Merging marketing pubs with tech pubs

[Elizabeth Kane <bkane -at- ARTISOFT -dot- COM>]

     I could really use some feedback from you today...my company is on the
     verge of putting tech pubs under marketing, and calling the dept.
     Marketing and Technical Communications.
     And I'm feeling very uncomfortable about this.

     We've always been the Technical Publications Dept., under the wing of
     the Engineering Dept.

     Between attrition and reductions in force, I am now the only person in
     Technical Publications (as senior TW). The marketing dept.'s director
     just resigned, and there are only two people left in that dept. -- a
     webmaster and a marketing assistant. Since I've been helping out
     marketing by providing editing services and some graphics file
     handling, they thought maybe we belong together. They're thinking of
     putting the marketing assistant in charge of this new M/TC dept.,
     which kind of bugs me. She's not a writer; there is no marketing
     writer or graphics person.

     I'm not really interested in writing ads and press releases. Although
     I was in PR at one time, over the past few years I've become really
     attached to the engineering side -- tech writing, usability testing,
     interface design...you get the idea. I am really comfortable being
     part of engineering.

     Can anyone tell me what you did in a similar situation, or what you
     would do when faced with this change?
     In a way it makes sense to have all publications coming from one
     dept., but I'm not an "ad" kind of person.
     I am so totally swamped with tech writing work I have no time for
     marketing stuff anyway...
     Thanks very much,
     Beth Kane
     bkane -at- artisoft -dot- com in Tucson


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