IPod revolution

Groundout · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:11 pm

I'm wondering whether any papers out there have implemented policies about using an mp3 player while working. As I sit here, about a third of the editors on my desk have them on. And whenever you have to communicate with them, their first response (if any) is always, "What?"

It drives me nuts. But I wonder whether I'm just a curmudgeon.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:16 pm

We've discussed this before. No headphones in the newsroom!

Groundout · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:24 pm

Ah. Before my time. Thanks for the steer. (And this should've been posted in the general discussion section anyway; my apologies.)

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:02 pm

I missed that discussion, too. Run into it all the time, even with older people. It's a newsroom for Chrissakes.

Seems everyone's becoming unclear on the concept. I'm in a brand-new newsroom with tall cubicles you can't see over, with reporters who talk low and make like they're having individual private discussions with their sources, and staff who have individual e-mail and passwords for everything in the office so news sent to them goes no further when they're not in.

It drives me freaking bananas. If you don't like noise, want to work privately, want exlusive reign over your beat or area of responsibility, you should not be working at a goddam newspaper.

Sorry for the outburst. I feel better now.

I bellowed that if-you-don't-like-a-newsroom-environment bit across the newsroom once when the weakest link on the copy desk came over to tell me (the night editor) that he couldn't concentrate because I was cranking up the 10'oclock newscasts to make sure we didn't miss anything.

Earl · **Posted:** Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:55 pm

Perhaps if you had some headphones attached to that TV...

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 12:58 am

I certainly don't want to hear television shows when I'm trying to work.

Connfused · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:40 am

To drown out the cackling of some of my coworkers, I tried headphones a few years ago. Even when playing classical music, I found it hard to concentrate, so I stopped. (Note to self: Editing an Iraq war story while "Ride of the Valkyries" is playing is not a good idea.)

SusanV · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 12:52 pm

Phillip Blanchard wrote:

I certainly don't want to hear television shows when I'm trying to work.

Could be worse. Over here, they do live TV interviews with our writers in our newsroom now. That can sometimes be harder to tune out than just about anything else.

(And then there are the complaints from the TV techs that we are making too much noise with our crosstalk. Don't get me started.)

cobra_kai · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:25 pm

Sadly, I think the proliferation of headphones in the newsroom may coincide with the proliferation of instant messages. I've worked in newsrooms where people didn't speak at all - they were too busy instant-messaging a co-worker who was 15 feet away. So, if there's no need for people to actually speak to each other, why not wear headphones?

dangermike · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:37 pm

Seems like a symptom of a larger problem for copy editors: The world's changing. Adapt. Get used to it. People wear headphones and IM each other. Many of us have phones that aren't attached to the wall. This ridiculous nostalgia for the Golden Days needs to end already.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:59 pm

This ain't nostalgia. You can't edit properly while listening to music.
As far as IMs are concerned, I prefer using them so I have a written record of my informal exchanges with reporters and editors.

dangermike · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:16 pm

I bet I can edit better listening to Metallica than I can listening to my coworkers' fascinating analysis of last night's "South Park" episode.

Maybe you can't edit listening to music. Whatever. Other people can, and they should be allowed to.

cobra_kai · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:38 pm

dangermike wrote:

I bet I can edit better listening to Metallica than I can listening to my coworkers' fascinating analysis of last night's "South Park" episode.

Maybe you can't edit listening to music. Whatever. Other people can, and they should be allowed to.

For the record, I don't have a problem with IMs or headphones, and I use both from time to time. But it's ridiculous to assume that a nostalgia factor is driving this argument. Also, for me, it's not about whether you can edit AND listen to music at the same time.

I like a boisterous newsroom with strong camaraderie and a lot of discussion. In fact, it's in those situations where I've probably learned the most, just listening to other people's jokes/complaints about copy they're reading. That type of atmosphere may not exist in a newsroom full of headphone-wearing copy editors. There's nothing wrong with that, but you won't find me in one of those newsrooms.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:52 pm

dangermike wrote:

Maybe you can't edit listening to music. Whatever. Other people can, and they should be allowed to.

