Handing over the keys
I am not sure how I am supposed to feel this morning. The company I have worked for more than half my life no longer exists. For the first time in my professional life, I belong to somebody else.
On Monday, papers were shuffled and votes were counted around a table in San Jose, Calif., and Knight-Ridder Inc., handed over the keys to the McClatchy Co.
A lot of parting shots have been fired at Knight-Ridder in these past few weeks and months, but I have held my tongue. No, I haven’t appreciated what the company had become in recent years, a place where bottom lines seemed more important than headlines.
It was sad to me. But you don’t stop loving a person just because they change. In many ways, Knight-Ridder had to change to survive.
When I was in journalism school at the University of Georgia, we used to fight to get jobs at Knight-Ridder newspapers. I consider myself blessed the Telegraph hired me, trained me, nurtured me and has supported me as I have chosen to live and work in this community.
Knight-Ridder allowed me to earn a living doing what I have always wanted – being a writer. It helped me provide for my family and plan for the future. It allowed me to travel and see places and do things I would never have had the opportunity to do otherwise. It brought some wonderful co-workers into my life who helped me grow as a person and as a professional. I am forever indebted.
Today, I will park in the same parking lot, walk through the same front door and up the same circular stairway. I will sit at the same desk and sip from the same water fountain down the hall.
But I expect the place is going to have a different look and feel. I expect morale is going to improve, and it will reflect in the product.
I will rejoice, too, with a lump in my throat.
I am not sure how I am supposed to feel this morning. The company I have worked for more than half my life no longer exists. For the first time in my professional life, I belong to somebody else.
On Monday, papers were shuffled and votes were counted around a table in San Jose, Calif., and Knight-Ridder Inc., handed over the keys to the McClatchy Co.
A lot of parting shots have been fired at Knight-Ridder in these past few weeks and months, but I have held my tongue. No, I haven’t appreciated what the company had become in recent years, a place where bottom lines seemed more important than headlines.It was sad to me. But you don’t stop loving a person just because they change. In many ways, Knight-Ridder had to change to survive.
When I was in journalism school at the University of Georgia, we used to fight to get jobs at Knight-Ridder newspapers. I consider myself blessed the Telegraph hired me, trained me, nurtured me and has supported me as I have chosen to live and work in this community.
Knight-Ridder allowed me to earn a living doing what I have always wanted – being a writer. It helped me provide for my family and plan for the future. It allowed me to travel and see places and do things I would never have had the opportunity to do otherwise. It brought some wonderful co-workers into my life who helped me grow as a person and as a professional. I am forever indebted.
Today, I will park in the same parking lot, walk through the same front door and up the same circular stairway. I will sit at the same desk and sip from the same water fountain down the hall.
But I expect the place is going to have a different look and feel. I expect morale is going to improve, and it will reflect in the product.
I will rejoice, too, with a lump in my throat.
posted by Ed Grisamore at 5:59 AM
2 Comments:
I am glad Mr. Grisamore that the company will not be closed. Closing this paper would be unthinkable. I know when my company merged with another and moved to another state, I had, what seemed to be a short while, to decide what I would be doing for the rest of my working life. My coworkers and I had to walk the long corridor to the outside world, beyond what had been familiar and make the leap into the unknown. Some chose to find other work immediately, some went into businesses for themselves and some chose to go back to school to find work in a totally different work environment. I am in the latter group. I didn't like that I had to accept those changes after thirty years; my security was gone. Life is ever changing and I had to change too. I knew if I could get through the first year dealing with new processes and new people, that I could make anything happen. That first year is ending and school is going well. I don't see my coworkers much anymore,some of us e-mail each other. It's like I'm writing a new chapter that has great possibilities for an ending. A happy ending. The Knight-Ridder years will, like my company, be a great story to rehash many times with those who were there when the guard changed. It's a new chapter and I am looking forward to seeing this paper thrive. It's my hometown paper and I'm not ready for that to change.
As a former employee of the Macon Telegraph, I just want to voice my opinion about McClatchy Co. taking over. I agree with you on expecting (hopefully)the morale improving there. I was laid off a little over 2 years ago after being employed there for 9 years. I watched people that were Directors, Managers, Supervisors, and just plain "little people" get laid off, pushed out, and just plain out treated horribly after being a faithful, honest, hardworking employee, some for 30 years. I have watched a couple of good publishers come and go, and a bad one come and stay TO LONG,and finally go. I worked there the first time 29 years ago when I was alot younger, for about 3 years. Then, it was a good place to work. Morale, and enjoying your job. Then when I went back 20 years later, I watched it just get worse and worse. One might say I am a bitter person that just got laid off. No, I'm not bitter. I just watched alot of my coworkers, like you did too Ed, and myself, get their feelings crushed when they were told at the end of that day that you no longer had a job. BUT, mind you they'd say, "it's nothing you did. You did a good job." That was for the lucky ones that got laid off and not fired for whatever reason. And the ones that are left, are loaded with work that used to take several to accomplish. There were so many times during the laying off period when I used to think and say, why don't the big boys up in the big offices take a cut in pay if finances are so bad that they're having to let people go? But, that's something you would never see. As bad as SALES were, CIRCULATION, etc was, at least on paper, they were still to be sure to get their fat paychecks AND bonuses. I too have many good friends I made while working at the Telegraph. From the first time I worked there, and years later when I returned. I know people survive and go on with life. But there was a time at the paper we all ENJOYED our job. But those last years when I was there, there was more fear every morning that it would be your last morning there, and that's not a good thing to help your morale! So, I will hope for the best for The Telegraph now with new owners. I hope this for the sake of Macon and surrounding areas needing this paper. I will say this for the sake of people employed there still. And last but not least, I will say this for my friends that are still there and have STILL gone through the not knowing, and maybe some calm can be done, and they can start really "enjoying" their job again. After all, it is a home away from home since one is there almost more than you are at home!
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