Does your shop force you to take breaks?

[schiezainc]

What is the big issue for in not following the edict, anyway? Are they worried their chances of landing a job at the big daily within the chain or at the "big" daily in their state will suffer?

How about taking a little pride in your work?

If you are unfamiliar with this concept, PM me and I will try my best to explain it to you in easy-to-read format.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Rhody says he does a lot of his work at night.

We all know the publisher isn't there at that time. Say you took a break during that time.

Like others have said, this really isn't that difficult.

 

[sgreenwell]

Six. Pages. Ago.

Your publisher has to insist on accurate timecards. She has to tell you to follow the law.

Make sure your timecard follows the law, and do things the way you want to do them.

This really is not difficult.

This. We outright lie on our timecards all the time. I put down 40 for each week, no matter how much I work. They won't pay overtime, at least not to reporters. That's been out for years. Desk people somehow can still pull OT. Not sure about that double standard but that's a fight for another day. I worked 68 during US Open week. I put down 40. I worked 12 the following week. I put down 40. As long as the people above me are OK with that, I'm OK with that. It's reality in sports. Some weeks are going to be much heavier than others.

If we had to do letter-of-the-law timecards, shirt just wouldn't get done on busy weeks. No way around it.

STOP BEING A HERO!!!! </sarcasm>

This is exactly my point. I'm totally OK with the reality of this industry and what it requires but it would just be nice if management was on board with this. Our previous publisher gave us the wink, wink treatment and it was fine. I don't know why this lady has to be different.

Glad to see we're not in some separate boat here.

Because if someone from your chain ever got really pissed and wanted to make some money, the whole "wink wink" thing means they'd probably get sued and lose? It would also be germane for any other sort of lawsuit, to bring up that they regularly skirt labor laws.

How would they get sued? We're signing timecards that say it's a "true and accurate" representation of the time we worked so the company would have to do nothing more than show that as evidence and be in the right. Now, if we had evidence that they were using a wink, wink system, that would be another thing but there's a reason that type of deal is conducted under the table.

Because all it would take is the employee just saying, "Well I was pressured to sign those time cards and it was encouraged." Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is - You actually have bosses who want you to follow the law. If you don't want to follow it, fine, lie on your time cards like some other people are suggesting. But of all the things to complain about a publisher doing, this would rank about #4,756, given the state of journalism.

 

[Stitch]

What is the big issue for in not following the edict, anyway? Are they worried their chances of landing a job at the big daily within the chain or at the "big" daily in their state will suffer?

How about taking a little pride in your work?

If you are unfamiliar with this concept, PM me and I will try my best to explain it to you in easy-to-read format.

Quality is subjective. Would readers or the bosses notice a drop in quality because one or two games won't be covered? Everyone has to deal with limits. There are mistakes in your paper and every other paper in the country because there are time and labor constraints.

There are mistakes in every business because of those same constraints. Living within those constraints doesn't mean you don't care or won't put in a honest day's work. Why does it have to be either/or?

 

[Rhody31]

Basically, schiezainc thinks his publisher is an idiot for wanting to remove the "wink, wink " system.

As I've said before, schiezainc and Rhody31's egos are the issue. They complain the quality of the paper would suffer too much. So be it. Newspapers aren't the only company to sacrifice quality. I'm sure the quality of the paper has suffered with cutbacks. All you can do is put out the best section you can under the constraints handed down.

In the end, it's not their call to make. The liabilities from a lawsuit are greater than the potential lost revenue for a lower quality section.

What is the big issue for in not following the edict, anyway? Are they worried their chances of landing a job at the big daily within the chain or at the "big" daily in their state will suffer?

Yes, our egos are the problem. Sorry for wanting to be better than everyone we compete against and not wanting to let our readers down.
It is not always possible to take a break and hand in an accurate timecard. Our publisher doesn't acknowledge this.
And Stitch, I don't know how familiar you are with our chain, but the "big dailies" in our chain don't hold a candle to the work we do in quality; right now, neither does the big paper in our state, as far as sports goes.

 

[schiezainc]

Basically, schiezainc thinks his publisher is an idiot for wanting to remove the "wink, wink " system.

As I've said before, schiezainc and Rhody31's egos are the issue. They complain the quality of the paper would suffer too much. So be it. Newspapers aren't the only company to sacrifice quality. I'm sure the quality of the paper has suffered with cutbacks. All you can do is put out the best section you can under the constraints handed down.

In the end, it's not their call to make. The liabilities from a lawsuit are greater than the potential lost revenue for a lower quality section.

What is the big issue for in not following the edict, anyway? Are they worried their chances of landing a job at the big daily within the chain or at the "big" daily in their state will suffer?

Yes, our egos are the problem. Sorry for wanting to be better than everyone we compete against and not wanting to let our readers down.
It is not always possible to take a break and hand in an accurate timecard. Our publisher doesn't acknowledge this.
And Stitch, I don't know how familiar you are with our chain, but the "big dailies" in our chain don't hold a candle to the work we do in quality; right now, neither does the big paper in our state, as far as sports goes.

I was beginning to wonder why he thought we had egos. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

It is not always possible to take a break and hand in an accurate timecard.

It actually is.

 

[ShiptoShore]

This thread is still going?

Maybe it's just because I'm a n00b, but you all continue to impress me.

 

[jr/shotglass]

We have staying power.

In every way imaginable.

Except for BYH.