Comments on: J-schools should downplay anchor careers

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:31:19 +0000

I started out as a TV reporter (with occasional studio presenting), and it was cool but, yes, superficial. The perceived glamour of the profession was certainly a buzz, but the lack of substance in the resulting stories was frustrating. No regrets though, it was part of the dream/goal/ambition thing that I think has to be done. If you don’t reach for a dream, how can you hope to capture those rare moments in real life that are, well, slightly unreal but very newsworthy? Subsequently doing text journalism around the world was very rewarding, intellectually and in terms of experience. Now, with the move to a visual Internet, it’s time to marry the two sides. Writing and solo video journalism is definitely a viable path now.

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:52:45 +0000

I’m finishing my journalism now, and out of all my graduating classmates, only two of us are aspiring producers. The curriculum is all convergence, yet the focus in broadcast remains on becoming on-air talent. A news director recently visited to meet with some of the seniors. She told me there’s always a need for producers. When my classmates mentioned they’re looking for reporting and anchoring jobs, she said, “start praying.”

By: Pete Liebengood

Pete Liebengood — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:01:34 +0000

The truth hurts. Following my recent RTNDA session on “Going Solo” a young man came up to me and asked, “what advice do you have for someone who wants to be a sports anchor?” My response surprised me. I spent 25 years in TV news as a sports anchor/reporter and I didn’t know what to tell him because I believe local sports anchors will be irrelevent in 7-to-10 years. Sports guys will either become journalists, capable of “soloing” stories for TV and the web, or they will become extinct. If a sports fan wants news, he/she goes to the Internet. Info on demand rules. There will always be a place for local sports (high school, college and amateur sports) but who will need a studio “hair hat” to run through the day’s MLB highlights when ESPN and ESPN.com posted them hours before.

By: Annie

Annie — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:12:35 +0000

During my 20 years as a photographer I was constantly assigned interns to carry stuff and see what it was like in the field. Invariably, the only thing they carried for me was the mic. I always asked what their goals were and every one of them said “anchor”! Never, did one of them ask to learn how to use the camera or what I was doing. I did get asked a lot to shoot their standups and edit their resume tapes (repacks of the reporter’s pkgs) so they could get their first on air job. This VJ trend is really going to mess with their heads. I had one student tell me, “Oh, I can’t possibly work out in the field since my hair gets frizzy. I need to be an anchor.” I’m not making this up!!!!!!

By: John P. Wise

John P. Wise — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:16:07 +0000

I bet her boyfriend says the same thing.

Sincerely,
YouTube

By: aidian

aidian — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:07:12 +0000

True story: guest speaker in my j-school class (ep of entertainment tonight — don’t ask) starts to ask a couple kids what they want to do. Girl says “I want to be an anchor,” and when she’s asked why the reply “well my dad says I’m photogenic.”

By: Dan Ray

Dan Ray — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:31:46 +0000

Amen!
I’m the editor at an online content site, and my hiring scorecard for the past year shows:
– All-around multimedia journalists, 7.
– Anchors, 0.

And at good salaries, too. It’s nice to report that sometimes, substance trumps fluff.

By: Erik Sandoval

Erik Sandoval — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:54:23 +0000

Great thoughts!

I just spoke to a journalism class at UW a few weeks back, and a manjority of them were looking to be on-air. At the same time, the remaining students were challenging what local media is doing to stay competitive with online, and what local media is doing to attract YOUNGER viewers. They see the two media converging (as many of us do in some way or shape), and don’t see FACES being the future.

The conclusion was: there will always be journalists

By: Charles

Charles — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:15:58 +0000

oakling,
Anchors are hard-working? ‘Ya mean they aren’t all Ted Baxters?

By: oakling

oakling — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:12:53 +0000

Maybe we need to sit these kids down in front of some Murphy Brown reruns. They’d see it as hard work and all investigative, but on the other hand, we’d have to spend even longer explaining reality to them…

By: John P. Wise

John P. Wise — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:44:02 +0000

Whatever is a 20-something to do? Fewer on-air jobs when our young culture’s collective pursuit of attention and celebrity are at an all-time high?

Seriously, how many reporters do you know who are 30 or younger come to work every day excited to report a good story? Most I know got into the business because they just want to be on TV so they can get free drinks or lots of dates.

Unfortunately, the business too has changed in such a way that the pretties can and do often get away with it. Seasoned sports reporters are doomed … unless they’re hot and own some tight shirts.

By: Roseville Pottery

Roseville Pottery — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:22:28 +0000

Anchor jobs are the equivalent of acting jobs in the movie industry. Everyone wants one and it looks easy, but the fact is that most aspiring actors or anchors are going to end up behind the scenes. At least with a journalism degree you are less likely to be working as a waiter in LA.

By: Terry Heaton

Terry Heaton — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:14:29 +0000

Great post, Cory. This is one of the factors in why I left the biz in 1998 (or perhaps it left me). My contemporaries all got into the business because we felt it was a way for a single person to make a difference. Towards the end of my life as a news director, 95% of the newbies I interviewed said they wanted to get into the biz “after the local anchor came and talked to my high school. THEN, I knew that’s what I wanted to be.”

Yeah, right.

By: Seth Keever

Seth Keever — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:14:52 +0000

When I was in school, I worked on the production side of the newsroom. But I had been there long enough that other students would ask about career choices and how their work stacked up.

You wouldn’t imagine how many students just wanted to know about their anchoring skills. They didn’t care about the quality of their reporting or writing (which in most cases needed more than a little help), they just wanted to know if they “read the words all pretty-like.”

I admit that when I first got to college, I wanted to be an anchor. That was until I discovered the many other ways one can contribute to the news product (many of which are more creative).

I agree with David, most students need a quick reality check. Pretty much every college student wants to be on TV, and if that’s their life plan, they need to know that it might not work out at graduation time. Their TCOM and Broadcast Journalism degrees could be worth nothing.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:08:24 +0000

The only reason to go for a journalism degree is to have access to internships. Journalism degrees are becoming as worthless as ones for basket weaving.