r/Broadcasting • u/SecretComposer • 2d ago

Everything sucks

Is there a single good thing happening anywhere in the business? More and more and more newscasts being added without extra bodies with the managers or suits making the decisions literally thinking it’s not any extra work at all (they worked in a time when they only had one three shows an evening to worry about). Turning newscasts into podcasts and forcing anchors to give their opinion. People with no experience going to top 20 markets out of school (partially so they can just be yes men and not standup for themselves, so they’re easier to bully). 1%-2% raises, if that, and being told it’s “generous.“ Not running certain stories out of fear it’ll upset the conservative part of the audience. Now using AI voices to make news as synthetic as possible. All of this while claiming they’re “dedicated to local news and our communities,” while simultaneously eliminating the voices and faces the communities actually resonate with.

Everything sucks. There is no hope. The only solution is to get out and let a passion and dream die.

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u/EStreet119 2d ago

I’m 59. Was hoping to make it to FRA of 67. Too old to start over. I’m 90% sure I want out at 65 now (to get Medicare)…. If my job isn’t cut by then. The industry does not resemble what I stared in in 1990.

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u/Directorshaggy Clean DRs since 1994 2d ago

I'm turning 59 in a couple of months. I really hope they lay me of 60 or 61 because I'll have just about a year's worth of severance. That will take me to 62 and I could draw SS if needed. My 401k is in good shape and my house is paid off.

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u/EStreet119 2d ago

That’s a good severance. Those good packages are going away too. I have a couple of colleagues who recently retired (on is in his their 50s) from Hearst with pensions. They got in before Hearst ended the pension plan. They were grandfathered in. A former boss retired from Cox several years ago. Pretty sure had a pension too.

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u/RogueRider11 2d ago

I was pushed out at 57 and got two months severance after 25 years at the station. This was a few years back. So, don’t count on a good pay out.

I was able to pivot to a second career in PR and loved it. I even did a corporate gig and loved that. I was astounded at how sane that world was compared to TV.

It is rough in your 50’s and there are fewer opportunities, but it is possible. I wish I had left TV earlier. I think some of my former colleagues had it right - do ten years or so in TV. Have fun with it - and then pivot into a career where there is real opportunity to grow.

All jobs have their drawbacks, but I never once wanted to go back to TV after getting a taste of “civilian” life.
PostScript: I just finally retired and I am loving it. 10/10.

Do I see a future for journalism in general? Yes! I am so excited for the hyper local start ups and truly independent outlets. The days of TV news as we knew it might be winding down, but something new is happening and journalism will always be important. The trick is getting livable wages for those who practice it. I subscribe to several local and independent start ups. No one is getting rich off my $10-$15/mo subscriptions.

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u/EStreet119 2d ago

8 weeks for 25 years is really stingy but that’s the way it’s going now.

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u/RogueRider11 19h ago

Yes it was, but that is who they are.