Often forgotten among the additional stress, additional work and additional drinking that go hand in hand with smaller, "more-with-less" staffs in a shrinking newsroom are the intangibles. Like the dearth of personality manifested through a lack of photographs.
You don't need a private detective to figure me out. Just look at the pictures and whatnot on my desk. That I'm a father of three who loves The Simpsons and going to baseball games across the country is obvious to any dolt who might happen by. The autographed photograph of Taj Mahal says something about my taste in blues. And the sheet music for Nearer, My God, to Thee, goes to the heart of my irreverance.
But there are a lot of empty desks in newsrooms these days, and on my worse days, it seems like our workplace is somewhat reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel. But instead of empty rooms and countless ghosts, we work in a venue with a whole lotta vacant desks -- and countless ghosts.
Those desks were occupied not long ago by people who had lives outside the newsroom. And those lives were reflected on the pictures and children's artwork that were plastered in their cubicles. I miss walking by Liz Fitzsimons' desk and seeing pictures of her beloved Natalie growing year by year. Or handpainted works of something or other from Miranda Barfield to her father, Chet, that underscored a daughter's undying love for her father. Or the smiling photos of Alex Roth shortly after he met a wonderful woman who would beccome his wife. Or the endless supply of almonds on Ray Kipp's desk, in an office surrounded by whimsical, um, art. Everyone has their little space, and how each person decorated that space, from Terry Rodgers to Cheryl Clark to Mark Sauer and Ruth McKinnie Braun, told you something about them.
I really miss that.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Listen to this...
Sometimes it's better to let others tell it like it is. Like David Carr, who wrote this in The New York Times today...
By DAVID CARR
Published: November 16, 2008
In March 2007, Circuit City came up with a plan to confront softening sales and competition from online and offline retailers: fire the most talented, experienced employees.
Of course, those workers were the retail chain’s single most important point of difference from the legion of Internet retailers and general merchandisers, but in a single stroke, Philip J. Schoonover, the chief executive of Circuit City, wiped out that future.
As a pal of mine used to say when I described a particularly boneheaded course of action I had pursued, “How’d that work out for you, buddy?”
For Circuit City, not so great. The “wage management initiative” erased morale, both for employees and the folks who shopped there. Sales sank after the one-time gain from the layoffs. And last week, the company sought bankruptcy protection.
Mr. Schoonover joined his former employees in the discard box in September, a nice bit of symmetry until you factor in his $1.8 million in severance, $50,000 in outplacement services and a two-year cushion on health benefits. (The clerks axed in Wichita and Tucson got a bit less.)
In the digital age, we’re told, the critical difference between success and failure is human capital — those heartbeats and fast hands that can make a good business great. So are newspapers reacting to their downturn as Circuit City did?
Every day, Romenesko, a journalism blog at the Poynter Institute, is rife with news of layoffs at newspapers, most of the time featuring some important, trusted names. It is not the young fresh faces that are getting whacked — they come cheap — but the most experienced, proven people in the room, the equivalent of the sales clerk who could walk you through a thicket of widescreen television choices to the one that actually works for you.
Using clerks as an analogue may not be the most flattering comparison, but I have always thought of journalism as more craft than profession and tell students that it is the accumulation of experience and technique that makes a journalist valuable, not some ineffable beckoning of the muse.
Right now, the consumer has all manner of text to choose from on platforms that range from a cellphone to broadsheet. The critical point of difference journalism offers is that it can reduce the signal-to-noise ratio and provide trusted, branded information. That will be a business into the future, perhaps less paper-bound and smaller, but a very real business.
Newspapers, which began the race with a huge lead in terms of human assets, may end up just another part of the underinformed commodity of clutter.
“Circulation declines were deeper in the last period, and I have to say that I think it has to do with the quality problems from cuts,” said Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell Inc., a market analysis firm. “It is not just the cutting, but the cutting of more-experienced staff, a kind of slow-motion suicide. Circuit City cut its own throat by not realizing what their competitive advantage is, and newspapers are doing the same thing.”
