I Got A Job

Drum roll please... To answer the question everyone is asking me...

I accepted a job with TMZ.  No, I'm not moving to LA.  I'm going to work out of their New York City office... which is right in Times Square (translation: really easy commute).  I love the opportunity because it's totally different than anything I've ever done but I still get to use the skills I've developed over the past 10 years.  For the first time in my career, I'm not going to end my day in a control room making live TV happen.  And I'm totally okay with that.  It was time for a change.

So what exactly will I be doing?  It sounds like I'll be part producer, part assignment editor, part writer, part investigative reporter and part a lot of other stuff too.  Plus, all the useless pop culture knowledge in my head suddenly isn't so useless.  It is going to be a very demanding job, but I think it could also be a lot of fun.

Another thing that made TMZ attractive is that the web site is just as big a deal as the TV show. This isn't a TV station that also has a web site.  It's a package deal.  All my TV friends know that the web has changed our business forever... so I'm trying to change with it.  

This job... and the back-and-forth leading up to me actually accepting the position last night... is the reason I stopped blogging. This has been going on for a few weeks and I didn't want to jinx anything...  kind of like not talking to a pitcher during a no-hitter.

I've had some spectacular posts about unemployment in my head that I just couldn't write. The best one... my first interview with TMZ was canceled last minute... because Chris Brown was arrested. I actually got the phone call the night before while I was in Staples buying more resume paper so I could print out extra copies. At that point, it wasn't clear when we'd be able to reschedule.  I remember standing in the checkout line trying to decide if I should laugh or cry... and if I should even bother buying the paper.  You can't make that stuff up.

Anyway... thank you all for your kind wishes... it really means a lot.

Oh... one other question I keep getting asked... am I going to be on the show?  I highly doubt it since it's taped in LA... and that's not why I took the job.  But if by chance it does happen... trust me...  you're gonna hear about it...

It's Been A Rough Week

"Everything'll even out, see, I have two friends, you were up, he was down. Now he's up, you're down. You see how it all evens out for me?"

Seinfeld fans will recognize that line.  It's from one of my favorite episodes ever... called "The Opposite."  You remember that one...  where George orders chicken salad on rye instead of his typical tuna on toast... and he tells a girl he's unemployed and lives with his parents.  Everything starts working out for him.  At the same time... suddenly Elaine can't buy a break.

Well... I've seen a bit of the up and down theory playing out among my friends recently.  Until now.

This week was rough.  I have a bunch of friends who are down... and not many who are up.  It's the end of the first quarter... and I know waaaaaaaaay too many people who just lost their jobs.  I know a bunch more who are afraid they're next in line to get the ax.  I'm won't get into details... but trust me... some of the stories are heartbreaking... others are just ridiculous.

I tell all my friends who are in this boat... if you need to vent... if you need to unload... I'm here.  God knows I did just that to plenty of my friends during my last days at NBC and during my first days of unemployment. After 4 months, I think I've gotten to be pretty good at understanding this whole not having a job thing.  I understand exactly where the newly-pink slipped are coming from.

The best advice I can give them is to never look in the rear view mirror. Everything happens for a reason.  Keep your feet moving, stay positive and you will make something good happen.  It might-- and probably will-- take time... but down the road there's a pretty good chance you'll look back at this difficult experience and eventually think you're better off for it.

So back to the Seinfeld episode... If you subscribe to Jerry's theory... then there's gotta be some good news on the horizon... because I can't have this many friends DOWN at the same time.  It just can't happen.  I'm due to have a lot of friends be UP again... the sooner the better.  Life has a funny way of balancing itself out over the long run.  Just be patient.