Do more work for the same pay

[Riddick]

I had a boss once who after a string of cutbacks, he was so pissed I overheard him say, "If I knew it was going to be this bad, I would have fired myself."
Well, now that I'm a boss, I find that my bosses keep telling me to make my guys do more work, but for the same pay.
As a management guy, I don't mind doing more work cause i think they're probably overpaying me, but was curious on the feedback from some of the writers who, IMO are being forced to do a ****load more work with the only reward being a yearly raise that they might not even get.
And, is there an easy way to approach someone and keep asking them to do more with zero reward in sight.

 

[Clever username]

I had a boss once who after a string of cutbacks, he was so pissed I overheard him say, "If I knew it was going to be this bad, I would have fired myself."
Well, now that I'm a boss, I find that my bosses keep telling me to make my guys do more work, but for the same pay.
As a management guy, I don't mind doing more work cause i think they're probably overpaying me, but was curious on the feedback from some of the writers who, IMO are being forced to do a ****load more work with the only reward being a yearly raise that they might not even get.
And, is there an easy way to approach someone and keep asking them to do more with zero reward in sight.

Promise them strippers. Whoever does the most work each month gets free lap dances. Pay for it in fake mileage.

 

[Ellis Redding]

We're really short-staffed now, so one of our guys (granted, he doesn't really have much of a life) basically works everyday, including coming in on his off days. Of course, that's nothing compared to what the former SE had to go through. At one point, since he was the only one on staff who could design, he worked 42 consecutive days.

His reward? They hired someone from the outside to be the new SE. Amazingly, he didn't quit. Three weeks later, the new SE was fired and he finally was named the SE. It all worked out, as he's now at a 200K-plus paper. I certainly wouldn't have stuck around if I were treated that way.

But being overworked is the nature of the beast in this business. We have a six-person staff (we should, and have been eight; but I digress) and we all do more than our fair share. Except for this one lazy ****er who maybe works 30-35 hours per week. On days the SE isn't around, this guy comes in late, takes 90-minute lunches, and leaves at least an hour early. One day, he was supposed to cover the volleyball media day at the local D-I university and write a preview story. He finally comes into work, sits at his computer for an hour or so before getting up to leave. I asked him where his story was, and he said he didn't write one. He never did, and didn't even cover the volleyball team once all year. So he basically got a paid day off. He's also a ****-poor writer with little knowledge of proper grammar and AP style; I usually have to spend at least 15 minutes to make his stories passable. And since we're so short-staffed, he won't be fired and he knows it. So he basically does next to nothing. Good times. :

 

[Smartwriter]

At this one shop, after I was moved from being a sports writer to the news desk, the night editor quit. That was the person who ran the desk and taught me a few tricks of the trade. Now with a night editor that was slower in getting the paper out and me learning the desk, it was just freaking wonderful. I had not done any page design before that.
Since then, as I understand it, the paper has cut one copy desk position. That was great considering I remember one budget meeting where two of the publishers' sons (a family shop) talked about getting drunk at a chamber of commerce retreat.
Thankfully, everybody moved on that was on the desk.

 

[melock]

I had a boss once who after a string of cutbacks, he was so pissed I overheard him say, "If I knew it was going to be this bad, I would have fired myself."
Well, now that I'm a boss, I find that my bosses keep telling me to make my guys do more work, but for the same pay.
As a management guy, I don't mind doing more work cause i think they're probably overpaying me, but was curious on the feedback from some of the writers who, IMO are being forced to do a ****load more work with the only reward being a yearly raise that they might not even get.
And, is there an easy way to approach someone and keep asking them to do more with zero reward in sight.

Promise them strippers. Whoever does the most work each month gets free lap dances. Pay for it in fake mileage.

I like that type of thinking.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

It's honestly brilliant.

And when I clicked, I thought this thread was specifically going to be about beat writer blogs.

 

[Riddick]

Hmmm. Strippers. The only problem with that is I've been to the strip clubs here, and promising them strippers would only make them hate me more.

 

[Smartwriter]

Hmmm. Strippers. The only problem with that is I've been to the strip clubs here, and promising them strippers would only make them hate me more.

How far is your nearest "big" city?

 

[Riddick]

about an hour or so.

 

[buckweaver]

We're really short-staffed now, so one of our guys (granted, he doesn't really have much of a life) basically works everyday, including coming in on his off days. Of course, that's nothing compared to what the former SE had to go through. At one point, since he was the only one on staff who could design, he worked 42 consecutive days.

84 of 90. That's my record. Haven't beat it since, don't want to.

