That news meeting? The one where the editor introduced the New Business Model? Here’s what it looked like through the eyes of the intern in metro (because of course she blogged about it):
Through most of this meeting, I just wanted to shout, “Amen!” and “You go girl!” because Janet [Coats, editor-in-chief of the Tampa Tribune] understands what’s up. She can see the trend in the industry: Innovate or obliterate. She stressed more than several times that if newspapers don’t change then NEWSPAPERS WILL DIE.
Then there was that Baltimore Sun intern who recently blogged,in anticipation of just such a meeting, the following: “I love the smell of layoffs in the morning. It’s like leading lambs to the slaughter. I’ll be there. I’ve always wanted to witness an execution.” (The post was linked on Romenesko; the blog is now “open to invited readers only.”)
Related (sort of), Adelle Waldman explains in The New Republic “why internships in journalism are bad for young people, and bad for the industry.” Writes Waldman: “Beware the intern you just sent on a coffee run.” But not because that intern might be live-blogging your news meeting. More because “journalism internships discriminate on the basis of financial wherewithal” and “the internship culture … rewards young people who know exactly what they want to do and immediately begin strategizing about how to get there” such that “news is delivered by people who harbor…similar ambitions and come from…similar backgrounds.”
Liz,
I found your post very interesting; however, I think you took the quote from my blog post completely out of context.
While I've since admitted that my praise of Coats's new business model was poorly timed in conjunction with the layoffs at the Trib, the context in which you've presented this especially skews my message.
I never praised layoffs and I never will. I praised the fact that the layoffs were paired with a plan to try and fix a broken model. The context you've provided has made it seem that I enjoy hearing about layoffs in an industry I'm trying to break into. As I've said in the comments and in my follow up post, that is not the case.
These people have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed. You will never hear me express glee before a meeting that announces 20 upcoming layoffs. To liken me to someone who enjoys the smell of layoffs in the morning is inaccurate and unfair, especially considering my explanation and the fact that I am still approving negative comments on my blog - rather than blocking my readership.
Still, thank you for writing this post because I've learned that it's important to really consider how people might interpret the meaning of your words. I just hope people can learn from my posts and yours.
Jessie
Posted by jdasilva
on Mon 7 Jul 2008 at 03:06 PM