I can identify!
I can identify! My sister and I attended the same college, two-years-apart, and all our chums on-campus called us both "Holland," which is, off-air, my last name.
Traveling-2/3-of-the-time, I see local TV in small doses, and generally watch NBC10 (alumni loyalty).
But what-I-did-see of Jim's work on ABC6 looked solid, certainly well-sourced.
Not unusual for newspaper reporters who successfully transition to TV. His work was more than just pictures.
His pet TV news stunt seemed to be the made-for-promos confrontation stuff.
A little of that "easy-way-or-hard-way" act goes-a-long-way, but it seemed to play here.
I got to hear quite a bit of his parting shots on WPRO, and it was artful career marketing.
Given the economy, it'd be diplomatic to characterize the other local TV stations as "not in the expansion mode" at this time.
So Hummel-getting-out-in-front-of-the-story as he has is his best bet for landing something locally.
He buzzed, quickly.
Because he has to sit for 90 days, that's ephemeral.
But it could be enough to tee-up some useful conversations locally.
Accordingly, I was hoping that a radio interviewer might ask him:
"Do you have an agent?"
"Have you yet had any contact with channel 10 or 12?"
The interviews I heard seemed long on snickering-about/badmouthing ABC6 management, notwithstanding Hummel-wanting-to-seem-to take-the-high-road.
In-lieu-of at-least-SOME-OF the airtime devoted to repetitive replays of ABC6 audio, and mocking their management, listeners might have enjoyed hearing Hummel asked:
"What do you regard as the most important story you covered?"
"What remains THE UNTOLD STORY someone SHOULD BE covering here?"
"What's the FUNNIEST thing you ever covered?"
"What's fundamentally difficult about reporting local TV news?"
"Which reporters -- on channels 10 and 12 -- did you consider your most formidable competitors?"
"Have you ever met Ron Howard?" (JUST kidding.)
ABC6 owner Kevin O'Brien, whom Hummel referenced, is reputed to be a-bit-of-a-personality alrightly. And I mean "reputed." I only met him once, and only worked for him briefly.
But, as a listener -- and I really DON'T mean this as "a management suit" -- I found it hard to be sympathetic to Hummel's beef when he talked about meeting O'Brien. Hummel told the new boss that his (Hummel's) relationship with Buddy Cianci (with whom he learned he'd be working at ABC6) had been a rollercoaster. Whereupon O'Brien's characteristic retort was [paraphrasing] "get over it, you'll be working with him." Listeners might infer from Hummel's confessed indignation that he figures the station's playbook should be subject to a staff vote. Whoever pays the mortgage gets to run the house. If they flop, they called it wrong. If it clicks, it clicks.
Hummel's opt-out comes off as principled, and that could help him land-elsewhere, with other potential employers here so frugal lately. If not, another station somewhere else would be lucky to have him. And he'll be lucky to be made-to-feel more-welcome-there than newcomers sometimes are here.
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
tim_stask said:
I can identify! My sister and I attended the same college, two-years-apart, and all our chums on-campus called us both "Holland," which is, off-air, my last name.
Traveling-2/3-of-the-time, I see local TV in small doses, and generally watch NBC10 (alumni loyalty).
But what-I-did-see of Jim's work on ABC6 looked solid, certainly well-sourced.
Not unusual for newspaper reporters who successfully transition to TV. His work was more than just pictures.
His pet TV news stunt seemed to be the made-for-promos confrontation stuff.
A little of that "easy-way-or-hard-way" act goes-a-long-way, but it seemed to play here.
I got to hear quite a bit of his parting shots on WPRO, and it was artful career marketing.
Given the economy, it'd be diplomatic to characterize the other local TV stations as "not in the expansion mode" at this time.
So Hummel-getting-out-in-front-of-the-story as he has is his best bet for landing something locally.
He buzzed, quickly.
Because he has to sit for 90 days, that's ephemeral.
But it could be enough to tee-up some useful conversations locally.
Accordingly, I was hoping that a radio interviewer might ask him:
"Do you have an agent?"
"Have you yet had any contact with channel 10 or 12?"
The interviews I heard seemed long on snickering-about/badmouthing ABC6 management, notwithstanding Hummel-wanting-to-seem-to take-the-high-road.
In-lieu-of at-least-SOME-OF the airtime devoted to repetitive replays of ABC6 audio, and mocking their management, listeners might have enjoyed hearing Hummel asked:
"What do you regard as the most important story you covered?"
"What remains THE UNTOLD STORY someone SHOULD BE covering here?"
"What's the FUNNIEST thing you ever covered?"
"What's fundamentally difficult about reporting local TV news?"
"Which reporters -- on channels 10 and 12 -- did you consider your most formidable competitors?"
"Have you ever met Ron Howard?" (JUST kidding.)
ABC6 owner Kevin O'Brien, whom Hummel referenced, is reputed to be a-bit-of-a-personality alrightly. And I mean "reputed." I only met him once, and only worked for him briefly.
But, as a listener -- and I really DON'T mean this as "a management suit" -- I found it hard to be sympathetic to Hummel's beef when he talked about meeting O'Brien. Hummel told the new boss that his (Hummel's) relationship with Buddy Cianci (with whom he learned he'd be working at ABC6) had been a rollercoaster. Whereupon O'Brien's characteristic retort was [paraphrasing] "get over it, you'll be working with him." Listeners might infer from Hummel's confessed indignation that he figures the station's playbook should be subject to a staff vote. Whoever pays the mortgage gets to run the house. If they flop, they called it wrong. If it clicks, it clicks.
Hummel's opt-out comes off as principled, and that could help him land-elsewhere, with other potential employers here so frugal lately. If not, another station somewhere else would be lucky to have him. And he'll be lucky to be made-to-feel more-welcome-there than newcomers sometimes are here.
HC
www.HollandCooke.com