Well, I told you fucks that I'd fight it. I fought it, all right, and I won. So fuck all of you. All the charges were dropped against me, after I fought them. I hate to say I told you so, but hey, I told you so. I'm innocent. And now the court of law reflects that as well.
I don't give a shit what all you think of me. I told you I wasn't guilty, and now I have proof. You are all idiots, as were the folks at the Wildcat who got rid of me.
And for the record, just so you know, the advisor and several editors HAVE BEGGED ME TO COME BACK, because the news section is in such disarray. I, of course, declined. I have my own life now, and it feels so good to prove all you fuckers wrong.
Dear anonymous Wildcat staffer who doesn't have the credibility to leave his/her name:
I'm more than happy to address all your points, as they show how hopelessly misinformed you are.
First, I was active the entire semester in asking Alex for more duties, but he insisted on vetoing my duties and in essence turning me into a lame duck managing editor, which was neither my choice nor my fault.
As a result, shortly into the semester, my duties changed and my hours were typically mid morning through about 7 or 8 p.m., so understandably staffers showing up later in the day thought I didn't do much simply because they weren't there earlier in the day when I was.
It's worth noting that Will Ferguson and I pretty much single-handedly held up the news desk the entire semester, writing several stories per week about important issues like the UA Transformation.
Anyway, I often stayed later than my duties laid out (even though I could leave at 7 or 8, I usually stayed until production ended each night around 2 a.m. I did this so I could help out on proofs at the end of the night, which was not part of my duties.
As far as the time Rita and I spent together at my desk, we only hung out when (a)each of our duties for that day were done, or (b)when there was a several-hours lull for each of us. For each of us, this was typically between 7 or 8 p.m and around midnight, because we had to wait for our design staff (Marisa) to get done designing the paper before we could continue our jobs for that night. Usually, this was past deadline, around 2 a.m., because our designer didn't show up until 6 or 7 p.m. each night.
So yes, we hung out at my desk because our duties were done, and we didn't want to waste money and gas driving all the way home, then coming back 5 or 6 hours later.
It's worth noting that such lulls were common for many editors (as you often can't do the rest of your work until someone else finishes their work. This creates a "hurry up and wait" situations for many editors each night).
For example, the sports editor and news editor also had such lulls, although sometimes they would actually go home during this time, which is fine. They would also watch tv or do homework in the office during this time. No one gets pissed at them, for leaving or watching tv or doing homework, but everyone raises holy hell when Rita and I lay down and read a book.
For God's sake, there was no negligence of duties there. Hell, we were both dead-dog tired because unlike most of the staff, we had already been working for 12 hours so far at that point in time of each day.
You know how you can tell I was doing my job? Each and every time Alex gave me the head duties for the night, we made deadline. Every single time. But Alex had trouble making deadline even a handful of times during the course of the entire semester.
But Alex wouldn't let me do these duties often. I wanted to, but Alex vetoed me.
Also, during the 2 week span that I had mono, the newsroom was a wreck. It's funny how you don't miss a person until they're gone.
You want to know how horrible a manager Alex is? Even when he makes a decision, he doesn't. Shortly after forcing me to resign, he admitted he had acted rashly and tried to get me back on staff, practically begging me to come back. Of course, I declined because I have a much better situation here at the Lamp and the WatchCat.
So you obviously weren't around during the day. Does that mean I should say you're a horrible staffer because you were probably sleeping or hanging out at home? Of course not, so don't make judgments because of what I did during my non-duty hours.
Decent story, but it's a shame that John didn't mention any of the quotes or information from the photo editor, who also resigned because of Alex's gross negligences. Also failed to mention in the story is something that everyone on staff knows, and so should the public: That during a Arizona Student Media-funded journalism convention in Austin, Texas, Alex and Marisa skipped their sessions and instead decided to spend that time having sex in a hotel room each day.
Shortly afterward, Alex came to me and the advisor and asked us to kick him out as editor in chief because he said he knew he had been a horrible editor. He then reconsidered.
In fact, it became a running joke how horrible an editor in chief Alex was. He even poked fun at himself regularly. Check this out: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=… - Hilarious, but also sad because it is true.
I find it extremely funny that Woodhams marks this semester as a small blip on the Daily Wildcat screen rather than the giant f***up that it actually was.
Also, here's how the finances really went down, and there is documentation to prove this, which John would have known had he done his homework:
-Managing Editor Shain Bergan - Pay stayed at $50 a day during the entire semester. Nothing was changed with it at any point.
