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I know quitters never win, but ...

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by I'll never tell, Jul 15, 2007.

  1. I'll never tell

    I'll never tell Active Member

    I've been the boss for about two years, and for the entire two years, we've been understaffed.

    I realized that everybody in the business seems to be understaffed in this day and age, but I'm talking about being understaffed by 25-40 percent at times. And that percentage has come from some of the staff's most crucial positions -- desk guys.

    Whether it has been good or bad, I don't feel like many of my guys have absorbed much of this understaffed feel, as I've pulled the extra shifts and such and no one has gone without any vacation time or things like that.

    Don't get me wrong, my staff is good. Some are great. Some are so great that I worry how much longer before I become understaffed again.

    They've finally began to at least act like they want to fill the roles for me, and that makes me feel a little bit better.

    But with football season right around the corner, I'm really wondering how much longer can I do this.

    I guess after all of that rambling, I'm asking how do I know if I'm just in a funk (and in the summer that worries me) or if I really need to be looking to go back to a beat (at a bigger paper) or get out of the business?

    How do I kickstart my ass into gear again? Any tips?

    I'll hang up and listen ...
     
  2. chazp

    chazp Active Member

    Like you said football season is coming. The adrenaline of Friday night deadlines with prep football coverage should motivate you to either keep going at your current shop or polish up the resume and buy that 100 roll of stamps. You need to ask yourself, "If they don't give me any more people, can I make it through football season? Or will it take a worse toll on me than what I"m experiencing now?"
     
  3. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    If all you are is experiencing a funk in the summer I think you will be OK, though it may be time to delegate some of your extra shifts to your underlings (as long as they understand no overtime, unless your paper actually offers overtime).
    Summer is always when I go into a funk because there is nothing going on and everything is willynilly, not formulated like during the school year.
    I think you should just ride it out and if you still feel like you are in a funk come football season, then it is time to think about moving on.
     
  4. Tom Petty

    Tom Petty Guest

    think you'll ever be fully staffed?
     
  5. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    I'm a one-person department at a weekly so I know how you feel. I've had stringers, but they're not always available, reliable, readable ... and 99 percent of them can't take photos. Been at this weekly for 4 years and am done in a few weeks — the publisher is finding a role for me elsewhere in the company, and I'm thankful beyond extreme.

    All I really wanted here was a full-time reporter or two to work with, to make this section even better, to compete with the town daily on a more equal footing. But doing the writing, photographing and Quarking — a thrill and challenge every week — has simply taken the fun out of things. For the last 2-plus months I've Quarked the entire 3 sections of the paper (minus a few weeks when someone from central did the Entertainment section). Still, it made for horrific Tuesdays.

    That said, the most recent intern, who was the best thing to happen to me professionally in a few years, kickstarted a creative flow of energy for the new job I'll start sometime in the next few weeks — design, photography, other duties. But mostly, I'm glad to get away from the day-to-day, droll coverage even though this high-end area produces state champions every season. It's a job better suited for a 25-year-old.

    I've always thought of myself as someone like Larry Brown the hoops coach: He arrives, does good things (most of the time, anyway) for 3-4 years (sometimes 1 or 2) then moves on to the next place with the intention of improving the situation. Sometimes he succeeds and leaves on his own accord, other times he fails and scrams with walking papers; I know both feelings.

    So, I'll Never Tell, decide what's best for you and gameplan to make it happen. What's making this summer rather lowkey and enjoyable is the light I see at the end of the tunnel, finally. And that's because I told the publisher that while I love working for this company, I was in an irreversable funk and needed a new challenge. Talk to your bosses and see how they can help improve your situation.
     
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