Fishing Expedition

Since our plans to hide away forever at a remote Minnesotan lake house were dashed – on account of James not having one for us – we decided instead to jump on into the mucky swamp that’s swallowed up our institutions. At least we have Eli Lake (who, as you’ll hear, knows everybody) to tour us through the law enforcement agencies who’ve undermined their standing with the public in order to get the guy who they blame for undermining the public’s trust in them…

Also, the hosts chat some about the former rep from Wyoming; a Florida judge who hopes to stop Gov. DeSantis from stopping the woke; Lileks is seeing a resurgence of masking; plus, Rob had lunch with Viktor Orbán!

(And check out Eli’s podcast.)

 

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  1. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    BillJackson (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    copy desk, the section editors, the layout people, the photo department, and other house-bound aspects of putting out the paper.

    First, to the aspects of journalism, I was a reporter, copy editor, page designer news editor. (And, actually, no, reporters don’t have to “return to the roost” … I never saw the guys covering the Iraq wars flying back toChicago to file.)

    Where I work people are in the field locally, and come back to the office to write. Foreign correspondents would seem to be atypical examples for most newspapers. 

    So, yes, I do remember inside jokes and a few laughs, but they were far outnumbered by multiple nights of me trying to do layouts or remember some arcane AP Style rule while while some liberal blowhard bloviates about how stupid people from Ohio are, or where they’re going to eat, or how “kids today don’t have the talent my generation had.”

    As for culture, sure, there was culture if cliques, alcoholism, childish tantrums and being told “Golly I’ll have to take a buyout or people like you won’t have a job. I guess I control your career now.” [In quotes because it’s verbatim] are culture. And I know I said some truly awful things that never drew any rebuke, and actually got a lot of laughs. That’s not a culture I want to be part of anymore.

    It sounds like you had a lousy workplace full of lousy people. I’ve worked five newsrooms, and while the experiences varied, I look back on each fondly. Even the most boring one. Even the one that had the most managerial meddling or political monoculture. I’ve never had a workplace that was just to my liking, because they’re full of other people, and other people are, well, people. 

    “… I could say that the “stay at home” crowd speaks self-flattering notions of “productivity” and “personal satisfaction” at the expense of culture and camaraderie …”

    And here’s another reason why I’m not a journalist anymore:It’s not “self-flattering” to have actual metrics — X items produced in Y amount of time that lead to Z increase in profitability — that show it’s better for the company and our customers when we work at home. We track that stuff for a reason. And the point of a business is to make profits and serve our customers.

    Fair enough. I was responding to your phrasing of my position, probably incorrectly. Metrics and productivity matter above all. That said, newspapers are a bit different than tech customers; the  customers are not served when the writers are living in distant cities typing up press releases. 

    Too many journalists don’t think that way. Don’t believe me? Check the size of the newspaper and the newsroom. How has that “culture and camaraderie” worked out? It sure didn’t seem to help anybody see what the internet was going to do to their business model.

    Again, I don’t know where and when you were in the industry, or how your paper reacted to the rise of the internet. I know my org screwed the pooch, like most of them, but that had nothing to do with newsroom “culture and camaraderie.”  OTOH, “culture and camaraderie” made the lean times better. A lot of us had a sense of institutional mission – and you can debate how delusional that is – but it made a newsroom in an old, old paper different from a suburban office for an accountancy firm. 

    “I just find it more interesting and stimulating to be around other people and see other places in the course of a day.”

    Then go into the office. Nobody is stopping you.

    Never said anyone was, and I do, but there’s not many people around anymore. 

    But I’ve worked hard and actively sought jobs that would allow me to do what I’m doing now, from home, in the same way that some of my friends in marketing sought jobs full of collaboration. Both are valid.

    And work is not the only place to be around other people/see other places.

    Glad you like it! A day at home looking at screens and typing is perfectly fine; it’s what the laptop class does. I’d go nuts, though. I just like getting out in the world every day, and seeing what happens. 

    • #91
  2. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Personally, I love my commute. It’s 26 miles, but it’s opposite traffic and only take me about 35 minutes. It makes a nice separation of “work” and “home”, and gives me a chance to catch up on podcasts.

    I will admit that I’m only in the office 3 days a week now (most weeks, anyway), which is nice for saving miles on the vehicle.

    My commute is at off-peak hours, and I live close to the freeway. It’s a short jaunt. The best part is leaving downtown, because the ramp to the freeway has a series of sinuous curves, and it’s empty: I can floor it, and do some driving

    • #92
  3. OwnedByDogs Lincoln
    OwnedByDogs
    @JuliaBlaschke

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Maybe if there was something more to it than just pain…

    Meanwhile, there actually is a fetish for getting kicked in the testicles, aka “ball-busting.”  Some men actually hire people to do it to them, “for pleasure.”

