Big Media Refugee
By Herb.
I’ve worked in big companies most of my life. Granted, I was in cable in the early 1980’s when a big staff was 30 people, and before then spent a year at a NY radio station… the media equivalent of a mom and pop shop, again with 30 employees at most. So, why am I here? Yes, getting back to small, “where you know everyone’s name” has appeal.
My wife, however, summed it up best. “Wouldn’t you rather be hiring people, than firing people?” Big media is in turmoil. It’s not the growth business it was, or wants others to believe it is. Cable, the lifeblood of big media, is over 25 years old — that’s mature. The Internet is a mere child age-wise in comparison. And as long as big media presents itself as a “growth” business, then my wife’s words will be prophetic.
Clearly, short of finding the holy grail, one obvious way for big media to grow is to cut costs — that means cutting people, and we’ve been seeing that happening recently. The irony is it’s a great time to hire. With a generation of talent coming of age on the Internet, I’d rather be hiring than firing. There’s talent out there that can do things I know I can’t (that’s not saying much). And big media (with its incumbent business being its priority) simply won’t allow the same opportunities that a start-up Internet-first business like ours can.
See you at the refugee camp.
February 7th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
The low overhead and relative costs of working on vlogging is also a plus.
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Herb,
You put your finger on it exactly! Hiring rather than firing… growing and being smart about growth rather than simply looking at the bottom line for the stock holders. Long term over short term.
I love being part of this period.
David