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Next To The Gallows ... St. Pete Times

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Moondoggy, May 28, 2008.

  1. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    It really is. I don't think anyone expects givebacks. Just stop taking raises if you're freezing everyone else's.

    This is also 5 percent for a guy who makes at least a half-mil, last I checked (they do publish the execs' salaries). He's not going to be clipping coupons anytime soon.
     
  2. mediaguy

    mediaguy Well-Known Member

    For me, if you're including his paycut, you should mention the salary. There's no real hardship involved in his sacrifice.
     
  3. Lollygaggers

    Lollygaggers Member

    The one thing that does kind of ring true in the memo is the fact it takes fewer people to put out the product now. I think that's probably true everywhere. Granted, we could put out a better product if we had more people, but the staff requirements at newspapers aren't what they used to be with everything going digital. I'm somewhat familiar with St. Pete, and I'm sure they have some people there just like everywhere else who don't contribute much anymore. I agree with one of the previous posts, though, that it would be nice to see buyouts offered to the younger crowd, who likely will have an easier time finding a new job anyway.
     
  4. BrianGriffin

    BrianGriffin Active Member

    <<I'm somewhat familiar with St. Pete, and I'm sure they have some people there just like everywhere else who don't contribute much anymore.>>

    That is a pet peeve of mine. At my shop, there was an unannounced hiring freeze — they never said there was a hiring freeze, they just weren't hiring anybody — in an effort to trim staff. So who was leaving? Many productive people in essential positions. People who were talented enough to get hired elsewhere or dynamic enough to at least pursue a career change. Meanwhile, the people who do God knows what...the ones who wander around the building with no apparent purpose other than to maintain a job doing to minimum to keep the job, stayed on staff.

    Any staff cut should start with the least productive.
     
  5. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    They should. But they never do. They start with the higher salaries and use the lower salaries to pick up the workload.
     
  6. Sxysprtswrtr

    Sxysprtswrtr Active Member

    Or, the ones who with less seniority. Least that's what I'm hearing for targeted layoffs at my shop.
     
  7. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    But the publishers all say that we're putting out a newspaper AND a Web site now. That shouldn't require fewer people, it should require more people, if you're going to do it halfway right. But they keep cut, cut, cutting, then throw more work at the thinned staff (made up largely of goldbricks and Costanzas, based on the recent posts).
     
  8. Editude

    Editude Active Member

    The time to edit all the blog updates alone takes up much of the desk's shifts. St. Pete still does good work (its online business section is one of the best in the country), but if the wheels are coming off there ...
     
  9. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    Good news? Well, not-bad news anyway ... no layoffs.

    http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2008/08/st-pete-times-s.html

    At least, no layoffs ... yet.
     
  10. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    These days, any news that isn't bad can be considered great.
     
  11. Reacher

    Reacher Member

    I don't think this is a sign of a good company following bad ones. I think it's more of a sign that newspapers are not viable - no matter how bad or good the product. The media world has changed and left the newspaper industry behind.
     
  12. SlickWillie71

    SlickWillie71 Member

     
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