THE FIRST YEAR IN A NEW NEWSROOM

This article is for anyone working in either their first newsroom or a new newsroom in the first year. It’s geared toward those who are thinking of quitting, moving on, or just sick to think of staying the full contract length. This is not meant to be a negative view of anything in news, but I’m speaking directly to the disgruntled.

It’s your first few weeks or months in a newsroom. You feel foreign. You feel like an imposter. You wonder daily “How did I get here?”. You miss home. You miss your friends. Your old station didn’t do it this way. They didn’t teach you about broken equipment in college. That man/woman keeps looking at me like I’m an idiot. You don’t know your way around this strange town. You. Are. Miserable.

Welcome to “Outside The Comfort Zone”

That icky feeling? That pit in your stomach? The anxiety that races so fast you feel it tingle in your fingers and toes? Most of the time, it’s just the adaption to a new environment. You are outside of your comfort zone. Some people thrive here, others throw in the towel.

I’m here to tell you, give it a chance.

It takes three weeks to form a habit, science says. So, if you’re trying to adapt to intermittent fasting, quit smoking, start a workout routine – you should wait three weeks until you decide if it works for you.

FUNNY STORY: I was once trying the Master Cleanse, which was trending at the time. I was determined to give it three weeks. As I kept breaking out in rashes and having incredible hot flashes – it turns out I am allergic to Cayenne Pepper. So, I only made it three days on that one.

I say in any newsroom, give it AT LEAST 6 months, if not a year. You have to also REALLY TRY to adapt. You can’t just let the clock run out on my advice.

The first three weeks are a blur, filled with feelings of Imposter Syndrome and learning a million things you wish you had written down. I’ve had several people reach out to me about this in my mentorship.

“Should I be feeling like this is way too much for me to do?”

“Is this going to get easier?”

“Nobody wants to hang out with me. They make plans right in front of me but don’t invite me.”

It’s hard being the New Kid on the Block. Between the pre-formed cliques and competition for the best stories/newscasts/ideas, it can be an intimidating environment. Hold your own.

THE FIRST 3 MONTHS IN A NEW NEWSROOM JOB

In the four News Director jobs I’ve held, I always go in with an “I am going to sit on my hands for the first week or two” mentality. I need to see the people and processes. I need to see who ranks where what is really a problem and what is an easy solution for a change immediately. It’s hard. When the lower thirds are weak and flash in and out in 2 seconds, I want to change that immediately. But I sit. I wait. I create lists. I strategize. I get ready for the “big changes” in bulk that are coming at the end of weeks 2-3. ??

Newsrooms are like dog packs. There are the Alphas and the Betas and the Omegas. This hierarchy has existed long before you put a resume together, so you aren’t going to change that order right away. The only difference between dogs and newsroom staff when it comes to pack mentality is that it CAN be changed for humans. Dogs are what they are. It’s nature and can’t be changed.

IDENTIFY THE ALPHA(S)

When you first get to the newsroom, silently watch and listen. You’ll learn so much more with ears open and mouth shut. Figure out who the Alpha is. Sometimes it’s a kind-hearted long-time anchor who spends extra time mentoring people and working with producers on scriptwriting. Sometimes is a dominant anchor or producer who is loud and obnoxious. (I say that with fondness, I was loud and obnoxious).

The Alpha isn’t the person who complains the loudest or says the most. It’s the person (or people) that others follow. When that person is mad, everyone is mad. When that person is happy, all is right in the newsroom. They could say an insane idea, and everyone will jump on board, while your idea might be met with blank stares as the probie.

I was once told, as I was being baited to apply for an EP job I wasn’t sure I wanted, “You have an innate personality that people follow you, for better or worse. Let’s use your power for good and not evil.”

At that time, I didn’t think people listened to a word I said. My eyes were opened to my power as someone who hard worked her way toward Alpha without even trying.

IDENTIFY THE BETAS

The Betas are people who are higher in the pecking order but aren’t quite Alphas. But they live to serve the Alpha. They won’t tolerate anything talking smack about their pack leaders and anything you say will be taken directly to them.

