Passive acceptance of no space?

[BB Bobcat]

I cover an MLB team that is out of it. That, combined with the general space crunch, has left my bosses telling me I have very little space quite often these days. I just covered three consecutive games with no notebook (just notes tacked on to the gamer). That's probably the first time in 10 years that has happened.

Anyway, if I just go along without complaint, am I...

a) a good team player who doesn't want to make waves, or
b) a lazy beat writer who ought to be coming up with good stories that force the editors to squeeze them into the paper

This is an honest question, because part of me feels guilty that I'm contributing so little, but the rest of me says the guys inside appreciate the fact that I'm doing what I can to ease the space crunch.

 

[Ace]

I have the perfect solution. This is easy, really. I mean, once I figured it out, I couldn't believe how well it worked.

See what you do is[edited for lack of space]

 

[captzulu]

Frankly, I can never imagine reading the game story for all 162 games in the season, much less a game story and a notebook from every game, especially if the team is lousy. In this day and age, having enough space for substantial game story and notes from each game really seems more like a luxury than a must-have. Since the team's games don't really have much of an impact on its season anymore, can you do something where you write a short gamer and spend more of your allotted space on interesting notes instead? Or how about putting the notes online and refer to them from the story?

 

[BB Bobcat]

The game stories are featurized as is, whenever possible. There have been days I've just mentioned the score, and that's it.

Still, however you slice it, it's 15 inches instead of 30. It's not much.

 

[imjustagirl2]

15 inches is more than we give to most anything.

Be happy you're getting that much.

 

[spnited]

Why do you need 30 inches a day on a baseball team that is dead in the water?
Our standard is 16" gamer and 8-10" notebook on two teams that will play deep into October.

If space has been cut, deal with it and do what you're asked to do. It's called professionalism.

 

[BB Bobcat]

15 inches is more than we give to most anything.

Be happy you're getting that much.

I'm not complaining, believe me. it's like a vacation writing half as much as I'm used to. the point is that I feel guilty about not complaining. :)

 

[imjustagirl2]

Don't feel guilty. It's what we've come to.

if the team was in the pennant chase, then you can *****. But 15 inches on a team that blows? Jesus, what do you want to write?

 

[rpmmutant]

It's our job to complain. Whether it's the star first baseman hitting .130 with RISP or your editor cutting your legs out, you need to complain. Then write the best 15 inches you possibly can.
Just be smart about how you complain. Whining about space isn't going to get you more. Finding stories worth 20 or 30 inches might get you more space.

 

[pressmurphy]

Ask the SE about being able to write notes/sidebars for the paper's website. Yeah, it's a tiny bit of extra work for the desk, but the diehard fans will appreciate the effort.

 

[John Taylor]

Anyway, if I just go along without complaint, am I...

a) a good team player who doesn't want to make waves, or
b) a lazy beat writer who ought to be coming up with good stories that force the editors to squeeze them into the paper

not calling you lazy, but (b) is the obvious answer.

spend the time you would have spent working on a notebook or an epic gamer on digging up a different/special type of story. you always should be looking for "good stories that force the editors to squeeze them into the paper." And that probably gets you on the front page as well, which no notebook will do.

less space is a reality of today's business that no amount of bitching is going to change. the idea is to make the best of that space.

 

[hockeybeat]

Why not write the sidebar(s) and notebook(s) for the website?

 

[forever_town]

But 15 inches on a team that blows? Jesus, what do you want to write?

When the Class AA team I cover hammered its way into the pennant race, I started running a box score and standings (which I hadn't done before) to go along with the gamers. Once the major league team started calling guys up from the team and they predictably started losing, I scaled it back to just doing gamers.

Had the team been in the playoffs, the box scores would have continued for sure.

It's just reality in this day and age. If your team had a legit shot at a World Series and they were cutting space, you could *****. Otherwise, just turn in your 15 inches and call it a night.

 

[John Newsom]

BB: The real test becomes if you have breaking news or a good read to get in the paper. That's where you need to scream and holler.

Really, though, you have to figure that your readers are tuning out of the day-to-day stories because your team is DOA and are probably more interested right now in high school/college/pro football and maybe the NASCAR Chase. (That's what your editors are burning space on, right?) Newsprint is expensive, ad revenue is flat, and your paper probably isn't adding pages (or maybe not as many as in the past) to accommodate all of the fall sports.

So are there any good stories out there you haven't had a chance to tell? Any good features/trend pieces you have on your tickle file? Any where-are-they-now pieces you've been meaning to get to? There might be a good feature/profile or three out of your team's September call-ups. Be creative. Now's the time to stretch and maybe take some chances.

But speaking as a deputy associate assistant to the sports editor, you're fine as long as you're keeping tabs on the team (meaning you're not missing any news - injuries, call-ups, demotions, trades, etc. etc.). You do get bonus points if you give me a Sports-front feature on an otherwise slow news day (the Wednesday and Thursday papers are rough right now because of how football schedules its availabilities) or write something so compelling it's got to get in the next day's rag.

 

[shotglass]

not calling you lazy, but (b) is the obvious answer.

spend the time you would have spent working on a notebook or an epic gamer on digging up a different/special type of story. you always should be looking for "good stories that force the editors to squeeze them into the paper." And that probably gets you on the front page as well, which no notebook will do.

less space is a reality of today's business that no amount of bitching is going to change. the idea is to make the best of that space.

I don't think this is right.

One sign of the creme de la creme of beat writers is those who know what isn't news. If you're covering a dead-end club, you don't make news where there is none. Your editor probably made the right call ... don't be an inch-counter.

Of course, this is a classic case of an editor's outlook vs. a writer's outlook ... so make of it what you will.

 

[steveu]

I agree with the obvious answer... extra stories/notebooks on the web, w/refer to the net. Then don't put your game story on the net and refer the readers to the paper for that.

 

[Editude]

The net-only notebook/sidebar is obvious, but in addition make that extra call or two and come up with a great off-day piece that demands cover play and more space.

 

[spnited]

The net-only notebook/sidebar is obvious, but in addition make that extra call or two and come up with a great off-day piece that demands cover play and more space.

Keep dreaming about the "great off-day" piece that "demands cover play and more space." It ain't happening.

This is a writer thinking he's going to be God's gift to his newspaper. What great off-day peice are you getting from a dead-in-the-water MLB team in September...some Class AA call-up?
Unless you're breaking a story on the GM, manager, et al getting canned, your team is irrelevant and you aren't getting any "great off-day piece" out of it.

Sorry, folks, this is reality talking.

 

[imjustagirl2]

Plus, all these people talking about doing web-only things...do your desks not read the web-only stuff?

We do.

Any writer who's getting 15 inches of space but sending us 45 inches of writing is going to be persona-non-grata around our desk. Then again, we're really short-staffed.

 

[spnited]

Short-staffed or not, IJAG, you speak from the standpoint of reality.