NCAA Tourney coverage and the economy

Not wanting to share a hotel with three people who aren't your family is an irrational homophobic fear?

Hmmmm...must be talking to a corporate bean counter here...

 

Really, I think I'd turn it down otherwise and pitch saving the money. I mean, if you are going to half-ass those aspects of the trip, what else are you going to half-ass?

 

Well it is obvious to me that if you don't want to share rooms with other adults of the same sex you are a homophobe.......

 

In all seriousness, one of the things I have often wondered is why there is so much snobbery in our business?

I mean, you could get three or four decent hotel rooms right outside any given city for the price of most of the hotels we're supposed to stay at in down town areas -- so given the choice between shacking up with other males -- or staying at a lesser hotel (and maybe not getting Marriott points) and having your own room - why do people bitch about this?

Go to the cheaper motel, stay there in your own room and shut up.

 

That's what I was talking about. I used to have to stay in the same room as multiple other co-workers in a crummy motel outside of town. One room. Once was a decent hotel, but we got a great rate.

As for the other issue, I find it interesting that someone would question a stranger's feelings concerning those of a different sexual preference based on a few message board postings. Somewhat lazy reporting in my mind. But hey to each his/her own.

 

Actually, some papers simply won't let you. They've got deals with corporate partners and/or travel agencies and even if reporters want to use Priceline.com or Kayak.com to find a better deal, corporate may threaten to not reimburse you. I've seen it happen before. It's ludicrous, but it happens.

 

Happens every day in the army. Sometimes people go for a week without a shower, too,because water is kind of scarce in someplaces in the world or they don't want to risk being electrocuted.

Funny, no one ever whines about sharing a room when staffers of the opposite gender are involved.

 

I'm sure my wife would disagree with you.

 

Honestly, it probably depends on the beat. I'm on the road close to 100 nights a year. I have to be at the arena in the morning, and again at night. I need to stay in downtown areas (read: close to the arena) in order to do my job properly. I can't be staying out in the suburbs and having to fight both morning rush-hour traffic to get to shootaround and evening rush-hour traffic to get to the game.

Furthermore, when you throw in the cost of rental car (which I don't need if I can stay within walking distance of the arena) and parking and gas (which I won't need if I don't get a car) it is often more cost effective to stay downtown than out in the 'burbs anyway.

Not that I've ever had to justify myself to a beancounter, yet.

 

Two months after its second round of layoffs, my former paper is sending the sports editor -- I mean, sports columnist -- to Philly to cover two teams the paper covered a grand total of one time during the regular season. Unless I'm mistaken, we never covered one of the two schools even once the whole time I was there.
Not sure what management is thinking, if they are at all, but it's a slap in the face to all the competent, hard-working journalists who have lost their jobs at that paper over the last year.
What about focusing more resources on local coverage? What about the frozen travel budget? Whoops, guess that only applies to certain members of the staff.
Seriously, nobody has a right to complain when newspapers spend money to cover big events involving teams they normally cover. That's what newspapers should do. But when you tell employees you're in such desperate financial straits that you can't avoid layoffs, the last thing you want to do is throw money around for no reason other than to make your sports editor feel important.
It's a joke, and even the people who are still there have a right to be furious. But hey, let's look on the bright side: thousands of newspaper readers will be able to save the time they might have otherwise spent reading this guy's column and instead dedicate it to something more productive. Because there won't be a handful of people in the entire circulation area who give a crap what he's writing about.

 

That's why I didn't join the army.

And it's also why it's one of many signs that there are bigger picture problems in our business. If you can't afford to spring for two hotel rooms for a trip worthy of requiring 4 staffers, then you must be in deep economic trouble. If I'm at that paper, I'm counting down the days til layoffs.

Of course, that makes it pretty much ALL papers...

 

Hmm, Hokie ... I think I know exactly which paper of which you speak. If it's what I'm thinking, that's just par for the course.