-Design Chief Marisa Fisher - Pay jumped from $40 a day to $50 a day because she was sexually active with Alex. (By the way, while we had assistant editors making $28 a day and section editors making $40 a day working in the newsroom throughout the entire day and night---many 10 or 11 a.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. every single day---Marisa for some reason got $50 a day for showing up at 6 or 7 p.m. every night and staying until 2 or 3 a.m. Fair for the editors who put in much more time and effort than Marisa? I think not. It's sickening.
-Web Director Bryan Roy - His pay WAS NOT RAISED from $40 a day to $45 a day. That is an all-out lie from Alex. His pay was decreased from $50 a day to $45 a day at the same time that Marisa's pay was increased. I'm guessing this is how Alex was able to crunch the numbers to give Marisa a raise.
Yes, I was part of the removal of last spring's editor in chief, Nick Seibel, but no, I was not really an active participant. I wasn't even an editor, so I had no say in the infamous letter of no-confidence that all the editors signed that led to Nick's dismissal. I was a simple news reporter with no editorial decision-making duties.
Oh, and the texts I sent that were "laced with profanity", here's what Alex was talking about. The only text of mine that included profanity: "If you're running my police report, then my statement should damn well be in there too." Not exactly "laced" with profanity. Also, I wrote the statement for publication because that's what Alex told me to do, and he even assured me it would run, but instead ran quotes from it out of context and didn't even include the statement.
Petty? Hell no, it wasn't petty, John. I worked at the Wildcat for 2 and a half years, plus two summers, held an editor position 4 separate semesters and used this job to pay for my rent, food and school, so no, I was not being petty by pointing out the injustice that was done by Alex forcing me to resign.
I suppose not much of this really matters anyway. The paper was already run into the ground from previous semesters. All Alex did was take it down further with an oil drill. The Wildcat was a joke this semester. The whole campus community and the whole staff knew it. I only hope Lance finds a way to return it at least to semi-decency.
In any case, the Desert Lamp is where the actual premium campus coverage comes from. The DW staff even steals stories from them every once in a while. I'm glad as hell to be a part of the Lamp now, where the workers are both professional and excellent at what they do.
In any case, it's sad to see the way things turned out. Alex has been my friend for several years and we had lots of plans of how to return the Wildcat to prominence. Those plans got screwed, though, when Alex decided indecision was the best action all semester, and there was nothing the rest of us editors could do, as Alex just vetoed all of our ideas (he even censored his own executive board during a meeting and told them to "shut the fuck up").
By the way, John, I'm extremely disappointed that you didn't run so many crucial points and that you didn't fact-check very much, because simple documentation would've told you a lot of your story is false.
Recent Comments
I don't give a shit what all you think of me. I told you I wasn't guilty, and now I have proof. You are all idiots, as were the folks at the Wildcat who got rid of me.
And for the record, just so you know, the advisor and several editors HAVE BEGGED ME TO COME BACK, because the news section is in such disarray. I, of course, declined. I have my own life now, and it feels so good to prove all you fuckers wrong.
I'm more than happy to address all your points, as they show how hopelessly misinformed you are.
First, I was active the entire semester in asking Alex for more duties, but he insisted on vetoing my duties and in essence turning me into a lame duck managing editor, which was neither my choice nor my fault.
As a result, shortly into the semester, my duties changed and my hours were typically mid morning through about 7 or 8 p.m., so understandably staffers showing up later in the day thought I didn't do much simply because they weren't there earlier in the day when I was.
It's worth noting that Will Ferguson and I pretty much single-handedly held up the news desk the entire semester, writing several stories per week about important issues like the UA Transformation.
Anyway, I often stayed later than my duties laid out (even though I could leave at 7 or 8, I usually stayed until production ended each night around 2 a.m. I did this so I could help out on proofs at the end of the night, which was not part of my duties.
As far as the time Rita and I spent together at my desk, we only hung out when (a)each of our duties for that day were done, or (b)when there was a several-hours lull for each of us. For each of us, this was typically between 7 or 8 p.m and around midnight, because we had to wait for our design staff (Marisa) to get done designing the paper before we could continue our jobs for that night. Usually, this was past deadline, around 2 a.m., because our designer didn't show up until 6 or 7 p.m. each night.
So yes, we hung out at my desk because our duties were done, and we didn't want to waste money and gas driving all the way home, then coming back 5 or 6 hours later.
It's worth noting that such lulls were common for many editors (as you often can't do the rest of your work until someone else finishes their work. This creates a "hurry up and wait" situations for many editors each night).
