Blood in the streets of Hartford and Baltimore

[BrianGriffin]

I firmly believe that I could reduce the travel budget of most papers by 25-30 percent just by eliminating things that are just ridiculous.

On a college beat, flying to anything but football was already out (we are centrally located in our team's conference, so we can drive to all conference games...of course, that's not cheap anymore either). l'm thinking about sitting at media day with some other beat writers and talking about doing exchanges for basketball and baseball...If our team's at your place and your team's at ours.

That'll save a dime or two.

Eek...I certainly hope we don't end up at the same media day.

Hey, I don't like it either. I'm just dealing with reality. We already trade with a few of them for art.

I mean, if it's a big game, that's one thing. By all means, travel. But if you team is 5-6 in conference, safely in the conference tournament, but out of the conference championship race, is a 5-hour, 700-square mile trip, plus two nights in a hotel, worth it?

 

[zebracoy]

Eek...I certainly hope we don't end up at the same media day.

Hey, I don't like it either. I'm just dealing with reality. We already trade with a few of them for art.

I mean, if it's a big game, that's one thing. By all means, travel. But if you team is 5-6 in conference, safely in the conference tournament, but out of the conference championship race, is a 5-hour, 700-square mile trip, plus two nights in a hotel, worth it?

My ego says no. My wallet, if I were management, would probably say yes.

That being said, I'm not going to be too happy the day that I'm asked to write a a completely different second story on a game for a paper when I've got my own story, notebook and sidebar to do. I better be seeing some of that compensation myself - not just any kind of a 1-for-1 deal.

 

[BrianGriffin]

Eek...I certainly hope we don't end up at the same media day.

Hey, I don't like it either. I'm just dealing with reality. We already trade with a few of them for art.

I mean, if it's a big game, that's one thing. By all means, travel. But if you team is 5-6 in conference, safely in the conference tournament, but out of the conference championship race, is a 5-hour, 700-square mile trip, plus two nights in a hotel, worth it?

My ego says no. My wallet, if I were management, would probably say yes.

That being said, I'm not going to be too happy the day that I'm asked to write a a completely different second story on a game for a paper when I've got my own story, notebook and sidebar to do. I better be seeing some of that compensation myself - not just any kind of a 1-for-1 deal.

I think that would be the trade. You pay our guy as a stringer, we pay yours. Because we ain't looking for the same lead running in your rag...

And hopefully, they don't have any 8 o'clock tip-offs

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Eek...I certainly hope we don't end up at the same media day.

Hey, I don't like it either. I'm just dealing with reality. We already trade with a few of them for art.

I mean, if it's a big game, that's one thing. By all means, travel. But if you team is 5-6 in conference, safely in the conference tournament, but out of the conference championship race, is a 5-hour, 700-square mile trip, plus two nights in a hotel, worth it?

My ego says no. My wallet, if I were management, would probably say yes.

That being said, I'm not going to be too happy the day that I'm asked to write a a completely different second story on a game for a paper when I've got my own story, notebook and sidebar to do. I better be seeing some of that compensation myself - not just any kind of a 1-for-1 deal.

Different lede, couple changes in presentation here and there, same running, paste into Thunderbird/Outlook/Evolution/Apple Mail window, press send, pack up, go directly to beer.

 

[slappy4428]

Has an intern ever been laid off?

I once worked at a paper where that very thing happened. CNHI paper. Sports intern and a news intern. Gone just like that, along with the 70-year-old obit clerk who was only working to pay his wife's medical bills.

At least, somewhat on the bright side, the interns got to see the real world of working at a newspaper right away. Took me a few years to learn the hard truth.

Montgomery, I think, eliminated their intern positions a few days before they were to start.
And when the Birmingham Post-Herald folded, the photo intern had been there exactly four days.

 

[WaylonJennings]

It wouldn't be the primary beat writer or columnist at a college town paper providing coverage, at least not for a night basketball game (I've strung a gamer for an out-of-town paper for an afternoon football game).

It would be someone else from the staff who has the night off - a part-timer or a preps writer or a desk person or even a newsie with sports savvy.

If you cover the Big Ten or an SEC or ACC division or some of the more centrally located mid-majors, travel doesn't seem so bad. If you cover the Pac-10 or Big East basketball or Notre Dame or the WAC or Mountain West, yeah, not so cheap.

 

[Twirling Time]

Hang the DJ!

Apparently I'm the only one on the board who gets this.

 

[daveevansedge]

Hang the DJ!

I certainly know the song well. I'll have to read the five previous pages to see what else there is to get.
Apparently I'm the only one on the board who gets this.

 

[Bubbler]

I made a suggestion or two before I left and got looked at like I was drunk. Don't get me started on the rental car rules. I got in trouble once for approving a rental car that was a $350 savings over five days. Went outside the company-selected rental car service.

I used our travel folks once for a personal trip. Their best car rate was 72 a day. I got it on my own for 60. For the two-day trip.

BINGO! That kind of shirt drives me nuts.

I have pretty decent freedom of choice when I travel, except for flights. I have to go through the travel agent, and while they can get some decent deals, I don't doubt with all of the travel web sites, I couldn't at least come close.

Thankfully, I don't fly all that much, but dogmatic devotion to the kinds of things Moddy and Mizzou mentioned are absolutely asinine.

 

[Cosmo]

Saved the company some money once on a hotel room booked through hotels.com. When you book through the web site, you get a receipt from hotels.com, not the hotel itself. Apparently, that was an issue with the company. They actually threatened not to reimburse unless I could get something from the hotel saying I actually stayed there on a certain night. After some haggling, I finally got it figured out. They told me to never use hotels.com again. Sorry. I won't try to save money next time. Bureaucratic bullshirt.

 

[Football_Bat]

Hang the DJ!

Apparently I'm the only one on the board who gets this.

I thank you.
And Morrissey thanks you.

 

[dixiehack]

Saved the company some money once on a hotel room booked through hotels.com. When you book through the web site, you get a receipt from hotels.com, not the hotel itself. Apparently, that was an issue with the company. They actually threatened not to reimburse unless I could get something from the hotel saying I actually stayed there on a certain night. After some haggling, I finally got it figured out. They told me to never use hotels.com again. Sorry. I won't try to save money next time. Bureaucratic bullshirt.

That's the sort of thing I wish people would tell the suits when they come through town on their pretending to listen tours. We would happily help you save money, but you have an entire group of employees who are more interested in making their jobs easier than in pulling together for the common good. Fix THAT.