Wednesday 26 August 2009

Name and shame

With another cull of journalists announced in the Midlands by those incompetent fucks over at TM, can anyone fill me in on any management fools fired during these hard times.
I read, and know, of redundancies across the country. Many of which have been the more experienced and necessary voices across newsroom floors.
But I have not heard of many MDs getting the bullet.
Surely they have to take some responsibility about the massive losses and circulation drops suffered in the last year.
Or am I wrong to think that the money grubbing wankers in charge are blame free for this scandalous, systematic destruction of a once great industry?
Let me know if you have any tearful tales of senior management whores getting their cards.
I need cheering up.

7 comments:

  1. I actually know of a few MDs who've been given their marching orders over the past year or so - my own included - but I don't think many of the tales are gonna be the sort of the thing to cheer you up

    While my former MD's sacking did give me momentary satisfaction (given the emails he'd regularly send round about other staff "leaving by way of redundancy" - I kid you not) it was hardly a tearful affair - his redundancy payout would have been comfortably within the six-figure realm.

    Compare that to a reporter I know who was made redundant just weeks after passing his seniors. Payout = nothing, zero, nada. And the cretinous MD who pulled the trigger on him (and plenty of other good reporters to boot) is now heading up our division as well.

    To summarise: cheers for the CV tips. I've no doubt I'll be putting them to good use very soon.

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  2. Surplus to requirements27 August 2009 at 02:25

    Well definitely not a fool, but Steve Brown, the 'tough but fair' MD at Trinity NE was given the tin tack in April... and this was followed by an outpouring of venom against TM by many editorial staff there, including NUJ members.
    Perhaps he had the balls to stand up to his Canary Wharf chiefs. Who knows? In any case he has now taken over as the big boss at the Wolverhampton Express and Star, Trinity's major rivals in the Midlands. So good luck to him!
    The reason low calibre MDs stay in place is because they are adept at one thing - playing the game of going along with the excrutiating business plans foisted on them by HQ. They simply implement this rubbish, the ponces.

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  3. Pass the sickbag27 August 2009 at 18:36

    Kepp your fingers crossed, Blunt.
    Perhaps some of today's terrible ABC figures will lead to a few of these muppets' heads rolling.
    Let's throw in one or two of the digital maestros pretending they've launched industry-leading state-of-the-art websites. Maybe they will also have sore arses where boards realise the unique user numbers are not growing in line with forecasts and targets.
    Um.... sorry about that. I forgot to take my medication and for a little while thought these people were measured in their jobs like the rest of us serfs.
    They'll probably get bonuses instead.

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  4. Some of the best senior publishing types were given the heave-ho a couple of years back in many of the big London outfits, a move that left the world of publishing with the shower of shite with which it now finds itself.

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  5. Where Are They Now?28 August 2009 at 17:42

    Re the London talents who got the heave-ho two years ago...
    Where are they now? I take it all those superstars completely left the industry and are now dynamic major players elsewhere. I ask because my experience is that media execs always resurface somewhere, sold as the holy grail even if they totally fucked up last time round. Some of the most atrocious ones even make a career of it as they go round 'managing change', destroying one publication after another as they 'secure the future of this business' by sacking journalists.

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  6. Talking of sacked managers, Simon Middleboe, the ceo of Emap mags got binned yesterday. Rejoice, rejoice. Tis a wonderful day for journalism.

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  7. Er Anonymous... are sure it is 'a wonderful day for journalism' or just a beareable day for a bit of revenge?
    I take it from what you say that a saint will replace Mr Middleboe or, if the post is not being filled, that his salary is being spent on some real journalism?

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