Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cutting Off Limbs to Save the Corpse

Special Post from the Grave
I didn't see this being covered anywhere else, so I decided I should probably post it.

I'm still at school, so I must confess to not really being in the know. Despite my distance, I received an e-mail describing the new wave of mayhem at the Orlando Sentinel and it's much worse, much sooner then I would've ever predicted. I know the Orlando Sentinel is taking hard blows and the past year has been abysmal, but the developments below are basically a recipe for terminating the newspaper in its entirety.

From inside Sentinel walls:
Big meeting yesterday. There’ll be 36 positions eliminated from the newsroom alone. The Sentinel is now a ‘NEWS GATHERING ORGANIZATION’ with a newspaper arm. The paper part being the lesser entity. Everything we do from now on will be geared to the web site. In addition they plan to up the subscription rate????
As for the edit page, we will only be doing ONE EDITORIAL A DAY!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is about canning copy editors, at least 20. has been in the works for a while.
the idea is to just dump raw copy into the site.
copy editors are being eliminated or "consolidated" into universal desks at Gannett papers all over. maybe when Zell returns from his recharging trip to Neptune he will think of this.
do not leave in a voluntary layoff. it will imperil your unemployment.
be careful what you sign - ask to sleep on it and show it to a lawyer.

Anonymous said...

The Sentinel, what is left of it, will be dramtically downsized very soon. Survivors will have loser-taint and should jump now. Those applying to law school should do this - now.
Do not be left in the funeral procession. Bolt.
And watch where you step. There will be stuff to scrape off your shoes.