Saturday, March 21, 2009

What are you hearing?

If you have news or info, leave it in comments.
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31 comments:

Anonymous said...

A lot of people are scared. If they are the few that are staying at their paper, when is the next ax going to fall. If they are leaving, how does that affect their very lives.

This type of stress causes a lot of good people to become negative and sometimes abusive.

Someone please blog on how to handle the stress everyone is going through. Feeding the negative keeps the negative alive and growing. It doesn't help anything.

We will always need those reporters that tell the story to the world. Closing a newspaper will not keep that from happening.

JAT said...

Hearing new sales "productivity" mandates at TCO:

12 client visits a day
40 cold calls per day
10 new Observer clients a month

"Coffee is closers!"

Anonymous said...

"You can't take this, how can you take the abuse on a sit?"

Little-known fact: That speech does not appear in the play on which the movie is based. Alec Baldwin's finest moment.

Anonymous said...

thank you for th is, 9:02: "Feeding the negative keeps the negative alive and growing."

And there's way too much of the negative here. I never post here becauase I choose not to join in the general whining, complaining and bawling that goes on here day after day.

Yes, I still have my McClatchy job, and I feel lucky. I love it. But I know that maybe I won't have it forever - I knew that several years ago, when I started to see the writing on the wall. Can anyone who works at a newspaper really say they have no clue this time was coming?

But here's how I cope. One, I keep doing my job and I enjoy it. I know that what I do is valued every single day. On the front lines, I take calls every day from readers who tell me how we have made a difference, so I know. What I do is important, and it's valued. It's not just something for the pet to poop on, as one poster here commented. Folks who see it that way need to get out NOW.

So my family and I looked ahead, back when I realized this might be coming. We saved, paid down debt, talked about what we would do if I needed to do something else. We came up with a PLAN.

I'll do my job happily as long as I have it. And if the day comes when I don't have it anymore, I hold no grudges. It's been a great ride, and I've loved it. And I'm smart and capable and there are other things I can do that I would also enjoy, and I will move on to those things.

Life will go on for me, and it will be a good life, no matter what I'm doing.

I'm not going to dwell with the crybabies and the belly-achers. I'm going to pick myself up, dust myself off and go on with a smile on my face.

What are you going to do?

Anonymous said...

Hey, Jeff Taylor? Scram.

Your ilk is trying to do nothing but trying to turn over dirt.

Sorry you lost your readers who were turning info over to you. You know, like "johnny hazard" and "born in southpark," et al.

Sweet dreams, imbecile!

Anonymous said...

And there's way too much of the negative here. I never post here becauase I choose not to join in the general whining, complaining and bawling that goes on here day after day.

If you never post here, how come I just read 9 paragraphs you wrote? Oh, and your "I never post here" whine, sounds like complaining and bawling to me.

Got consistant?

Anonymous said...

9:36 Your arrogance and smugness is galling, to say the least. If the negativity here bothers you, why don't you just go away? You won't be missed.

Anonymous said...

I am one of those without the job I loved. I'm not mad, but sad. I have not found anything to replace my former income.

Meanwhile, I deal with the stress by exercising a lot. Almost daily. And daily I do something productive toward getting another job. I network. I try to get out of the house every day.

Seeing Slumdog Millionaire and knowing how bad some people have it helped put things in perspective.

And if my money runs out before I land another job, I guess I'll go live with my mother.

Anonymous said...

Clueless writes, “I take calls every day from readers who tell me how we have made a difference…"
--------------
The politicians needing NO questions probably do thank you for the difference your suppression of news makes. You love that sort of thing do you? Buh-bye!

Anonymous said...

“If you never post here, how come I just read [9] paragraphs you wrote?
---
Man, you have a stronger stomach than I do. I was gagging after the first paragraph!

Anonymous said...

9:36 Most of your comments make sense. But remember, everyone has a PLAN on what they're going to do if they leave their job. However the economy has affected so many businesses that there are very few you can now move too. So many businesses have had to shut their doors with no future in the horizon. Unless you're a lawyer or doctor, where are you going to go? There are millions that want the answer to this.

