At least once a month, a current TV news reporter, anchor, or producer approaches me asking how I got out of the industry and got the job I have now.
These past few years have seen a mass exodus of journalists leaving the industry. The biggest fear I hear from colleagues still contemplating this career change or looking for the right opportunity is not being able to be a storyteller or content creator anymore. Or worse, hiring managers do not see the value behind a broadcast news background.
A recent post I came across on LinkedIn lamented about the current struggles of many marketing teams trying to keep up with the video-first mentality we’re seeing on social media right now. Shortform videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels are dominating users’ feeds, so if your team doesn’t have the shooting and editing experience to produce and publish this content while it’s trending, you are losing eyes.
Video has proven to be an extremely effective storytelling tool. But if your social media team doesn’t have the bandwidth to amp up video production in 2023, I’ve got an answer for you: hire a journalist.
TV newsies live for creating timely, engaging content and making it as visual and eye-catching as possible within very tight deadlines. They monitor newsworthy topics and trends every day, because they make it their job to answer the questions the public wants answers to, and they know a good story when they hear it. Many reporters are called MMJs (multimedia journalists) because they do all their own camera work and video editing on top of being on-camera talent for multiple stories a day (take it from me, this is no easy feat!)
If you have a need for quick and accurate content creation, invest in your brand by bringing professional storytellers on board. You will be incredibly impressed at how many valuable skills a journalist can bring to the table.