Fordist thinking hurts journalism
I once had a job as editor of small magazine. It didn’t last long. And the magazine has long since folded. My job didn’t require me to be in the main office. The editorial content was written 100 percent by freelancers. The job was going just fine for a few months until some industrial suit (he was an executive with a coal company) bought the magazine.
He insisted that I move to the headquarters so I could work in the office. The reason: “I want to make sure I’m getting 40 hours of work out of you every week.”
Hahahahahahahaha!
Now you know why it folded. He thought I should be working on an assembly line rather than sitting at home goofing off. I tried to explain that I have one job: put out a top-quality magazine on time each month. That usually required more than 40 hours per week, but he wouldn’t believe it unless he was at my side, whip in hand, watching me.
In the news this morning, another fellow who doesn’t get it:
“I don’t really believe that quality of a newspaper is a direct function of body count in the newsroom,” said Black, who also owns the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in Hawaii. “I walk through way too many newsrooms where I see people just talking or looking on the Internet and having fun.”
Hahahahahahahaha!
I wonder what they might be talking about? I wonder what they might be researching on the internet? And heaven forbid anyone should have fun practicing journalism.
Part of what’s killing professional journalism is its roots in industrial production, i.e. it was handicapped at birth. It is an industrial product–has been since the 1800s. It works, for the most part, on a modified Fordist model of production. The problem with that, of course, is that it is difficult to practice proper journalism when corporate owners think it can be constructed by the manufacture and assembly of replaceable parts.
Lord willing, I’m never going back to a corporate office/newsroom, etc. Not getting rich, but it’s nice working from the living room, the “beer garden” at my building, etc.
Hey, man, coffee is for closers.
I saw you on KY3 last night, good interview! I was running on the treadmill at the time so I didn’t catch all of what you said, but what I saw was awesome
Its the same kind of issue I have faced working for design firms. These parent companies have no idea what they are doing and are following a business model that within these industries is pure unfiltered insanity.
Btw, I am looking forward to joining the growl, I can’t wait for the Sept. 5th meeting.