I have over a decade’s worth of experience with deadlines and it never ceases to amaze me how often ours are overlooked as a newspaper.
We haven’t changed ours much over the years – it’s still 10 a.m. Monday mornings in order to meet our print deadline.
Earlier is always better of course – especially when it comes to events – we need to know about those at least two weeks in advance.
Anything submitted after the deadline has passed ends up being saved for the following week’s rotation.
Well, unless it’s absolutely breaking news that we adjust to accordingly.
But, that’s only ever as good as being informed of something happening from an official news source.
And I honestly find it mind-boggling that our deadlines are ignored or forgotten at all because most adults have been conditioned to adhere to deadlines since grade school.
Not to mention, it’s one of those “soft skills” that employers are always harping about when discussing the job market.
In case you weren’t sure, soft skills are defined as “a set of personal attributes and abilities that allow individuals to effectively interact with others in a professional setting.”
Any quick Google search will further the definition by including examples of those interpersonal skills within seconds.
Soft skills like communication, teamwork, creativity, adaptability, problem-solving, work ethic, critical thinking, and conflict management can be developed and honed over time.
However, leadership, emotional intelligence, and time management seem to vary based on the employee and situation more often than not.
I firmly believe that there’s room for grace and forgiveness for those dealing with chronic illness and disease as well as other temporary and lifetime maladies – and I fully give it to those folks.
And I get it if there are occasional slip-ups and someone new being trained to fulfill a job that was recently vacated – but, more often than not, it just isn’t the case for us.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asks me when our deadline is, I might actually be able to go on a cruise somewhere exotic!
With school back in session and events picking up once more, I find myself having to remind folks more often.
That falls in line with my overall experience for when the shoe is on the other foot it seems that newspapers are at the bottom of the informational totem pole and we’re not given grace.
It doesn’t seem to matter what the reminder is in reference to, but if we’re not informed or don’t have it on our radar then it seems like we’ve committed some heinous act.
Situations like that only serve to remind us to remain diligent and to inform the injured parties accusing us of “favoritism” or some other nonsense that we’re a three-person team and can’t be everywhere at once – especially if we don’t know when something is happening.
Day after day we strive to keep on top of the news for the county and are at the mercy of social media algorithms along with professionals or officials that aren’t trained or skilled in media procedures.
Still, the same could be said of any news organization in this day and age – at least until AI can physically show up somewhere in person.
