It’s with mixed emotions that today, Nov 1st I offer my two week notice with Scripps Productions.
My life has been blessed with a “colorful” collection of wild, wonderful and learning experiences within the Scripps family. I would like to extend a special thanks Johanna Hoover for her guidance and endless patience along the way, with like sentiment for the rest of the Productions management team. I would also like to thank the entire Scripps Productions team for all the laughs and lessons wrapping up almost six years in the trenches.
Notching several amazing freelance opportunities on my belt along with the wide variety of opportunities Scripps has provided for me eventually “word got out”. From this, I have been offered a “backpack journalist” position at WBIR.
My intention is to continue to work through the 15th of November at Scripps with my last two days of employment in PTO on the 16th and 17th.
So it goes fellas. My time at Scripps has been filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. When I get to the top rated channel in Knoxville on the 20th I will be a journalist on a magazine program called “Style”. I will be researching, writing, shooting, editing and producing my own packages for this show.
I think it’s important to note that the NBC affiliate called me. That is a good sign no matter how you stack the deck. The Executive Producer said that every time the subject of finding someone new to help the show my name continued to come up. He said it was time to either see if I could seriously come on board or stop talking about me.
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30 comments:
DUDE! You topped the hype BIG TIME!
Congrats in an enormous and most loving way, my friend. This is awesome!
So, I guess you'll travel around,do research, write, etc?
Tell us all you know. I'm so proud and happy for you!
Not to make this about money, but are you getting a nice raise, too?
It sounds like a pretty nice position with good benefits, money, etc. That almost never hurts!
Congrats again!
this calls for a celebration! Ill be up there mid Novemeber to toast the town with you!
This is matt and jule's "other one" i refered to earlier :)
Wish I could come toast with you, but babies await and I must stay.
Plus, we'll be releasing our latest software right then, too and I'll be finishing up my class at Faulkner.
Anyway, y'all have fun!
This is so exciting!
I love it when my friends have good things happen!
The money, as I was toured through the studio the Exec Producer asked me if my initial asking amount was the same as when we had talked a number of months ago. I said yes and he quickly replied, “It’s more than that” and walked on. After running the roundabout it’s about $5k a year more than what I’m making now. Mind you I’m not breaking the bank but it will be better. The contract is for two years, at the start of the second year I’ll get another $1k.
On top of that, I’ll be shooting almost everyday along with editing and writing. Rather than waiting for my muse to sing I’ll be training her to sing on command through the three main elements of this position: scripting, shooting and edit.
I love technical stuff and I love learning and perfecting a trade and shooting and editing are skill sets that can pull in buckets of money in the right market. My position will allow me to become proficient in each of those along side of developing my writing style. While at UTK all my class mates would watch me do my “news casts” because I always picked odd news to report and my delivery style was fun. I was considered to be the Dennis Miller of UT. Not a bad compliment to have paid to you while earning your sea legs.
My work week is the same M-F, 9-5 everything over becomes OT. I’ll get to do some local traveling and meet tons of folks. I think we all know that I’ve always been exceptionally anti-social.
I suppose that I’ll be on the tube occasionally as well. They post a lost of their stories on their web site (www.wbir.com) so if anything cool comes up I’ll keep you all posted.
It’s going to be a nice change of pace to come home tired from working my butt off rather than being tired because I tried to find the end of the web.
i was wondering... is ther e"room to grow" at this NBC joint? I know at scripps you seemed to be stuck with no where to move up.
Man, this is right up your alley, Mullins!
Think it will leave time for your other undertakings like the comedy thing, traveling to Africa, etc?
Sounds like you're gonna be one busy mofo (pardon the expression).
I'm sos proud of you, man! You're living the dream!
There is. Style is sort of a televised “ladies home journal” type of magazine show. It’s mostly women’s issues and “home and family” centered content.
At 5pm, Live at Five comes on and it’s sort of a “pre news” show with more in-depth stories and local interest stuff. After that is the 6 o’clock news which is, well, it’s news and I think we all know what that looks like. I can eventually move from show to show if I get bored. There is also an ad-sales and commercial development department and working sales ($$$) and the production side together could work too. A lot of news folks, when they get stale, will look to move into a larger market.
