Details of Sun Media's new points-for-performance system will be rolled out for Winnipeg Sun newsroom employees on Friday, says a TSF tipster.
"Should be high scores with only five news reporters on staff now (that includes beats)," says the tipster.
As first reported by another TSF tipster in February, the new performance points system goes something like this:
A story is 2 points; A photo is 2 points; A brief is .5 points; Special features are 4 points; Columns are 3 points; Videos are 2 points; Web posts are .5 points; "Writethroughs" are .5 points; Tweets are .5 points (minimum 5 tweets).
Without CP/AP stories, photos and fillers, performance points should be on the rise in Sun Media newsrooms working overtime to fill pages.
Well, there is always bargain-basement WENN for filling lots of space with tidbits about talentless bimbos and idle Hollywood gossip.
"Should be high scores with only five news reporters on staff now (that includes beats)," says the tipster.
As first reported by another TSF tipster in February, the new performance points system goes something like this:
A story is 2 points; A photo is 2 points; A brief is .5 points; Special features are 4 points; Columns are 3 points; Videos are 2 points; Web posts are .5 points; "Writethroughs" are .5 points; Tweets are .5 points (minimum 5 tweets).
Without CP/AP stories, photos and fillers, performance points should be on the rise in Sun Media newsrooms working overtime to fill pages.
Well, there is always bargain-basement WENN for filling lots of space with tidbits about talentless bimbos and idle Hollywood gossip.
As for the Toronto Sun, it is the old pros in editorial, sports and entertainment - Andy Donato's Sunday Sun cartoon was another classic - who continue to sell papers.
Awarding points to the likes of Mike Strobel, Peter Worthington, Michele Mandel, Chris Blizzard, Rob Lamberti, Michael Peake, Stan Behal, Joe Warmington, Bob Elliott et al in sports, Bruce Kirkland et al in entertainment etc. is juvenile, demeaning playschool management.
Awarding points to the likes of Mike Strobel, Peter Worthington, Michele Mandel, Chris Blizzard, Rob Lamberti, Michael Peake, Stan Behal, Joe Warmington, Bob Elliott et al in sports, Bruce Kirkland et al in entertainment etc. is juvenile, demeaning playschool management.
Give them respect, job security and a decent work environment, not points.
So, let's see here...
ReplyDeleteQMI will assess the 'points' accumulated up to this coming week to determine a standard benchmark. Then they will demand that every reporter, regardless of their circumstances or the specifics of their job criteria, meet these point quotients every month.
"Well you did it before! Why not now? What do you mean you were on holiday!? Well, maybe you shouldn't have taken vacation during a points drive! NEXT!"
Oh, I can see it now.
Maybe we can earn enough points to get a coffee mug, or a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of PKP swimming in his pool of money?
Cool! First person to score 50 points in 50 games, whoops, I mean days, wins the PKP Trophy! Go workers go!
ReplyDeleteCan you trade the points in for money? Time off? Or does the person who collects the least points just get canned?
ReplyDelete… and absolutely no mention of quality. Ladies and gentlemen, ready your shovels.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the movie "Office Space" where Jennifer Aniston was constantly being upbraided by her fast food restaurant manager for not wearing enough "flare." This is "flare" for newsrooms and the more the better because, as with magpies, shiny sparkling, superficial things attract the attention and praise of dim-bulb "managers."
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's like Survivor where the person with the most points earn immunity and then everyone has to vote off someone until we're down to two people to carry the load of the newsroom
ReplyDeleteYou know, if one reporter in that newsroom made it his or her goal to score zero, that reporter would have a problem under this childish and asinine system. If all the reporters made it their goal to score zero, the Sun would have a problem.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'.
Does anyone want want to reminisce about how photographers were rated back in the '80's at the Toronto Sun. the system was called the "Grammies" and all the clippings of each photographer was weighed. The most "weight", allegedly the most productive.
ReplyDeleteI guess you were lucky if your photo ran in colour (more weight) or it had a long cutline (again, more weight!)
How to treat your creative team like adults!
If this point system is true, it has to be at the top of the most insane things this company has come up with yet.
ReplyDeleteYou know that the person with the lowest score will be turfed no matter what. This company only looks at silly little figures, not what's really done work wise
The Wpg. Sun has great union protection. This points system means diddly in terms of firing people in a union shop. I expect the union will force the cancellation of this boondoggle anyway. It is on borrowed time. No need to panic. Union grievance, anyone? Get at it already!
ReplyDeleteDare all of you to score 0 points!!!
ReplyDeleteEmployees en masse should just ignore this garbage - this byproduct of an empty, soulless company. Otherwise, it will tear newsrooms apart.
ReplyDeleteYou want to see ugly, wait until you're told to improve your points "or else" ... and the editor assigns a photographer to take the picture for your story. Since a photo is two points, let the in-fighting commence.
While this whole idea is stupid, it's even stupider for not including the number of hits content generates online, or the number of times it gets linked to or whatever. Not that I think doing that would be a fair way to assess the quality of your employees, but considering that this is the year 2010 and all, you'd just assume it would be the sort of thing a bean counting company would look for. Not only is the company cheap and petty, but it doesn't really seem to be demonstrating the greatest grasp of how the internet works.
ReplyDelete@anonymous 12:05 a.m.
ReplyDeleteWay to go.
You just gave PKP and his legion of yes men another idea to demoralize employees even more. Now that you've said it, the Internet, including stories posted and videos done, will be part of the point system.
Damn you anonymous 12:05 a.m.!!!! ;-)
The post system already includes Internet only briefs, stories and videos. Oh, also each tweet is worth a half-point.
ReplyDeleteThe impression being left here (and elsewhere on this wonderful blog) is thus:
ReplyDelete- Sun Media is what it is.
- The company no longer cares about journalistic ethics or integrity, figuring the reading public won't care either about such petty details.
- You are to do what you are told, keep your mouth shut on the ridiculous workload, working conditions, etc., and respond only with a smile ... and mean it. Repeatedly.
- The company wants robotic workers, not thinkers nor complainers. That won't change; the old days and old ways of thinking in Sun newsrooms of the past are long done. Get used to it.
- The company shall treat employees as mere serfs and berate when necessary.
- "Costs" are an evil word to the PKP Posse.
- If you don't like the above, go elsewhere.
Only way this will all change, folks, is if Quebecor is no longer owner of Sun Media. And I don't see a strong-enough push to have this so-called "white knight" dethroned.
Signed,
Disgruntled and psychologically battered worker,
Ann B. Onymous
What can we do? This absolutely ridiculous, anti-journalistic garbage is upon us but there is nothing we can do. The unions are powerless as this is a management-based rules change and PKP knows it. Does he have any idea how utterly debased and demoralized his newsrooms have become under his administration? We all want to do good work, suffer under agreed-to zero or near zero wage increases and we are still treated like trash. Just give us a crumb.
ReplyDeleteI can also surmise the "Anonymous" posts are coming from a whole lotta Sun Papers and from a whole lotta reporters and editors. Interesting we all want to be confidential.
ReplyDelete