Zhou Yuqin has been in the industry for 30 years, but she was shocked to hear that she was fired. (Photo taken from Zhou Yuqin’s Facebook)
[Reporter Lin Nangu/Taipei Report] Senior Zhongtian TV anchor and host Zhou Yuqin has been in the industry for 30 years. It was shockingly reported that he was fired. Her celebrity husband Lai Yueqian also quit Zhongtian Announcement at the same time. Former anchor Liu Xintong revealed that in addition to Zhou Yuqin, a senior who took good care of her in the past was also on the laid off list. Frankly, they have one thing in common: "Senior, rich experience, and relatively high salary."
Liu Xintong said that in the past, everyone always thought that if you stayed in a company long enough and accumulated enough experience, your position would become more and more stable. "But now it seems that seniority sometimes not only represents experience, but also may be another relatively high number in the company's cost calculation table. It is very realistic, but it is what is happening now."
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As for the impact of the AI wave on the media industry, Liu Xintong feels that this is probably just the beginning, and the media industry will definitely not be the only one to be changed. She also looked back and asked herself: "If one day I am the one sitting in the conference room and receiving the notice, what else can I do?"
Former anchor Liu Xintong is now the director of Dongsen TV’s digital media division. (Photo taken from Liu Xintong’s Facebook)
Regardless of whether she will go the same way as Zhou Yuqin, Liu Xintong admitted that all she can do now is four words: "Stay open." When encountering a new tool, don't say it is unsuitable or unreliable before you understand it, or "We didn't do this before." "When smart phones first appeared, not everyone could use them, but now, everyone has a mobile phone in their hand, and no one will insist on continuing to use a public phone just because they were not familiar with it back then."
Liu Xintong said that viewers have moved from television to mobile phones, and their viewing habits have changed. Of course, the way of news production cannot stay in the same place forever. However, she does not feel pessimistic, but is a little excited, "Because as long as the industry starts to change, new opportunities will definitely appear."
Former anchor Liu Xintong (formerly known as Liu Ruyi), has worked for Sanli News Channel, Times News Channel and Dongsen News Channel. She has served as a text reporter for the social line, thematic group, and the securities and financial group. She is currently the director of the digital media division of Dongsen TV.
Full text of Liu Xintong’s Facebook page:
I just came back from vacation a while ago, and on the second day of work, I was informed of layoffs. This incident happened to a senior who used to take good care of me.
The names of my former colleagues also appeared on the layoff list of another media company.
They have one thing in common: they are senior, experienced and have relatively high salaries.
In the past, we always felt that if we stayed in a company long enough and accumulated enough experience, our position would become more and more stable.
But now it seems that seniority sometimes not only represents experience, but also may be another relatively high number in the company's cost calculation table.
It's very realistic, but it's what's happening now.
I think this is just the beginning of the impact of the AI wave on the media industry. Moreover, the media industry is definitely not the only one being changed.
I also looked back and asked myself:
If one day I was the one sitting in the conference room receiving the notification, what else could I do?
In the past, when talking about this issue, some people may think that it is unreasonable to worry; but now, this is no longer an overthinking, but something that every working person should start to prepare for a rainy day.
In our generation, no one has truly experienced the AI generation.
Where will AI eventually take the world? What jobs will disappear? Which positions will be redefined? To be honest, no one can give a definite answer.
But there's at least one thing we can do right now: stay open.
When encountering a new tool, don’t just say it’s unsuitable, unreliable, or “we haven’t done it this way before” before you understand it.
When smartphones first appeared, not everyone could use them. But now, everyone has a mobile phone in their hand, and no one will insist on using public phones just because they were not familiar with it back then.
A few days ago, I listened to a speech on AI and media. The speaker was Dr. Garcia, a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.
He mentioned that journalists in the AI generation no longer face a single platform.
In the past, those who worked on television focused on making TV, those who wrote news were responsible for writing articles, and those who edited videos processed images; but now, a piece of news may appear on TV, websites, YouTube, Facebook, IG, and mobile phones at the same time.
When the same topic reaches different platforms, it is necessary to rethink its length, picture, narrative method, and even why the audience is willing to stop and watch.
This is not just converged media, but an all-media era.
Audiences have moved from television to mobile phones, and their viewing habits have changed. Of course, news production methods cannot remain the same forever.
After hearing this, I didn't feel pessimistic, but rather excited.
Because as long as the industry begins to change, new opportunities will inevitably appear.
But where is that opportunity? To be honest, the media members sitting at the scene that day may not have found a clear path yet.
But I feel that it is not terrible to find the way. The scary thing is that because the path I took before was very familiar, I decided that I could only take it this way in the future.
Although I am talking about the media industry, this logic applies to all industries.
Accountants may no longer just organize numbers, but must know how to interpret anomalies in AI output; marketing must not only write copywriting, but also know how to integrate content, data, and tools; teachers must not only transfer knowledge, but also teach students to judge information; supervisors must not only rely on past experience to make decisions, but must redesign how people and tools work together.
The changes brought about by AI are not just about “doing work faster.” Companies may rethink: What things must be done by humans? How many people do a department need? What kind of ability is worthy of being kept?
This is why senior people with high salaries feel the pressure first.
It’s not that experience has no value, but that experience that is truly valuable in the future can’t just prove “I did a good job before”, but it also needs to be able to answer: “After the environment has changed, how can I do it differently?”
Therefore, what I remind myself now is not to pursue every AI tool desperately, nor to worry about whether I will be replaced every day. But don't stop learning, and don't mistake your current position for an eternal guarantee.
What can truly protect a person is not how senior he or she is or how high his salary is, but rather whether he is willing to put down his dignity and learn it again when what he is good at fails.
We don’t know where AI will take the world. But at least, as the new world slowly emerges, don't allow yourself to stand still explaining why the old world is better.
