VJ, ABC & Citizen Journalism

[Michaelrosenblum]

What we are looking at at ABC and at many other stations and networks is the inevitable consequence of the convergence of cheap technologies and the explosion of platforms which has fractionalized audiences and thus advertising revenue.

This is a trend that I think was both predictable and will only continue to escalate.

That does not mean that it is not possible to make a living in the business - it certainly is, but not in the ways in which the business was done in the past.

People will always pay for quality and, as in the world of stills or print, there will always be a few very highly paid people at the top end who produce the very best work. But like any industry, it's a bell curve.

The curve is getting pushed to the left, that is, toward a mathematical preponderance of lower-paid jobs, albeit probably more of them.

It you want to stay ahead of the move of the curve, you have to shift your game - to be able to deliver content as well as the technical support.

David Westin at ABC has very clearly said that this is what they are going to pay for. Others will follow.

We now can see a bell curve that runs the spectrum from Citizen Journalist on the extreme left to master cinematographers on projects like Blue Planet on the right. You can plot the curve yourself and see where you want to fall.

The more skills you have, the more you can offer, the further to the right you will find yourself.

 

[Lensmith]

I still tend to think of our business much like a professional sport. There will be many levels of achievement and ability with an undeniable place for all filling a wide variety of needs. Not everyone will be super successful. But some will. Others will chose to remain at a different level. Maybe not making as much or getting as much exposure, but still finding fulfillment and recognition for what they do.

While ABC is actively using more VJ style employees, they are also aware that an all VJ product will not meet their business needs. I've tended to believe our business has been long overdue for a thinning of the herd. Much like any pro sport can only support just so many pro teams. There will be minor league teams and leagues where others can either continue to earn some success...and hopefully money...which will give them a sense of accomplishment and happiness, or simply a place to begin and hopefully advance to other endeavors.

It makes perfect sense to me that ABC, like many other companies in many other business', will sub contract out work at a level which offers a higher quality and makes more financial sense and continues to contribute to their own business model. Still having a higher end product without the expense of supporting the infrastructure. Paying others to carry that burden and enjoying the justified profits from that additional investment.

Some fear change. Others of us acknowledge change is always in progress. Like many others here, I remember similar fears being voiced by those who didn't want to learn additional skills or pooh poohed technological change advocating a certain path to failure and collapse of their current reality. it didn't happen. It won't happen now or in the future. Change is inevitable and those who can not adapt, while understanding a never ending desire for the best quality achievable in the time frame available, will make their own choices which best fit their lives.

Me? I'm still pretty happy on my surfboard, riding this 30 plus year wave of shooting and editing television news. Seeing change not as a threat or an end, but as an adventure to adapt to and address so I can continue this fun ride!