Even if it’s a new employee nonchalant statement like “She wears really bright red lipstick.” You are suddenly crucified, and you don’t even know it.

Be careful in the first days of a new job whom you talk to, what you say, and whom you trust. Remember Regina George? Gretchen? They could be nice to your face and roll their eyes before you’ve even walked two steps away and nothing is secret or sacred.

This is one of my favorite messages of all time.

IDENTIFY THE OMEGAS

These are the submissives of the newsroom. Either they don’t care about the role in the pack mentality, or they have given up trying to raise their status. They do what they are told, are most likely bitter or indifferent when it comes to newsroom politics. These are the people most scared to speak up, for fear of being humiliated. They quietly work at their desks hoping no attention gets drawn to them.

They will be easy people to bond with, looking for more people to join their ranks. They believe there is strength in numbers against the Alphas. They are more willing to be helpful because they’ve seen what it’s like to not get help.

YOU CAN’T BE A ONE-MAN WOLFPACK

A newsroom is filled with different personalities, upbringings, generations, education levels, family lives, and personal interests.?You have to fit into that fold somewhere. You can’t be on your own trying to live the newsroom life without ending up feeling isolated.

What you CAN do is separate yourself from newsroom politics, which is a whole other pecking order. We are inherently built to gather information and disseminate it. That includes gossip, unfortunately. Sometimes flat out wrong or misleading gossip. You have every right to decide you aren’t going to take part in this. I advise you, in the beginning, to say very little to anyone when it comes to gossip. Be very factual in questions and don’t make any judging statements about the workplace. You aren’t experienced enough in the way of “this newsroom world” to cast judgment in the first 3 months or so.

Just because there is a pack order, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It’s just human nature. When the proverbial $#it hits the fan, someone needs to Alpha the situation. When the computers go down during the weekend shift, someone needs to step up and call an engineer and not just keep hitting “Start” hoping it fixes itself. ?Sometimes a person is needed to grill the Governor and the Alpha is GREAT at that. The Betas learn from it. The Omegas take a peek and see if it’s worth changing their pack place to get closer to that.

If your boss hasn’t already, set up a time to meet to talk about your progress. Bring up any ideas you have for efficiency (but please do your best to avoid saying “At my old station we did this”. It’s just a grating sentence on our ears. Try something like “I’ve used Otter in the past and it’s a great way to transcribe. It’s low cost too. Can I send you a link?” instead of “My old station would never just let people log stories. We transcribed them all with Otter. Why don’t we do that here?”)

Advice for newsroom employees when a new person starts

-???????Ask them about themselves. Introduce yourself and have that “she was so nice to me on Day 1” impression

-???????Tell them what you can help them with, whether it’s the wonky edit bay or the quick keys on the NRCS, or the way to get the coffee machine to not clog up

-???????Invite them to a group outing if you are part of the group that has outings

-???????Check-in with them after a few weeks and see how they are doing, if they need help, and whatever is on their mind at that time. You know the whirlwind feeling of a new job. Pay it forward and help a brother or sister out

THE NEXT 3-6 MONTHS IN A NEW NEWSROOM JOB

By now you’ve got the regular routine of the newsroom. You know the pack order and you probably have made at least one, if not a few, friends.

You’re like the horse that’s walking shortly after birth though. You are still a little wobbly with things like “how do I fill out a vacation request?” and you are still a little out of your comfort zone, but you are starting to blend in.

This is when I see some people make a decision if they “like it here” or not. There are still those people and those processes from your old newsroom that made it better. There’s still that weird “Why do we go live all the time?” question burning in your head, and you’re only taking 45 minutes to do that web story instead of 90 minutes like it used to be with that crazy CMS.

This is not the time to make that decision. You are still growing. You are still developing. I even had to tell myself this in a couple of jobs that were just brutal. At 4 months in I was over it. I even once had to force myself to NOT just up and walk out the door. It will get better, I said. It has to. And it did.

