Careful reaching for that Election Night pizza...

[luckyducky]

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=153479

"Please be polite," wrote Susan Spring, the News & Observer's director of newsroom operations. "If you are working elections, you may have up to TWO slices" of pizza. A few hours later, executive editor John Drescher vetoed the limit, but added that "if Susan Spring chases you with a knife in her hand, you are on your own."

But John...it was for the good of the budget!

The entire thread:

From: "Susan Spring"
Date: November 3, 2008 11:46:07 AM EST
To: [Raleigh News & Observer staff]
Subject: Pizza etiquette

I want to remind you that pizza will be provided tomorrow night ONLY for
those working on elections. Please be polite. If you are working elections, you may have up to TWO slices. Thank you in advance for being considerate.

Susan Spring
Director of Newsroom Operations
The News & Observer
(919) 829-4860


A message from executive editor John Drescher a few hours later:

There will be no two-slice limit Tuesday night (although if Susan Spring chases you with a knife in her hand, you are on your own). And anyone who is here can partake.

(sorry in advance if I should have put this on Sports & News .... couldn't decide)

 

[poindexter]

Amazing. Simply amazing.
Someone take a third slice and toss a buck her way.

 

[Ace]

So the folks working on the sports desk are SOL?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

So the folks working on the sports desk are SOL?

**** them... Take four slices and spit on the two you don't take. ;D

 

[DanOregon]

That memo is just about the most depressing thing I've read in a while. Layoffs I understand, "doing more with less" I get, but having a "director of Newsroom operations" put out a memo dictating that pizza is only for people working on elections and they can only have two slices each is just pathetic. The paper is already screwing people out of their dinner break, figure they save at least $15 an hour per person on that let alone the OT, and someone with a title uses this kind of judgement? Way to rally the troops!!!

 

[zebracoy]

They are at my shop. No feast tonight for the first time in however long.

 

[pseudo]

So the folks working on the sports desk are SOL?

It's only sports, you know.


Edit: I like your answer better, Mizzou. And I wonder how much actual work that Director of Newsroom Operations will be doing tonight, while she's busy standing guard in the lunchroom.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

The executive editors reply did say that anyone that was there could partake.


What do you want bet Susan Spring is more of a bean counter than an editorial type person?

And I'm sure Ms. Spring won't be anywhere near the newsroom tonight.

 

[BrianGriffin]

All I have to say is coffee is for closers and pizza is for workers.

Toy department need not belly up to the pizza table.

 

[Double J]

There was no pizza during last month's election up here, for the first time ever. No explanation or advance warning either.....it just sort of came upon us all of a sudden: "Hey, where's the pizza?" and no one even bothered to answer.

What sucked hardest was the lack of notice. If I had known there would be no food, as there had been at every other election we have ever covered, I would have made sure to eat a larger supper, no problem. But come on, at least talk to us and let us know what to expect......

 

[rpmmutant]

In sports, every night is election night.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

In sports, every night is election night.

Amen. Our ME actually said that in one of his e-mails about election night, but he used to be an SE, so he understands it.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If you're putting out a live section for tomorrow, your job will be dramatically impacted by the election. Everybody working when the pizza arrives should be able to partake.

What a complete and total *****.

 

[poindexter]

We aren't talking about filet mignon, its a couple extra pizzas. I can't think of much more depressing in a workplace environment (other than "you're fired") than having some cretin send out an email telling you that you are limited to two slices while you are working.

 

[JayFarrar]

Somebody needs to find out if that paper has a trade agreement.
Some pizza place gets free ads in exchange for free pizza.
At one place I worked, we always got pretty good grub. Box lunches with decent sandwiches. Always thought real highly of the bosses, then I found it was a trade thing.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Somebody needs to find out if that paper has a trade agreement.
Some pizza place gets free ads in exchange for free pizza.
At one place I worked, we always got pretty good grub. Box lunches with decent sandwiches. Always thought real highly of the bosses, then I found it was a trade thing.

Every place I've ever worked had a trade agreement with a pizza place.

 

[Magic In The Night]

Yeah, if that memo isn't this year's sign of the newspaper apocalypse, I don't know what is. Almost as bad as Craig Dubow e-mailing us the other day that he's making the ultimate sacrifice by whacking a few percentage points off his salary to the tune of $200,000. Geez.

 

[Ace]

Somebody needs to find out if that paper has a trade agreement.
Some pizza place gets free ads in exchange for free pizza.
At one place I worked, we always got pretty good grub. Box lunches with decent sandwiches. Always thought real highly of the bosses, then I found it was a trade thing.

Every place I've ever worked had a trade agreement with a pizza place.

Not me. I used to work at a pizza place, though, and we would trade dinner with other restaurants all the time. Never with the newspaper, though.

 

[SportsDesigner]

All the salad you want, though, sports dudes.

 

[MacDaddy]

The true downfall of the newspaper industry -- spending too much on pizza.