J. Max Robins “Singing The News Blues”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard more folks in the industry bemoaning the state of television news,” Broadcasting & Cable editor J. Max Robins writes in the July 25 issue. “Virtually everywhere, either the people running the joints appear on the way out, or they have just recently arrived. The result: Almost everyone in the game operates in a state of uncertainty.” Two highlights:

> “A day doesn’t pass by when I don’t hear about one of a long list of news executives with big bull’s-eye targets on their backs,” he writes, naming Neal Shapiro, Rick Kaplan and Mark Hoffman as examples.

> “Everywhere you go in the news business, it just plain sucks,” says one agent who handles news talent. “When clients ask me what’s the most stable place to work, I say ABC News — and it’s not like that place is exactly a steady ship.”