Agency negotiation for journalists shifts to Overdrive –

As the 2022 midterm elections begin and, of course, the hot cycle of presidential elections is on the horizon, frontline journalists are in high demand. But while TV anchors and correspondents have seen their profiles (and pay) rise for decades, especially in recent years, this shift has accelerated.

“Journalistic talent has become a star in the last five years,” said Jay Sures, co-president of UTA, pointing to the clients of his agency: Odone. They are the stars. It’s the stars that walk the streets. And as a result, they are paid according to what they bring to their employers, which is a really reliable news source – people are happy to see them for a variety of reasons. ”

These high-profile hosts can reasonably expect eight digital deals each year, especially if they include other projects like podcasts or development deals. With the new election cycle fast approaching, these journalistic stars are looking for ways to ensure they are part of the conversation and remain open to casual and curious viewers of the news, whether or not they pay for cable. It helps that News is one of the only shows that consistently performs well on TV lines, even as consumer viewing habits (not to mention corporate business models) have shifted to mandatory streaming.

“There is an ABC reason world news tonight with David Muir “This is the most watched TV show outside of sports,” said Bradley Singer, a partner at WME. “That says a lot about viewer behavior and the value of television news.”

The crowded media landscape of 2022 is significantly different from the 1980s and early 1990s, when a seat behind a head table in the morning or evening was a journalist’s only real hope of a million-dollar payout.

But it was the rise of cable news, especially during the Gulf War of CNN and Fox News after 9/11, that dramatically expanded the landscape for anchors and their agents, who clearly realized that top-notch anchors could change the news. . As effectively as an A-list star can become a matte grid series.

It is the media world that has helped transform companies like NS Bienstock, under the leadership of Richard Leibner and Carol Cooper, into powerful space news and information agencies. UTA acquired Bienstock in 2014, which as THR Mentioned at the time, the agency instantly received a “leading market share” in the news broadcast business.

With the rise of video streaming, the emergence of podcasts as a viable business, the explosive growth of digital media and, in Sures’s words, the “insatiable desire for new content”, the same may have happened. . years old. Business news like the old 80s.

“The last few years have shown that the only thing permanent is change,” said CAA agent Rachel Adler.

So when Edward R. Murrow, Barbara Walters and Dan Retter paved the way for today’s journalists with not just fame but wealth, the opportunities today are much greater than they were then.

“Being a journalist now, being a broadcaster now, doesn’t mean you have to have a television contract,” Singer said. “That means you can do a news stream, you can do a podcast. “Maybe you’re a broadcast correspondent, maybe you’re on cable, maybe you’re doing something for Netflix.”

Among superstar journalists and broadcasters, that means more and more manufacturing businesses. Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Jenna Bush Heger, Rachel Meadow, Sunny Hostin – all have signed deals to create specials, documentaries, podcasts and other discounts for their corporate headquarters.

Meadow, MSNBC’s most-watched host, goes from five nights a week to one night a week to be able to work on outdoor projects, including a film written by Ben Stiller based on his book and podcast. bag man. (WME traded the megala last year.) “They like it because it’s entrepreneurial and gives them another solution, but it’s also a good deal,” Singer said. “If you pay these people a lot of money to become stars within your corporation, why not produce other types of content?”

But the possibilities are wider. Consider Rebecca Jarvis, business, technology and economics correspondent for ABC News: On April 25, Jarvis recalled a story that had troubled him for years after he published a profile on the future genius of Silicon Valley: founder Elizabeth Holmes.

Jarvis never covered the field, but years later the interaction led to an award-winning podcast produced by ABC News. abandonment, which in turn was adapted as a limited series for Hulu, produced by Jarvis. “He had to fight [skeptics at ABC] Admission abandonment Done; It flew like wildfire and we sold Fox Searchlight and Hulu in a bidding war,” recalls Sures.

But you also have to be opportunistic and willing to step out of where a traditional audience might be, betting that there are news users who don’t know your work.

“There are real upfront savings when it comes to the information business,” says Adler.

He cites the example of Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Mecham, who decided to do a podcast in the midst of a pandemic. I expect, through history. “He listens to his podcasts between the ages of 18 and 35,” Adler says, noting that the demo is much younger than news users elsewhere. “Go where the audience is. It is a very good idea in any business.”

And this can be explained by the aspiration of the flow of each of the journalistic organizations. While some have already crashed (RIP, CNN+), all TV news organizations are investing in space and betting that even if streaming doesn’t replace their linear offerings, it will still bring new, younger users to the news. ecosystem. Take a look at CBS O’Donnell, featuring an updated version of Murrow’s Peer to peer CBS News for the streaming service. Or any number of deals involving broadcast and TV programming, like MSNBC’s latest deal with Biden administration veteran Simon Sanders, who hosts shows on Peacock and MSNBC Weekends.

For networks trying to fill more hours than ever before (consider NBC News Group, which owns network news shows, MSNBC, CNBC, Noticias Telemundo and now streaming services across all of its brands), agencies and agents can help. the news media to fill them. Watches with their talents, established and new.

But more importantly, there is no expectation, at least not yet, that broadcast will replace network morning shows or prime-time cable news anytime soon. “I think streaming will play an important role in the news, but I don’t think it will play as big a role as everyone thinks,” Sures said, pointing to the difficulties of producing and broadcasting live news. Programming through streaming platforms.

However, this does not mean that the skills of top journalists are lacking. While the “linear” path to starting a small market in local television and going up and down before signing a network contract is not dead yet, the options are greater than ever. “There are, so to speak, many ways to climb to the top, and there are ways to distinguish yourself that weren’t possible or worthwhile before,” says Singer.

Podcasts, magazines, quizzes, TikTok accounts, and YouTube channels are potential springboards for networking gigs, as well as experiences in other high-profile areas like politics. New YorkOlivia Nuz (CAA) and ✓ New York Times‘ Newspaper Podcast presenter Michael Barbaro (UTA).

Sures notes that the networks are focused on having more diversity on the air of their talent, representing people and parts of the country that in the past may have been excluded or underrepresented. “Not everyone should be on the East Coast, not everyone should be in an office, not everyone should be employed at a traditional media company,” Adler said. Still, there are some lines.

“[You have to have] “You have to be on screen, you have to be smart, you have to have an opinion and people want to see you,” Sures said. When that talent comes to the fore, whether on a social media app or an NBC South Carolina affiliate newscast at 11pm, or even an on-screen subscription newsletter, you can be sure there will be no shortage of agents and agencies. . To create a spectacle. The ever-expanding world of television news.

The story first appeared in the May 17 issue of The Gossipify. Click here to subscribe.