Gannett, Gatehouse talking merger

Hence the wink/wink system. The Gannett suits, during the glory days, would be unable to keep an MLB writer's hours close to 40. More like 80 than 40 with road trips in a given week. Even with home games that start at 7 p.m., you get there at 2 to write the early story for deadline from material you got the day before; you go to the meeting with the manager in the dugout or his office at 4 and write that for the Internet edition; then you watch the game and write that for the Internet edition. so you are at the ballpark from 2 until midnight on HOME GAMES, that's 10 hours. Splice in travel for the next road trip and you see no Gannett suit can keep it near 40 hours.
So if you don't complain and you sign that time card all is well. Nobody ever makes a stink about it and the happy little wink/wink world works just fine.

 

Actual conversation I once had with my boss:

BOSS: Why did Chuck say he's working 85 hours a week during the baseball season?

WOODY: Because he is. He gets to the ballpark around 2, leaves around midnight if the game doesn't go extras.

BOSS: What are extras?

WOODY: Extra innings.

BOSS: So why is he going there at 2 if the game is at 7 p.m.?

WOODY: Because the clubhouse is open for an hour before the game. That's when he can build relationships with the players and others around the team.

BOSS: But who's telling him to work all that time?

WOODY: No one - it's what it takes to cover that beat well, and his metrics reflect that, given that he alone produces nearly 40 percent of our traffic.

And so we continued for 20 minutes, including some bullshit about how a Major League team that plays 12 miles from our office isn't "local" and doesn't "get the right pageviews."

Seriously.

Fuck Gannett.

 

See this is what infuriates me, the moving target. First, we wanted pageviews, then we wanted the "right pageviews" as Woody noted. Because if our pageviews aren't being generated by the right demographic (25 to 50 year olds who are purchasers - theoretically clicking on ads from our page) then we're not hitting the metrics. But if the suits want to kill a beat - say good ol state U - they'll just move the target again to get the desired metrics to justify it.

 

Better ? Why is an mlb beat writer on hourly rather than salary

 

I can’t remember the last time I clicked on an ad appearing on a story page.

The ads are usually for items I’ve a) already purchased or b) items I looked up but decided not to buy. No wonder why they sell for like 0.000002 cents per impression.

 

I've been told only those who manage others are eligible for salaried pay scale. I don't know if this is a Gannett policy or more widespread. Or if I'm being lied to ...

 

i know thats a rule in retail work so that corporate cant require the rank and file to work unpaid OT.

I cant imagine every non-manager in white collar work is paid hourly. Maybe it would require some sort of contract that chains won’t do.

 

The editors don't understand this. They really think that a phoner or re-written press release does the job just as effectively.

Amazing how many SEs don't try to tell news side reporters how to cover city councils or state government ... but too many MEs/EEs/whateverthetitlemightbe are so eager to tell an SE and beat reporter how to better cover a baseball team or any other major sports beat.

 

It's federal law. If you don't manage people you are supposed to be hourly, not salaried.

I used to be salaried. One class action lawsuit later, I'm hourly.

 

Have to make $684 week (up about $200/wk this year) and manage at least 2 people (have ability to hire and fire,etc.)

 

Yep, yep yep. Thanks for your post. If you have covered an MLB team you know 50 writers who have wink winked their way through a six month season. Work 70-85 get paid for 40. And in Woody's story here, you have to be there at 2 to write the early deadline story and hustle into the dugout for the manager's meeting with the media for the Internet breaking news story. Followed by the game which includes a story due immediately upon game's end, updated with a writethrough with comments; the rest saved for the next day's coverage. The Saturday night/Sunday game and travel day/night agenda is especially nice. Leave the park at midnight after Saturday game; get to park at 10 a.m. for 1 p.m. Sunday game; catch flight after the game. 40 hours? LOL. Try it suits, you might like it especially the donating money to the company part.

 

Exactly. Reason No. 1001 why newspapers are about to take their last breath, aided a bit by the virus of course.