RuthAnnHarnisch.com

Scared Shiftless

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 04/20/09 at 9:27 am

Even though I haven’t earned a journalism paycheck in over a decade, I woke up several times last night because of terrifying “What Happened To My Job?” dreams.

The seeds of these nightmares were probably planted when longtime Nashville television news anchor Dan Miller died last week.  It’s almost as if the work I used to do was buried along with him. People said he was the last of the old-time anchormen in that city. All over the country, television personalities who’ve been household names for decades are being handed their walking papers. They’re too expensive, too old, or too old-school.

Shelly Palmer’s blogpost is probably responsible for kicking last night’s bad dreams into high gear.

I was ahead of my time in maximizing multiple streams of journalistic income – ever fearful of the capriciousness of the industry and the crazy people who ran it, I took every job that was offered without bothering to quit the others. At one point, I was working at two radio stations, two newspapers, a television station, and doing whatever freelance work I could.

My definition of success in media was always simple: “I have a job.”  One of my former colleagues used to have a saying: “If you’re working, you’re winning.”  True then, truer today. 

The glamour gigs have turned to grunt work.  That doesn’t mean there’s not room for the individual to carve out a career – witness the viral success of (I can hardly bring myself to repeat her name, I’m so tired of it) Susan Boyle.  Buy the new book “Be The Media” and learn to harness the power of communication for yourself.

I read that the New York Times has been asking everyone on staff to help think of ideas to maximize revenue.  Many years ago, when I was still working at the Nashville Banner (when there still was a Nashville Banner), I attended a private luncheon in the board room of the Times. It was a YPO conference off-site, and I was there as my husband’s spouse. In conversation with Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, I said I thought it was part of my job to be on the constant lookout for revenue sources for my newspaper. He disagreed strongly, telling me that nothing could be more wrong than for someone from editorial to think about the business side. His tone registered the kind of disapproval one might reserve for a streetwalker. Whenever I’ve thought about the conversation, and believe me, every time I see his name I think about that dressing-down, I’ve blushed.  Well, that’s over. Dear Mr. Sulzberger, if you want to tell me how sorry you are that you scolded me for being 15 years ahead of you on this story, I’ll even pick up the lunch tab.