Black Monday - Is this the worst day for print journalism?

Ryan,

I know you don't mean to, but you are coming off as a complete and total jerk on this thread. People are losing their jobs, or seeing their friends lose their jobs, and they're afraid. One way to deal with that is threads like this. You're essentially trying to tell them what is and isn't the right way to deal with grief and fear (all the while insisting you're not).

You stated your opinion, there's no need to keep hammering it and essentially trying to drive people away from something they find valuable. With every post, you're destroying a nice image you've built here, and left me wondering why people have, in the past, sung your praises.

Sometimes less is more. You're well past that point. STFU, stop being a bully, and show a little compassion, even if you don't get it or agree with it.

 

Sing my praises. Don't sing my praises. I couldn't care less.

Fact is, I stated my opinion. Others stated a dissenting opinion. That's the way it works, and I'm fine with that.

You, like others, are bitching about bitching, which isn't doing anyone any good. If you think this thread can be a good thing for people losing their jobs, post that. Again, how am I standing in the way of any of that? No one has answered that question yet?

 

Because, Ryan, it's the equivalent of someone posting on a politics thread that politics is stupid, and discussing it is unproductive, and then posting it again, and again, and again, without bringing anything new to the table.

It's boorish and completely self-centered behavior.

 

I didn't post my opinion over and over again. Lately, I've been defending myself against people like you.

Look....I have compassion for everyone losing their jobs, everyone being forced to take pay cuts and everyone forced to take furloughs. I have close friends that have been a part of all of that. I think it sucks. Not once have I said otherwise. And not once have I teased anyone in that position, as someone said earlier.

However, my orignial opinion on this thread was that the situation is bad enough and we didn't need another thread documenting the awfulness. Others feel differently, which is cool. This thread is there for those people, but very few are using it for its intended purpose. Again, not my problem, but don't complain if YOU can't bring anything new to the table.

 

Can you just stop? Please? It's not about you. Enough.

 

Ryan, perhaps you'd consider that when the majority of folks involved here see you as acting a certain way, there's just a chance they might be right, and it would be better manners to move on.

With that, I will, but not without a very, very different picture of you than I've previously had.

 

If you're referring to me....I never said it was.

And back on topic (I guess)....personally, I don't think Monday was the worst day in print journalism. I think it could and probably will get a lot worse.

Better?

 

Lets get back on track here...

 

Would we be able to cover government on the national level the same way if they bailed us out?

 

It's a sad statement of where we are as an industry that we even have to ponder the prospect of the government bailing us out, and whether that would have an effect on how we could do our jobs.

If the government were going to float a newspaper industry bailout, we'd have to come up with a careful statement of terms that allows us to do our jobs of raking the government's muck.

Can you still cover your city council meetings or your state houses if you find the delegate or the councilwoman who sponsored the bill that saved your job has his or her hand in the till to pay for a lavish trip to Tijuana? If we do report on it, would the government then pull the plug on us?

On the one hand, a government bailout of the journalism industry might save jobs. But it may impede our ability to do them the way they need to be.

 

It looks like Black Monday has carried over to Tuesday at the Houston Chronicle. A reduction of 12 percent of the staff was announced Monday. Today, the cutting began. So far, it seems like the college staff is done (Terrance Harris, MK Bower, Michael Murphy) and more are likely still to come. They announced universal desk begins Monday. Good luck to you all.

 

I agree with your sentiment, which is sad because in most cases the salary, benefits, and number of newsroom positions were such a miniscule part of the problem.

To all who aren't in favour of this thread, feel free to change the channel.