gray run their switching from the home office, eliminating the need for control room staff and gear to do things locally, not unlike manually playing music cuts manually at every station in the country. Automation doesn't require health insurance.
I've predicted that for years after reading "Megatrends" a book outlining the major changes in society's delivery of goods and services in all industries. Have you noticed that 'cable tv' has reacted to their streaming competitors now and their screens look just like Netflix and Roku...many many more movies available ON DEMAND as opposed to programmed broadcast?
We customers are the winners of that development just as tech innovations have given us mobile communications unlinked to copper wires! Course those innovations have vastly broadened the compeition for ears and reduced the number of ears they can attract.
For me, I never watch local news because most of it is just timefiller which doens't affect me between commercials, and I dont have to schedule my entertainment needs around THEIR broadcast schedules! Best of all I can see their 5 day weather forecast on my smartphone instead of tuning in at noon, 5, 6 and 10/11. TV's websites compete with their own ad filled half or hourlong broadcasts I used to have to sit through.
Good for ME, not so good for you folks! My only complaint is that web designers havent designed their screens for the shape of my devices... too much white space in the wrong places.
What I like about Google web design SOFTWARE is that I can layout my content for a landscape format that uses space efficiently on PC's and big TV's, but the software auto converts it for portrait oriented smartphones and feed the right layout to users without me having to design two of them for every page.
Remember when we database programmers put millions of file clerks out of their jobs in about 20 years? Same thing's happening now in retail.
Bottom line, what the hell are Americans going to do to earn a paycheck to feed themselves, without acquiring advanced, everchanging skills?
Currently unemployment insurance won't send you a subsistance check while you retrain, only if you steadily keep looking for jobs. Republicans won't want to pay for retraining laid off workers in addtnl taxes! Replies: