Some managers and talent are not as willing
to change markets as they once were. General managers and executives seeking replacements
are spending more time on the searches, and even then may not find what they want.
Economic pressures are often extreme. Many factors are impacting hiring and job security.
What's ahead? Here are the views of four professionals who monitor broadcasting employment
trends daily. Some news director openings are slow to
fill
Rick Gevers has been tracking news management openings for almost four
years.
He represents on-air talent, and is president of Rick Gevers & Associates.
Gevers produces a weekly e-mail list of management job openings that goes to about 800
people, and is distributed to another 1,000 via the Internet.
The number of openings for news directors at any given time has been
fairly consistent in recent years, somewhere in the high 20s or low 30s.
"However, some of these openings are taking a long time to be filled," says
Gevers.
The positions in smaller markets are particularly difficult to fill.
"In the smaller markets, there is a trend of promoting from within, sometimes by
making a long-time anchor the news director as well," he says.
It is harder these days to get people to move.
"That is true for management and on air jobs. If someone has a good situation with a
good company, the standard move might have been to go to a bigger market. But if the
ownership there isn't as solid and is not as supportive of news, you have really taken a
step backward," he says.
Both on air people and managers are worried about a prospective
employer's commitment to news or to a full news service.
"Is it a company that believes in the news and is willing to spend what it might take
to be competitive, or are they doing news because they have to?" he asks.
Searches are taking longer
There are a lot of management and talent searches underway right now,
but it is taking longer to find the right person.
"It could take six months, or it could take longer. It is a very long process,"
says Barbara Frye, Vice President, Talent Placement Services for Frank Magid Associates.
"We're as busy as we've ever been. The difference today is it is more of a challenge.
You must be better prepared, and know what you are looking for," says Frye.
In the past, a News Director's office was flooded with tapes. Now, you
have to go out and recruit good people, according to Frye.
"It doesn't matter whether you are in Pocatello, Pittsburgh or New York, you must go
out and look for the best people. It is hard work, but worth it if you stick to it,"
she says.
Here are the trends this Magid manager sees:
--- Existing talent contracts restrict the total number of people
available.
"A lot more of the talent have contracts, and can't move. That's what has caused the
searches to last longer," she explains.
She believes at any given time between 80 to 90 percent of the on air people have
contracts of some sort.
Out of 100 potential candidates, a news director may like 10. Out of the 10, chances are
nine have a contract of some type, she says.
-- Prime prospects are often satisfied where they are.
There was a time when people in middle management were so eager to be news directors that
whenever they saw an opening, they would jump on it.
Not so today, says Frye.
"A station in a top 50 or top 100 market can put an ad in Electronic Media, and if
they are lucky, they will get five responses. Sometimes you don't get any," she says.
"News directors are accustomed to the fact that there are more openings for news
managers than there are people to fill them. They don't expect to have to inquire about
jobs anymore. They expect to be contacted about jobs that come up," says Frye.
--- Station executives are actively recruiting the people they want.
Frye says general managers must decide who they want, and go after that person.
Because location is a major factor for some people considering
relocation, WTVO-TV, in Rockford, Illinois, produced a recruitment tape.
"They wanted to show people what it is like to live in their community, and why they
like living there. Secondly, they wanted to show their television station and give a
little flavor of the newscast they produce," says Frye.
"Rockford is a town that doesn't really have an identity. But some people might think
of it as being in the Rust Belt. They point out in the tape that the town is only 45
minutes from Chicago," she says.
They produced it like a newscast.
"They had a lot of fun putting the tape together. It wasn't that expensive to do, and
it has helped the station a great deal," Frye adds.
Another recruitment tactic some general managers have used when a
potential hire is reluctant to fly in for an interview: the G.M. gets on a plane and goes
to the news director.
--- Searches for all minority groups, particularly males, are
difficult.
It's hard to find enough people to meet the demand. Asian and Hispanic males are the most
challenging searches.
Part of the problem is starting salaries are so low that people choose other careers.
Some small markets still want to hire for an hourly wage that works out to be about
$15,000 a year. That compares poorly to the average starting salary for a recent college
grad which is $36,000.
Frye senses there is a lot of discontent among news directors right
now.
"A significant number of news directors are questioning whether they want to get on
this train of advancing from market to market to market," she says.
The majority are looking for security in what they consider to be a good company. If they
have it in a small market, they really aren't willing to give it up.
"They look at the turnover rate at a station, and whether it is third-rated. A lot of
them don't have any desire to go to a third place station and try to help it win,"
she says.
