Amy joined the Times in September as the Calendar design editor, and was at the Detroit Free Press for almost two years before that. She won an SND award of excellence for the redesign of the Sunday On Point section in 2006, and another in 2007 for a travel special section cover. Her print portfolio is impressive, and so is her freelance work.

Amy’s not sure what her next move will be. She’s taking some time to relearn Web design skills — she’s even planning to set up software training sessions in her home so others can learn. And she has enough personal projects lined up to keep her busy for awhile.

Amy took time Thursday to answer a few questions:

I love the idea of helping others redesign their résumés. How’d you come up with it? Have you had any takers?
People are definitely interested in the help. I’m getting e-mails from staffers around the country. Helping with résumé design seemed like the most direct way to help people who already have so much on their minds. Job hunting can be really intimidating — especially if you haven’t done it in years.

Have you found others (co-workers or otherwise) who are reaching out to try to help their peers? Have you come across any helpful advice or Web sites?
Unfortunately, I haven’t been at the Times long enough to really get to know many people outside of the Features department. I think that journalism attracts people who are community-driven by nature, so I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if there are similar efforts happening on other floors. I am trying to set up a software training — probably at my house on the East Side — with some of the other designers down here — and anyone is welcome. I’m going to show some people how to use Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign; another designer is really good with Dreamweaver and has a great handle on the CS3 features that I’m not as familiar with. So we’re trying to put that together.

As far as helpful websites: I’d definitely encourage people to start using networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn is certainly more geared to professional networking, but Facebook has a lot of offer just in terms of helping people to stay connected. Obviously a lot of people who just lost their jobs have been here for a long time, and have formed close friendships that they don’t want to lose; it can be really scary and painful to lose close contact with people you may consider family, and certainly isolation can be one of the more dangerous emotional side effects of unemployment. Facebook has really helped me keep in close touch with my friends from the Free Press, and to feel like I’m still part of that family, which has been such a constant source of support and love through all of the change that’s happened since I left there last September. So: check out Facebook. It’s not just for college kids.

There are a number of recruiters in the LA area who deal with designers, art directors and writers:
• Wolf Creative
• Creative Circle
• Aquent
• 24|seven Talent
• Artisan Creative
• Sapient

One of the first calls I made after getting the news was to my financial planner. Mine works for free, and I’d happily share her name with anyone who wants to email me. I went to art school because I don’t understand numbers, and she keeps me on track. She’s invaluable.

I actually haven’t heard that much advice yet; I think people here are still kind of shell-shocked. This kind of change is a constant for me. I’ve had no expectation of being a “lifer” since I got out of college in 1998. Los Angeles work culture is more fluid and project-based than perhaps any place else in the country, mostly because of the entertainment industry, and I’ve become accustomed to that kind of transience, so it’s not so scary. I do feel that this whole thing is very much the Times’ loss; the journalists who have been let go are all talented and passionate and hard-working, and I have no doubt that they’ll all be assets to whatever companies hire them next.

You have some amazing illustrations and pages. What was your job at the Times? What’s some of your favorite work from the last year or so? I love the 826 posters (like the one shown); do you do a lot of freelance work?
Thank you! I worked on the Calendar section. I don’t think I’ve actually posted any of the pages I’ve done for the Times on my portfolio sites. I should maybe get on that. Honestly my favorite work — besides the poster series you mention — was for the Detroit Free Press. That paper was a perfect match for my skills and for my energy. Steve Dorsey, the AME of presentation, was an incredible mentor to me, and Paul Anger, the Editor, was very good to me, and I felt like I had a strong voice at the paper. I’m really proud of the “Celebrate Michigan” cover. It was completely an expression of the homesickness I felt during the first eight years I lived in California. I had a great opportunity to redesign their Sunday Editorial section, and I got to work very closely with Steve Henderson, who was the Deputy Editorial Page Editor on the cover packages. We had a great — and probably rare, for newspapers? — collaboration, that involved pitching story and presentation ideas simultaneously. It think it’s much more common for editors to say, “Here’s the story, it’s written, make it pretty.” But Steve would come to me and say, “This horrible thing is happening with early childhood education programs, and this is what we’re thinking might help; hit me with some metaphors and analogies, and let’s figure it out together.” And so we could talk from the very beginning about the emotional component of the editorial, and I’d pitch him visual metaphors and ideas to communicate them using illustration or photography or type or whatever the most appropriate tools were, and he would approach writing the editorial with some of those concepts in mind. It was a really great marriage of content and delivery, which is what good design is all about. Especially with those kinds of pieces, your job as an art director is to make a reader care before he reads the first word. That was really the most exciting challenge about the Free Press: to catch the reader who might be flipping through the Sunday paper just to find Red Wings’ scores or a horoscope, and make him stop in his tracks and read an editorial about water quality or public transportation or failing schools — and care about it enough to actually get involved. And I think to do that you have to employ the same concepts that ad agencies use so well; you really have to sell the emotion and urgency of a story before you can tell it.

