Those who've left the business -- do you miss it?

[Murphy Brown 2003]

I left in late 2004. I miss it so much. Do the rest of you and if so, how do you keep yourself from going back?

[TVMattNYC]

What are you doing now?

[Bandit '07]

Hey Murphy - good to see you in here. I left in 2001 and have never regretted it a day since.

So is going back to TV an option for you?

[LENSCRAFTER]

No. Not at all.

Been out for 6 years. Never looked back.

[Murphy Brown 2003]

TVMatt, I just finished the pre-requisites for med school.

Thanks, Bandit. I lurk from time to time. I don't know that it's an option at the moment. I don't even have a resume tape. I keep reminding myself that I left for a reason and going back now could be a huge mistake. Med school is a much more appealing option in the long run, but every time election season rolls around, I start itching to do something more than watch from the sidelines.

[kycamman]

I left the first time in 2003, really got the itch to come back (plus I got a raise and a beat I really wanted), came back in 2005, did two years where everything that I came back for changed, and left again.

I miss only the part where an injustice is corrected. I don't miss knocking on doors to ask people about their dead kids, parents, friends, etc. Increasingly, tv news is too much about the latter.

I think I'll always miss the notion that I worked in television, but the actual work and all the other crap that comes with it (schedule, on-call, one-man-banding, too many hours in a car) I don't miss. I just wish my kid was old enough to know what I once did.

[John M.]

Like the original poster, I left full-time in late 2004 but I have freelanced semi-regularly since then so my situation is different. I also own my own camera so if there's a story I want to tell, even if it's seen only on my blog (http://mcqueue.blogspot.com), I have the means.

That said, I do not miss "being on TV." I do not miss newsrooms. I miss the learning. I went to so many places and met so many people -- good and bad -- that otherwise I never would have had the excuse to meet. Report general assignment stories someplace for two years and you'll see more of it and know your way around it better than most people who have lived there all their lives.

[Vulcan]

3 years, 6 months, 25 days.

1,302 days since I've been out.

Total # of days I've wished I was back in? Zero.

[Crash Davis]

Been out a little more than 2 years.

I certainly miss the fun parts of the job--red light on, going live, traveling to cool sports events, being recognized, having an interesting job, etc. Most of the time, my job was pretty easy.

I don't miss the terrible pay and the uncertain future of local TV sports. If I were still in sports, my wife wouldn't be able to stay home with our little one, and we wouldn't have been able to buy a decent house, and I wouldn't get to see my friends and family on the weekends.

So overall, sure I miss it, but I like where I am now.

[adam & doctor drew]

Originally posted by Vulcan:
3 years, 6 months, 25 days.

1,302 days since I've been out.

Total # of days I've wished I was back in? Zero.so at least you've moved on.
:confused:

[News Is Broken]

What I miss most are my former coworkers. But my aim is improving.

[overthehill]

Been out of the fishbowl of a TV newsroom for about seven years. I'm still in a job related to the business.

I miss the hum of a good news day and some of my former co-workers (not all of them). I don't miss the staffing problems, the equipment headaches, the constant feed-the-monster mentality.

My life is so much more "normal" now. tongue.gif

[shitferbrains]

don't miss it a bit. much happier now that I'm out of it. I see the bull**** stories the stations here are doing and I feel for the reporters. Of course they're all young so they don't know any better.

[MichaelPS]

How much you miss it depends on the circumstances under which you left.

If you left for someone else - for example. to take a pr job to be close to a boyfriend in another city - yes, you'll always miss it.

If you left because you were fired and had no other option but to take a job in another industry, you'll always miss it.

If you left because it was time to get off the merry go round, you'll always miss it... a little. There's really nothing like a newsroom. Being in a newsroom, even for all the consultant driven direction, desk orders to "switch gears" and strange directions from the producers is as close to working for yourself as it gets without actually working for yourself. No other business works quite like this one. At the end of the day, every day, you have to be able to say you finished something. Not had a meeting about something, planned something, or made progress on something. Finished something. No excuses. Then you have do it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. There's literally nothing like it, except maybe emergency medicine.

Been out for a few years now, but I liked the stories I told in the biz, and have no regrets. I'm just telling diffferent kinds of stories now. But, if I do say so, the smartest move I made was not getting out until I knew I could say yes to the following question:

"If I get out, will I be able to handle the idea that I can never, under any circumstances, get back in?"

