M
<mv2KC?>
Guest
Anyone have any info on the Kansas City market?
Best stations?
Pay ranges?
Photogs treated well?
Gear?
Best stations?
Pay ranges?
Photogs treated well?
Gear?
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PhrozenPhoto
Well-known member
It all depends on what you're looking for. Pay range, look on the market info section, expect to be brought in on the low end, unless you're coming from another major market, but even that won't guarantee anything.
As for the stations... ratings it goes KMBC (ABC), KCTV (CBS) WDAF(Fox) and KSHB(NBC) if you're into that type of measurement.
Send me a message and I'll fill you in on the market a little more. If you can tell me where you're at now, cool, I can probably give you a better idea of what to expect....
As for the stations... ratings it goes KMBC (ABC), KCTV (CBS) WDAF(Fox) and KSHB(NBC) if you're into that type of measurement.
Send me a message and I'll fill you in on the market a little more. If you can tell me where you're at now, cool, I can probably give you a better idea of what to expect....
Amanda Hugankiss
Member
Dish it out for all of us, I'm a die hard chiefs fan that has always thought about K.C as a final destination (stations, school districts, etc) give it up.
PhrozenPhoto
Well-known member
OK So here's the lowdown... I'll try to be as factual as possible with what I know.
First the four players:
KMBC (ABC/Hearst) A solid number one, shoot on DVCPro, have 4 microwave and a new DSNG van, along with a chopper. Pretty big into NPPA style, philosphy, etc.
KCTV (CBS/Meredith) A number two that is going through some pretty substantial changes. It was once viewed as the country club station ie life was pretty laid back in getting TV on the air, pay was very well, low stress, etc. Then about a year and a half, maybe two years ago a big shakeup occured. A new young GM and a new News Director, who I'm sure has been flamed up one side and down another on other media boards (although maybe not, more out of fear than anything) The guy is not loved at all to say the least, and in turn morale at the shop is pretty low. Union negotiations are dragging on last I heard. They have gone from laid back story telling to run and gun chase every flashing light in town. Most people are not impressed with this new philosphy, but their numbers are holding pretty steady for right now (small declines, but nothing substantial) They too are on DVCPro, have 3, maybe 4 microwave trucks, and a newer dual thread SNG.
WDAF (Fox/ O&O) Has the largest staff of anyone in town... 20+ photogs (everyone else is around the 15-18 mark as best as I can guess) They do around 8 hours of news a day though (almost a third of a day is news on their station) so as a result a lot of quality has been sacrificed for quantity. They still put out some good stuff, but as a shooter you will run a lot. Reporters edit stories (so you can go get more stories) They have 4 Microwave and a newer SNG, plus chopper. Shoot BetaSX (might still have some SP's on the street, it has been a gradual phase in of SX)
KSHB (NBC/Scripps) This station has beat out WDAF for third at 10 in a couple of the last books, and the numbers seem to be going up for the most part, just not enough is probably the best way to put it. 4 and 41 switched affiliations almost 9 years ago, and to this day "Fox 41" still haunts the station. As a result they change looks a lot, try to constantly change things, anchors, reporters, even shows (sumped the 5 and 6 for about a year or year and a half and just did a 6:30 newscast) They are split between DVCPro and Beta, rumor has it they will be all DVC by the end of the summer. 3 microwaves and a newer SNG are the toys. It should also be noted that they also do a newscast for the independent they own, channel 38. They do a 9pm news that is barely on the ratings radar.
Those are the basics on the four stations, as for the city, for the most part everyone gets along real well between stations, it is a good city to work in. Right now every station seems to be heavy on chasing crime and going live with flashing lights behind them whenever possible. And some of the good storytelling has gone by the wayside as a result, but hopefully this too is just a phase.
