My Boss Screamed at Me Tonight

CHICKEN DINNER!

You're a wise man, Brian.

 

Exactly. And sometimes people don't hear you very well.

 

There's also yelling and making it personal...

"I need it now!" Even if it's hidden by 100 expletives, I have no problem with...

"Can't you ever do anything right?!" - That's a little different.

 

They need to have a three-way battle royal with Mikey for the title.

While Diabeetus and I battle it out for straightest gay guy on the board (though he's got 3-2 odds in his favor).

 

The point of that part of my post was to say, get in, and instead of venting to us, confront her. I saw others say that's a bad idea. I disagree. I say resolve the issue at every level. Was it your fault for pushing up so close to deadline or the shop's lack of communication or the editor's disregard for what she had said previously in the night? And express that the way she confronted you was not productive.

Unresolved issues lead to a passive-aggressive, embittered future.

 

Or definitely not cooler as the case may be.

As for the thread topic, as ever, we're getting 50 percent of the story here so I take it all with a grain of salt. For all we know it's exaggerated, or perhaps the writer has a history of missing deadline, or, perhaps he's totally in the right. I don't know, I really don't care.

I DO know it's dumb, dumb, dumb to spout off so specifically on a message board about it. You don't want to join the SJ Fired Hall Of Fame.

As for yelling, I agree with Moddy, though I raised my voice once in a blue moon here and there over the years, less and less as the years go by to almost nothing nowadays. However, I also think some of the reaction to yelling from some is a little much too.

I don't see this is a journalism issue. There's assholes in every business. You're going to get yelled at by them. The deadline pressure is just a conduit that exists in some form in every business. Today's newspaper deadline is tomorrow's PR deadline, etc.

If you stay in the biz, well, our business naturally attracts people who yell at us, be it disgruntled readers, dickhead coaches, etc.

You need to learn to deal with it or you're going to have problems. It doesn't make it fair, it doesn't make it right, it WILL piss you off, but you have to deal.

I don't know how old you are, NightOwl, but that's a tough thing to realize when you're in your 20s. The quicker you come to that realization, the better off you'll be.

 

CAN EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP ABOUT THIS TOPIC AND GET BACK TO WORK! WE'RE ON DEADLINE OVER HERE!

 

I'll echo your comments. I can tell my war stories from this business to my wife and she can match me story for story with her experiences in the medical field.

Grass isn't always greener, they say.

 

I give them a first blast, but interrupt if it gets personal or it goes on for more than 10 seconds. If they persist or they won't let me explain without assholish interruptions, the call is over.

And let me say this, I agree with 100 percent with the personal vs. professional yelling distinction. I don't think, or I don't hope, I've ever got personal yelling at anyone. And its been a long time since I've raised my voice in the "professional" manner either.

 

And make that change needed up there, too.

 

A couple of years ago, i had a real asshole of a boss. Went off the handle for no reason in front of the entire newsroom.
I went straight to HR and found a new job within a month.
Not sure how my complaint may have helped, but I know he was asked to leave after just under a year at the paper.