| Eight months |
[15 Apr 2006|05:11pm] |
Summer is approaching, and in television news, it's the season of the resume tape. Plenty of wide-eyed graduates are firing off those distinctive yellow padded envelopes to every station that has a job opening. And news directors are rejecting these applicants as quickly as they come in.
Already, my station is getting flooded with tapes for a reporting job we recently posted. The job isn't technically open, but the reporter is thinking of using an out in her contract at the end of May. But even the mention of a possible job has brought in tapes from all corners of the United States.
My boss started reviewing some of these tapes this week. Well, he didn't, but two of his anchors decided they would review the tapes while he watched. I peered in on these sessions, and the anchors would immediately chime in with their approval or disapproval. Sometimes, it was for serious things, like the girl who smiled as she did a stand-up in a story about child abuse. Or the guy whose resume tape began with a boring studio interview.
But some of the other reasons were purely superficial. They didn't like the person's outfit. They didn't like the person's hairstyle. Reasons that, in the real world, would be grounds for a lawsuit. But in TV, well, it's an unspoken fact of life. Style over substance.
As I listened to these two young anchors fire off their objections, I thought back to July 2005, when I was fired because my station decided to replace me with someone at a smaller salary. I was one of these people whose tapes were piled up on my boss' floor. I was probably one of these people who were being judged by some smart-ass anchor. Part of me wanted to say, "Seeing as how you're anchoring in market 173, you have little room to talk."
I will never forget the eight months I spent unemployed, scrounging up part-time and freelance work just so I could pay my bills on time. I eventually found a full-time job, and I'm fortunate. And I just hope those people whose tapes now sit in the "REJECTED" pile will keep knocking on doors and sending tapes, until someone decides to give them a chance.
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| Only 728 days left in my contract |
[01 Mar 2006|12:53am] |
Two days, and I haven't been fired yet!
Producing the 5 and 6 is proving to be something else. At times, you really do have to make shit sound like gold. It's a problem for someone like me, who favors conversational, no-nonsense writing. But it's a job. And I'm getting the hang of things.
The first day was a whirlwind. The father of Eileen Collins, an Elmira native and NASA astronaut, was killed when he was hit by a car Monday. In a small market, that's considered big news. We knew the identity that night, but didn't release it until Tuesday, at the request of police. Despite that lapse, we still scooped the other station in the market ("weenie") and the city's newspaper.
I'm in familiar company here. Most of the news employees are less than 30. But we do have some experienced minds in the newsroom. The 11 p.m. anchor and nightside editor has been at the station for about 20 years and knows who to call when shit happens. He's a friendly guy who also wears a sweater vest when he's not on air. Then there's Carl, the 6 p.m. anchor who basically comes in, reads off the teleprompter, and leaves. He's been here for 40 years, so I guess he's got the seniority to work the super short shift.
As a former production nerd, I've made it a priority to be on good terms with the production people. Yelling at the people who are responsible for making sure your show gets off on the right foot isn't a good thing, unless they've royally fucked up.
Once I get a new tape recorder to continue filing with CBS News Radio, things will be good.
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| Apartment hunting |
[14 Feb 2006|01:50am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 tired |
] |
Having lived in two large college cities, I've seen some real rat traps that masquerade as apartments. Some even qualify as outright fire hazards or crime scenes. But nothing prepared me for my apartment hunting on Monday.
Apartment 1
If the junk-filled front yard didn't give it away, the two fat women who huffed and puffed up the stairs did. This place was a DUMP. From the dirty bathroom, to the chipped paint in the living room, and the flimsy front door that my grandmother could kick in. As we went upstairs, one of the two women remarked about how they "just got rid of" one of their tenants. There were no deadbolts on the front or back doors either.
