Endangered species list: Newspaper staff photographer

We've been without a full-time staff photographer in my bureau office since I've been there, which is going on four years. Occasionally, our parent company will loan us a staff photog, but that's usually only once every three weeks or so.

So we're left with stringers, and it's a crapshoot as to their availability. Likely as not, they'll say "sorry, can't shoot your event. I'm shooting a wedding that weekend" or even "I've got a date that night."

I can handle a camera OK, to shoot feature art or a speech or whatever, but I'm no good on sports action. Things come out blurry or framed poorly.

The other problem with shooting an event is that the bosses want photo galleries and video with everything, which adds another hour-to-90 minutes to a shift. Getting home at midnight after covering a 7 p.m. game is NOT what I signed up for.

 

But this is not what Starman said he did. Rather, he made sure he took "the dullest dumbshit staged head shot slabs of shit I could come up with." In other words, he went out of his way to do shoddy work.

Not doing a good job because because you don't have the required expertise or you have too much to do in too short a time is one thing. Screwing up on purpose is quite another.

 

You're using an emotional rationale to a practical issue. Starman gets paid to put out a certain level of effort. I'm assuming he did as a reporter. Now they want him to do more. Want him to put out a good effort for additional work? Pay him.

 

NFL reporter calls in to say he just sent in a short story on some personnel news. Slot asks page designer if he can pick up a story to copy edit because all the regular copy editors are slammed.

Assuming page designer does have the time to do this, what should his response be?

1) "Sure."
2) Run spell-check, write "team signs player" as the headline and send it through.
3) "Fuck you."
4) "Pay me."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plateroom calls to say they never received the last features page.

Features department is gone for the day. Slot asks you, a sports designer, to typeset the page for them.

What should sports designer's response be?

1) "Sure."
2) Purposely typeset the color page as black and white.
3) "Fuck you."
4) "Pay me."

 

Bit of a difference between a one-time thing and having it become a permanent thing, don't you think?

 

What I described happens all the time.

Things happen. Staffs are sometimes short. Things sometimes fall through the cracks. "A" needs to help "B" do his job today, and "B" may need to do something for "A" two days later. Four days later. "C" may need extra help from "A" on something.

You work as a team to get out the best product you can.

THAT is what you are getting paid for.

 

Which is fine, until ownership lays off "B" and tells "A" that he has to do all of "B's" duties every day, and should be working smarter, not harder and not even think of asking for overtime.

Starman did exactly what they wanted. He worked smarter, not harder.

 

He's following ownership's lead. Why should he care more about the product than the owners?

 

Because you want to show the owners you are above the stuff they are pulling.

If you don't submit your best work because of time and staff constraints, you can blame the owner all you want, especially if he shrugs his shoulders at it when you point it out.

If you don't submit your best work because that was your plan all along, you're acting just like the owner. There's no other way to put it.

 

Do you think the owner gives a shit if you show them you're above their bullshit? They care about money. You are just a number to them.

 

Apparently all you care about is money, too, so what the hell are you complaining about? I mean, if you cared about the product, you wouldn't go out of your way to do a crappy job.