Newspaper holiday parties thread

[Ice9]

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen happen at your newspaper’s holiday party?

 

[Michael_ Gee]

At my first port of call, the alt weekly Boston Phoenix, which was a wonderful place to work if you didn't look at your paycheck, publisher Steven Mindich, who had a very low tolerance for alcohol, got into (stopped by onlookers before they really began) fistfights with three different employees on three consecutive Christmases.

 

[DanOregon]

Sometimes they would cater a nice meal - gift certificate to the local grocer (until corporate nixed the ad trade-out so they switched to a raffle so only a few people got anything), a letter of thanks for the hard work (no check, citing financial pressures of course followed two weeks later by news of the acquistion of another chain), I've never worked anywhere that had a really decent holiday party.

 

[MisterCreosote]

One of our copy editors once banged a waitress in the parking lot of the bar that hosted our “party.”

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen happen at your newspaper’s holiday party?

Never worked for a newspaper that held a holiday party for the newsroom. Advertising department? Yes, because they were out of the building by 4:30 p.m.

 

[playthrough]

No great stories of debauchery, but my wife's old city magazine threw unreal holiday parties. The two-story atrium would be set up as a casino night with tables and dealers, with multiple food stations and bars along the way. One year Maker's Mark had a station where you'd get a bottle and then do your own hot red wax-seal thing. At the end of the night there was a drawing for dozens of prizes from plane tickets to gift cards, stuff that the mag would get during the year in trade with advertisers.

Of course, then the recession hit and the ad dollars dried up. Parties over.

 

[HackyMcHack]

The paper I worked at in the former Freedom chain (RIP) had some blowout Christmas parties.

I've worked in three chains since. Maybe one holiday party between them in nearly two decades. And I had to miss it since I was on the desk that night.

 

[TigerVols]

My paper's owner rented out the Breakers hotel on Palm Beach and imported two-dozen DisneyWorld Carolers to roam around the party of 750 guests that was catered by Wolfgang Puck. As the festivities wound down, it was made clear that complimentary guest rooms were available for the amorous and/or the drunk.

(I should note that the paper was the National Enquirer and the owner was the legendary Generoso Pope, well-known for having a Christmas fetish.)

 

[Equalizer]

My former paper used to have a holiday party every year. Even the retired people were invited.

About three years after the new publisher came in, he decided to kill the holiday party because, he claimed, few people showed up. In reality, he bragged at the local bar he always frequented after work that he killed it to save money (even though the employees committee, which raised money through our vending machines, paid for it) and "because I really don't like being around those people." So he decided to throw a small party (snacks only) on a weekday afternoon, and on the day it was scheduled, a major ice storm was coming. So that party got cancelled, and we never had another one.

Side note: The employees committee was disbanded the following year, and all of the money from the vending machines went back to the company.

 

[wicked]

Had a holiday party last week where the boss and the boss’ boss bought a few rounds.

Thank god I left the business.

 

[UNCGrad]

My paper's owner rented out the Breakers hotel on Palm Beach and imported two-dozen DisneyWorld Carolers to roam around the party of 750 guests that was catered by Wolfgang Puck. As the festivities wound down, it was made clear that complimentary guest rooms were available for the amorous and/or the drunk.

(I should note that the paper was the National Enquirer and the owner was the legendary Generoso Pope, well-known for having a Christmas fetish.)

I truly ask this in all sincerity and not being cheeky - what was it like to work for/write for the National Enquirer? I imagine there are some fun stories. (Apologies if you've already covered this elsewhere.)

 

[Kolchak]

Not a holiday party, but my paper used to order a lot of pizza on election night for everyone who was in the office. And there would always be a couple news people upset that the sports department was allowed to have some.

 

[Regan MacNeil]

Probably the same people who were usually out the door by 4:59 p.m.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

One of our copy editors once banged a waitress in the parking lot of the bar that hosted our “party.”

I almost banged one of our copy editors after one of our parties.

Now that I think about it, we never had another one.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

Went to a few big ones. They did it right, held at a bar with private space, catering, free booze. Nothing tawdry that involved me, but some good stories.

And the days of that type of party are long, long gone. Though, there were several after the 2008-09 recession. So that's something.

 

[maumann]

The Rocky Mount Telegram gave out $25 Christmas "bonuses" (in the little cut-out envelopes your grandparents might use) when it was owned by Thomson. Sports rarely got invited since we were putting out three issues -- 24th, 25th and 26th -- in the same press run.

I won the "free turkey from Food Lion" raffle one time and the publisher decided "a manager" shouldn't be eligible.

 

[wicked]

I almost banged one of our copy editors after one of our parties.

Now that I think about it, we never had another one.

I want to see THIS story.

Only after the Mrs. goes to bed.

 

[Slacker]

We didn't need no stinkin' newsroom parties. Everyone knew that the composing room, back when we had composing rooms, always threw the best parties. Didn't even need a holiday!

Off-site, of course. Usually at someone's apartment. And sometimes they would go all night. And I mean ALL night: We'd stumble out to our cars and see kids climbing onto the school bus as daylight was breaking. ... "Holy ****," we'd say. "We really did it this time."

Best of times, they were. All the really great times of newspaper production faded hard when the composing rooms went away.

 

[playthrough]

The Rocky Mount Telegram gave out $25 Christmas "bonuses" (in the little cut-out envelopes your grandparents might use) when it was owned by Thomson. Sports rarely got invited since we were putting out three issues -- 24th, 25th and 26th -- in the same press run.

I won the "free turkey from Food Lion" raffle one time and the publisher decided "a manager" shouldn't be eligible.

If you didn't have to go to Food Lion, you were the winner after all.

 

[wicked]

One of my papers had a really close staff and there were Third Thursday parties every month. One or two of the guys were in a band and occasionally they’d play a set. Fun times.

Also, the pressroom guys in many places are a bunch of degenerates. I mean that in the nicest way possible.