Pathetic local media coverage

[Dawgpix]

The Lafayette Daily Advertiser is generally considered the best of the Louisiana Gannett papers, and I suspect the financials back that up. So it's not surprising that when it came time to make the decision as to where the leadership would be located in the state that the Daily Advertiser would be the choice.

How did we get to this point? Because the Lafayette paper went against the grain in many respects, including its sports coverage. The consultant reports say focus on LSU. But there is a saturation of LSU coverage in the state. So the Daily Advertiser turned its main focus to UL-Lafayette and preps. They run Guilbeau's stuff, but there's no mistaking where their main focus is and has been for the past decade. And they do a better job of using stringers for preps than either Monroe or Shreveport.

Another example of focused local coverage in the Daily Advertiser is Mardi Gras. They pay a lot of attention, beginning the first week of January, to cover what for them is an important local story. I just don't see that type of coverage that would lure or keep readers on the websites of either the Shreveport Times or Monroe News-Star.

Nice try. You didn't prove me wrong, Historian.

When I subscribe to the northeastern Louisiana newspaper I want to read about news and features in that region. (God only knows how lacking it's been).

I don't want to ready features that originate in Lafayette to replace northeastern and northwestern features. If I want to read them, I want to read them AFTER I've read local stories. You can't have local stories unless you have local staff.

When there is a Higher Ed. story I EXPECT a mandatory comment or background from the Tech-Grambling-nlulm angle/impact. . . not southern Louisiana. You get that angle by having writers and editors who have contact with their local market.

[theprofessor]

Also, while we're discussing the pathetic local media coverage of Tech, let's not forget that Sean spent part of his Thanksgiving work week on this: http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/new...ward/93642960/

[The Historian]

Nice try. You didn't prove me wrong, Historian.

Actually I was trying to confirm your worst fears. The way The Times and the News-Star have been run over the past 10 years vs. the Daily Advertiser now means many of the shots will be called out of Lafayette.

[Dawg06]

I know you can read. I do. But sometimes you don't act like it. The decisions being made out of McLean, Virginia, have to do with staffing -- as in the continued layoffs of Gannett employees. This was in reply to T-Mo's comment about giving a pass to Gannett.

The problem that I saw coming when Gannett went to this whole redesign is there's nobody really in charge. Gannett has stripped the middle management and editorial staff. It's simply not structured the way it used to be. In the past, there was a sports editor who was in charge of assigning stories and content. People told Roy, Jimmy and Sean what to do. Depending on the management style, that could be as simple as cover the beat, or it could be as complex as I want you to cover these specific stories out of the beat. That's not how it works anymore. There's not a sports editor anymore. Scott Ferrell's job isn't to determine what stories Jimmy and Roy do. His job is to determine what stories go online and in the paper. So, if Sean's stories don't run in The Times, then your beef is with Scott. If you think there's not enough Tech coverage coming out of Shreveport, that's a beef for Roy and Jimmy. I'm pretty sure they've been told to leave Tech alone and that any coverage would come from Sean. I don't know that for a fact, but it makes sense.

I could write for days about the ins and outs, pros and cons -- and yes, there are some good things -- about Gannett's regional structure in Louisiana, but that's a very inside journalism thing that I honestly don't think would interest too many people. The fact of the matter is the new structure has essentially empowered reporters to do what they want and limited managerial oversight over those reporters. I'm sure there are folks in Shreveport telling Roy that Dak is an important story or that golf is important, but I also think Roy gravitates toward the stories he wants to write and the places he wants to go. And the new structure certainly allows him to do that.

You're just now figuring out my biggest beef is with Ferrell/Lang?

[The Historian]

Why does everybody keep saying Isaballa couldn't cover LA Tech AND Grambling this past weekend? Tech played USM on Friday in Hattiesburg. Grambling played in the Bayou classic on Saturday, 113 miles away in New Orleans. Why couldn't he cover both? That looks like an easy slam dunk to me.

This is one of the things everyone should keep in mind. From what I understand, because of their relatively low pay, these reporters and some of the editors are now non-exempt employees, given the Labor Department's work rules. Prof has indicated Isabella is working a 32-hour work week. So anything more than that requires he be paid overtime. Gannett isn't willing to do that. So that's why he had to choose between games.

