Our Future--Jobs and Job Skills.

[overthehill]

Let talk future of our business a bit...

IF we believe that the traditional, make-an-appointment-to-watch a TV newscast is dying; that our over-the-air 5pm, 6pm and late newscasts will evolve into some kind of online user-driven news "show," what kind of existing newsroom jobs and job skills will survive?

Anchors
Reporters
Producers
Assignments
Videographers

For example: Let's say your station chooses to post all of today's individual "TV" stories on your website and allow the Web user to CREATE his/her OWN streamed "newscast." We don't dictate what goes into his/her newscast, the user picks and chooses from all the stories we put on the website. The user drags-and-drops individual stories to create his/her own lineup.

In that new Webcast world, which newsroom jobs are safe? Which are in danger?

[ August 21, 2007, 07:32 AM: Message edited by: overthehill ]

[The Mockingbird]

They are all going to be one job, have fun.

[News Is Broken]

Shh... you'll awaken... him.

[Vulcan]

Editors. Both for video, and for content.

Also, researchers. Those who can find information FASTER than their competitors will have a huge advantage.

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by News Is Broken:
Shh... you'll awaken... him.He whose name shall not be spoken?

[booyah]

Nay, he whose name must not be spoken...

Hey Vulcan! I need to catch up with you!

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by booyah:
Nay, he whose name must not be spoken...

Hey Vulcan! I need to catch up with you!You know how to reach me...

[Ralphie the buffalo]

Originally posted by Vulcan:
He whose name shall not be spoken?Can we allude to it?

http://archive.ccm.edu/rosie/images/WeCanDoItPoster[1].jpg

[News Is Broken]

Sure, Ralphie:
http://www.cool78s.com/images/fakes/Fake_VeeJay_498_78.gif

[John M.]

Originally posted by overthehill:

IF we believe that the traditional, make-an-appointment-to-watch a TV newscast is dying; that our over-the-air 5pm, 6pm and late newscasts will evolve into some kind of online user-driven news "show," what kind of existing newsroom jobs and job skills will survive?
[/b]All of the job types will exist in some form. You're going to need people to serve as gatekeepers of story ideas and to allocate resources to cover stories. That means assignment editors. You're going to need people to go out and cover stories. That means photographers and reporters. Someone is going to have to present the stories on camera. Maybe the reporters do that themselves and we dispense with anchors. But people watch for the people on the news as much as for the news on the news. Someone will have to arrange the stories on the web site, write headlines and summary copy. That means producers.

The jobs will change and perhaps some will combine. For instance producers doubling as assignment editors or photogs reporting their stories.

Ratings on the web won't be measured by quarter-hours but by click-throughs. Competition will be as much between reporters of the same outlet as they are among different outlets since viewers don't have to choose who to watch at 6 p.m. People will be able to assemble their own all-star teams of talent from all outlets and seek out stories told by their favorites.

It won't surprise me if someday reporters' pay is tied to click rates.

This new webcast world, as described in this thread, is still a way off. That's a good thing for TV stations because there's no guarantee that once it arrives that they're going to be the companies producing these webcasts.

I suspect that in the distant future TV newsrooms are as much in danger as newsroom jobs. Among the all-star teams mentioned above could be individuals or small groups of people using their own equipment to tell stories. The equipment is becoming ever more affordable and there are people who earn their livings from their blogs and web sites. There's no reason that enterprising reporters in more than one sense of the phrase can't create their own content and keep the ad revenue it generates for themselves.

[Fake Post]

How about niche websites in a community covering what beat reporters used to cover.

Health
Government
Business
Sports
Entertainment
Weather

Pay will be on a contract basis. The better the quality of the story and the reporter, the better the pay will be.

Some news organization within this community will rein in the best of these niche sites and put together a great community web portal.

Perhaps this will be run by the newspaper owners.

As far as management goes, won't require much. A manager and a handful of editors should be able to do the job.

Want a news website already in existence with a very high "hit" rate?

Try Matt Drudge's site. Millions of hits daily and a skeleton staff if not just Drudge himself.

[Rosenblum]

Resistance is futile