Hammer dropping as we speak at the Sun-Sentinel

This is Allen Cone.
I was among roughly 30 percent of the design/editing staff in the newsroom laid off this week.
For 4 1/2 years I was a news copy editor atthe Sun Sentinel. But I frequently edited sports copy, which was my background most of my career.
I was called on my day off on Tuesday. I was told that the cuts had to be announced on Tuesday even though people in some other departments could find out sooner. Many people were informed as their shifts were nearing an end.
Many of us are confused about the departures. In some respects it's almost as though darts were thrown at a dark board.
Vesatility, productivity and excellence (including contests) didn't seem to matter. As my boss said, "it wasn't because of your skills." I was simly told "cuts were deep."
But no doubt the cuts took on an older slant. Of the two dozen involuntary cuts most recent cuts in the newsroom, only three were under 40 years old. Just one under 30. These ages are spelled out in the separation papers (listing job titles and ages of people laid off and staying.
And one of those under 40 was a real talent, a fellow news copy editor who elso edited sports, Khari Williams.
And just as I was feeling sorry for myself I was stunned to learn that Don McMullen was let go. If they paid the guy $200,000 it would be worth it to keep him on board because he was doing the work of several people.
In my decades of sports experience, I've never seen a guy take on such a huge workload.
As night sports editor, he was a real machine: booking the section, assigning work, talking to writers, speaking to editors at other Tribune newspaper, coordinating photos, working with the news desk on deadlines/coverage, keeping an eye on the wires, slotting and babysitting designer (especially some news one assigned to sports who were experienced in sports). And personally editing copy when manpower was light. One night I recall him also editing eight stories. In its heydey, Don was the sole person in charge of sections as large as 150 columns,
I was fortunate to have edited copy for Don.
Interestingly, Don was the only copy editing supervisor laid off. About 10 other bosses remain in news/features.
And the loss of assistant sports editor Tom Christensen and agate guru Mike Santell are major losses, along with rising writing star Mike Cunningham.
Like the hundreds of journalists out of work, it's time to look ahead and figure out how to pay the bills. No doubt most of our journalism careers are over.
If anyone from previous stops wants to contact me, just PM me or e-mal me at cones123@comcast.net.

 

Keep your head high, Allen. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and everyone else in a similar situation.

 

Damn.

As somebody who was nine months between jobs once, my advice is to first take two weeks and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. You need time to decompress.

At some point, get a plan together, a list of contacts, and get ready for the job search. I think putting your e-mail on here is a great idea.

Next, do whatever you can to make little money. Whatever it is. My biggest regret is eating into my savings during my nine-month "vacation."

Best of luck.

 

Everyone in the business needs to have a break-in-case-of-emergency plan. Think about it this way: if you were fired tomorrow, what would you do?

It takes an hour, or less, to update your resume. Write a generic "change of careers" cover letter (there are examples on the web) and put together a list of potential job contacts. When I say job, I don't mean your dream post-sports job, anything to pay the bills in the short term.

Maybe you never have to use it, but at least have something in the drawer.

 

Newsflash: Nobody is hiring right now.

 

Well, Mizzou, you're right about our business, but hence the "change in careers" cover letter, and if you want to work, there's work out there. If you're not going to settle for something just to pay the bills, you're right, it's not going to be easy.

But his advice was good advice.

 

I meant, nobody is hiring period. I didn't just mean journalism.

 

Personally, I know layoffs are looming at my shop. And i'm trying to get as many bills paid, credit card debt eliminated, as possible.
The fewer expenses while unemployed the better.

 

Mizzou, I think my aquatic friend meant that you need something to pay the bills not necessarily something you can build a career on. It may mean working the overnight shift at a warehouse or juggling two or three minimum wage part-time jobs. I've been in a similair situation and unless you majored in something other than journalism/communications or can tap some powerful connections, you may be looking at a whole new career and that takes time to find and get started on. Get a just-for-now job, try not spend too much, save what you can and start exploring your options.

 

Looking at the classified ads, I should've been a nurse.

 

That or an exotic dancer, from reading the classifieds here.

Or some poor schlub selling newspaper subscriptions at the mall, by phone or door-to-door. They rerun that ad every two weeks like it's scheduled that way but I understand it's more like "after two weeks, the lucky hiree figures out how much a commission on jackshit is worth."

 

A copy editor I know who lost his job during one of the recent rounds of cuts is actually delivering the paper now. What was fucked up was he had to wait until his severance package ran its course because if he started doing it immediately, he would have forfeited 10 weeks pay from a $55K a year job so he could start working at a job where he makes about $1,500 a month.

Lovely times we live in.