Why I Left TV & Why I’m Telling You Now.

Considering I spent more than 11 years of my life giving you both sides of a story daily, far be it from me to leave you with only half when it comes to my own.  Why now you ask?  This month marks three years since I left my journalism career.  And, I’m ready to talk about it.

It was my Sophomore year in high school that I knew being a reporter was what I wanted to do for a living.  Throughout college I worked insanely hard to make sure I found a job.  The October following graduation, I was sitting in front of a camera delivering the news.  Everything I’d worked for paid off.  The next 11 + years would be spent bouncing to different markets in NY State before finally landing in Las Vegas where I would eventually say goodbye to TV — perhaps for good.

The truth of the matter is, the decision to leave to TV was made for me, not by me.  FOX 5 News — my favorite and most memorable of the stations in my career — did not renew my contract.  Most of you know that.  Why?  Part of it was me and my attitude.  Part of it was that of the station’s.  Just to be clear — it had nothing to do with my performance.  There is not one person who would ever say I was a bad reporter.  Not one.  I can say this without any trepidation. Was I difficult to deal with at times — sure.  I’ve had three years to fix that problem.  Was my passion for what I did — coupled with being a perfectionist — mistaken for being unmanageable?  Absolutely.  But that was then and not how I am now.

Working at 3am in the morning in Las Vegas was also not an easy task.  It took a good year to figure out a sleep pattern that worked for me.  Was I late to work more than the average person should be — you bet.  Did I EVER miss my time slot on the news?  Never.  In fact, I wasn’t the only one routinely late.  The entire morning shift also had this habit.  I just happened to be made the example.  So now you know why I no longer work at Fox 5 News.  Let’s get to the heart of why I no longer work in TV.  The reason is two-fold.

If truth be told, it was getting passed up for Weekend Anchor when the position opened that shifted my attitude about the career with which I’d grown to fall both in and out of love.  Not only passed up — I wasn’t even asked or considered.  I was management’s first choice to fill-in whenever the Weekend Anchor had off.  And clearly, I was decent enough to sit behind the desk.  Just not permanently.  Had management invited me throw my name into the hat but then go with someone else in the end, I might’ve had a different perception and opinion about the matter.  But when I took the initiative to apply for the position– on the the very day it opened — I was told they had already made their selection.  Someone with less experience and less time at the station.  Keep in mind, this is when I was still in good graces with Fox 5.   This was also the second time in my career this would  happen.  Why would I keep fighting the same battle?  In my eyes, the writing was on the wall.  My place in TV was out in the field.

Some of you might be thinking “Mike, it was only twice and not indicative of how another station might’ve treated you.”  I’m not so sure.  For as big as the TV industry is, it’s pretty small too.  In the last 6 months, I’ve had two friends and colleagues become laid-off despite their dedication and talent.  One had been with her station for 8 years, the other — 12.  Two others have quit for repeatedly being passed up for promotions.  It’s not the same industry it once was.  There is little gratitude and little loyalty toward employees from management anymore.

There is another reason I left TV.  I was becoming someone I had never intended.  Rack up 500 + stories of death, budget shortfalls, layoffs, business closures, rapes, murders, drownings and senseless shootings and you are left feeling cynical — if you are able to feel anything at all.  You are taught not to have emotion in a news story.  Your job is to get the story.  I couldn’t do it anymore.  Without emotion, who are we in life?  If we don’t feel, how to do we carry on?  I’m not one for light, fluffy stories but I’m not one for murder and mayhem anymore either.  I knew that if I were to genuinely be a happy, contributing citizen in society — I had to make my exodus from TV.  So I did. This realization came after the pass-up for Weekend Anchor.

Leaving television was not the hard part.  Following my lay-off, I didn’t have it in me to move again,  start all over at another station and find a new group of friends in a city I had never lived.  It was living with the decision to leave TV that was painful and tearful at times. This was my career, my passion, my voice and  my love.  I was angry that it was all stolen from.  I was angry for letting it become stolen.  There were times I had even tried to go back to TV.  Honestly, I’m glad none of the opportunities panned out.

