Byline quotas....anybody else dealing with this?

How do I work at that paper? If there isn't design work involved, that should be easy to hit.

 

we have a two-story a day minimum, but it's flexible based on what each reporter is working on. The only time is comes into question is if one of the reporters ends up with 7 stories for the week and doesn't have any bigger features ready to go.

 

Two stories per day means most of your work is going to be crappy.

 

That's us as well.. Two stories a day, plus stuff for the weekend.
It's been mandated for at least two years, but rarely enforced.

 

Another nice thing is that eventually management realizes someone has to sit there and count all the bylines each day, and they don't want to do it.

 

In that case, I would have pointed out that 14 stories meant seven days, and that you should get paid for seven days.

Of course, then, they wouldn't see it THAT way. But at least, it'd give them pause about the 14 story quota.

Ah, who are we kidding. They would have just imposed a three-story a day for five day quote, meaning 15 stories.

 

I've always thought byline quotas were one of the worst ways to measure productivity in a staff. What's to stop someone from getting a press release, changing two words or less and slapping their name on it? Nothing.
A good boss should know who's pulling their weight and helping push out the best product possible. That doesn't always mean bylined material either.

 

Stop giving away our secrets!
You think just anyone can work that kind of magic with a press release?

 

Amen, bigbadeagle.

Publishers and MEs have tried for decades to take what people in the newsroom do and put it on a chart, like the monthly sales quotas for ad department.

Here's how the good ones can measure productivity: By actually reading the paper/website every once in a while.

 

First daily stop, there was a two story a day rule. Sports editor told him we also compile the roundups and that should count as a story. It did. Miss that guy oh, every time I go to work.

Fortunately, my current ME admits to being a sports illiterate, so she gives me free reign on how to run my two-man shop. With both of us writing most nights and big art, I can cover about 2/3rd of the front with preps.

 

Man I wish I enacted this back in the day when I was editor at my school's paper. Night and day from an actual paper, but when I laid out the section I was pretty much editing my own copy.

My week consisted of writing, interviews, drinking, writing, drinking, and maybe a thing called class every now and then. Gotta say I kinda enjoyed it in a way.

 

My school paper was paid (75 a month, but still) so we did have byline quotas. Two articles per week for news, sports and entertainment writers.

I could see having a small byline quota - like say, five stories - at a weekly, because you do get people who will loaf from time to time. (Heck, I can be one of them.) But 15 in a week is just a heavy, heavy load.