So is McClatchy about to drop the hammer?

Ditto to all the above. Howard is a pro's pro. Not that that matters to the beancounters.

 

You're right on, Mustard. Whenever a former boss wanted to heap praise on a story/project, he always singled out the writer, the assigning editor, maybe the page 1 designer, "and the desk." Because he was too f---ing lazy to find out who did the work, and didn't really care anyway. Until there was a mistake. Then he moved heaven and earth to lay the blame, even if it was misdirected.

 

That's pretty much my argument.

My paper re-orged and ended my previous part-desk/part-writing job description. I'm now a writer. I was not asked which I would rather do.

I would have chosen desk.

You don't think writers work nights, weekends and holidays? They do. They just don't know WHEN they will.

 

As a writer, my perception is that the copy desk is always the last ones to get blamed for a mistake. Reporters are the ones with the bylines. They get the calls from the readers and the editors.

 

No. You've only pulled half of the paragraph I wrote, which skews what I said, and what you're saying, for your convenience.

My point was that editors/papers need people to do the legwork on stories and to put them together before any copy editors or designers can do anything with them. If not for reporters, there would be nothing for people farther up the line to work on, and that's part of the reason for emphasis on, ideally, having more reporters than copy editors.

And for the reasons I cited previously, I believe it is easier to find reporters who may also want to be copy editors, or who eventually aspire to become copy editors, than it is to find copy editors who would be willing to be reporters.

As for why copy editors are unsung -- sometimes even completely unnoticed -- until there are mistakes, that is because their first duty is, essentially, quality control.

Ideally, that should be their only job. But even if it isn't, it is their job one.

Hence, whether it is necessarily always fair, or not, the blame for a lack/shortfall of quality often falls on the copy desk. It has to do with the nature/purpose of the job.

 

This thread is devolving into a "who should be canned first" debate. I say we set aside the argument about who's most valuable between copy editors and reporters and get back to the issue at hand. Let's continue to shine a light on those who are out of a job because of McClatchy's broken business model and wish them well.

 

I ... am going to be sick. Ugh.

 

I've got some extra barf bags right here in my newsroom. Some used. Some not. Take your pick.

 

Rumor has it the Star wants to steal the Wichita Eagle's K-State coverage. Richman won't be replaced.

 

The Wildcat fans in Johnson Co.are going to love that. There's already an inferiority complex, now you're going to tell them KU and Mizzou are good enough for a beat writer, but K-State isn't?

 

From what I've heard in Lexington, there were three or four on the news side that lost jobs. None were in sports, from what I was told.

 

The State will announce its buyouts/layoffs next Friday.