I have a Golden Retriever female dog. My first female that is purebred, so she didn’t come home spayed. New research shows if you spay a female dog before her first heat, you could be setting yourself up for a lifetime of health and growth issues. So, I have to go through the painstaking task of dealing with a dog in heat (while owning a male neutered dog, we’ll see how that goes!) before I can fix her.

So, in that spirit I tell you – don’t split before the snip. You are still growing. You still have work to be done. You still have people to meet and misunderstandings to figure out.

As someone with Resting B!tch Face, I can’t tell you how many people have become close friends and they’ll say “I was so scared of you at first. You always seemed so intense.” THAT. IS. JUST. MY. FACE. ?

HINT: In that link above, you can actually submit a photo of your face to see if science says you have RBF. It also explains the science of why some people have it and others don’t.

There are people that will misunderstand you or your intentions, and vice versa. Everyone is still feeling everyone else out. By now you are probably not the “new person” anymore, as the staffing turnstile at TV stations is dizzying.

Just keep grinding at this phase and don’t look to your contract for an exit clause.

AND ARE YOU STAYING OUT OF THE GOSSIP? Or have you been sucked in?

NOW YOU ARE 6-9 MONTHS IN A NEW JOB

This seems to be the pressure point for the comments I’ve seen on wanting to bail.

“I’ve been here 7 months and it’s just not getting easier.”

“I thought this station would be better, but at 9 months in I see I made a mistake and I want to leave the business.”

“I can’t imagine another 18 months here with the way I’m feeling. I am burned out and stressed so bad I cry every night at home.”

“I’ve learned all I can here and I’m ready to go to a bigger market.”

I have to beg you to push through this phase. You now know what you are doing and feel you do it well, but the feedback you get (or don’t get) might be frustrating you. You might feel like other people get better assignments. You might hate your shift. You might hate your co-workers. You might be getting pressure from friends at your old station. You haven’t had a day off and you worked all the holidays so far.

I once had a job where at 8 months in, I was tired of all the drama. I was tired of being mentally stressed with no rewards and having inconsistent expectations. I finally said I would leave at the end of an upcoming project. The next day, we worked out an agreement to move forward, both sides realizing the decision came from emotions and not logic and committed to the changes we wanted from each other.

This is the time to see the forest through the trees. You need to look at the big picture. You’ve adapted to a LOT in the past 9 months. Think of all the new skills you’ve learned – a new CMS, a better way to shoot standups, cool producing techniques your old station didn’t offer, or even how to handle difficult personalities.

You’ve probably even made it to the Beta pack order now. You know a lot. You feel like you are on par with most of the people around you.

I once had a great boss who told me “I taught you everything you know. I haven’t taught you everything I know.” It was intimidating, but also a great challenge (and I love a good challenge).

This is also a critical time to put your mental health and life balance first as much as you can. You are at the pressure point in this phase and if you are prone to mental health issues they are going to attack you now.

You’ve got all kinds of people in your ears now. People who love their job rarely will say “Hello! Good morning! I love my job and I had a great newscast this morning and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.” even if they feel that way. People who are unhappy? They’ll let you know instantly "Hey. This place sucks. Look at the email the News Director sent me. Oh, and our crappy computer system froze up again. This company is so cheap.”

Avoid generalities in this phase. Things like:

-???????“Everyone is miserable”

-???????“I can’t do anything right for my boss”

-???????“I always get the crappy assignments.”

-???????“I’ll never get used to this shift”

That’s feeding the beast. EVERYONE is not miserable. Some people are very happy, that’s why they’ve been here 10 years. YOU CAN do things right for your boss – remember the praise you got in an editorial meeting? That assignment you did on the rescue from the flooding is up for an Emmy – You don’t always get crappy assignments. As for the shift, especially mornings, there are ways to adapt, but you have to make the effort. For longer than you’ve tried now.

NOW IT’S 9-12 MONTHS IN A NEW JOB

You are now settled for the most part. You might even be helping train new people. You might be the “go-to” person to fill in anchoring or producing the prime newscast.

