Beware, Trentonian offering jobs that don't exist

Unfortunatey, there haven't been many positives to speak upon. But I remain hopeful that change will come.

 

Latest flash: Bracy is now monitoring all "proof" pages for mistakes ... and calling out paginators that make too many blunders on the "proof" pages. These pages are produced by the paginator, then proofread by two additional sets of eyes, then corrections are made before the page is sent to be published. What is the purpose of the "proof" pages if not to catch trivial mistakes ... like adding or subtracting a hyphen or a comma? How and why would you chastize a paginator for allowing a stray comma to get on a "proof" page? If mistakes are getting in the paper, that's one thing. But on "proof" pages? Methinks there's a movement afoot to jettison some of the veteran staff in lieu of lower-paid employees ... right along the lines of what Circuit City is now doing.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/article_1634876.php

 

A proof is to catch mistakes. jackasses in charge who are scared rabbits point to mistakes made on proofs. apparently, aaron is no exception.

 

Is there any chance Bob Jelenic or Matt DiRienzo have seen this thread?

 

Probably so. do they give a damn. The answer is obviously No.

 

Why are the paginators catching heat for stray commas and the like?
Shouldn't that come from the copy editors before it?
Are the paginators supposed to, ya know, paginate?

 

There, like at most of the places the people around here criticize, paginators are also copy editors.

 

OK... didn't know.
I've worked at shops where copy editors edit and paginators design pages and places where they do both...

 

How about this:

1. Come within a half-hour of making deadline. At least once.
2. Put the most important sports story of the day on the back page.
3. Improve the layout of the section to make it more appealing to readers.
4. Edit the section tighter, at least so that wire stories on nonlocal teams can be cut down to say 8-10 inches instead of 12-20.

Sorry if these ideas are too radical or harsh. I know I am out of line expecting a JRC ballbuster to adhere to the same standards the rest of the industry uses.

 

OK, 2-4 are legit. Of course what you think is the most important story of the day and what the leaders of the paper think is the most important might differ.
But what really bugs me is this deadline stuff. First of all, most deadlines are artificial. Second of all, as a reader, if the SE can stretch the deadine, and I can still get the paper in the morning, all the better. That's such an internal issue, if it really mattered, then without a doubt he'd be out on his ass. But if management decides it doesn't matter, guess what? It doesn't matter.
And even though that's a start, I'd love to hear what people who are so in the know with the Trentonian think the section's direction should be. Pro sports? You've got the Inquirer, Daily News and Star-Ledger overlapping you. Local sports? OK, but is that a legit market? Hard to explain high school sports on the back page each day. Let's hear it from the "experts."

 

he did turn down the volume frank.

 

Can you really say deadline doesn't matter? Sure, the reader gets more if you don't make it, but then what is the point of a deadline if you aren't going to follow it?