Back on January 15th, James Villalobos left WGGB in Springfield, Massachusetts.

At the time he said that the parting was a mutual agreement between the station and him.

Villalobos did win an Emmy for his work at the station and while bragging about and showing the award off on social media, he opened up a bit more about his time at the Meredith station.

In a very long Facebook post, Villalobos said in part:

“For months leading up to January 15, 2020 I doubted my own worth. I had days where I dreaded waking up…and had some really, really dark thoughts (let’s just say thankfully one of my friends answered my call late one night when I was really struggling, ready to end the battles I was losing.) It takes a toll on you when you work in an industry that ignores reasonable human needs, and expects superhuman results with little reward. You may not know that many in the industry don’t even earn a livable wage—how ironic is it that we work in TV, yet most local TV news reporters can’t even afford to watch TV?
Let’s talk the treatment of employees. Some troubling examples I personally experienced in the industry are:
◦ I was questioned very inappropriately when trying to use sick time. As a result, I felt like I should never use earned PTO even if for a mental health day and made to feel that I wasn’t a team player and was causing an inconvenience (despite the dozens of times times I worked extra hours, would go in early, contribute sources/tips on my days off, and also covered shifts for colleagues.)
◦ I was made to feel guilty for asking to switch a shift so that I can attend a family event/holiday because it was sweeps (one of the months where ratings are measured) so naturally, it was expected of me to put the ratings before anything else in my life (yes, even time with family.)
◦ I was physically and emotionally tired from working 70 hours a week between two jobs since a livable wage wasn’t offered (in full transparency I began making errors in some reporting towards the end of my time because of how tired I always was.)
◦ I had to sleep with the heat off during the winter months because I couldn’t afford it (contributing to the issue of already getting no sleep because I worked two jobs, compounded by how cold I was in my own bed.)
◦ I stopped going to my therapist because I couldn’t afford to go anymore (yes, even with insurance.)
◦ I was told “you knew what you were signing up for when you signed a contract” and as a result feeling trapped as if there’s nothing I can do to leave my situation, all while others continued benefiting from my brand that I built for myself.
◦ I wanted to do *actual* investigative journalism that leads to change and not just a story that was branded as being ‘investigated.’ Because of the nature of news and something needing to go on air every night, I wasn’t always given the necessary time/support that investigative stories warrant and need…despite having a track record of results.
◦ I put my heart and soul into telling the stories and building relationships with the community I loved so that I can pitch meaningful story ideas…only to instead be assigned something with little news value because said assignment is easier to fill the time slot. I became nothing more than a time-filler tasked with using my name and following to draw more eyes to tune in.
◦ But perhaps the most disrespectful of all and what really gave me the push I needed to leave…getting told “you’re a cancer” by management.
It turned out that being a good person, working hard, having incredible sources, and being the first (and often only reporter) to have several stories in a highly competitive business meant nothing. You can only imagine what this does to someone’s morale. These are just a few examples of what I experienced in local TV news. The list goes on. And on. Since nothing was changing, I knew it was time for me to make the change. It was a matter of life or death for me.”