I have been doing this for a long time, and I have never encountered a headphone-listening editor who didn't make regular errors. When I had the authority to do so, I banned headphones from a copy desk and the quality of the work increased significantly.
I'm not nuts about mindless chatter either but it can be tuned out. If you're listening to music on headphones, obviously you're not even trying to tune it out.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:34 pm

No editors in the newsroom should wear headphones (earbuds to you kids).

In the past year, now on the other side of the wall, I sometimes listen to music during intense writing sessions. Part of the reason is to drown out the inane chatter of co-workers, but it also helps put me in a groove.

I could maybe see it being OK for an editor working on a mega-project who wants the equivalent of going into an office and closing the doors and unplugging the phone. But that would be a rare occasion.

HedHunter · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:42 pm

How about simple professional courtesy?

I agree with cobra_kai. Each night I talk to designers, artists, photographers, assigning editors and reporters -- sometimes on the phone, but more often in person. If you're working with headphones, it sends a signal that you're not only unavailable, you're also uninterested in communicating as part of making the newspaper better.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:52 pm

jjmoney62 wrote:

In the past year, now on the other side of the wall, I sometimes listen to music during intense writing sessions.

*** "Intense writing sessions." ***

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:48 am

dangermike wrote:

Seems like a symptom of a larger problem for copy editors: The world's changing. Adapt. Get used to it. People wear headphones and IM each other. Many of us have phones that aren't attached to the wall. This ridiculous nostalgia for the Golden Days needs to end already.

It's not nostalgic to expect journalists to work with one ear on the the scanner and brodcast media and one ear on their colleagues. Until people start communicating telepathically, being alert to the noise in the newsroom is essential at all stages of daily newspaper production. An editor who needs to retreat into his own head to concentrate might be better suited to something more static like book publishing.

KyleJRM · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:19 am

I had to have the earphones argument all the time when I was in charge of my college paper.

My answer was: No, you can't. You cannot work just as well (or better) while listening to music. I don't care what you think, you just can't. You can't drive the same with a cell phone in your ear, you can't multitask effectively, and the thing where people are smarter while listening to Mozart is a myth.

Time had a pretty good article on the subject last year. There are mounds of science that back me up on this one. People think they can work the same while their attention is divided among multiple sources, but they can't. And music does drain some of your attention.

(Ironically, I'm typing this while listening to music. Less efficiently than I would have otherwise, I'm sure.)

tommangan · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:41 pm

I would also add: if you truly like music and respect the work of people who create it, you should not try to listen to it while working.

Driving seems to be about the only thing I can do while listening to music.

Vanderhoof Viking · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:57 pm

The only time I ever had a headset on listening to music while I wrote was some years ago when I did a country music review column.
Other than that, I have an Internet radio station playing on my computer right now, but it's a low enough volume not to disturb others in the room, and I can still hear them if they need to get my attention.

McGarry · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:51 pm

I can write and edit fine with headphones on. What I can't do is hear the deputy business editor talking to the layout guy about how they're most likely going to hold this 20-inch story I just started working on.

I also can't hear the new guy ask whether our style is "Iraq" or "Iran."

I can't hear the slot ask whether anyone is up so they can take over the new guy's Baghdad feature, since he's dead and all.

And I can't hear that copy editor ask whether anyone else wants in on the pizza order.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:03 pm

McGarry wrote:

I can write and edit fine with headphones on.

No, you can't. Hahahahahaha.

KyleJRM · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:01 pm

McGarry wrote:

I can write and edit fine with headphones on.

Research tells us that virtually everyone thinks they can concentrate on mental tasks just fine with headphones on. Research tells us that almost all of those people are wrong.

Which group do you think it is most likely you are in? The ones whose perception is wrong, or the rare minority who is right?

McGarry · **Posted:** Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:25 pm

Quote:

Research tells us that virtually everyone thinks they can concentrate on mental tasks just fine with headphones on. Research tells us that almost all of those people are wrong.

Which group do you think it is most likely you are in? The ones whose perception is wrong, or the rare minority who is right?

Wow, I've been schooled by someone who gives his occupation as "student." I have no defense against someone who can cite such compelling "research."

