Liam Martin just walked away from his dream job: TV anchor, at WBZ-TV. Not only did he walk away, Martin decided to publish why he did it, with a Boston magazine essay.
In that essay, Martin details his own emotional struggles, not to mention the physical challenge of waking up at 2:15 a.m. for the morning shift. He previously worked an evening shift, but that meant barely seeing his two young children. The move to the morning shift meant he was often too tired to be truly present for them.
So he left the news business completely, joining former NBCUniversal newscaster Jackie Bruno as a partner in her PR and communications business, Newsmaker Marketing, along with third partner Rachel Robbins, formerly with Greenough Communications. (Bruno penned a similarly themed essay for Boston magazine a year ago.)
Martin decided to write it in part because men often don’t feel comfortable talking about mental health issues or the struggles of balancing family and work. The response, he said, has been overwhelming.
He still gets to tell stories, but in a different way. For example, he just spent a day in New Hampshire working on a documentary-style video about Cyclyx, a plastics recycling company.
Martin misses the rush of the newsroom. But he’s also glad to no longer be in it.
“I miss the people at WBZ-TV,” Martin said. “I do not miss having to be in the know all the time about everything.”
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column, which runs in print every Tuesday.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.