Tennessean happyspeak

I swear, these statements from the executive editors have all been prepared by a robot in Gannett headquarters, in which all the EE for each paper had to do was tweak lines here and there to make it look like original thought.

 

Well I guess we will now see what happens when local stories are "edited" and headlined at a design center hundreds of miles away from the local community by people with no knowledge whatsoever of the area.

 

The Design Studios started quite a while ago. If the reporters are now responsible for writing headlines and posting content online immediately, there may actually be fewer factual errors due to an absence of local knowledge. I wish I could say the same for grammar sans a copy desk.

How long before this pilot program spreads, and there are no Gannett copy editors left anywhere?

 

A while back, there was an issue with their Wisconsin papers where some journalists signed a recall petition for the governor. The EEs put out statements which were virtually identical, with their individual names on it. I pointed out that technically, it could be considered plagiarism, although I kinda got shot down on the idea here.

 

Well, USAT already has gone the dot route in its design...only a matter of time before they add the "dippin' " part.

 

Well, it's not plagiarism. It's a corporate form letter.

 

Yeah, but they put their bylines on it. To me, that's passing it off as their own work.

 

That's SOP in the corporate communications world.

Besides, it's not like anyone, anywhere is putting any intellectual heft behind those statements.

Mindless blather is public domain.

 

No, you need to use the corporate BS line: "We all share a common vision."

 

That's going in my sig.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, The Tennessean is going through a re-organization. The section editor and section assistant editors positions are being eliminated (metro, sports, features, biz, etc.). The Tennessean is shaping a new way of producing content for its readers on its various platforms. Unlike what was stated by one poster, my future at the paper is not assured. I can apply for a position on the staff (like everybody else). There is a formal interview process. I can't answer all of the questions some of you have. I've received numerous calls, emails and Facebook IM's over the past 24 hours. I appreciate each and every one of them. My family and I have a lot to think about over the next few days. Again, thanks for the kind words. -- Dave

 

Just clicked on it, and this is absolutely true.