Last week, Media General, a company that owns newspapers, television stations and Web sites in the Southeast, eliminated 80 positions in Florida, including a prominent columnist and the editorial page editor at The Tampa Tribune. “The Book of Ruth,” a long-running wiseacre feature by the longtime columnist Dan Ruth, will be missed, now and then. He and the editorial page editor, Rosemary Goudreau, follow a political columnist, Joe Brown, the movie critic Bob Ross and the classical music critic Kurt Loft to the exit.
Readers, especially the ones cranky and serious enough to still be buying newspapers, have not missed the trend.
“Fire your best employees and watch your business go out of business, just like Circuit City is finding out right now. Who wants to read old news when one can find quality articles outside of the TampaTribe. Bye Bye TampaTrib, you have fired one too many of your excellent personnel and now I am firing you!” said a reader, Bob, in a comment posted to The Feed blog at TampaBay.com, a media blog by Eric Deggans, a media and television reporter at The St. Petersburg Times.
Yes, the revenue picture is grim and growing grimmer. The biggest outlay besides putting the printed artifact on the street is salaries. And journalists tend to get a lot more indignant when the sheet cake and goodbye speeches are being served up on behalf of people who have the same job as they have.
But there is a business argument to be made here. Having missed the implications of the Web and allowed both their content and their audience to be scraped away by aggregators and ad networks, newspapers are now working furiously to maintain audience, build new ad models and renovate presentation. But they won’t stay relevant to readers with generic content ginned up by newbies with no background in the communities they serve.
“Newspapers are aimed at the movers and shakers in a community — the car dealers, the retailers, the restaurant owners,” said Alan D. Mutter, a technology and media consultant who blogs at Reflections of a Newsosaur (www.newsosaur.blogspot.com). “When they get together and realize that they are looking at the paper, that it is less compelling than it used to be, it creates a vicious cycle of weaker readership and weaker advertising.”
Last week, Sam Zell, a one-man newspaper wrecking crew running the Tribune Company, was interviewed at the FourSquare conference, the annual conclave of media moguls put on by Steve Rattner. I was not there, but I spoke to two people — neither of them journalists — who listened and were appalled by his disregard for his newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times.
Based on my conversation with those attendees, Mr. Zell, who, through a spokesman, declined to comment, suggested that newsrooms were just so much overhead and that what was ailing the industry was overweening journalistic ambition. I’ve read Mr. Zell’s products since he took over. I’ve seen his handiwork, including laying off Lynell George at The Los Angeles Times and Jeffrey Meitrodt at The Chicago Tribune, just two of the many veterans I happen to know he has sacrificed on the altar of debt service.
Newspapers confront tall, menacing seas in the coming year, but it is a sure bet that the ones that dump the ablest hands on deck will be among the first to sink below the waves.
E-mail: carr@nytimes.com
By DAVID CARR
Published: November 16, 2008
In March 2007, Circuit City came up with a plan to confront softening sales and competition from online and offline retailers: fire the most talented, experienced employees.
Of course, those workers were the retail chain’s single most important point of difference from the legion of Internet retailers and general merchandisers, but in a single stroke, Philip J. Schoonover, the chief executive of Circuit City, wiped out that future.
As a pal of mine used to say when I described a particularly boneheaded course of action I had pursued, “How’d that work out for you, buddy?”
For Circuit City, not so great. The “wage management initiative” erased morale, both for employees and the folks who shopped there. Sales sank after the one-time gain from the layoffs. And last week, the company sought bankruptcy protection.
Mr. Schoonover joined his former employees in the discard box in September, a nice bit of symmetry until you factor in his $1.8 million in severance, $50,000 in outplacement services and a two-year cushion on health benefits. (The clerks axed in Wichita and Tucson got a bit less.)
