Writing 'free' for our newspaper... what the heck?!?

[micropolitan guy]

I've felt the same way the past 30 years, doing news stories for the morning radio guys to read almost verbatim on the air!!

 

[SixToe]

My local paper has the prep editor provide free segments for a local TV station with no compensation

The newspaper forces its employee to work, or provide content, for another company without pay from either company? Or is the prep writer on the clock?

If it's the latter, and a Friday night, that's equally idiotic given the constraints of a deadline.

 

[deskslave]

The job has evolved people. Yeah, I blog, I tweet, I do all that shirt and I fit it in the confines of my eight-hour work day. Some of the other duties I used to have to deal with -- working phones, helping out with preps -- have been delegated somewhere else. I just don't get this idea that you should be compensated extra for blogging, etc. It's just part of the work for the company that writes your paychecks. It's still writing, just for a different medium.

It's great that you were able to delegate your lesser responsibilities elsewhere.

Most people in this industry aren't that fortunate.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

I've felt the same way the past 30 years, doing news stories for the morning radio guys to read almost verbatim on the air!!

heck, TV stations do that too.

It's amazing how I'll read a story in my morning paper, then see the same story on the noon or 6pm telecast.

 

[flexmaster33]

The job has evolved people. Yeah, I blog, I tweet, I do all that shirt and I fit it in the confines of my eight-hour work day. Some of the other duties I used to have to deal with -- working phones, helping out with preps -- have been delegated somewhere else. I just don't get this idea that you should be compensated extra for blogging, etc. It's just part of the work for the company that writes your paychecks. It's still writing, just for a different medium.

Exactly, you have to adjust your duties...add some of the new technology, dump or reassign past duties. For us, website updates have taken priority over a lot of extended info that used to find its way into agate...now we simply run standings, but keep updates on the web on a nightly basis.
Of course, you need to make sure your company is on board...something to bring up when they ask for extra duties. Our 40-hour a week jobs shouldn't suddenly become 50-hour weeks just because the company wants to run a website, etc.

 

[exmediahack]

40 hours a week becoming 50?

That's exactly what it is.

My day is already full. I can't go from anchoring a 3-hour newscast each day and just make it 90 minutes because I have to fit in a pair of 12 inch stories (with still photo) while I shoot my own stories after the newscast.

Of course, there are plenty who will do it cheaper than me. But, I'm salaried and the world is shifting.

 

[slappy4428]

My local paper has the prep editor provide free segments for a local TV station with no compensation

The newspaper forces its employee to work, or provide content, for another company without pay from either company? Or is the prep writer on the clock?

If it's the latter, and a Friday night, that's equally idiotic given the constraints of a deadline.

All in the name of cross promotion...

 

[Baron Scicluna]

40 hours a week becoming 50?

That's exactly what it is.

My day is already full. I can't go from anchoring a 3-hour newscast each day and just make it 90 minutes because I have to fit in a pair of 12 inch stories (with still photo) while I shoot my own stories after the newscast.

Of course, there are plenty who will do it cheaper than me. But, I'm salaried and the world is shifting.

I know it's easy to say and hard to do, but maybe it's time to polish up the resume.

 

[SixToe]

I believe there is court precedent, in California, in favor of employees who are required to work for another company without compensation.

 

[exmediahack]

Already have.

I plan on 'getting the bullet' in the back of my head around Christmas. Needless to say, it's a ton of stress on my family.

But, I'm polishing... and interviewing here in town (plus learning new tech-related skills). Something good will come up.

 

[highlander]

At my new job everyone walks on egg shells over working 40 hours and no more. Someone sued them for not paying overtime and won. Part of it involved the a government worker coming in an interviewing people over their time cards and hours work. The belief in the office is this government in and interview everyone again, just to check up on things.

 

[TheMethod]

At my place, everybody knows it's not possible for most of us to do our jobs without going over 40 hours some of the time, but we don't get overtime and have been told we're not allowed to work more than 40 hours.

It's obviously bullshirt, and everyone involved knows that. And if somebody really wanted to, they could turn in 50 hours, demand overtime and see what would happen, which would probably be a world of shirt raining down upon the place like it had never seen and the employee one way or another ending up leaving the place.

That sucks, obviously. They're assholes for doing that to us and it's completely slimy, underhanded and illegal. Maybe at some point somebody will make a stink about it and basically burn the place to the ground. Maybe that will ultimately be for the greater good of the industry. But it probably isn't going to do much for the people there, now, other than get them a couple hundred bucks on their way out.

You just gotta bend over. That's the way it is.