If you're not familiar with the metro, it straddles the border of KS and MO... a lot of wealth/money/prosperity has drifted down to the SW side of the metro, in Johnson County KS. Both the 2 major school districts are solid there (Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley) On the Missouri side north of the river you can still call Kansas City, Missouri home and have decent school districts in both the North Kansas City SD and another one which escapes me on the name. Right now I would avoid the Kansas City, MO school district. They basically lost their accreditation for a year or so, and they've been trying hard to improve, but they are still in pretty bad shape. Which means if you are going to live in Kansas City, MO (south of the river) be prepared to send your kids to private/parochial schools.
As for the Chiefs... well if they can find some defense this year they could be halfway decent, the offense is pretty stacked, the biggest question mark on that side of the ball is Priest Holmes' health. He insists he'll be ready to go come fall, but who knows for sure.
Good luck, holler with any other ??'s.
First the four players:
KMBC (ABC/Hearst) A solid number one, shoot on DVCPro, have 4 microwave and a new DSNG van, along with a chopper. Pretty big into NPPA style, philosphy, etc.
KCTV (CBS/Meredith) A number two that is going through some pretty substantial changes. It was once viewed as the country club station ie life was pretty laid back in getting TV on the air, pay was very well, low stress, etc. Then about a year and a half, maybe two years ago a big shakeup occured. A new young GM and a new News Director, who I'm sure has been flamed up one side and down another on other media boards (although maybe not, more out of fear than anything) The guy is not loved at all to say the least, and in turn morale at the shop is pretty low. Union negotiations are dragging on last I heard. They have gone from laid back story telling to run and gun chase every flashing light in town. Most people are not impressed with this new philosphy, but their numbers are holding pretty steady for right now (small declines, but nothing substantial) They too are on DVCPro, have 3, maybe 4 microwave trucks, and a newer dual thread SNG.
WDAF (Fox/ O&O) Has the largest staff of anyone in town... 20+ photogs (everyone else is around the 15-18 mark as best as I can guess) They do around 8 hours of news a day though (almost a third of a day is news on their station) so as a result a lot of quality has been sacrificed for quantity. They still put out some good stuff, but as a shooter you will run a lot. Reporters edit stories (so you can go get more stories) They have 4 Microwave and a newer SNG, plus chopper. Shoot BetaSX (might still have some SP's on the street, it has been a gradual phase in of SX)
KSHB (NBC/Scripps) This station has beat out WDAF for third at 10 in a couple of the last books, and the numbers seem to be going up for the most part, just not enough is probably the best way to put it. 4 and 41 switched affiliations almost 9 years ago, and to this day "Fox 41" still haunts the station. As a result they change looks a lot, try to constantly change things, anchors, reporters, even shows (sumped the 5 and 6 for about a year or year and a half and just did a 6:30 newscast) They are split between DVCPro and Beta, rumor has it they will be all DVC by the end of the summer. 3 microwaves and a newer SNG are the toys. It should also be noted that they also do a newscast for the independent they own, channel 38. They do a 9pm news that is barely on the ratings radar.
Those are the basics on the four stations, as for the city, for the most part everyone gets along real well between stations, it is a good city to work in. Right now every station seems to be heavy on chasing crime and going live with flashing lights behind them whenever possible. And some of the good storytelling has gone by the wayside as a result, but hopefully this too is just a phase.
If you're not familiar with the metro, it straddles the border of KS and MO... a lot of wealth/money/prosperity has drifted down to the SW side of the metro, in Johnson County KS. Both the 2 major school districts are solid there (Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley) On the Missouri side north of the river you can still call Kansas City, Missouri home and have decent school districts in both the North Kansas City SD and another one which escapes me on the name. Right now I would avoid the Kansas City, MO school district. They basically lost their accreditation for a year or so, and they've been trying hard to improve, but they are still in pretty bad shape. Which means if you are going to live in Kansas City, MO (south of the river) be prepared to send your kids to private/parochial schools.
As for the Chiefs... well if they can find some defense this year they could be halfway decent, the offense is pretty stacked, the biggest question mark on that side of the ball is Priest Holmes' health. He insists he'll be ready to go come fall, but who knows for sure.
Good luck, holler with any other ??'s.
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