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Internet staffing

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by sportsed, May 24, 2007.

  1. sportsed

    sportsed Member

    New poster here, but longtime gawker of the site. Had a question that's been lingering, yet I've never seen the answer included in the myriad of news stories about staff cuts going on at newspapers around the country. So I figured that I'd just take the question to the masses here: Is your newspaper's website adding any editors and/or writers to manage its sports content?

    Mind you, I'm not talking about someone charged with simply posting stories generated from the newspaper staff, but those people who create unique content for a web-only audience. So how many people does your newspaper use to staff its website?

    I'm well aware of the growing army of reporters and editors at the largest newspapers, from the New York Times on down. But just how far down the circulation totem pole do these expanding job opportunities exist?
     
  2. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    At the fine New York Times Regional Group, just about the only new newsroom jobs are Web-related.
     
  3. sportsed

    sportsed Member

    Come on. We're talking about the future of our business here. And the demise of what it has been. Yet all we hear about are job cuts, job cuts, job cuts, from Los Angeles to Boston and all points in between. So how many of the old jobs are really being shifted to web duty? Is your paper's website hiring editors AND reporters? Are the numbers proportional to the cuts on the ink side? What's the experience level of those new hires? Has your news organization created separate "companies" to oversee the newspaper and website, such as the Washington Post and washingtonpost.com are structured? This is your chance to discuss what's actually going on at your shop or what you know about a competitor's.
     
  4. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    They force writers and editors who already have 55 hours of work to do in their 40-hour work weeks to do the website "in their spare time."
     
  5. The problem is that only like 2 percent of revenue comes from the Internet, but at the same time, they know it's the future. So they won't put new resources into it until it earns a profit, but they can't afford to ignore it, either.
     
  6. sportsed

    sportsed Member

    Where? What size paper are we talking about? Are you in a metro or rural area? A few details would go a long way in furthering the discussion. Thanks.
     
  7. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Don't get me started on this, sports ed.

    Suffice to say if they do hire any extra bodies to provide content for the web, it likely will be one guy with a whip.
     
  8. We have one young woman with no real authority who has to run around like a chicken with her head cut off begging all the newsroom veterans to contribute to the Web, to little avail. I'd imagine it's similar to other newspapers' situations.
     
  9. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    You're not going to get people giving specific details about their current papers, sportsed. It's not going to happen.

    But my first paper was 21K in the Southeast. We implemented any and all Web changes by ourselves, with no OT, and little outside help.

    Here, we had one elderly woman with no real authority who ran around like a chicken with her head cut off begging us in the newsroom to contribute to the Web, to little avail.

    See, you shouldn't make assumptions. It's not so similar after all, is it? :D
     
  10. sportsed

    sportsed Member

    Are these papers that have had staff reductions?
     
  11. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    One yes, one no.

    In neither case did we add anybody to work with the Web site, though. Pile it on to the reporters and editors who are already working 50 hours a week, like Starman said.
     
  12. forever_town

    forever_town Well-Known Member

    I add stories to the web as they happen sometimes. It means I have to work 60 hours instead of 55 some weeks.

    It meant I had to learn how to work IQueWeb, but I think I've got it down pat.
     
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