It is just the Free Paper

I found the underlying root of our company’s problem. The employees do not care about the product they are producing.

An ad of mine did not make it into the dummy of the paper, meaning, someone dropped the ball and there was no space reserved for the ad. When you have no technology to get in your way, this is a simple fix. You trot over to Editorial and ask them in a super sweet voice, with eyelashes fluttering, to “Please, shorten one of your stories so my ad will fit.” The procedure to deal with this scenario is taught in every Journalism School across the nation: the Journalist throws a fit, and then gives in, shortening their story, because they remember ads are what pay their salary. They are also taught that stories are what are most important, because they are why people read the paper. It is a constant struggle within the mind of every Journalist, and why most of them have nervous breakdowns before they are 35.

As usual, our paper proves to be different. I trotted over to the Assistant Editor, planning to start the ancient dance of this constant struggle. She did not dance! She simply said, “OK, it is just the Free Paper.” It is not “just the Free Paper”, it is one of “Our Papers,” one of the products I am out busting my ass to sell so that Editorial has paper to run their stories on, and a paycheck at the end of the month! It is all of our livelihoods! Maybe this lack of care about the product on Editorials part is why this paper’s readership is declining!

How can you create a sellable product if your crew does not care about the quality of the work they do? You make them care, or you get rid of them before they kill your product. We gave her a raise.