I’ve never really understood the union movement. To be honest, I think it rewards longevity over initiative. If you’ve been punching the clock the longest, you’re in line for the promotion, regardless of how slack your work ethic has become. And if you do get lazy, good luck getting fired, because it will get grieved and nothing will happen.
We all get complacent and comfortable in our jobs. Look at the Canucks. Who puts in more effort Ryan Shannon or Markus Naslund? Ryan is at the bottom, fighting to keep his spot, while Nazzy’s been doing it for 15 years, has millions in the bank and can get by without “really trying.”
I get why unions came into existence, but I think in 2008, they stifle innovation and creativity.
Actually, you don’t have to be in a union to have that happen. The way of the webbed world is passing many a media veteran by, and those who understand how to work in this new media are quickly replacing those who were more comfortable editing their copy on an Underwood than with Google Docs.
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After 32 years of writing sports for the San Berdardino Sun, Paul Oberjuerge was let go. And instead of bitching and moaning and whining …. Okay, there is a bit of bitching and whining and bitterness in his original list, I’ve cut it down to the stuff I think is relevant.
Embrace the web. It’s going to be extra work, and you’re going to be on your own 24-hour news/opinion cycle. But that’s how it is; you can rest up when you’re dead. Management is keenly aware of the foot-draggers on this front.
Don’t wait to be ordered to “serve other platforms” of the paper. Volunteer. Blog. Post photos. Consider video. Offer podcasts. Do web-only quick-and-dirty news stories. You’re a multi-media machine now!
Go to staff meetings. Speak up. Volunteer ideas.
Produce. This is no time to coast. This is no time to insist you have more time to work on a story. Even at the metros. Get your byline in the newspaper at every opportunity. Like, daily.
Achieve excellence. Five years ago I would have listed this first. Now, it barely makes the list. Competence is a defense, but it no longer is first, second, third or ninth. But, all things being equal, if the cut is between you and someone else who is just as fat and bitchy as you are … the person who is better at their job will survive. (Till next time.)
I’ve been on about how radio needs to change the way it thinks and approaches new media. Right now those in print are feeling the pinch, radio could will be next.
Those tips were written by a print guy trying to tell other print guys how to diversify and save their ass. He could also have been writing it for everyone in radio on how to save the industry.
If you’re on air, and not doing the things above, you’re not just hurting your career, you’re hurting the industry. We need people to take initiative, have fresh ideas, and new ways of thinking.
Punching the clock simply won’t cut it anymore.
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I get your point about innovation and how one should always be willing to develop as a worker/creator/professional. But frankly I found it sad to read over the generalization you started out with about unions. It makes you (and unfortunately your whole trade) seem out of touch with the real life situation of the vast majority of people who are working in basic jobs that offer them little chance to exercise their creativity and innovation, and in which they have little or no real-control over whether their jobs will be there for them the next work day. Yes, I am talking about jobs like working in factories, delivering garbage, building roads. Hard to believe isn’t it, but these things get done somehow, and without Google Docs, backlit keyboards and bluetooth. They get done by people who try their best, then after years, the company changes hands or a new boss has a chip on his shoulder and they are out on the street… or not. The point is innovation is not always factored in. The point is in some jobs control and security are more relevant issues.
Oh, and by the way, my father was in radio for 33 years, did all the shows, was program director, worked in several stations, had a successful morning spot and was as innovative as the rest of them. Then the station changed hands and wanted a younger voice on air. After his show one day he was asked into the boss’s off and he was fired, without any warning, surprise. Two years from retirement, he lost his full pension, couldn’t get work in radio after that. Would a union have made a difference? Should it have? I don’t think I can say in the space of a blog entry. But I found it insulting that you felt you could.
One thing to consider. You are in a web 2.0 generation now. As much as you innovate, and grow with the web 2.0 world, in a few years it will be old-style, dry and dead. You are working with the Underwood of your generation.
Thanks so much for reading, and writing, Pete.
I have never been a union man, nor a union fan. That’s my bias, and it’s not going to change.
However what I was talking about, specifically, was media - print, television and radio - not bus drivers or line workers.
As to your final point, Pete. I am an innovator, I am a forward thinker, I am an adapter. I started playing records, firing carts and editing reels. Now I have websites, use digital gear and broadcast my show with ustream and twitter. I wont be left behind, no worries.