I had put up some sort of post about this last week, then deleted it, in part realizing I had named my newspaper by name and city ... and not sure if the Google Alerts my boss has set up picks up blogs.
But, after an event earlier this week, I'm rewriting and adding some stuff?
First, the latest lament here? (See my "fifth worst career" series for more from the past.)
On at least one page a week in at least one of the three newspapers in our family-owned group, we have a non-modular page. It can be a minor violation, such as a story stripped across the top being uneven at the bottom, with two columns going deeper than the other four.
But, it's usually worse. A story on top of another doglegs a column around that.
So, two weeks ago, I said what the hell, and laid out a page for our production people that doglegged the bottom of one story (side by side with another, but a photo to prevent bumping heads) below the bottom of the other.
My boss' reaction? "That's high school. I'll never allow that."
Well, sir, at every previous paper I worked at, we wouldn't allow what you regularly do, and which I sometimes do because we don't have fucking time. That, too, would be called the same thing.
Anyway, a further trigger this week leads to this blog post.
First, we're told that staff is tight and we simply have to suck it up. Well, staff at the competing paper here in the Highland Lakes area of the Hill Country isn't quite so tight, though one person was let go there a while back.
That's the Marble Falls Highlander, and between a mix of stress and depression, I'm trying to move on.
Related to that, a fairly-to-very advertorial weekly entertainment section could be eliminated; that would let us all relax, and you could then not print the two weeklies in the three-paper group on the same day. (And, if the entertainment section's ad's rates are actually cheaper ... )
Finally, about being professional? Yes, I know you want me to "move on."
Bu, publicly advertising my job well over a month ago? That's not totally professional.
And, apparently doing so just to "send a message" or something, since as far as I know, nobody has actually been hired yet? Well, friends of mine say they've never heard such a thing.
Related to that, any company that is too cheap to take the unemployment ding (should a hypothetical such person qualify for benefits) probably has other problems anyway.
Oh, I've made errors here. The unforced ones? I've admitted several of them, as well as the general fact of them, to my boss.
The "unforced" ones, from the time rush here (and that part is far from being just about me), or now, the anxiety of a sword of Damocles over my head? Not to mention the yeller boss and the bellower owner. Different story.
Oh, and that weekly entertainment/lifestyles tab? Supposedly pitched to visitors. But ...
The cover story one issue last fall, before I got here, was about the paper group's new iPhone app. Really.
Other ideas, such as generic Easter stuff ... also not pitched to visitors. The whole tab is ... schizophrenic.
And certainly, visitors from the nearest metro area aren't going to read out here about day-tripping ideas for in the second-nearest major metro area.
The problem is, to paraphrase a friend, is that this place isn't Fredericksburg, but some people want to believe it is.
And, why would I say any of this out loud?
It would do zero good, or less than that.
Beyond the stress-induced reactions, I think I had shellshock that two daily newspaper veterans still believed old-time newsroom personnel "management" worked well, first of all. Second, and even more, I think I was stunned that it didn't totally look like the newspaper group had that type of experience level in its oversight.
A few years back, already, I saw that "community" newspapers would probably survive the continuing ad revenue (and general) implosion than many dailies. However, I see now that that's not totally true, either, first of all. And, second of all, if more community newspapers cut that tight to the bone to "survive" (or still semi-thrive in terms of old, outdated profit margin ideas) well, eventually, more and more would-be J-school grads may wise up.
And, others who know have nodded when I've used the word "crazymaking," too. I could use others.
===
Add in yelling and bellowing in the office ... and other things ... two "old editorial hands" from a seven-day daily who think this paper can be like that ...
No comments:
Post a Comment