WOWK Layoffs

[cgarison]

If they're anything like the union at WTRF, they'll say, "Thank you sir. May I have another?"

Just like they did for voicetracking in radio.

In every market but NYC. Even when a voice tracked show is on in NYC, a lesser known on-air personality is having to sit through the show in a studio. It must have really sucked for that boring shift.

[NewsShoot]

Yesterday, I know that I heard N speaking about something happening on Tuesday. If they're going to picket, protest or whatever, I wish they'd go ahead and get the word out so maybe others can join in to show their support. I know that I will.

[old school tv]

as posted before did anybody want to help the poor FOLKS at WSAZ? Stop crying and find a real job!

[Swing'n Dick]

I was in the Union Production Dept. of WOWK for 2 years. Great people to work with, nightmare job to have, especially for Master Control. When I was there, I experienced an extreme lack of communication, or concern for that matter, of Production and the Big Douches. People with no technical expertise, from the offices above or afar, directing how you were to go about daily processes.

I punched the very first episode of Decision Makers. The show was delivered to me on one of those tiny digital tapes (I forget the format name). The players for this format in MC were for dubbing. They had no means to search frame by frame to cue the show after the break. If MC had any voice on this matter or someone would have inquired this would have been avoided. MC was told to follow instructions exactly. To sum up, it didn't work. It was amateur at best and If I remember we had to end the show early and I got a cussing via the telephone. That's how things worked during my time. Even if you said, "we'll experience problems with this method", it was in one ear and out the other. These problems, plus the headhunt for Union members, created a very tense working environment.

The Production Dept. chief was under an electron microscope. There was little he could to shield you. Some guys would take vacation days to get out of the high stress shifts/shows. That's pretty fuckin sad. Not them avoiding the shift but, the fact they felt they had to, to protect their job. The Union members were written up for sneezing or not putting the seat down it seemed. Especially those with years under their belt on the larger pay scale.

Bray wants everyone to work harder and longer to become number one. He finishes his motivational speech by telling you he's cutting all overtime for all departments. And if the department is understaffed, it's the department head's duty to become a wizard and make the impossible possible, or else.

Kudos to those who have made a living doing job they love even if they don't love their current environment. I wish them well and they have my full support.

Owners/corporations exploit our ego's or love for this line of work. I should be financially stable at my age and with my years in the business. So should alot of media people. With my career choice, sometimes I feel like I went to Devry or ITT instead of Ohio U. But, ya know, ego, it's my own doing and so be it. I'd do something else if I could live with myself.

[genlock]

Sad.

[OSIGURU]

Losing your job at WSAZ should be considered a blessing.
You can make more money and better benefits working at Wal Mart than what you would as a production or master control
employee at WSAZ.

I wonder if there is anyone working in mater control or engineering over there on weekends.
They ran a crawl at 6pm during NBC sports that the 6pm news can be seen over on MYZ, but MYZ has been off the air all day.

All the more reason people are now watching WOWK and WCHS.

[genlock]

MyZ ok here. Cable and off-air.

[OSIGURU]

Must be with Comcast only, MYZ off the air all day.

Thanks

[DosPrompt]

O$IGuЯU - It Seems you have it in for WSAZ?? Any reason you are bashing every chance you get?
It is possible that other people and or companies can have a techinical issue..

I dont even know why i wasted the two minutes to write this because i really dont care...Write what ever you want.. I sure someone will eventually care..

[genlock]

Actually, I am the one that bashes WSAZ.
But only when they deserve it.
I do give credit where deserved.
Like MyZ initiative, Recent personnel changes, and having a brightly painted tower.

[OSIGURU]

Hey Dos..since you and I are both WSAZ employees, you know what I am saying is the truth.

[tvnewsfan]

OSIGURU: All the more reason people are now watching WOWK and WCHS

Uh, did you get a copy of the ratings from May?

[genlock]

Tell us about the ratings from May.

[cgarison]

Actually, I am the one that bashes WSAZ.
But only when they deserve it.
I do give credit where deserved.
Like MyZ initiative, Recent personnel changes, and having a brightly painted tower.

I nearly cried last fall when I spent a total of a month at home in the last calendar quarter and WSAZ looked like it was produced by a bunch of country plow boys and not the professionals that made it look and sound better than WPVI ABC 6 in Philly. Even WOWK had a newscast and I never thought I would say that about a company owned by A.B.

[tvnewsfan]

WSAZ up at 5,530, and 6
down one share at 11

WOWK falling hard and fast in all shows

[genlock]

WSAZ up at 5,530, and 6
down one share at 11

WOWK falling hard and fast in all shows

When you are number 3, why even try?

[Dr. Whiplash]

OSIGURU: All the more reason people are now watching WOWK and WCHS
Uh, did you get a copy of the ratings from May?

Ad hominem: replying to an argument or claim by attacking the belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim. The process of proving or disproving the claim is thereby subverted, and the argumentum ad hominem works to change the subject.

Any person remotely involved or just interested in broadcasting in the WV-KY-OH region knows that WSAZ has owned the ratings since Flatt & Scruggs came on right after the Saturday evening news. I believe the point others are making is that WSAZ's news effort is declining in quality at a fairly rapid rate. Given the heritage of the station, the enormous ratings superiority for 50 years, and the culturally conservative habits of the region's TV viewers, it would appear that tvnewsfan's defense misses the point.

The point is: Just how badly must WSAZ's news coverage decline before ratings begin to show the effects. It may be a year or two or three but it will happen, even in a market where a great many people turn to Channel 3 by habit and tradition, no matter what the other stations do.

A lot of heritage radio stations have blown it in recent years, sacrificing their reputations and good will to the bottom line. Will WSAZ continue heading down that road?

[cgarison]

Will WSAZ continue heading down that road?

As long as it does not affect the revenue of the station, of course they will continue to make cuts. Companies don't bonus based on the quality of product. They bonus on the bottom line.

Now the conundrum, it takes a quality product to get that bottom line.

[Donkey]

Bray wants everyone to work harder and longer to become number one. He finishes his motivational speech by telling you he's cutting all overtime for all departments. And if the department is understaffed, it's the department head's duty to become a wizard and make the impossible possible, or else.

You must have left before the change in Bray's overall mission for WOWK. In the beginning it was a bunch of pep rallys about being number one in the market, I remember his time frame for being #1 was 6-12 monhs. Sad thing is we were all still buying into it to some extent. Then we get the announcement that we are no longer trying be #1, our new goal was going to, and I quote, "be the dominate number two station in the market". Hell, that quote even made the station newsletter. Talk about a morale buster. Well, his plan worked a little too well, now we are #3 working on #4. I see the economic sense in such a plan, but to come in at the start proclaiming you are going to be #1 and then quickly give up makes you look like you really don't have a clue on how to run a TV station.

[NewsShoot]

Directly from myspace, but not my myspace:

http://livelocallaidoff.tv

Good luck guys!
Thanks for the tip Worm!