Attention Bob Lobel: I Have a Book for You

Please excuse my recent absence. My duties as safety committee chairman at UPS have superseded my blogging responsibilities the past couple days.

Anyway, lots I want to talk about. First of all, Bob Lobel "retired" from WBZ-TV. Woah, that's crazy. Add in the fact that Joyce Kulhawik and Scott Wahle also left WBZ, and I'd be awfully scared if I was a high-earning news anchor in television right now. These cutbacks are not a good sign.

From my inside sources at the Globe, I also heard that Jackie MacMullan is accepting a buyout. Who does she think she is, Sam Cassell? But seriously, this is yet another troubling sign for those high-earning professionals working on the more "traditional" side of media.

My advice to all of the aforementioned individuals, pick up a copy of Guide to Internet Job Searching (seen above). I hate to be mean, but you're going to need it. (Does anyone else find it sadly ironic that the very medium--the Internet--which forced these people out of jobs will likely provide the best means for them finding new jobs? That sucks.)

This is not a good trend, but we all should have seen it coming. An entire generation of young adults get most, if not all, of their news from the Internet. My daughter comes home from school, goes directly to the computer and "surfs" all night. My son comes home from work everyday, goes directly to the computer and does exactly the same thing. "You guys have to get in here and see this dunk by Rondo," I tell them. "Dad, I already saw it. I'm on ESPN.com right now," answers my son.

Jeeze, tough crowd.

[Side note: My son does PR and I honestly can't tell you what the hell that means. Every time he tries to explain to me what he does for a living, all I can think about is all the reasons Pete Rose (the most famous professional athlete I can think of with the initials P.R.) should be in the Hall of Fame. From what little I picked up from my son though, something tells me the folks in his profession could have helped Pete back in the day. Then again, who knows.]

Back to the discussion at hand. The same thing hold true for television that holds true for print journalism. Why watch the 6 o'clock cable news when you can watch 5:27, 5:31, 5:36, 5:40, 5:46, 5:49, 5:52, 5:56, 5:57, 5:58 and 5:59 news on the Internet? This may be a bit dramatic, but you get my point, right? The 6 o'clock news doesn't stand a chance anymore. Viewers are down. Less viewers lead to lower ratings. Lower ratings lead to less advertising dollars. Less advertising dollars lead to decreased revenue. And with decreased revenue comes job reductions, lay offs and buyouts.

It's science.

I'll leave you with this. In case you did not click through previously, Wikipedia already updated its Bob Lobel entry to read "a former sportscaster for WBZ-TV in Boston..."

Need I say anymore?