How to Survive a Career in the Local Television and Video Production Industry

In this piece, I will examine the local television, video and media market, and how you can start your career locally.

I am a native of Salinas, a relatively small city in California, with a current population of about 150,000 people. Salinas is not near any media center. San Francisco is about a hundred miles to the north, and Los Angeles is almost four hundred miles to the south. Still there are media employment opportunities in Salinas if you know where to look, and if you approach it with an open mind. I reside in New Mexico now (yes, in the USA) and chose to relocate close to Albuquerque. One reason is that Albuquerque media serves the entire state. There are sister stations to the south, but this is New Mexico's center of the media industry. Every state in this nation has several affiliate television stations. I am sure there is one near you. You do not have to move to Los Angeles to have a career in this business. You can start your career locally. It all depends on how you approach it, and determining the difference between aspiration and expectation. In other words, what do you ultimately want out of it?