E&P story on editors 'struggling' with furloughs

Hell, they ought to be doing that in the weeks when they're getting paid. It would be more productive than a lot of ways they spend their time, such as meetings, figuring out which ink-stained wretches should "star" in the new Web videocasts and searching for their next cushy gigs on TheLadders.com.

I'd have a wee more respect for a lot of the bosses if they actually got their asses out of the offices and glass suites and spent some days working as their troops worked. I'd rather they come armed with anecdotal evidence, flawed as it might be, in place of "focus group" findings and readership surveys. Maybe carry your photographer's equipment to his next shoot, and converse in the drive time.

 

Eh. I read it online for free.

 

You go, girl!

 

Yeah, um, if you're going to furlough me ... and refuse to pay me for a week ... I'll be damned if I spend that week doing anything that could possibly be construed as work.

 

I, too, was captivated by this story, which was on par with "homer" sports journalism.

How about writing about the journalists that can barely make ends meet and now see their pay cut even more? How about writing about the journalists that must fit a 40-plus hour-work week into a 32-hour time frame? How about asking readers in a community with a furloughing newspaper what changes they've noticed in the product during this stretch? And whether they really care?

What a waste of what could have been an interesting angle.

 

Life is hell when you can't check your BlackBerry, you have to cut your time on the driving range from three hours to two hours a day, and you can't afford new sails for the yacht.

 

The fact that yacht is singular is heartbreaking enough.

 

"Now Lars can't buy the shark for his gold-plated shark tank. He needs to wait another month."

 

Only if they happen to work in Hawaii.

If, on the other hand, they happen to work in Rochester, losing a week's pay isn't exactly incentive to book the next flight to Honolulu just to stick it to the man.

 

What about a story about alternative careers one can explore with a journalism degree?

 

curious what different companies allow people to do work-wise during a furlough

can you write for AP? can you string for another paper somewhere?

i'm sure they'd be reasonable and understanding during such a challenging time for all of us

 

I know some people who already have done their furlough that timed it to happen during the same week as a high school state championship was going on. They spent the week at the event, which they normally cover for their paper, freelancing for other papers around the state.