[Page One, from the Newseum's database]
From a post on my Facebook page, earlier today:
The folks in the trenches at USA Today are wonderful people. Like their colleagues all across Gannett, they struggle more than ever to do a good job, against increasingly long odds. The problem is at the tippy top: Craig Dubow, Gracia Martore, the board of directors, and the owners: Wall Street's heartless investors. More on that later.
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I believe the problem at USA Today isn't just at the top. Yes, there are some wonderfully talented, smart and hard-working folks at the flagship. But there is also a cancer that is spreading. Some mind-boggling hires in the last couple of years and promotions of others with severe managerial limitations, combine to make this a newsroom and newspaper in decline. The staff with the principles that drove the brand to success has dwindled. The work ethics of some who are now in key, mid-level positions are weak at best. The care and attention to being the best just isn't what it once was. I can only attribute that to bad hiring and leadership that is more concerned about perception than reality.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, there are some longtime "survivors" who have pushed every button, displayed every behavior that would get a person fired in most places, yet they hang on. Witnessing those behaviors year in and year out can degrade the spirit and professionalism within a newsroom. These people tend to be sloppy in their work and create situations that other people have to clean up.
USA Today has a problem. How long managers will continue to stick their heads in the sand remains to be seen. There have been far too many injustices in the last two years. The paper is at a crossroads but few seem to realize it. There is bloat. There is deceit. There is backstabbing. There is dysfunction that makes even the most routine tasks difficult. There are too many people working banker's hours and who aren't here when there is big news. The lack of experience and qualifications, or even a decent education, are startling for a national paper. It wasn't always this way. You had to earn your way here in the past.
It's all rather depressing.
To dear, concerned, one-note 10:59:
ReplyDeleteGo suck an egg. Where were you last night?
Winners do. Losers complain.
11:13. I was there! But I noticed a lot of other people, as usual, weren't. I guess their absence doesn't bother you, or perhaps you were one of them. You 9-to-5 USATers know who you are and usually get pretty defensive when anyone ever shines a little light on your perks. Why you all ever got into the news biz is beyond comprehension. You don't want to work nights. You don't want to work Sundays. And God forbid you have to work a holiday. If the news doesn't happen on your convenient schedules, you aren't there 99 percent of the time. If once in awhile you do stay late, it's like a heroic act! You make sure everyone knows it. You're pathetic and shouldn't even call yourselves journalists. What's even sadder is that many of you are pretty well paid and in positions of responsibility. You would think you could set aside your personal lives now and then to help out. But no, you're out the door like clockwork. Nice nice job of setting a good example. The fact that you survive is another indication of how far USAT has fallen.
ReplyDeleteBoth of you are idiots.
ReplyDeletePlease, just do your jobs and STFU. Clearly you have no solutions, other than to bitch incessantly. You are a dime a dozen, and you should be fired in the next round of cuts.