There are fewer jobs to fill
"Summer is generally a very, very busy time. I wouldn't call the
market 'tight,' but it is definitely slower than I have seen it over the last few
years," says Joan Barrett, Vice President and Executive Director, Management
Recruitment and Product Development for The Broadcast Image Group.
Economic pressures, of course, are significant.
Almost every group has had layoffs. Some have achieved reduction through
attrition. Some aren't giving pay raises or are postponing hires.
"Stations are freezing positions, not filling them, or holding them open longer to
help make budget for the quarter," says Barrett.
News directors are trying to hold onto their good people, and match salary offers from
other stations. They fear that if the person leaves, they may lose the position
altogether.
Barrett is advising on air talent that if they like their station and they are happy, they
probably should stay put. Now may not be the best time to move to a new job.
She agrees that individuals are not as quick to move as they once
were.
"People are not willing to move willy nilly around the country," says Barrett.
In the 80s and early 90s, people jumped for a job. But Barrett says that isn't the case
anymore.
"We are seeing people being more selective --- from the associate producer to news
director to general manager," she says.
"Instead of just moving up the next step on the ladder to make $5,000 or $10,000
more, they weigh many factors, including the city, quality of life, schools, and the
impact on their family," she says.
News managers have more hiring restrictions today
Talent Dynamics, which is a sister company of AR&D, is conducting
about the same number of talent searches. But this year, managers aren't travelling as
often to go through a consultant's talent library.
"Because of cuts in the travel budgets at stations, we're sending more tapes of
people to the stations, as opposed to people coming in here to visit," says Sandra
Connell, President of Talent Dynamics.
"They are relying on us to pick the people to send them, and we'll send them tapes
until they find the people they like," she says.
Many station executives must get approval from corporate to fill a
position.
Even though a position has been budgeted, they might not be able to spend the money
without getting approval from company headquarters.
"They are looking all the time, but they are not necessarily making decisions. But
that is often true for this time of year," she adds.
Connell finds some managers reluctant to go somewhere else to do the
same job.
"There are many news directors who don't want to move for another news director
job," she says.
Some are "tenured" managers. Those are people who have been in the job a long
time. If they are going to do news, they are going to do it where they are.
"They'd love a general manager job, or a station manager. If they move, they want to
be over more departments. If you offer them more responsibility, they'll talk to
you," she says.
For markets where the salaries are lower, Connell says one option is
to hire an assistant news director or E.P. and train them.
"If a general manager is willing to work through some of the things an E.P. or number
two hasn't done before, such as budgeting, those general managers are sometimes willing to
hire the number two," she says.
For this to work, she says you must look at the way a prospect's newsroom is structured.
How much authority does the assistant news director have? How is the responsibility
divided among the top three managers? Are they are in hiring, talent evaluations and
budgeting?
"If you have a news director who is not a hands-on news director, and the middle
managers run the day-to-day, it might work," she says.
The producing ranks are still the hardest to fill.
In some smaller markets, the anchor is also the producer. When those people move to larger
markets, they want to be anchors, not producers.
"For years, we have been telling our clients that the best way to find producers is
to grow your own," says Connell.
Consultants: Make a long-term plan to cover openings
The three consultants are urging general managers to be ready for
changes and to accept that it may take a while to find and get who you want.
"Plan ahead," Connell urges.
"If they think they are in a tenuous situation with a talent, an anchor or weather or
sports, let's think about it a year in advance. Let's not think about it the day they
realize the talent is not going to sign another contract," says Connell.
You don't want to be in the position of hiring the best person who is available. You want
to hire the best person for that market, says Connell.
Barrett encourages station managers to "manage the next
opening."
"The key to finding the best possible candidate when you have an opening is to look
all the time. You are always recruiting and identifying new talent," she says.
Be open-minded as you begin the news director search, she says.
Instead of just looking at current news directors, consider looking at E.P.s at strong
stations who have had good mentors.
Magid's Frye is urging their clients to be ready.
"If a station is thinking about making a management change, or if they find
themselves having to make one, we advise our clients to always be prepared with a backup
plan in mind," says Frye.
"If your news director moves on, or if you let him or her go, don't think that you
will be able to find a suitable, desirable replacement in a couple of weeks. Have a plan
in place that will get you through a book or through a couple of months," she says.
If you can, keep up your bench strength. It is easier and less expensive
to promote from within than going out and finding someone new. The recruiting and
interviewing process is very expensive," Connell adds. She advises that when you
budget, budget for the search. |
