“You have to sell them as much as they’re trying to sell you”: U.S. Local Television News Directors’ Perspectives on the Struggle to Hire Reporters and Producers

Abstract

This qualitative study examines hiring difficulties in local television (TV) news in small and medium TV markets (DMA #30+). The results of in-depth interviews showed that most interviewed news directors experienced talent shortages in their markets and had fewer and less prepared applicants for reporter and producer positions than several years ago. This has resulted in a growing number of news directors hiring younger and non-traditional applicants without a journalism degree. The paper discusses the ways news directors adapt to the hiring challenges and provides recommendations about how to address these issues. It also examines the findings through the lens of supply and demand economic theory and the organizational prestige framework.