    Don’t tell Biden. He’ll find one and make him into a Deputy Secretary of Health or something.

    • #93
  4. BillJackson Inactive
    BillJackson
    @BillJackson

    Glad you like it! A day at home looking at screens and typing is perfectly fine; it’s what the laptop class does. I’d go nuts, though. I just like getting out in the world every day, and seeing what happens.

    “Foreign correspondents would seem to be atypical examples for most newspapers.” 

    Well since you kept saying “you must recall …” I was thinking maybe you weren’t aware that some papers covered events where returning to the roost wasn’t practical.  FWIW, a lot of sports guys never came into the office either. 

    And where I was in the industry included everything from a 10k-circulation small-town Ohio paper all the way up to a multiple-Pulitzer winning newspaper. I’ve had my share of champagne in the newsroom.

    Were there good times, sure. Enough to warrant giving up two hours of the day riding public transit? Or paying to keep a car running on $10,000 a year? Having to live in an apartment I either can’t afford or having a very long commute? Nope. But you perhaps you didn’t realize not everyone shares your lifestyle.

    And, you know what? Being able to work remote meant that I was able to help my Dad as he struggled with my Mom who slowly slid into the grip of Alzheimer’s and died. Don’t ever tell me your idea of “camaraderie”  is more important than that. 

    As for your reference to the “Laptop class” … again, try “people who keep your lights on.“  There are jobs that I have had that if I don’t go, the city doesn’t work. And in those times when things go a bit haywire, it’s better for you that  those of us — yes, with laptops, in our pajamas — do our work as soon as we are rousted from our beds, than it is for us getting up, shaving, showering, getting dressed, riding a train, walking to the office before we start to fix the problem, no matter how much nicer it may make it for you to have people around you as you walk the streets of your city.  

    [That’s not to belittle the people who have to go into work. I rely on them and I respect them. I shouldn’t have to say it, but to just so it’s really clear to you, I will.]

    Not everyone shares your lifestyle. We aren’t all blessed with an off-peak commute living close to the freeway with a “short jaunt” to work. 

    And: Work is not the only way one gets out in the world every day and sees what happens. And I’ve made friends — who I see in person — through Zoom work. That happens too. And there’s still my church, my running clubs, various volunteer opportunities where I can “get out in the world.” That doesn’t seem like the case for you and I’m sorry for that fact.

    • #94
  5. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    The Unreasonable Man (View Comment):

    Did the hosts state that there would be a SF/ Bay Area meetup coming up? I thought I heard that, but can’t find any info about it elsewhere on the site.

    I usually try to stay on top of all the Ricochet meetup announcements, but I do not recall seeing a post written about this.  Or the one in the UK, hosted by @michaelcollins.  It is possible they have been mentioned in the Ricochet Meetup group — which is good — but people should really write a Member Feed post if they are having a meetup, so a link to it can be shared.

    I can provide links to the upcoming meetups in Huntsville and New Orleans.

    • #95
  6. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Personally, I love my commute. It’s 26 miles, but it’s opposite traffic and only take me about 35 minutes. It makes a nice separation of “work” and “home”, and gives me a chance to catch up on podcasts.

    I will admit that I’m only in the office 3 days a week now (most weeks, anyway), which is nice for saving miles on the vehicle.

    My commute is at off-peak hours, and I live close to the freeway. It’s a short jaunt. The best part is leaving downtown, because the ramp to the freeway has a series of sinuous curves, and it’s empty: I can floor it, and do some driving.

    Since I moved to Tennessee, I live on a gloriously curvy and hilly road .  Providing that there aren’t other cars in the way, it is downright fun to drive to work, even in my 160 hp Ford Focus.  Having a manual transmission makes even an economy car fun, on the right roads.

    • #96
  7. Leslie Watkins Inactive
    Leslie Watkins
    @LeslieWatkins

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    If one’s focus is the 2020 election, this podcast may have some non-conforming utterances, but the interview began with Eli talking about how the latest news is more dopamine jolts for blueanon and their all-consuming Trump fixation, so this wasn’t exactly the Liz Cheney amen-corner songfest, no?

    No one knows one way or the other that the 2020 election was or wasn’t “stolen.” No court ruled on the merits. No investigation was undertaken, unlike immediately after 2016, and, despite the Mueller report, Hillary Clinton still claims—as do her media accolades—that she was robbed of the presidency. She’s even been hawking red baseball caps emblazoned with BUT HER EMAILS, as if she’s been exonerated. That people, especially those on the “most honest election in history” bandwagon are so sure of something they do not actually know—I say, “I don’t know, but it seems likely that Biden actually won”—belies a cultural bias that has escaped high society and infiltrated politics.

    • #97
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