Now What do I do for a living

jajack71

jajack71

Well-known member
I have always dreamed of being a news photographer while growing up in Detroit. I use to see the big news truck (Live Trucks) and think wow one day I will drive one of those. Well six years and three markets later I don't feel the same.

I love what I do but last year sometime I was thinking about getting out of the business. I stayed and moved up in markets and I'm feeling that way again. I'm sure many of the seasoned vet's have encountered this before. Honestly news is so b.s. now (the operation of it i.e. management). I work hard as does every other shooter on our staff. I use to feel a pride of helping people get their stories told. Now I work for an outfit that has no ideal of who we are in the market place. One day we are the community station the next we are crime(when the ratings are low) the next who knows who the hell we are ?

I think the super long days are getting to me and the fact that my pay as in most of our pay never fits what I do. I mean hell all my repoters are making 60 plus and I know I do way more work than they do and the stress level don't even mention it

I'm looking on some insight as to what do I do now?Freelance is almost out of the question as I have a kid and I need to keep medical insurance.
 
Well there is always the porn industry. Lots of money and the busines ethics are a cut above most news organization I know...:)
 
You could look into shooting for a production company, or cities, towns, colleges, large businesses have PR/video departments. These jobs are not nearly as plentiful as news photog gigs. But if you keep this as your goal, you will find something.
 
Jack, it's called the "seven year itch". I think every photog has hit that wall. And it's hard to get through it.

You need to ask yourself some questions...do you still like the work you do? Do you still feel the adrenaline when rushing to spot news? Do you still thrive on looking for that "one shot" that'll make the package different? Can you still put up with the dipsh1t producers who spew b.s. that consultants have embedded in their heads?

If you answered yes to most of those questions, find a way to get through the doldrums you're in now. If most of your answers were no, get out, ASAP.

After nineteen years, I answered no to all those questions. I'm now working at a community college, and I haven't looked back. I'm especially happy when I see the guys and gals I used to work with standing in the cold and snow. And, I had my first snow day Monday! We got a bunch of snow, and I didn't have to go in it at all!!!

You need to do some deep soul-searching to answer the questions you're asking. No one has the answers you're looking for but you.

Good luck.
 
photogguy said:
Can you still put up with the dipsh1t producers who spew b.s. that consultants have embedded in their heads?
Click to expand...

Depending on your skillset(s), you can become a consultant! And depending on how much you want to sell out your fellow news-peeps will determine how much money you'll make.
 
I am out of the news business. I oversee a branch of a non-profit. I love the pay and time I get to spend with my family. However, I really miss shoot/editing/liveshots/lighting....the adrenaline of getting to breaking news. I was on the edge last spring of seriously considering getting back in . . .that is how much I missed shooting. Anytime I saw a live truck here in D-FW, I wanted to whip the car around and follow it and offer any help in setting up the truck/liveshot. (that sounds horrible...I know...but it is true.)
But, I've decided for now, I am where I need to be and for now, I settle for reading the blogs of Lenslinger, LLR, Lensmith, and other great bloggers. AND of course B-ROLL to help feed my longings to be a shooter again.

All I can say is.....look at all your options carefully before making the decision. Will you really miss what you are doing now if you get out of the biz? Is there another station out there that operates on the values you possess when it comes to news?

Good luck in your decisions.
 
Get YOUR OWN CAMERA!

extvtog said:
I am out of the news business. I oversee a branch of a non-profit. I love the pay and time I get to spend with my family. However, I really miss shoot/editing/liveshots/lighting....the adrenaline of getting to breaking news. I was on the edge last spring of seriously considering getting back in . . .that is how much I missed shooting. Anytime I saw a live truck here in D-FW, I wanted to whip the car around and follow it and offer any help in setting up the truck/liveshot. (that sounds horrible...I know...but it is true.)
Click to expand...

What you need to do is pick up a camera again, like a DVX100 for cheap off of the 'net, and get a small ibook or imac and Final Cut Express.

Then do what you want to.
Sublimate your creative urges.
Television news is not entirely what you wanted to do. We can tell that. It's okay to not want to be a news shooter forever. You've been down that road and it didn't make you entirely happy.