For me, I could answer "yes" to that. So, I can look back on it as good times well spent. It was time to move on. But if there is any part of you that harbors the idea of "Maybe I'll get back in later," you should stay in. The only thing harder than getting into the business is getting back in the business.

[ August 14, 2007, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: MichaelPS ]

[Ranger Bob]

What I miss: Meeting a lot of interesting folks, some of my former co-workers, the times when I thought I was really telling an important story, and never meeting a stranger while I was out in public.

What I DON'T miss: working weekends, holidays, dumbazz News Directors (70% of them are, in my experience), dumbazz General Managers (50% of them are), consultants (ALL of them are dumbazzes), being on call 24/7 365, LOW PAY, newsroom politics, shifts cycling from morning to day to nights to weekends and back, and trying to educate young reporters/producers on the basics of history, civics and English....that they SHOULD have learned in college.

Regrets about leaving: None. Not one moment. Not one day, but then again, I never needed the "vanity fix" of "being on TV" that some need. Now I get my news the way I want it (mostly internet), and on the occasions when I do watch my last station's news, I inevitably wind up laughing like a big ole donkey as the BS meter pegs the red, and their ratings nosedive down. It also helps that I got a good job that pays better and provides just as much or more satisfaction for me, personally and professionally! I really LOVE being a regular person! It's pretty cool! I realized how important many so called "regular" jobs are, and how increasingly unimportant and irrelevant local TV news has become.

[ISTHISTHINGON?]

I dig MichaelPS's remarks. I'm still in the biz...but I have several friends who individually fall into one of the categories Michael described. As for myself, I do feel that bit of accomplishment at the end of the day. I also dig the day to day environment. Yes...there are days I want to scream...but it only takes one good story, or someone saying 'thank you'...to bring it all back home. Good luck though in either road you take. graemlins/cheers2.gif

[Mr. Rugen]

Been out since last Thursday. Don't miss it so far and doubt I ever will. I just couldn't handle those large market egos anymore. Started looking for a way out when the crappiest anchor I've ever worked with threw a fit on camera when she wasn't warned that we were coming out of video early. If you're going to throw a fit the least you could do is have a little talent.

I'd rather deal with high school kids and grad school professors.

[Produce man]

I'm still in the business and miss it, if that's possible. :D

[MyracleMan]

I'm still in the business, and have had multiple chances to get out, but I find I still have a passion for the job. Parts of it still suck, but parts of every job suck. Until I find something that will make me more money that I actually enjoy doing, I'll stay at my small-market station because this is where my wife wants to be when we have kids.

[Wise Old Producer]

Not for one second.

After 20 years of passionately pursuing news, I was completely, totally, unequivocably ready to move on.

In fact, there are more days than not that I thank God in heaven that I'm not the one having to make the decision about running a story on Lindsay Lohan's latest exploits or whether Britney forgot her underpants.

[The Invisible Swordsman]

I do miss it. I fall into one of the categories that MichaelPS talks about (dead on post by the way).

It wasn’t so much my choice to leave. That makes it more difficult. The thing that I absolutely miss is what others have said. Creating something unique every single day. The environment of a newsroom is what made my day. It was alive with activity, alive with the emotions of an entire city, all in one room. I miss getting that fix everyday.

I feel like I want back in, then I remember all of the crap that goes along with it. I guess its kind of an addict situation; you know the bad things, but still want to get high. I am looking for anything that mirrors that situation. In a year and a half out, I have never felt the exhilaration that I did on a weekly basis in TV news. Having a great story, shooting a wonderful piece of video, nailing a newscast as an anchor, it was that rush that I can’t create now.

I don’t find myself looking forward to when family or friends ask me about work. I don’t have anything interesting to say. I don’t have any good stories to share. Maybe that shows I am totally uninteresting outside of work. I can live with that, but then work made my life interesting. I didn’t need a hobby when I worked in news.

I am not to the point where I am applying at stations again, that may never happen. But I am looking for something to else to do.

[What the ?]

Originally posted by Ranger Bob:
What I miss: Meeting a lot of interesting folks, some of my former co-workers, the times when I thought I was really telling an important story, and never meeting a stranger while I was out in public.

