TV News Agents

[printnews]

I am a print journalist looking to transition into television news.

Just started sending out my demo reel for openings in medium and small markets. I also sent my demo reel to a handful of agents and to my surprise three responded.

I have read mixed things on the board about agents, in general, and am on the fence about signing.

I have been very proactive in terms of submitting myself and following up, but am wondering if agents have some sort of extra pull or access to unadvertised opportunities.

If you have an agent or have worked with one in the past then please share your thoughts. I would love to hear about your specific agent so PM me if necessary.

[John M.]

(I'm presuming that someone else will give the speech about not getting into this awful business.)

For an entry-level job, an agent probably won't do you enough good to justify the 5-10% cut or your measly salary he's going to take. Between services like MediaLine and station web sites you're likely to do as well as an agent will for small and medium market jobs. It's generally when you are poised to jump to a major market that an agent can open doors you don't know are there.

My suggestion: Go it alone for a while. If you don't find success, go back to the agents who liked your tape.

Full disclosure: John McQuiston has been represented his entire career by John McQuiston.

[printnews]

What other explanation is there? LOL!

I was thinking about giving myself six months or so before I try working with an agent but I spoke with a couple who left an impression on me.

Not sure who reads these boards so I will send you a PM>

[The Mockingbird]

My best advice to you is get a real job and avoid the TV News industry. However, if you are dead set upon a job in TV News, do the following:

Step 1) Fix your tape/DVD

If you don't have a tape, you're going to have to get creative. Make one. Get a prosumer video camera. You can one-man-band packages and standups. You can do non-linear editing on your home PC. It's easy, honestly, just make it look like the real thing. Use the stories you're already doing for print. Maybe take a camera along on your interviews for the paper.

Step 2) Mail out a lot of tapes/DVDs

You probably won't get your first job. Or your second, or your twentieth. Unless you're a producer. I applied for two jobs I wasn't offered, I think.

Step 3) Profit

I'm just kidding, there's no profit in TV news.

Everyone's path is different. You need to figure out where your weaknesses are, and fix them if you can, hide them if you can't. Hiding is dishonest, but trust me, once you sign the contract, you'll find all the things the station is hiding from you.

Don't get an agent.

[Gil]

I can't think of any reason for an entry-level person (meaning no prior broadcast experience) to hire an agent. Agents don't find any job openings that you could not find for yourself in small and medium markets, and there is not going to be any negotiation, so why pay someone part of the deal?

There have only been a few times when I have had any dealings with an agent, and it made absolutely no difference on our side of the equation. I know some employees are not comfortable negotiating contracts, but other than that, the agent wasn't able to get any more than we intended to offer.

[wx or not]

Entry level does not need an agent. Why would you give a percentage of what little pay you're about to earn? You're gonna need EVERY single penny you get, since savings is going to be tough, and rent/food/gas will eat away quite a bit for some time.

[The Fedora]

No real need for an agent yet, unless you've got a Pulitzer under your belt and aspire to high-end journalism..... even then....

For your first or possibly even 2nd job, you will not have the slightest negotiating leverage, making the agent useless on that level. And the people doing the hiring aren't expecting to deal with agents, making the agent useless on that level.

Work on your resume tape/dvd. Make sure it's as good as it can be (without scrapping it and starting all over, which some people will advise, because they're malicious). Send that tape (or link content online) to every possible target TV newsroom down to the middle markets (I'd go no bigger than the 30th market, although the big markets are hiring less and less qualified folks every day).

Keep sending stuff out, with good cover letters. By the way, your correspondence needs to have minimal use of the pronouns: I ME MY Some traditionalist News Directors will see a plethora of I statements and throw out the paperwork.

Become a minor pest. Not a stalking-caliber pest. But don't give up simply because nobody responded. Follow-up.

During more than 20 years of TV news career counseling, I've tried to make just one single point: success in TV news is not simply a function of talent/skill. It's much more a function of persistence---you know, like the persistence to keep tracking down information until you get something good. If you put enough time and effort into it, you CAN get hired. Whether you really want to, well, the others will speak to that.

[The Fedora]

Here's something funny:

The above post from The Fedora is not.

Hatman was using my computer, that scamp.

The above post (and guess what? This one too) was written by:

NEWSMOM!

[The Mockingbird]

Nice try, we know you're all Dyckerson.

