TVLifer

The TVLiferU College tour rolls on as co-founder Tim Baier will be spending Monday with broadcasting students at the University of Maryland to discuss the benefits of working in a small market and the basics of a solid resume tape.

Baier will share his thoughts on the industry and how TVLifer has positioned itself on the cutting edge of the job hiring process.

Today's students live at a time where competition for jobs after graduation will be higher than ever before.  When you narrow that down to the television news industry, the number of opportunities shrinks tremendously.  Taking advantage of every tool, tip or connection you have will help you make that next step toward the career of your choice.

TVLifer will be making a series of college visits over the coming months to help students understand the process of getting a job in this industry.  Actual broadcast journalists, who have sat in their seats before and know how overwhelming it can be, will share their expereinces. 

During these talks, TVLifer will demonstrate the value of a strong resume tape and what news directors are looking for in these changing times.

If your College or University is interested in having TVLifer on campus, just contact us at tvlifer@tvlifer.com.  Future TVLiferU dates will be announced soon.

We understand how hard it is to find a job in television (believe us, we’ve been there). The current climate has proved more difficult than ever before and TVLifer.com wants to lend a helping hand in 2010. The TVLifer Job Drive aims to find out what you are looking for from this business.

Join TVLifer.com and tell us where you want to go, what region, what market, what station and we’ll work with you to make that happen. Our staff will listen to you and provide one-on-one support to get your resume up to speed, then get it in front of news directors, and relay constructive criticism.

The question always comes up, when should you hire an agent? The answer is now and TVLifer.com will work as that agent. We want to team up with you to get your foot in the door. This isn’t a pitch promising you an easy transition to your dream job, it takes a lot of work, but it is always nice to know someone is putting that work in with you. We have been in your shoes and know that there are a lot of questions about this complicated process that are left unanswered. Let the TVL Staff answer them for you.

Become a premium member today and e-mail us your thoughts at tvlifer@tvlifer.com. 

More positive news for local television stations in a recent report by the Wall Street Journal.  The advertising market started to turn around in the fourth quarter of 2009 and now the projections are positive for 2010.

News Corp.'s local TV station group, which was hit particularly hard by the recession, posted a 6% revenue gain for the quarter after six consecutive quarters of decline. Murdoch said the business is on track for an 18% to 19% gain in the current quarter.

"But you must remember that we're now beginning to compare with some very bad quarters last year," said Rupert Murdoch. "And are we down on the boom years of two years ago? Yes, certainly, but our profits are very well up on last year."

Other large owners of local broadcast stations, like The Walt Disney Co. (DIS), CBS Corp. (CBS) and Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI), posted continued revenue declines, citing tough comparisons to the year-ago period when political spending for the presidential election was in force. Many executives predicted that 2010 will reverse this dynamic, with strong political spending for the midterm congressional elections.

On Thursday, CBS reported a 1.7% decline in overall ad revenue for the recent fourth quarter, as further declines at its TV and radio stations, Internet properties and outdoor advertising division offset an 8% increase in ad revenues at its national broadcast network, which remains the most-watched national network in the U.S.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles steel city morning team anchors Rick Dayton (left) & Todd McDermott (right) at WPXI:

As a TV market, Pittsburgh stations generally have more stable anchor lineups than many other American cities (see the 20-year teaming of Peggy Finnegan and David Johnson as Exhibit A). But slowly, inevitably change does come.

In the past six months there has been marked change in stations' morning anchor lineups: WTAE's Kelly Frey was on maternity leave for several months, KDKA introduced a new morning team in Jennifer Antkowiak and Rick Dayton, and Bob Bruce retired from WPXI to run his own financial planning firm, working with former co-anchor Newlin Archinal.

Todd McDermott is the newest face in the morning on Channel 11. He began at the station last month, and with anchor Jennifer Abney he has been presiding over a long slog of morning snow coverage/school closings ever since. But he's used to the weather: Mr. McDermott grew up in snowy Buffalo, N.Y.

He studied political science at Canisius College with no intention of going into TV, although he did work for three Buffalo radio stations to make money while in school.

"I wanted to go to law school," Mr. McDermott said in a conversation earlier this month. "I just didn't have the financial wherewithal to try law school."

This week's college tour event at Emerson was a huge success - despite a snow storm that hit the Boston area.

Emerson students got a first hand look at how TVL's resources can help them begin their job search well ahead of graduation day.  For example, the Market Map has demographic data and reviews (updated in real-time) for all 210 DMAs.  In addition, students can create their online profiles and upload their demo reels for free, begin building their professional network, and have their reels critiqued by industry experts.

Students were most impressed with how active TVLifer is in the jobs search process.  One student reacted, "it's like you guys are our partner working just as hard as we are to find a job."

It's true. All TVL Premium Members have access to the staff 24 hours a day.  Whether it's a question about how to organize a reel or making a connection within a certain newsroom - TVLifer will find the answer and utilize all the resources of our network - including news directors to help you land the job you're looking for.

TVLiferU will be returning to the Boston area soon for a campus visit to Boston University.  Be sure to check back for updates.