The Free Press was a great vehicle for me to do all the things I liked to do; the staff was just lean enough for them to enthusiastically take advantage of everybody’s skills, so I also got to take a lot of my own photos and do my own illustrations. I think also because they’ve been going through so much change, they were very open to new ideas. When they hired me, I’d never done newspaper design — only magazines — so they took a chance on me and gave me great challenges, like “Figure out 10 kinds of visual sidebars we can use,” or “We need a new interactive game for every day of the week. We want them to be funny and engaging and informative. Go.” I was a wreck when I left Detroit, not only because the I made such incredible friends, but also because I still had so many ideas for them. I still have ideas for Detroit.

I haven’t been able to do much freelance since I’ve been here, as the noncompete clause is so expansive. I’m excited to get that going again soon. The poster project for 826LA has been an incredible creative opportunity. The 826 people have a really cool aesthetic and are fabulous to work with. I really believe that some of the best work can come from volunteer projects. The posters just came off the presses and are available to buy at 826LA.org/store. All proceeds go directly to their tutoring programs. It’s a fantastic organization.

What are your plans after August? Are you looking to move to another newspaper/magazine?
I’m not sure exactly what’s next. I’ve been looking at a bunch of ad agencies, and I’m going to re-learn some of the interactive software I haven’t done much with since college — Dreamweaver and AfterEffects, mostly.

I do love journalism, and I’d like to stick with it, but I also think that agency experience will make me a better conceptual visual journalist. I still want to work for the New York Times. Every Sunday is like Christmas morning when I open the Book Review and Week in Review. They do such a great job with concept. There are also some regional titles I really like, New York magazine and Texas Monthly, especially. I really love nonprofit work, and I’m interested in learning more about firms that deal with social marketing.

I’ve got some personal projects I’m excited about: I want to do a series of illustrations about some of the great indie rock shows I’ve seen here. I don’t have any portraiture in my book, so that might be a good way to round out my portfolio. I promised my step-dad that I’d make him reusable packaging for his home brewery. And my roommate will skin me if I don’t set up a silkscreen studio in our sunroom like I promised when I moved in. Also, I live next to Griffith Park, so I expect there will be lots of soccer and hiking and swimming happening in the next month. I’ve wanted to coach t-ball forever, so hopefully I can do some of that. I’m not too worried. I feel very lucky.

What’s the best way for people to contact you if they need resume advice or redesigns?
Anyone is welcome to use my gmail address. I’m also on Facebook.

Related links

• Chrys Wu has details on what some other laid-off Times staffers are planning to do.
• LA Observed has a list of who was laid off.
• Tell Zell, a blog written by an anonymous Times staffer, also has a list of those who were laid off.

Do you know of someone who’s trying to make a difference? Let me know!

ShareThis

St. Louis’s Gannett-owned KSDK (Channel 5) is behind the new addition to the Metromix family. In October, Gannett and Tribune Co. teamed up to expand Metromix. The Chicago Tribune started Metromix more than 10 years ago.

Metromix offers a searchable guide to local entertainment — restaurants and bars, events, music, movies, etc. Users can share their own reviews, photos and videos. The site already features a handful of staff-written reviews.

