Um, my guy friend, I took a buyout 15 months ago, as my spouse had an acceptable income and I had come into an inheritance. I was making almost $94,000 at my metro daily sports section (yep, that's a fact), where I'd held a number of beats and elite positions for 20-plus years. I dropped my subscription to that Bad Place, but was in a tire store recently and looked at a copy of the publication from my former employer. Huh, what do yhou know? I saw NO new bylines (to say nothing of any Pulitzer nominees and national APSE multiple placement holders, which, of course, I was). I know of four of us writer-type at That Bad Place who took the buyout at the same time, and were making a collective annual $454,000 _ that's just five of us, counting myself, out of many who fled. I took the buyout as a goodwill gesture to let the miserable old rag hire three rookies for my salary. I am kind to 20-year-olds, having two sons in college, and understanding Dream Street. I wanted their pals to get my old job. But, guess what? Someone else kept that $94,000 of mine and also the other thousands upon thousands!!! You young guys lose!!! Sorry about that. Hmmm, imagine that! And the circulation dropped since 111 of us took the buyout at That Bad Place. And the stock is in the dumper, whew, glad they gave us gas masks before sending us to cover the Athens Olympics. I've remained a stockholder for grins, hoping there'd be another newsroom staff cut, maybe even a massive, machete-driven slashing. But, anyway, to answer your question, none of us were replaced.
Cheerio!
May your 20-year-old, vid-casting, pod-purposeful tribe increase!!
(Us old-timers spend all our time just vid-casting for grins!!! It's kind of fun, and a lot easier than the days of being expected to break 10 stories in 10 days!)
Sign me _ Sucking up all the important freelance, at the big places, for minimal honorarium fees (or even nothing, if I'm in the right mood), simply...because I can.
T-Leaguer
