A new journalism career path: mailroom
I usually believe everything I read in Editor & Publisher, but this one seemed almost too good/horrifying to be true:
When a newspaper cuts its staff, those who remain in the depleted newsroom become valuable. But as The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. slowly says farewell to 151 newsroom folks who took buyouts last month, at least two longtime journalists have been reassigned to the mailroom.
Reporter Jason Jett and Assistant Deputy Photo Editor Mitchell Seidel have been filing, sorting, and delivering mail for more than a week, according to sources.
Jett and Seidel, who could not be reached for comment, apparently declined to take one of the buyouts offered this fall as part of a companywide move to cut costs.
Wow. Going from the newsroom to the mailroom? There may be a bright side (You don’t have to deal with unwanted PR pitches and screaming editors anymore), but it kind of requires a philosophical attitude adjustment.
In any case, I wondered if maybe it was a joke so I checked with my friends at the paper. It wasn’t a joke.
It was after reading the E&P story on the Romenesko journalism blog that I came across another gem, this one also on Romenesko. Check out this excerpt from a Westword blog entry:
Springsteen popping up in newspaper ads
How bad is the economy? New Jersey’s largest food bank is in danger of running short of groceries for the low income individuals and families who need them. How do we know this? A new advertising campaign featuring home-grown rock star and activist Bruce Springsteen.
The Springsteen advertisement for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey will be running in The New York Times, The Star-Ledger, The Bergen Record, and the Daily Record on Sunday, Nov. 16th.
The campaign is titled “We Can’t Let This Bank Fail” — a play, of course, on the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others — and comes amid worries that the current economic crisis will take a toll on charitable giving even as more folks need some help. The FoodBank says the sickly economy has driven a 30 percent state-wide rise in those needing food.
Good for Bruce! Although, I am sure Mr. Springsteen, could save that bank with a considerable donation. Most likely, one of his accountants, who live up on “bankers hill” could even provide Springsteen with the tax loophole to reduce his tax liability with such a donation. Just another roll of the dice.
