TV in the newsroom

Thanks for the heads up.

 

I worked at one paper where the TV was locked up because we might 'abuse' it. It was also the same one that insisted that the men wear ties and wanted the women to wear skirts (even at football games), never mind that the product sucked.

Since then every paper I've worked at has had at least two, one for sports, one for news. Current paper has several, one in each pod.

 

That's my central theory as an editor. I believe that's why I've gotten interns who've gone beyond the call of duty for me even though they've been unpaid.

 

We have one.

Whenever I'm struggling for a lead for a girl's basketball game in early December, I can always count on a episode of "Sanford and Son" to inspire me. Really.

My shop is small, but the TV always is on, and not always to CNN on ESPN. In my opinion, helps to alleviate the stress that comes with the job.

Many times my co-workers and I have taken breaks (much longer than suggested in the manual) to watch TV and just bullshit through a long night of nothing. Great for the older people (news) and the younger people (sports) to bond and make the workplace better.

When news breaks, it's good to have a TV, obviously. After walking in from a baseball team's practice, I saw the last out of a no-hitter. Also came in right when it was announced that Chris Benoit died.

But from the experience I have had, the TV is much more than a bonding tool than a info tool.

As Fred Sanford would say, "It's a good thing you big dummy"

 

I don't have one at my shop, but I can't say that I miss not having one either.

 

At my paper, sports has its own floor of the building. There are four TVs on that floor.

 

I am so in agreement with the first quoted box, and for the life of me I cannot understand how a turtleneck would be a problem.

 

C. 2005. First stop, post college, we had a TV -- out of range of most of the newsroom and behind the executive editor's desk. We were a late AM. City editor always whined that keeping the TV on disturbed her on deadline. Heaven forbid there was something on there that we missed overnight. I always felt out of the loop working there. Sure, we had the scanners and the Internet at a crawling speed, but try loading more than one Web page while your Windows NT computer has an on-deadline seizure. Same place that banned jeans in the office. Seeing a pattern here?

Stop No. 2 had two TVs, one in sports, one in news. Actually had the company replace both TVs during our tenure there when something went wrong with them. Was kind of nice.

Stop No. 3 has two TVs, one in sports, one in news. Even better, we have the dish. No, we don't have the package (at least not on the news TVs).

 

Yeah, I spent my first year and half working with Mickey Mouse. Not only were not TVs allowed, no radios either. I sat in my corner, like a good little reporter, did my work and tried to stay away from the outside world.

Now, I have TWO TVs, a police scanner and a radio (not to mention a coffee maker) in my newsroom.

 

One TV at the news desk.

One TV in sports proper.

One TV at the sports desk.

I have peeves at both ends of the scale. We've been regulated vis-a-vis "distractions" to the point that it drives me crazy. No headphones on unless you're transcribing notes. TV at the sports desk stays off until after first edition, unless the SE makes an exception. Sometimes I feel like a 16-year-old.

On the other side of the coin, I get very irritated when a group of people gather around the sports-department TV at the end of a game and start acting like fanboys. And I know what's usually going to happen. We have just enough people who "can't work with distractions" that they're going to yell at the fanboys, and the fanboys are going to yell back. It's the source of probably half of the shouting matches we have in the department.

The answer, to me, is pretty simple: Treat us like adults. And then make damn sure the adults act like it.

 

Not trying to be a dick, but I am curious why you have never written live from a press box? Are you a copy editor/designer?