Apartment 2
Since my salary at WETM will be less than that of a McDonalds shift manager, I have no room to mock the poor. But this apartment complex screamed "Government-subsidized housing available here!" The apartment I looked at was next door to a family, judging by the toys strewn about. And the scent of cigarette smoke was overwhelming. Perhaps the strangest thing I saw was a neighbor peering through her blinds, looking at me as if I was an intruder. Oh, and no deadbolts either.
Apartment 3
After the horrors of Roach Motel and HUDVille, this apartment was a welcome sight. It was on the second floor of a tanning salon (hello ladies!). There was a deadbolt on the door, the kitchen was spacious, the bathroom didn't look like it came out of a Tool video, and the neighborhood was very nice. I'm within walking distance of a bank, post office, health clinic, mini mart, and funeral home! Whoo. And with the exception of electricity, everything is included in the rent of $350 a month. The owner seems like he cares about making sure his apartments look nice.
Apartment 4
Between showings, I stopped at a fast food restaurant for some coffee and a copy of the classifieds. I found a one bedroom place for $300 a month. "Recently refurbished," it read. I called, set up an appointment later that night, and headed over. Like Apartment 2, this neighborhood screamed trouble. Decrepid houses, junk in the yards, and absolutely no street lights to speak of! I hightailed it out of there and never looked back.
Unless something better comes along, I'm going with Apartment 3. It's in a nice area, and I'm within walking distance of everything I need. And you can't beat the price. Since I start at WETM on Feb. 27th, I'll hammer down an apartment this week, and then move in next week. That should be "fun."
In completely unrelated news, I found a collection of every music video Hum did. As a big fan of this underrated 1990s space rock band, I was overjoyed to be watching the "Stars" video for the first time since 1996. It's too bad the group broke up in 2000. They definitely had a unique sound, sort of like Failure, except with a harder edge.
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| Goodbye unemployment |
[09 Feb 2006|02:09pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 jubilant |
] |
I've been hired as the weekday producer for WETM-TV in Elmira, NY.
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| Double vision |
[01 Feb 2006|08:22pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 confused |
] |
I had an eye exam today, because I need new glasses. Last week, my other ones broke when the earpiece snapped in half when I took off my shirt.
Odd.
I'm not getting the frameless design anymore, because the glasses crack around where the frame is drilled in. These new ones will have the magnetic snap-on sunglasses, so now even blind idiots like me can look coooooooooool.
More to the point here, I can't see fucking shit. The optometrist dialated my eyes so he could make sure my retinas didn't decide to front and start detaching up in this hizzy. This was the SUPER DIALATION drops he used, and seven hours later, you can still drive a truck through my pupils.
I've had to bump the text size up 200% on Opera because I can't make out anything. It's too blurry.
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| Alignment? |
[23 Jan 2006|10:37am] |
Human Resources people have this uncanny knack to take bad news and spin it into something pleasant...or confusing. Last year, I applied for a producing job at the NPR PBS affiliate in Harrisburg. I pretty much wrote off the job, because the job search was taking too long. And what pops into my inbox this morning?
Thank you for your response to our position posting for Producer position. We have reviewed your resume, and, while we were most impressed with your credentials, WITF chosen to fill this position with another candidate whose background more closely aligns with our needs. We will take the liberty of keeping your material on file, and should a suitable opening occur, we will be in contact with you.
"Aligns with our needs?" ALIGNS? What in the flying fuck is that? I'd be less offended if the station simply said, "We didn't hire you because you don't have [MITIGATING FACTOR]."
Took them long enough to do it.
UPDATE: And I just got word that I was rejected for a reporting job at the NPR affiliate in Albany, NY. Today is fucking AWESOME!
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| Dreams |
[20 Dec 2005|01:20pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 cold |
] |
I had a weird dream last night. I was in a recording studio, and suddenly Nickelback's lead singer comes up to me with his band, playing that annoying "Photograph" song. He sings, "Look at this photograph," and hands it to me. I tell him "No way," and the band stops playing and gets confused.
