Yesterday was day two of my first live practice of the new Q-C Times budgeting processes and the Total Content Management System. (Keep in mind that I had a day off to completely unlearn most of the stuff I was supposed to know.)I spent a ton of time on the phone with one of three different designers at our Regional Design Center, and it made me realize that there's a serious communication gap.
The main thing is that our budgets have to come from one source, or there has to be way to access an open-source document that constantly gets updated.
I inadvertently sent a budget that had "dated" material on it, which confused the designers, while also giving our obits layout person a story that was budgeted to run in the paper elsewhere (even though it wasn't slugged to a page).
I also got voted down on allowing a copy editor to have a read on all stories that go over to the RDC, even though we are having headlines that aren't appropriate for print or stories without subheads. We had a murder plea follow-up that needed a subhead, but it wasn't provided.
I'm seriously hope that my previous two nights aren't a reflection of things to come for the new job, but my editor assures me I should only have to work one shift a week in the short-term until the system and the desk editors all get up to speed.
I'm really excited about the new job. I need to start a binder of all my social media notes and Web pages, so that I can start compiling my old Tips&Tricks handout, and putting together in-house training sessions we call "Lunch & Learns."
I big focus early on is to get reporters back into some good habits as far as tweeting, and hopefully sway some of our staffers to jump on the Pinterest band wagon and start pinning some great articles and photos.
Hopefully once the transition smooths out, I can start to focus on a multimedia project I have my eyes on.
My three-month plan thus far is a couple of tip sheets, one or two Lunch & Learns, and perhaps the start of a multi-media project. I'm also hoping to get started on a social media column/blog over at the Times. And I believe there's a local LinkedIn group gathering sometime this month. I'd also like to set up a seminar outside the Times, perhaps at a local venue, in which I can talk a little bit about the Times and social media as a way we're connecting to our readership.
The main thing is that our budgets have to come from one source, or there has to be way to access an open-source document that constantly gets updated.
I inadvertently sent a budget that had "dated" material on it, which confused the designers, while also giving our obits layout person a story that was budgeted to run in the paper elsewhere (even though it wasn't slugged to a page).
I also got voted down on allowing a copy editor to have a read on all stories that go over to the RDC, even though we are having headlines that aren't appropriate for print or stories without subheads. We had a murder plea follow-up that needed a subhead, but it wasn't provided.
I'm seriously hope that my previous two nights aren't a reflection of things to come for the new job, but my editor assures me I should only have to work one shift a week in the short-term until the system and the desk editors all get up to speed.
I'm really excited about the new job. I need to start a binder of all my social media notes and Web pages, so that I can start compiling my old Tips&Tricks handout, and putting together in-house training sessions we call "Lunch & Learns."
I big focus early on is to get reporters back into some good habits as far as tweeting, and hopefully sway some of our staffers to jump on the Pinterest band wagon and start pinning some great articles and photos.
Hopefully once the transition smooths out, I can start to focus on a multimedia project I have my eyes on.
My three-month plan thus far is a couple of tip sheets, one or two Lunch & Learns, and perhaps the start of a multi-media project. I'm also hoping to get started on a social media column/blog over at the Times. And I believe there's a local LinkedIn group gathering sometime this month. I'd also like to set up a seminar outside the Times, perhaps at a local venue, in which I can talk a little bit about the Times and social media as a way we're connecting to our readership.
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