'Black Wednesday' in Tampa

Scott,

I know it's been one whirlwind of a week for you but you're approaching this with the right attitude, if one even does exist. Kepp trudging forward with your head held high and PM me or give me a call when your mind is in the right place. I'm here to help any way that I can.

 

Carter,

You hadn't told me u have to wait for your severance check. That's ridiculous. When I was laid off three years ago, I was IMMEDIATELY given a pretty large check (three months' severance -- I had been there just under five years -- and a buttload of vacation pay). They also retained my insurance coverage and said that would continue as long as I needed it. I partied for a month, then found a job I like a month later.

Looking back, that outfit wasn't so bad ... at least in the layoff circumstance.

As for the legal junk, you are correct, I'm afraid. Florida is a Right to Work state (misnomer, it should be Right to Fire state), meaning they can fire you for nothing at all. Or lay you off, of course. The big difference in getting fired or laid off in a Right to Work state is you can immediately draw unemployment (well, after a one-week wait in Arkansas, anyway) after a layoff. Can't get squat after being fired.

I'll call you in a day or two to check up again.

 

He has. I told him from the get-go.

 

It was three years ago, but I did not sign anything nor was I asked to. Not disputing that that could be the case at some places or that it has changed since my experience.

 

Thot you already had, ol' boy. Get hoppin'. Like I told you, free and easy money, if not much of it.

In Florida, folks, it maxes out at about $260 a week.

 

If a Poynter drone believes in it, I'm sold.

Forget fiddling while Rome burns, these people drink ambrosia.

 

Well, she hasn't posted a blog in three days. Wonder if Trib management told her to just lay low for a little bit to help the firestorm burn out some. I've got to imagine there's been a fair amount of discord in that newsroom this week, due to her "efforts."

 

Someone posted this on her site:

"The important thing is that you learned. That’s what journalism needs: Young people to go out there, try new things and come back with a better sense of what went write (hehe) and what went wrong."

Geez Louise. Why don't we all join and hands and sing Kum Ba Yah, for Christ's sake. These people haven't gotten it, they don't get and they won't get it in the future. The ship is sinking, the crew is being thrown overboard, and the executive officers are fleeing in a lifeboat but what journalism really needs right now is for young people to try new things, like they're at some kind of dress-up party.

Oy vey.

 

Yeah. Good people are having their lives turned upside down ... but hey, our interns can use this as a learning experience, so it's not all bad, right?

Jeebus.

Scott, best of luck.

 

Not to piss off anybody here, but the corporate B.S. doesn't grate on me any worse than when I hear "I'm keeping it real" and "show me some love" and "to all the haters" and other terms that shred any meaning from the language most of the time they're used.

But corporate-speak pisses me off. The other just makes me roll my eyes, which begin glazing over about the same time.

 

Well-played, LJB. Very well-played.

 

UGH!! After subjecting myself to that Poynter column I feel like Sylvester the cat after he got clocked with a baseball bat by Tweetie Bird!!

Twitter ... Twhirl. ... Tweetdeck. ... Tweets. ... We're going to need a whole new Berlitz language guide now. ???