I have not vanished. Irv’s Eye View is alive and well, though coming out of a long hiatus. It’s just that I have taken two classes in a row and, with travel and life ongoing, posting the blog tends to slip in priority. The second of those two classes ends next week. “Research Methods” is important but tedious, so I will enjoy completing it. When this class ends, I’ll have only two left to earn an MA in organizational leadership.
For what it is worth, the degree has nothing—or at least very little—to do with why I am back in school at the advanced age of 59. Mainly, engaging in formal studies is good brain exercise and an opportunity to interact with a diverse group of classmates, even though the instruction is “online.” Being online to learn has many advantages. For a social science program, such as the one I’m in at Gonzaga University, online learning is quite appropriate and rewarding. Online learning also offers the opportunity to pace the instruction in ways that would be impossible with a traditional schedule of classroom attendance.
So what’s next? I would like to get to work. So many small-minded hiring managers don’t understand or appreciate the advantages of hiring an older worker who is eager, energetic, and motivated. That’s me, of course, who I’m talking about—the out of work older worker. But “me” is emblematic of so many others.
Back in the day (the 80s and 90s), I was an unusual--and successful and sought after--news executive. For one thing, I took people’s calls and did not hide from job seekers. In fact, I hired some great people who walked in without appointments. One is working in Tucson today, more than 20 years after walking in, unannounced, and convincing me to meet her. When I moved on to San Diego, a few years later, I remained open to non-traditional candidates who often had something unusual and compelling to offer that set them apart from the usual suspects who sought jobs, the traditional candidates. The usual suspects can get very boring. That’s part of the reason TV news is a business in decline, too many of the usual suspects doing jobs the same way they've done them for years. Adding new platforms--different media--can make a difference, but only if the new platform delivers the messages in ways that matter. Trying to do the same old TV, or print, on the web is a shell game.
For the last 10 years it’s been the Internet and entrepreneurial pursuits keeping things current and remunerative in my work world… then came 2008—ouch! Thought Obama might help fix things up, but that has not yet happened.
Now, as I seek a job myself, it is distressing to encounter the conventional lack of wisdom that results in never—or rarely—getting calls returned, mainly because I’m quite certain the hiring manager cannot see beyond, “oh, he’s an old guy, who’s been out of it for too long.”
For most news operations, I would “add value;” how’s that for dredging up an old cliché? Cliché or not, the wisdom of age, coupled with a record of success and innovation, might actually help an organization get out of its rut and stand out in the current competitive environment. Then there is that degree I’m earning. Believe it or not, the combination of practical experience over more than 30 years in the TV news business, coupled with formal education that is current in terms of exploring the current work and media environment, might just be the sort of profile that would help an organization achieve success.
Having a sense of humor about all of this helps. The very fact the Mets and Padres, the two teams I follow and root for, are doing well just a week before the All Star break, is a sign of something. This current recession/depression will eventually improve. And all you general managers and news directors will probably scramble to catch up with what was current yesterday. Maybe it might be fun to be ahead of what’s happening, for a change, and figure out what will be happening tomorrow. Or, better yet, how about setting the agenda for the future. Think about it. Read some of my older blogs. You might figure out that I can help. There now, that feels better.
Happy Independence Day!
