Working with a regional design center

[BillySixty]

As more and more newspaper groups are going to regional design centers, I'm curious as how this has changed roles in your department.

Specifically, I'm wondering if there are any people in your department who are 100 percent chained to the desk. Not reporters who sometimes work the desk or deskers who sometimes report.

It seems that most copy editors have been laid off, and when these regional design centers started popping up, the designers/paginators went there or were cut, too. So who is making sure the trains run on time in your department?

 

[I Should Coco]

My shop is heading this way, with the daily paper's newsroom designing a twice-weekly and two weekly papers, with possibly a smaller daily coming soon.

The logical thing would be to have one person handle the remote papers (the schedule works out that there's one to do each day, Monday through Thursday). But instead, we have different people doing each of them, including a reporter tackling one of the weeklies because Wednesday is already an overwhelmingly busy day for the desk.

It goes without saying that all of this extra work was shuffled around without hiring anyone to do it. But it makes me feel a bit more secure as a copy editor/paginator, because we're certainly kept busy.

 

[Doc Holliday]

We have a couple of editors that sit around and do nothing. They read a couple stories, take a few phone calls. They'll be fired in the next round of layoffs as they essentially don't do shirt. The Design center does all the work now.

 

[SFIND]

We have no editorial position chained to the desk. Either myself or my boss (sports editor) are out every night we work (6-day publication). All a matter of setting the budget and communicating with the design hub in where we want stories placed.

 

[studthug12]

We have a couple of editors that sit around and do nothing. They read a couple stories, take a few phone calls. They'll be fired in the next round of layoffs as they essentially don't do shirt. The Design center does all the work now.

That's the odd thing about Gannett. Those people you describe survive the layoffs somehow. Each time at least a handful of good people, hard-workers are let go and the grovelers, butt-kissers etc. retain jobs. They end up in charge, which is a reason some chains and newspapers in general are in the crapper, well, one of the many reasons.

 

[Doc Holliday]

That's the odd thing about Gannett. Those people you describe survive the layoffs somehow. Each time at least a handful of good people, hard-workers are let go and the grovelers, butt-kissers etc. retain jobs. They end up in charge, which is a reason some chains and newspapers in general are in the crapper, well, one of the many reasons.

Yeah, it's pretty forking dumbfounding how backward some of the decision making is. The impending demise, considering the decisions, isn't.

 

[Bronco77]

That's the odd thing about Gannett. Those people you describe survive the layoffs somehow. Each time at least a handful of good people, hard-workers are let go and the grovelers, butt-kissers etc. retain jobs. They end up in charge, which is a reason some chains and newspapers in general are in the crapper, well, one of the many reasons.

Sadly, this is the general direction my workplace is headed in. With layoffs a near-certainty at some point, it's becoming apparent who will survive -- a few quasi-managers who do little heavy lifting, speak in corporate-speak and avoid making decisions. They'll undoubtedly wind up with raises and promotions, which was the case for the manager who masterminded the last round of layoffs.

Back to the original question: At the design centers I'm familiar with, it's up to the "home" papers to provide copy, photos, etc., in a timely manner. After that, the design center takes over. So "making sure the trains run on time" is, theoretically, a shared responsibility -- although a desk person I know says his design center takes a disproportionate share of the blame for blown deadlines.

 

[studthug12]

Sadly, this is the general direction my workplace is headed in. With layoffs a near-certainty at some point, it's becoming apparent who will survive -- a few quasi-managers who do little heavy lifting, speak in corporate-speak and avoid making decisions. They'll undoubtedly wind up with raises and promotions, which was the case for the manager who masterminded the last round of layoffs.

Back to the original question: At the design centers I'm familiar with, it's up to the "home" papers to provide copy, photos, etc., in a timely manner. After that, the design center takes over. So "making sure the trains run on time" is, theoretically, a shared responsibility -- although a desk person I know says his design center takes a disproportionate share of the blame for blown deadlines.

Yep basically budgets, photos, stories picked by staffers and design center takes over. If you want a specific photo you just rename the file like CP photo, secondary CP photo, jump page etc. Agreed Bronco. Frustrating that people that talk a lot but it means nothing and really have no ideas - or at least at my chain - for unique content or ways to get in front of digital move are in charge.

 

[I Should Coco]

Back to the original question: At the design centers I'm familiar with, it's up to the "home" papers to provide copy, photos, etc., in a timely manner. After that, the design center takes over. So "making sure the trains run on time" is, theoretically, a shared responsibility -- although a desk person I know says his design center takes a disproportionate share of the blame for blown deadlines.

Oh, I'm quite familiar with that aspect of "design centers."

In theory, our shop has a deadline for content — let's say noon on the day we paginate the weekly or bi-weekly paper. And it is regularly missed, causing the person doing the pages to fall behind and the rest of the desk to pitch in, putting us behind on the daily paper.

The production building has the press scheduled to the minute each afternoon and evening, so missing one deadline for pages backs the whole night up. Good times!

 

[Fredrick]

We have a couple of editors that sit around and do nothing. They read a couple stories, take a few phone calls. They'll be fired in the next round of layoffs as they essentially don't do shirt. The Design center does all the work now.

You have a nice way with words. I laughed at your succinct sentence that read, "They'll be fired in the next round of layoffs as they essentially don't do shirt." Somehow if they've kissed the right butt I think they'll survive the next round of layoffs.

 

[Fredrick]

That's the odd thing about Gannett. Those people you describe survive the layoffs somehow. Each time at least a handful of good people, hard-workers are let go and the grovelers, butt-kissers etc. retain jobs. They end up in charge, which is a reason some chains and newspapers in general are in the crapper, well, one of the many reasons.

Fredrick has been saying this for years! And nobody has given me an iota of being ahead of the curve. Doc Holliday should admit that I had this pegged 5-10 years ago!! And the wild thing is there always will be a few horses left in the newsroom to do all the work that the buttkissers assign.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You have a nice way with words. I laughed at your succinct sentence that read, "They'll be fired in the next round of layoffs as they essentially don't do shirt." Somehow if they've kissed the right butt I think they'll survive the next round of layoffs.

Oh, no doubt, you're right. It could very well play out as you say. And, yes, you have been saying that about the ass-kissers for years. (Note: I prefer ass-kisser to butt-kisser.)