What exactly does desk work entail?

[Jay Sherman]

For those who are not out and about during the day and are instead in the newsroom working "the desk" all day, does that simply entail:

Layout
Copy editing
Agate

Is there any writing involved? Is desk work ideal for someone who wants to put in less hectic hours? Otherwise, what's the benefit?

 

[PeteyPirate]

Add watching TV, if there's one in the office

 

[Dickens Cider]

Whether there's writing involved depends on the shop. My boss gives us the option of writing; usually a minor beat at the local D-I. I chose the desk route because I liked the steady hours and the fact that I wasn't taking the job home with me.

And desk work also can entail spending half your night taking prep submissions. Luckily, we have part-timers for that at my shop.

 

[Write-brained]

... and messing with each reporter's delicate psyche.

 

[BB Bobcat]

Whether there's writing involved depends on the shop. My boss gives us the option of writing; usually a minor beat at the local D-I. I chose the desk route because I liked the steady hours and the fact that I wasn't taking the job home with me.

I've often thought I might someday want to switch to the desk, for just that reason. I'm sure the job has plenty of its own challenges while you are doing it, but when you turn off the computer, it's over till the next day. No laying awake at night and thinking: "Man, what the hell am I going to write for an offday feature?"

Don't flame me as if I'm trying to say working the desk is easier than writing. I'm guessing it's not. It's just a different kind of stress.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I'm sure the job has plenty of its own challenges while you are doing it, but when you turn off the computer, it's over till the next day. No laying awake at night and thinking: "Man, what the hell am I going to write for an offday feature?"

That's not true. You leave buzzing with adrenaline that some nights won't dissipate for hours. You replay the pratfalls of yourself and others. I can't count the number of times I did a U-turn five or six miles into the ride home to take another look and quell the nagging thoughts that something had gone horribly wrong and I'd missed it. And you do think about the next night's work.

 

[captzulu]

Design, copy editing, and agate are generally the main desk duties. At the places I worked at, there was also a decent amount of writing non-rev college/prep roundups from press releases and call-ins.

As far as the schedule goes, the hours are certainly more steady, but be warned that leaving work at 1 a.m. every night and having to work nights on most weekends is no way to have a social life. When I was first starting out, I lived with my best friend for a couple years, and most days the only time I saw him was when I was leaving to go to work while he was coming in from work. It was especially tough around holidays, when most of the staff was home since there are no games going on, but I and a couple other deskers were still in the office to put out the paper. So depending on what stage of your life you're in and what your friends' and family's schedules are, that could be a severe downside.

And what Frank says about adrenaline is true. When I first started on desk, I tried to get to bed by about 2 a.m. every night. By the time I got out of the biz, I was going to bed at 6 a.m., and I did spend a lot of time thinking about upcoming special sections and the like (though I suppose you don't HAVE to take work home).

 

[Football_Bat]

All things being equal, I'd rather be desk only, for the simple reason that the hours are consistent.

Staying up till midnight for a 2-OT basketball game, driving home a half-hour, getting up early and then driving an hour for an 8 a.m. football signing every February is for the birds.

Deskers who can get away from the desk on occasion can get some decent stories. Even if they can't, they can make a phone call or two and break some good ****.

 

[slappy4428]

fantasy leagues...

 

[Songbird]

a lot.

edit. rewrite. layout. obits (weekends). sometimes, like yesterday, write stories. deal with general newsroom madness.

 

[dixiehack]

I'm sure the job has plenty of its own challenges while you are doing it, but when you turn off the computer, it's over till the next day. No laying awake at night and thinking: "Man, what the hell am I going to write for an offday feature?"

That's not true. You leave buzzing with adrenaline that some nights won't dissipate for hours. You replay the pratfalls of yourself and others. I can't count the number of times I did a U-turn five or six miles into the ride home to take another look and quell the nagging thoughts that something had gone horribly wrong and I'd missed it. And you do think about the next night's work.

Hell I still have nightmares about 2-3 times a month where it is five minutes to deadline and I haven't started laying out the section yet. And those are coming two years after my last newspaper shift.

 

[captzulu]

I'm sure the job has plenty of its own challenges while you are doing it, but when you turn off the computer, it's over till the next day. No laying awake at night and thinking: "Man, what the hell am I going to write for an offday feature?"

That's not true. You leave buzzing with adrenaline that some nights won't dissipate for hours. You replay the pratfalls of yourself and others. I can't count the number of times I did a U-turn five or six miles into the ride home to take another look and quell the nagging thoughts that something had gone horribly wrong and I'd missed it. And you do think about the next night's work.

Hell I still have nightmares about 2-3 times a month where it is five minutes to deadline and I haven't started laying out the section yet. And those are coming two years after my last newspaper shift.

Crap! I have nightmares like that too, where it's an hour to deadline, the section is blank, and I'm working ultra-slow.

 

[sportschick]

I think we all have those nightmares.

 

[SF_Express]

The obvious thing not mentioned yet is that it depends on how big a paper you work for.

At smaller places, many people both edit and write, and/or writers slide in and out of desk shifts to fill holes.

The L.A. Times has/had a lot of writers who also work the desk now and then, but a lot of dedicated copy editors.

I'd think most copy editors at a place like the NY Times or Washington Post stick to that. I know that's the case at the Miami Herald, or was. And other places I've worked had swing people years ago, but fewer now. Now, the crossover is more likely to be design/copy than copy/writing.

As far as the rest of it goes, set hours: Sure. Not taking your job home: I'm with Frank, doesn't work that way if you're any good.

 

[healingman]

Yet deskers can also get free pizza on Election Night. Hooray!!!! :-)

 

[Songbird]

Here's another one:

Deal with whiny, bitchy reporters who have serious SERIOUS issues. Makes me want to take my head, find a brick wall, and begin the smashing process.

Un****ingbelievable.

 

[ServeItUp]

Then I must not be very good. When that night's shift is over and the presses run, I forget about it until it hits my stoop the next morning. Period. It's over. On to the next one.

This is the list of tasks I assembled from one of my previous stops. Enjoy.

Select, size, crop and process photos
Write cutlines, headlines and local briefs (includes prep game calls)
Format and edit agate
Format and edit wire copy
Edit local copy
Assemble, format and edit wire briefs
Type in TV and radio schedules
Lay out and design pages while proofing other sports copy ed's pages
Format (sometimes type in) and edit information for info boxes

At end of night send pages to PDF archive
At end of night send stories to Web queue and change Web priority as needed

 

[Songbird]

Good one, Serve, I forgot:

I also have to update all the stories to the Web (obits included) after deadline then wait for the first edition off the press and proof the paper and make any changes or add local copy for the second run.

The shift is usually 2 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

 

[BB Bobcat]

Isn't it true that being a designer/planner is a much different job from simply working the rim, or even slot?

In my earlier post contrasting writing to desk work, in which I said on the desk you could leave the job at the office and not worry about tomorrow, I was referring more to a pure copy-editing position, not a designing/planning job.

I'm guessing there probably aren't many of those copy-editing-only jobs left, except at the big papers.

It's possible I have no idea what I'm talking about, since I haven't been in an office past 5 pm in about 11 years (Something that amazes even me, as I hadn't thought about it that way till just now.)

 

[jakewriter82]

Do most, or all, sports deskers format agate? How long does it take to pick up that type of skill?

Edit: Assuming you've worked as a news desker for a year or more.