“I was pretty surprised that they even called me in to meet with him,” said Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Hector Castro, speaking of the meeting he had this morning with Ken Riddick, Hearst’s vice president for digital media.
The meeting was in the paper’s executive conference room, the same place where Riddick, on Feb. 18, held a series of quasi-interviews with 25 newspaper staffers who had expressed their interest in giving him ideas for an online-only P-I. The odd thing is that Castro didn’t sign up for one of those Feb. 18 meetings. He’s not even sure his vision of journalism fits with the direction the profession is headed.
“I’m used to taking a couple of hours to work on a lead for story,” he said, speaking by phone from the newsroom. “Having to come up with something for Twitter in something like five seconds, that just doesn’t sound as fun.”
Still, he was offered a spot in the online-only lifeboat—and, in the end, turned Riddick down and went to sit among his reporter colleagues in the P-I offices on Elliott Avenue, soaking up what has become a very strange vibe now that the fact of today’s online job offers has come out. “It’s really weird,” he said. “I’ve had a few people say this is one of the weirdest days we’ve had. There are strange people walking in and out of our newsroom. Nobody knows why they’re here.”
In addition, nobody knows exactly who’s been offered (or accepted) online jobs. However, a quick exercise in process-of-elimination seems to have narrowed down the possibilities. “It’s awkward ’round here,” wrote another reporter who, when asked, could not directly answer whether an online job was on the horizon.
Castro’s meeting with Riddick lasted only ten minutes. It didn’t involve any compliments regarding particular useful skills he possesses—compliments that might have provided further clues about what Hearst is up to with this online project. Michelle Nicolosi, the P-I assistant managing editor and web guru, was also in the meeting and did end up mentioning Castro’s “versatility” and the fact that he could be trained. Other than that, though, there was little description of what the job would be—and a lot of description of what it wouldn’t be.
“The overarching idea was they needed to make money, that the days of losing money couldn’t continue,” Castro said. “And, with that in mind, that I couldn’t expect to make the salary that I was making.”
He also couldn’t expect to be in a union, get paid for overtime, collect a potential nine-years-worth of severance pay when the P-I‘s print edition closes, transfer his accrued vacation into his new job, or have an employer-funded pension plan. He could expect to have a 401(k) match, however. And he could also expect to be working long days.
The offer on the table was called a “provisional offer of employment.” A decision was required quickly.
“I just said no,” Castro said. “I didn’t think I’d be a good fit for the team they’re trying to put together. And it’s not a personality thing. My interests in journalism just don’t align with what they’re trying to put together in an online product.”
He was drawn to journalism because he likes to write and think and take time with a story when a story requires time. “I think right now, what really people are looking for—what the manager of the company is looking for—are people who are interested in developing the online aspects of the field,” he said. The implication: those aspects are not compatible with the aspects he enjoys.
Nobody told Castro not to talk about the offer. So he’s talking. It’s so uncomfortable in the P-I newsroom right now, with so many rumors swirling, that he thinks it’s better to get as many facts out as possible. Anyway, that’s what journalists do.
Here’s one fact from the meeting with Riddick and Nicolosi that really stuck in his mind: Riddick seemed to be offering a firm end-date for the P-I as we know it, something that has proved elusive so far.
“The comment he made was that this venture would go forward in the event that we don’t have a buyer by March 10,” Castro said. Meaning Hearst will formally give up on selling the P-I on March 10 and begin work on its new online-only enterprise that day. Hard to imagine a new online-only P-I launching while the old-school P-I still rolls off the presses, so one could assume that the print P-I‘s last day will be March 10—or, depending, March 11.
One doesn’t know this for sure. But one could assume. Is Castro certain Riddick didn’t say March 18, the other date that’s been much-discussed lately? He is certain.
“He said March 10.”
Illustration by Andrew Saeger
The more suspicious minds might wonder if the invitees made the list by virtue of the size of their severance. “Versatility” might be a code-word for “we could either pay you a lot of money, or else get you to sign it away and then make you miserable enough to quit later.”
It might be interesting to get Liz Brown’s take on whether the P-I can condition these job offers on not being in a union. I’m not up on private sector labor law, but the commonality of ownership between the current P-I and the new venture might (should?) mean that they can’t just write the existing union out of the picture.
Man, this sucks… It’s like Hospice watch for the P-I…
GREET TO JOIN.
