A local weekly newspaper chain - View Newspapers - had an unusual ad in Thursday's newspaper. Basically they were advertising for positions at all four newspapers, jobs that are still held by a number of people."View Newspapers, 4 Community Weeklies, 88,124 circulation is accepting resumes for all editorial positions." Sounds like a clean sweep.
I don't know if the folks who work there now were told that such an ad would be running, but it would certainly chill your enthusiasm for work if you saw that your newspaper was openly seeking folks to replace you.
Over the years I have come to know many of the folks who work at the Lapeer newspaper and they are fine people and very professional journalists. They work for peanuts, but put in the long hours needed to produce a weekly newspaper.
They do a fine job of covering local events and I can't imagine the reason for the need to replace them, except that the paper wants to pay even less for writers than they do now.
In my first professional job I worked as a weekly newspaper editor in Mason, Michigan. It was a 70-hour a week job for $280 a week in 1980. Even in 1980 it was a paltry sum of money. I would never, ever do it again.
In recent months I was even asked to work for a weekly and said absolutely not. It is a thankless, stress filled existence for McDonald's wages. So I was stunned to see that ad.
The resumes for writers are not even being solicited by the editor, but a business management person.
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The staff allegedly has 90 days to, in the words of the owner, "turn things around," or he has threatened to fire the entire editorial department, or at least the ones he can replace. Any journalists willing to work 75 hours per week for $19,000 a year? The View is hiring!
This is so sad to see. I know many of the people at the LAView. They are dedicated. They know and love Lapeer. This is about as classless a move as I've ever seen.
I actually got a good laugh out of this posting, even though it's sad. Earlier this year, I applied for an editorial job with the View. Seemed like a good fit, and they gave me the impression I had the inside track. Then one interview turned into three and the publisher told me they were still considering others. We had to write freelance articles to show them how we wrote--never mind the resume, references and writing samples. Finally, while waiting for the View to quit wasting my time I received a job offer from another newspaper. It's a drive, but I took it.
Rick Burroughs told me something in the interview that makes me suspect he's looking to buy the Mt. Morris/Clio Herald.
Only when the owner decides what he wants to be when he grows up--a sandwich artist, employment agency czar, ice rink dancer, or any of the other 270 roles he partakes in as he pursues his "career" as an entrepreneur--will this newspaper have any direction.
He is totally unappreciative of anything his toiling slaves do for his paper, and he is the cheapest skinflint around. Typical rich kid with too much money and no real character.
As the engine goes, so goes the train--and this one has been headed for a wreck for a long time.
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