Of the 210 television markets nation wide Knoxville is 58 which is pretty good (Montgomery-Selma is 116). If the bug hits, the family can discuss a move to a larger market. Most people in this area would look to move into network TV like Scripps.
After a few years I can always move into programming or another niche at Scripps. This would be fine because I’d come in with more $ and experience and wouldn’t come in under the Productions umbrella which is why I’m leaving.
I’ve told a friend who is a director of international distribution that if she calls and the offer is good I’ll come back. The lure of international travel and having a client base and sales is very attractive to me and that sort of work is something all companies are developing with the emerging globalization of business models. Can you say “cha ching”!
At Scripps Productions the “glass ceiling” has been lowered to ensure I don’t have anywhere but lateral movement if even that considering the rep this dept has around here.
At WBIR there are tons of options, because I’m moving from network to affiliate, which is considered backwards by many, I will have every door open to me.
The HR lady has also said they want to work with people who do "outside projects" like my Africa trip and they are even open to my potential January trip to Honduras.
So, it's almost like you're getting paid more to take a "demotion"?
I say "deomotion" because it doesn't really seem to be one. The extra opportunities, growth, etc. are great, man!
It's nice that they are cool with the outside projects, too. It appears that your world of options has grown considerably!
Just be the "old" Dennis Miller not the "new" boring republican miller.
Congrats!
The opportunities are wide open for sure. At Scripps everything is so very corporate and political nothing gets done and my new world will obviously have the same issues but my daily freedom to create content will be wide open.
The idea of a demotion, as far as “status” goes is almost right, usually people want to go from affiliate to network because network seems to be the Holy Grail of TV, while the pace slows down considerably and the money can be a consideration all the other crap goes up exponentially. Also, like I said, coming back to Scripps under the right banner is a very real and eventual possibility. For people who are creative (almost to a fault) it’s more important to have freedom than title.
If you’re developing software for a living it’s like being able to create the video games you’ve always wanted to rather than writing site update and installation instructions. You’re in the same business and you’ve got to follow rough guidelines but “ inset email address into box B” suddenly becomes “Hobbit skewers troll on bridge with a pike”.
Don't worry it was the cool Dennis Miller from SNL not the moron he is now.
Bottom line... how much SWAG can your friends get out of this...
You had a good run with FoodTV, then you hit a dry spell... we need more SWAG.
Oh relax the rest of you... you know you were all thinking it... I just came out and asked it!
I was going to ask if no one else did!
But, somehow I doubt if we'll see any SWAG from the local outlet gig.
Never know, though!
I figure if scripps takes him back to go international, then swag may come our way though
Ah, yes!
Can anyone say "European Vacay"?!
Kidding, Mulls. I know SWAG has its limits. But, we all love to use and abuse you...Lovingly, of course.
When I get scads of swag I’ll send it to all of ya’ll. I think I’ll be more in line for some shirts and such at WBIR, they don’t have the “footprint” Scripps has obviously and don’t need to give out as much cool stuff.
If the international thing comes through then I could be in line for some sweet SWAG and perhaps a lot of it.
Still, there is always s chance that I might try and swing something big again. Maybe I should do it just for old times sake.
If I can’t be lovingly used and abused by my friends who else is there to do so.
BTW my friend who is one of the Dir. of International Distribution goes to Cannes twice a year for a week on the company dime. She’s in charge of a good chunk of the Asian market and has been there several times. She’s been very encouraging to me personally and was disappointed I was leaving. I reassured her that when something comes up she should let me know.
That's so exciting! Congrats.
"A game a' horse shoes????"
Sorry, every time I see the title of this post that part of the song "Tennessee" goes through my head...
I hate to say this but I don’t think I know this song. I know a few TN songs and one mentioning a game of horseshoes just doesn’t trigger anything.
Arrested Development...
Yes, the beloved and short lived Afro-Hippy-Hop (a term I just coined) band that spawned Deon Farris. Who just happened to be the opening act when I took Jules to see Dave Matthews band in one of our first concerts when we returned to our sweet state of Tennessee after FU.
That first album was actually really good for its time. I’ve not given it a spin for some time but I would imagine it would be a bit dated.
