Media World: Local TV is losing experienced anchors
New York TV news anchor Chuck Scarborough's tenure dates to the Nixon era, while Jim Gardner has broadcast the 11 o'clock news in Philadelphia since Jimmy Carter was president. Unfortunately, in today's media market, where advertising and profits at TV stations are shrinking, venerable professionals like Scarborough and Gardner are becoming the exceptions rather than the rule.Across the country, many longtime anchors are being squeezed out. Last year, Denver anchor Ernie Bjorkman left after 26 years behind the desk. He reportedly became a veterinary technician, taking about a $100,000 pay cut. Meanwhile, Phoenix's Kent Dana is out after more than 30 years and Tampa Bay anchor Bill Ratliff resigned in April rather than take a cut in pay and hours. A few months ago, there were even rumors that Scarborough was being axed, which were denied by the station.
"There has been a huge adjustment for salaries," said Erik Sorenson, head of the jobs Web site Vault.com and a former president of MSNBC. "Salaries are going to continue to come down. . . I don't think [layoffs] are getting better. . . . The second quarter was not as drastic as the two previous ones. Stations and station groups are adjusting."
Longtime anchors have been squeezed out in Boston, Chicago and New York, giving way to cheaper, younger talent. However, some of the people being kept on the air do not inspire confidence. For example, even after decimating its staff, Los Angeles' Fox 11 decided to retain its well-known "weather babe" Jillian Barberie Reynolds. Although trained in broadcast journalism, the Canadian actress has drawn the ire of news watchers, including James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times, who calls her "the Medusa-haired, wailing siren who epitomizes the noxious celebrification of what we once called news."
The situation in cable is slightly different, as channel revenue comes from affiliate fees in addition to advertising. However, there have been layoffs there, too. Earlier this month, it was reported that TruTV was planning to axe half of its staff in New York City, and even CNBC has had job cuts.
According to the Radio Television News Directors Association, about 1,200 people in TV news lost their jobs last year. This figure, approximately 4.3 percent of the total workforce, has led to staffs that are increasingly stretched thin. Even as more layoffs loom, stations are turning to low-cost news programs to fill in holes in their schedule that used to be filled by syndicated shows.
"It is VERY tough for third and fourth place stations to keep going--it is tougher on stations that are associated with newspapers than those who are pure-play broadcast or have a multi dimensional owner like GE or Disney," said Al Tompkins, the Poynter Institute's Broadcasting/Online Group Leader.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
7-14-2009 @ 2:29PM
yama96 said...
Could it be people are getting tired of the medias' bias? Lack of real journalism without the editors' slanting the stories to inject their idelology? Just wondering.
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7-14-2009 @ 2:43PM
red white & YOU said...
anchors is what the topic is about, they only read whats in front of them. has nothing to do with them and bias...anchors do not get to pick topics they want to talk about, its all about producers and editors....you should do more reading yourself, then you just might comprehend the topic
7-14-2009 @ 2:33PM
yama96 said...
How long will it be before the failing news channels are bailed out by the tax payers and owned by the government. Could get scary.
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7-14-2009 @ 4:59PM
Duff said...
The main news channels are owned by BIG Corporations. CBS by Westinghouse(Military industrial complex), NBC by GE(Also a Military Industrial Complex), ABC(Disney), Fox(NewsCorp). If that isn't scary, what is?
7-14-2009 @ 2:48PM
Kent said...
The reference to Diann Burns in Chicago is rather misleading. She was highly rated at the ABC affiliate, WLS. Then, when he contract came up for renewal, she let her husband do the negotiating. He made unreasonable demands and even went on a media tour and got politicians to say how much they liked her.
WLS took her off the air and paid her until the end of her contract, which was about 5 months.
She was then hired by WBBM, that CBS affiliate. Channel 2 was the best news station in the late 70s and early 80s with Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson. When those two left, the ratings went down and have stayed down for more than 20 years, despite have some of the best politcal and investigative reporters.
Every anchor has failed to bring up the ratings, including Diann. She got cut, because they could afford to finish behind reruns of "The Simpsons" with less expensive talent.
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7-14-2009 @ 3:01PM
Mike said...
so what ? since my tv went blank on june 6, i have not watched any tv. so who is to blame? All of the wireless gadgets and satellites to send signals,of course there are cell-phone towers land based ,but the government has been taken by the new age . anyway, i will sometime get the converter box for my old clunker tv, no ,i am not going to pay for digital or dish network scammers. they have screwed my subscriptions big time in the past,and all i hear from others are that they pay for service, here comes the bill , and woweee , new charges and surprise charges too !
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7-14-2009 @ 4:38PM
Bob said...
