Posted on 06/09/2009 1:29:05 PM PDT by abb
Boston Globe staffers' letter to Arthur Sulzberger Jr.; send on June 9
Dear Mr. Sulzberger,
We have long admired your commitment to producing the world’s best journalism. We know, as a former reporter, that you appreciate the work we do and how we have continued to publish hard-hitting, thoughtful papers throughout these hard times.
Despite all the rhetoric of the last few weeks, we believe you want to do the right thing – that, at bottom, you’re a mensch. We’re all too aware of the awful economic climate and the precipitous challenges to the newspaper industry. Most of us went into this work because of our love for it, not for the money. We never expected high salaries; we just wanted reasonable pay, enough to make ends meet.
We’re writing to you because we’re asking for you to step in and show us what we have admired about you for years – your fair-minded leadership. We’re asking you to call off the lawyers, head off a bitter fight, and come forward with a plan that would attract a bit more support from the Guild.
More than 130 members of the Guild – surely enough to tip the balance in any future vote – have signed a petition, saying we’re ready to take painful cuts and do what it takes to preserve the long-term future of The Boston Globe. Many of us voted against the contract because we saw it as inequitable – that we were being asked to take a steeper cut than management. If you could find a middle ground that would provide more equity – such as making our pay cut equivalent to that of management – I’m sure you’ll find significantly more support.
We believe that you don’t want us to take a 23 percent pay cut. We believe you understand that the consequences of such a drastic cut would be disastrous for many of us who have worked tirelessly for the Globe for years. Not only could many of us lose our homes and our child care, but too much of our top talent might no longer be able to afford to work for a newspaper that they’ve given their hearts and souls to for so long.
Mr. Sulzberger, we’re asking for your leadership. You can make a difference. We desperately need it right now.
We look forward to your response.
All the best,
Concerned Reporters at The Boston Globe
ping
Dear Guild Members:
Drop dead..
Sincerely yours,
Management
Awwwww. Bring up the violins.
I guess we now know why his nickname is “Punch.”
He can’t take one.
Or, to borrow a phrase from Gordon Ramsey,
PISS OFF!
We have long admired your commitment to producing the world’s best journalism.
This newspaper can't die quick enough. And, ironically, the NYT is one of today's best union busting companies out there right now!!!!
We never expected high salaries; we just wanted reasonable pay, enough to make ends meet.
23% pay cut? I feel sorry for them, but the choice seems clear. Take the pay cut or look for work as the paper folds.
Journalists just don’t produce a unique product anymore. Finding someone that can write stories about local events just isn’t that difficult. Journalism is no long a profession in the same league as a doctor or lawyer. It is now more like a trade like auto mechanic or bricklayer.
“P.S. If you do shut down the Globe, we have enclosed our resumes for possible openings at the Times.”
Calling a fag a mensch really describes the talent at the Glob.
“We could lose our homes and our child care”.????WTF??? No, if you are at home out of a job you will be there to care for your children. Take them out of private school and just tap poppas trust fund a little harder. And remember, the world needs ditch diggers too!!
So where have they been hiding it?
God, could they have sucked up to him any more?
The first paragraphs makes you would think this a letter from the MSM to the TOTUS-reader
>>Journalism is no long a profession in the same league as a doctor or lawyer. It is now more like a trade like auto mechanic or bricklayer.<<
Those take skill and knowledge. “Journalists” today can’t even use proper grammar, which is like a bricklayer not knowing how to make mortar. And, of course, sticking to objective facts has been missing for a generation or more.
Modern “journalists” practice burger flipping with words.
For those of us not in New York, what is a mensch?
Is it anything like a Putz?
Will the writer lose his job for calling the boss a bad name?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/broadcast-networks-advertisers-stalled-in-upfront?siteid=nbih
Broadcast networks, advertisers in upfront stalemate
Networks demanding higher rates than advertisers willing to pay, insiders say
snip
The stalemate is being caused by networks that are demanding higher ad rates than they did at this time last year - a concept that “doesn’t make sense,” said Miraj Parikh, media director at SMG/Spark Communications, in an interview on Friday.
snip
“NBC is probably going to cave. And that’s because they need volume,” Parikh said of the network owned by General Electric.
snip
Broadcast viewership has been on the decline for many years, a pattern that didn’t change in the 2008-09 season. Add the economy to that equation, and this would hardly appear to be a time to demand higher rates. In the first quarter, spending on broadcast network TV ads declined 4.8% compared with the first quarter of 2008, according to data issued on Monday by Nielsen Media Research.
snip
Will the last one at the ATEX terminal please type INIT: DP and erase all the hard drives?
I would love to pay you more money, but I've run my family's business into the
ground and Carlos Slim won't let me have any more of his cash.
Sorry.
/s Pinch
Despite all the rhetoric of the last few weeks, we believe that, at bottom, you’re a mensch bupkes putz, a meeskait dreck, a farshtinkener tuches lecker, a shemdrick!
You schmuck!
/s Boston Globe Staffers
More.
http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/dontquoteme/archive/2009/06/09/totten-looks-ahead.aspx
Totten looks ahead
Just received an email sent earlier today by Boston Newspaper Guild head Dan Totten, whose non-rejection rejection of the Times Co.’s recent contract offer was validated by his membership yesterday.
No surprise that the Guild is working to stop imposition of that 23-percent pay cut, or that they’re trying to get the Times Co. back to the bargaining table asap. Totten’s desire to continue mobilizing public opinion on the Guild’s behalf did surprise me a bit, largely because previous efforts in that department have seemed a bit clunky. That said, if April’s Save-the-Globe rally at Faneuil Hall convinced even a handful of Guild members to vote “No” instead of “Yes” yesterday, it may have been a game-changer. So why not?
Dear Boston Newspaper Guild member;
Last night the Boston Newspaper Guild told the New York Times Company and Globe management that they must do better. With our vote, we aid we will not be bullied and that punitive attacks on our livelihoods will not be tolerated. That vote was the beginning of a process that we hope quickly leads to a fair and livable agreement on benefits and wages.
I promise that all of you will be alerted promptly and regularly to all steps being taken toward this end. In the past all Guild
members have made tremendous sacrifices, such as now being in the 4th year of a wage freeze for the good of the Boston Globe.The BNG has conveyed to the NYT / Globe that we continue to be willing to make sacrifises for the good of the company, but those sacrifices must be reasonable.The NYT / Globe also must be willing to finally give their fair share. Let me assure you that myself and all members of the Executive Committee will do everything in our power to prevent you from enduring the crippling financial hardship of a 23 percent pay cut.
First, we are meeting today with legal counsel to determine the fastest means of delaying or preventing the New York Times Company from punishing our members with this extreme and drastic measure;
Second, we are mobilizing the strong support, concern and influence of New Englanders who appreciate and support the work you do, and who will not stand idly by while the New York Times attempts to destroy one of this nation’s great news organizations;
Third, we are making arrangements to meet as quickly as possible with the New York Times Co. to begin work toward a realistic and fair agreement on wages, benefits and work rules that we believe can be endorsed by this union leadership and passed by all our members.
Whether you were a ‘yes’ vote or a ‘no’ vote yesterday, today we are a union speaking with one voice against the outrageous tactics of the New York Times.
In Unity,
Dan Totten
Published Jun 09 2009, 03:41 PM by Adam Reilly
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