What do you think would happen if you did this at work..?

Management or managed, you organize a walkout of 80 percent of the newsroom due to urgent issues (name them) not being heard by top management.  To endure puts your job at risk, so to do this, there's nothing much to lose. All you need is the courage to organize...and at that point, succeeding, there's not much the remaining forces are going to do to put out a paper of any substance (grab the wire copy and paste whereever you can!).

What's your move, and under what issues would you lead that?

Let's say this is a non-union shop.

 

My god, lmao, we're running scared this Sunday afternoon aren't we?

Oh, and potential management at at least 8 metro papers are watching this thread closely.

 

It would not be possible to do this in my newsroom. 80% of the newsroom staff are mediocre lifers hanging on for retirement.

 

It'll never happen. No one in newsrooms has the guts or the sense to organize a two-car parade, much less a walkout. Plus, you'd all be fired and replaced within two days, holiday or not. And if you think you'll be martyrs, forget about that, too.

One of the things I look forward to in "Nuts and Dolts" is the part where our hero talks with a couple of people about pushing for changes, only to be rebuffed, then discovers one of them sent a memo about one of the issues. No one in a newsroom has the spine to join with anyone else on anything, even if they are in full agreement. It's all me, me, me; protect MY benefits; get MY vacation time; work to support MY family.

There will be no walkout. You'll be the laughingstock of the newsroom for months.

 

We're all looking forward to that.

 

I'm sure you are.

 

I guess it would depend on a collective threshold of pain.  

I had a journalism teacher 20 years ago who said Americans would sit, mouth shut, as long as TPTB threw them enough carrots to be comfortable - thus, there would never be a significant change in culture for the good as long as this took place.  As long as MY LIFE is fine, then do whatever you want, in other words.  So government and society at large does what it damn well pleases, fleeces whoever they choose, and as long as we have two cars, my MTV and Blue Bell Ice Cream in the fridge, we're fine.  The last push to the extreme happened at Enron, and now, it is mostly forgotten and the people who are responsible are free awaiting appeal and will never go to jail.  And the collective isn't screaming for justice.  Someone out there will push the card of corruption a little bit more until one day, we're either robbed and powerless or we cry uncle and fight back.  That day will come - because however crafty TPTB are at keeping their ball out of that trap, they'll run out of mulligans.

 

All I know is Brandon Walsh won't take your job.

 

And the last place that will ever happen will be in a newsroom.

People will talk tough, but then they'll sit down on a holiday weekend, compile briefs, draw boxes in Quark, collect their below-average wages, and come back to do it again and again.

Nothing will change. Nothing.

 

Well, some of us will cover an American Legion baseball game, followed by a summer soccer game, thus giving us 4 hours to be outside, and then we'll draw boxes in Quark. And fill those boxes with, umm, content. Except I don't have to start drawing boxes until tomorrow.

 

You won't find enough people with the balls to walk out. Not gonna happen. I've found this field is filled with Republicans, union haters and closet Republicans. You will not find enough sympathizers. In fact, they might even turn on you.

Your best bet...get a new job.

 

When you strike out at a king, you must kill him — Shakespeare