Anonymous said...

10:49 Great attitude! Thank's for sharing. I haven't lost my job yet, but every day I feel like it's coming. Last year, when we had the first run of voluntary layoffs I made a plan to move to a different type of job. Guess what, that business is now closed. So, no plan in place and there are many, many others looking.

Anonymous said...

Jeff Taylor? Founder of Monster.com?

Anonymous said...

Jeff, you are a TRUE hero. God bless you.

Anonymous said...

Hearing new sales "productivity" mandates at TCO:

12 client visits a day
40 cold calls per day
10 new Observer clients a month

"Coffee is closers!"

March 21, 2009 9:10 AM

This reminds me of AUBREY WEBB, former ad director at The Fresno Bee:

"YOU WON'T FIND YOUR CUSTOMERS SITTING IN THE COFFEE (break) ROOM!

Anonymous said...

If 9:36 isn't from McClatchy HR, he should be. It's pretty identical to the crap one of them pooped out yesterday. Strange, I can't remember what he said.

Anonymous said...

So my family and I looked ahead, back when I realized this might be coming. We saved, paid down debt, talked about what we would do if I needed to do something else. We came up with a PLAN.

......

Well, good on you and the rest of the Brady Bunch.

Does your PLAN include spending $3,000 of your savings on a car transmission and $3,500 on a collapsed sewer line? Does your PLAN include a relative developing a life-threatening disease whose
medicine eats up your budget? Does your PLAN include being a 24-hour caregiver, which cuts into your job search? Does your PLAN include paying from $500 to $1,000 a month for Cobra insurance, and did you PLAN for what might happen when the insurance runs out. If not, take your PLAN and burn it, 'cause you need the light. Stuff happens, and often it does not go according to PLAN.

Anonymous said...

No, not THAT Jeff Taylor.
This is Jeff A. Taylor, the Charlotte area's answer to a conservative blog that takes a shred of infomation and builds a story around it ala "The Weekly World News."
He's fishing because his (dubious) Observer sources have dried up.
By the size of his ax to grind against The Observer, I'd have to say he's bitter for not having been hired at some point in the past.
Speaking specifically to the post he made yesterday, he has his facts wrong. Not that it matters to him.

Anonymous said...

In todays Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

A reconfigured Star-Telegram hits doorsteps Monday

The Star-Telegram will be changing beginning Monday:

■ The editorial and opinion pages are moving to the A section every day of the week, including Sunday.

■ We will print a report on stock prices of local companies Tuesday through Friday in Work & Money, although we will no longer report closing prices of other stocks or mutual funds on those days. On Saturdays, we will continue to detail the weekly closing prices for thousands of mutual funds and stocks in a two-page report. You can still check prices of stocks and mutual funds any day by setting up your own customized portfolio at star-telegram.com/business or by calling 800-555-8355.

■ The Sudoku, Jumble and Scram-Lets puzzles are moving from the Classifieds section to the comics pages, except on Sunday, when they will remain in Classifieds. The Eugene Shaffer crossword puzzle moves to the back of the Your Life section. Unfortunately, to make room, we've had to eliminate the other crossword puzzle and three comic strips: Over the Hedge, Non Sequitur and Real Life Adventures, which ranked at the bottom in our last reader popularity survey in 2007. But those strips, and others that aren't printed in the paper, are still available for free at star-telegram.com/comics. Be sure to look on both comics pages for your favorite strips because they have been rearranged somewhat.

■ On Fridays, Your Life will be combined with our weekly entertainment guide, Go! All your favorite features like advice columns, the daily TV grid, puzzles and comics can be found there.

We understand that these changes may take some getting used to, and we'd like to hear your thoughts. Please contact us at 817-390-7692 or reader@star-telegram.com to give us your feedback.

Anonymous said...

1:11: Brilliant demo job, Les. And hang in there.

Anonymous said...

Well, good on you and the rest of the Brady Bunch.