[printnews]

I have been targetting stations that are DMA 60+. Most of the positions that I have been applying for are in markets 100+.

I have been advised to pick about 20 markets and send my tape to every station. So I made 100 DVD copies of my reel over the weekend and am going to start sending them out within the next week or so.

Wish me (lots of) luck!

[scotman1]

Target everyone. This coming from someone who was job searching not that long ago.

I agree with others; an agent will not help you at this point in the game.

In addition to what everyone else has stated above, here are some tips that I've found helpful (most of them were given to me from others): Now is a great time to use your networking abilities. If you have a friend in the business, use them to your advantage in anyway you can. When an opportunity becomes available, give it your time and attention. Don't be too picky, but know when a job isn't the right fit. Do your research on each station you send a tape; be prepared for a phone call from them...perhaps have a cheat sheet handy for each job. Find a way to stand out. Star power is great, but sometimes just doing a really good job gets someone's attention.

Good luck. Hard work is how you win the game.

[adam & doctor drew]

I can't think of any reason for an entry-level person (meaning no prior broadcast experience) to hire an agent. Agents don't find any job openings that you could not find for yourself in small and medium markets, and there is not going to be any negotiation, so why pay someone part of the deal?

There have only been a few times when I have had any dealings with an agent, and it made absolutely no difference on our side of the equation. I know some employees are not comfortable negotiating contracts, but other than that, the agent wasn't able to get any more than we intended to offer.

printnews:
Gil is a former manager (and maybe even a current one, I'm not sure) who's one of the best people on here for you to listen to.

[TokenWhiteGirl]

[QUOTE=printnews;589704]I have been targetting stations that are DMA 60+. Most of the positions that I have been applying for are in markets 100+. QUOTE]

Seriously? First gig and that's your aim?

Wow. Good luck. That's very ambitious.

I would say this to ALL beginners - you might think you'll be chingon (badass for all you gringos) if you start in a larger (60 and larger) market, but all you're doing is screwing yourself in the long run.

Peep this: They'll start you at a depressingly low salary you'd pretty much get anywhere - even though they have (slightly) more money to pay you (and the person before you in that spot got at least twice what they'd offer you). Why? Because you have 0 experience. This means even if you love it and want to stay there forever, they'll still likely keep you on a 3-4% yearly raise scale. Read: it will take forever to make a decent living.

Aside from that, you'll be working with and competing against reporters with a lot more experience than you and your inexperience will be starkly obvious to those in the market.

Maybe I'm biased because I started small (really small) and busted my butt to get to a top 100 (barely) market (SOMEONE TAKE ME TO PENNSYLVANIA!). However I learned A LOT in my first and second jobs that better prepared me for what (hopefully) comes next.

But what do I know?

[Gil]

printnews:
Gil is a former manager (and maybe even a current one, I'm not sure) who's one of the best people on here for you to listen to.

I am currently managing WJFW-TV in northern Wisconsin. Thanks....

[TAFKA wacowx]

Indeed, target EVERYONE. In these cheap-bastard days, your can land a job in any market as long as you have a good 'reel'.

And I will argue with TokenWhiteGirl, starting small, making your mistakes and moving up after you gained experience used to be the way to do it. BUT, I don't think there will be enough jobs/money/longevity in what is becoming of television news to wait and work your way up through the system. People I was working with in Waco who had just started post-college are getting out of the business after 4-6 years total in TV.

I'd say, at this point, the length of an average TV career for someone starting today is 5 to maybe 10 years. Don't waste them by avoiding ANY job that will hire you.

Again, this is a 180 turn around in my thinking, but it's cold reality. I firmly believe you should want to make your mistakes in a smaller market where they are forgivable, but these days, you might not have time to improve and move up like you would like to.

[Roy Hobbs]

I can't think of any reason for an entry-level person (meaning no prior broadcast experience) to hire an agent. Agents don't find any job openings that you could not find for yourself in small and medium markets, and there is not going to be any negotiation, so why pay someone part of the deal?

There have only been a few times when I have had any dealings with an agent, and it made absolutely no difference on our side of the equation. I know some employees are not comfortable negotiating contracts, but other than that, the agent wasn't able to get any more than we intended to offer.

You'll be hearing from my agent.

It will be my insurance agent, but cut me some slack. I wanted to sound important PLUS the poor guy is fresh out of college and needs to sell some term policies fast!

