My White News Director Does Not Understand... (Patreon)

Anyone that reads FTVLive knows that I am a huge proponent of more women and minorities in both the News Director and the General Manager's offices at TV stations. 

But, in this case, I think a white News Director was very unfairly called out by one of his Reporters. 

First, a little history. 

When I got into TV news, the vacation policy worked this way, after a year on the job, you got one week vacation. In other words, you had to work an entire year, before you could take any vacation days. That's the way it was and that was the job I signed up for. 

Now, it seems many that get hired in TV news, think they should be allowed to take time off when they want it. 

WVIR (Charlottesville, Virginia) Reporter Madison Jones joined the station in May 2019, just after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Just three months after starting her job, Jones thought that she should be granted time off to attend the NABJ convention in Miami. 

Her News Director was not able to give her the time off and so Jones called him out on social media: 

You have been in the business for 10 minutes and you believe that you should be afforded time off for a trip to Miami? 

 Charlottesville is not a big market and WVIR does not have a large staff. Anytime someone takes time off, it leaves the newsroom more short-staffed than they already are. 

Jones should maybe pay her dues a bit longer and spend a bit more time in the business before she blames her white News Director for not understanding. 

David Foky is the station's News Director and has been for the past 9 years. I don't know the guy, but I really don't think the fact that he is white is the reason he did not let Jones go to NABJ. 

He has to get newscasts on the air and letting a green Reporter take time off to fly off to South Florida is not a priority for him or the station. 

My advice to Madison Jones is to spend more than a few months in TV news, prove yourself as a Journalist and then maybe you can then get that time off to head off to conventions.

Even as a News Director, I canceled more than my share of trips to conventions, due to the fact that I was needed in the newsroom. 

Jones needs to understand it is not about her boss being white, it's about the job that needs to be done.