Dear dimwit on the phone

[Flip Wilson]

Years ago, ad people told my then-boss, the features editor, that our paper would be producing a holiday-themed special section, and they would need so many stories to fill space around the ads. Nothing was said about writing about certain advertisers or anything like that, so I told boss that I wanted to handle all the stories. Lots of extra work, but I had some good ideas and wanted the bylines.

I got all the stories done, and then the ad people told us that it wasn't going to happen; they couldn't sell enough ads to fill it.

 

[JosephC.Myers]

Years ago, ad people told my then-boss, the features editor, that our paper would be producing a holiday-themed special section, and they would need so many stories to fill space around the ads. Nothing was said about writing about certain advertisers or anything like that, so I told boss that I wanted to handle all the stories. Lots of extra work, but I had some good ideas and wanted the bylines.

I got all the stories done, and then the ad people told us that it wasn't going to happen; they couldn't sell enough ads to fill it.

Ugh. I'd have been seriously mad. Or did they at least run your stories in the main paper?

 

[spikechiquet]

Years ago, ad people told my then-boss, the features editor, that our paper would be producing a holiday-themed special section, and they would need so many stories to fill space around the ads. Nothing was said about writing about certain advertisers or anything like that, so I told boss that I wanted to handle all the stories. Lots of extra work, but I had some good ideas and wanted the bylines.

I got all the stories done, and then the ad people told us that it wasn't going to happen; they couldn't sell enough ads to fill it.

I hope you at least got the stories in at some point though.

 

[MightyMouse]

If I had a nickle for every time ad reps either didn't meet a deadline or couldn't sell the ads they promised they could, I could've retired years ago.

Deadlines seem to be a very abstract concept to our ad folks. I cringe every time the phrase "special section" comes up, because I know, invariably, they will find a way to screw it up.

 

[apeman33]

Still a little unsure what a progress section is. Basically an advertising section passed off as journalism where you write about a business and they buy advertising in the section?

I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to ask.

We had this at my stops in Minnesota and North Dakota. It's PR copy and more work piled on staff. The publisher claimed it made a ton of money, but ad reps struggled into the last week before deadline to sell most spots.

I remember there being issues with ad sales in my neck of the woods (Georgia), too.

Four years ago, our Progress edition had four extra sections in addition to the regular two.

This year, Progress was published in one section. Tabloid size. Take a guess (lack of ad sales) why.

 

[UPChip]

Our annual summer magazine was published on newsprint a few years back in the middle of the recession because the publisher had a cheap moment. I took to calling it "Regress."

 

[Petrie]

If I had a nickle for every time ad reps either didn't meet a deadline or couldn't sell the ads they promised they could, I could've retired years ago.

Deadlines seem to be a very abstract concept to our ad folks. I cringe every time the phrase "special section" comes up, because I know, invariably, they will find a way to screw it up.

We started/brought back season preview tabs this year at my new shop, and the first two went off without a hitch. I asked the ad manager if we were running a spring tab in early February and said, if so, we should run it in the second half of March. It wasn't in the March budget, so we in the newsroom assumed it wasn't happening.

The publisher and ad manager later tell me there's a spring sports tab in the budget for April...on April 2. Being a one-man sports department, I tell them to push it to the end of the month and go the feature route. I get dummies a week before deadline, everything's good to go.

THEN the ad manager doubles the ads a day after the deadline for dummies. THEN, on the production deadline, five of the ads are missing...two are found on the server, three were straight-up not done...and NOBODY gave a heads-up about this. The publisher and I make a fix (turn a quarter-page ad into a full-page, jimmy some stuff around), and we're good. It's ready to be inserted for the Thursday paper.

THEN it doesn't get inserted Thursday, because somebody FORGOT.

Needless to say, there's a push by the sports guy to kill his own tab idea for the next academic year.

 

[Mark2010]

Oh, heavens, what a mess!

I do understand the difference between covering an issue, such as construction, for instance, as opposed to being a shrill for one company. The readers see right through that as well and your publication loses all credibility very quickly. One of the problems is too many publishers come up the ranks through the advertising size and only see dollars when it comes to a product.

 

[sgreenwell]

I jinxed myself earlier in this thread with the weather talk - A lacrosse championship has now been delayed from Saturday (rain) to Sunday (graduation) to Monday (rain) to today.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Years ago, ad people told my then-boss, the features editor, that our paper would be producing a holiday-themed special section, and they would need so many stories to fill space around the ads. Nothing was said about writing about certain advertisers or anything like that, so I told boss that I wanted to handle all the stories. Lots of extra work, but I had some good ideas and wanted the bylines.

I got all the stories done, and then the ad people told us that it wasn't going to happen; they couldn't sell enough ads to fill it.

I hope you at least got the stories in at some point though.

Yeah, the stories ended up running through most of the holiday season. I think all but a couple ran. I wasn't happy, but as least some of them saw the light of day.

 

[MightyMouse]

Owner from the local semi-pro football team called last Wednesday. She said their first game was Saturday and could we cover the game.

I told her: 1. That's really short notice; 2. Almost certainly not, considering our deadlines; 3. If she sent me a news release, I could get something in the paper on Friday or Saturday.

She had one of the players email. He asked me to do a feature story on him and his friend. There was no mention in there of when or where the Saturday game was.

Owner calls back the next day, wanting to know what we can do for them. "If we could get some coverage, we could get some more people out at our games." I politely tell her it isn't our job to promote their team, and I, once again, ask if they can send us a release.

Soon after, she calls my boss -- "I'm getting nowhere with your sports department" -- to complain. My boss asks if they sent a release. The owner says, "Well, we're not really writers over here."

My boss tells me to email the owner, and provide a very detailed outline of exactly what we need from them.

I have yet to hear back from the team.

 

[flexmaster33]

Yes, these semi-pro outfits are clueless for the most part.

I had a guy drop in the other day doing the same thing...told me how great their coaching was and that their offense was unstoppable. We'll do something on them I'm sure over the summer months, but I researched the league website and found that they've been shutout in their first two games of the season. Mmm...seems pretty stoppable to me