Your newsroom atmosphere

They don't do them for anyone, here. News nor sports.

 

going away parties are overrated.

better to give a party for the people who stay.

 

dude, that should be one of the 10 commandments.

solid post.

 

Well, I am the sports department. I like me, I like me a lot. So I think things are going good in that department.

But as for the whole newsroom. The news reporters and I get along really well. We're all really united in our dislike for our penny pinching publisher.

 

Am I the only one who thinks of this guy every time Ramalamadingdong mentions his "penny pinching publisher":

 

The newsroom atmosphere is pretty open and laid back here. Definitely a reflection of the town itself though. My first week here I crashed on the SE's couch, just like everyone else who's started here in the past 20-or-so years. Much like AppGrad's shop: lots of bickering, but that's just family business.

 

The whole sports department is wonderful...the SE is the BOMB! He is funny, gracious, no-ego, likes new ideas and let's me do whatever I need to do to get the job done.






Oh, did I mention that I work a one-man sports crew?

 

I'm pretty blessed as well, for right now, at a 32K. That's also because we have a pretty good publisher and managing editor who have strong visions for the entire newsroom and also they know the importance of sports. Circulation, surprisingly, has gone up in the last year though it's still a little short of what it used to be. I know it won't be like this forever, but right now it's going well.

We all get along pretty well, though sometimes someone might send in a 28-incher when it's unnecessary. I've got pretty good friends in the newsroom who range from close to my age to 15-20 years older. Sometimes we'll hang out, watch a game, do lunch, etc., but not 24/7. There is one woman in features who talks real loud and has a very annoying laugh, but I think those are everywhere. She means well, though.

 

With the exception of a couple of people, my 12-man staff is pretty tight. We don't necessarily run in the same circles all the time, but anybody goes and has a beer with anybody. Desk guys mix with writers, the SE drinks with stringers.

Most of our sports staff has been there for quite a while, which helps. We don't mix much with the other departments, because our photogs are dumbasses and news side people just come from a totally different planet that sports writers.

 

WS and Method, are you guys hiring?

Seriously, it's cool to see not all places are anarchy-ridden.

At my last full-time stop, we had one copy editor who thought he knew everything. And it was done with such a smarmy tone of voice. Never a suggestion with "hey, do this, it might help your page"; always, "you can't do this because of" some fabricated, bullshit design rule he learned at some snob-ass conference.

 

As far as in the department, we don't go out en masse and line up at the bar like we used to ... mainly because we're all well into middle age and just don't anymore. But everybody is pretty close. Sure, there are pissing matches here and there, but we recover from them quickly.

Now, as far as relationship with the news-side ... it could and should be better. But there's just a little too much them vs. us and us vs. them sometimes. Not enough understanding about the other side. That's universal, I guess.

 

Seems newsrooms can have pricks where ever in the world you are!