In the digital age, we’re told, the critical difference between success and failure is human capital — those heartbeats and fast hands that can make a good business great. So are newspapers reacting to their downturn as Circuit City did?
Every day, Romenesko, a journalism blog at the Poynter Institute, is rife with news of layoffs at newspapers, most of the time featuring some important, trusted names. It is not the young fresh faces that are getting whacked — they come cheap — but the most experienced, proven people in the room, the equivalent of the sales clerk who could walk you through a thicket of widescreen television choices to the one that actually works for you.
Using clerks as an analogue may not be the most flattering comparison, but I have always thought of journalism as more craft than profession and tell students that it is the accumulation of experience and technique that makes a journalist valuable, not some ineffable beckoning of the muse.
Right now, the consumer has all manner of text to choose from on platforms that range from a cellphone to broadsheet. The critical point of difference journalism offers is that it can reduce the signal-to-noise ratio and provide trusted, branded information. That will be a business into the future, perhaps less paper-bound and smaller, but a very real business.
Newspapers, which began the race with a huge lead in terms of human assets, may end up just another part of the underinformed commodity of clutter.
“Circulation declines were deeper in the last period, and I have to say that I think it has to do with the quality problems from cuts,” said Ken Doctor, a media analyst at Outsell Inc., a market analysis firm. “It is not just the cutting, but the cutting of more-experienced staff, a kind of slow-motion suicide. Circuit City cut its own throat by not realizing what their competitive advantage is, and newspapers are doing the same thing.”
Last week, Media General, a company that owns newspapers, television stations and Web sites in the Southeast, eliminated 80 positions in Florida, including a prominent columnist and the editorial page editor at The Tampa Tribune. “The Book of Ruth,” a long-running wiseacre feature by the longtime columnist Dan Ruth, will be missed, now and then. He and the editorial page editor, Rosemary Goudreau, follow a political columnist, Joe Brown, the movie critic Bob Ross and the classical music critic Kurt Loft to the exit.
Readers, especially the ones cranky and serious enough to still be buying newspapers, have not missed the trend.
“Fire your best employees and watch your business go out of business, just like Circuit City is finding out right now. Who wants to read old news when one can find quality articles outside of the TampaTribe. Bye Bye TampaTrib, you have fired one too many of your excellent personnel and now I am firing you!” said a reader, Bob, in a comment posted to The Feed blog at TampaBay.com, a media blog by Eric Deggans, a media and television reporter at The St. Petersburg Times.
Yes, the revenue picture is grim and growing grimmer. The biggest outlay besides putting the printed artifact on the street is salaries. And journalists tend to get a lot more indignant when the sheet cake and goodbye speeches are being served up on behalf of people who have the same job as they have.
But there is a business argument to be made here. Having missed the implications of the Web and allowed both their content and their audience to be scraped away by aggregators and ad networks, newspapers are now working furiously to maintain audience, build new ad models and renovate presentation. But they won’t stay relevant to readers with generic content ginned up by newbies with no background in the communities they serve.
“Newspapers are aimed at the movers and shakers in a community — the car dealers, the retailers, the restaurant owners,” said Alan D. Mutter, a technology and media consultant who blogs at Reflections of a Newsosaur (www.newsosaur.blogspot.com). “When they get together and realize that they are looking at the paper, that it is less compelling than it used to be, it creates a vicious cycle of weaker readership and weaker advertising.”
Last week, Sam Zell, a one-man newspaper wrecking crew running the Tribune Company, was interviewed at the FourSquare conference, the annual conclave of media moguls put on by Steve Rattner. I was not there, but I spoke to two people — neither of them journalists — who listened and were appalled by his disregard for his newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times.
Based on my conversation with those attendees, Mr. Zell, who, through a spokesman, declined to comment, suggested that newsrooms were just so much overhead and that what was ailing the industry was overweening journalistic ambition. I’ve read Mr. Zell’s products since he took over. I’ve seen his handiwork, including laying off Lynell George at The Los Angeles Times and Jeffrey Meitrodt at The Chicago Tribune, just two of the many veterans I happen to know he has sacrificed on the altar of debt service.
