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The Reality Starting Out in TV News

Shaheed Morris worked as an MMJ at WHAG (now WDVM) in Hagerstown, Maryland. Morris worked as a 'one-man band' in a bureau in a remote office in Winchester, VA.  

While working his first TV job out of college, he found it a rough go. At one point he was homeless and could not afford a car. He walked to work. 

This was the life of someone trying to make it in the business and he admits, it almost broke him.

In a post on social media, Morris says after a very hard year at WHAG, he's stepping back and trying to decide where to go from here. 

This is the very sad post he made: 

After a very hard year, I am taking a much-needed break from TV news to piece together my life. Recently, I worked as a bureau television reporter for a salary of $23,500.   To the outside world, it appeared that I was doing well. But, in actuality – I was not doing well.  I was living out of a hotel, and at one point, homeless.  I walked an hour to and from work for an entire year because I couldn't afford a car.   A gracious co-worker heard about my hardship and allowed me to move in with her.  While working I applied for several non-media-related jobs, and I was unsuccessful.    Last year beat me down mentally and emotionally–but I have faith that I won't stay down. I accepted the job in a small market television station fresh out of college, and I went to the job with only a handful of clothes.   As a first-generation college graduate, it is extremely hard to get on your feet without any family support. Nothing was passed down in my family but pain and poverty.   I put myself through college by going to school full-time at South Dakota State University. I have since returned to my grandmother's basement in Trenton to reexamine my life.   This is not the end. This is a small detour on my journey to becoming a local news anchor.  


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