If you would like TVLifer to visit your college or university email us at tvlifer@tvlifer.com.

Adage.com posted this report on local news stations and the upcoming mid-term elections:

Things seem to be looking up for WFSB, a Hartford, Conn., TV station that is also a CBS affiliate. After suffering through a "very tough" first nine months of 2009, Klarn DePalma, senior VP-general manager, said he's noticed an uptick in spending by automakers and local dealerships; telecommunications providers; local furniture chains; and pharmaceutical marketers.

But while a pop in ad money is exciting -- midterm political elections and the Supreme Court ruling allowing more direct spending by corporations, unions and wealthy individuals on such campaigns could drop an extra $250 to $500 million on local TV -- it belies a potential danger: lulling stations into avoiding the necessary reinvestment and reinvention their business model requires.

For his part, Mr. DePalma is keeping his wits. To focus solely on the ad dollars, he said, would be "short-sighted." He also wants to develop new content-delivery ideas that bring in other revenue.

Who ever thought TV stations would look at ad money as just one piece of the pie? Yet they face an uncertain future, and there's fear the recent developments that have many local-TV executives excited are just phenomena that could be called a dead-cat bounce. The new vein of money "may hide some of the underlying issues we see coming up over the long haul," said David Cooperstein, research director at Forrester Research.

What is a TVLifer Contributor and why would TVLifers out there be interested in becoming one?

TVL Contributors are TVLifers (like you) located in markets across the country who serve as a line of communication into every newsroom for our staff. It helps TVL keep track of who is coming and going in each market and what new jobs might be coming available before they are officially posted - the kind of info that you'll find in our Off the Record forum. Also, TVL Contributors are an integral part of our success in setting up discussion panels, happy hours, and TVLifer trips.

In return, you will get UPGRADED to TVL's Premium Membership - and enjoy full access to the jobs database.

If you are interested inbecoming a TVL Contributor send us an email to tvlifer@tvlifer.com with your name, station call letters, position and experience in the television industry. 

We are looking for new contributors every day, so don't hesitate to send that email, you'll be surprised what you can get in return for your role with TVL.

TVLifer has received some questions about what happens once you become a Premium Member. 

To answer this we first want to layout what you receive by becoming a TVLifer member for Free.  You receive access to all of TVL's original content, online profile and social netwoking, The Market Map, live chats and other forums.

As much as TVLifer would like to provide an entirely free service - it would not be possible to maintain the site. Therefore, a premium membership is required to view our jobs database at a cost of $15 per month. This allows you to apply to as many jobs as wish for one flat rate.

TVLifer isn't selling you exclusive access to jobs, in this day and age job listings are available across the internet.  TVLifer instead offers a unique process that makes applying for jobs simple and cost effective.  We also will work with you one on one to make your resume reel and profile as attractive as possible.  The monthly membership gives you an advisor in this process, once you become a Premium member you can discuss decisions regarding markets, agents and all things television news with our staff.  If our experienced staff doesn't have the answer to your question, we have the contacts to get you the answer.

In some ways this is a leap of faith, but remember we want you to be happy at the end of this process and hopefully employed.  The TVL Staff will do everything in its power to help you in this often confusing and overwhelming industry.

Any questions?  Email us: tvlifer@tvlifer.com

The New York Times is reporting that among those closely watching the Supreme Court ruling last week that loosened restrictions on corporate campaign spending were local television stations, which now hope for a windfall.

Media of all kinds may benefit from the decision, which promises to let more political advertising money be poured into the system. Most of that money finds its way to television, and in particular, local stations in battleground states.

“It’s a big opportunity” for stations, said Steve Lanzano, the president of the Television Bureau of Advertising.

Under the Supreme Court decision, corporations and unions will be free to spend money on attack ads in ways that were previously banned. “This takes an already bulked-up, well-funded election and puts it on steroids,” said Evan Tracey, the chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a division of TNS Media Intelligence.

In the supply-and-demand marketplace of advertising, “it’s going to drive up rates” for local stations, he said. “There’s going to be a lot of people fighting over the same inventory.”

In part for that reason, he expects more money will flow to radio and local cable operators.

Election advertising is especially critical this year, given the beating that local stations have taken in the downturn. Exacerbating the economic pressures, the lack of political ad dollars last year meant that many stations experienced 30 percent declines in ad revenue, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising.

TVLifer is the only site in broadcasting that allows news directors to post jobs, evaluate online resumes, and contact applicants ALL in one location. That is why we have become the fastest growing network of television professionals.

What's attracting news directors and applicants? The TVLifer Profile page which includes a resume, references, and up to four demo reels all on one page. TVLifers are saving money and news directors are saving time with TVL's advanced system that automatically organizes all of the applications using "drag & drop" technology.

Building a TVLifer profile is FREE and can be done in a matter of minutes. Take a look at our demo for a closer look.

Not a TVLifer yet? Click the icon on the left and join the fastest growing network of television professionals.

Any questions - email us at tvlifer@tvlifer.com.