Will pump pain kill journalism?

God Brian, you are on fire tonight.

 

Maybe I shouldn't have said "asking" but with club in hand, "demanding."

 

I have always found it ridiculous that writers/reporters are required to spend any time in a newspaper office whatsoever. I know people who live in the town that they report on, but have to drive 20-30 miles to the office to write, then 20-30 miles back home. I think one way for newspapers to save money would be to have all reporters work from home - this way, there is no need for them to have desks, and papers (especially those that rent space), can move to smaller buildings, use less electricity, etc. There are obvious problems with this model (i.e. the reporter who still wants to live 40 miles from the town he covers, so he gets lazy and never spends any time in that town), but it's a start. Discuss.

 

It makes it a lot harder to work with a reporter on a story if he/she is never there.

It also makes it harder for the reporter to take part in budget meetings, story planning, etc.

The deskers end up with even more shit work heaped upon them and more resentment as a result.

You make the editor's job that much harder, because he/she has to try to stay in touch with - and some cases, on top of - a far-flung staff.

As you noted, it sometimes leads to laziness on the reporter's part.

I also think that you are incredibly naive to think that the paper is going to gain a huge cost savings this way.

It's been my experience that some people do a good job working from home, while others rapidly gravitate to myriad bad habits that become even harder to fix.

Bottom line: It's not for everyone, even a lot of folks who think it is.

 

I think you're right, and I've seen analysts predict it's going to tumble back a long way eventually.

 

I really never expected this post to live this long, and some posters have rightly punched some legit holes in my original premise, that papers are going to have to figure out a way to let writers, and even editors, telecommute. We're dealing with 2 wildcards. Nobody knows where our business is going, although we seem to have a pretty idea that wherever that it is, it's not good. The other is gas prices. I think it could easily by $3 or $7 by the end of this year. A ton of writers work in places where they can't afford to live, or for whatever reason are in the 30 to 50 mile range away from work. Three years ago, it was no biggie. But now those of us who are still employed are wondering if it's worth waiting for the next layoff round. One poster said that newspapers can just hire people that live closer. On points, I think he's got me on that argument. But that really limits the talent pool available for future hires. We're in a profession where even the highest paid amongst us don't have much margin for error in our budgets. Making 6 figures today does not make you a Diva, for the fraction of us who even do.

 

"Telecommuting's all fine and good, but I don't see how papers will "have to let reporters and editors" telecommute to "keep the profession viable." If gas prices are that big a problem, they'll just tell you to live closer to the office, or they'll hire someone who will.
I could definitely see gas costs being a problem for delivery, and, to a lesser degree, for reporting-related travel (one thing's for sure, I'm a lot more vigilant about keeping track of my mileage these days). But having reporters work from home doesn't really solve either of those issues.
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This might be one of the more ignorant posts I've ever come across.
A few of you have bashed other for living so far away from the office. I'm guessing these people live in smaller cities. You think the people in New York, Chicago or LA can afford to live 10 or 15 miles from downtown? I work in a big market and live 32 miles (one way) from the office. My boss works 45 miles from the office. A friend works 55. Was that irresponsible on our parts? No. I live 32 miles away because I can't afford to live closer. Plus, there are school districts to consider and other issues, like 'Do I want my kids to play in a backyard or a parking lot?"

To suggest that management should tell these people to "move closer" shows you've never been in management (and hopefully never will be.) How's that coversation supposed to go exactly? "Hey, I know times are tough, I know we didn't give you a great raise this year and our company stock is tanking, but I need you to uproot your family and move closer to the office, because that makes much more sense than letting you work from home a couple days a week. I know your mortgage payments could double, I know the economy is unstable. But I think this is the best move for everybody, at least until the next round of layoffs, but maybe that's a discussion for another day."

 

This might be one of the more ignorant posts I've ever come across.
A few of you have bashed other for living so far away from the office. I'm guessing these people live in smaller cities. You think the people in New York, Chicago or LA can afford to live 10 or 15 miles from downtown? I work in a big market and live 32 miles (one way) from the office. My boss works 45 miles from the office. A friend works 55. Was that irresponsible on our parts? No. I live 32 miles away because I can't afford to live closer. Plus, there are school districts to consider and other issues, like 'Do I want my kids to play in a backyard or a parking lot?"

To suggest that management should tell these people to "move closer" shows you've never been in management (and hopefully never will be.) How's that coversation supposed to go exactly? "Hey, I know times are tough, I know we didn't give you a great raise this year and our company stock is tanking, but I need you to uproot your family and move closer to the office, because that makes much more sense than letting you work from home a couple days a week. I know your mortgage payments could double, I know the economy is unstable. But I think this is the best move for everybody, at least until the next round of layoffs, but maybe that's a discussion for another day."


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This is the newspaper industry we are talking about here. There have been myriad stories from posters on this site about managers/editors making crazy demands.

My first job in the business at a weekly over 10 years ago was to cover a town about 20 miles from the main office. My publisher said it was required that I live there, even though I spent 11/2 days at the main office. Since it was my first job, and the cost of living was low (so was the pay), I did.

Still, once in a while, I'd go out of town for the weekend to visit family or friends, only to have some breaking news happen, and have my editor and publisher both tell me, "Well, where were you?"

Never mind that they weren't paying me the overtime. They expected me, by osmosis, to know every little thing going on in the town. Well, excuse me for trying to have a life.

 

I delivered papers for a long, long time. Everything from 300-paper routes I could walk to 500-paper, 90-mile-drive routes.

You don't make money delivering newspapers. It's great cash flow, but you never make money. And that was when gas was less than $1.