Newspapers confront tall, menacing seas in the coming year, but it is a sure bet that the ones that dump the ablest hands on deck will be among the first to sink below the waves.
E-mail: carr@nytimes.com
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
What do I know?
The rumors have been swirling on the blogoshphere for weeks. Sam Zell. Dean Singleton. The Black Press. Those are but three of the suitors who are the imminent new owners of The San Diego Union-Tribune -- if you believe what you read in the media.
But the intensity of the talk, and the concern among people associated with the paper, has picked up in recent days, and the ongoing uncertainty has been more than a bit unsettling. The most persistent discussion is that someone has bought the paper and the sale will be announced on Friday. Then the ax will fall, and a whole lotta people will be laid off.
The fact that the country is suffering through what is arguably the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression doesn't give folks who eschewed the most recent round of buyouts much confidence.
Me? As Micky Sach's father says in Hannah and Her Sisters, `What do I know? I can't even figure out how to fix this damn can opener!'
But plug on I must. I'm getting paid a decent salary to help produce three sections of the paper and manage a team of six reporters and news assistants, not to speculate on something I cannot control. And I'm pretty damn proud of my work. Perhaps, in a few weeks, Sam Zell, Dean Singleton or some other schlub will conclude the paper could do just fine without me, thank you very much, but until then, I know of only one way: never cheat your employer.
It sounds corny, and it no doubt is, but my mother always said that whatever happens, happens for the best. She said it when I separated from my first wife, and I ended up later marrying someone I love and care about more than I could ever imagine. She said it when my Lakers got beat by an inferior Celtics team in the 1984 NBA Finals, and L.A came back with a vengeance the following season, beginning a run of three championships in four years. She said it when I screwed up on my SAT, and I ended up taking the ACT instead, ranking in top percentile in the country and getting accepted, honors at entrance, at every school I applied to.
So I'm sticking with the old Russian lady's sage advice, secure in the knowledge that whatever happens, happens for the best.
But the intensity of the talk, and the concern among people associated with the paper, has picked up in recent days, and the ongoing uncertainty has been more than a bit unsettling. The most persistent discussion is that someone has bought the paper and the sale will be announced on Friday. Then the ax will fall, and a whole lotta people will be laid off.
The fact that the country is suffering through what is arguably the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression doesn't give folks who eschewed the most recent round of buyouts much confidence.
Me? As Micky Sach's father says in Hannah and Her Sisters, `What do I know? I can't even figure out how to fix this damn can opener!'
But plug on I must. I'm getting paid a decent salary to help produce three sections of the paper and manage a team of six reporters and news assistants, not to speculate on something I cannot control. And I'm pretty damn proud of my work. Perhaps, in a few weeks, Sam Zell, Dean Singleton or some other schlub will conclude the paper could do just fine without me, thank you very much, but until then, I know of only one way: never cheat your employer.
It sounds corny, and it no doubt is, but my mother always said that whatever happens, happens for the best. She said it when I separated from my first wife, and I ended up later marrying someone I love and care about more than I could ever imagine. She said it when my Lakers got beat by an inferior Celtics team in the 1984 NBA Finals, and L.A came back with a vengeance the following season, beginning a run of three championships in four years. She said it when I screwed up on my SAT, and I ended up taking the ACT instead, ranking in top percentile in the country and getting accepted, honors at entrance, at every school I applied to.
So I'm sticking with the old Russian lady's sage advice, secure in the knowledge that whatever happens, happens for the best.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Nearer, My God, to Thee
One is an FBI agent investigating mortgage fraud and other financial crimes in Los Angeles. Another is in New York, an editor at ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. A third is going to graduate school at USC while working for that university's media relations department.
All are among the scores of reporters and editors who have left The San Diego Union-Tribune during the newspaper industry's unprecedented freefall.
