Now We're Just Haggling Over The Price

By Frank Absher

On a recent visit to Las Vegas, I got to thinking about prostitution. I realized it’s a lot more widespread than most people realize.

“Prostitution” is an ugly word, fraught with connotations of selling one’s self to anyone willing to pay. We’re all familiar with the sexual aspects of the term “prostitute,” but have you looked at all the definitions? Try this one from the American Heritage Dictionary that sits within easy reach of my computer keyboard:

“One who sells his abilities or name to an unworthy cause”

That hits pretty close to home for anyone in broadcasting – especially now. Imagine if you could take an anonymous poll today of all the folks who work in media. I’ll bet a lot of them would admit to being embarrassed when they have to tell people where they work, who they work for, or when they come to grips with how poorly they’re being paid.

They’re probably embarrassed by some of the stuff they have to do to earn a living. One might even think today’s media people would be embarrassed by the glaring lack of quality in the product they turn out.

When you talk to people who work in media today, they often say they don’t know what else they could do to earn a living. They can’t really imagine going out and finding some other kind of work. And, because many have had to move around to find jobs, they have no retirement funds to speak of. The same things are often said by prostitutes, according to social workers who help rehabilitate them.

I’m reminded of an old, humorous (back then) t-shirt caption I saw at a National Association of Broadcasters’ convention many years ago: “Please don’t tell my mother I’m a disc jockey. She thinks I play piano in a whorehouse.”

Think about it. Would you want your son or daughter to get a job in TV, radio or print now? Knowing how good things once were and how bad they are now, would you counsel anyone you respect to get into this business?

This isn’t a thoughtless rant, folks. I truly cannot imagine working for today’s owners/managers and being so limited that I’d have to settle for being part of such a mediocre product. All the media products today are mediocre when compared to the quality we used to find in the media.

And we were whores too, recording spots for advertisers whom we knew were questionable, working for owners and managers who paid us less than we were worth, selling ourselves to make a few extra bucks doing remotes, running news stories because the boss told us to.

Maybe the biggest difference between then and now is the quality and standards of today’s bosses.

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