don’t touch the blue ball July 18, 2004
The television station for which I am a producer is owned by the Gannett Corporation. For the past few days I was at Gannett HQ in the D.C. area for meetings. I was eager to see the bldg because I had heard it was simply amazing …and it is. It’s huge and gorgeous in a moderne sort of way. Lots of glass and water and cryptic art installations. It’s on a big “campus” with a pond and walking trails.
Before I left, coworkers who have been there laughingly teased me to not “touch the blue ball” while at Gannett. They wouldn’t tell me exactly what they meant, so I googled “Gannett” and “blue ball” and discovered that this is what they were talking about.
I never saw the blue ball. I think it must be on the executive floor. But I made a point not to touch anything 
I still don’t get how the ball was “damaged”. What was the blue substance in which they wrote? How expensive was it to repair?
It does sound like a case of some muckety-muck getting his knickers in a twist over what seemed like a harmless prank - and possibly an exercise in sexism as well.
On the other hand, one of the first things I learned in my ongoing quest to become a civilized human being is that you don’t touch works of art unless they’re the outdoor-concrete-sculpture kind. Anything inside is off-limits unless you’re specifically invited to touch it.
What was the follow-up? The article you linked to or some other one I read said the women were going to sue. Any outcome to report?
I googled “Gannett” and “blue ball” and found this follow-up. It doesn’t mention whether or not the women sued — they might not have been able to discuss it, since it would probably have been ongoing at the time of the follow-up article, but my guess is that they dropped it in favor or pursuing the discrimination charges they filed with the EEOC. A favorable ruling by the EEOC would result not only in the company being punished, but also monetary compensation for the women, I believe.
I googled “Gannett” and “blue ball” and found this follow-up. It doesn’t mention whether or not the women sued — they might not have been able to discuss any proceedings, since they would probably have been ongoing at the time of the follow-up article, but my guess is that they dropped litigation in favor or pursuing the discrimination charges they filed with the EEOC. A favorable ruling by the EEOC would result not only in the company being punished, but also monetary compensation for the women, I believe.