Holiday work schedules

I'm two years out of publishing business, and work for a 24/7/365 operation. I'm working my normal schedule, which gives me Mondays and Tuesdays off. I'll take the time and a half and the free meal though.

 

As a teacher, I've got you all beat.

But on January 2, it's back to putting up with a classroom full of your little shits, so it works out in the end.

 

Now that we're into the week between Christmas and New Year's, it's a reminder that I always kind of liked working this week back when I was a metro slot. Most of the upper and middle managers took the week off and weren't around to muck up the works with constant meetings and other types of nonsense, and it was one of the few times all year the newsroom didn't operate in a state of paralysis by analysis. Local governments took the week off, meaning no late meetings. We'd also go to combined editions and dispense with our usual heavy zoning, which meant lighter workloads. Certainly much different than being in sports between Christmas and New Year's.

 

I know dozens of reporters who wink wink get Christmas off and New Year's off, on their timecards at least. Everybody just works and pretty much donates the time to the corporation to keep their jobs. No overtime, you know.

 

You know dozens of stupid reporters then.

 

Out of the business, off Fri-Mon last weekend and this weekend.

 

Bronco, you metro slot, you. Since Gannett doesn't cover much local stuff and this year X-Mas and New Year's are on weekends a weekend reporter is in charge of breaking news. We all had to work one holiday and weekend of holiday. I got Memorial Day. We get paid vacation for X-mas and NYE on Monday following this year. Back to work Jan. 3

 

Same deal for me, minus the two PTO days. A four-day Christmas weekend was fine by me.

 

Under our old publisher we didn't print a paper Christmas Day or if Christmas fell on a Sunday like this year, we didn't print the following day. He retired this summer, and under our new publisher, no day off.

 

Seriously, who works Christmas or New Year unless they are covering a game or team preparing for a bowl game? And who wouldn't pay them if they did work those days?

 

Exactly. He's full of shit.

 

I often whine about working holidays but then remind myself how grateful I am that I'm not on the other side of the gurney.