09-22-2009, 09:18 PM
I stripped classifieds and made ads for both a little local and later a major regional newspaper when I was a kid.
The disdain that the owner and management felt for their employees was palpable. Reporters (and others on the upper floors) were not treated much better than the cellar-dwellers, but usually had the benefit of natural light in the room. The only ones who got any respect from above were in ad-sales and they were so drunk that they really didn't care.
It's a tough business. I think that one reason it's glorified is that anyone who can survive a few months at a newspaper is guarantied one tough SOB. They've "been to the wars."
The disdain that the owner and management felt for their employees was palpable. Reporters (and others on the upper floors) were not treated much better than the cellar-dwellers, but usually had the benefit of natural light in the room. The only ones who got any respect from above were in ad-sales and they were so drunk that they really didn't care.
It's a tough business. I think that one reason it's glorified is that anyone who can survive a few months at a newspaper is guarantied one tough SOB. They've "been to the wars."