No, you CAN'T root in the damn press box

I think Romi Bean is someone trying to survive in a very tough market for television sports reporters and will not criticize her for that. .

But you believe she will be able to jump to a higher market or a national gig. I believe Bean is 39. At what age do the female sportscasters age out of the job market? I don't see many older than 39.

 

Absolutely she can jump. Agents would probably be lining up to rep her because of her social media metrics. In 2023, most big markets are now run by people who, um, how do I say this… aren’t big sports fans. They love gimmicks for sports. They love different. They love the Buffs when they’re 3-0 yet can’t name a single player.

You only need one “big payday” in this business to be all set. Only need one network, entity, employer to see a dash of Katie Nolan in you and you’ll get paid.

There is plenty of talk in TV news/sports about pay inequity and also aging out. That’s true but also part of the game when we start out. We know the rules, even if they’re not fair. I can’t make a jump from Sioux Falls to Denver to New York City by age 25 … but I can still be on-air at age 63, in a smaller market.

There is a real fringe benefit that goes unmentioned. Your potential for a partner and also the next job. Female anchors almost always marry “at their level or above”. They’re not married to the weekend manager at What-a-Burger. They are almost always with influential or affluent partners.

Also, because of the visibility of the job, it’s far easier for them to walk into a PR job for suburban school districts or a hospital — even if they’re not as skilled in those jobs as, say, a print reporter with superior contacts and writing acumen.

Whenever you see a female anchor post that she’s leaving her cush anchor job to “spend more time with family”, that’s code for “my husband makes a lot of money, my boss is an asshole and F your 1% raise.” I admire that.

But many older anchors (male or female) have a tough time moving… and a station will always screw you if they know you can’t leave town.

 

At two large school districts in our area, the top PR people have been former TV anchors who have a "presence" but not much in the way of journalism skills. One then left and came to work at my university, and he was a whole bunch of bluster with not a whole lot to back it up.

 

That tracks.

I’m great in the interview. Give great motivational speeches.

Many times, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

 

Everybody has an element of "I don't know what the hell I'm doing" in their job.

It's all about knowing where to go to find out what you don't know.

 

Which big markets are good for sportscasters? I know the names of a two or three in a market with five local stations. Radio hosts and sport specific reporters are the only ones who have any visibility.

 

I realize that a national outlet could pay millions. I realize this is a very broad question but how much would a rising star like Bean command in a top 5-10 market? I thought most of the contracts were for three years.

 

Three-year deals but where the station can hit the eject button EVERY year. That’s what happened to me here during year two (and I had a FIVE-year deal). It sucks but it’s the business.

Let’s say there’s a boss in Los Angeles or Dallas who really wants her to anchor sports there. That’s a 200-250k job and in markets where her approach might work. A station can always find more change in the couch cushions for an anchor it really wants.

That’s probably a considerable bump from the pay in Denver as she’s been an internal promotion/hire. To many money in this business, you have to come in from the outside.

 

A former newspaper reporter might actually perform a Public Information job more efficiently than a former television personality. But I bet someone with major market on-air experience has the presentation skills to really nail a job interview. I think in most cases the correlation between who interviews best and who would perform the job the nest is near zero. But it is the reality is the best interviewee gets the job.

 

I made the change from a newspaper job to a PR/Comms person at a major national retailer a few years back. Love almost every minute of it, and my bosses have been excited to have the perspective of a veteran journalist. They have given me the freedom and the confidence to be able to say things like, "This is something we should be excited about it, but media outlets won't care. This pitch is a waste of time" and "This is how we need to frame this release to have a chance of getting it picked up", etc. Having my salary increase by 2.5 times, with very little night and weekend work, hasn't hurt, either.

Anyway, in an early one-on-one conversation with one of our senior directors, she made reference to a female on our team, and said, "We need someone who looks good in front of the camera. She fills that role. But crafting releases, writing content or doing virtually anything that involves her thinking? Very much not in her skillset. We can't let that happen." Felt a little cruel at the time, but after working with this person, it's clear she was right on the money. And in fairness, when it comes to putting someone in front of the camera, that's very much not in my skillset.

 

At least before the pandemic, anchors seemed to do a lot of civic/charity events. They must meet a lot of pols and business people who would help them out or be good contacts working PR.