This time around, go and do what you WANT to do.
(NOTE: YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER WASTING TIME.)
If you really WANTED to stay in news you would have.
Go, get a camera, and make yourself happy with it.
The price is right these days. Seriously.
It's all about being happy.
Some people have to have a camera with them.
Be at peace with being one of those people.
I know I am.

Grab a camera, and dream a little. Even if it goes nowhere.
 
Thanks for the input

I had a chance to read some of the post to my original post. They where helpful I guess I was worried about missing news a bit but at 37 I have no desire to run and chase stories. I'm not sure what I will do but it will be something in production. I'm trying to get back to Vegas so if anyone knows of anything that is going on there not in news drop me a line here on in my PM. Thanks All
 
What he said.

AlexLucas said:
Grab a camera, and dream a little. Even if it goes nowhere.
Click to expand...

Totally agreed -- provided that you have the initiative to complete projects when you don't have deadlines or anyone pushing you.

I bought my first camera -- a Canon GL2 -- in 2003, made some short documentaries just for fun then found people who would pay me to tell stories with it. It's not full-time work but it has paid for the first camera and a good portion of its HD replacement.

For editing, if you don't have the budget for a mac but have a decent PC, you can buy Adobe Premiere Elements for about $100. That'll get you started.
 
What we learn from the movies.

Top Gun

GOOSE: "Maybe I should be a truck driver?
Hey Mav, you know the name of that truck driving school? Truck Master I think it is. I might need that."

or

LeMans

Steve McQueen: "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. Racing is life! Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."

thru-the-lens.
 
Last edited:
YES! Buy a Camera!

John M. said:
Totally agreed -- provided that you have the initiative to complete projects when you don't have deadlines or anyone pushing you.

I bought my first camera -- a Canon GL2 -- in 2003, made some short documentaries just for fun then found people who would pay me to tell stories with it. It's not full-time work but it has paid for the first camera and a good portion of its HD replacement.

For editing, if you don't have the budget for a mac but have a decent PC, you can buy Adobe Premiere Elements for about $100. That'll get you started.
Click to expand...

I TOTALLY AGREE with both you and AlexLucas. At the time my wife was a little hesitant to let me go through with it but after a 1 1/2 years, we're both thankful for the supplemental income. At first it was just weddings on the weekends. Then I started getting a freelance opportunity here and there. Now I have to turn away business just to spend time with my family. The gear paid for itself in no time.
 
You might want to read this thread if you're considering other careers. One person talks about their visit to a career councilor and what other marketable skills they found they had.

http://www.b-roll.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18896&highlight=career+skills

Before you jump ship you might want to see if the grass is really greener on the other side at other stations in town. It might also be a good time to move up in markets again. You could also try working for a production company. Any of the above could lead to a bump in pay.

I've been freelancing for a couple of years. I miss the regular pay check and the benefits. I pay almost as much for medical coverage as I do in rent. It has given me the a flexible enough schedule to do things like go to Africa for a month. I miss news though. I get my fix doing network news shoots as often as possible.
 
2000lux said:
You might want to read this thread if you're considering other careers. One person talks about their visit to a career councilor and what other marketable skills they found they had.

http://www.b-roll.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18896&highlight=career+skills
Click to expand...

That was me.

It's funny to read that now and see how far I've come in the last several months. I'm now working as an internal auditor for a large public company, and my journalism experience has been extremely valuable. I actually interview people to find out what they do and how they do it, then write up what I discover. It's like newspaper reporting with more technical jargon, except that I go one step further in some cases and evaluate whether what they're doing is effective.

The background in television is also very helpful in that some of these people really don't want me around. I'm not really out to get them, but people are never comfortable with other people examining their work. That gets interesting when people dodge my phone calls or "forget" to send me the documents I need.

I had to show up unannounced in one lady's office to get what I wanted. She tried to put me off, saying she didn't have time. She even insulted me a couple of times, trying to provoke a confrontation so she could justify telling me to leave. I drew on all those years of dealing with pissed off people in television and simply stood there in her doorway with a half-smile until she gave up and gave me what I needed. That persistence we all learned as photogs, coupled with the fact that she wasn't anywhere near the most intimidating person a photog would face, served me very well.

