Re(1): Another leaving TV news Posted on August 7, 2023 at 05:30:02 PM by Moved up and on
When I left the media, I was treated by those of you without other useful skills as some kind of treasonous loser who couldn't hold a job in the business. Actually I like markets just below the top 50--theyre big enough to be professional but not run by the home office yet not so small nothing every happens.
Those who said onnly losers leave their markets definitely weren't morning quality talent who got stolen away to larger markets. I was very grateful to radio because it was fun and better than fast food in college. But better TV because it paid better and field reporting away fm the studio was far more interesting if not six figure jobs.
Press passes and a sidekick videographer get you into almost any company you'd want to see. I'll never forget hanging around Boeing builder of airplanes and bombers, the air force showing me down into the hole of Titan missile silos twice, watching Wolf Creek nuke plant get built, getting to land a private plane without a license, plus the usual murders and disasters. Ya dont get to do that reading a PrompTer every night!
Fact is, I bored easily so within broadcasting I changed specialties quite a few times, ever looking for something new and having just enough writing and voice talent to get good assignments.
Radio was fun and I loved the music--kind of a 10,000 watt personal stereo to play for 4-6 hours a day. In smaller markets you can play what you like and not some home office tight playlist rotation. But I wasn't funny enough to jock mornings...even playing strait man for a talented guy like Phil Jay or John Forsythe was a trip tho. I was their newsman so I'd play the stuffy Ed McMahan and they'd do the jokes. It just wouldnt' pay enough to send my kids off to college so I moved into TV that did. That too was fun to learn a new but similar set of skills.
Still, after ya been there done that already, moving on like Rittman is is kind of natural.
I didn't know KCTV got sold to Gray... their station is horrible where I live...we have one here in this small market. Here, most pe0ple get their news off of Spectrum Channel ONE because the talent at least is top50 professional quality and they focus on the larger cities instead of us where nothin much happens. We do watch Gray but only for ABC at 5:30 and their consultant's corporate playbook has butchered the English language.
Even so once addicted to news, ya stay addicted for life. So Im a webmaster, Write essays on FB, TW, elsewhere and I remain a news junkie. She'll miss it, I bet. Replies: There have been no replies.
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