Gannett 1-week furloughs

Let's see what's on the sports docket in March:

HS boys hoops tournaments.
HS girls hoops tournaments.
HS wrestling tournaments.
Men's college basketball conference tournaments.
Women's college basketball conference tournaments.
Men's college basketball national tournaments.
Women's college basketball national tournaments.
The trade deadlines and home stretch in the NHL and NBA regular seasons.
MLB Spring Training.
World Baseball Classic.
NFL free agency and draft preparation.

Yeah, March is a great time to implement one week, unpaid "vacations."

 

Just fill the section with some of those old Gannett/USAT standbys, akin to the news section's "We like broccoli!" . . . including the likes of "Americans, somehow, don't like soccer!"

That'll thrill the readers.

 

As if the unemployment coffers weren't being strained enough by people who are actually, y'know, unemployed, now we've got people with jobs heading toward the same lines for checks.

That cannot be a good thing, and Obama and his crew ought to whack Gannett a good one for piling on.

As for working during your furlough week out of some sense of mission or pride or whatever, I understand that feeling. If, as Verbal Kint said, the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist, then the greatest trick an Editor ever pulled was inventing the byline. It's amazing how much free work he gets out of poorly treated journalists driven uphold the standards of any story their names go on.

But it's a bonehead move, both short-term and long-term, working when your employer intentionally isn't compensating you.

 

From the voices of the Gannett publishers, executive editors and managing editors:
Let's see how we can cover what's on the sports docket in March:

HS boys hoops tournaments -- call in from coach to copy desk (hopefully our one-person copy desk can handle that while editing a story or two)

HS girls hoops tournaments -- call in from coach to design desk (hopefully our designer can answer the phone and not make his usual 17 typos since our copy editor is on the other line)

HS wrestling tournaments -- pray they e-mail results in so our copy editor can cut-and paste since both guys are already on the phone.

Men's college basketball conference tournaments -- thank goodness for the SID and the university's website. We can grab their stories and label them as an exclusive special report

Women's college basketball conference tournaments -- women play basketball?

Men's college basketball national tournaments -- AP, since our canceled membership doesn't take effect until next year

Women's college basketball national tournaments -- Is it the same format as the men? Well, if it's in the same city, our men's writer could do it. Oh wait, we didn't send a men's writer. Gosh, I hope AP runs something on this. I didn't know the women played basketball, much less had a tournament.

The trade deadlines and home stretch in the NHL and NBA regular seasons -- AP all the way. Our readers are too dumb to notice.

MLB Spring Training -- Games don't mean anything so we don't have to report on them.

World Baseball Classic -- We are the world... Our sister Gannett paper will cover that so we're OK.

NFL free agency and draft preparation -- The NFL is out of season. No news is good news.

No problem!

Signed,
The Management

 

Some people might laugh when they read that.

Somewhere, some Gannett manager just read your posting and is thinking "Craig Dubow will promote me if I can present this idea to him first!!! It's genius!!!"

 

People should look into that, though ... some states allow unemployment for a furlough period, so, if you have the patience, you might want to do the math and see if it makes sense for you.

 

As a social and fiscal conservative, I am look at this as a positive -- thousands of people don't have to pay onerous state, federal and local taxes for a week.

 

matt1735.....yep, ten-to-one there's some Gannett higher up who read your thread and is on the verge of suggesting it at the next corporate meeting.

 

The good beat writer follows the law and stays the hell away.

I know I will that week. I'll be doing as much freelance as I can find. What are they going to do? I'm not on their clock.

 

Yeah, then watch them start firing people for "writing for competitors."

 

You're working for yourself. That's the difference. Or go to the beach. That's just as good.

 

That question was posed in our meeting with the publisher and we were told they were checking with our lawyers to see how they would handle us freelancing during our furlough. My guess is they can't do shit. Then again, I signed all my paperwork nearly a decade ago and have no idea if anywhere in that jibberish said anything about stringing for the "competition."

I fully intend to whore myself out on the five days I'm forced to not show up to work. The big paper down the road pays $75 a story, that's close to what I make a day at my shop.