Louisiana Gannett papers to implement regional copy desk

[StaggerLee]

Didn't see a topic on this, so forgive me if it's d_b.

Louisiana Gannett papers announced Thursday that in July the five state newspapers would go to a regional copy desk. Essentially, all five papers -- Shreveport, Monroe, Lafayette, Opelousas and Alexandria -- will be paginated at one location, Monroe. The logistics haven't really been worked out, from what we can gather, so apparently it's still very much in the planning stages.

What it basically means is that existing copy editors will be allowed to keep their job, if they move to Monroe. The ones that don't accept the transfer to Monroe will allegedly get severance and be shown the door. As of now, there's to be 24 copy editors at this regional copy desk and three supervisors.

It appears to be a cost-cutting measure, but nobody could quite figure out how it's going to save cost if they're not planning on releasing any of the current copy editors. It's also still going to require someone back at the other shops to stick around and proof pages and do press check. So you're not saving hours there, you've still got people working late back at the other shop.

Theoretically, it will give those sports guys who do both paginating and writing ample time to concentrate on writing. Also theoretically, it could lead to said layout/writer dudes being laid off because their now-obsolete paginating skills were keeping them around.

I don't know how to feel about the whole thing right now. If implemented correctly, it could be a good thing for sports staffs. It could allow some talented writers who have layout responsibilities to really play to their strengths instead of spreading themselves thin. It could allow sports staffs to be more flexible as far as work schedules are concerned because you no longer need those three or four guys around until midnight helping to proof pages and pick up those late pages.

At the same time, high school football Friday nights could be disastrous. Saturday nights during college football could be catastrophic. It's difficult enough for a sports staff to get out on Friday nights with all hands on deck. Imagine a regional copy desk trying to get four (Opelousas doesn't have a Saturday edition) papers out on Friday nights, knowing full well a half-dozen or so will be off. I guess the one positive is that you won't be taking calls/writing roundups/finishing gamers while also laying out.

So, that's the news.

P.S. We were told at our shop that this regional copy desk won't prevent future layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts, etc. So, the rumors that Gannett is about to implement another round of layoffs persist.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The thing that I don't understand (besides trying to get people to quit their jobs), is, with the technology being used today, why not just keep people at their current shops and just have them do the same work they would do at a combined operation.

 

[BrianGriffin]

That they are forcing paginators to move some three hours from their home cities in some cases (Lafayette) makes it sound like they are trying to get them to quit.

That they are making them move to Funroe clinches that theory. Not only are folks from Lafayette, Opelousas and Shreveport not going to want to move to Monroe, but folks in Monroe may quit because now they don't have a move to Lafayette or Shreveport as an aspiration any more.

Alexandria folks might look at it as an upgrade and be excited.

Just kidding Alexandria people out there...

 

[JayFarrar]

I can say that without a doubt that this will be a disaster.
Here's why:
• 27 people aren't enough to layout five papers. Even if you are talking small sections that just means you'll 4 or 6 or 8 unique pages per section because of the ad stacks. So because of the smaller sections, you won't have any common pages.
• Local photos will be a problem as well. Even if the photo techs are working out of Monroe or the individual photogs are toning each shot, it will cause a bottleneck on getting pages down.
• Tight deadline nights like Friday, Saturday and election season will be a major headache.
• Communication will be a problem because section and top editors will want the covers to look a certain way but because of either not communicating that vision or pop-up design problems with copy or photos, the design will change and that will cause anger and frustration.
• If the copy desk is also reading all the copy in addition to layout, local knowledge things will be off and that will cause reader frustration.*

Okay, I keed, when has a newspaper cared about a pissed off reader?

 

[StaggerLee]

The thing that I don't understand (besides trying to get people to quit their jobs), is, with the technology being used today, why not just keep people at their current shops and just have them do the same work they would do at a combined operation.

That question was asked four separate times in the meeting I attended and the answer was never clear. Eventually, the person answering the questions said "It'll be more efficient." But how? What's efficient about 27 people trying to put out five different papers at one time?

As for deadlines, they allegedly will remain the same. They said our printing schedules worked out perfectly that we won't have to change anything. I fail to believe this, just like I fail to believe it's going to save money.

And Brian is right, Monroe is a horrible choice. When you have a new building in Lafayette and Shreveport, why choose Monroe? Why choose a place nobody in the state wants to live? None of it makes any sense.

Frankly, it sounds like just about every other plan Gannett has implemented over the years. It sounds like they didn't really think things out and figure out the logistics beforehand and they'll just go with the flow and take things as they come.

 

[WS]

You choose Monroe because you know people will quit rather than move there.

 

[MrBSquared]

Ugh ... Fun-roe ... well, better than being unemployed. Barely.

 

[Fredrick]

If implemented correctly, it could be a good thing for sports staffs

What are the odds of that?? Probably 10000-1.
Ain't gonna work.
Good luck to those who actually have to try to put out a paper(s) in this environment. My god will this be a cluster**** disaster! Gannett is such a forward thinking organization. Piece of **** company.

 

[clutchcargo]

Stagger:
What you describe is a cost-cutting consolidation. They say no one is losing their jobs, but in doing so they are also betting about 25% or so will quit rather than make the move. That's how it works.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The (almost) funny thing would be if too many people quit.

