Just been busy

I haven't posted in awhile because I've been busy with life outside the paper. Honestly, I've been working on figuring out a way to exit. In reposnse to Just Reading, I'm not sure if someone else at the paper would pick this up. I had hope that this would be more populated by the disaffected at the paper. But I think there has been only one or two. There are many more opinions than mine.

The earlier deadlines are a total pain.

Exiting Dodge

I have to get out of Dodge as well. The designers have taken over the newsroom for sure. Deadlines have been moved up so the designers can work with the paper more. I wonder what will happen if there's late breaking news. Oh we can deal with it we are told. Regardless, the designers are dictating things instead of news. It's plain stupid. I know where we could save money and get writers back, fire most of the design desk. It's just insane to think that readers are somehow going to be wowed by a pretty package with little substance. I'm not sure readers really care.

As for Brad, it shows where the priorities are at the paper. But it also shows the priorities of the readers. Brad's column is one of the highest read features of the paper, which is a sad commentary on the readers.

I thought it was kind of good for EJ to get big footed by his boss. Maybe it will knock the ego down a notch.

Didn't disappear

I just took a little break from posting is all. Not much really to write. It seems like we side with the lottery in the Adams firing. Editors didn't quite want to admit that the paper got beat in many ways on that story. We don't cover the lottery, and Rebecca Paul is ripe for tough coverage. It also appears that we have gotten away from the chest pounding finally. As to Grandefille's question on Rutherford County, I can't answer that one. It will be interesting to see if the start up Williamson County paper can survive and cut into WAM. If it can, then why not do it in Rutherford, too.

No vacation

I just took a break from posting. What more can I say? Nothing's changing. The holidays are a slow time of year with lots of wire copy in the paper. The most exciting thing lately, in my view, has been the lottery deal, number two guy getting canned and we couldn't get the story. Nashvillepost did. Supposedly, EJ tried to call himself. That's just the talk. It would seem that expenses were so tight this year that all we got for the Christmas gift was a handshake from the publisher.

Job security

I decided to create a new post for the sole purpose of not having to scroll down so much to read comments. I hope management is reading this, although they are probably loath to acknowledge it.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more done to dissuade people from blogging. If they did, wouldn't that be hypocritical? Think about it. Here wer are invoking the First Amendment every chance we get, freedom of information and all, and then fire someone for speaking. They get ticked about people talking to the Scene. I remember a year or so ago EJ had a meeting down in the room by Mo's. EJ was talking about the family or team or whatever and not talking outside the team and keep internal business internal. His comments came after someone gave the Scene some idiot memo Green had written. Isn't that how we get our information from inside organizations? If someone got fired at the organization, we'd very likely write about why they got fired.

Brentioch's question about how I'd feel about getting fired is interesting and verging on a dumb question. It was be awful if I got fired. How could they fire me if I have good evaluations and I'm "Key" or "Quality" depending on the quota of Key to Quality? They would have to find an excuse other than blogging about the internal gripes. If they fired me for that reason, suddenly I'd be the most vocal person in the world. They have found ways to push people out, but if you notice, most of them are openly rebellious. Not it's up to the quiet ones. Look at the story about one of the top IRA guys who turned out to be a British spy for the past two decades, small, wired rimmed guy who was described as wallpaper.

Some of it is mildly happening. There are a few reporters who will lean over and ask an editor how they spell their name for the byline after we've been told how to write the story.

manager evaluations

There was a time at the paper when the reporters evaluated their managers. Those days need to come back. There would be many who would get reams of negative comments. Also, the survey we all took a couple of years ago doesn't seem to have hhad an impact. Those results were partly used in announcing the resdesign, which has been slow moving.

Do readers really want a more cluttered paper with fact boxes and such? Or do they simply want to read well-written and well-reported stories from writers that know what they are writing about? it seems the paper could have saved a bunch of money by foregoing the "design desk" and hiring more writers.

The discontent continues.

THP

We are milking that story for all its worth. How about those headlines?