Contracts that limit career advancement are becoming a trend in the broadcast news industry, said two Chicago-area news anchors Monday.

News anchors Derrick Blakley, Medill ’75, and Diann Burns from WBBM-TV (Ch. 2) news in Chicago spoke to a group of 90 students, professors and area residents in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum as part of Medill’s Crain Lecture Series.

Burns and Blakley pointed out the growing trend of broadcast journalists required to sign contracts, even in smaller markets and production positions.

They warned students interested in broadcast journalism against hastily signing contracts and instead urged them to be aggressive in negotiations.

“You don’t want to be locked in something and when your career takes off, you can’t take off with it,” Burns said.

Blakley said contracts are intended to protect the station, rather than the journalists.

He said television stations try to have as much leverage as possible and protect their “talent” by restricting career mobility.

Blakely also said aspiring journalists should always look ahead and anticipate change.

“It’s important to set the tone (of) what happens down the road,” Blakely said. “Change is no more than an opportunity to grow.”

Both Burns and Blakley are veterans of the broadcasting industry.

Burns worked for WLS-TV (Ch. 7) news in Chicago for 18 years and was the first black woman to serve as a lead anchor for a 10 p.m. news broadcast in the city.

Blakley, a three-time Emmy winner, spent 15 years at WMAQ-TV (Ch. 5) news in Chicago as a weekend morning and evening news anchor.

Discussing the importance of diversity in the newsroom, Blakley said the newsroom in the 1980s was largely dominated by white males and often was hostile toward minorities and women.

Burns said women’s status in the newsroom has greatly improved since the ’80s.

Positions such as newscast producers and directors now mostly are held by women, she said.

“Women put their foot down,” she said. “They had to push their way through the door, stomping and kicking their way into the newsroom.”

The panel also addressed broader developments in broadcast journalism in an era that has seen the advent of cable news networks, the Internet and 24-hour news radio.

Burns welcomed these trends for producing more jobs for aspiring journalists.

Blakley, however, stressed the importance of caution, because of ethical considerations.

Alan Appelbaum, 62, of Wilmette said attending the lecture opened his eyes to aspects of television news that he had never before considered.

“It was interesting to find out about the different aspects of broadcasting, especially about contracts,” he said.

“I got to see that anchors are more than people who read scripts,” he said. “They are participants doing the legwork for what goes on the news,” he said.