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.

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.

Finally – my first professional blog

As much as I’d like to view the New Year as something clean and fresh, that image was tarnished on Tuesday.

For about five days, 2009 seemed like it was going to be better. Not that 2008 was all that bad for me (it was relatively uneventful, in fact), but a lot of people struggled to make ends meet last year and the country’s mood was sour. But on Jan. 1, we thought we were getting a fresh start. New president on the way, with hope and new ideas for getting our economy out of the toilet.

All that changed on Jan. 6, the day 28 of my co-workers were suddenly laid off.

The signs were there. In March 2008, all 18 employees of our neighborhood zoned divisions (called the “Community World”) were also suddenly laid off. (Several were rehired by the downtown office, where I work.)

Our sections began shrinking for summer, as usual, but come football season it was obvious we were still cutting back. The price of newsprint skyrocketed last year. We canceled our internship program. There were many other signs, too.

Now this. Dear friends, ripped away from us simply because “last hired, first fired.” Or in the case of some others, their talents were deemed luxury items and they were let go (the Graphics department save one guy.) I understand why, but my heart is still broken for my former co-workers. They all have their own devastating stories, and I’m not going to go into all of them for fear of leaving someone out and making this too much longer.

All I’ll say is, if this same formula is used next time, I’m gone. The hard-working, talented, funny, nice guy who was let go from Sports was hired just two or three weeks after me in summer 2006. And I have little faith that there won’t be more layoffs within the year. I just don’t see where else they will cut back. But I am thankful for this time in which I can prepare.

All that said, I have begun investigating ways to make myself more valuable to my company. Not that value matters if you were the last one hired, but in case I am deemed superfluous, I want to put the best “me” out there for someone else to hire. That includes showing I am up to speed in new technologies, which is one reason why I started this blog.

I don’t have a personal blog anymore. Once I graduated college, that chapter kind of ended. Once in the real world, I didn’t have much to blog about besides work life and wedding planning. And let’s be honest — those things interest almost no one. And I was afraid to blog about work too much because I wasn’t 100 percent sure what was suitable and what wasn’t. I decided to err on the side of caution.

So this blog isn’t going to be about work, per se, but I am going to market it as a sports copy editor’s blog. I will probably slip a personal note or two in, but I’ll try to keep it relevant to what’s going on in the newspaper industry, the sports world, and promote the Tulsa World while I’m at it. Why not.

So enjoy. It already feels good to stretch my writing muscles again.

P.S. I took the photo at the top of my blog from my patio at sunrise in December. The buildings outlined are a hotel and a Petco.