Until you step in my shoes

I've known some I would have gladly stuffed in a dirt box somewhere. Others that were the most loved people at the paper.

 

I never criticize anyone until I've walked a mile in their shoes.

That way, if they get really pissed off, I'm a mile away. And I've got their shoes.

 

Saturday football game does not belong on Monday cover unless it was a spectacular upset....maybe photo and tease to local FB inside.

Meanwhile, I often hear from out photo chief that we use pics too small, not enough of them, etc. "My guy was out there for nearly 3 hours and all you used was one 2-column shot."
Yeah, and my writer was out there just as long and all I used was a 12-inch gamer.
I'd gladly agree with him if he could provide me with an extra page (or two) to use the photos the way he'd like.

 

Ace, I understand what you're saying, but it's not like I make these decision to piss people off. I'm trying to put out the best product I can. And yes, I got defensive, no doubt about that. Maybe I shouldn't have. But I loathe when people undermine the things I try to do when they really don't have a clue what they're talking about.

 

Every newsroom is ridiculously dysfunctional. Writers have issues with the editors, photogs have issues with the deskers, who have issues with everybody. It's amazing a good product is created as often as it is.

 

Gator, you also have to not take it so personally. Nobody is undermining the things you do, they're stroking their own ego.

 

Now that's an understatement.

 

the great thing about being a photog and SE (when i was) was using as many photos as i wanted.

 

Complaining is sometimes a sign that people are paying attention, and even though they see things differently, I'll take that and the conversation it spurs on occasion over being ignored completely, which happens too often in newsrooms.

 

So which is it, YGBFKM?


I think "every newsroom is dysfunctional" is a gross overstatement. People having different opinions on how things should be done is not dysfuntion. It's reality.

 

Me saying that was an understatement was directed at the "It's amazing a good product is created as often as it is" part. That's the funny thing about newsrooms ... no matter the situation, or how people may be feeling about one another at one particular moment, everyone comes together to put out the best product possible. Issues are resolved later.

 

It's both, spnited. There are so many competing interest in a newsroom, that if you're not complaining at some point about something, either you're not paying attention, you don't care and/or you suck at your job. The best people I've worked with have usually been the ones I disagreed with most vehemently. The newsroom culture is dysfunctional, just like a large family. I didn't say dysfunction was necessarily a bad thing, just that putting out a paper is not the smoothest process. People unfamiliar with it would likely be amazed its pulled off like it is 365 days a year.