TVNewsday has a good write-up on the rapidly-changing outlook for local TV news talent. With revenue either flat or in decline (Gannett announced a 6% drop in revenues for its TV stations today), layoffs are growing increasingly common and higher-paid talent are seeing their salaries cut. (Bob Papper, who conducts annual salary surveys, says he’s not seeing any meaningful change to date — but surveys tend to lag actual events by a year or so.) Other trends: more freelance hires and one-man bands, and of course, everyone is being asked to do more. “Management must maintain a TV station’s profit margins even as viewers, not waiting for the evening local news to come on, turn to the Internet for news,” says Paul Douglas, a popular meteorologist who was let go from WCCO. And most agree: this is not cyclical, but a transformational change in the cost structure of local TV.
Also: WGBA in Green Bay cutting staff and newscasts