Not so silent E - From radio guy to paper boy
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- Published on Thursday, December 11, 2014
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
As I have made my way out and about across Neepawa and the surrounding communities over the past few months, I鈥檝e been asked the same question over and over again. Well, actually I鈥檝e been asked two questions, the first being 鈥淗ow the heck do you pronounce your first name?鈥� But, the second question I鈥檝e heard almost as often is 鈥淲hy did you decide to cross over into newspapers?鈥�
Now for those of you who may be unfamiliar, I have spent just over a decade working in news, but doing so from behind a microphone. I have worked for radio stations in Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Neepawa and to many, became known as 鈥渢he radio guy鈥�. So after 10 years, how does one go from being a radio guy to a paper boy?
Some have guessed that the rationale behind the shift was really pretty simply鈥oney. That鈥檚 a pretty good guess as it is true that many radio people live off of Ramen Noodles and Kraft Dinner well into the age bracket where that鈥檚 not considered quaint anymore. In fact, my media professor said on the very first day of class, 鈥淚f you鈥檙e getting into the radio business to get rich, you鈥檙e better off doing something else. Anything else.鈥�
After a few years, the truth from that statement will begin to settle in and most young news minds will grow tired of the poor newsie lifestyle and ultimately turn to the dark side; Public Relations. For the most part, a news person and a P.R. person aren鈥檛 really that much different, though there is a one very telling difference, one tries to educate and enlighten you with the truth, while the other attempts to indoctrinate and influence you with their version of the truth. Guess which one of these two people drives the more expensive car?
But it鈥檚 not all minimum wage and cynicism. No, there is also a down side to radio and it鈥檚 the main reason I jumped from the air waves to the printed page. The truth is far too many stations nowadays are cutting costs and do so in a myriad of ways. One of them is the news. It鈥檚 very easy to cut down on what I believe are the five most important minutes of every radio hour to get another Katy Perry 鈥渟ong鈥� in the rotation. It can be tough to track down a story when bean counters from head office are telling your bosses that spending that extra time chasing down a source and uncovering the truth isn鈥檛 鈥渆ffective time management鈥�. You can only fight those types of losing battles for so long before you start to ask yourself "If they don't care, why do I?"
At least with print media, news not only matters, it鈥檚 the entire point of the endeavour. It鈥檚 called a 鈥淣ewspaper鈥�, not 鈥淐rappy Taylor Swift song and mundane jock talk banter paper鈥�. That鈥檚 a refreshing change of pace for me.
That鈥檚 not to say, things are perfect with the medium. Over the years, many people decried the 鈥榙eath of print鈥� and while the concept of the daily big city paper might be going the way of the dodo, there鈥檚 still a place for your community news. Let鈥檚 face it, when鈥檚 the last time Brandon or Portage la Prairie talked about what鈥檚 happening down your street? And as for Winnipeg, well let鈥檚 just say perimeteritis is still alive and well in the Peg.
Nowadays local content is more important than ever and the smart publisher adapts with the times and that means a strong online presence. That鈥檚 pretty much a requirement for both radio and print. People still want to be informed and care about what鈥檚 happening in their own back yard. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 not worried about the jump to a 鈥渄ying media.鈥�
Another part of my reasoning for changing jobs is simple and something I have lived my career upon. The day you wake up and can鈥檛 look yourself in the eyes when you stare into the mirror is the day you walk away from the job that did that to you. Never compromise integrity.
But the main rationale for the change is the money. Yeah, definitely the money.
