The Star Tribune newsroom's 'Thank You' ad
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PrintWrote about this last week; thought you'd like to see it.
Paid for by current and former newsroom troops, the ad ran on page A5 of my Strib this morning. It only includes names of newsroom staffers who gave permission.
The ad notes 1,000 of 2,000 Strib employees have lost their jobs since January 2007; staggering.
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It's an objective fact, which this ad tends to prove, that the Star Tribune is not as good a newspaper as it once was. But it's also true, that the Strib's glory days will never come back, and that it's focus as a newspaper needs to be on survival. Reading this long list of names of people whose work I appreciated and enjoyed who no longer, for the most part, write for the paper saddens me. But to the extent reminding us of what we have lost, undermines what we still have, I am saddens me even more.
It was a touching gesture, which I very much appreciated. Reading down the list of names, I could picture in my mind each one of those people, busy and bustling when the newsroom was humming -- a very melancholy feeling. I wish nothing but the best to those who remain.
Me = chopped liver. Thanks for remembering those 20 years!
No, really, it's OK...
I'll consider it my personal byline strike.
If David Brauer finds himself "staggered" by the loss of FIFTY PERCENT of Star Tribune jobs over the past 30 months, maybe MinnPost should let David concentrate on Tweeting about the Twins and T-Wolves and hire a media savant to keep track. I will send in $10 if it helps.
Dear Steve,
We didn't forget about you! We emailed you on January 28 at your address listed on Minnpost. We never heard back from you.
And just so you know, we felt strongly that we needed to get permission from each individual listed in the tribute.
I will take this opportunity to apologize to any other former colleagues we were unable to contact. We were working off imperfect memories, incomplete lists, a lack of contact information and a tight deadline. In no way did we intend to slight anyone. Please understand we tried our best.
Regards, Jane Friedmann
I just wonder, has a Nick Coleman column ever helped?
Maybe this explains why I received the same paper today I received yesterday. True.
What a loss to Minnesota. I have the greatest respect for hard working journalists. And teachers. Both are necessary for a successful democracy. And now both are under stress, as well. Keep your fingers crossed.
Jane and Mary Abbe and others created a document of beauty and compassion, a rarity in this era. I am truly grateful, and most of the people named and unnamed probably are as well.
Very beautifully done. And Coleman is right there are still a few media mgmt. savants there earning over 200K per year. Journalists are in peril not imperiled help I need a copy editor. Best wishes and yes your feet will end up back on firm footing again someday just under changed circumstances. best wishes and thanks.
Re: #5... Thanks, Jane, for trying. I appreciate the effort, though I hope editors there require a little more digging by reporters in these do-more-with-less days. Like, oh, www.whitepages.com.
It's an awesome list.
I was struck by one name in particular, one that will not be familiar to Star Tribune readers, because it's a name of someone who labored in anonymity for decades: John Addington.
It makes me feel younger to see John on the list of recent departures, because I thought John was like 300 years old when I was a rim rat and John was a chief of the local copy desk. That was nearly a quarter-century ago. Good to see him still kicking.
John was a copy editor -- one of those underappreciated wordsmiths who made the Star Tribune infinitely better, with stronger headlines, fewer errors, more readable prose, and more precise facts.
I swear he could tell you the high and low temperatures in any given month since the landing of the Ark.
He had been with the old Star, I think, and referred to the unification of the Star and Tribune organizations as "the anschluss." He was the roots that every newspaper needed in the rootless years toward the end of the last century.
I, too, thank Jane and Mary and the former colleagues who footed the bill. I was very pleased and grateful to be included. It was particularly thoughtful to mention the heavy losses in other departments of people who don't get their names in the newspaper.
The ad was sweet, sad and staggering. However, as one left off the list, I was deeply offended. I am not hard to find, I have half the newsroom on my Facebook list. (Hey, I'm not worried about it, I know it's all out there anyways!) But I do worry that it's one more example of how the library can be forgotten.
I do understand, Jane, that this was a huge challenge to put this together, and I appreciate it. You did a great job, and I miss you all.
The upsetting thing is, the library is/was the heart and soul of the newsroom. It contains and maintains the history of our community. Where do you look when you want to tell your grandchildren what life was like 9/10/2001 versus 9/12/2001? (Newspaper archives, I guess?)
I always felt that the News Research Library was a place of contemplation, relaxation, imagination and inspiration. A great place to work, and a wonderful place to inspire, create, and educate.
I don't care about losing my job. It's not about me. I'm not stupid, and understand what happened with the newspaper industry. (Yes, of course I care about losing my job, I miss all my dear friends, but I'm moving on). I'm forced to, but it's okay, and can actually sometimes be fun.
I just really hope that the newspaper archives and photos are preserved, and maintained. They are a treasure.
Peace, Jennifer
Jennifer, Steve: You'll enjoy this! On New Year's Day, after word arrived that Deborah Howell had been killed in an accident in New Zealand, I received telephone calls at home from The Washington Post, the Associated Press in Washington, D.C., and The Pioneer Press, which I left more than six years ago. Nothing from The Strib, where I was on the roster until last March, where I still have a few friends, and where I contribute a weekly freelance column in an e-mail that lists my contact info. The Strib story had a number of minor but annoying errors, and when I asked why they hadn't called me and told them I could have saved them some trouble, I was told, verbatim:
"We tried really, really hard, but we couldn't find your phone number!"
Somewhere, Frank Premack is rolling over in his grave.
Re #11-- Hi Steve: Good seeing your name again. John Addington passed away a few months ago. His funeral was quite a gathering of former and present STribbers. He came to the merged paper from the Tribune, not the Star. He was a great guy with whom to work.