KRTV has two farewells to announce - Tommy Lynch and Owen Skornik-Hayes.
After two years reporting for KRTV, Tommy has taken a job as reporter for a TV station in Kansas. Watch the video:
And after three years reporting and serving as weekend anchor, Owen has taken a job as a reporter in Colorado - watch the video:
We wish both of them the very best, and appreciate their hard work and upbeat attitude during their time in Montana. Thank you, Tommy and Owen!
While their departures are bittersweet, we are happy to introduce our two newest reporters - Justin Robicheaux and Quentin Shores!
Occasionally, people ask why reporters often leave after just a couple of years in our community.
The answer is that Great Falls is considered a "small" TV market, based on the population in our viewing area. The same is true of other Montana markets - Billings, Missoula/Kalispell, Bozeman/Butte, and Helena.
To put it in perspective: there are 210 TV markets across the nation - the largest markets (with the most people) are New York City (#1), Los Angeles (#2), and Chicago (#3). Scrolling down the list, you will find Seattle at #12, Denver at #16, Salt Lake City at #29, Spokane at #67, Boise at #98, and so on, in decreasing order of population.
Scroll down far enough, and you will come to Missoula/Kalispell at #162; Billings at #166; Bozeman/Butte at #186, and Great Falls at #191, followed by Helena at #205.
The large TV markets prefer to hire reporters with plenty of experience - and where do reporters get that experience? In smaller markets - like Great Falls (and other Montana communities).
The small markets often hire recent college graduates (broadcast journalism, communications, etc), who are eager to begin putting to use what they have learned and broaden their skills and experience. After spending two or three years in a small market, they often begin searching for job opportunities and new challenges in larger markets.
So when you see a KRTV reporter moving on to a new market, it’s because they have learned from their tenure in Great Falls and Montana, and are now ready and willing to tackle new challenges in larger communities.
