Take out another toe tag

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:51 pm

My job's being eliminated in July.

Actually, it's being eliminated, and then re-animated, some 2,000 miles away in Corpus Christi, Texas.

That's right. The last set of eyes on Bremerton, Wash. news copy will come from two time zones away. The same will be true of copy generated by Scripps' other West Coast papers, in Redding and Ventura, Calif. (Corpus Christi is already hosting the centralized copy desk for Scripps' four Texas papers, in Abilene, Corpus, San Angelo and Wichita Falls.)

My reaction? Relief. After nearly 24 years in this business, it's time to get on with my life — and get my nights and weekends back along the way. I've got plans in play, and plans to play.

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:59 am

Glad you've been cultivating other interests.

When will papers realize that a skeleton local staff will always do better than technicians working from hither and yon? They've been getting their asses kicked ten ways to Sunday ever since their consultants decided that getting news first and editing it well wasn't their main job.

Best wishes, Wabberjocky! I hate that you're going to find more fulfillment and probably better money outside of newspapers, but that's what the big companies are doing to the industry.

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:49 am

Sorry, the link isn't working for some reason:

Quote:

Scripps Texas Central Desk, which produces four newspapers in the state, welcomes highly motivated, creative journalists with experience in page design and copyediting to apply to our team, based in seaside Corpus Christi. Web knowledge/skills required. Steadiness on deadline and willingness to communicate with co-workers within newsroom and outside also necessary. This is a fast-paced environment with strict publication deadlines. You’d be joining a group of award-winning headline writers and designers, within Scripps and AP Texas. Competitive pay, immediate opening.

Reading between the lines:

1. You get to work in a non-union shop
2. You get pay that's about 30% less than here. (I checked.)
3. You get to stay extra late, because the Corpus folks will have to work two hours later on the Kitsap Sun's schedule.
4. You get to distinguish between the Stillaguamish and Skookumchuck rivers.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:46 am

Great attitude, Wabber.

The game is over. Go off and reinvent the business or yourself.

Because when it comes to the daily corporate media, it just doesn't matter.

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:11 am

The object lesson here is this: Saying "they can't possibly cut any further" means nothing today.

They can, and they will. And they'll do it at 90 mph and not glance once in the rearview mirror.

They'll eliminate all copy editors.

They'll live with typos and factual errors.

They'll cut print editions.

They'll do it to the Backwater Bugle, and they'll do it at a metro daily.

They cannot be shamed into doing the right thing.

They only care about one thing, and that is profitability. Nothing else matters: Not the quality of the brand, not the assurances of publishers or CEOs on Romenesko, not the star quality of some of the writers, not the agitations of the readers, not an A1 hed that misspells "quality."

They. Just. Don't. Care.

Testy Copy Editors

Take out another toe tag

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