I agree, I watch little TV since the digital switch, I did record a couple shows while I worked, they decided I no longer want a VCR either. The 2 local newspapers have not figured out we are now digital, they show only TV listings in Analog, not the added digital stations, and one of them owns a TV station. Most of the shows suck. Give me a good Star Treck or Western and I might watch.
7-14-2009 @ 5:35PM
Frank said...
Dude. Seriously. You had two years to get a damn converter box and the government even gave away coupons to the cheap-asses who wouldn't buy them. If you're looking at a blank screen it's your own damn fault and says something significant about the level of your intelligence. Go read a book. You might learn something.
7-15-2009 @ 10:19AM
marie said...
I hope they all lose their job. It is the news media that is the root of all evil, with their biased reporting, every one of them pushing their own agenda. I hope they all be replaced with blacks as they seem to be in love with this black agenda these days.
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7-14-2009 @ 4:51PM
Jules said...
Marie,
I hope you lose your job too.
I happen to know several very intelligent people in the news media. They do not push their own agendas onto others. YES, some in the news media, do push their own agenda, but do not wish harm on all as they are all not guilty.
In fact, I work at a tv station, and those who try to stand for and defend pure journalism are the ones who usually get the short end of the stick.
7-14-2009 @ 9:07PM
John said...
Are you that stupid! What an idiotic statement. This is the 21st century - the civil war is over and the blacks were freed.You are one racist B----.
7-14-2009 @ 3:17PM
Lynn said...
Red, White and YOU is completely wrong and it is HE that doesn't know what he's talking about. Anchors (I was one for FOX-TV in Washington DC) can change any copy they wish. The News Director, not the producers (editor??) pick topics and there are no editors in tv news. There are news writers but the anchors can and do make changes, suggestions, slants, and can incorporate their take on a subject during the give and take with other anchors on the news desk.
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7-14-2009 @ 3:15PM
Dave said...
Have you been paying attention to the news media since
the election? This is strictly an observation, and nothing
negative is meant by it. Have you noticed the increased
number of mulattos doing the news on almost every news
broadcast? Since Obama became president it seems
that the news media is pandering to his mixed racial
background. Just an observation, folks. Check it out.
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7-14-2009 @ 7:25PM
JRome said...
Dave, just an observation for you: Have you noticed that the percentage of the general public who are multiracial has also increased? That may be why you're seeing more on the TV (or maybe your black and white TV from your 1950s mindset needs to be adjusted).
7-19-2009 @ 1:41PM
barbara said...
Hard to figure out. Stations are letting experienced newmen go to save money, then you read about Ryan Seacrest getting a 2 l/2 million dollar increase to emcee Amnerican Idol. A show I never watch, but millions do and are crazy about Seacrest and Idol. Guess ir's all a matter of taste.
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7-14-2009 @ 3:30PM
Beeker D. said...
It's an image thing. Here in the wonderful 'SOCIALIST' STATE of CALIFORNIA the experienced white male reporters and anchors have/are being replaced with, Woman and Black Males!
National example was CNN recently reporting that THEY didn't have enough Black anchor's! So 'IT' has become a situation where ;The person they are looking for Doesn't necessarially have to be the BEST person for the job, "BUT" They "MUST" be the POLITICALLY CORRECT ONE!!
Socialisim is ALIVE and WELL in the USA!
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7-14-2009 @ 3:42PM
Gasfizz09 said...
Waaaaaaaaahhh!!! Me cry! No fairsies!
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7-14-2009 @ 4:05PM
Jeannie said...
ALL THE GOOD T.V. ANCHORS ARE BEING SHOVED OUT THE DOOR TO ACCOMODATE ALL THE FEMALE LAWYERS WHO WEAR ALL THE SKIMPY CLOTHES, AND SHOW THE WHOLE OF THEIR LEGS, AND OTHER BODY PARTS. AMERICA STILL WANTS TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE MALE ANCHORS WHO REPORT THE NEWS AS IT IS, NOT AS SOME ONE INTERPETS IT TO BE. WE ARE TIRED OF WATCHING THE PLAYBOY IMAGE ON OUR SCREENS.
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7-14-2009 @ 4:32PM
Fred said...
The bias is getting old I agree, but also the way these folks "perform" is also. They're all "news-lite" and happy talk. On top, they are wildly overpaid. I know a local guy here (SF) who has been making $175,000/ year for a two-hour, five-day spot where he really only looks pretty and babbles and spouts cliches.
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7-14-2009 @ 4:34PM
Gregg2009 said...
We are all wiser. We realize each station has a political
agenda and bias and only reports that which furthers it.
It is almost criminal how they omit certain facts of
a story because it will not reflect well on their ideology.
Hence, viewers don't trust the news personalities and
change the channel. Advetisers follow the viewers moving
on to someone that is truthful and objetive. NBC is a
classic example whose viewership reflects this. Their
affiliate in Miami just laid off a group of long time workers.
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