I can't imagine how you expect to get hired anywhere Les. Your bitterness bleeds through every sentence and it is clear that you have learned nothing from your experience. You lashed yourself to the mast with Capt Zieman at the helm. You didn't plan on Admiral Pruitt sacrificing the fleet to save his flag.

It's on you dude. Stop your sniveling and pull yourself up. Oh and leave the damn bottle alone for crying out loud.

Anonymous said...

Les:
Hang in there and keep the faith. I so wish there was a way I could offer you real help. You and your family are in my prayers every night, my friend.

Anonymous said...

And by the way,9:36 and 6:52, life happens while you're planning it. We do the best we can with what is handed to us. Some of us are caught in a black hole of despair, and it takes faith, family and friends to help us get out.

May God help you when if/when the black hole starts circling your family and loved ones.

Anonymous said...

Fresno Bee eliminates daily Business section, eliminates Sunday Vision section, no more color comics except on Sunday, Sunday Spotlight to be merged with TV book and shrunk to tabloid. Story appears not to be on their website, but you can see it on today's front page here:

http://www.newseum.org/media/dfp/pdf22/CA_FB.pdf

Anonymous said...

Lexington Herald employees get the scoop Monday. Employee group and HR meetings all day tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

With the knowledge that everyone is stating the economy will continue to get worse before it gets better, the changes newspapers are making now are just a drop in the bucket of what we'll see by end of this year. Good luck to those going and even better luck to those that are staying!

Anonymous said...

Some of us are caught in a black hole of despair, and it takes faith, family and friends to help us get out.



I'll give you that KK. Seeing you didn't add whining and whimpering for months on end to total strangers on a blog or drowning your sorrows in a bottle every day.

Now save the mother Theresa act for those in Washington DC where AIDS is three times higher than Africa. Les doesn't deserve it. In fact, his condescending arrogance over the years dictates that justice has been served. He spent his time knowing that this would come with his fingers stuck in his ears, jumping up and down and singing to prevent hearing the truth. How did he prepare...he BOUGHT shares of MNI, while everyone else was SELLING them SHORT! Now he's a victim? I don't think so. Now he's experiencing KARMA.

Hardrock said...

10:53 The reason everyone had to sweat over the weekend was that the editor was away on vacation or something. The publisher couldn't act on his own and wanted to wait. Guess we know who is important and who isn't.

Anonymous said...

Fresno story about their reconfig is now (finally) up on their website:

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1277750.html

Beginning Monday, the Business section, including the Opinion pages, will merge into the Local & State section. The Weather page will move to the back of the A section and Setting it Straight will appear on page A2. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we'll reduce the Opinion pages from two to one. These changes will save newsprint, which is one of our biggest expenses.

We've also begun cutting back on our use of color. This week, our daily comics pages will return to black and white, as they were until 2001. Sunday comics will remain in color.

Beginning Sunday, April 5, we no longer will print a Sunday Vision section. Instead, the Sunday Opinion pages will move to the Local & State section. We also are designing a new Sunday Spotlight section in a tabloid format that will include the weekly TV grids.

Anonymous said...

http://bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/diuguidlosestitlepay.html


Whoo Hooo! Sort of. Bottomline.com is reporting KC Star Vice President in charge of Racial Divide Lewwwwis Duiguid loses his title and takes a pay cut.

The bad news is, he is still on the Editorial Board as a writer, probably still in charge of promoting hatred with a six figure salary.

I wonder, at 200k per year, does that make him four times the writer that Mike Hendricks is?

Anonymous said...

Oone other thing, 6:52. I don't shit on my friends when they're down, When they're up and can take it, maybe, but never when they're down. Mark was my friend and co-wrker for 22 years, back in the days when i was aa copy editor and he was a reporter, and I am not going to dump on him or his wife now that they have hit hard times.

True, I had banked on Zieman being in charge for awhile (a PLAN), and expected to work 32 years at The Star. That's not going to happen. So much for plans.

And if you are who I think you are, you just might be surprised at how many times I went to bat for you when I was assistant copy chief at The Star.

Les Weatherford