Leaving my first career behind put me a tough road to the future.  It forced me to spend the next two years studying Marketing & PR — the new career path on which I’d embarked.  Both of these fields are not far from the realm of what I previously did as a reporter, but different enough that the transition wasn’t easy or guaranteed.  I didn’t even know if I was going to like the switch.  All I knew was I was made to do something in the communications field.

Following long nights of studying and endless spiritual scouring I landed on my feet.  Currently, I am happily employed as a PR & Marketing Manager for a company.  Unlike TV news, which I could do in my sleep, PR & Marketing is much more challenging.  I like it this way.   Would I ever go back to TV?  Yes, but only on my terms and if the right situation came along.  Would I go back to TV as a news reporter?  Highly doubtful.

Currently I’m also a part-time freelance writer for a national celebrity magazine and have a couple of social media/PR clients.  Leaving TV actually brought greater opportunity.  I’m blessed and grateful.  What TV couldn’t take away from me was my passion for writing.  I do it in my new jobs daily.  The most painful thing TV took away from me was my last day.  I was let go a day early because management feared I might say or do something to harm the station’s reputation.  Shame on them!  I would never do that much less ruin my own reputation and chances of becoming employed in Las Vegas again.  Even more so — I never got that chance to say goodbye and thank the only people that ever mattered to me here in Las Vegas with regard to my TV career — the fans and viewers.  So, you’re going to get what you deserved three years ago right now.

TO MY WONDERFUL FANS, FRIENDS & VIEWERS

Truth be told, I didn’t care about me or where I would end up after leaving TV.  I worried that I had let you down.  It took a long time for that feeling to finally settle.  While I was more than prepared to take the reporter position in Las Vegas, I was not at all prepared for the incredible reception that would follow.  I had just assumed I would be another name and number in this town.  Instead, I was greeted by some of the most amazing, genuine people I have ever met.  Still today ,some of you come up to me asking if I was that guy from TV.  Some of you thank me for making your morning and all of you tell me how much you miss me and that it hasn’t been the same.  I’m incredibly humbled that after three years you would still remember and still care.  I’m impressed and honored.  For 5 years of my career I worked at the number 1 station in my hometown.  Maybe 10 people in that time said “hey, you’re the guy from the news.”  Yet, 3000 miles away — in a city where I knew no one — I would end up with calls, emails, letters and so much love.  I’m tearing up just thinking about it.  I want you all to know that I appreciated — and still appreciate — every moment, encounter or interaction that I get with you.  Those of you who have stopped me to say hi know that I  drop whatever it is I’m doing to say hello and get to know you more.   In fact, some of you know that saying hi might even turn into an incredible friendship.  Just ask Jo Ellen who came down to the grocery store one morning where I was doing a live-shot.  I didn’t know her from Adam, she just wanted to meet me.  I ended up at her house for Christmas dinner with her family and was one of the first to hold her newborn baby boy.  How incredible is that?  Moments like those I will forever cherish.  While I might’ve provided you with the news, some wisecracks and some silly dancing on the morning news each day,  you all gave me so much more — love.  I learned that people can actually make a difference, that the world isn’t as jaded as we might  think, that people sometimes just need a friend and that love and friendships should never be taken for granted.  My time on TV in Las Vegas would’ve been meaningless without all of your  acceptance and encouragement.  I will never forget that, always be appreciative and treat people the same way in the future.  I will also always be humbled and honored that you all allowed me to get to know you.  The good news is — I’m still in Las Vegas.  I’m on every social media channel known to man and my email address is mdoria27@gmail.com.  Drop my a line and say hello if you like and do not ever hesitate to approach me if you see me.  I’m excited to meet more of you.  As this year closes, I leave you with some clips of my reporting over on my career page. I also want to wish you all the best and the happiest of holidays.  To reiterate what should have been said three years ago — a GIANT thank you again for your incredible support.  Much love,  Mike