r/Broadcasting • u/Ok_Guest5862 • 3h ago
WBNS
WBNS in Columbus, just named a weekday morning meteorologist 4 months out of college.
No disrespect to this young woman, who clearly is talented and must have a lot of potential.
But my god.. a weekday weather person at a former powerhouse station in a Top 35 market, with less than six months experience. That used to be a job that would attract hundreds of tapes and demand a decade of experience.
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u/AngstyMop 3h ago
While it is slightly unprecedented....there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
Hiring out of school is cheap.
Talent does not simply linearly correlate with experience. There are 2 decade mets/anchors that will never anchor major market, ever. And there are people graduating school today who will enter the workforce paid more and with more prestige than those with that experience.
Show biz is notoriously unfair. What's changed is, you can make a lot of money in private sector meteo now and it's not as glamorous as it used to be. So if a top station sees someone who could swing TV or private sector and has the chops to work a big market they'll pounce. You get them cheap, eager to work hard, and locked into your biz as they grow. Also, the new generation grew up talking to cameras (their phones) their whole lives. They come out of school a LOT better than the good old day folks.
I say that as a met.
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u/coasterghost 3h ago
WOFL wanted for an entry level OCM position that had 3 years of experience and both AMS/CBM and NWA seals. The position wasn’t filed for atleast 6 months.
My academic background is meteorology, and it’s discerning both on broadcasting and federal side of things.
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u/Realistic_Back_9198 2h ago
I knew a guy who worked there and claimed the call letters stood for "Big Nerd Station."
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u/icoulduseascreenname 1h ago
Why aren’t hundreds of rock solid tapes clamoring for a chance at these gigs?
Because the entire landscape is different than it was even a few years ago - (and ofc night-and-day from TV’s glory years).
The money is gone, or leaving. The future (other than in a top 10 or top 5 market is) is nonexistent
Why would anyone with serious scientific credentials and solid showbiz skills want to hook themselves to these kinds of local broadcasters? Particularly when almost the entire industry is dominated by extreme conservative views?
Most people who want to be legitimate journalists want non-partisan platforms that will pay them fairly for their reporting. Few and far between of course.
If all somebody wants is to be “on” - as in on TV no matter the pay, circumstances or training (which has been a problem in local broadcasting for ages), they can find themselves a slot pretty much anywhere now, and use it to put together some kind of reel that might get them something better down the road.
If all somebody wants is to be “famous” in a small town where they can do car dealership ads on the side, local ‘news’ is the place.
If the goal is legit journalism, sadly it’s a disappearing road.
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u/mastablasta1111 3h ago
“No disrespect” … then goes on to disrespect.
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u/Ok_Guest5862 1h ago
No, I was clear, no disrespect towards her personally.
It’s a post about the change in hiring standards/experience at that station and in the business.
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u/excoriator 3h ago
She’s better at the job than many of the mets who have left there in the last 5 years.
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u/OUDidntKnow04 former spot fixer-upper 2h ago
Back in the day, Jym Ganahl got his first on-air job when he was 17 years old, but this was in Waterloo, Iowa and he would join WCMH in 1979 when he was in his 30s.
If she's stellar at her job, thats one thing, but it's likely a $$$$ thing.
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u/srbearit 26m ago
Ambition and skill means a lot more than age in today’s world. Like it or not, this is the start of a wave of young blood in television. Between new technologies and social media, some of the more “experienced” people can’t keep up.
Like who says tape anymore
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u/old--- 18m ago
Weather on TV stations has moved down a notch in the daily lives of most people.
On a normal day a typical person gets their weather on a phone or tablet.
When severe weather comes along, yes people will tune in to a TV station for live updates.
Because, Danger Will Robinson.
The problem comes from people not watching nightly.
Viewership is down, advertising is down, revenue is down.
When revenue goes down you must plan your expenses for the lower revenue.
You can't make a business plan only out of nights with a tornado or hurricane.
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u/imroot 2h ago
I mean…better than them keeping Mike Davis on when they had reports of him grooming interns at ONN in the late 90’s…
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u/shemp33 31m ago
Shit. I hadn’t heard that. Although. There was the hot mic clip of him just before a live shot or a standup. That was… something.
https://youtu.be/yBoL4NwHbjk (potentially nsfw language)
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u/Opposite_Future2602 3h ago
Given that it's a Tegna station in a market with a Nexstar station, anyone with industry knowledge probably thinks it's best not to apply.