TV News: The Reality of News Reporting

BiB Contributor | George Howell

No doubt – television broadcasting can be an exciting and rewarding career path, but there is a reality to this industry that many beginners fail to consider, bedazzled by the bright lights of new opportunity. In order to survive the high pressure, fast-paced machine of mainstream media, you must be flexible and willing to go with the flow of constant change.

First, there’s the nomadic nature of this business:

When big stories break, it means you’ve got to be prepared to drop everything at a moment’s notice to go and get the story. It’s just part of the job description for field producers, photographers, and on-air talent. You will be on the road a lot, traveling from one story to the next. Everyone in the business – from producers, to management, and on-air talent – will probably relocate from city to city a few times during their careers, for a variety of different reasons. Moving around is just sort of a ‘given’ in this career field.

Also, don’t expect to work banker’s hours:

Work hours can be challenging for people with families. From early morning shifts (2am to noon), to late evening (9am to 7pm), and night shifts (3pm to midnight), these work hours generally overlap the time of day when most people get home from work to spend time with their families. The demands of this work landscape tend to be much easier for people in their 20′s and early 30′s, who may be single and have fewer obligations. Many people choose to get out of the business when a) they get tired of all of the running and moving b) priorities change, and they want more balance between work & family time, or c) they decide to change career paths all together.

Here’s the way I look at it: the one constant in life is change. That rule is especially true of this business. As long as you enjoy what you are doing and remain flexible in the face of change, you will find many new opportunities. The key is finding a balance between new opportunities, work, and personal life that works for you. If you are looking for a situation where you work for one company all your life and retire, you will be hard pressed to find that sort of stability in this ever evolving field.

Just a few things you should really think about first, to decide whether this is the business for you.

Good luck!