Miami Herald moving out of Doral offices...

[goalmouth]

...staff to work from home. Also DC office. Also Charlotte Observer.

I'm sure McClatchy will help employees with mortgages/rent.

 

[MileHigh]

The new norm, I suspect.

 

[SixToe]

Why does anyone need an office anymore?

 

[I Should Coco]

"We are investing in people over place" is something newspapers, in my experience, never, ever do.

As an ME said once, as he denied a request from reporters to attend a statewide newspaper seminar, "You'll just learn something you can use at your next job."

Newspapers invest in new equipment, or in property. Never in their employees.

 

[Severian]

I'm sure McClatchy will help employees with mortgages/rent.

Yeah, right. This is strictly a cost-cutting effort. The company realized working remotely is now a viable option, and they can save a ton of money on rent for a large buidling.

This is good news for the Miami reporters because, for those who don't know, Doral is in western Miami-Dade County, and commuting there is an absolute nightmare, especially for people who live downtown and in Broward County, to the north.

I won't be surprised if this becomes the norm. And, if the Herald gets the new office, it'll be tiny, with plug-and-play desks for people who must work at the office.

 

[Slacker]

I wouldn't want to work a newspaper job from home, though. There's nothing like the constant buzz of a good newsroom.

On top of that, you lose connections when the group dynamic is removed. Much like the connections between writers and editors were diminished when they weren't required to come into the office anymore on a daily basis. Who wouldn't jump at that chance, of course, but a lot of the fun went away when the writers weren't around to shoot the **** with anymore. A lot of productive conversations and interactions came along back in those days, too.

But there's no going back, at least for now. Everything is so different now anyway, and that's just one part of it.

 

[MileHigh]

Yeah, right. This is strictly a cost-cutting effort. The company realized working remotely is now a viable option, and they can save a ton of money on rent for a large buidling.

This is good news for the Miami reporters because, for those who don't know, Doral is in western Miami-Dade County, and commuting there is an absolute nightmare, especially for people who live downtown and in Broward County, to the north.

I won't be surprised if this becomes the norm. And, if the Herald gets the new office, it'll be tiny, with plug-and-play desks for people who must work at the office.

Yeah, it's definitely a pain getting out to Doral. And if it helps them save money, good for them.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

I never thought working from home would be possible in my gig, at least not long-term. I really don't like it. But I have a feeling I might not see the inside of the newsroom again, either because this will be the new way of doing it or because of layoffs.

And the thought of never being in a newsroom again makes me sad.

 

[goalmouth]

Does this even newed to be collectively bargained? And, not every person can work from home, for a variety of reasons.

Oh, and asshole McClatchy.

 

[MTM]

I was working in a Media News Group bureau about three or four years ago and they were all set to have us work from home until someone figured out they needed a physical address in the city to sell legal ads, so we remained. By then, the bureau was down to me, a sales rep and an ad assistant.

 

[Tarheel316]

Why does anyone need an office anymore?

I certainly don’t. Working from home is great. I like the flexibility.

 

[Severian]

I never thought working from home would be possible in my gig, at least not long-term. I really don't like it. But I have a feeling I might not see the inside of the newsroom again, either because this will be the new way of doing it or because of layoffs.

And the thought of never being in a newsroom again makes me sad.

The quicker you can adapt to working from home, the better off you'll be. There are a lot of reporters, especially freelancers, who work remotely. You'll be better off.

 

[User 150927]

There's no doubt that journalists can do their jobs remotely on a daily basis. But what about when you're working on a story with someone what about if you're working on a project with a team, where do you meet? Starbucks? I understand downsizing. I understand maybe going from an entire building to a suite of offices. But I think realistically to put your best product out there you have to have a space where staff can meet if not daily then at least when it's necessary.

 

[Matt Stephens]

Seven total McClatchy papers moving out of their newsrooms for new offices in 2021. Same for us based in Charlotte. Probably affects sports the least.

 

[BTExpress]

Employees ostensibly (not sure yet if applies to everyone) will get a $50/month stipend to defray cost of internet, etc.

When all is said and done, it could mean a $1,400/year savings:
$600 stipend
$400 parking no more
$400 in gasoline no more

And an extra 7.5 hours of your life not driving to and from work every week.

That's assuming they don't pull the plug on print after the election and Black Friday, which I still think they will.

 

[Fredrick]

Seven total McClatchy papers moving out of their newsrooms for new offices in 2021. Same for us based in Charlotte. Probably affects sports the least.

Without these money grabs of selling property, newspapers certainly would be all online by now. Some significant dollars in selling historic huge newspaper buidings and moving the newsroom into tiny offices.

 

[Fredrick]

But what about when you're working on a story with someone what about if you're working on a project with a team, where do you meet? Starbucks? I think realistically to put your best product out there ...

When has putting your best product out there been a concern of the top brass? The owners? The hedge funders and Gannett/Gatehouse-toids and the rest of 'em certainly don't care about any potential roadblocks to putting out "the best product." That is no concern to the CEO's. Their concern is keeping gas in their yachts and keeping the heat on during the winter in their vacation ski homes.

 

[BTExpress]

Without these money grabs of selling property, newspapers certainly would be all online by now. Some significant dollars in selling historic huge newspaper buidings and moving the newsroom into tiny offices.

1. Charlotte sold its building in 2016. Proceeds went to the pension fund.
2. They're not selling anything now. They're simply exiting two floors of leased space.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Why does anyone need an office anymore?

Assuming we ever have weekend preps again, gonna need to have people in one place to take calls from the Podunk High School Broncos’ statistician at 10:15 p.m. every night.

 

[FileNotFound]

Assuming we ever have weekend preps again, gonna need to have people in one place to take calls from the Podunk High School Broncos’ statistician at 10:15 p.m. every night.

I can holler, "The score-by-quarters doesn't add up in the Podunk-Hooterville box!" just as easily on Slack as I can across a room with phones ringing.