 

[thegrifter]

Sick of these bull**** moves by newspapers. If you don't want people to work there, fire them. Making them quit is such a chicken**** move, cause we all know most people won't be able to uproot their families for a Gannett salary.

 

[BrianGriffin]

Ugh ... Fun-roe ... well, better than being unemployed. Barely.

Homeless under a bridge vs. employed in Monroe?

Depends on the bridge.

 

[Desk_dude]

I would think there will be page-sharing. Much of the A section could be the same. And pages in sports, including the baseball page. This is much like the plan with the Tribune Co.
I guess they want all of the people to work in the same place for communications. Maybe with the Gannett papers the computer systems can't be linked. Also, they think there would be communications problems even though there is the phone, e-mail, IM.
Ultimately, I think Gannett could do some pages for all papers out of one spot, possibly where USA Today is put together

 

[OTD]

I knew as soon as I saw this thread title that buckdub would be on this quickly and with the definitive word. I was not disappointed.

I would think there will be page-sharing. Much of the A section could be the same. And pages in sports, including the baseball page. This is much like the plan with the Tribune Co.

I think you can count on this. And if they can set it up so pages produced in Monroe are printed in Shreveport (or wherever), they could've set it up so that people could copy edit in Shreveport for the Monroe paper. They just want people to quit.

Are they offering to pay relocation?

 

[buckweaver]

I would think there will be page-sharing. Much of the A section could be the same. And pages in sports, including the baseball page. This is much like the plan with the Tribune Co.

If they're smart, they'll try to plan for as many common pages as they can (as JayFarrar said.) Generally, that's state, nation and world pages for the news section, hopefully some features sections that rely on AP or GNS, and any regional/national pages for the sports section (think MLB page or something along those lines.)

Here's the problem: Ad stacks.

Because while they might have a plan to go to a regional copy desk for editorial production, I GUARANTEE you the advertising/page placement departments aren't going to be working so closely in conjunction. And that will result in a late quarter-page ad that was placed at 5 p.m. -- for just one zone (groan). Or those oh-so-fun Hot off the Press notices where one paper's got a 2x5 and another one has a 6x10.

So yeah, you might be able to put the same North Korea story on every paper's A10 and the same Randy Johnson/300 story on every paper's C4. But you're going to have to tweak it five times, maybe add a photo here, add a deckhed or pull quote there, and that just ups the potential for mistakes. Plus, you'll also have to send it five times. And all those precious minutes add up.

And once you get into deadline situations -- not to mention local copy -- you're just increasing the odds for disaster.

Straight-up cluster****.

 

[StaggerLee]

Stagger:
What you describe is a cost-cutting consolidation. They say no one is losing their jobs, but in doing so they are also betting about 25% or so will quit rather than make the move. That's how it works.

I get that, but the way it was explained is that for the five newspapers, there are 29 copy editor positions, when the five papers are FULLY STAFFED. So, in theory, going from 29 to 24 would be eliminating five positions, thereby cutting probably $150,000-250,000.

But, here lies the problem. The five newspapers aren't fully staffed on the copy desk, not even close. It's bull**** spin. Lafayette has only TWO copy editors left — three if you count the one sports paginator.

Most nights, they have the news editor, assistant managing editor and managing editor laying out pages in addition to one of the two copy editors on staff. Opelousas has only one copy editor on staff. When she's not there, Lafayette does Opelousas' pages.

I just have a hard time believing there's more than 24 copy editors in the five newspapers total, so you're not cutting any positions at all. You're just moving those 24 people to BFE.

I have a hard time thinking this is really going to work.

 

[GlenQuagmire]

This is absolutely a cost-cutting move. Live in Monroe? Rather shave my balls with a cheese grater.

Gannett knew what it was doing here. All about saving money. Some will quit instead of moving. Some of the managers won't get re-hired in Monroe.

They don't have the answers to real questions because that would take some common sense.

On another note, I heard Monroe lost its SE last month.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

This is absolutely a cost-cutting move. Live in Monroe? Rather shave my balls with a cheese grader.

On another note, I heard Monroe lost its SE last month.

Not the cheese grater ... (to the tune of Tim Blake Nelson's "George, not the livestock" in O Brother Where Art Thou?)

 

[pressboxer]

Scripps is doing the same thing in Texas, moving pagination for Wichita Falls, Abilene and San Angelo to Corpus Christi. Pretty much all the same reasons were given, and a number of deskers elected not to make the move. Can't wait to see how it all shakes out.

 

[Mark2010]

I would think there will be page-sharing. Much of the A section could be the same. And pages in sports, including the baseball page. This is much like the plan with the Tribune Co.
I guess they want all of the people to work in the same place for communications. Maybe with the Gannett papers the computer systems can't be linked. Also, they think there would be communications problems even though there is the phone, e-mail, IM.
Ultimately, I think Gannett could do some pages for all papers out of one spot, possibly where USA Today is put together

That's what I thought the gameplan was. A lot of cookie-cutter papers, where about half the paper in Shreveport looks just like the one in Monroe. TV stations have been doing that for a long time now.

That's the only way that a joint copy desk saves anyone money. If you are going to need the same amount of personal, what difference does it make where they are located?