Lynn Hoppes: Keep your passion alive

Great ideas here, especially utilizing a mental health professional.

I hope Hoppes is paying attention.

 

Of course many of the services I suggest are performed here on threads or in PMs. But we aren't official, nor do we have the organizational clout that APSE does. They need to do something, they need to show some leadership. Because if they do something, APME will have to do something. And then ASNE will have to do something. And on and on. It has to start somewhere. I don't think anyone cares what their motives might be -- they have the chance to show something to the entire newspaper industry. It could be the best PR that APSE will ever have, if they want to think purely in terms of self-interest. Lynn, we know you read this board. No excuses.

 

I know one way to keep passion for this business alive:

Tar and feather the Lean Deans of the world.

 

Seconded.

Talking about showing compassion for your employees doesn't mean much without accompanying action.

 

This isn't about compasson, it's about passion.

And I've yet to figure out what purpose APSE has ever served as far as helping journalists do anything ... except get meaningless awards.

 

Perhaps we could start gathering an informal listing of services or suggestions and sticky it at the top? Links to things like state-by-state unemployment information, any services the companies are offering (i.e. Tribune Co. resources they've made available), resources for breaking into other industries, suggestions on finding the aforementioned mental health professionals, stuff like that. Maybe set up an informal network of resume/cover letter helpers.

 

But those meaningless awards help the award-winners get jobs with the judges of those meaningless awards!

 

And they are officially effin' studs?

 

Frank, you're right on with your posts about this. Hoppes is far more interested in who he can impress than anyone on his staff or the readers, and anyone who's worked with him on a daily basis will tell you that. He has absolutely no respect from his staffers in any way, because unless an issue affects him directly -- which isn't likely, because he just passes stuff off to someone else to deal with -- Hoppes couldn't care less about it, and has been known to say that to staffers.
So it's not surprising we're getting more of the same old, same old BS rah-rah talk. APSE needs fresh ideas, and Frank, you suggest many good ones. It's time to get them in place instead of this patting-each-other-on-the-back crap.

 

Wow, sporty, for one of the new kids around here you just totally shredded one of the Saints of SportsJournalists.com

 

Sorry, but I'm just absolutely fed up with this corporate BS-speak and watching people who make bad decisions (not necessarily Hoppes on this one) skate by while good people who bust their ass every day get told to get bent.
And I should be fair: He has in the past done a good job of identifying and bringing in young talented writers, and is good at getting through various teams' PR walls to get facts. Nothing wrong with that.
He's a decent enough person; this is only about his professional performance.
I knew and worked for Van McKenzie at one point and while he could be a real pain to work for, everyone pretty much anywhere he went respected him as a person, because he generally treated people the same, no matter what he might get out of it. Can't say the same about his successor in Orlando. But who knows...maybe he'll see the light and change.

 

I’ll take a shot at suggestions for those looking now or thinking about looking in the future.

This is from someone who went from being an SE to working in educational publishing to now staying active in both worlds as a freelancer. Here’s what I tell my friends who ask about how to make a move:

Be aware that various types of book publishing have some of their own financial woes. You need to be careful. The differences on the book side are that freelance work is much more common and the number of new positions (from what I observe) is much closer to the number of people losing jobs. Therefore losing a job is not always as desperate a situation. The key is to be aware that job security is not necessarily great within any one given company.

Whereas the newspaper workflow is steady – I realize winters are busier than summers at a newspaper but the changes are not as drastic – the number of bodies needed to manage the flow of copy at a book company can go up and down throughout the year. That is one reason freelancers are so prevalent and also can be a reason for layoffs. I suggest making a contact with a book company and taking an editing test, if necessary, to try to get on a list of in-house or outside freelancers. Sometimes a reputation needs to be built in-house by pulling a few day shifts and producing before one can get into a trusted position as an outside freelancer. A night shift newspaper person could grab a few freelance day shifts while trying to build a reputation that could lead to being able to jump to a full-time job. You may just be able to land one off a resume, but taking some freelance work to prove yourself seems to me as the best way to make the transition (and to find out if it is something you might be interested in doing full-time).

One last thing. English and journalism majors could pursue work in many areas while writers/editors who are strong on the statistical side should consider trying math editing.

I hope this helps.