One more leaving

Well, in a somewhat surprising turn of events, my other boss, the news director, is now resigning from the station. He says he wants to get out of the business. I can see why though; he was under way too much pressure these past few months with all these new shows and new hirings, and they actually combined two jobs (his and another's) for a sort of omniscient director of news and operations. I think it was way too much for him (or anyone) to handle, and he got really burned out from it.

In retrospect, this is somewhat less surprising than our assistant news director suddenly leaving to go to Eau Claire. In fact, our assistant news director might have gotten the news director job here if he had just stayed a few more weeks.

My biggest fear is that this will spawn even more resignations from the station. A lot of people who work in the newsroom now were brought in because they had some sort of connection with one of these two men, and soon they'll both be gone. I hope this doesn't create the mentality that "if my boss is leaving, maybe I should too."

That's one thing that's a little unattractive about the news business: the somewhat high turnover and the constant shifting. You really have to move around to get where you want to be. Madison is a mid-level market, so while some are comfortable staying here where they are, I'm sure there are still others that want to move up (and out). And I think this station doesn't have the resources to make sure everyone here is happy - many are overworked and underpaid.

With all i've just said, it's kind of interesting to figure out what makes the TV news business so attractive. I don't know if it's the little bit of fame people get from being on camera, the chance to tell stories, the adrenaline rush you get from deadline pressure - but for some reason, there seems to be plenty of people who want to get into it. And I guess I'd say if you really love doing it, keep doing it, and don't let finances bother you. But for me, I probably would discourage my children from going into TV. And that could be the sleep deprivation talking. It's a really tough business, although it can be really rewarding.

I think I've made the right choice in going back to grad school in 2008. I never really thought that TV news would end up being my career, and I sort of fell into it in college. I'm actually surprised I didn't go to grad school right away after undergrad, because I pretty much had always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to be a professor. I know I've got the brains to do it, and I think it's better that I start moving towards that part of my career sooner rather than later.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few months, both in terms of my job and the jobs of others at the station. Stay tuned.


P.S. I remember why I hate cars so much: I just had to spend more than $600 to fix three things in my car. If I didn't need it, I probably wouldn't use it. And that's just another reason I'd like to move back to campus.