Some of us are hanging on, determined to stay with the ship wherever it may lead. Others are determined to lead the ship back to profitable waters. And still others are desperately trying to find another line of work, something more secure in an insecure economy.
But the John Gilmores, Gerry Brauns, Anna Cearleys and Susan Whites of the U-T have already made their break, and are doing quite well, thank you.
John Gilmore, a longtime editor at the paper who had been here so long he was among those who covered the 1978 PSA plane crash over North Park, took a buyout two years ago. Old enough to get senior discounts on his lunches at Denny's and monthly passes on the San Diego Trolley (OK, he's 63!), John wasn't quite sure what to do when the initial buyout offer was made to those with 30 years of experience. But he had an idea.
"My intent at that time was to work with special education kids," John told me during a recent conversation. "I had some interviews and was going to go in that direction."
It would be a part-time job, but before it came to fruition, a more lucrative opportunity arose. He got a call from a former co-worker, who was heading the communications department at the Port of San Diego. She had been promoted and needed a replacement. Today, John is a communications manager for the Port, dealing with pesky reporters (some of whom he used to supervise), writing, developing a newsletter and engaging in some serious consulting work.
"It's been a great learning experience," he said. "I've been able to learn new things, I've been energized. It's a breath of fresh air."
And what about his previous life?
"I miss the people, and there have been occasions where I miss being in a newsroom. It's a stimulating experience...But seeing the direction of the business, I don't have any regrets.
Neither does Anna Cearley, former Border Team reporter extraordinaire.
"I think some people were surprised I took the buyout, but I had already been considering other options for about a year when I started to realize things were changing drastically in the newspaper industry. I saw a greater emphasis on multimedia, which I was starting to learn on my own and through the U-T, and less room in the paper for the kinds of explanatory border stories that I had been able to do in the past. Even if things had been going great in the news business, I still would have been restless. I had been doing the border crime beat for seven years and I was thinking it was time for a change, but I wasn't really interested in doing any other beat at the paper. Towards the end of 2007, I applied for a job with USC's media relations department and also applied for a graduate program at USC on the creation and management of online communities. Both of them seemed to be attractive opportunities to broaden my skill base and redirect my career under the current uncertain circumstances. When the buyout offer came up in December I realized that I had the money to go to graduate school and this seemed like a sign that I should take the leap. I ended up getting the USC job six months later."
She continued:
"In my job, I put a lot of my reporting skills to use. I look for possible story ideas in the areas of education and public policy based on the work of USC researchers. I either write these stories for our web site and/or pitch the ideas to reporters. I read research papers and try to convert them into "regular" English with a stronger emphasis on "why this is important." I work with faculty to encourage them to formulate ideas for editorials and to find ways to express their thoughts in a way that doesn't read like an academic paper."
In graduate school, she's working with two classmates to design a small social network site under the direction of a Yahoo! product management director. "I'm also learning a lot about the very forces that have contributed to the problems in the newspaper industry. I don't like all that is being done by the online world, but I see how important it will be for the media to embrace innovation in upcoming years."
Any regrets?
"Between work, school, blogging and family obligations I don't have much time to dwell on the past. I do feel sad for what's happening in the journalism industry. I think the profession is a noble one and it plays a vital role in making sure there are proper checks and balances in our system. To be totally honest, I loved my job at the Union-Tribune and appreciated greatly the opportunities the company gave me. Covering the border over the past seven years was a deeply satisfying time of my life."
The note about the profession being a noble one brings to mind what one departing editor said when she left, just before the buyouts and layoffs began. Karen Ristine noted she was leaving one calling, but embracing another: She's now a Methodist minister in Mission Valley.
Indeed, those who have left are doing quite well. Former metro reporter Liz Neely just landed a job as an investigator for a law firm. Former business reporter Craig Rose is working for City Attorney Mike Aguirre. Former columnist Gerry Braun is working for Mayor Jerry Sanders. Former reporters Chet Barfield and Mark Sauer are working for Councilwoman Donna Frye. Former North County reporter Lisa Petrillo is working at Children's Hospital. And the list go on.
