Louisiana Gannett papers to implement regional copy desk

I would think there will be page-sharing. Much of the A section could be the same. And pages in sports, including the baseball page. This is much like the plan with the Tribune Co.
I guess they want all of the people to work in the same place for communications. Maybe with the Gannett papers the computer systems can't be linked. Also, they think there would be communications problems even though there is the phone, e-mail, IM.
Ultimately, I think Gannett could do some pages for all papers out of one spot, possibly where USA Today is put together

 

I knew as soon as I saw this thread title that buckdub would be on this quickly and with the definitive word. I was not disappointed.

I think you can count on this. And if they can set it up so pages produced in Monroe are printed in Shreveport (or wherever), they could've set it up so that people could copy edit in Shreveport for the Monroe paper. They just want people to quit.

Are they offering to pay relocation?

 

If they're smart, they'll try to plan for as many common pages as they can (as JayFarrar said.) Generally, that's state, nation and world pages for the news section, hopefully some features sections that rely on AP or GNS, and any regional/national pages for the sports section (think MLB page or something along those lines.)

Here's the problem: Ad stacks.

Because while they might have a plan to go to a regional copy desk for editorial production, I GUARANTEE you the advertising/page placement departments aren't going to be working so closely in conjunction. And that will result in a late quarter-page ad that was placed at 5 p.m. -- for just one zone (groan). Or those oh-so-fun Hot off the Press notices where one paper's got a 2x5 and another one has a 6x10.

So yeah, you might be able to put the same North Korea story on every paper's A10 and the same Randy Johnson/300 story on every paper's C4. But you're going to have to tweak it five times, maybe add a photo here, add a deckhed or pull quote there, and that just ups the potential for mistakes. Plus, you'll also have to send it five times. And all those precious minutes add up.

And once you get into deadline situations -- not to mention local copy -- you're just increasing the odds for disaster.

Straight-up clusterfuck.

 

I get that, but the way it was explained is that for the five newspapers, there are 29 copy editor positions, when the five papers are FULLY STAFFED. So, in theory, going from 29 to 24 would be eliminating five positions, thereby cutting probably $150,000-250,000.

But, here lies the problem. The five newspapers aren't fully staffed on the copy desk, not even close. It's bullshit spin. Lafayette has only TWO copy editors left — three if you count the one sports paginator.

Most nights, they have the news editor, assistant managing editor and managing editor laying out pages in addition to one of the two copy editors on staff. Opelousas has only one copy editor on staff. When she's not there, Lafayette does Opelousas' pages.

I just have a hard time believing there's more than 24 copy editors in the five newspapers total, so you're not cutting any positions at all. You're just moving those 24 people to BFE.

I have a hard time thinking this is really going to work.

 

This is absolutely a cost-cutting move. Live in Monroe? Rather shave my balls with a cheese grater.

Gannett knew what it was doing here. All about saving money. Some will quit instead of moving. Some of the managers won't get re-hired in Monroe.

They don't have the answers to real questions because that would take some common sense.

On another note, I heard Monroe lost its SE last month.

 

Not the cheese grater ... (to the tune of Tim Blake Nelson's "George, not the livestock" in O Brother Where Art Thou?)

 

Scripps is doing the same thing in Texas, moving pagination for Wichita Falls, Abilene and San Angelo to Corpus Christi. Pretty much all the same reasons were given, and a number of deskers elected not to make the move. Can't wait to see how it all shakes out.

 

That's what I thought the gameplan was. A lot of cookie-cutter papers, where about half the paper in Shreveport looks just like the one in Monroe. TV stations have been doing that for a long time now.

That's the only way that a joint copy desk saves anyone money. If you are going to need the same amount of personal, what difference does it make where they are located?

 

As far as relocation, I think we all know by now that just because you had such-and-such job yesterday is absolutely no guarantee that you will have it tomorrow. People get laid off, businesses fold, etc. Then employees are back to the drawing board.

Like in any other business, you go where the jobs are if you want to work. I've been laid off enough times to know that when it happened, my days in that town were numbered. At least some of these people get the OFFER to move. Many of us never even get that.

 

That's one problem. The jobs don't need to be shifted with all the technology that is out there now. If they want to cut the jobs, then just cut them and let the editors paginiate the five newspapers in their hometowns.

 

Sounds like a serious case of title inflation:

"Most nights, they have the news editor, assistant managing editor and managing editor laying out pages ..."

 

This is going to be the clusterfuck of all clusterfucks.

I hate it for all the folks who have a gun to their head and are being told to go to Funroe or walk the plank.

Like OTD and Glen said, they just want people to quit.

Chickenshit motherfuckers.

And you too, Texas Scripps newspapers. It's a fucking haul from Wichita Falls to Corpus. San Angelo and Abilene, even farther. Fuck you too.