To completely derail this topic I have to think that’s one of the reasons today’s Hip Hop has little to no staying power. Every month there is a new artist who has a moderately talented producer and “together” they get a few songs out there that sound just different enough to make them stand out. There is nothing backing those songs, no one is sweating out gig after gig and there is literally no substance behind the music. Modern Hip Hop is just perpetually building on the same fractured and recycled tunes that built the last generation, that’s only a biscuit older than the previous.
Thank you our beloved reviewer of all thing black culture.
You could actually take all the things you said and apply it to pretty much all popular music. Which is the nature of the beast, I suppose.
I heard Stacy's Mom on the radio today. It is a fun song, but when it was a hit the radio played it on the top 40 station we had at work over and over and over and over and over.....
No point there, but I know Mullins enjoys thinking about Rachel Hunter doing the Phoebe Cates move in the pool
Bastard! You promised you’d never tell anyone that… Should Rachel Hunter want to do almost anything to me she is more than welcome. "MILF" to quote Jamison.
I don’t know Brew, very few hip hop artists are paying their dues by having to work towards fame. Many rock bands still start out in someone’s garage. When you’re sampling work from everyone between James Brown, Funkadelic and Bruce Hornsby you’re standing on the shoulders of other people’s success. Lyrics, I would have to say are the easiest thing to create because the subject matter isn’t really all that compelling.
I don’t know if you guys are radio listeners but I am and I constantly scan the airwaves to hear what’s out there. Take a listen to Fergie’s new single (she’s the skank from the Black Eyed Peas) the chorus says something like every time my London Bridge is falling down, London, London, London Bridge. It’s utterly ridicules and the music isn’t that great but the chorus has a catchy rhythm and sound. Lyrics, don’t even listen to them it’s a waste of time. I still think traditional “rock” bands have a much better chance at a staying power over today’s urban sound.
Have you heard a girl called Jessica Simpson? Have you heard what they are calling punk these days? Have you listened to music on myspace?
I'm sure there is good hip hop out there. I wouldn't know what it is b/c it aint my thing. But there is plenty of generic, mindnumbing crap in all genres.
We've talked about this before.
The musical heritage being passed along in this country and world is so diluted with garbage, it's going to be nearly impossible to make kids understand what really good music is.
Just like the art discussion we had recently, people will throw something together and call it music when it's just crap.
Sad, my friends.
I wondered where you guys were! Hiding down here on an old post!
I heard a song lyric once as I was scanning the radio...
"Feel the rain on your face, no one else can feel it for you..."
Well, no... youre right...
Do your chain hang low?
Does your chain hang low…
Geez, I‘ve heard this song and cringed to head the kids singing the chorus.
Yes there is a lot of crap but there are a few gems out there like Los Lonely Boys, KT Tunstal, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Matisyahu (rocks!), Hubastank is alright too. Most of these guys are out there playing the clubs and theaters beyond the studio manufacturing machines.
Even Kelly Clarkson (American Idol champ) has a really good sounding second album. The first one sort of sucks but after it hit the second has been allowed to me much looser and hits much harder. J. Simpson is and has always been eye candy and positioned to play against Brittney “trailer trash” Spears. Christian A., though she’s playing to a smaller demographic while ranking high sales, is actually an exceptionally talented singer. I can’t stand her style but I won’t discount her ability. I’m not crazy about Dali’s paintings but I can’t discount work he created.
The good stuff is out there it’s just that you have to sift through the collective of one hitters and carbon copies to find them. Right off the Top 40 there are great bands that are doing Alt Country, Rock-a-billy, and Americana stuff that’s great.
John Mayer is about the only truly trained and talented musicians out there right now aside from the Weezer guys. I like J. Meyers stuff but it’s very bubble gum, then again his latest album is much more centered about his ability as a musician and guitar player and roots blues and has gotten some good reviews on that merit while being shunned to some extent for not staying true to his fan base. The guys puts out some technically good music and gets poked about because it’s not like his first two albums of radio friendly ditties.
I know this makes me sound heartless, but I hate to hear children sing in a group... I always have, yet, I love children...
the chain hang low song is terrible to me too...
you would let rachel hunter do almost anything to you, huh? well
i guess that would be okay as long as i get my turn with orlando bloom
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