[printnews]

I am currently managing WJFW-TV in northern Wisconsin. Thanks....

I'm sending you a tape. Seriously =)

[Gil]

You'll be hearing from my agent.

It will be my insurance agent, but cut me some slack. I wanted to sound important PLUS the poor guy is fresh out of college and needs to sell some term policies fast!

Old guys like me are not good risks for life insurance.

[ISTHISTHINGON?]

I once negotiated a 5 thousand dollar re-signing bonus..... guess who got 6 percent of it for doing nothing?

[Roy Hobbs]

Old guys like me are not good risks for life insurance.

He sells burial plots too. He used to sell farmland...for some reason Air Force vets didn't like the idea of buying the farm. Go figure.

[Roy Hobbs]

I'm sending you a tape. Seriously =)

You should, seriously. Gil's one of the best and I think the world of his ND. Look up her info for sending your demo or give me a private message. Good folks and nice people all...and that is priceless in this backstabbing, dog-eat-dog biz. Good luck to you!
http://www.lyngsat-logo.com/logo/tv/ww/wjfw_nbc12_wausau.jpg

Oh yeah, that reminds me. These days almost all stations have video on line so you can check out newscasts and also news staff bios. Like a good analyst or reporter that you are, you might be able to detect hiring patterns or common backgrounds that parallel your experience and travels.

[The Fedora]

Nice try, we know you're all Dyckerson.

I'm pretty sure I am not Dyckerson... I just looked in the mirror and didn't see a monkey clown in front of a wx map anyway.

I was pretty sure I had logged out of that computer. Oops. :D

[The Mockingbird]

Yeah, but did you tell a poop joke?

[east coast producer]

http://gregverdino.typepad.com/greg_verdinos_blog/images/2007/04/01/simon_cowell.jpg

[WalMartNation]

Don't get an agent. Listen to Gil, he does give some of the best advice on this board (and he's in Wisc. which is NEVER a bad thing), in fact listen to a lot of people on this board.. they've been thru the hell of TV news that someone was unable to talk you out of trying to get into. Also, don't get caught up in market size. Yakima/Tri-Cities, WA is like a 125 DMA.. my shop in market 170 was 10 times better than anything in Yakima or "the $hitties". I will wish you luck, for the simple fact that people wished me luck way back when and it worked.

[east coast producer]

EXACTLY what Walmart said. Market size should have nothing to do with your decision. I started in the lowly 50's in a one stop-light town, and now I'm network. You can do it, too, and, just like me, without an agent!

[Clever Login Name]

I don't think Home Shopping Network qualifies as "network" per se.

[Another OMB]

Do NOT get an agent! I hired one while I was at my first job to get me my second one. What did I know? I was young and inexperienced and thought that having an agent would make me seem more impressive. But I did buy into his sales pitch that he would get me in doors that I couldn't on my own and that, once I was offered a job, he could negotiate for me to get more money, essentially paying for himself. WRONG!

He did meet a news director who had an opening and showed him my tape. The ND then contacted me for another tape with more stories. They flew me up for an interview and I got the job. But the station will not negotiate contracts with agents, so mine did me no good on that and didn't get me more money. So my agent got 10 percent of my salary for two years for doing nothing but showing a news director my tape.

One other bit of advice. Since you're coming from a print background, play that up in your resume, if you're not already. A lot of stations want reporters to be less TV reporters and more cross-platform, multimedia journalists. I write for TV, the web and a newspaper we own. Having a print background should help you, I would think, and might make up for your lack of experience in TV.

[east coast producer]

I don't think Home Shopping Network qualifies as "network" per se.

That's funny because they're in St. Pete!

Dick.

[Sultanosurf]

Being the contrarian I am, it depends on printnews' experience. Maybe an agent is exactly what they need, although it could prove hard to find one to take you on.

There are exceptions to every rule, and if 'print' has a capacity, and a look, they could be just what a few stations are looking for, and it could easily be above the market size listed.

Lord knows, I've seen enough nephews, cousins, and certainly enough 'nieces' (Yahsure) getting their foot in the door over more qualified people.

Again, 'print', it depends on your experience level, maybe you've had a beat that qualifies you for a niche. Then having an agent could really benefit.

Edit to add -- As for possible agents, you can try those listed here and at TVSpy. Again, they may not be accepting clients, but you never know...