By: Joe Strupp News staffers at the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune are apparently being ordered to detail ever aspect of their work in daily memos, down to the last phone call, according to a memo from a senior editor.
The memo, first posted on the Poynter.org Romenesko site, is from Virginia Black, assistant managing editor/news.
She states, "With a smaller staff and a shift in planning, a small newsroom committee has recommended that we rework the system to still meet that goal, yet capitalize on a bigger one: communication.
"If you're a copy editor, designer, photographer or editor, your productivity communication will likely not change. This is targeted foremost to all reporters, who would send a daily e-mail the last thing before they leave for the day (or at the latest, the very first thing - 8 a.m. - the next day). These e-mails would go not only to your most immediate editor but to at least five editors, including me. This daily e-mail would lay out specifically what you accomplished that day, what you need to finish or follow up on the next day, and what you plan to do that next day."
Citing what appears to be an example of the kind of e-mail that is expected, Black lays out a scenario in which every action of a staffer is required to be included in their report:
"Checked e-mail; Checked logs at Mishawaka, county and South Bend; Responded to accident at Ironwood and bypass; Called Mishawaka Detective Bureau about child neglect case (records would not provide narrative since it is under investigation by CPS); Called Mishawaka woman struck Monday by hit-and-run driver while she was getting into her car; Wrote story on woman struck by hit-and-run driver; Placed call to Trent about two rape cases that were on log (he was not in this morning); left message. Called Humane Society of St. Joseph County to see if any animals were taken out of home in Mishawaka where elderly lady was living in filth surrounded by several full litter boxes; was told someone would be in contact. Updated productivity report; Spoke briefly with Trent about rape cases on log - appears to be teenage girl covering up for sexual escapades; Spoke with John Pavlekovich about concerns regard retirement story - presumably ironed everything out; Pow-wowed with Dave about year-end crime stories - I get homicides! -- start working on lead smelter reporting, call health dept. again, talk to lead director, no idea what I'm talking about; -- call IDEM local office, am transferred to regional office, leave message for public relations people; -- am asked to work on Goshen beating story; -- call Goshen PIO, discuss YouTube video beating; -- try to find number for YouTube mom, search phone books, internet; -- do web update; -- call Goshen schools superintendent, leave message; -- go to video bootcamp lunch; -- research YouTube beating posted by teens, leave message for national anti-Internet abuse lady; -- reach other woman affiliated with anti-Internet abuse, talk to about story; -- call super Intendent again, leave second message; -- go to 2 p.m. interview with judge Scopelitis, wait forever in rotunda because he's in hearing, finally leave and reschedule; -- call back superintendent, finally reach for story; -- find address for YouTube mom; -- write YouTube video story, file story; -- give graph to john stump for lead smelter story; -- Drive out to Goshen to try and find YouTube mom, get lost, turn around, find trailer park, can't find address, finally find address, family no longer lives there, drive back. Planning to come in around 9 tomorrow."
After that long list, she adds, "The point is that there's some detail there - an editor can tell why a story took as long as it did, for example, and what's yet to be done - and it is forward-looking (I'm going to do a year-end story on homicides; I'm still making progress on that lead story)."
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