We had a weekend anchor on our local station that was like old faithful. I watched her for over eighteen years and it was very rare for her to miss a broadcast. She also did a few weekday assignment segments for the daily news. I’m sure she took vacation days but it probably was on the weekdays. Her absence wasn’t noticed. She finally moved on to a better job (spokeswoman for a local state agency).
New lady started in early January. She’s missed two or three weekend broadcasts already. Definitely not my problem but it’s kind of nice settling into a familiar face & voice for the evening news. I typically watch every night after work and weekends.
Is this unusual? Isn’t the weekend anchor, uh supposed to work weekends? It’s why they got hired in the first place. Seems like the weekday assignment work is less important. The station has at least five other assignment reporters that contribute stories for the evening broadcast.
If the anchor’s boss doesn’t care then that’s what ultimately matters.
It’s kind of rare for employees where I work to take any vacation time for at least the first six or seven months. It takes that long to build up a decent balance. Vacation is accrued based on seniority. New hires earn the lowest hours per month. I recall not taking any vacation time my first year and half. I wanted to bank enough Vacation hours in case I got sick and exhausted my sick time.
My workplace gives generous vacation and allows employees to draw from their year’s allotment after 60 days on the job. The days don’t roll over from year to year, so new hires definitely take them.
If she had pre-existing plans, she may have negotiated them as a part of her compensation package.
Is she a new hire or someone who has moved within the company? She could’ve spent several years behind the scenes and might have significant seniority.
I thought the typical progression for newspeople was:
Remotes (on the scene, man on the street, etc)
Weekend anchor
Daytime anchor (mornings, afternoons)
Nighttime anchor
and from there you move market to (bigger) market. It’s not unusual to see someone stuck at any one of the levels for years, I’ve noticed (WGN has a senior citizen still doing remotes).
As for the OP - I’m surprised you had the same weekend anchor so long. Here it seems to rotate among the remotes, basically giving young reporters a shot to see how they handle the desk. I remember watching a 20-something blonde spending 30 minutes looking like a deer in headlights, never to be seen again.
Reporters and anchors at local news outfits generally work under personal contracts. In that way their compensation, benefits, vacation time, and job security are not the same as most other jobs at a TV station.
It could be that this anchor’s contract stipulated that she gets a greater-than-normal amount of vacation. Or perhaps more likely, that she only had to work (for example) three of the first six weekends.
I worked in advertising, and I just so happened to have a big family vacation coming up when I got a job offer. Now, this place was very strict on vacation time (5 days/year until you’ve worked 5 years, then you get 10). BUT, in the negotiation phase, they were willing to bend over backwards: “Oh, suuuure you can have two weeks off next month. And would you like an ergonometric chair?”
SO maybe your Miss Huntley-Brinkley negotiated to sweet deal vis-a-vis taking off a bunch in her first months on the job
Probably shows.