As for you, Mr. Blanchard, I'll see you in the playground after school.

copynomad · **Joined:** Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:07 am **Posts:** 623

I work next to someone who talks loudly. Sometimes I put in ear plugs or ear buds when I get desperate. It's annoying, because I can't hear the stuff I need to hear. But sometimes I just need to get some work done. This guy amazes me. I don't know how he gets any material to write anything, because he talks for at least 55 seconds of every minute during an interview (I guess he has to take a breath now and then). The ear plugs work great for shutting him out. The ear buds work only if I play certain types of music without lyrics. It serves as white noise.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:15 am

I'd be arranging for him to be moved.

copynomad · **Joined:** Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:07 am **Posts:** 623

Yeah, I've already called for a catapult.

Editer · **Posted:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:18 pm

I'm in the same position as copynomad, next to a copy editor who conducts most of his personal business and socializing by phone during work hours and doesn't have an indoor voice. Adding to the noise is the photo department's newsroom pod, where the people who prep pix for the designers can't get through a shift without watching and guffawing at Last Comic Standing and Letterman with the sound up. (I've raised concerns with my supervisor who has passed them along, but somewhere they drop into the abyss.) Headphones are the lesser evil.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:33 pm

No. The photo people shouldn't be watching television shows in the office. Tell them directly to stop. If they don't, disable their television.

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:55 am

Right. There should be no problem telling people to stop noise that's not work-related. That's not the most edifying part of being a boss, but it is part of the job. Which reminds me of today. Two of four people on the newsdesk messing with a big news story and sidebar, trying to compare notes over the crossfire of two bigger bosses giggling over "Everybody Poops" and related works. My desk is flanked by a features editor and a TV-lover, and still I manage to get work done sans earphones. Even did during the runup to the "Sopranos" finale. It ain't pleasant, but what workplace is all the time?

Editer · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:52 am

My workplace, first, has such a confusing structure that I'm not sure who the photo noisemakers report to (we have five or six managing editors -- I've lost count). Second, the environment around here is so lax that telling people to shut up only works for a little while, and more than once I've been berated for speaking up; one reporter angrily informed me that he had an absolute right to have long personal conversations with other people next to my desk.

Heartodixie · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:02 pm

Editer wrote:

My workplace, first, has such a confusing structure that I'm not sure who the photo noisemakers report to (we have five or six managing editors -- I've lost count). Second, the environment around here is so lax that telling people to shut up only works for a little while, and more than once I've been berated for speaking up; one reporter angrily informed me that he had an absolute right to have long personal conversations with other people next to my desk.

Wow, it sounds like physical violence might be called for over there.

ndugan1 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:48 pm

Editer wrote:

one reporter angrily informed me that he had an absolute right to have long personal conversations with other people next to my desk.

To which I would have replied, "Are they work related?" (Of course, both of you know the answer to that) followed by "No? Then shut up. I'm trying to work."

There are plenty of other places long personal conversations can be held. The reporter should be aware enough of their surroundings to realize work is being done there and you are on deadline.

Editer · **Posted:** Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:52 pm

ndugan1 wrote:

Editer wrote:

one reporter angrily informed me that he had an absolute right to have long personal conversations with other people next to my desk.

To which I would have replied, "Are they work related?" (Of course, both of you know the answer to that) followed by "No? Then shut up. I'm trying to work."

That's what prompted the tirade in the first place.

copynomad · **Joined:** Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:07 am **Posts:** 623

Although I ask people to pipe down from time to time when things get out of hand and it's not work-related, it's not realistic for me to play noise patrol in various parts of the newsroom, depending on who's sitting next to whom, whom I manage and whom I don't, and how often people backslide into noisiness. Basically, there are all kinds of people, some more considerate than others. Those who are inconsiderate aren't easily reformed. You can tell people to shut up, but I prefer not to be rude to people I work with day in, day out. That doesn't help when I need cooperation on a story or photo later. Unfortunately, we can't segregate all the considerate people in the newsroom from those who aren't. I want stuff well edited, and if wearing headphones or ear plugs helps someone do that, I don't have a problem with that. If it bugs you to have co-workers wear headphones, as someone said, what workplace is pleasant all the time?

LAEdtr · **Posted:** Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:45 pm

One of our head copy editors wears headphones, and while it helps him (I presume) filter out distractions, it does make for too many repeated questions and discussions. His supervisor is aware of it and chooses to take it in stride, so so do we.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:00 am

Our official position is "no headphones," and I don't know what else there is to add after four-plus years. I see ACES has a new thread on the same subject and I cede the franchise to that forum.

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