For example, the sports editor and news editor also had such lulls, although sometimes they would actually go home during this time, which is fine. They would also watch tv or do homework in the office during this time. No one gets pissed at them, for leaving or watching tv or doing homework, but everyone raises holy hell when Rita and I lay down and read a book.
For God's sake, there was no negligence of duties there. Hell, we were both dead-dog tired because unlike most of the staff, we had already been working for 12 hours so far at that point in time of each day.
You know how you can tell I was doing my job? Each and every time Alex gave me the head duties for the night, we made deadline. Every single time. But Alex had trouble making deadline even a handful of times during the course of the entire semester.
But Alex wouldn't let me do these duties often. I wanted to, but Alex vetoed me.
Also, during the 2 week span that I had mono, the newsroom was a wreck. It's funny how you don't miss a person until they're gone.
You want to know how horrible a manager Alex is? Even when he makes a decision, he doesn't. Shortly after forcing me to resign, he admitted he had acted rashly and tried to get me back on staff, practically begging me to come back. Of course, I declined because I have a much better situation here at the Lamp and the WatchCat.
So you obviously weren't around during the day. Does that mean I should say you're a horrible staffer because you were probably sleeping or hanging out at home? Of course not, so don't make judgments because of what I did during my non-duty hours.
Shortly afterward, Alex came to me and the advisor and asked us to kick him out as editor in chief because he said he knew he had been a horrible editor. He then reconsidered.
In fact, it became a running joke how horrible an editor in chief Alex was. He even poked fun at himself regularly. Check this out: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=… - Hilarious, but also sad because it is true.
I find it extremely funny that Woodhams marks this semester as a small blip on the Daily Wildcat screen rather than the giant f***up that it actually was.
Also, here's how the finances really went down, and there is documentation to prove this, which John would have known had he done his homework:
-Managing Editor Shain Bergan - Pay stayed at $50 a day during the entire semester. Nothing was changed with it at any point.
-Design Chief Marisa Fisher - Pay jumped from $40 a day to $50 a day because she was sexually active with Alex. (By the way, while we had assistant editors making $28 a day and section editors making $40 a day working in the newsroom throughout the entire day and night---many 10 or 11 a.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. every single day---Marisa for some reason got $50 a day for showing up at 6 or 7 p.m. every night and staying until 2 or 3 a.m. Fair for the editors who put in much more time and effort than Marisa? I think not. It's sickening.
-Web Director Bryan Roy - His pay WAS NOT RAISED from $40 a day to $45 a day. That is an all-out lie from Alex. His pay was decreased from $50 a day to $45 a day at the same time that Marisa's pay was increased. I'm guessing this is how Alex was able to crunch the numbers to give Marisa a raise.
Yes, I was part of the removal of last spring's editor in chief, Nick Seibel, but no, I was not really an active participant. I wasn't even an editor, so I had no say in the infamous letter of no-confidence that all the editors signed that led to Nick's dismissal. I was a simple news reporter with no editorial decision-making duties.
Oh, and the texts I sent that were "laced with profanity", here's what Alex was talking about. The only text of mine that included profanity: "If you're running my police report, then my statement should damn well be in there too." Not exactly "laced" with profanity. Also, I wrote the statement for publication because that's what Alex told me to do, and he even assured me it would run, but instead ran quotes from it out of context and didn't even include the statement.
Petty? Hell no, it wasn't petty, John. I worked at the Wildcat for 2 and a half years, plus two summers, held an editor position 4 separate semesters and used this job to pay for my rent, food and school, so no, I was not being petty by pointing out the injustice that was done by Alex forcing me to resign.
I suppose not much of this really matters anyway. The paper was already run into the ground from previous semesters. All Alex did was take it down further with an oil drill. The Wildcat was a joke this semester. The whole campus community and the whole staff knew it. I only hope Lance finds a way to return it at least to semi-decency.
In any case, the Desert Lamp is where the actual premium campus coverage comes from. The DW staff even steals stories from them every once in a while. I'm glad as hell to be a part of the Lamp now, where the workers are both professional and excellent at what they do.
In any case, it's sad to see the way things turned out. Alex has been my friend for several years and we had lots of plans of how to return the Wildcat to prominence. Those plans got screwed, though, when Alex decided indecision was the best action all semester, and there was nothing the rest of us editors could do, as Alex just vetoed all of our ideas (he even censored his own executive board during a meeting and told them to "shut the fuck up").
By the way, John, I'm extremely disappointed that you didn't run so many crucial points and that you didn't fact-check very much, because simple documentation would've told you a lot of your story is false.
Shain Bergan
Editor
thewatchcat.org
Contributor
desertlamp.com
watchcatnews@gmail.com