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David Steele recounts his last day at the Baltimore Sun

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by SockPuppet, May 6, 2009.

  1. Baltimoreguy

    Baltimoreguy Member

    So was firing people the last thing Tim Wheatley got to do as sports editor, before he got bumped to business and was replaced by the business editor?

    That announcement came the day after the second round of firings.
     
  2. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    Well that's just great. This story makes me want to vomit. They had a replacement column already lined up which was causing confusion in the press box and still nobody had the decency to tell David what was up. To not walk to the stadium and tell him in person is just incomprehensible. I'm glad he shared the story. When the rest of us get canned, at least we'll know we are not alone.
    It's just great his email already was shut down.
    My god. I can just picture the badass meetings with the asskissers discussing the best way to let go valuable employees.
    I can picture some kissass suggesting, "make sure you kill his email right away. He might send a nasty email criticizing us." This business is one fucked up mutha. My god.
    Thanks to David for writing that story for the rest of us still working (for now).
     
  3. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    It would have been denied. I'm sure they cancelled that before they nuked the man's e-mail.

    Some there might be pissed they didn't think of the Jumbotron. Might have been cheaper than phone minutes

    THE ORIOLES WOULD LIKE TO WISH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BESSIE MCBEAVER AND JODY JOCKSTRAP
    OH, AND SUN CREW? TURN IN YOUR SHIT, SECURITY IS ON ITS WAY TO THE PRESS BOX


    Sorry. A little gallows humor is all I got.
     
  4. Cousin Jeffrey

    Cousin Jeffrey Active Member

    It's times like these that makes me respect "Office Space" that much more. I was, I believe, just out of college the first time I watched it. Like Seinfeld's adult minutiae (dinner parties, different wedding-related gifts), I understand these jokes on a deeper level as I get older:

    Bob Slydell: Milton Waddams.
    Dom Portwood: Who's he?
    Bob Porter: You know, squirrely looking guy, mumbles a lot.
    Dom Portwood: Oh, yeah.
    Bob Slydell: Yeah, we can't actually find a record of him being a current employee here.
    Bob Porter: I looked into it more deeply and I found that apparently what happened is that he was laid off five years ago and no one ever told him about it; but through some kind of glitch in the payroll department, he still gets a paycheck.
    Bob Slydell: So we just went ahead and fixed the glitch.
    Bill Lumbergh: Great.
    Dom Portwood: So, uh, Milton has been let go?
    Bob Slydell: Well, just a second there, professor. We, uh, we fixed the *glitch*. So he won't be receiving a paycheck anymore, so it'll just work itself out naturally.
    Bob Porter: We always like to avoid confrontation, whenever possible. Problem is solved from your end.
    Peter Gibbons: You're gonna lay off Samir and Michael?
    Bob Slydell: Oh yeah, we're gonna bring in some entry-level graduates, farm some work out to Singapore, that's the usual deal.
    Bob Porter: Standard operating procedure.
    Peter Gibbons: Do they know this yet?
    Bob Slydell: No. No, of course not. We find it's always better to fire people on a Friday. Studies have statistically shown that there's less chance of an incident if you do it at the end of the week.
     
  5. BitterYoungMatador2

    BitterYoungMatador2 Well-Known Member

    Similar thing happened to me at a MediaNews owned paper April 3. Got the call from my managing editor at 1 p.m., telling me to be in by 2 p.m. for a meeting. A 2 p.m. meeting on a Friday? Yeah, I was uneasy. When I looked around at 2 p.m. I was the only one going in a meeting. ME was very apologetic and was actually having a hard time making eye contact. Despite being a complete dick at times, I thanked her for hiring me four years ago and said I enjoyed my time at the paper and in the town; that I'd made some wonderful friends and had fun (and none of it was bullshit).

    After that they let me take as long as I need to grab my belongings and split, no sheriff's escort. Of course, the last thing you wanna' do in that situation is linger. Too many people to call. Too many e-mails to send out ("Hey, just wanted to let you know that, as of today, I no longer...") So I grabbed the things I KNEW I didnt want left behind...including my 2008 award (crossthread) and split.

    My one regret is that they hadn't told the rest of the staff what was going on. They planned on doing that after Elvis had left the building. So, I just packed up and split and never really had the chance to say goodbye, which sucks because I really did have a blast working with most of them. Towards the end I was growing to dislike the job and the stress, but the people I worked with were really what kept me going.

    But as far as handling laying me off, I have no complaints about it was handled. I think we both went out with an element of class.
     
  6. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Wait, they just swapped out the business editor and the sports editor? For what good purpose?
     
  7. Don Drysdale

    Don Drysdale New Member

    I'm with Joe Williams. What is the scoop with Wheatley and whoever took his place?
     
  8. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    To me, the button of the story was the photographer on the phone processing her work while being told over the phone by her boss she was getting laid off. That really says it all. The industry has lost its humanity. There used to be a "code" of how newspaper people treated each other, in good times and especially bad. My advice to anyone working in the biz these days is to spend an hour or two of your own time this weekend at the office downloading or emailing yourself everything in your computer you would like to have once you leave, phone numbers, notes, emails, story ideas. Wouldn't be surprised if the procedure it to wait until the IT guys have shut someone down before a call goes out to a layoff victim.
     
  9. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Got to lock up the wine and the altar boys before defrocking the clergy!

    Heard of some colleagues recently who, when told that a 5% pay cut would be one way to avoid laying off five people in the newsroom, reacted by saying, "Screw that! Lay off five losers." In other words, as long as it's not me, who cares if somebody can't pay the mortgage, feed the kids and so on? But oh yeah, we'll be the ones to comfort the afflicted... Funny thing is, I don't even blame the worker bees -- they've been pushed and battered into that level of harshness.
     
  10. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    I am going to do that. I did that once, but need to update and make sure I get all my stuff, because our place will be just as classless as the Sun was.
     
  11. RayKinsella

    RayKinsella Member

    When I was let go, it was also over the phone. I was on the schedule to work, but had arranged a day off since I worked an unscheduled day earlier in the week. When the upper brass found out I wasn't coming in, that is when they called.

    When I offered to come into the office, seeing as I live less than 2 miles away, they declined saying it would be easier to do it this way.

    I don't remember anything else after that. Oh, except HR telling me my key card didn't work anymore and I would have to have someone pick up my stuff for me. I was not allowed near the building (however, the dozens of other people laid off were).
     
  12. exmediahack

    exmediahack Well-Known Member

    I was fired from a secondary media job (sports talk radio) a few years ago...

    In the final minutes of our Friday, 3-hour show, we're just finishing up a controversial interview with a local coach on the verge of being fired. I'm stoked about the show and ready for Monday.

    We are in the final commercial break and I hear over the headphones, the last spot before coming back for the last 3 minutes:

    "YOU'RE LISTENING TO THE NEW 710!"

    Uh-oh, I think. "We're not the Sports Spot 710"

    I go about the last two minutes, trying not to project any concern.

    Not more than 30 seconds goes by and the program director walks in.

    "Uh, sorry, guys..."

    The only thing I hated thinking about was how many people knew about my impending firing that day and still made small talk with me in the halls.

    Smooth jazz. We were taken out by a format change...to smooth jazz. :)

    However, they changed back to sports five months later before changing back to smooth jazz the NEXT April.

    Turns out, the PD later told me over a beer (after he, too, was fired) that they spent those two years switching formats each April so they wouldn't have to pay for a sports staff -- but they wanted to keep the money from doing PBP of the local high schools and colleges...
     
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