Should I leak the info?

[Dude Lebowski]

I'm a chief in a very small market and I found out we "may" be going the vj route. Should I say something to my 5 photographers with the risk of maybe not going this route & screwing myself out of 5 great photogs, or not say anything & hope and pray nothing happens? I'm afraid if I say smoething, the bosses will find out & I could be in a world of hurt, but at the same time I don't want to lose any of them.
If anyone has any ideas or has been in thie situation before, please message me, pm me, anything. I need advice on how I should handle this. Again nothing has been confirmed, just something I've heard through the grapevine thats been 60-70% reliable in the past.

[cameragod]

I’d say nothing until you can confirm the rumour… but start working on your tape.

[newshooter]

Disagree. You owe it to your staff to tell them so they can start working on tapes.

[Dirge]

I agree with newshooter. Do it away from work in a real informal setting—like happy hour. Tell them you’re letting them know it confidence and ask them to keep it under their hats. Also tell them that you’re not 100% on the info you have. Lay all your cards on the table. That way they can secretly put tapes together.

Best case scenario is that you’re wrong and it gets everyone to evaluate their shooting for a while. Maybe your station’s product will look a little better and it sways management’s decision.

Worst case scenario is they get let go BUT at least they have a current tape. Who knows, maybe one of them could help get you a job in the future—they’d certainly owe you one.

[NEWSSHOOTER3]

Yep. I think you've got to be honest with your people. But, try and get it confirmed. Either way, I think everyone deserves a heads up. I know I'd respect the person who gave me the advance. I mean, God forbid, but its possible that you will need each other's help in a new zip code soon... though I doubt it!

P.S. Happy hour is ALWAYS the best place for discussion! :rolleyes:

[newsindc]

Why get people all upset until you know the facts. And we all know shooters can't keep anything to themselves. They would be calling reporters and producers that night. I think you need to wait until you know what is going to happen. But you can still get your tape ready..

[elvezz]

Why not split the difference and just let them know, off campus, that getting thier tape together might be a really good idea.
That way you have divulged nothing but advice and you are covered in eyes of management.

[NashBamaPhotog]

Your guys deserve to know, but you have to watch your own butt too. Have a quick meeting with them not about the rumor of your station switching over, but the trend in general. Make sure they know how fast decisions are made and implemented in TV and remind them how important it is to be prepared for quick changes. Let them know that their jobs are safe and no decision has been made about VJ's at the moment, but it's best to be prepared for anything that may or may not happen. They should have the thought in their head about VJ's at their station rather than be blind-sighted by some corporate memo. Just my $0.02.

[Freddie Mercury]

I'm sure you can think of some ways to let them know what you know without it officially coming from you. It's the right thing to do, and since you may be out of a job, too, it may help to have them more strongly on your side.

Good luck. Is there anything you can share with us about the situation without giving away too much info?

[Oldhuskie]

Where did you hear the rumor? Was it from another manager in the building? If it was and management finds out you opened your mouth you will not have a chance to say anything to your photogs because you might not be around to do so. Find out more info or just go ask your ND or GM that you heard this rumor and want to know if it is the way that your station is going to go. If they do go that route the photogs will have time to get a tape together. It will not be implemented over night. Opening your mouth over a rumor is never a good way to go.

[nickg]

Tell them, they have the right to now, even if it is only rumored...and if you get fired for that...that is a bunch of bull@#$#....

[NYC Street]

Simple answer: yes.

[slayer]

Always tell the truth even if it hurts.

[Dink]

You have a genuine conflict on your hands. You have to ask yourself the following question: Are you first and foremost a manager, or a photographer?

When you took the management position you accepted a certain amount of responsibility to your company to look out for the company's interests. Sometimes the company's interests and those of its employees are in conflict. Like they are now. On the other hand, the chief photog position naturally has a sort of conflict of interest built into it by virtue of the fact that you're not purely a manager, but still a photog as well.

So, do you betray the trust placed in you by your company and your own managers? Or do you betray the trust placed in you by your fellow photogs? I think you have to decide which you are and where your loyalties rest, then take a side.

