Let’s see what’s on your minds….

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Hi Scott….

I read your post regarding Gray’s latest directive regarding new hires and COVID vaccinations.

That leads to an interesting question for the masses.

How are the typical 2-man crews (what few are still out there) handling this divide? Let’s face it. Photogs spend HOURS isolated with multiple co-workers in vehicles every day. Same goes for the reporters.

How do you deal with the question to your partner (of the day) as to their vaccination status/ideology and their attitudes about masking? I would think it could make for some very tense times in the field, political differences notwithstanding.

If I were still in a newsroom, I would demand of management that I will work only with knowingly vaccinated reporters/producers in my vehicles, whether my assigned vehicle or any live truck I work out of. Is management making sure the live trucks are cleaned out and sanitized every day?

It sucks that we have so many selfish people running around out there, and since we do, we have to take a personal stand on our own self-protection. So glad I don’t have to endure that battle today. It’s hard enough to get the job done without such distractions.

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Why do stations pimp their weather app during severe weather? There is a tornado warning, and I don’t want to download some stupid app for all the updates. Tell me now! This is WISC Madison, WI.

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Your post about the producer shortage at KPRC in Houston is the latest evidence of the industry shortage of a key but underappreciated position. CJ Hoyt, the news director at WXIN Indianapolis, recently posted on LinkedIn about the shortage. He asked "Why doesn't anyone want to be a news producer?"
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cjhoyt_why-doesnt-anyone-want-to-be-a-news-producer-activity-6815646160309522432-UorI

CJ mentions elsewhere that he's also helping a smaller Nexstar station (Fort Wayne?) recruit. It seems to be a losing battle for news directors. It's not because "everyone wants to be on TV" either. One TV agent had a really good and insightful response to CJ's question that I think is worth your time.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/want-hire-keep-great-producers-start-beth-conter-johnson/?trackingId=Z7pc4%2F7Lx6HdCaKRCmnKlA%3D%3D

To the news directors who can't find producers: it's time you start paying them better and treating them better. Otherwise, have fun competing with everyone else to fill a job that fewer people want to do.

Anyway, thank you for what you do. FTVLive is a must-read. Enjoy your weekend!

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I'm not too surprised to hear that there's a "critical shortage" of producers. The job is so formulaic these days. Most producers are simply just trying to stack a newscast based on a list of check boxes made by some consultant. New, now, next... Where's our social media push.. We MUST hit our first break at THIS time... How can we showcase this or that.. etc. The job has become old, boring and monotonous. Lots of producers have had their creative abilities striped from them and now must do whatever the boss demands. And that's just the beginning. You also have to suffer through a daily editorial meeting - at most stations they are highly unproductive and adversarial. And whenever shit hits the fan, 99% of the time it's the producer who is going to get screamed at. I'm not a producer anymore thank goodness, but when I was, there were many days when I would sit at my desk thinking to myself about how I would rather be doing ANY OTHER job at that moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for my time in the business. I learned a lot and it gave me the ability to handle crisis situations like a champ. But damn it's a frustrating job and I do not miss it at all.