You are also looking at that “One Year” mark on your contract, and you might be eyeing the clause that lets you leave after a year or if you were lucky enough to get an “out”, it might kick in at that time. You are spending extra time working on your reel and have probably talked to a few recruiters. If you are unhappy in the job, you are producing some of your best work ever so you can have a better reel or resume.

But don’t give up now either. Get to that year mark, at least. It’s going to look better on your resume, but even then it won’t look good (especially if you have a few of them.)

Take if from me. I moved around a lot in my career. Reno, Tucson, Memphis, Tulsa, Las Vegas, Spokane, back to Vegas, back to Reno, Huntsville, Sarasota, and Lincoln (and somewhere next because I don’t want to stay here.) It was at a time when producers were in high demand and top dollar was paid for them. How could I resist the big raises? A promotion? Chance to do a start-up? Living in Las Vegas? All these things that made sense AT THE TIME turned into a resume that looked like a Google Search.

I applied once for a job I desperately wanted and had to meet with top brass at a big company. One of them just flat out called me on it “You stay two years and leave. Why would we hire you?”. I explained that I did stay in Las Vegas for 6 years and was offered the time to explain to this hiring manager why I moved so much and acknowledged how it looked. But I was ready to settle down. Just be prepared that any decision you make now you’ll have to explain later.

SO, YOU’VE MADE IT A YEAR!

Congratulations! The first year is always the hardest. You were on the low end of the totem pole when it comes to holidays off but now you’re a little bit higher. You learned all the yearly events and celebrations that make your community unique, so you can plan ahead now. You know the big station events your station does, from Hurricane to Nascar specials (I’ve produced both!). You know severe weather seasons and you’ve gotten experience in tornadoes or snowstorms or wildfires. You know all the PIOs and how to get a hold of them. You know how to pronounce all the weird town names.

But you feel that itch. Your comfort zone feels so small now, forgetting all that anxiety that came being out of the comfort zone and you might say “I want a new job”. But you’ve got another year or two on your contact and that itself feels suffocating, even if you aren’t jonesing to leave.

You see other people who “bought out their contracts” or were “released without having to pay anything”. You wonder if that’s the path for you. You wonder if news is right for you.

This is a good time to self-reflect with the beverage of your choice. Look back at the year. List your biggest accomplishments. Maybe you’ve journaled this who time and can laugh at the things that bothered you early on and how you worked past them. Look at the stories you’ve done to change the community. Re-read the viewer emails who thanked you for helping in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Think of the school kids you read to – and remember how excited you were to share.

This is a group of children in Venice, Florida, I read to two weeks before the world shut down. It was *just before masks. Just before COVID got to Florida. The kids did ask me about COVID, but they asked so many other questions and they were so helpful. Even in that kindergarten – 2nd-grade dynamic I could see the Alphas and the Betas and the Omegas. I gave extra attention to the Omegas. I can’t tell you how many times I thought of these kids as COVID wore on. What were they experiencing? Did they lose a loved one? Did they hate school from home? Did they understand what was happening?

You’ve made an impact in your year, one way or another, and the community is better for having you.

NOW THE TOUGH LOVE: LET’S TALK ABOUT CONTRACTS

No, I don’t have the magic answer as to “how to get out of your contract”. This isn’t about that. This is about realizing what you are signing when you sign it. You are making a commitment and the station is making an investment in you (albeit probably not what you think you are worth and honestly – what you ARE worth).

Why does this feel like something that isn’t real to a lot of people? I’ve had people come to me to break contracts for one reason or another, and mention all they have to pay to get out of their apartment lease. I’ll ask “Why do you see the lease as something you need to honor and pay penalties for but not this station contact? They are both legally binding agreements.”

Before you sign any contract, have an attorney look it over. Make sure you know what you are signing, line by line.

It’s a real legally binding document. Now the reality of if a company is going to chase down at $27k a year employee for legal costs and the buyout fee? That’s iffy. But it’s the message you are sending to a company – and there aren’t many left.

Also, it used to be “No contract changes at all” in the earlier years of my career. We had too many people who wanted jobs to let you nitpick every single thing. Now, when someone really wants you, there is more *possibility to make it work.

