Digital First Media laying off at least 24 journalists

Digital First EIC gone...

https://twitter.com/jimbradysp/status/451400891523141633

 

Uncle John waxes:

http://jxpaton.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/moving-on-from-thunderdome/

 

How the hell can he not title that post "Beyond Thunderdome"?

What a yutz.

 

First. I give him credit in actually announcing the initiative is ending, unlike Gannett, which would make a huge ballyhooed to-do over it, and then six months later, it would be forgotten about by everyone.

Second, I wonder what already-thought of seven years ago idea with a stupid nickname they'll throw at the wall next.

 

Which they yammered about for several months in advance, forcing members of already short-staffed departments to spend hours of shift time to learn completely new software programs, then used for ONE PUBLICATION DATE, then dropped like a hot potato, never to be used again.

All, of course, as a negotiating ploy to bluff down all their software vendors whose contracts were running out, with the premise "we don't need your stinkin Photoshop or InDesign, we can get the paper out (and the website up) using free crapware programs off Teh Internetz!!"

Shockingly enough, it turned out the free shitware on teh internetz didn't really work all that good. What a surprise.

All the staff hours used to learn the programs to put out one issue of the paper? Suck it up!! All your hard work will be remembered at contract time (When We Lay You Off!!).

 

My wife and I both worked (elsewhere) with one of the significant figures in Project Thunderdome - not Tina Turner. It's a great puzzle to us both that this person is highly regarded at all, based on the work performance we observed.

Old media or new, some people can thrive for a while because they look good in a suit.

 

A crack in the Thunderdome. Why am I not surprised.

 

Eliminating the Faith section in Salt Lake City, Utah, is bound to attract more readers.

 

I wonder how long the Tribune has left. At one time I think that paper was quite profitable. But it is in a two paper market and I don't think the L.D.S would close the Deseret News. It is hard to compete with someone with a lot deeper pockets.

 

One of the Thunderdome's goodbye pictures. Not one black person.

 

Big shocker. I worked 15 years for a group of JRC papers, which started out with about 100, and currently has about 30, editorial employees.

In those 15 years they had a total of three black employees (two of whom left shortly after JRC took over). A complete coincidence I am sure.

Incidentally, I would observe it must have taken a lot of self-control for the people in the Thunderdome pictures not to flip off or moon the cameras en masse. Here's to you, John Paton: (_o_)