If I were a news director I might have difficulty knowing you couldn't keep strategic decisions like this to yourself. Hell, that's business, and if you can't accept that management strategies sometimes affect employees in a negative manner, maybe you shouldn't be a manager. If I were a photog on your staff, however, and you didn't tell us what was going on, I would see you as just another scumbag manager who didn't give a sh*t about his people.

You can't really win. I feel bad for you.

I think if it were me, I would keep my mouth shut for now. A VJ transition doesn't happen overnight. Just look at how it went in Nashville and San Francisco. If it happens, your guys will have time to put tapes together to get out before the ship sinks. If it doesn't happen, you haven't lost your photogs for nothing, and you haven't raised the anxiety level throughout the news department on just a rumor. I think you'd do best to encourage your guys to do their best work, then let them know when you know something definite.

[Natural Born Stringer]

I'd tell them, but preface it with "Now, this is just a rumor I heard fellas, so don't panic - it could all turn out to be nothing".

[Capitol Beat]

You can't tell a soul!

You're a manager and any gossip you spill about this situation will get you fired and reflect badly on your ability to handle tough decisions. You can talk to your ND all day long expressing your feelings about the change and convince him that your employees need time to plan for a career change...get him(your ND) to issue a memo or hold a staff meeting. I might contact other managers in OTHER markets...who you trust and who might have possible job openings...maybe another chief in another state might have 1 or 2 openings and you can try to grease the way for some of your best employees to find work elsewhere. But like you said...you don't want a mass-exodus or station morale to circle the drain while these decisions are being made. In this situation take the chain of command very seriously, your career depends on it. No photographer would keep this secret because it affects every job in the newsroom and 5 photogs all scrapping together new resume tapes at the same time will be a dead giveaway.

Good Luck

[BluesDaddy]

Who says all the photogs would get fired? Many say photogs make better VJs. Plus who's gonna run 2-3 live trucks every day, reporters? engineering? HA!

[2000lux]

I'd try to confirm it first.

Can you go to the ND and ask, "I heard this rummor, is it true? Are we just going to try out a couple people, or will this be a major paradigm cahnge? What will it mean for my staff?"

If they're just toying with the idea, you might want to telly your guys what they are up to and suggest they try extra hard to make thier stories nice for a while to remind the suits we aren't just button pushin' monkeys.

If it's an iminant thing and they're going to tell everyone, "Adapt or die!" Then definitly tell them what's about to happen and try to fight it.

Either way, you're their representative and their well being is your responsibility. Be honest with them and they will respect you. Noting is worse than a manager who tows the company line instead of pulling his people up with it.

[Dirge]

So, what did you do?

[Dink]

Either way, you're their representative and their well being is your responsibility.

Actually, he's NOT their representative. They didn't elect him to represent them. He wasn't hired to represent them. He was hired to manage them. He was hired to supervise them.

A manager can and should look out for his people whenever possible. But that has to be done within the limitations of his position and in deference to the responsibilities he has to his company. Until you understand that, you'll find your career plagued with what you think are "bad managers" who are really just doing what they have to do.

If you want a representative, form a union and elect a shop steward. More stations should be union anyway.

[A Step Above Productions]

Here is what I would do… Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want to know if your job was in jeopardy? Some of your Photogs may want to become a VJ, and this gives them some time to make that decision. It also gives them time to start getting a tape together and to begin the job-hunting process. It is much easier to find a job when you have one.

Just be honest with them, tell them exactly what you know – that this may or may not happen you just don’t want them to be let go with out proper notice.

It is all about respect, just be careful – you don’t want to put yourself in harms way. But as a Chief you have to put your Photogs first – that what separates a great Chief from just a Chief.

[code20photog]

I think the best thing to do is get the staff working on thier tapes, without tipping your hand on your inside info. Tell them you want to do tape reviews, (Good for everyone all the way around) and get them putting thier stuff together. As a manager, you can pass it off as quality control, in-service training, etc, without blowing your cover. This way, they have tapes ready in the event that your station does go VJ. Besides, regular tape reviews are a good practice anyways, and having a tape ready to go at a moments notice is imperitave for all of us.

But keep your mouth shut on the VJ info. Saying anything about the rumor will turn a nothing grassfire into a major forest fire, we ALL know how newsroom gossip is. Don't say anything until you know one way or the other.