| Topic Name: |
BAD DECISIONS |
| Message Name: |
Firing a Good Person No Big Deal |
| Date Posted: |
05/14/2005 |
| Message: |
Sure, every manager is going to make mistakes, firing some good ones, and hiring some bad ones. It's no big deal. The news operation is going to move along no matter what happens to the ex-employee and his/her family, and a skillful manager knows how to cover up his/her mistakes. That's where hiring and firing by consensus comes in. The News Director "consults" the EP or Managing Editor and the General Manager and the Personnel DIrector and perhaps the station attorney before making these decisions. He/she might also consult the station's Consultant. A bad hire can always be fired later--no problem there--and a good person who gets fired and finds a better job can always be explained away in terms of having "learned" from his or her "mistakes." In the News DIrector's mind, the important thing is that he/she be seen getting rid of some people as a reminder 1) of who's boss and 2) that everyone is expendable. The key ingredient here is fear. The successful News Director thinks he/she must instill fear in his/her employees in order to gain their respect. Do you know what a rush it is to have a whole team of people living in fear of you? It is a wonderfully satisfyfing sense of power and superiority, and once you experience it, there's no much you won't do to keep it, no matter what. Does that help clear things up some?
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