Thanks to Nickelback, I get annoyed whenever I hear a radio station say, "And coming up next, we've got 'Photograph.'" I always think it will be the Def Leppard song. But no, it's Nickelback.
There can be only one song called "Photograph," and it was done in 1985 by Def fucking Leppard!
In unrelated news, CBS Radio is picking up more of my stories. They haven't turned down any of my pitches thus far, so that's promising. This week, one of my stories was aired on their national newscasts, which is carried by WKOK, my former employer. How funny that my stories are carried on a station that laid me off because they didn't like my anchoring ability (but in reality wanted to hire someone cheaper).
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| Booo! |
[06 Dec 2005|11:13am] |
|
At 11 a.m. today, CBS Radio ran one of my stories about a guy who paints his animals. I thought it'd be funny that my former station, a CBS affiliate that fired me, would be airing my story. Oh, but before the final segment, they cut out to local news because of their stupid sponsored talk show.
GAH!
I still get paid for the two stories I sent in, and maybe they'll air the other one at noon. I have three more stories they've ordered, which will be aired in the coming week.
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| Guess what? |
[29 Nov 2005|08:29pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 bored |
] |
I'm still unemployed!
Whee. :(
At least I got two stories on CBS Radio today. Hello future freelancing gigs!
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| Old man, look at your life |
[09 Nov 2005|02:15pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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blah |
] |
I'm another year older today. Whee. Someone get me a job for my birthday!
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| Random junk |
[27 Oct 2005|09:44pm] |
1. I'm still unemployed! :(
Right now I'm looking at options in Harrisburg, San Antonio, and Boston. Seattle may be another possibility, depending on what's out there. Until then, do you know anyone seeking a broadcast journalist with two years experience in radio and additional experience in television production and producing? Let me know!
2. I've been getting headaches for the past two days.
Perhaps it's because of this computer screen, but I get them even when I'm not at the computer. Either I'm getting sick, or there's a tumor in my head that's laughing at me because I lack health insurance.
3. Ashlee Simpson annoys me.
That damn "Boyfriend" song is catchy and annoying at the same time. Thank God I have this station to rely on for good music. Best of all, their DJs don't talk over the beginning or end of any song!
4. Beale's Bites is a fun read.
Well, it is if you're interested in the news business in my area. It's like News Blues on a local level. A reporter I know pointed me to the site, and now I'm hooked.
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| So much for that |
[13 Oct 2005|12:42pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 depressed |
] |
I didn't get the producing job, as I was edged out by a former producer who decided to come back into news. WBRE-TV goes on the list of places that has rejected me. And boy, is it growing.
Next stop: Harrisburg. A friend of mine is searching for state PR jobs, and I'm sending in my resume for a producing job at the PBS affiliate there. Hopefully the fact that I've worked in public broadcasting before will help.
Today is starting out as a horrible day.
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| Looking elsewhere |
[09 Oct 2005|12:51pm] |
I'm sick of waiting for that other station to stop dragging their feet and fill that producer job. Now, I know hiring people is one of those "secondary" duties of a news director, but I deserve to know if I got it or not. In the meantime, I've thought about staying in central Pennsylvania in radio, but I'm deciding against it. I don't want to spin my wheels in Nowheresville while everyone else is moving up.
Now I'm going to move up. I've applied for a job at WCBS-TV in New York as an online editor/producer. One of the people doing the hiring is a Syracuse alumnus. Get in on the inside track, and work my way up. Why the fuck not?
It'll be nice if the other station finally tells me what the status is on the job, and if I get it, I'll likely accept, unless CBS suddenly says, "Want to replace Bob Schieffer?" But I'm not going to spend my life waiting for them to get the wheels in motion.
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| *sigh* |
[07 Oct 2005|12:59pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 angry |
] |
I hate waiting. It's now nearing seven weeks, and I haven't heard anything about that producing job. This is pissing me off. Either tell me I got the job, or tell me I didn't.
A public radio news service down in Harrisburg has heard some good things about me, and seem interested. I hope so.
