Our Newspaper Is Hiring!

[Pete Incaviglia]

As everyone knows, management laid off 11 employees at my paper. Those are 11 reporters or copy editors or photographers. But today, it was announced we're hiring!









ANOTHER MANAGER!

Un.Real.

I'm not sure what else I have to say. It's just disheartening. We need more people "on the ground" if we need anything.

 

[sportsguydave]

I hear you, Pete.

More geniousness from the people running our proud business off the cliff.

 

[Magic In The Night]

It never ceases to amaze me how they think they need more management people. Nothing a good blue flu couldn't cure to let them know how capable those types are.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

As everyone knows, management laid off 11 employees at my paper. Those are 11 reporters or copy editors or photographers. But today, it was announced we're hiring!









ANOTHER MANAGER!

Un.Real.

I'm not sure what else I have to say. It's just disheartening. We need more people "on the ground" if we need anything.

What kind of manager?

 

[podunk press]

I've never once in 10 years of journalism said, "damn, what we need here is another boss."

We could use another photographer.
We could use someone with HTML chops.
We could use another news reporter.
But another editor who will never set foot in the office on a Saturday and Sunday? Um, why?

 

[Dr. Ted Nelson]

My shop added a manager-level editor very shortly before the first of three rounds of company-wide cuts, including two rounds that hit the newsroom.

Not filled a vacant position - created a new one.

 

[spud]

This elicits a vivid image in my mind... a buncha monkeys sitting around a piece of paper with a pen laying on top puzzled out of their gourds, and they promptly ask another one of their monkey buds to come stare for awhile. For bananas.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The only reason why, in these times, I can think of a newspaper hiring another manager is so they can work him/her 70 hours a week and not pay overtime.

Otherwise, it's just inexcusable.

 

[Den1983]

I've never once in 10 years of journalism said, "damn, what we need here is another boss."

We could use another photographer.
We could use someone with HTML chops.
We could use another news reporter.
But another editor who will never set foot in the office on a Saturday and Sunday? Um, why?

Yup, if that was to take place at my shop, I'd start re-evaluating things QUICKLY.

 

[Fredrick]

This is beyond laughable. I know of at least 2 other shops that recently made top dollar hires in management with no reporting/editing/layout duties and both shops have had layoffs. What is going on? Sounds like newspapers realize they'll be cutting half their staffs or more when they go all online, no print editions soon, and that's ths justification.

 

[Magic In The Night]

This is beyond laughable. I know of at least 2 other shops that recently made top dollar hires in management with no reporting/editing/layout duties and both shops have had layoffs. What is going on? Sounds like newspapers realize they'll be cutting half their staffs or more when they go all online, no print editions soon, and that's ths justification.

I hate to break it to them but they'll still need people with writing and editing skills to work on the Web. And it's been my experience that management types don't have the first clue about Web work. Even when they've trained people here ... for weeks ... while they give us grunts 1 day to learn it ... the management types can't quite catch on.

 

[TheMethod]

A while back, our paper promoted a handful of producers (reporters, columnists, designers, etc.) to management positions for reasons that were never totally explained. I think they're doing a good job in their new roles. The day-to-day operation at my place is a lot better (really, it is, although it seems unclear whether we're making any more money because of it). But there are those times, oh, almost every day, when somebody says, "Man, it'd sure be nice to have another reporter down here" or, "Don't we have anybody in this building that can do a printable illustration?"

Such is our plight.

 

[MacDaddy]

My wife is a registered nurse and the hospital where she works did some layoffs this spring. All of the people laid off were managers; they didn't touch clinical staff. After all of my years in journalism, it seems like my wife works in some sort of bizarro world where the people in charge actually do things the right way.