Is there a point in complaining?

When he said he edited a story "for me" I jumped to the conclusion that he was talking about his story, but you're probably right.

 

That's what I initially thought, but surely he isn't ripping the newly promoted guy for failing to edit a story he wrote.

 

The design of a golf hole -- usually a par 4 or 5 -- in which the layout changes direction, usually at the position a drive is designed to land.

 

A golf hole in which my ball is much more likely to be in the woods.

 

Yeah, when I said "for me," I meant for a page I was designing.

Like I said in the beginning, I really appreciate the feedback. You're right -- he doesn't seem like a bad guy. I really like the idea of approaching him with a design book or samples and saying, hey, here's a couple things I noticed ... let me tell you why it doesn't work or why it's better this way. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that my anger over the idea of having to hold this guy's hand prevented me from thinking of some happy medium measures like the ones you all suggested.

I'll keep you posted.

 

If I got angry every time I had to hold someone's hand in this business, I'd die of a heart attack before my 35th birthday. Actually, I might do that the way I'm going as it is, but I digress...

I work with a lot of student journalists in my job. In fact, they provide me with most of the copy that hits my newspaper. Some of them do well from the outset, some need a lot of work. I've been fortunate that most of the ones I've had have either come in already having experience or they're extremely precocious for people with limited clips. But even the ones I've had to work with the most usually turn into good journalists by the time they're finished chasing stories for me.

Definitely let us know how he reacts to the feedback you provide him. If he's willing to listen to you, it could be the start of a positive working relationship between you and him. The key is to approach your suggestions from the perspective of genuinely trying to help him.

 

Yikes, that bottom photo on that story is a horrible use of space.

And mis-spelled athlete in the headline.

 

copperpot: we live to serve

Seriously, it's good to get feedback. What can happen is you are in your small shop and then you go home and maybe you don't really interact with a lot of people. I don't know that I'd necessarily use a book - that might seem insulting and I would think if you pointed something out, he would trust what you would say. A lot of people - most people, I would guess - learn better from people showing them something than reading it in a book.

The other thing is don't try to correct all of the mistakes at once. Take it one step at a time. If you throw too much at people, they can't learn.

 

Triathlete is one word, too. And the whole example freaks me out, because I probably worked for that paper some eight years ago.

 

Why?

 

So the pages don't look like a Tetrus game.