RSSNews/Online Merge: The first week
11 May 2009 5 Comments
in News/Online Merge, Social Media, Working on the Newsroom Tags: merging, newsroom, online
I will eat some crow now. I have done a complete about-face on my views about open plan environments for newsrooms. It was my own personal dislike of not having much in the way of privacy that made me so grumble-y about it. But after a week of sitting in view of the City Editor who runs the morning budget meetings, and within shouting distance of every reporter, plus a week of having a website that is refreshed and updated often throughout the day because of my visibility, I can safely say that I’m over it. The benefits far outweigh a little uncomfortableness that’s pretty much all in my head.
I sit next to the scanner. Always tuned it out when I sat further away, and I still kind of do, but when something is happening, I catch it faster. I can also sit at my desk and tune into the conversation happening right now between the City Editor and one of the reporters and try and see if it’s something that can go online. Once I got past some initial clumsy hurdles (software story prioritizing system is antiquated and difficult), I find myself slipping into the flow much better now. I’m losing the shyness that keeps me from timidly asking a photog for art to go with a story. Without going into personal detail, shyness is one of the things I worry most about in this new role of mine.
In what’s become something of a routine, the City Editor will come out of the 10am budget meeting with a story for web right away and will email me some other stories that are coming up later in the day for web. It’s working nicely, but I think it will be even better when I can start going to the meetings myself (time conflict presently with our daily morning chat “show”) . I’m hoping to be able to sift through the list myself and be able to choose. I never felt like I could “be the decider” before but I do now.. It’s really weird to me and hard to explain, but I’m totally digging the new digs 
Also, really enjoying being able to nag people into tweeting stuff
May 11, 2009 @ 20:20:36
Sometimes the change we did not want actually turns out to be one of the best things that can happen
I am stoked that you are enjoying and thriving in your new digs
May 11, 2009 @ 23:41:03
A very good point that I should have kept in mind when I was told about these changes
Thank you 
May 11, 2009 @ 23:04:43
Timidly asking photogs for art? You haven't been shy about that before.
May 11, 2009 @ 23:41:30
Ohhh I used to be. Took me a long time to get over the feeling that I was bugging you guys.