What I DON'T miss: working weekends, holidays, dumbazz News Directors (70% of them are, in my experience), dumbazz General Managers (50% of them are), consultants (ALL of them are dumbazzes), being on call 24/7 365, LOW PAY, newsroom politics, shifts cycling from morning to day to nights to weekends and back, and trying to educate young reporters/producers on the basics of history, civics and English....that they SHOULD have learned in college.

Regrets about leaving: None. Not one moment. Not one day, but then again, I never needed the "vanity fix" of "being on TV" that some need. Now I get my news the way I want it (mostly internet), and on the occasions when I do watch my last station's news, I inevitably wind up laughing like a big ole donkey as the BS meter pegs the red, and their ratings nosedive down. It also helps that I got a good job that pays better and provides just as much or more satisfaction for me, personally and professionally! I really LOVE being a regular person! It's pretty cool! I realized how important many so called "regular" jobs are, and how increasingly unimportant and irrelevant local TV news has become.Well said, Ranger.

I've been out for almost a year. Mrs. What the ? is still in the business on the weather side. She can have it. I don't regret leaving for one second. Not one.

I'm still in touch with some of my former co-workers. They're like family. But there's a lot to be said about being home at night, on weekends and on holidays.

I actually bought a house last week, something I couldn't have ever done while I was working in the biz. It's amazing how much other industries will pay you for your media experience.

[ August 15, 2007, 12:47 PM: Message edited by: What the ? ]

[Produce man]

Originally posted by Wise Old Producer:
Not for one second.

After 20 years of passionately pursuing news, I was completely, totally, unequivocably ready to move on.

In fact, there are more days than not that I thank God in heaven that I'm not the one having to make the decision about running a story on Lindsay Lohan's latest exploits or whether Britney forgot her underpants.If I may, after 20 years (of producing, I assume) what field did you enter? Sometimes I fell like I've "pigeon-holed" myself into this business. In other words, this is what I've been doing since I graduated college 19 years ago.

[ August 15, 2007, 01:18 PM: Message edited by: Produce man ]

[Wise Old Producer]

I left to become a Director of Marketing at a non-profit. After three years, I left and am now very happily employed as a PR/Media Specialist in a Corporate Communications department. I'm lucky to work with some of the same kind of folks I once enjoyed so much in the newsroom-- bright, engaged, clever and interesting people.

And I don't have to fight to spend Christmas with my kids.

[Produce man]

Sounds great! graemlins/icon_kidra.gif

[Ranger Bob]

[/qb][/QUOTE]Mrs. What the ? is still in the business .... She can have it. [/QB][/QUOTE]

Thanks! When I told Mrs. Ranger Bob I was leaving the tv biz, I think she had her one and only orgasm "standing up." I hadn't seen her that happy in years. LOL

[LENSCRAFTER]

Originally posted by Produce man:
I'm still in the business and miss it, if that's possible. :D Best post.

smile.gif

[Backup QB]

Do I miss it? Short answer: no.

Longer answer: I had a lot of change anxiety about the idea of leaving the biz to work in college PR. Best decision I made to leave. I thought I'd miss the "thrill of being on TV" and all that other stuff. If that's what you're thinking about, FORGET IT RIGHT NOW. That's not reason enough to stay in.

Working in college PR allows me to do what I like doing in a more relaxed setting. The pay is much, much better than in TV. I'm about to buy a house, which would've been next to impossible with a TV salary. I guess I still could've bought a house, but the neighborhood and the house would've been bad.

Hours are good (flex time), pay is great, working conditions are good, the University pays for conferences and online classes, and holidays/weekends are off. I'm not getting called in the middle of the night to get video of some fender-bender caused by some fool driving too fast in bad weather.

There's another thread about beefing up your resume to work in non-TV jobs. If you're interested in changing fields, read that thread! In particular, Wise Old Producer had some great advice there that's a must-read.

There is life after TV. And, that life can be good.

[facts]

Originally posted by Vulcan:
1,302 days since I've been out.
Total # of days I've wished I was back in? Zero.Here's what I don't get. If you guys don't miss it, why do you post to a television news bulletin board?

Vulcan, if you have 5,000 posts.. and you've been out four years.. something's not adding up here.

I used to drive a truck, but I don't hang out on truck driver bulletin boards.