As for me, I'm with the group determined to help lead this ship to more settled seas. And if the Titanic goes down, I have the sheet music to Nearer, My God, to Thee on my desk. I'll play the violin.
All are among the scores of reporters and editors who have left The San Diego Union-Tribune during the newspaper industry's unprecedented freefall.
Some of us are hanging on, determined to stay with the ship wherever it may lead. Others are determined to lead the ship back to profitable waters. And still others are desperately trying to find another line of work, something more secure in an insecure economy.
But the John Gilmores, Gerry Brauns, Anna Cearleys and Susan Whites of the U-T have already made their break, and are doing quite well, thank you.
John Gilmore, a longtime editor at the paper who had been here so long he was among those who covered the 1978 PSA plane crash over North Park, took a buyout two years ago. Old enough to get senior discounts on his lunches at Denny's and monthly passes on the San Diego Trolley (OK, he's 63!), John wasn't quite sure what to do when the initial buyout offer was made to those with 30 years of experience. But he had an idea.
"My intent at that time was to work with special education kids," John told me during a recent conversation. "I had some interviews and was going to go in that direction."
It would be a part-time job, but before it came to fruition, a more lucrative opportunity arose. He got a call from a former co-worker, who was heading the communications department at the Port of San Diego. She had been promoted and needed a replacement. Today, John is a communications manager for the Port, dealing with pesky reporters (some of whom he used to supervise), writing, developing a newsletter and engaging in some serious consulting work.
"It's been a great learning experience," he said. "I've been able to learn new things, I've been energized. It's a breath of fresh air."
And what about his previous life?
"I miss the people, and there have been occasions where I miss being in a newsroom. It's a stimulating experience...But seeing the direction of the business, I don't have any regrets.
Neither does Anna Cearley, former Border Team reporter extraordinaire.
"I think some people were surprised I took the buyout, but I had already been considering other options for about a year when I started to realize things were changing drastically in the newspaper industry. I saw a greater emphasis on multimedia, which I was starting to learn on my own and through the U-T, and less room in the paper for the kinds of explanatory border stories that I had been able to do in the past. Even if things had been going great in the news business, I still would have been restless. I had been doing the border crime beat for seven years and I was thinking it was time for a change, but I wasn't really interested in doing any other beat at the paper. Towards the end of 2007, I applied for a job with USC's media relations department and also applied for a graduate program at USC on the creation and management of online communities. Both of them seemed to be attractive opportunities to broaden my skill base and redirect my career under the current uncertain circumstances. When the buyout offer came up in December I realized that I had the money to go to graduate school and this seemed like a sign that I should take the leap. I ended up getting the USC job six months later."
She continued:
"In my job, I put a lot of my reporting skills to use. I look for possible story ideas in the areas of education and public policy based on the work of USC researchers. I either write these stories for our web site and/or pitch the ideas to reporters. I read research papers and try to convert them into "regular" English with a stronger emphasis on "why this is important." I work with faculty to encourage them to formulate ideas for editorials and to find ways to express their thoughts in a way that doesn't read like an academic paper."
In graduate school, she's working with two classmates to design a small social network site under the direction of a Yahoo! product management director. "I'm also learning a lot about the very forces that have contributed to the problems in the newspaper industry. I don't like all that is being done by the online world, but I see how important it will be for the media to embrace innovation in upcoming years."
Any regrets?
"Between work, school, blogging and family obligations I don't have much time to dwell on the past. I do feel sad for what's happening in the journalism industry. I think the profession is a noble one and it plays a vital role in making sure there are proper checks and balances in our system. To be totally honest, I loved my job at the Union-Tribune and appreciated greatly the opportunities the company gave me. Covering the border over the past seven years was a deeply satisfying time of my life."
