Any tips for hitting new deadline?

[jfs1000]

With the changeover in our production system our Friday night deadline is now 10:15. Fortunately we only cover 2-3 (sometimes 4) high school football games on a Friday night. Here's how we've been doing it. Have the writers call at halftime and dictate a good 5-6 inches worth of running. At the end of the game call with the final score and another few graphs as a top. That way we have something to get in the paper for first. Then they have 30 minutes to get back to the office and rework the story for second edition or 60 minutes for the final edition.

Why even cover the games?

I wouldn't byline the game. I would have people at the game call in stats and play-by-play and have someone re-write it on the desk. 10:15 is ridiculous for any paper. We have 11:30 deadline at my paper (East Coast) and on Friday nights it is still a struggle (cell phones cut out).

10:15 deadline, why even try?

 

[huntsie]

And if that's your mindset -- and with a 10:15 who could blame you -- the job is that much easier. You just rationalize that you're not going to get anything and you fill with features and early stuff. Not a very satisfying read, but you don't get an ulcer either

 

[HeinekenMan]

What's this deadline thing of which you speak?

I suggest you bring the person who changed the deadline along to an expected high-scoring game played in the boondocks during a thunderstorm that will require lightning delays. And make sure that it's in the south, where you have mandatory "water breaks" until late October. And, if possible, pick a game likely to feature someone writhing on the field in pain for a good five minutes at least once every quarter. Then take this person into a pressbox where there are no rosters and no phone lines. And, if possible, make sure it's a game where the first 3 and 1/2 quarters are rendered completely insignificant to the outcome.

 

[EStreetJoe]

With the changeover in our production system our Friday night deadline is now 10:15. Fortunately we only cover 2-3 (sometimes 4) high school football games on a Friday night. Here's how we've been doing it. Have the writers call at halftime and dictate a good 5-6 inches worth of running. At the end of the game call with the final score and another few graphs as a top. That way we have something to get in the paper for first. Then they have 30 minutes to get back to the office and rework the story for second edition or 60 minutes for the final edition.

Why even cover the games?

I wouldn't byline the game. I would have people at the game call in stats and play-by-play and have someone re-write it on the desk. 10:15 is ridiculous for any paper. We have 11:30 deadline at my paper (East Coast) and on Friday nights it is still a struggle (cell phones cut out).

10:15 deadline, why even try?

The change in production was that we are now paginated and printed by our sister paper (an hour away). So we're at their mercy for our deadlines (they want all copy 30-40 minutes before the off-the-floor deadline) plus we're also at the mercy of our circulation department for the amount of time it takes to get the paper back into our area and distributed properly.

Cover the games to show a presence in the community and so we don't get beat completely to heck by our in town competition. We're an east coast paper as well. Our first deadline (before the production change) was 11:30 and we could make it.

We still give bylines because the writers were there, plus because we use mostly stringers it makes sure they get paid. Some of the writers are able to phone in dictation for their stories, others are able to give partial dictation and then provide scoring plays and other stats and whomever on the desk takes the call writes up the story.