Layoffs claim SE in Raleigh

I grew up in Charlotte, and I would say ditto. They have about as much in common as Boston and New York.

 

Sherry is, indeed, good people. Quick story:

A few years ago, my mother was suffering from cancer and the end was very rough for her and for us. She died two hours into New Year's Day. I called Sherry, my boss at the time, with the news that morning to let her know I wouldn't be able to make a road trip with the team I covered. Within an hour, Sherry had brought a meal to our house and told me that I wasn't to come back to work until I was good-and-ready. Family was more important.

Sherry is one of the best people you could want to work for. An extremely caring person and a damn-good line editor.

 

Great story about Sherry.
The Suits screw us over but we're nice to each other. That's something, at least.

 

And yet McClatchy got rid of someone who could balance life and work. Somehow, that's just the topper to all this crap.

Thanks for the anecdote, WScribblySh. That was thoroughly enlightening. We can only hope Sherry lands on her feet professionally. The story tells us that she'll probably take it in stride personally, whether or not McClatchy deserves an understated reaction.

 

Please correct me if I am wrong, but aren't most of the metro SEs over things like the travel budget and staffing concerns, while the deputy handles the day-to-day things?
Was that the case in Carolina?

 

They should at least do that for the Dakotas. It would only inconvenience the 273 people who live in North Dakota.

 

I love that McClatchy thinks this will maximize both papers' enterprise coverage. As if any corporate ownership paid that more than lip service. How may terrified for their jobs reporters are going to go after the rotten boosters and corrupt athletic programs? Because if the readers and alum scream about the story, the editor has his back... right?

No, this further inhibits an already timid press.

I watched "The Paper" the other day, and it made me sad. The archetype of the anti-authority reporter who trudges through the mud for a good story, that reporter has been weeded out by corporate ownership that rewards the suckups and chops the iconoclast. Not saying you should punch your editor with the printing press running, but how can you question the coach/mayor/DWI superstar when you can't even challenge what the hell is going on in your own industry?

 

Thanks. I fear for my paper everyday. I know bad news is coming. It's just a matter of when.

 

There's some overlap in interest when it comes to UNC, and to a slightly lesser degree, N.C. State and the Panthers. But people in Charlotte don't give a rats ass about the Hurricanes and there's hardly any interest in the Triangle when it comes to the Bobcats.

 

Jake, you are 100 percent correct. Having spent plenty of time in both cities, I can attest that they are poles apart geographically and every other way. This is just another example of bean counters coming up with an idea and not giving any thought to how it will play out in the field.

 

And the area high schools are so far apart they really won't ever meet until playoff time, so there's not a lot nothing gained in that regard. When I lived in the Triangle it seemed like the only southern metro where there wasn't a great interest in NASCAR. Obviously, NASCAR is huge in Charlotte.

Honestly, I think something like this would have worked a lot better in Wichita/Kansas City. At least those two towns are generally interested in the same sports stories. Not that I want to give the suits any ideas.