If a day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine, than a Friday without Al's financial advice is like a Friday without red-hot pokers being thrust in both my eyes, while simultaneously being waterboarded.And speaking of sunshine! Guess what's the solution to the worst recession since that Great Depression Neuharth usually jawbones about? Yepper: Eliminating daylight saving time, which returns Sunday. "Congress compounded the felony in 2007 by making it run from March to November,'' our favorite suntanned Florida retiree typewrites, by energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb, no doubt. "Lobbyists for the late night crowd, especially owners of bars and clubs, pushed the extension."
So, abolish DST, President Obama! "That extra hour of morning daylight would be a strong stimulus for his recovery plan because most of us use morning hours for work and evening hours for play."
Al-O-Meter: $17,307.69!
We're all pinching pennies, CEO Craig Dubow, so FYI: Here's the year-to-date cost of Neuharth's USA Today columns, under that $100,000-a-year-for-life consulting gig your predecessors gave him: $17,307.69.
Hope long a guarantee for this Friday column did Al get when he sold out? At least use a picture that is less than 20 years old.
ReplyDeleteHe's like Gannett's own Wilford Brimley!
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ReplyDeletePerhaps he should check his assumptions. Where I worked as a reporter, we were not allowed to begin work before 10 AM. Never did understand that. Is that typical for Gannett reporters?
ReplyDeleteIf a day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine, than a Friday ...
ReplyDeleteJim, it's thEn a day
Has this man ever read the story that every newspaper and magazine in America runs a couple of times a year with "new" research proving that circadian rhythms are quite real?
ReplyDeleteNewsflash, Al: Just 'cause you're a morning person doesn't mean everyone "uses mornings to work."
Jeesh. Still more proof that editors believe if it happened to them, it must be a universal experience - because they're the center of it, of course.
What does he do in the afternoons?
ReplyDelete"Jeesh. Still more proof that editors believe if it happened to them, it must be a universal experience - because they're the center of it, of course."
ReplyDeleteAmen. I saw so much of that shallow thinking.
On the advertising side, I'd add that just because those kind of professionals get off on dancing, flashing ads, that certainly does not mean readers want to dodge them or interact with them when they're on the sites trying to read the news!
After his 5;45 A M run,he used to mix his orange juice with the Pouilly Fuisse left from the night before.
ReplyDeleteI know some editors who prefer you work 10-6, so you're hanging around in the office for a little while in case they have any questions. As a reporter, that's a waste of my time. I don't mind if you call me at home for a quick question. I get my copy in early enough so that little questions are all you should have for me - no big, last-minute reworkings.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I get started as early as I can. If I put out a round of calls and leave a bunch of messages around 8 a.m. (before most people are at their desks), I can expect a bunch of calls back staggered during the day. If I wait until 9 or 10 to start calling, I get hung up in conversations and so don't get around to making my last call until later in the afternoon, when people are often in meetings.
My paper has 4 p.m daily deadlines for all except late-breaking news. Editors are in a meeting starting at 3 p.m., so no copy gets read until after 4. Getting your copy in between 1 and 2, if it's possible, is the best thing for all concerned.
But, then, I have a family to get back home to. When I was a youngster, I enjoyed hanging around until late in the evening, chatting with the copy desk as they came in, doing whatever odd jobs came around. Now? Well, I still love the newsroom atmosphere, but there are things that are much more important to me.