Writing Boots

On communication, professional and otherwise.

Archives for July 2010

The very latest thinking on how to save journalism

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The Tribune Co.'s new CEO Randy Michaels is "rethinking" the media conglomerate's business, according to a July 26 interview with The Wall Street Journal. For instance:

WSJ: You've centralized the production of foreign and national news across your papers to save money and manpower. What have you done and why?

Mr. Michaels: Stories [are] laid out in modules—standard sizes with collections of headlines, content, images [reducing the need for layout and copy editors]. …

WSJ: How are you keeping employees motivated?

Mr. Michaels: We recognize people who've had great ideas. A fellow in Florida figured out a way to save us a couple of million dollars [in] the way we buy newsprint. We gave him a $25,000 check, took his picture, sent it around. There were some people who groused about that, but there were a lot more people who sent us ideas.

WSJ: Are companies spending money on advertising again?

Mr. Michaels: We're seeing a substantial rebound in certain sectors. Auto [advertising] is back to a large extent, particularly in broadcast, but I don't believe auto sales are matching ad spend. If that doesn't change it could be a different situation. BP is spending a lot of money [on ads]. There apparently is a bright side to polluting the planet.

Rethinking? He's not even thinking in the first place.

I have some wonderings about your learnings

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At my anger management class this week, I'm going to bring up two words and an expression that are causing me to want to step on bugs that aren't even in my path.

• “Learnings.” This is part of the PowerPoint culture. We can’t simply learn something. That would be too too homely, and a failure; after all, we read at least a hundred bullet points, did we not? But neither can we politely declare, “I learned three things today.” That sounds so brash! And so we say, meekly, “I took away three learnings …”

• “Wonderings.” I'm peripherally involved with an institution where employees don't criticize one another's ideas; rather, they express their “wonderings." And believe me: Their wonderings are never, “Gadzooks, however did you conjure such an equitable and elegant solution?”

• “Just a thought.” When this phrase appears at the beginning of an e-mail, watch out: Some seriously passive-aggressive stuff on the way. When it appears at the end of an e-mail, it means something else. It means, “Somewhere in the course of writing this e-mail, it has dawned on me that my idea is utter baloney. But I’ve spent so much time writing the e-mail, that I’d rather you shit-can my idea, because it’ll be so much less painful for you than for me. 'kay? Bye!"

Let's make this group therapy. What do you have?