August 14, 2020

COVID & QUITTIN’ TIME

The layoffs, firings and buy-outs were a predicted ramification of the consequences of a global pandemic.  After all, advertising revenue going down will inevitably lead to pink-slips.  It might not come tsunami style as it has at both CBS and more recently all over NBCUniversal, in the midst of laying off 10% of their 35,000 employees.  But then there are those who are opting to hang up the towel.

In just the last couple of weeks, check out these four veterans of the industry with close to 100 years of experience between them:

  • In Washington, DC, WTTC’s Allison Seymour retiring after 21 years
  • In Philly, ex-Eagle Vai Sikahema will retire after more than 25 years with NBC10
  • In Eu Claire, Mike Rindo is hanging it up after 20 years
  • And at Idaho’s KIFI, Karole Honas announced her retirement after 30 years

These are just to name a few and it doesn’t even include Ellen!

Is COVID the time to quit?  On one hand, you may have a news outlet that may be all too happy to offer a buy-out considering the state of the economy.  As a veteran of the industry, you may have a healthy 401K that might not be on-the-grow as it had been a year ago.   And bottomline, if in the age of COVID, you’re being asked to work in a newsroom or go out in the field with hundreds of people who might not subscribe to the idea of masks, and there is no vaccine on the horizon… maybe now is the to take it easy.

On the other hand, we are living in arguably the richest news cycle in generations; A global pandemic that has claimed the lives of close to 170,000 Americans, civil unrest around the country and perhaps the most controversial president in history up for re-election in less than three months.   EXACTLY WHERE ARE YOU GOING?   This is like retiring from football during the week off before playing in the Super Bowl.

We reached out to a news director who opted to remain anonymous but currently works in a top market, “It undoubtedly has to do with COVID.  The bottomline is that the work is getting more demanding and the salaries aren’t growing.  Something has to give.” 

 

 

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