One of our journalism colleagues recently vented about whether TV station owners/managers are putting profits ahead of the health, safety, and mental well-being of their reporters.
Here’s what set off our colleague: a local TV journalist was hit by a car recently. She was working alone on a story late at night. She was operating her own camera on live television.
Why is this the local TV standard operating procedure these days? Our colleague said that in most places, reporters are expected to pitch/research stories, news-gather, do interviews, shoot video, write a story for TV, edit the story, write a story for the website, promote the story on social media, do additional reporting for social media, and present the story live on television. All on their own and for very little pay.
The TV reporter hit by the car is okay, and maybe the accident would have happened even if she was out there with a crew. But why are TV reporters expected to do so much on their own?
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