The note about the profession being a noble one brings to mind what one departing editor said when she left, just before the buyouts and layoffs began. Karen Ristine noted she was leaving one calling, but embracing another: She's now a Methodist minister in Mission Valley.
Indeed, those who have left are doing quite well. Former metro reporter Liz Neely just landed a job as an investigator for a law firm. Former business reporter Craig Rose is working for City Attorney Mike Aguirre. Former columnist Gerry Braun is working for Mayor Jerry Sanders. Former reporters Chet Barfield and Mark Sauer are working for Councilwoman Donna Frye. Former North County reporter Lisa Petrillo is working at Children's Hospital. And the list go on.
As for me, I'm with the group determined to help lead this ship to more settled seas. And if the Titanic goes down, I have the sheet music to Nearer, My God, to Thee on my desk. I'll play the violin.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A parable
Jimmy Carter was midway through his first year as president, the Garvey-Lopes-Russell-and-Cey infield was entering its prime and our family was thriving. My sister, her husband, my brother and I lived in a Los Feliz apartment with my mom, and we couldn't be tighter. Each motivated another. We shared a vision for the future. Heck, we were even in the midst of an expansion - my sister was pregnant with her first child.
Almost as suddenly, it ended.
The first domino to fall was my sister and her husband. The economy was in the crapper and my brother-in-law had a job waiting for him in a Reno ski factory. Off they went, and suddenly, home seemed a bit emptier, like an office after a round of layoffs.
Laughter wasn't as easy to find.
The next to leave was my older brother, to law school in San Francisco. Suddenly, the leadership - the moral compass - was missing. And the office seemed emptier.
When I left for college in San Diego, only my mom and our dog remained in that old apartment from where the cacophony of one of Los Angeles's busiest streets was a constant.
With no one helping to cook the meals, wash the clothes or take the dog out for her daily walks, life for my mom became more of a series of daily chores. Much of the enjoyment of being in that apartment had gone.
Almost as suddenly, it ended.
The first domino to fall was my sister and her husband. The economy was in the crapper and my brother-in-law had a job waiting for him in a Reno ski factory. Off they went, and suddenly, home seemed a bit emptier, like an office after a round of layoffs.
Laughter wasn't as easy to find.
The next to leave was my older brother, to law school in San Francisco. Suddenly, the leadership - the moral compass - was missing. And the office seemed emptier.
When I left for college in San Diego, only my mom and our dog remained in that old apartment from where the cacophony of one of Los Angeles's busiest streets was a constant.
With no one helping to cook the meals, wash the clothes or take the dog out for her daily walks, life for my mom became more of a series of daily chores. Much of the enjoyment of being in that apartment had gone.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Final words
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Jewish new year, and Wednesday marks the end of Ramadan. At the Union-Tribune, tomorrow marks the end of 25 careers in journalism, and Wednesday marks the beginning of a new challenge for San Diego's daily newspaper.
Best to let those who are leaving say what's on their mind. Here are a few examples:
Jerry Magee, who has been with the paper for 52 years, wrote this piece in Sunday's paper.
Carol Goodhue, our reader's representative, penned a poignant final column that ran today.
And finally, this from religion and ethics writer Sandi Dolbee.
Best to let those who are leaving say what's on their mind. Here are a few examples:
Jerry Magee, who has been with the paper for 52 years, wrote this piece in Sunday's paper.
Carol Goodhue, our reader's representative, penned a poignant final column that ran today.
And finally, this from religion and ethics writer Sandi Dolbee.
Monday, September 22, 2008
A nonprofit suffers
One of the great things about the newsroom at The San Diego Union-Tribune is a quirky little coffee bar that offers a dozen types of quality joe, every brand of decent candy ever produced (I've even seen some Big Hunks in there) and a handful of other journalist delights, including Famous Amos cookies, Bazooka Joe bubble gum and even a few varieties of granola bars. Snugged tightly in a room the size of a La Jolla walk-in closet, the coffee bar attracts not only reporters, editors and news assistants, but advertising reps from the second floor, human resources personnel from the bowels of the building and accountants and editorial writers from the fourth floor. There have even been sightings of U-T CEO Gene Bell.