ShareThis

From: William Nangle
Sent: Mon 7/14/2008 9:27 AM
To: MUN Newsroom
Cc: MUN OC
Subject:

New role for 2 in Media Center

Kerry Erickson assumes the role of Night Editor at The Times effective today. Kerry is a strong newswoman who brings a wealth of experience in copy editing, writing, online posting and staff management. Supporting her will be Tony Parker. He assumes the position of Assistant Night Editor.

Please extend your congratulations and cooperation to them. BILL

Two others were promoted on Friday.

Updated 07.15.2008: A staff meeting on July 21 may clear up some of the questions. Or, in typical Times fashion, may not.

Send memos, links and suggestions to erica@graphicdesignr.net

ShareThis

I want to let you know that David Hiller has decided to step down as publisher of The Los Angeles Times, effective immediately. David took over as publisher in October 2006, during a difficult period for the newspaper and has performed with distinction since that time. During the last six months, he has helped The Times begin making the transition to new ownership, facing new realities. Part of that transition must now include a new publisher.

We are already in the process of identifying the right person to lead The Times going forward. We expect to name a new publisher by the end of the summer. In the meantime, executive vice president and chief administrative officer Gerry Spector and I will oversee all operations at The Times. Russ Stanton and his team are well underway with their work on the redesign of the paper and that work will, of course, continue at a quick pace.

The Los Angeles Times is a great newspaper with a talented and dedicated staff. Let’s do everything we can to keep it focused on future success.

Randy

Earlier today, Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski resigned:

July 14, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

Last month I wrote to say how much I valued your intelligence, professionalism and creativity and that I knew of no smarter or more inventive newsroom. Yet even in that I did not take your full measure. In recent weeks, faced with the call to reinvent your paper while reducing your ranks, you have shown new levels of commitment to your work and our readers and I could not be more grateful or awed.

For that reason and so many others, it is especially hard to tell you today that I have decided to resign. That decision was difficult and a long time coming and it would be inaccurate to attribute it to any one event. I began my editorship seven months before 9/11 and in the seven years since have become accustomed and even comfortable with editing and managing through crisis and change. But professionally, this position is not the fit it once was. Personally, my family and I believe it is time.

In earlier conversations with Scott Smith, and most recently with Bob Gremillion, I have expressed a desire to consider something new and I am grateful for the deep respect they showed me throughout those discussions. At the same time, there is much to do and your new owners should have their own editor, compatible with their style and goals, so today Bob will name my successor. He inherits a treasure in this newspaper and this staff, and I will count on you to continue to work hard on our readers’ behalf, just as you have done in the years we have been together.

I arrived here as a summer intern and many summers later my heart still skips a beat at the sight of the Tower and all it represents to this great city. Your newspaper is both a joy and a powerful engine for good. The evidence of that is too abundant to recount here, but permit me one recollection from our stewardship. Do you remember the night an innocent man walked out of death row and came to this newsroom to thank you for the journalism that had set him free? Because of you, there are many men at home with their families today who the state would have put to death, yet that is but one of your accomplishments. I can’t tell you how proud you have made me—for those stories, yes, but for the many ways you found to serve our communities, reimagine our portfolio across print and online and keep your heads above the storms. I believe in this newspaper, and know there is no better group to shape its future.

I will be here through Thursday and will look forward to talking with many of you directly. As I take my leave, it is with a fierce affection for you all, even those—and in many ways especially those—who have challenged me most. I will miss you, and not just a little.

Thank you for the honor and privilege of having served alongside you. Take care of our Tribune.

Ann Marie

ShareThis

Web guru Yuri Victor was promoted to online product manager; no word on who (if anyone) is taking over the marketing department.

The official announcement:

From: William Nangle
Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:18:54 -0500
To: MUN NewsroomManagers
Cc: MUN OC , MUN AdManagers

New Challenges

We have made great strides in the Media Center this year in development of content for nwi.com. Building on this trail of success, two personnel reassignments are being made to further enhance our online growth. These include:

Theresa Badovich becomes Managing Editor – New Media. Theresa brings a wealth of news, design and marketing experience to the position. She will lead a team to grow and enhance nwi.com content while working as part of a Lee corporate team shaping the future blend of online and print.

