The recent event in which a television reporter and photographer were killed while in the middle of doing their job in the field got lots of newsrooms around the country reflecting on the risks in their business. When it comes to issues in the media, we get an inside look. Eric runs the morning news room in Austin, Texas, and gave me some really interesting perspective on the issue of security in his profession. He suggested that the same factors that lead to some of the trends one can observe in news delivery, whether in print, digital, or audio/visual broadcast, are also increasing the risk of these kinds of events repeating themselves.
In past discussions, I've lamented about the erosion of quality in the news I read or watch, mostly from the perspective of professionalism. Many more mistakes and miscue's, poorer writing, sloppy editing and the like. Eric's reaction has been, "well, what do you expect?" Fewer folks in the newsroom - well under half what there was not but a few years ago - and younger, less experienced people behind the monitors and in the field gathering news. Content creation, of which the news department is a component for networks, newspapers, and other media outlets, is a business. The internet has created the expectation that content can be free, should be free in the view of many. If enough people think and act that way, it leaves less revenue to cover costs and generate a profit, leaving only cost cutting as an option. And that's what traditional media outlets have been doing. Cutting costs, starting with labor.
Along with higher productivity (fewer people), the salaries of many of those who produce, direct, report, and photograph the news has declined to the point you have to ask if it's even livable. It's at a level well less than the new minimum wage of $15 being legislated in some cities. That leaves many of those jobs to young people who do not yet have families or who are subsidized by others. Ever notice how young many of the men and women doing the reporting look? One of the other trends in cost cutting is to combine the roles of reporter and photographer. In that case, the reporter brings a video camera with him or her, sets it up in front of the scene, and reports into it. That means that the twenty-three year old lady reporting in front of the site of a fire or robbery or accident at 4:30 in the morning might actually be there by herself. That certainly increases risk, and may encourage some of the more feeble of the mentally disturbed to take advantage.
It was encouraging to see recognition of the dangers of this trend following the Virginia incident in the reports of local television stations increasing staff. Hopefully that will help offset some of the increasing security risk. You wonder, however, what other part of the operation will be further reduced to offset the added expense.
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