Workplace dissension

A squared plus B squared equals C squared.

 

The way we always did it, dixie, was that the ASE or myself would plan the section and assign the pages. The slot man, of course, getting the section front and the jump page. Then you go out and get what you need for your page(s). If any adjustments needed to be made for breaking news, the slot man would communicate the changes with any editors on affected pages.

I certainly believe what Bronco said about copy editors asking to be steered away from certain stories, but with our five-person desk, it never came up to my knowledge. We just took what was on our pages and went with it.

 

I get that from the design end. Never seen it come up for first read or proofing pages.

 

Well, when we got our pages, we did it all for that page. First read, design, paginate. Then have another editor proof your page at the end.

When we changed over to a universal desk, the roles became more specialized. Curators were the copy editors. Page designers were page designers. One or the other would have planning responsibilities for the day.

For sports, anyway, I much preferred the old method.

 

A and C should quit being whiny ass babies. The day a manager has to referee petty disagreements between adults in the workplace is the day they get serious sit-down discussion about adulthood and workplace manners.

 

Employee D, the new hire, is a USC grad.
Don't fuck with him. He'll kill you dead.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, "A" is a longtime friend, co-worker and confidant of mine. I'm definitely prejudiced here, but I'm not sure it's fair to characterize him as a "whiny ass baby" -- it wasn't his choice to be a newsroom gunner's target, and I'm pretty sure the only person he's "whined" to at this point is me. He has no intention of going to the manager (whose plate is awfully full already). Now, if you say he needs to develop a thicker skin, or be more diligent about checking his work so that "C" has less reason to criticize him, those certainly are valid points.

But again, it probably makes no difference in the long run. We're all headed out the door, probably sooner rather than later, and our options are to find another job in a business with a better future or hope our retirement portfolios double or triple in value overnight.

 

I wouldn't mind if A walked over to C and beat the snot out of him, and I'm available to help if needed.

 

If he's a USC grad, that means he's better than any other copy editor except Employee A.

 

I didn't even know South Carolina had a journalism school.

 

Death to those who engage in office warfare. I've worked with some true knobs in my time, but those I group as the very worst all came to the office everyday looking for a fight first and foremost, even if they were competent at their jobs.

The second-worst group were the ones who couldn't care less about deadlines, so yeah, Employee B was the right one to give the ol' heave-ho.

 

Workplace tension is not pleasant. I would encourage A to be as friendly to C as possible.

Try complimenting him on something he does well instead of looking for a screwup to point out.

It's much better to get along than to hate coming to work because your are pissed at your c0-workers. Let it go.

But if C continues to say anything negative publicly to your guy, he should stand up for himself.

That said, I always prized copy editors who could work at different speeds. You have to recognize that certain stories require more care. And sometimes you have to be able to hit fifth gear. Some simply cannot do it and proceed at the same speed with every story.

Also, know-it-all, surly copy editors are not uncommon and not much fun.