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| Oh how I wait |
[27 Sep 2005|01:22pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 nervous |
] |
I have yet to hear back on that producing job. And that's really making me nervous. I've been out of work since July, and though I saved up a decent amount of money (given my shitty salary), the student loans aren't going to disappear. If I don't get this job, I don't know what I'll do. News jobs are far and few between, and that damn "you need experience" thing has shot me down at a few places.
Do I have a good chance at this producing job? I think so. Hell, I interned there for three years, and they offered me a job last year. They know what I can do and how I can do it. It's just a matter of them saying yes. They told me the interview process is done, so a decision will be made soon.
I'm crossing my fingers.
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| Not going anywhere for a while? |
[15 Sep 2005|12:28pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
bored |
] |
Seems like I bought a dud CD. This is how long it's taking to rip it. I don't know what the problem is on the last three tracks, because there's no scratches on the CD. The fact that I'm ripping this using the -aps option isn't helping either, but I demand quality VBR MP3s.
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| Jobs and gas |
[31 Aug 2005|01:43pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
blah |
] |
Yesterday's interview went great. I was the first person interviewed for the station's morning producer job. It's an overnight gig, but it is Monday-Friday, and there's overtime built in. That means my salary, if hired, could be $3,000 or more higher than the base. I'm not putting my eggs into one basket, but they did offer me a job last year, and I think the news director and executive producer are impressed with me. The three-year undergrad internship probably helped as well.
Now to gas prices. The price for regular shot up 30 cents today. Incredible. I can remember filling up my car for 99 cents a gallon in my freshman year of college. Now it's almost $3/gallon. Goddamn the hurricane, goddamn the Iraq war, goddamn energy speculators, and godddamn anything else driving gas prices up. I want cheap gas!
But if you think prices now are bad, here's something to consider. When my father was a Navy corpsman in Japan during the Vietnam War, gas prices there were $2.60/gallon. But it only cost 25 cents a gallon at the military fuel depot. This was back in the early 1970s.
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| Blech |
[29 Aug 2005|01:06pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
bored |
] |
I didn't get the TV reporting job I hoped for. The news director called me Friday to let me know. I didn't have the TV experience he wanted. However, he said to stay in touch, because in a year or so, he may offer me a job.
One of the other TV stations in the market called me last week. They have a morning producer job opening up, and the executive producer wants to talk to me. He offered me a job in the past, which I turned down for various reasons, so it's possible I may be hired. We'll see tomorrow, when I have my interview. Hell, I think I deserve the job, because I spent three years there as an undergrad intern. I DEMAND EMPLOYMENT FOR SUPERFICIAL REASONS!
(And that's where the sarcasm tags come in.)
It's not reporting, but hell, it beats unemployment. And besides, I'll finally be able to make the morning anchors stop saying retarded words like ALLEGEDLY and BLAZE and BROKE OUT and other exciting cliches. It's a TV job as well, and that's where I want to be. Too bad the company that owns this station is notorious for cutting costs like crazy. Nothing like the station that had the reporting job.
In the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy in the smooth-and-smarmy world of public radio! I have a part-time job filling in for the morning and afternoon anchors, where I crank out a few stories and do the drop-ins around All Things Considered. Still, I miss the days of sitting in the newsroom listening to the CBS News Weekend Roundup as it recorded into the automation computer. Dan Raviv is the man.
And I heard some godawful song coming back from work Friday. One of the Top-40 shit stations actually played that Crazy Frog remix of the Beverly Hills Cop theme. DING DING THE SONG SUCKS AND IF YOU ENJOY THAT SONG THEN YOU ALSO ENJOY COCK.
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| Job interview! |
[04 Aug 2005|08:28pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 hopeful |
] |
I have an interview Monday morning at one of the TV stations in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market. Starting off in market 53 would kick ass if I can pull it off. We'll just wait and see...
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raunchola's journal