Is having people work from home working too well?

Today in our inbox, one TV newsie gives their take and they might be right on the money about life in TV after this all passes.

I work in the newsroom in the top 20 market and all of our producers are at home. Half of our anchors and reporters are at home too.

We have now started to reduce the hours of floor directors and photographers. It struck me that perhaps after this passes, a huge impact will be that news managers decide to save money by leasing smaller spaces and having people work at home… Gone are the days today TV station has to take up an entire city block. Gone are the days that professional cameras are better than iPhones, or at least pass muster from the quality control department.

With mainline anchors broadcasting on their Wi-Fi from home, there’s no reason to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the latest studio equipment or invest in a multi-million dollar set. Instead of sending a Photog with a news vehicle —assuming all of the liability as well as the expense of gear, etc., why not just continue to do Skype interviews?

Goodness knows that as the years’ pass, the video quality will only improve from consumer equipment. It will save time (and you can still cut to the nodding anchor with a concerned look on his face or her face.) I think this is especially true in small/mid-level markets were stations are already operating at a near break-even expense sheet, so the idea of saving hundreds of thousands a year on News jeeps and insurance, liability and personnel may be more appealing than simply saying goodbye to the era of a TV station helicopter.

If most people work at home, it also reduces the chances for employee conflicts and leads to greater retention of personnel as the stress of commutes and interpersonal relations is largely reduced. But more so, stations will be able to pay those skilled people a lot less because they will not have to, “come to work.”. Finally, with everybody working at home, beyond the station saving money on space and leasing buildings, etc., you can cut the majority of the IT department because everybody’s on a PC at their own house.

As people work from home, stations will cut benefits to even more people as they become part-timers at 38hrs a week. I may sound jaded as hell, but I know I’m also right. This COVID-19 is the Napster to the CD industry, except in this context we are talking about local news.

Family-owned TV stations are largely history and so too is the sense of responsibility to keep the industry of journalism alive and thriving, two things that need to happen for a productive and healthy democracy.