Sharing is caring: Part II

So about three weeks ago, the state’s largest dailies, the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman (in Oklahoma City), entered into a content-sharing agreement. So far, so good, it seems.

It is very strange to see their bylines in our newspaper and on our Web site, as I’m sure it’s weird for them to see ours, too. This measure, although not unusual these days, is hard to get used to. But if it helps us all keep our jobs, I am for it. While change is hard, it is also necessary, especially in such dire circumstances.

What’s important is that each paper retains its distinct identity, and I think we’ve accomplished that so far.

I recently blogged about the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News sharing sports content and how I wasn’t really in favor of it for them. But the situation in Oklahoma is much different.

The World’s and Oklahoman’s sports beats don’t overlap nearly as much as those in DFW, which is why content-sharing has been minimal so far for our department. It has mainly been getting photos from them so far.

What this change boils down to is that all Americans (newspaper folk included) are making adjustments. We are beset by our cold, empty pockets and we are considering changes that once seemed radical – cutting cable, Internet or dining out. Or, we’re postponing “American dream”-type stuff, like college, buying a house, opening your own business, or starting or enlarging a family.

Due to this recession (When does it officially become a depression? When we start saving pieces of string?), many businesses are realizing that if they don’t find ways to make money, they suffer. When industry giants Google and Microsoft lay off thousands, you know it has hit everyone. And don’t forget the Arena Football League, which canceled its season.

All I know is that I can’t wait for someone to figure out how newspapers can profit better off of the Web. (I don’t think that genius will be me. I’ve pondered, and I got nothing.)

Once the solution is found, then we’ll be OK. We’ve got the content and the talent, just no strategy. Hopefully, newspapers nationwide can ride out the storm of this downward economy and find brighter skies ahead.

The face of Tulsa unemployment

Just a short one today:

One of my former co-workers was interviewed by a local TV station on Friday. A Georgia native, he graduated from Missouri’s prestigious J-school last May. He started at the World a few months later and was laid off in January. He now works at Walgreens.

I hope he, and all the rest, land on their feet.

P.S. The owner of KOTV-6 and its sister station, KQCW, laid off 13 last August.

Super Bowl odds and ends

Ah, it is over. I’m kind of sad the Cardinals lost, because without Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin I would not have finished fourth in my fantasy league.

I got my design on on Saturday. I’m not usually a creative person design-wise, so sometimes I get nervous when I’m handed a page and told, “Make it pretty.”

I designed the inside Super Bowl page for Sunday, and I thought it turned out pretty well. Really, I’m just excited I got to put text into the paper upside down. (If you can’t get the PDF to work, I turned the answers to a Super Bowl quiz upside down.)

I’ve turned cutlines upside down before while designing pages quickly (they never made print, thankfully!), but I was really excited when I realized I could put this accidental knowledge to use. Ah, InDesign and its infinite secrets.

I also thought my women’s basketball page turned out clean, if I say so myself. Pages with breakouts, boxes and time/date/places are the hardest.

On Sunday, I got to slot. It was kind of a surprise that I was given that responsibility on Super Bowl Sunday, I think it went well.

In the slot: Days 1 and 2

After my first two days on the job at the big desk, my brain is pretty fried. But it was a good experience. It was nice doing something new.

Thursday went smoothly enough. I finished the day’s budget by 4:45 and promptly printed off seven copies. Immediately after retrieving the copies from the printer, two things happened: First, I got a phone call about one of the original Oilers having died (at 101), and second, I was informed that the front-page column that day was not about the Super Bowl, but TU basketball.

So, I shuffled some things and made a mental note not to print the budgets until right before the 5:15 meeting. Anyway, later that night, Sports made deadline three minutes early for both editions, which was a relief.

Friday started well enough. I had finished cramming 143124 stories into six pages slotting the section by 4:30. Space was remarkably tight (which is newspaper jargon for “too many stories, not enough pages to put them on”).

I called my boss, Mike Strain, over to have a look just to make sure I didn’t screw anything up too badly. I briefly went over each page with him and he said it looked very tight, but still pretty good.

As he walked back to his desk, he stopped suddenly and asked if the record* was on any of those pages. Bewildered, I started rummaging through the page dummies. Turns out I had put it on page 4, checked it off the list, then later decided to put something else on 4 and never put the record back anywhere.

I was frustrated with myself, but Mike told me it was about the kajillionth time someone forgot to slot the record. So, he very kindly sat back down and helped me move some things around. We ended up holding a feature on a TU recruit that had been on the cover, as well as the weekly horse racing column.

Sports made deadline for both editions, which I was very proud of. I even had time to knock out a page (aka, design it expeditiously) at the beginning of the night.

Friday and Saturday nights are generally the most stressful, whether you are in the slot or not, due to all the late copy. But I sent the last page at 11:45 on the button, and I was elated. (Of course, we’ll probably have eight corrections tomorrow just because I have a good feeling about this. So knock on wood.)

The feeling of being in charge is a strange one at this job. Strange, but good. I can’t stop myself from wondering what people are thinking as they walk by our department and they do a double-take as they see a 24-year-old girl leading the sports desk. I guess I just feel conspicuous, as I’m the youngest (by seven years) on a staff of 23.

Responsibility is not a new concept for me. I like to think I thrive when I know people are depending on me. I had a title or office in most activities or clubs I joined while growing up. If I didn’t have an office, it was usually because my heart wasn’t in the resume-filler of an activity (hello, high school Student Council and Greek Ambassadors in college).

I really don’t care what other people think though. It’s not a big deal. Change happens, people sit at different desks, life goes on. Especially in these days of smaller staffs, it is helpful if most everyone can do most everything.

One last thing: The best way I can describe my initial feeling of slotting is that it’s like being very far off the ground. Just don’t look down. And in this situation, “looking down” equates to remembering you’re on the hook if anything bad happens. So just do your job and don’t dwell on scary things.

But like I said, it was a good experience and I look forward to doing it again. It also helps that my co-workers gave a superb effort on both nights, for which I’m very thankful.

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(*The record is the hodgepodge page of tiny print, full of things like scores from different sports around the nation, standings, the latest line, etc. It usually requires most, if not all, of a page and would be bad to leave out.)

Sharing is caring

The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced this week they are going to start sharing local sports coverage. I know they aren’t the first big market to do this, but since I was raised in DFW, the area holds a special place in my heart and I feel the urge to talk about it. The DMN will take Mavericks and Stars gamers, and the S-T will take the Rangers, and Cowboys coverage will stay as is.

The news of this deal was discussed briefly at work on Monday. The general reaction was, “Wow. It’s that bad, huh?”

When you think about it from a purely business standpoint, it does seem redundant to have two newspapers in the same area covering the same game. But hopping in bed with your competition is a drastic solution.

It hurts the readers because they are losing a voice. Just because game reports are supposed to be unbiased doesn’t mean the story can’t be told in different ways. Reporters must also retain the drive to get scoops despite the lowered level of competition.

Thankfully, each paper will still have its own columnists. Although game reports are important (and often thankless), columnists are vital to the paper. They analyze what went right (or wrong) and help the public form opinions. Columnists also help cement the paper’s brand and form its identity.

I always appreciated the variety of sports coverage in DFW, even if it was just a straight gamer. From a journalist’s point of view, it was interesting to see what each writer thought was most vital to the story. Sometimes it is obvious: a game-winning field goal, overtime goal or buzzer-beater. Nevertheless, I’ll be sad to see some of the variety disappear.