How funny was Glenn Close telling everyone within earshot that she offers of other jobs? I especially loved her brief encounter with the late Jason Robards as the publisher, who put her in her place in a hurry.
shareThat sort of situation holds true in ANY business, not just newspapers: If you are upper-level management (such as a publisher) and ANY middle-level manager (such as a managing editor) comes to you and says, "I have other job offers," unless that person is absolutely and utterly indispensable, you have to say, "pursue them if you feel it is the best course for you."
If they ARE truly indispensable and losing them would utterly tank your business, you say "oh my god let's speak privately" and then essentially you give them whatever they want.
If they are not indispensable at all and you believe you could replace them without major disruption to your company, you say, "I wish you well at your new job. I will arrange to have your desk cleared out by noon tomorrow," and see what they think of THAT.
If they are somewhere in between -- not totally and utterly essential for the continued operation of your business but not a throwaway part which could be easily replaced -- by telling them, "pursue these offers if you wish," you are saying, "if you get an actual offer to leave we may make a competitive offer, but we are not going to be bulldozed preemptively into giving you everything you want."
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.