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Andrea McCarren: Not "Angry or Bitter," Just "Sad for Our Industry."

Andrea McCarren

Former WJLA/DC reporter Andrea McCarren says her recent layoff really sunk in at the gym, the day after she was called at home by station managers and told not to come in to work:  "The morning after I was fired, I went to the gym. The moment I walked through the door, I spotted some employees from a local radio station doing a promotion. "Hey, it's Andrea McCarren!" one of them yelled. "From Channel 7!" My heart sank. I offered a weak, "Hey, how ya doin'?" and headed to the exercise machines. I hadn't anticipated how it would feel, after so many years, not to be "from Channel 7" anymore."

Writing in the Sunday Washington Post, McCarren says she has no grudges;  in fact, she wrote her bosses thank you notes the day after her layoff, thanking them for the chance to cover stories around the world and have a "front seat to history."  And she says she understands the economic rationale for the cutbacks costing so many local newsers their jobs:  "I've covered plenty of stories about our faltering economy. So the call I received that Friday morning wasn't completely out of the blue. I know that my employers held on as long as they possibly could. I'm not angry or bitter. Mostly I'm sad for our industry and our viewers."

Read McCarren's entire story here.
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