[revf]

Also, while we're discussing the pathetic local media coverage of Tech, let's not forget that Sean spent part of his Thanksgiving work week on this: http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/new...ward/93642960/

Yet for all that work on a great story it didn't merit being printed by The Times. 🙄

[Dawg06]

Yet for all that work on a great story it didn't merit being printed by The Times. 

It was printed by The Times. Scott Ferrell just chose not to link the story to his sports page.

However, this was actually the first story about Dancy published by The Times so Shereveporters who get their news from The Times didn't know a thing about Dancy until Thanksgiving. Ferrell chose not to publish any of Isabella's earlier stories about Dancy online or in print.

[theprofessor]

This is one of the things everyone should keep in mind. From what I understand, because of their relatively low pay, these reporters and some of the editors are now non-exempt employees, given the Labor Department's work rules. Prof has indicated Isabella is working a 32-hour work week. So anything more than that requires he be paid overtime. Gannett isn't willing to do that. So that's why he had to choose between games.

No. Because it was a holiday week, he only had 32 hours to work. He gets 8 hours of holiday pay for Thanksgiving. Because they're not paying OT, he's not working more than that. Holiday weeks are always tough to balance everything that needs to be done on limited hours.

[The Historian]

No. Because it was a holiday week, he only had 32 hours to work. He gets 8 hours of holiday pay for Thanksgiving. Because they're not paying OT, he's not working more than that. Holiday weeks are always tough to balance everything that needs to be done on limited hours.

Ok on the holiday week. But I assume he's non-exempt - given his pay level and/or his job classification - and has to be paid overtime for anything over 40 hours per week. Correct? Because if he's not I'd love to talk to the HR person at Gannett to find out how they're getting around that rule.

[Dawg06]

I agree about USM. He will say they tried to focus on the huge game of national importance that wasn't on TV.

No excuse for him not going to Denton, but I'm sure he will have one.

What about Arkansas? Sean didn't attend any of our 3 drivable road games. Did McClelland moving the game from Little Rock to Fayetteville prevent our beat writer from going like thousands of our fans? Or was Grambling's game against a non-NCAA institution bigger than Tech-Arkansas?

[parisdog]

Perceived by the PC media. Not a big deal outside of the one game which was finally a big deal again this year. What channel was the game on?

That was an Un-PC statement...

[parisdog]

No. Because it was a holiday week, he only had 32 hours to work. He gets 8 hours of holiday pay for Thanksgiving. Because they're not paying OT, he's not working more than that. Holiday weeks are always tough to balance everything that needs to be done on limited hours.

So is Sean a salaried or hourly employee?

[theprofessor]

Ok on the holiday week. But I assume he's non-exempt - given his pay level and/or his job classification - and has to be paid overtime for anything over 40 hours per week. Correct? Because if he's not I'd love to talk to the HR person at Gannett to find out how they're getting around that rule.

Correct. As far as I know, Sean is a non-exempt employee. I believe all of the reporters in the system are non-exempt (Ferrell, Lang and Foote have different responsibilities and are, therefore, exempt).

[Dawgpix]

So re: USM game coverage. Get used to it. 65 gametime tweets and an online (only) game story off of watching on TV and listening to a Bachelorette guy doing color commentary for ESPN. Perfessor . . . tell me again about overtime and working on the clock for Gannett. I guess this is how you get "beat" coverage in 2016. he took a byline. At least he didn't use a HATTIESBURG dateline.


Tech upset on road, squanders chance to host C-USA title game

Bulldogs fall flat at Southern Miss

Check out this story on thenewsstar.com: http://tnsne.ws/2gpRvLp

This is one of the things everyone should keep in mind. From what I understand, because of their relatively low pay, these reporters and some of the editors are now non-exempt employees, given the Labor Department's work rules. Prof has indicated Isabella is working a 32-hour work week. So anything more than that requires he be paid overtime. Gannett isn't willing to do that. So that's why he had to choose between games.

So if a writer tweets 65 times . . . essentially game facts . . . . during the game and then writes an online story. . . is he working or not working on the job? He's already getting mileage towards NOLA and all Gannett is out is a night's hotel. The beat writer still could not cover his beat in person?

[theprofessor]

So if a writer tweets 65 times . . . essentially game facts . . . . during the game and then writes an online story. . . is he working or not working on the job? He's already getting mileage towards NOLA and all Gannett is out is a night's hotel. The beat writer still could not cover his beat in person?

see post #73