However, about half the editors on the desk fill in at wire and assistant night editor slots, and get layout in that fashion. Weaknesses are headline writing, photo usage and general presentation. ME and AME both did relatively recent stints on the desk. Mid to high 30s. When they are done, it's usually just one day, with a few hours of desk work and a group-interview situation.
Extra pages are okay.
One of my prime complaints is the dumping of more and more high-tech hardware on the copy desk without providing the training for people to deal with it. If the problem is this bad on a paper that's VERY technologically retrograde, I can imagine how bad it could get on papers that have gone into digital solutions much more heavily than the Union-Leader.