Not all is well at the Jerusalem Post.
Following recent posts in which I criticized certain stories and pictures run on their website, I have received “inside information” which paints a bleak picture of the newspaper.
My source (gee I love the sound of that. Makes me sound like an intrepid reporter!) has revealed the following:
1. The grumpy editor was fired a few weeks ago.
2. The picture-article mismatches are due to a technical problem. The addition of new photos to the website takes up to half an hour, a source of much embarassment to the hardworking people working on the website.
3. The technical staff for the site are not putting the required effort into their jobs.
4. Employees are not paid overtime.
5. Employees who work on the Sabbath (from Friday night to Saturday night and Jewish festivals are not paid double as required by law.
6. Employees are forced to pay for subscriptions to the paper and if not
will lose their jobs (!)
7. Even though the Post purchased a state of the art, multi-million dollar printer, the workers who work on the press have absolutely no idea what they are doing. (My source gives the example of the margins in the weekend supplements, saying “What’s the point of reading the inserts if you can’t read the first word on each line?”)
8. The publisher cancelled several profitable printing ventures such as the printing of the Yellow Pages (a multi-million shekel deal) for no apparent reason.
9. The paper is in serious debt.
10. The computers in use are obsolete iMacs which canít even read Hebrew. Consequently, 90% of incoming emails cannot be read.
11. Generally the Postís employees are good people and decent journalists
working as best they can in a draconian atmosphere. Resources are
limited and employees are incredibly overworked. The paper is also extremely
understaffed.
12. The news of Hollingerís downfall was welcomed by the staff. Everyone is looking forward to the day when “someone decent” will buy the paper and improve the depressing environment.
13. People are extremy dissatisfied with the publisher.
Of course, we have heard of trouble at the Post for a while now – Allison has been keeping track of the goings-on at her old workplace. See here and here.