CARVER CORNER: What station managers can do now to attract, develop, and keep the people who will determine what local television becomes next. Let’s be honest: most television stations do not have a talent shortage. They have a talent-retention problem, a compensation problem, a leadership problem, or a reputation problem. In some cases, they have
The TV Talent Shortage: What Station Managers Can Control Read More »
Carver Corner By Ty Carver Every industry has business models that make perfect sense, and then there are a few that leave you wondering how they’ve survived for decades without anyone seriously questioning them. One that has always fascinated me is the traditional television talent agent model. Before anyone misunderstands where I’m going with this,
Is It Time to Rethink the Television Talent Agent Business Model? Read More »
The layoffs at Scripps are not just another corporate restructuring story. They are a signal. A blunt one. And if you work in local television, you should pay attention. For years, local broadcast executives have comforted themselves with the idea that their business is different. And in some ways, it is. But that argument starts
Scripps Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud Read More »
The Real Canary in the Coal Mine Isn’t Recruiting. It’s Gen Z. For decades, local television was untouchable. Massive reach, political cash, network affiliation power, monopoly-level local news dominance — if you owned a local TV station, you owned attention in your market. Then the internet happened. Then streaming happened. Then mobile happened. Then social
Local Television’s Expiration Date? Read More »
The New Broadcast Talent Playbook: Recruiting Across Four Generations Let’s start with an uncomfortable truth. Most hiring managers say they want diversity of thought, and then they hire someone who thinks exactly like they do. The General Manager who came up through sales wants another sales-minded leader. The News Director wants someone who came up
Stop Hiring Mini-Me’s: The Television Industry’s Biggest Recruiting Mistake Read More »
Let’s stop pretending this isn’t an uncomfortable question: are non-competes and restrictive employment contracts helping the media industry, or slowly strangling it? Depending on who you ask, they’re either essential protection for businesses investing in talent, draconian restraints that trap people in jobs they’ve already outgrown, standard practice “because that’s how it’s always been,” or
Non-Competes Are Costing You Talent. Change My Mind. Read More »
If you’ve spent any time scrolling LinkedIn lately (or read my blog posts), you’ve probably seen the headlines: ownership changes, consolidation, budget cuts, hiring freezes, restructuring, and additional responsibilities piled onto already overloaded teams. It’s enough to make even the most accomplished television professional wonder what’s next. Let’s start with some good news. Despite all
*A Survival Guide from Carver Talent* Congratulations. You graduated from college. You survived finals, group projects, professors who still use PowerPoint templates from 2004, and enough ramen noodles to qualify as a sodium-based life form. Now comes the easy part. Just kidding — now you have to find a job. And if you’re reading this
Dear College Graduate: So You Want to Work in Local Television? Read More »
Every recruiter has “the email” — the one you screenshot, the one you forward to a trusted industry friend with zero context except: “Read this. I’m speechless.” Here is mine. And I’m sharing this only to educate, not to embarrass this candidate. I pinky promise — and pinky promises are golden with my daughter. I’ve
A Peek Into My Media Recruiting World: The $10 Million TV Sales Candidate Read More »
The local television business is changing faster than many executives want to admit. Consolidation. Acquisitions. Budget compression. Corporate layering. Centralization. Hiring freezes disguised as “strategic pauses.” Department heads are managing two stations, three platforms, four new revenue expectations, and five additional job responsibilities — often without meaningful increases in compensation. And yet, despite all of