Since it began, all profits generated from the sales - $230,000 to date, including $18,000 last year - have gone to the local chapter of Meals on Wheels. No one profits from this but the elderly. But with the pending buyouts of 25 staffers from the newsroom, there are fears the operation may have seen its last hurrah. The person responsible for managing the little bistro, for making sure the bills get paid and donations sent to Meals, is leaving. Medical writer Cheryl Clark, who comes in on weekends to stock up on coffee, pretzels, potato chips and biscotti, is gone Sept. 30.
The effort started out simply enough in 1990, I'm told, with the convergence of the newsroom's insatiable desire for coffee and the fleeting popularity of the television series Twin Peaks among a handful of dedicated staffers. In the early days, the bar consisted of nothing more than a coffee pot on a desk near the editor's office. But that pot soon multiplied, and before long, munchies were being offered - I hear cherry pie was the tipping point - for a price. When organizers realized they were turning a profit on the endeavor, they had a dilemma on their hands: What to do with the money.
Being fans of Twin Peaks, they asked themselves: What would Laura Palmer do? There was only one answer: Give the money to Meals on Wheels.
The effort grew. Profits rose like the price of stock in a dot.com company. A couple years later, when space became available for a real coffee bar in a small room with a sink, the Meals on Wheels effort had hit the big time.
Several people have kept the coffee bar going over the years, but none has been more instrumental than Cheryl. When the cash stops flowing but the coffee keeps going, she gets on folks to ante up. On more than a few hundred occasions, she's floated coffee and snacks on her own credit cards until she could recoup the cash by laying out a guilt trip a Jewish mother would be proud of.
Cheryl is leaving, and uncertainty about the future of the coffee bar permeates the third floor. A notice went up this morning promising the bar will be closed only for a facelift. It's unclear, however, who would oversee the operation, and the offerings won't be nearly as ample as in the past.
Since it began, all profits generated from the sales - $230,000 to date, including $18,000 last year - have gone to the local chapter of Meals on Wheels. No one profits from this but the elderly. But with the pending buyouts of 25 staffers from the newsroom, there are fears the operation may have seen its last hurrah. The person responsible for managing the little bistro, for making sure the bills get paid and donations sent to Meals, is leaving. Medical writer Cheryl Clark, who comes in on weekends to stock up on coffee, pretzels, potato chips and biscotti, is gone Sept. 30.
The effort started out simply enough in 1990, I'm told, with the convergence of the newsroom's insatiable desire for coffee and the fleeting popularity of the television series Twin Peaks among a handful of dedicated staffers. In the early days, the bar consisted of nothing more than a coffee pot on a desk near the editor's office. But that pot soon multiplied, and before long, munchies were being offered - I hear cherry pie was the tipping point - for a price. When organizers realized they were turning a profit on the endeavor, they had a dilemma on their hands: What to do with the money.
Being fans of Twin Peaks, they asked themselves: What would Laura Palmer do? There was only one answer: Give the money to Meals on Wheels.
The effort grew. Profits rose like the price of stock in a dot.com company. A couple years later, when space became available for a real coffee bar in a small room with a sink, the Meals on Wheels effort had hit the big time.
Several people have kept the coffee bar going over the years, but none has been more instrumental than Cheryl. When the cash stops flowing but the coffee keeps going, she gets on folks to ante up. On more than a few hundred occasions, she's floated coffee and snacks on her own credit cards until she could recoup the cash by laying out a guilt trip a Jewish mother would be proud of.
Cheryl is leaving, and uncertainty about the future of the coffee bar permeates the third floor. A notice went up this morning promising the bar will be closed only for a facelift. It's unclear, however, who would oversee the operation, and the offerings won't be nearly as ample as in the past.
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