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For a long time now we've known that switching from afternoon to morning paper was a possibility. Because of some of the things that would entail, I really hoped it wouldn't happen. But today we found out that it is, and much earlier than anyone expected: Sept. 8, to be precise. This of a process that someone who has a much better grasp on than I do said would probably take a year to complete.
Anyway, the big issue is that instead of our practical deadline being 8 a.m., it's now going to be more like midnight. Which means that instead of having a reporter work the midnight shift just Friday and Saturday, we may need to have at least one person do that every day of the week. And that instead of having just one reporter working Sundays, we're going to need at least two -- and this at a time when we're already working essentially every other weekend.
There are a lot of issues to work out -- for instance, we might still have one early day reporter and with the composition of my beat, I'd love to do that. Or that maybe we could talk the editors out of the midnight thing, which I've always thought a little ridiculous because in practicality we never use anything that comes in after 10 p.m. anyway. But even so -- just one additional evening of working until 10 p.m. a week would be a major disadvantage in my mind. And with everything changing we would more than likely be smushed in together with the sports guys, which means a noisier office, which means it's harder to concentrate. And my one valued survival mechanism -- waking up at 4 a.m. to write the story I didn't feel capable of tackling at 10 a.m. -- is suddenly totally out of the question.
Yikes.
Anyway, if you could pray that somehow this turns out to be a good thing, or at least not horrible, I would appreciate it. Or, then again, maybe God is trying to tell me it's really time to vamoose. But, um, what about that 13-month lease?
PS -- I'm also seriously concerned that we're going to lose reporters over this. Which, frankly, when you have a tight-knit and relatively experienced group of only five reporters that even so is barely hanging on by the skin of their teeth, is scary unto death.
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| | Posted 6/30/2009 4:24 PM - 10 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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