Working with a regional design center

I've walked away from cash before. My integrity is not for sale.

The other problem I would have is keeping track of all the lies that had been told.

 

In all my years in newspapers, I probably can count on one hand the number of "higher-ups" who've simply walked away because they've had misgivings about what they're doing. Unless they've received an equally lucrative offer elsewhere, of course. In fact, many worked well into their 60s because their standards of living grew to meet or exceed their high pay and they couldn't afford early retirement without major belt-tightening.

In the past 10 years, however, an awful lot (although probably not enough) of these "higher-ups" have been laid off. Before that, if a paper wanted a top executive gone, that's when you'd receive the newsroom memo about Joe Manager leaving to "spend more time with his family" or "pursue other opportunities."

 

Never experienced a pubbie being laid off... seen some who couldn't keep the revenue up to expectations (a very tough job)... and then saved by another pubby higher up on the pubbie pole by not getting canned but moved to a less attractive position within a company. But that's "the old boy" networking.

The problem, in part, is those old guys with fat paychecks enjoying the fat life/living beyond means... becomes their only objective - protect YOA (your own....). Anything done solely for the money goes in one of two categories - SELL OUT or H-O-E.

When u just show up, wear tailor-made suits, crunch numbers and generally exist with a purpose of covering that rump, time to get out of the way.

 

That's something many people on here just are not understanding.

In my past two shops I've seen the editors of each "retire". At my latest the ME simply moved into the position, with the ME position going unfilled. At my previous stop the ME "retired" around 2008, and that job went unfilled for years. At Tribune, they combined many of the editor/publisher jobs, thereby cutting some high-priced folks.

 

I have to say, to Benny and everyone else, that my copy/design center is top-notch. Everyone in that room has at least 20 years of newsroom experience, and we spend a lot of time cleaning up what the site editors give us. Sometimes our designers book their entire sections because they're young and can't always figure out how everything fits. And our copy editors write better heds and cuts than the site editors give us, and they do it every night.

My design hub might be the only good one of the bunch in the United States, so I have to clarify that point. We make our site papers better, and they win statewide content and design awards in part because of us. Sometimes they even remember to thank us for that. But if your design hub sucks, and most of them probably do, it's probably the opposite of my experience.

Our editors on the copy/design side can stand with anyone. I know it's very different at the lesser hubs.

One of our papers keeps winning those Best in State awards,
and they give us ... you know ... free pizza once a year for that.

 

Just thought I would throw this out there as a point of reference:

In 2008, we had 22 designers employed by one newspaper.

At my current place, tonight we had 15 designers working on 11 newspapers.

 

I'd be curious to hear from anyone in the know about the Dallas Morning News' experiences so far with GateHouse's hub now that the work has been outsourced.

On the other hand, perhaps some things are better left unsaid.

 

Thank you. I think if anyone objectively read my posts they would see I have a keen insight into the future of news organizations.

 

Very glad to hear that there is a center like that, Rip. And don't doubt it for one minute, as when you mention each of your crew has at least 20 years of experience.. the bet here is there doesn't have to be a lot of talking or questions and old school folks tend to jump into the fray -- because they have a common standard, one SET by them -- of what is going to be acceptable. End result: Probably a great product.

Another factor no one has mentioned is the volume of papers coming out of one building versus the number of people designing them. In my experience, I've seen a designer -- many times a pretty good one -- get overwhelmed because instead of having, say, a 4-page section and a secton of anywhere from 6-8 pages on a given night... gets scheduled with three 4-page sections before he or she can even think about the bigger section. That said, the bigger section does not reach the potential is should.

Where the rub is: The smaller sections should not have to be throwaways so the bigger section can shine. Also, the bigger section should not be turned to s--- so the smaller ones can get out the door.

Solution: Hire more (edit center) people. Give people a chance to use their talent. Nothing I have appreciated more than having a general idea and being able to go to a designer who cares and just ask to take the theory or concept and put your magic on it. The responses I generally see are they get excited, they like to work together on that... but ed center bosses just crack the whip and ask for average unless it is for an editor who has never fussed at them. If you fuss about 8 wrong headlines in 7 days, all written on national copy by ed center people, you are zeroed out... because you set a newsroom standard. How dare ya.

Sounds like you know how to treat (and support) and back people up, Rip. That goes a long, long, long way in any department.

 

Unless you are at one of a tiny number of prestige papers (that number might be as few as four in the U.S.), the ownership and upper management is in what business professors euphemistically call harvest mode. They don't think it is worth it to invest in the product, so they are trying to soak up all the cash they can while "managing the decline." And once a given paper has laid its last golden egg, it will be taken out back and shot.

 

When the recession hit in 2008 or so, I figured newspapers with new printing plants or other capital investments would be "safer" because the owner(s) would want to make their investment pay off.

Unfortunately, there comes a point where corporate and even family-owned papers find they lose less money by having the press sit idle than they do running it. We're getting there with these three or four-times-a-week print editions.

 

In a nutshell, that's all that matters in the chains and design hubs: Just crank out the work.
Average, obedient workers fit the system. High design and star designers get in the way of that.