Gannett Buyouts

It was 20 years ago, and it was essentially an unwritten newsroom policy - nobody was allowed to claim overtime but everyone was expected to work as much as possible to get the work done (which often meant 60-hour weeks) and then take "comp time" during down periods.

When I became an SE and moved into a salaried role, I tried to make sure the people working for me didn't put in more than 40 so they'd have something resembling work/life balance.

 

I remember when I first started at Gannett, and the SE explained the "unofficial" way they handle OT. I was like, "whatever" and did what the SE said, then after about my third or fourth week of 60-plus hours, he reamed me for taking a day off and not covering something (after he denied spending money on a stringer for it).

I played the good soldier until it was time for my 6-month review, and under the "work ethic" part of it, I spelled out how I worked something like 34 days in a row, worked 20 hours of OT per week, but didn't claim it, "because OT is not allowed" and the work had to be done.

The EE called me in and asked who told me to work unpaid OT. I told him how it is expected to go down in sports, and the SE has everyone do that. I ended up getting a lump-sum check that was enough for a down payment on our first house, and the SE "left to pursue other opportunities" soon after.

 

I once got a 3 for "phone" - I knew then that reviews were rigged as hell.

Now that Romenesko is done and Poynter doesn't seem interested - is there a site (besides this board) that tracks journo news like layoffs and such?

 

I once got a 4 for making deadlines. I looked at my SE (a great guy) and asked him what the hell was he thinking because I hadn’t missed one deadline in years.

He looked at me sheepishly and flat-out admitted that he wasn’t allowed by the higher-ups to make our reviews look too good.

 

I don't have a problem with corporations that do shady things.
I don't have a problem with editorial departments that are little more than mouthpieces for local business interests.
I do have a problem when newspapers bury items of interest that would normally be a story if anyone other than the newspaper did them. (Wage theft, layoffs, outsourcing various services etc).

 

They never EVER (in Chris Jericho voice) gives 5s. Ever.

 

They actually did for me, at least for making deadlines and one or two other things previously, which is why I looked at my boss, who, like I said, was a great guy,, was like he was nuts.

 

I don't know which is more depressing, these layoff threads or the politics thread. And yet, I still keep reading them.

Masochist.

 

I remember when GannettBlog was a thing. It was somewhat comforting in an odd way that your managers weren't nuts, just following corporate protocol.

 

The place I worked from 2012-18 (another media chain) also had a 1-through-5 evaluation system. My supervisor told me off the record that his bosses limited him to a certain number of 4s per year. As for 5s, he said, "You'd probably need to win a Pulitzer Prize -- and even that might not be enough."

 

Ours is a simpler "Exceeds expectations," "meets expectations" and "needs development."

One of the subjects was something to do with "punctuality/dependability."

I've never missed a scheduled work day in the past 34 and a half years (seven with this company).

I "meet expectations" in this regard.

 

Having four photographers in 2014 tells me your shop was grossly over-staffed in at least the photo area. What in the world would four photographers do all day long? It doesn't take 32 man hours a day to take 8-10 pictures, especially when reporters can take pictures with their phones themselves.