The TV news business is one of the toughest industries there is. News reporter has even been consistently listed as one of the most difficult jobs. Here are my 10 ingredients for success after 18 years in the cutthroat TV news business, lessons that can be applied to most competitive careers.
1.) Be a shameless salesperson for yourself
No matter what your occupation, you need to learn sales.
You will eventually have to pitch yourself or your product in order to get paid. Practice your elevator pitch. Practice your answers for interview questions. Make a list of your selling points. When I was in college applying for jobs, the greatest advice I every received was to do mock interviews. Have your mom, dad and best friend interview you. Practice answering questions over and over and over again. If you do this, you will build confidence and you will nail the interview. You are never too young or too old to practice this.
2.) A need to succeed
In order to be extremely successful in a competitive career, your desire for success must run deep.
Most people will quit before they make it in a cutthroat industry because of what it takes to succeed, but for successful people quitting is not an option. You will be required to work long hours, holidays, overnights and you will likely have to move far away from your family for years until you land a desirable position in a competitive business like television. At first you’ll get paid as much or less than a fast food worker. This is why a lot of people quit the news business during or after their first job. They see the long road ahead and they bail. Successful people in cutthroat industries almost have a delusional sense of self belief they will make it to the top. In order to keep going you have to have dogged determination. A need to prove yourself. A need to change your life. A need for something. Because if you don’t have that need, there are a lot of easier jobs out there you could be doing, closer to home and for a lot more money.
3.) Have an amazing delusional goal
When someone asks you where you see yourself, you should have an immediate answer. It should be a goal you truly believe you can accomplish.
The bigger and more specific the goal, the better. Having a tangible goal helps you envision where you’re going and helps lay the groundwork on how to get there. My answer was always “I will be a network news anchor and create content for a long form news magazine like Dateline.” I wanted to be like Norah O’Donnell, Savannah Guthrie and Natalie Morales. Later, it changed to Megyn Kelly and Martha MacCallum. In my twenties, I researched every news anchor I wanted to be like, I knew what markets they’d worked in and their roadmaps to success. It helped me to be strategic in all of my moves. I also dressed like my muses and did my hair and makeup like them.
4.) Be willing to do what others won't
In a competitive industry, sometimes the difference maker is willingness to outwork your colleagues and competition.
Whether it be to move across the country for an amazing opportunity, to work an overnight shift or a 12-hour day, going the extra mile can help set you apart. For most of my career I was a “yes” person. I was always willing to go above and beyond. I had more drive than the people around me and that led to huge career and pay advancements that only few in the industry rise to.
5.) Know when to say no
The only thing you shouldn’t do in order to succeed—something unethical, against your personal morals or downright dangerous.
And yes, I was asked to do things on news stories that could have put my life in danger (like go live during a tornado). Had to learn to say no at the right time. Later in my career I said "no" a lot more than in the beginning. A hard fast rule, when you are new in an industry or job say yes more! When your gut tells you it’s wrong say no. It’s ok to say no when you are being taken advantage of or when a manager breaks an agreement. However, be careful with your nos. There have been certain situations in my career when I didn’t like something, but in the end it turned out in my favor. For instance, a manager took me off a midday show once because he wanted me to report more. It meant more work for me, but that led to a promotion to the 6pm news and investigative work that got me nominated for a New York Emmy. I could have said no and fought the change, but instead I accepted it and made it work in my favor.
6.) Make your goals within the organization known to the right people
In every job I ever had, my goal was to be an anchor in the highest position possible and the top journalist in the building.
In order to do this I had to make sure the managers knew I wanted the opportunity to anchor. In my first job as a weekend reporter, I made it known immediately that I wanted any opportunity for advancement. By the end of my first job I was the main morning anchor and sole investigative reporter at the station. Don't expect your superiors to know your plans for advancement. Be bold and make your goals known.
7.) Stay away from toxicity
In a competitive, fast paced job there will no doubt be toxic people.
Stay away from the people who cross lines. Don’t date people at work or at the competition. Eliminate distractions. Don’t hang out with people who are jealous or who gossip. Shut down conversations that are negative. Practice the golden rule, treat others how you want to be treated. Make friends with the most talented, professional people in the building that you want to be like. If you work in news and people are mean to you at your news station or are jealous of you, make friends at the competing station. Find mentors and keep in touch with them when you leave!