Here’s how I look at a two-year contract from a News Director's view. For the first six months, you are learning the ropes. Then for a year, you are producing a good performance for me, then the last six months you are looking for the next job. So, I’m investing in you from the beginning, and getting a good year out of you, and then will help you get wherever you want to go. ?It’s a win/win. When those contracts don’t exist or are only a year, I’m only preparing you for your next job, not to be the best for our community.

When you see that “dream job” open 4 months into a new job, I promise you it will come open again. Timing is everything.

Now if you REALLY honestly want to break a contract, please just come have a conversation with us. The hiring manager at another job should not be talking anything past an introductory conversation, otherwise, it could be “Tortious Interference”. (I am not an attorney and do not pretend to be, so please seek real legal guidance if you are at this breaking point).

News Directors, for the large part, all know each other one way or another. We talk to each other like you talk to your former colleagues and friends. More often than not, I know about someone’s new job before they tell me.

Things to potentially ask for:

-???????A one-year clause where both sides decide if this is a good fit

-???????A lowered rate of buyout (some are standardized by your salary, but it can’t hurt to ask, right?)

-???????More vacation time

-???????A signing bonus

-???????Moving expenses

-???????Clarification on sick time use and if mental health issues count as sick days

-???????Clarification if you can work a second job (some people need to or do freelance work)

-???????A longer notification time if they choose to let you go (30 days vs 60 days – more on that below)

o??Another good question to ask is, “If in a year I’m not working out for you, what does this contract state I will get if you let me go?” to be sure you are clear on that topic.

Just know what you are signing and be prepared to honor it. There are “worst-case scenarios” where you HAVE to leave, but if it’s just a few bad weeks, don’t bolt.

There is also the option of not having a contract and some people like this. I haven’t had a contract since 2012. While contracts don’t always offer *much protection for the employee, there is usually something about a 30/60/90 day notice the station has to give you if your services are no longer needed. This usually comes with the notion they can either give you notice, and you keep working, or they let you go but will pay you for that length of time. ?

But me? They can just let me go. Any day. Any time. For any reason. Or for no reason. I can just be there one day and gone the next with nothing but a box of my own stuff. Now most companies aren’t this crass, but it CAN happen. I have nothing protecting me but the work I do day-to-day and the revenue/ratings impact I am making. So every quarter, I get a little anxious during presentations of ratings.

NOW THE TOUGH LOVE: BOSSES SHOULD MAKE THAT CONTRACT FORGETTABLE

Recently, I saw on LinkedIn someone posted a job opening and said how great the environment was and this person loved working there. I had to ask why. This person told me the station had a great boss with a lot of energy and instead of forced competition, there was unity among the newsroom staff and departments.

The best newsroom I worked in? It was intense, it was fun, it was competitive in a good way. We had the usual drama was it wasn’t front and center and when it came down to it, we all had each other’s back. It was a magic moment in time and all those people will forever be special to me, even the ones I bickered with from time to time. When I was presented with a three-year contract, I signed it without even reading it. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

When I was Assistant News Director twice, both times I had a boss where we balanced each other out. Whether one was emotionally and gut drive and the other analytical and reserved, or one was a producer and the other a reporter. It was just a good mix of personalities, experience, drive, and determination.

I’ve talked to a lot of you about what makes a good boss. I’ve reached out to some of you recently about “What could I have done to be a better boss for you, and please be honest!”. I think it’s just as important for people to give me feedback as it is for me to give them feedback.

Here’s how we can make our newsrooms a little “I forgot I even had a contract.”

-???????Don’t Play Favorites. I’ve heard this complaint a lot from employees in chat rooms and social media lately. There is a reality or perception that bosses have their “favorites”. I thought that was so odd – who would do that? Then I had a former employee respond to my question and say, “You can’t play favorites, and while I benefitted from that, others were impacted by it negatively”. I HAD FAVORITES?? NO WAY! It was eye-opening and will change how I manage moving forward. Are you playing favorites? Or does your staff think you are?