Yuri Victor becomes Online Product Development Manager. Blending programming, news and marketing skills that have set him apart in the online sector, Yuri will zero in on developing new products for nwi.com. He will also serve as liaison between the Media Center and Online Department.

I believe these staffing changes and other anticipated personnel shifts will take our online offering to a new level. Please offer your congratulations and cooperation to Yuri and Theresa as they begin to meet their new challenges.

ShareThis

You can make this map without knowing any code. Really. Here’s how:

1. CREATE A SPREADSHEET.
Go to Google Docs and create a new spreadsheet, or import an existing spreadsheet. You can have a lot or just a little information in the spreadsheet, but you will must have at least three columns: A title for the map points, a description and an address. A column to rank the information is optional.

If you have several cells of information that you want displayed in the map, concatenate them. For example, if you want to combine cells C2 and D2 (with a comma separating them), enter this formula in a new column: =concatenate(C2, ", ", D2) Your concatenated cells can include HTML tags, such as bold, italic or line breaks.

Publish the spreadsheet. (If your spreadsheet includes private information, do not publish it.) After hitting “Publish now,” mark the “automatically republish” box, select “More publishing options,” change the file format to ATOM, select Sheet 1 and copy the URL.

Example: Brewery spreadsheet

2. GEOCODE THE ADDRESSES.
To plot points on a map, you need latitude-longitude coordinates. (If you already have those coordinates, you can skip this step.) You don’t have to look up each one individually: the geocode wizard will find them all at once.

The URL you copied from your spreadsheet will include a key and worksheet ID. Enter them as directed and the geocode wizard will return the latitude and longitude for each address. It will warn you if an address cannot be found. Create two columns in your spreadsheet, and paste the latitude and longitude. (You should be able to copy and paste both columns at once.)

Example: Brewery spreadsheet with lat/lng coordinates

3. MAKE A MAP!
Copy your key and worksheet ID into the map wizard. Identify the fields and adjust the size of your map (you can change it later) and the color for the markers. If you use a rank, those numbers will show up on the map points; otherwise, they’ll be blank. Preview your map and make any changes you want.

Below the map is the JSON code. If you do not already have one, sign up for an API key — that’s what lets you embed the map on your Web site. Copy the code and add your API key.

You can make changes to the spreadsheet, and the map will automatically update. There are several notes in the code (comments are marked by // and /*) if you want to take a peek, figure out how it works and make changes. But save a copy of the original file … just in case.

ShareThis

It’s said that necessity breeds innovation.

During the three-month writer’s strike, Joss Whedon and Co. decided that, if they couldn’t write for others, they’d write for themselves. And produce it. And release it.

They created “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” a 40-minute, three-part super-villian musical-comedy. (Whedon fans are familiar with “Once More, With Feeling,” the musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Fans also know that Whedon doesn’t accept “No”: After “Buffy,” and later its spinoff, “Angel,” were canceled, both series continued as graphic novels.)

The writer’s strike ended in February. Filming for “Dr. Horrible” started in March, the same month the series Web site launched. The trailer showed up June 25. The first episode of “Dr. Horrible” — starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day — debuts July 15. (Part two debuts July 17, part three on July 19.) The entire process — brilliant idea to writing to casting and costumes to filming to effects to editing to marketing and promotion — took less than six months. (Low-budget marketing has embraced social media with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube and an online comic book. Fans are also encouraged to post banners and buttons on their own sites and social network pages.)

But it doesn’t end there. “Dr. Horrible” will be available online — free — until midnight July 20. Then the series will be sold on iTunes and DVD (complete with “extras,” of course, and musical commentaries). The “sold” part will help Whedon and Co. pay the crew and recoup costs. And there’s already talk of a sequel.

Necessity breeds innovation. What are we waiting for?

