"Even if you're No. 1 ... if half as many eyeballs are watching your newscast as were watching five years ago, that's a problem," he says.
"Management must maintain a TV station's profit margins even as viewers, not waiting for the evening local news to come on, turn to the Internet for news."
Douglass's dismal assessment is seconded by the news agents who represent the anchors and reporters.
The slumping economy and continued erosion of broadcast audiences are combining to produce unusually tough times for news talent, they say
It's takes longer to place clients in news jobs and salaries are not as generous, they say. And experienced and accomplished reporters are finding — for the first time in their careers — that they are expendable.
Some of the agents feel that even when the current economic downturn ends, TV newsrooms will have undergone a fundamental change with the survivors those workers who can work multiple jobs on multiple platforms.
"I'm still moving the same amount of people, [but] it's taking a little longer than in the past and it's not at the money it has been in the past," says David Brunner, president of DB & Associates in Neffs, Pa. READ MORE
Time to become a multi-tasker who can do it all. Talent will have to start shooting and editing their own stories in some markets. In larger ones, they will have to start blogging and working more online. I can't say that giving reporters and anchors blogs will solve anything. Many of those will most likely fail without the proper guidance.
Here's where the future broadcasters who are in college need to pay attention. These cut backs and larger markets could affect you. Yes, even on your first job, you could now be competing with folks who have been let go from larger markets. CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here
