'efficiencies'
I've worked at the same company for 10+ years.

I've made some brilliant friends, met some brilliant people and have seen my colleagues do some outstanding stuff which has caused real change in our communities; really changed lives. More than Cilla and Esther combined x 1000

I really love the buzz of what we newspaper folk do - especially now cheap sensationalism and celebrity seem to be the staple of the nationals.

We're the last homely place in the fourth estate with what I'd class as traditional journalistic integrity and proper grass roots in the garden. Forgive me for not extending the analogy to include the picket fences but I've also had long beery, leery nights out with these people so they don't quite qualify for the all american wholesome cliche.

I'm also fortunate enough to now hold a pretty good senior position in the place. Having worked myself right from the shittiest position in our shittiest paper I've arrived where I have because I always wanted to be a newspaper person. I just love what we do.

We're the last bastions of 'right to voice' in our towns - no political of commercial affiliation here - we're the place people can go to. From publishing a local WI meet to lobbying for speed cameras, hospital funding etc which can change and save lives as we have that voice of authority and credibility.

However I'm also enough of a realist to appreciate that all of this doesn't happen on fresh air. Sure, we have to make money.

So, this is my pet peeve.

The past few years we have made near record profits.

Each year the budget has gone up based upon a digit / double digit increase on the previous one. It never goes backwards, nor below the anticipated level of inflation. Technological innovation has also allowed us to make more of our resources and given us flexibility to do more.

Fundamentally, and obviously, our bosses are promising their bosses who promise the shareholders that we can make them more money.

Now, things aren't so rosey. Credit crunch and that. We aren't quite keeping up with the pace of the yearly growth that our bosees promised their bosses that then was promised to the shareholders. So we have to cut staff to keep their pockets warm.

Fair enough if technology can replace people as it always has done but we're replacing people with nothing. Fuck all. Less people have to deal with more people, more stress, for no more pay, yet still deal with the cost of living increases and effect of subprime, petrol etc.

But it's more than that. Good journalism isn't how many stories or how many words are published - it's the story which would otherwise not have existed. It's getting underneath the skin of the community, getting the credibility to gain the confidence to get the info that will allow you to make things change. Cutting people changes that dynamic.

Lead stories rarely land on your desk in the way that they turn out, you have to dig through the coal to find the diamond; or as I often say, dig through the shit to find the sweetcorn.

Stories are the output of so much more work.

Less is just simply fucking less!!

It makes us less effective in our places and equals less relevant coverage and so the cycle begins - sales drop and so will ad revenue (oh and we do have websites for our news btw)

But at least we're efficient and we've been shown to have 'efficiencies'

Efficiency is just a phrase as to how quickly people get rich.

We just haven't made them already rich folk as richer, as quickly as promised.

I used to be a newspaper man. Length? 11 years.
(Heyzeus, Fri 2 May 2008, 21:21, Reply)