Let me entertain you
Let me make you smile
Let me do a few tricks
Some old and then some new tricks
I’m very versatile
Well reported, Eli. Good job.
Go Hector!
Enumclaw Eli, are you a member of the Guild, or are you a scab? What are your benefits?
I can see why people wouldn’t take these offers (especially when severance pay looks a whole lot like startup money), but it’s flat-out insane to use the excuse that online journalism doesn’t allow long-form or contemplative journalism. Sure, like almost all reporting, speed is often of the essence. However, that doesn’t mean that all stories have to be written quickly just because they’re online.
Eli… You’ve spent the past six weeks asking reporters what the potential end date of the P-I would be. Did it ever occur to ask folks on the business operations side? Perhaps the circulation, advertising and marketing folks might have a little more insight. You’re in the wrong building.
Yes, this is Hearst at its worst. Eli, you’ve been giving them a free pass for a long time now. Given their history in San Francisco, San Antonio and now Seattle, how about a story on just how the Hearst empire has treated its workers over the years?
Part of me can understand why Hector didn’t take the offer, another part of me is cringing. While it really, really sucks what’s happening with Hearst’s dealing of this situation, there’s an incredible opportunity right now for those PI staffers getting offers to be on the ground floor of revolutionizing the business model for journalism. Yes, I have my doubts about corporate media and very much dislike journalism being a for-profit venture. However, Michelle Nicolosi is one of my mentors. She’s an amazing journalist and incredible coach with a foresight that many lack in this industry. If there was anyone I would trust in balancing great journalism with new technology, it’s her.
When does the P-I notify the subscribers when they stop printing and what options we have? On the front page of the final issue?
sassy2979, that’s so great and sassy! Who wouldn’t want to get in on the revolutionary ground floor of a major corporation getting rid of anyone with experience or institutional memory, apparently unwilling to pay wages that could support anyone but a recent college grad? Sure sounds like they’ll be able to keep righting wrongs, digging deep into government affairs, fulfilling the public trust, and afflicting the comfortable and all. Sure. Journalism is alive, now they’ll just call it “My Twitters On The Latest Episode Of The Bachelor.”
niccolosi and revolutionary journalism? is that why the p-i has so many photo galleries of soft porn events like beauty pagents and fashion shows? yep, that’s some hard hitting revolutionary journalism right there. right up there with the *amazing* journalism produced by such journalistic heavyweights as guzman, mcnerthney and all the other neophytes that hearst made offers to. what a sad day for seattle journalism.
He spends two hours writing a lead? No wonder the PI has lost so much money. Good luck in the unemployment line, Hector. The days of writing two or three stories a week are gone forever, unless you’re doing Watergate material.
Michelle Nicolosi a web guru? LOL!
“The overarching idea was they needed to make money, that the days of losing money couldn’t continue,” Castro said. “And, with that in mind, that I couldn’t expect to make the salary that I was making.”
Journalists are so self-absorbed and think this is only happening to them and that the big bad Capitalists running the companies have caused all the problems. Since when is making a profit bad? This is America folks. That’s how it works. If you think there’s some altruistic driving force behind the Fourth Estate, think again. The work we do fills the space between the ads.
Being offered continued employment for a reduced salary beats the alternative. Just ask the, oh, 10 million who have lost jobs in the last few months.
One of my brothers (unemployed again) accepted a job offer for less than he’d been making a couple years ago. His wife asked him why he would accept a pay cut? His response: I’m not. I’m unemployed. I’m making nothing. This is a raise.
I’ll take a pay cut to keep my job at the newspaper I work for. Beats unemployment.
To LRR: Eli used to work at The Seattle Times, where he was a member in good standing and was out on strike with us in 2000.
The Stranger’s editorial staff is not represented by a union (yet), but that’s not necessarily a reflection of any individual staffer’s position on labor.
You know what I’m so tired of?
“Since when is making a profit bad? This is America folks.”
This blase position that automatically assumes profits are the be all end all of everything, or that equates “America” with the right to make a profit.
Although I suppose that question is rhetorical how about this. Making a profit is bad when it is the sole focus of a business and when pursuing that goal the business product and the benefit that may be accrued by the employee and customers is subsumed by this endlessly repeated mantra. What’s even better is when this tail eating endeavor occurs by way of a self-dealing, overly-leveraged business model that can’t see past the end of the next three quarters.
“This is America folks…when is profit bad.”
or how about,
“God is good, god is great…”
Kind of like a prayer really.