[Wise Old Producer]

I left the business, but I still enjoy visiting with the people in it.

Medialine is a pretty unique meeting place. I've never found anything remotely close to it anywhere else.

Also, I feel like it's part of my job to stay plugged into what other journalists are discussing, whether it involves tv news or not.

[Ranger Bob]

Here's what I don't get. If you guys don't miss it, why do you post to a television news bulletin board?Oh I'm still interested in it! I just don't want to WORK in it anymore. Sometimes, reading this board is good for a laugh. Other times, many of the younger pups could benefit from the experience of myself and other old timers, and we don't mind giving advice when asked for it. Many of us who have left the biz were award-winning reporters, producers, etc, for many years and we're pretty damn smart!

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by facts:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Vulcan:
1,302 days since I've been out.
Total # of days I've wished I was back in? Zero.Here's what I don't get. If you guys don't miss it, why do you post to a television news bulletin board?

Vulcan, if you have 5,000 posts.. and you've been out four years.. something's not adding up here.

I used to drive a truck, but I don't hang out on truck driver bulletin boards.</font>[/QUOTE]First of all, I've been a part of this forum since long before mandatory registration. I know a LOT of people here, and am proud to call them friends. I've broken bread with dozens - and I do mean dozens - of Open Line denizens.

This place isn't just about teevee news. It's also a community. We've both been around long enough to see the ebbs and flow.

I have a number of reasons for coming here.

1) Professional interest. If I'm not hip to the big issues affecting the way journalists collect and disseminate information, I'm not as useful to my employer.

2) Professional interest 2. I am being more frequently called upon to share observations about Social Media and Networking. My time at Open Line has been invaluable in helping clients navigate this increasingly important area.

3) Personal development. I learn things here. I also hang out on the Freakonomics blog, even though I'm not an economist. I frequent a blog written by an Indian, but I've never been there either.

4) Critical thinking. As crass and silly as the debates on here can become, there are few better places where you can strap on the pads and knock helmets with as many creative egos who are ready to take you down. Man sharpens on man.

5) Creative writing. Most have never thought about it, but the Caption contests here are like Crossword Puzzles for teevee types. Exercising those visual puns and connections is important. Oh - and thanks to all of those members who have posted funny pictures in the past... I won $500 in a caption contest earlier this year. The PR-types I competed against never had this sort of training.

6) Professional interest 3. My future plans include making a great deal of money, and that involves the recruitment of a crack squadron of burnt-out ex-teevee weasels. I'm slowly amassing my army...

7) Negating the question. Seriously? You think I really want back in? My old EP told me flat out I'd be begging to return. I asked him under what circumstances would I come back to a job that paid less than when I had it before.

[ August 17, 2007, 07:30 AM: Message edited by: Vulcan ]

[Hammer]

Vulcan,

#6 intrigues me..or are you just jivin' ?

[Poo(h)]

Originally posted by Ranger Bob:
[/qb]Mrs. What the ? is still in the business .... She can have it. [/QUOTE]

Thanks! When I told Mrs. Ranger Bob I was leaving the tv biz, I think she had her one and only orgasm "standing up." I hadn't seen her that happy in years. LOL[/QB][/QUOTE]

I think Mrs. Pooh did the same. Sometimes, it can take time to find a job you'll love as much as TV news. If you find it, you don't have to look back -- unless you want to. And you'll find yourself not wanting to.

[Wise Old Producer]

...and another thing...

Except for the few that move on to management or settle into an anchor chair, initially it broke my heart to realize that tv doesn't have great long-term prospects. I realized my tv job was beginning to interfere with the lifestyle I aspired to. After years of odd hours and working when everyone else is off, now I really appreciate and enjoy an 8:00 to 4:30 job-- where I can actually leave early if I want to. No more having to stay through the kicker. I also love the fact that I don't have to worry about whether I'm going to be there on Christmas morning with my kids... or having to get up at the crack of dawn on New Year's Day-- or having the work on July 4th when everyone else is having a backyard BBQ.

TV is a blast while you're doing it, but after a while you realize you won't be happily doing it forever. That's why I think it's so important to encourage young reporters and producers to continue their educations outside of the newsroom. Plan your second career while you are in your first one.

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Hammer:
Vulcan,

#6 intrigues me..or are you just jivin' ?No jivin'.