Howard Beale

Here's an update from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In short, KMOV's GM said the script originally said "homeowners of color" but "was inadvertently changed and mistakenly read on air." More info: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/kmov-apologizes-after-anchor-uses-colored-to-describe-minority-homeowners/article_35c21cca-da56-11ee-b988-9b2d028d026b.html

The University of Missouri released the results of a study on journalist burnout. In short, journalists — especially those in TV news — are burned out. SARCASM ALERT: Yep, I’m sure you’re just as surprised as I am. The study recommends several solutions to the problem, including: Flexible shifts (e.g. four-day weeks, hybrid/remote shifts) Manageable workloads and responsibilities A more-supportive culture The study acknowledged but did not suggest pay raises, because pay raises are often beyond a news director’s control and cannot be implemented unless some corner office suit in Irving, Texas or Hunt Valley, Maryland approves it. Read the study here: https://rjionline.org/news/addressing-burnout-in-journalism-means-flexible-shifts-more-supportive-culture-results-of-large-scale-survey-from-rji-and-smithgeiger/ My thoughts: Pay raises are the best solution, but corporate broadcast groups just won’t do it because that will affect the bottom line. You can’t have flexible shifts and manageable workloads without enough staff, and many TV newsrooms are short-staffed as is despite producing many hours of daily newscasts. TV news is a creature of habit and resistant to change. I question whether it’s already too late to reverse the brain drain.

I doubt the Scrippscasts will go away. Adam Symson made the big to-do about the "news initiative" in May of 2023 and he hinted at what was to come. Plus, Scrippscasts are no doubt cheaper to produce. It's too late for Scripps to hit reverse after investing so much time and effort into Symson's grand vision.

I don't think there's a need to "fire/cancel the guy." If this was an honest mistake, treat it as such, and learn from it. But don't sweep it under the rug either. I doubt many people would have known about this if the NABJ didn't issue a statement. KMOV owes its audience an explanation of how and why this happened.

I didn't find the video on their website. Someone else did and posted the video to TikTok. I searched KMOV's website and did not find the initial video or any subsequent apologies. However, from what I've read online, Cory Stark did apologize. "Poor word choices" is an understatement. Yes, mistakes happen, but we're talking about an outdated and racist term for Black people that somehow made it into a news broadcast in 2024.

TVNewsCheck is officially back as of today. According to a statement posted on its website, TVNewsCheck had a "promising response" to its plea for subscribers. https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/tvnewscheck-returns/

This somehow flew under the radar. A news anchor at KMOV in St. Louis referred to Black homeowners as "colored" homeowners in a news tease. The NABJ called out KMOV, and according to the group, "there have been multiple on-air apologies and KMOV management has met with local leaders." I didn't see any apologies or statements on KMOV's website about what happened or why it happened. Video of what happened: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealfoxyroxystl/video/7340308283971980590

Big changes typically follow bad quarterly financial reports. Scripps did an executive reorganization and placed Kate O’Brian as the top executive in charge of Scripps News, Court TV, and Scripps’ local TV stations. The VPs at Scripps News and Court TV kept their jobs. The VP in charge of local news, Sean McLaughlin, did not. FTVLive hypothesizes that McLaughlin is the scapegoat for the cost-cutting changes to news broadcasts at Scripps stations in the past few months. Company memo here: https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2024/2/29/the-first-show-drops-at-scripps

This is a very embarrassing snafu for Tegna's Oregon station, KGW-TV. It broadcast a racist photo from the 1940s during its feel-good news/entertainment program, The Good Stuff. KGW management apologized but did not explain how or why it happened. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2024/02/portland-news-station-airs-racist-image-during-share-a-photo-from-your-past-that-makes-you-smile-segment.html According to Snopes, the photo in question came from a 1942 YMCA brochure for a summer camp in Wisconsin.

Utah outlawed non-competes. Thus, it's easier than ever to jump to another station. Plus, KUTV is a Sinclair station, and I'm sure the salaries and wages there are even worse than what the penny-pinchers at Nexstar pay.

I was researching Denver TV salaries for another thread, and saw KUSA has a LOT of producer openings. Specifically, seven total: one EP, two producers, and four senior producers. I know producers are in demand and most every TV station these days has producer openings, but what’s going on at KUSA with so many openings?

Nexstar is known for rock-bottom salaries and Denver is the latest proof. Here’s an example: KDVR/KWGN has a job opening for a part-time production technician with a listed salary of $17.29/hour. Colorado’s minimum wage is $14.42/hour, but in Denver specifically, the minimum wage is $18.29 hour. The job opening was posted prior to the higher wages becoming law, so let’s presume Nexstar hasn’t updated the job post. It’s still further proof of how cheap Nexstar is, because this is a minimum wage salary in a larger-sized market.

FTVLive reports depositions are underway in the discrimination lawsuit filed by former WGCL news anchor Mike Dunston. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2024/1/2/depositions-being-taken-in-former-atlanta-anchors-lawsuit This lawsuit is from when WANF was Meredith-owned WGCL. The depositions, should they become public, may be an interesting read. WGCL was a hot mess under Meredith's ownership.

The only local TV news broadcaster that might be “good” is the Disney O&O group. Those stations are typically number one in the ratings and have a Disney-backed budget to make things happen. But, as we learned this year from CEO Bob Iger, Disney may eventually get out of linear television. And I’m sure the likes of Perry Sook and Byron Allen will be ready to make an offer. TV news has always been about the money, especially local TV news, regardless of the owners. It’s just that some companies are more open about it, like Nexstar and Sinclair. The other companies — like Gray, Scripps, Tegna, Cox, Graham, Allen, etc. — are all watching the bottom line just as much.

I’d hate to be a TV news director these days. Imagine how stressful it must be to try to recruit people! I see recruiters from Gray and Scripps, among others, who post the same open jobs on LinkedIn almost every day. I’m also aware of some jobs that have been open for months. I’m no longer in the business, so does anyone here have first-hand knowledge of the recruiting crisis in TV news?