8.) Be excellent
One of the greatest markers of success in a cutthroat industry is when your managers no longer have to manage you.
You essentially become your own boss because your expertise at what you do can’t be taught. When you come to the meeting in the morning you have read every paper. Your ideas are better than the managers. When it’s time to submit three story ideas for a special project, you already have a list of 20. You are three steps ahead of management and because of that, they don’t bother you. In fact, at this point they need you. You have gained the leverage to get a raise when it comes time to renew your contract. You know what amount to ask for because you know the company well enough to know what they’ll go for and you have a list of reasons to back up why you deserve the raise. You get the money because you’re actually worth it.
9.) Take advice from the right people
You will get a lot of advice in your profession, but the best advice comes from people who have mastered the important things in life.
Another hack — look at the lives of the people you aspire to be like professionally. Are they happy or miserable? Are they divorced? How do they treat others? Do they have kids? If you’re finding the people in roles are not doing well in their personal lives, you may find that the job you aspire to have isn’t great for long term happiness. Decide what is important to you for your personal life when you seek professional advice since your professional life can greatly impact your personal life.
10.) Care more and have a good attitude
One of the worst pieces of advice I ever received was to stop caring so much about my reporting.
Just get it done, who cares? That was the advice. The thing is, the amount I cared is what set me apart from everyone else in the business. Years later, my reporting gained international attention when I personally helped more than 5,000 people during the pandemic. The reason that happened is because I cared a lot. I couldn't sleep at night knowing people had no income due to the shutdown of businesses and couldn't get unemployment due to tied up phone lines. I stayed up until 3am on work nights replying to emails from people who needed help getting their unemployment benefits. I hounded the governor until he vowed to help them. This is stuff that only happens when you care more than everyone else. The second part of this is harder and something I sometimes struggled with under deadline, have a good attitude. People will love to work with you if you keep a good attitude. My favorite producers in the newsroom were always the ones who were pleasant on a daily basis. A happy, smiling person who leaves their bad mood at home is the best person you can have on your team. It's hard to be in a good mood under stress, but if you can do it on a consistent basis, you will win.
11.) Pray
This is probably not the advice you were expecting on a success blog, but prayer can help solve career stress.
In the last couple years of my career I struggled a lot with stress and anxiety. It was the pandemic and I was working more than ever. I wasn't getting along with my manager and I was worried I might never get pregnant. I read a Bible verse that changed my life:
Philippians 4:6 NLT Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he had done.
Any time during the work day when I would get worried, mad or stressed I would stop and pray. I would stop and thank God for the good in my life. I would pray for resolution for the fights with my boss. I would pray that I would have children one day. Right there in the middle of reporting on a story, or at my desk or driving my car or laying in bed. Whenever I caught myself worrying or fretting or stewing, I would stop myself and pray. If it was really bad, I would Google a sermon on what I was struggling with and would watch it at my desk at work. Ultimately, my prayers results in huge life changes. I ended up leaving my job and getting pregnant with twins. And guess what? I don't have any more anxiety. I am the happiest I've ever been. Here is the full story if you care to read more.
12.) Know when to move on
When I first started out in television almost 19 years ago, I said I would be a "lifer".
That's a person who stays in the news business their entire life. I loved it and I wanted to have it all: successful TV career, money, marriage and family. I would become a network anchor and make millions. I would also be a successful mom and amazing wife. Those were my goals. Fast forward almost 20 years, and there I was doing a Zoom interview as a finalist for a network correspondent position at the network I always dreamed of working at. This would be my ticket to the network anchor job I so longed for. This was the second position I had applied for at this particular network and the executive producer was telling me I had the job. Only problem was, it would be four weeks of travel at a time. What the producer didn't know, I was going through fertility treatments. Here I was, finally at the pinnacle of my career with the job of my dreams in front of me, but the timing wasn't right. I had to tell her no. The job could wait, my ovaries could not. I was 37. I had to move on because right now I had to focus on having children. I ended up quitting my job at the local news station after 8 years on the evening anchor desk to focus on my fertility. Best decision I ever made. A year later, I gave birth to my twin girls. And guess what? I can go back to news if I want. But the thing is, I like the title Stay At Home Mom even more than Network Anchor. And now the world has changed! I can produce whatever content I want at home with my girls in the next room.
