DEAR MISS MANNERS: As part of my job as a news reporter, I spend a great deal of time on the telephone. The conversations I have require a lot of concentration. Often, I have been waiting all day to hear from someone and am up against a strict deadline when he or she finally calls. I must answer when the phone rings.

Many times, other members of the staff tend to congregate in my office and chat -- sometimes including me in the conversation, and other times just gathering and talking near the fax machine, which happens to be in my office. When the phone rings and I begin talking, my co-workers do not decrease the volume of their own conversations (which are not professional in nature) and do not leave the room. I am left stuttering on the phone and unable to focus on what I am hearing.

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