Young journalists are leaving the field in both news radio and television in surprising numbers. While there is no definitive study on the statistic, some stations are feeling the exodus.
Non-compete clauses could be one reason young journalists are leaving as they sour an employee and could be perceived as counterproductive to positive culture and morale. A recruit faces a three-year contract and a non-compete would require relocation to continue in the industry. They’re not having it.
Bob Papper is an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and said there are a lot of issues facing young journalists.
“One of the new questions I feel hasn’t been reported is do radio and television stations have openings they could fill if they found the right person,” Papper said. “As best as I can tell news directors are having difficulty filling spots for reporters. If you’re coming out of school you may calculate how in the world you are going to pay off student loans with salaries the broadcast industry is offering.”
Papper said students are coming out of school with much larger student debts.
If you are a reporter or anchor you must move frequently to move up the ladder to achieve a desired lifestyle.
“Most radio stations have a one-person newsroom,” Papper explained. “That tells me there isn’t a lot of hiring in radio. There are anomalies in larger cities, a couple of stations that do serious news.”
Careercasts is a human resources network. Their list of top 200 jobs shows that journalism is near the bottom of the barrel, nestled in with loggers and taxi drivers. Some news directors and general managers still think television news will attract enough journalists. They have a ‘we’re the only game in town’ mentality.
Chris Little is the News Director at KFI, and the longest-serving news director ever in Los Angeles. Little has not experienced a lot of journalists leaving his station, but that could be because San Francisco is in the top handful of stations. Reporters have invested years to make it to that level so they can’t be placed in the same boat as new journalists.
“I have people coming to us with three or four years of experience,” Little said. “One reason is that in smaller markets they just weren’t earning enough. There is a lack of jobs in other markets, especially in radio news.”
Little said the downside of that is journalists don’t have as much training.
“In years past, all I had to do was acclimate a journalist to the way we do things at KFI. Get them indoctrinated into the lifestyle. I have to teach them a lot more.”
Little explained he has a young editor that graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He said the young editor had no idea there were writing and editing jobs out there. The school had focused almost exclusively on churning out television reporters.
Young journalists sadly see little future in their current positions and that is one of the reasons they jump ship. There’s also concern their chosen profession could be in jeopardy. They quit and go into public relations or communications management.
A survey by the Pew Research Center discovered 57 percent are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the prospect of press restrictions being imposed in the United States. And about seven-in-ten journalists say made-up news and information is a very big problem for the country.
Journalists who have moved on to other careers are finding more money, remote work possibilities, and better benefits. Television work is no longer the draw it once was.
Low salaries in the business are common knowledge. Jordan Burrows is an anchor with CBS Detroit and graduated with a degree in journalism from Indiana and said lower salaries for women don’t give much incentive for them to stay. Burrows is 27 years old and has worked his way up to a better salary.
“For my first job I was earning $24,000 a year,” Burrows said. “In my second job, I earned $42,000 and in this job, I’m earning $80,000.”
Burrows explained how women face even more obstacles than men. “I worked with a woman in Salt Lake City and she was offered less money than me. I told her she needed to ask for more and told her what I was making. Keep in mind we were in the same position and said she should make the same.”
Bill Smee is Vice President of News for Audacy. He said due to all the disruption from Covid, things have gone a little haywire.
“Because of all the disruption I think we are seeing people leave the business,” Smee said. “There’s also the idea that young people feel they can make a lot more money in a different field.”
Smee also said some become disillusioned, whether they be young producers or reporters.
“That is interestingly a sign of the rocky stretch our industry is in. It’s very different from when I came up. With just a few channels I think there was more stability.”
A couple of years ago Smee said some of his reporters left for digital startups.
“It’s certainly not a lucrative profession unless you get to certain heights in TV or are a heavyweight. You’d think some of these young journalists would have kept their eyes open and known better about what they were getting into.”
Jim Cryns writes features for Barrett News Media. He has spent time in radio as a reporter for WTMJ, and has served as an author and former writer for the Milwaukee Brewers. To touch base or pick up a copy of his new book: Talk To Me – Profiles on News Talkers and Media Leaders From Top 50 Markets, log on to Amazon or shoot Jim an email at jimcryns3_zhd@indeedemail.com.