-???????Be Compassionate. I recently got another piece of feedback that read “You knowing instinctively how to give authentic support, understanding, and space as a boss and as a human (after a tragedy).. Just inherently says so much about your heart.” Our team doesn’t always think we know what they are dealing with or going through. I hear a lot of people tell me “My boss tells me to suck it up!”. That’s not going to win tough points anymore. There’s a way to say it without saying THAT. There’s a way to address mental health issues without just handing an EAP form or getting too much into the HIPAA weeds. Find that line by working with HR. We’re going to have to be more open to talking about mental health impacts of situations that might not impact us, but severely impacts others. Re-think how you act when people call in sick. They are already feeling guilty enough about it for the most part. ??

-???????Be Communicative. Tell the staff what you are doing and why. Repeat it. Hold meetings. Open door hours of your office. Give feedback, good and bad, not just when bad happens. Reward good work in any way you can. Be consistent. Do Zooms bi-weekly with people working at home to check-in. Have pizza parties. I used to make a morning team do a “7th inning stretch” of sorts mid-shift where we all did some fun yoga poses and just broke the monotony of the overnight hours.

-???????Listen. Louder for the people in the back. LISTEN. You know you’ve got those one or two people who come in your office from time to time and spill the beans about the temperature of the newsroom. Who’s mad, what’s not working, who’s not speaking to who, and what is frustrating the team. I know my first inclination in these meetings is to get defensive. I’ve *really worked on that. I want to hear, no matter how misleading or vain the information might be to me, I NEED to hear. As much as I need to be heard. If I’m not being heard, I don’t feel I have a place in that workspace.

-???????FIND SOME FUN. A reporter standup contest. A taco bar for a week of all clean shows. A teambuilding exercise. I once had an MMJ Bootcamp coming up, and I knew my team felt beat down. In the one secret EVER kept in a newsroom, I emailed everyone else to say something positive about each MMJ. I took those emails and turned it into word art with the most powerful words there were on each submission, and then I printed that word art on plaques. We STARTED the bootcamp with this, letting everyone know how valued they were in areas they didn’t always seem for themselves. I thought they would like it, I had no idea how much it would make them cry. Your team needs motivation that doesn’t come from a ratings book or revenue report.

-???????BE AVAILABLE. In my self-reflection recently as I search for my future employer and consider, for the first time ever, getting out of the business, I keep hearing the words echo in my head. “I know you are busy but..”, “I don’t want to bother you, you are always so busy.”, “There just was never time to talk because you are so busy.”. At the time, I thought nothing of it. It’s good to be busy, right? But the air I was giving off what that something was more important than the people in front of me, and that’s not true. I would SAY the right thing, “Just schedule a time to meet with me and we’ll go over that.” At least, I thought it was the right thing. Few people took me up on that. One person even said I was always so distracted in a meeting with them they never wanted to meet again. I now make a point that when I meet with someone I don’t look at my computer at all. I even close email when the door closes to talk. I don’t want anything to think I am too busy for them. But Lord, we ARE busy, right? It’s a hard balance to find, and we know the work we aren’t getting done during those conversations is coming home with us.

We are setting the tone for if an employee is going to love or hate work, what is/isn’t tolerated, who is/isn’t in charge of certain things, what can/can’t be done, and how people feel when they come to work each day.

I used to hate vacation time because by Day 3 I was SO excited to come back to work. I wouldn’t take full-week vacations because I loved my people and didn’t want to be away too long. I missed people when they were gone a full week. As the years went on I morphed into – you need a full week off. Then I realized I needed 7 days off – a Friday to kick off the vacation, a full week in between, and the Monday after (when schedules allowed for it). Then it got to the point I was never taking vacation time. I was losing time each year. Employees noticed that and either pitied me or thought I was setting an unrealistic expectation.

Be the example you want to see from your employees. Nobody has perfectly figured this out, but if we can ALL be better versions of ourselves (and keep fighting the good fight for higher pay as that is a catalyst for much of this, but that’s a whole other article in itself), we might have less contract breaking and more contract extending. ?