Am I Next?

^^^
Precisely. That's what makes it difficult to cope with.

 

No, unless you're a columnist.

They target salaries and positions, not people. At my most recent job they've been trying to get rid of the same person for two years and he's still there because he has the right position and his salary isn't high enough to make him a target.

 

More and more I wish I had done something else.

But who had the foresight to know that technology and the economy would turn out like it has?

 

Oh, it'll be all right. The way the government is bailing out big business, I'm sure they'll throw billions into journalism and save us all. :

Wait, journalists are government watchdogs. No interest there.

Christ, I give up.

 

We know the answer to this.
Of course not.
This is where all ME corporate fucks (you know who you sellouts are) should be unable to look themselves in the mirror. The best of the best are the ones getting laid off. You people making these decisions should be ashamed of yourselves.

 

+1

 

My shop (non-union) has laid off two people in editorial this year: a photographer who had been with the paper for about a month and a graphic designer who had been with the paper 24 years. At least in our neck of the woods, it seems seniority plays no part in deciding who goes.

I'm just thankful for every day I show up and my key card still works.

 

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

This prayer has helped me through rough times like this and it may help others.

 

If you're a good reporter who knows how to get news, you should be fairly safe, especially if you've got other writers on your staff who are lazy and whose idea of "news" is to rewrite a press release (unless you make significantly more money than those lazy writers).
It might mean you're not on a national beat anymore, but I would think talent still counts for something.

 

No offense, dude, but I'm not sure you've been paying attention. Re-check some of the names that have been laid off lately -- hell, in the state of Florida alone -- and tell us again that "talent still counts for something."

 

Depends upon the place, I suppose, but mostly I have to agree with my former (occasional) press box neighbor Wingman.

 

Wingman, you are right. Many outstanding people are being shown the door. These are not the best of times, no matter where you sit, in newspapers.