Sun-Times: Happy New Year! You're fired!

Only if you're a shareholder. Reporters get the short end of the stick.

 

We don't have shareholders.

 

Sorry, the people who hold the pursestrings.

 

Are you, like, five?

 

I have a good friend who works for US Airways and she told me they had a different variation of the Christmas-time lay-offs -- instead of laying off the 500 people who they cut before christmas they alerted them in November that their jobs would end on Jan. 6th -- so it was like a slow death of sorts. I'm not sure which way I'd like less.

 

Either that or he's on some really serious medication. I could use some of those drugs.

 

Apparently the Sun-Times gave the bad news over the phone. Classy.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-080123suntimes,0,4831267.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout

Though I suppose that beats putting a "You're fired!" note under the axed employees' wipers, then changing the locks when they leave the office for the night.

 

I know it's been said that Mariotti won't be let go because he's "the brand" but maybe somebody up there will finally start to ponder if maybe the fact that he's "the brand" is the reason people have stopped buying the paper?

Yeah, too much to ask.

 

There is no good way to do this. But if we've learned one thing, it's that more newspapers would take a weasel's approach rather than anything resembling a stand-up method. I'm sure this stuff comes straight from the lawyers and the industrial psychologists, in terms of squashing people's livelihoods without prompting an AK-47 response.

Now, more important, did Sun-Times sports lose anyone? Anyone see an overall list of names yet?

 

Cookie did manage to save the job of his young page one designer, whom I had the pleasure of meeting. He seemed to be a very decent guy. (I'm sure he's underpaid.)

 

Do they leave a message on voicemail if you don't answer the phone?

"Um, yeah, this is Lundberg, you probably won't have a job next week."

 

I'm all for papers taking the lousy, low-class route in giving people the bad news about their layoffs. At least it shows them respect, by giving them one last miserable story to tell about an industry that they likely will loathe going forward. If someone is going to treat me badly, I want them to do it right to the bitter end, not try to feel good about themselves by acting classy when they pull my plug.

Do me the favor of allowing me to hate you and your stinkin' newspaper going forward. Anger is a good motivator to find that next job.