Automation Less Station Groups & Unions

[rkolsen 1679]

I'm wondering are there any major station groups, aside from Hearst, that has yet to embrace automation for their newscasts (I think MCR is automated nearly everywhere)? I assume most automation less stations are still union shops and how many automated stations still have a union.

 

WBAL is a union shop and runs their newscast with a full team (not sure how many though). The main anchor of their sister station, Scott Walker (the good one), regularly does a round up before the 10PM newscast featuring the production staff. On average each video features about seven people manning the ship behind the scenes.

 

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WMAR runs Ignite and still is a union shop.

[Weeters 1811]

Automation doesn't remove unions, it just removes a bunch of union employees (in turn weakening the union). I think most union contracts are written in a way that, even if the station automates, the operation of the automation is still a union job. You'll still need Broadcast Engineers and Maintenance Engineers to keep the station running, but you'll be able to significantly reduce the amount of union employees needed to put a show on the air.

 

Even in stations that have hubbed master controls, you will still find a "Transmissions" room that brings in microwave live shots and monitors the transmitter. In a union shop, those are all union jobs too.

 

Unions are complicated. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW, the same union that Electricians are usually in) and the International Alliance of Technical Stage Employees (IATSE) two of the big players in the industry. Like in NYC, you have both IASTE Local 100 and IBEW Local 1212 and different stations and companies belong to different unions.

 

I think every station group at this point has at least one automated control room somewhere. I know FOX O&O's are mostly all automated, and many other NBC, CBS, and ABC O&O's are too. Master Control automation has existed since the 1960's.

[Marvin Dillweed 73]

A majority of Nexstar stations are not automated as far as production. They actually got rid of the automation system (Ignite, IIRC), that was in place at then-WPTY in Memphis, and hired a production staff once they moved into their new studios.

 

Several have their MC operations hubbed, though, as well as the traffic departments.