 

[Clever username]

120 in a row. I **** you not.

 

[write then drink]

He's also a ****-poor writer with little knowledge of proper grammar and AP style; I usually have to spend at least 15 minutes to make his stories passable. And since we're so short-staffed, he won't be fired and he knows it. So he basically does next to nothing. Good times. :

don't do anything to his stories. leave 'em the way he turns them in

he'll start spending more time on them pretty quickly

 

[Ellis Redding]

He's also a ****-poor writer with little knowledge of proper grammar and AP style; I usually have to spend at least 15 minutes to make his stories passable. And since we're so short-staffed, he won't be fired and he knows it. So he basically does next to nothing. Good times. :

don't do anything to his stories. leave 'em the way he turns them in

he'll start spending more time on them pretty quickly

That just makes the rest of us look stupid, and have to deal with the phone calls. It's not worth it. Plus, I wouldn't be doing my job if I let that happen, and I take too much pride in it. It's just that I'd expect that kind of terrible writing from a stringer, not a guy with a Division I beat. (And no, this isn't jealousy; I'm a desker, and I like it that way).

 

[Riddick]

Kick him in the nuts, and when he's bunched in a ball on the floor, throw his story in his face and say "write better, *****."

 

[Write-brained]

Riddick, after reading the last couple of threads you started I think it's safe to say that you really need to start looking for a new job. Everything you've mentioned sounds a lot like a Gannett paper I once worked for ... get out and find a new place before it drives you out of the business.

 

[SoSueMe]

I had a boss once who after a string of cutbacks, he was so pissed I overheard him say, "If I knew it was going to be this bad, I would have fired myself."
Well, now that I'm a boss, I find that my bosses keep telling me to make my guys do more work, but for the same pay.
As a management guy, I don't mind doing more work cause i think they're probably overpaying me, but was curious on the feedback from some of the writers who, IMO are being forced to do a ****load more work with the only reward being a yearly raise that they might not even get.
And, is there an easy way to approach someone and keep asking them to do more with zero reward in sight.

At my shop, we have full-time photogs who ONLY shoot. We have reporters on the news/city side. And we have sports reporters.

All the sports reporters shoot and write about EVERY EVENT THEY ATTEND. News people ALWAYS get a photog to accompany them. We all make the same wage. Makes no sense.

 

[Ellis Redding]

I had a boss once who after a string of cutbacks, he was so pissed I overheard him say, "If I knew it was going to be this bad, I would have fired myself."
Well, now that I'm a boss, I find that my bosses keep telling me to make my guys do more work, but for the same pay.
As a management guy, I don't mind doing more work cause i think they're probably overpaying me, but was curious on the feedback from some of the writers who, IMO are being forced to do a ****load more work with the only reward being a yearly raise that they might not even get.
And, is there an easy way to approach someone and keep asking them to do more with zero reward in sight.

At my shop, we have full-time photogs who ONLY shoot. We have reporters on the news/city side. And we have sports reporters.

All the sports reporters shoot and write about EVERY EVENT THEY ATTEND. News people ALWAYS get a photog to accompany them. We all make the same wage. Makes no sense.

That doesn't make any sense. The only places I've heard of where reporters have to shoot their own events are the ones without full-time photogs. What ****ing purpose do they serve, if they don't shoot sports?

 

[Riddick]

a buddy of mine had a similar situation when he took over as SE of a small shop. But after three days of the it, he put an end to that **** and become loved by his staff and hated by the photogs.

 

[SoSueMe]

a buddy of mine had a similar situation when he took over as SE of a small shop. But after three days of the it, he put an end to that **** and become loved by his staff and hated by the photogs.

I think this is the reason it is the way it is. I think management doesn't want to be hated by the photogs, and they make new sports guys do both gigs, citing "that's just the way it is."

EDIT: We're talking a six-day-a-week paper with a 20K circ in a university city with a population of 150,000 by the way.

 

[Ellis Redding]

a buddy of mine had a similar situation when he took over as SE of a small shop. But after three days of the it, he put an end to that **** and become loved by his staff and hated by the photogs.

I think this is the reason it is the way it is. I think management doesn't want to be hated by the photogs, and they make new sports guys do both gigs, citing "that's just the way it is."

EDIT: We're talking a six-day-a-week paper with a 20K circ in a university city with a population of 150,000 by the way.

My first daily job was at a 16K. We still didn't have to shoot our stuff. Hell, when I was SE at a weekly chain, we still didn't have to shoot our own stuff. Damn, that sucks. Sorry.