Thanks to massive downsizing at McClatchy over the past 18 months, positions are unfilled and rank and file employees are expected to do the work of 2 or 3 workers. There is a feeling among the rank and file that management hasn't taken its fair share of hits. From comments:
"It's curious why McClatchy hasn't cut more management positions. At Sac only a couple of managers were let go which made the rest of us very upset. Morale can't get any lower, so maybe they felt it didn't matter. They can't justify keeping managers when there's nobody to manage. It's no wonder this company is in decline."
Fair criticism?
.
.
.
18 comments:
One of the things I hear most from Star employees is that there are a lot of chiefs remaining for the few Indians. Cronyism seems to be a major element in who stays and who goes, with the 60's generation hippy dippy bunch protecting themselves.
Doesn't seem to be the case at Tricity Herald. They have cut their circ director, customer service director, hr director and IT director. That's 40+% of senior management.
Absolutely a fair assessment in Sacramento. Can't speak for other papers. It's one overseer for every three slaves. The only managers who are no longer in servive are the smartest ones who left for other professions.
The Bee always has been boss-heavy. Must be from the old days when they had to beef up in case of a strike. No chance of a strike these days.
Newspaper Industry Ad Revenue at 1965 Levels (Columbia Journalism Review) MAYBE THEY WILL TAKE MORE HITS SOON EH?
Inflation-adjusted numbers show papers are even worse off than you think
Martin Peers had a smart Heard on the Street in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal on the critical question of how much of the recent plunge in media companies’ fortunes has been a cyclical decline versus a secular one.
It’s obviously some of both, but the mix will decide what the next five years look like for magazines and newspapers, the critical providers of original reporting in the country. Alas, I’ve crunched some numbers on the industry and they’re beyond ugly.
First, some definitions. A cyclical decline is one due to the inevitable ups and downs of the broad economy. Most businesses get hurt in the recession part of a cycle but do well in the expansionary part and their fortunes more or less move up or down with the economy at large.
At the mothership in Sac none of the newsroom married couples (two paycheck Bee employees) got laid off and many of them were management or one of the spouses was a manager. Raised a lot of eyebrows.
the Columbus Ledger likes to have 1 manager to 5 workers. Seems a tad ridiculous to me.
Must be from the old days when they had to beef up in case of a strike.
Naw, that is a socialist thing very common among, "The People's Republics"
We just had some work done on the boat at Monaco Marine in France. It took 10 Frenchmen 4 hours to move one refrigerator from the aft deck to the galley about 100' away. 5 Supervised, 2 prayed to Allah, 1 held the doors shut because they didn't think of tape and the same 2 poor bastards worked....between breaks.
Just look in the "B" section of the Miami Herald. Look at the box that is usually on page 3 showing "how to contact us" or something to that effect. You will find 10 V.P. or higher folks for the roughly 700 workers that are left. Of course you STILL have all of the directors and managers to make the overall worker to management ratio smaller
Everyone at our paper has noticed this... All the managers that were getting "Let Go" are some how still working. Some don't even have departments to run that they were managers of. It didn't matter about real workers who had been there for 20 years. I hope they crash and burn ! No severance package laid off tomorrow.
In Fresno, of the 21 newsroom managers (this includes the fake managers, i.e. assistants) seven were laid off the last time.
The Fresno Bee has always been overly protective of the women they put into management, so unless you were universally hated, you were safe.
We're so much better for it now!
Yes, it's a fair assessment, even at the Tri-City Herald - sorry 4:08. Just cause they cut those positions sure doesn't mean they shouldn't cut some worthless middle managers who just get in the way of everyone doing their jobs as they trip over themselves trying to make themselves useful. It's one-to-three there too. It's totally silly and the readers notice too because they've cut so many actual workers, there's very little paper left to read each day.
At the Sac Bee it's not the hard workers but the ass kissers of upper management have survived. No one respects them. Morale is at a all time low.
Melanie Sill didn't flush the print-side boss when she arrived in Sacramento. Everybody thought that was a no-brainer. Sill kept all the management drones and rained cruel death on departments and the little guys. We're still waiting for anything positive to happen. Office morale is minus 10.
Every day is an adventure at Sac Bee. If this is what other chain papers need to aspired to, heaven help us all. Inside the bars here, we're all on anti-depressants.
All these complaints yet you remain. Did I miss something?
5:52: When unemployment in California is at 11.9 percent, and you need money to keep eating and paying rent, it's hard to walk out of a job in which you're miserable.
I didn't remain. I got out and am glad I did. But not everyone has it that easy.
Post a Comment