Surprisingly, very little of what I do is actual accounting, although I have drawn on everything I know of accounting just to understand the basics of what these people are saying. It's the journalism background that makes me good at this. If I can turn experience as a photog into a career as an auditor, you can find something that will make use of the skills you have learned. You just have to learn how to market it to the right people.
 
I did purchase a GL2. I have always wanted a MacBook or similar to edit on, however I could never justify buying one.

Let me clarify what I mean by missing tv news. I do miss shooting news stories and performing live shots, lighting, chasing stories, etc...

I DO NOT miss low pay...working overtime to make ends meet then missing out on spending time with my family.

I came around and realize that what I have now is more important than live shots; shooting, lighting, chasing stories, etc.... I may love those things and miss them, but I am quite happy right now when I put everything into perspective.

Especially right now, when my company is wanting to transfer me down to the Turks and Caicos Islands to work there. HECK YEAH! Bubye news!
 
I have some strong opinions when discussion centers around "education" and "career changing."

I was a journalism major at a great school. One of the best aspects of that education was a round of "boot camps" in the first few weeks of broadcast journalism 101. The teacher (and mentor) was a former CBS correspondent who hammered home some important facts of the business.

1. Entering the news business, you are committing to a lifestyle as well as a career. If you want weekends off, plenty of time with the family and great pay, then seek a career in the sales department. The news business is full of long hours, marginal pay and questionable working conditions...you should heed that warning from day 1.

2. You are entering a highly-competitive field where there is no promise of advancement, nor is there any defined attainment of personal happiness. The higher you go, the more competitive pressure you will feel.

3. A bank robber once was asked why he robbed banks. "Because that's where the moeny is..." was his reply. If you are still committed to the news business and want to make a comfortable living at it, then (as a reporter, anchor, producer or photographer) you need to aim for the big markets or the networks because "...that's where the money is."

4. When people badmouth their employer or their career choices, it is generally a red flag that tells you more about that person than the employer or the career. Badmouthing often leads to burned bridges that you may someday want to cross, particularly if you contemplate changing careers or switching employers.

5. (Remember this was 1976 in a journalism classroom) Half the people in this class will never be employed in a newsroom; within 25 years, half of the others will have changed careers. Looking back, the numbers were pretty much spot-on.

I heeded all these admonitions. I still enjoy the long hours, unpredictable travel, crappy weather stories, courtroom stakeouts and other tedium of newsgathering that most people my age have grown to hate. Few of my college classmates are still in the news gathering trenches.

I decided at a young age to "go where the money is" and left a great NPPA-style station to seek fame and fortune at a network-owned station on the west coast, where I'm now in my 28th year. There have been professional tradeoffs, but it's been a good living and I see retirement on the horizon.

I might feel differently if I had stayed in that great medium-market station, racked up piles of awards but had a meager salary to show for it. Some will say "but if I stay in Smallville, the cost of living is good..." That's a good arguement when it comes to housing. What about the rest of life? My fishing trips to Alaska or vacations in Montana cost the same whether I live in Los Angeles or Smallville--the difference is that I have enough leftover dough in LA that I can write the vacation checks without batting an eye, and that's something I like to do. I think I own five cars right now--I didn't own one in my previous job.

My message? If you don't like news, get out now while you still have some energy to shift gears and move to another aspect of the TV biz.

Or follow cameradog's lead and do something else, using what you have learned in the news biz to make your work stand out in another field.

But if you want to stay in news, seek a staff or freelance position in a larger market, because, for better or worse, the greater financial reward may make up for other shortcomings
 
JaJack71
It wont kill you if you get out. When I got out last year I thought I would miss the life but it was a sigh of relief when the Monte Carlo was burning and I knew my phone wasnt going to ring and tell me I cant go home that I am going to be working a double. The money is way better outside of news and thats what they never want to tell anyone. Good luck with everything and look at KVVU web site they had a couple of openings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top