ShareThis

Twitter’s instability seems to be taking its toll: The number of followers for newspaper account didn’t grow as much this month as they have in the past and some even saw decreases:
• @telegraphsox: -10.71 percent
• @pdvoxpop: -4.46 percent
• @latimesent: -4.13 percent
• @the500: -3.03 percent
• @dispatchalerts: -2.70 percent
• @latimessports: -2.34 percent
• @themeparks: -1.10 percent
• @latimesfires: -1.04 percent
• @latimesworld: -0.87 percent

Of the top five accounts with the greatest increase of followers, the top three belong to the Miami Herald and were started on May 30:
• @mh_cuba: 2,300 percent
• @mh_dolphins: 1,300 percent
• @mh_hurricanes: 1,200 percent
• @mercnews: 330.43 percent
• @travellog: 300 percent

New accounts this month:
• Des Moines Register: @dmr_morain, @juice_joe
• Deseret News: @deseretnews, @desnewssports, @mormontimes
• The Hawk Eye: @thehawkeye
• Knoxville News Sentinel: @michaelsilence
• New York Times: @cityroom
• Northern Virginia Daily: @nvdaily
• Northwest Florida Daily News: @nwfdailynews
• Patriot-News: @pn_sports
• Press Herald: @pressherald
• Rocky Mountain News: @denverdnc
• San Jose Mercury News: @gmsv, @mercbiznews, @mercmostviewed, @mercolympics, @sanjosenews, @svcrime
• St. Petersburg Times: @bizarreflorida
• Tampa Tribune: @tbolive
• Washington Post: @postworldnews

There are several “new to me” accounts — they’re marked according to when I discovered them, and include my new favorite: @statesman. Web editor Robert Quigley actively updates the account throughout the day — no Twitterfeed here, and much more personality than the standard newspaper account.

Accounts that have never updated are marked by an asterisk. BostonNOW stopped publishing in April, but has gained 10 users. The Denver Posts’s Al Lewis announced 10 days ago he was leaving the paper to write a column for Dow Jones Newswires.

I’m tracking 275 accounts (102 more than last month); on average, each account has 146.71 followers.

Note: I have added newspapers to the list as I discover they’re on Twitter. Usually, that’s soon after they join. Sometimes it’s later. Know of a paper using Twitter that isn’t on the list? Tell me about it.

Take a look at numbers from May.

ShareThis

When did you realize you were on a sinking ship?

Looking back, I think it was around 2002. I was a news page designer at The Times of Northwest Indiana and the paper’s higher-ups announced that the folks who came by each week to water and care for the plants would not be coming back. The paper has a large, sun-filled atrium — it used to be full of plants. Many of them ended up going home with employees, and were replaced by silk versions. (Those fake green plants did come in handy for a project a few years later, though.)

But at the time I remember thinking, “We can’t afford to water the plants?”

Since then, of course, I’ve learned that there are a lot of things we can’t afford. (And sometimes I’m surprised by the things that company leaders, somehow, convince themselves they can afford.)

Now newspapers are laying off employees by the dozens — even the hundreds. Journalists at the San Jose Mercury News — which has already taken a couple of big hits from buyouts and layoffs — were callously told today that nine more of them would be laid off. They were given 24 hours to volunteer, or watch as nine of their co-workers were escorted from the building Friday.

The current rate of inflation is 4.18 percent; I know better than to expect a 4 percent raise this year. But the Boston Globe has proposed a 10 percent pay cut to its employees.

There comes a point when you must decide to jump or stay on the ship. Would you volunteer volunteer for a buyout? What about a layoff? Or a 10 percent cut in salary? Take an “extra” unpaid day off each month?

When did you realize you were on a sinking ship? When did you grab a life jacket? When do you jump?

The Pendleton, pictured above, sank in 1952.

ShareThis

The San Jose Mercury News announced on Wednesday afternoon that they will be laying off nine employees. Newsroom leaders said they are looking for volunteers by 5 p.m. Thursday, and employees will be laid off on Friday.

Paper Cuts was updated with news of nearly 500 layoffs/buyouts today. Ugh.

ShareThis