Bill Doskoch tells the story of his last days at the Regina Leader-Post after Conrad Black became owner. Doskoch was one of 89 employees fired 10 years ago. His description of the inevitable downsizing that Black brought to his latest acquisition confirms all the horror stories I heard about the Leader-Post firings.
Writes Doskoch:
"Walking towards the doors of Salon D, former city editor turned director of information services Al Rosseker was standing beside them. "Wrong place to be, pal," he said, pointing out all the grey heads in the room."
After the bad news:
"After people got their envelopes, they gathered in groups and either cracked bad jokes or held each other for comfort -- or goodbye hugs. Some cried and some looked poleaxed.
"In any event, there wasn't much privacy. The planning geniuses picked a death room with a glass wall, allowing the survivors to crowd it and look in, making us the guppies in a fishbowl of the dead. However, we were the only room that had refreshments! Grape Koolaid would have been a nice touch."
Doskoch is an editor for CTV.ca, and promises more instalments of his experiences being "whacked" three times.
Black has deservedly seen his reputation and empire collapse under the weight of his ego and flexible ethics.
Thanks to Fine Young Journalist for the link.
Tags: HR firing regina conrad+black
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Boy, does this story bring back memories for me. I left the LeaderPost in October, 1995, just before it was sold. Talk about good timing. Thanks for pointing to Bill's story.
Posted by: Dave Traynor | March 07, 2006 at 04:27 PM