Pardon us for not being caught up in the rather excessive hoopla leading up to the launch of Quebecor's new venture on Monday.
Whether it succeeds, or fails, there are just too many bodies scattered along the roadside, including casualties of the extreme makeover in Ottawa in the past year.
And, from posted comments and e-mails from current staff across the chain, much of the workload for the costly new venture will be on the backs of already understaffed and overworked newsrooms.
Any suggestion the new venture is comparable to the wing-and-a-prayer launching of the Toronto Sun by 62 former Tely workers on Nov. 1, 1971, is ludicrous.
Apples and oranges.
There was nothing mean-spirited associated with the Eclipse building gang in 1971 and the original 62, and many others who followed, were handsomely rewarded for their dedication and loyalty.
The new way of doing business at Sun Media/Quebecor is foreign to the upbeat mood of the glory years, with its profit sharing, stock options, sabbaticals, ample bodies etc.
It is much more take than give these days, with greatly diminished respect for employees, especially the remaining vets who helped build the chain.
(We are completely disillusioned by the work environment at 333 after reading a recent internal memo, but that is another posting.)
So no amount of promotion for Monday's event will eliminate the stench of the damage done to The Little Paper That Grew and all of its siblings in the past decade.
Meanwhile . . .
Meanwhile . . .
No offence to some newspaper reporters who are trying video for the fist time, but have you seen some of the videos posted on the websites? Poor, grainy quality, jump cuts, audio that sounds hollow and echoes, etc.
ReplyDeleteNo set of quick tips can compensate for actually learning the keys to good TV production and story telling - let alone using actual TV equipment as opposed to those little handheld digital cameras.
An entirely different beast than newspaper writing and yet Sun Media expects its staff to just jump head first without any formal training.
Is this what is going to air on national TV? A version of YouTube? Can't wait for this train wreck! I don't think CBC or CTV have much to worry about.
What happened to all the previous comments here?
ReplyDeleteAnother Quebecor clamp down?
No Quebecor clamp down, just a bizarre blogspot glitch. If any of the anonymous senders have copies, they will be re-posted. Is that Twilight Zone music in the background?
ReplyDeleteWhat should be funny is how all company staffers will be glued to their new channel when most newsrooms either don't have TVs or don't have cable anymore.
ReplyDelete