Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday | Nov. 25 | Got news, or a question?
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117 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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Beat ya Jim...
ReplyDeleteIn my lead-off comment yesterday morning, I asked everyone to say something nice to a co-worker during the day. One reader had an even better idea: he/she wrote a really nice comment here, praising someone.
ReplyDeleteSo! At least until this string gets overrun with some other subject, could someone please write a nice comment about one of their co-workers? (Please?)
Thank you! You are a very nice person to have relieved me of that burden.
ReplyDeleteNo thank YOU jim for what you do here. I'd like to challenge everyone that is sitting by the wayside and not donating to GannettBlog. I'm one of those people that has said, why should I do that. He'll never know. No, he won't. No one will. But maybe, just maybe if each of us that thinks "Someone else will do it" would give 5 bucks then it will make a difference. I know we're not getting the answers we want to hear as quick as we'd like to, but that's not Jim's fault. I can't imagine what it would be without this website even with all the immature and stupid comments. I just ignore them now and move on. So let's get those donations rolling in. 5 bucks people. Come on.
ReplyDeleteSo that's my nice thing to say about someone today.
I don't work at Gannett, but I find the discussions interesting. I urge all of you to do two things:
ReplyDelete1. Send Jim at least $5
and
2. Organize. Contact the Guild or the Teamsters. Unite and stand up for yourselves. Speak with one voice and fight for yourself and your colleagues and all of your families.
Otherwise, there'll be pie in the sky when you die.
Jim & 11:48
ReplyDeleteDid something nice a minute ago, I donated $10 to the blog. Keep up the good work and information sharing. One more week till Black Tuesday. Paint It Black - 12/02!
Peace
-Sleepless in NJ
Wow! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDo a survey to find out how many people will be wearing black on 12/2 please. I am very curious where people are on that.
ReplyDeleteYea, I am scared that I will show up in black and be the only one. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteOne question from a non-financial person. We talk a lot about declining revenues, and we can all see that's true. But isn't this company still profitable? As in, revenues exceed expenses, even if they don't do so as much as they used to? Can a company go bankrupt on a stock crash alone, even if gross revenues still exceed gross expenses? I'm sure it's more complex than that, but I'd be happy to see an explanation.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you need to remember is the extreme drop in revenues. This is a bad trend alone. Then you put that against an economy that has businesses spending less on advertising. Usually advertising budgets are a function of sales. So, as the economy slows so do sales. Then by default, their ad budgets go down as well. Then you have to look at the fact that while they are spending less on ads due to lower ad budgets, there are also many more channels to spend those fewer dollars on ads. Now, you also need to look at the fact that our credit rating was downgraded. This raises the cost of the dept that we have.
ReplyDeleteBut yes we are still turning a profit, but we are facing tough times. After dec 12 our stock should drop again. That’s the date that you have to own shares to get the dividend.
1:00 I agree we should do some survey to see how many people are going to be wearing black.
ReplyDeleteI always wear black -like Johnny Cash, no one will notice
ReplyDeleteJim. the $20 I promised you is on the way.
ReplyDeleteHey Detroit,
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell us who those people were being led around to different secret meetings yesterday? Everyone in the know was all dressed up too. Are we expecting something big sometime soon?
Jim and all the other negative people on this blog,
ReplyDelete1. Jim's blog won't make it through January 2009 and many people are happy about that.
2. Unions do not work (live case study is the automotive industry). Unions hurt companies.
3. Wearing black on tuesday is sophmoric.
Finally, you spend way too much time being negative on this blog. My three points above are all negative in some way. This blog breeds negativity.
Has anyone really looked at the challenges this industry faces in an economy like this?
Don't you think the management team is doing all that it can to make this company better? Do you actually think people on or off this blog want gannett to fail?
Jim, this blog would be useful to many more (in fact, the majority of gannett employees) if you actually did some real reporting and offered two-sides to a story.
You will not make it financially, because most of the bitter people on this blog will be laid off and your audience will dwindle.
No one cares about Gannett after they leave.
Start doing some real journalism on this blog Jim if you want to keep YOUR job as a blog owner!
I disagree 6:34. Jim is doing a very self-less thing for all of us. Most of my co-workers check this blog because we are so isolated from what is going on - even in our own building, much less the rest of the company.
ReplyDeleteI sent Jim my contribution the second week of his fund drive because I really believe in what he is trying to do here.
Carry on Jim! Next week should be a busy one for you - I am very sorry to say.
Please be kind to a coworker that needs it!!
I don't believe local newspapers will die. But I do believe big, fat newspaper corporations that leeched off communities for generations will finally die. In recent years, they never fostered innovation, only impossible-to-read rate cards that increased ever-growing fatter bottom lines or that maintained the status quo of the business model. In the long run, is it a bad thing (other than lost jobs) that GM should die after self-serving, greedy and ultimately poor business decisions? Is it a bad thing that "too big to die" financial corporations should also go bankrupt for their greedy, self-serving, ultimately piss-poor financial decisions? In the meantime, Gannett is trying to catch up to the realization and reinvent itself as a digital company. And community newspaper publishing is taking it in the shorts. And Gannett is doing it - much like the development of USA Today - on the backs of the community newspapers that are still turning 20% profits every month. PointRoll isn't for the communities or their newspapers. Ripple6 isn't for the communities or their newspapers. They are for a new digital company. I don't support the fat'n happy business model that newspaper corporations have become over several generations. And I may lose my job. But good riddance to that old, dying model that promoted greed and fostered arrogance.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Jim has proven that crowdsourcing works, to a point.
ReplyDeleteWe are providing the memos, the meeting minutes, the scoops on the subject we want to read about.
Jim picks the wheat from the chaff and highlights the important, the novel... basically, what's the 'news'.
When necessary, we also provide analysis, or Jim finds a historical perspective.
Where we tend to have a problem is purely the nature of the story we are covering. We are limited in getting answers, or even 'no comments', from the leadership because we are serving a readership management does not have to speak to outside normal methods.
At another time in its lifecycle, this blog will go back to questions about 'how my new publisher was to work for at her old location', discussions of which sites are the worst to work at, shout outs to innovative reporting.
Right now, we (as the readership) need a place to speak our fears, mine for information, share rumors. This is it, because this is all we have.
We've turned the blog into what we want it to be. Jim is responding to the market - and trying to make him a positive Pollyanna just so we aren't depressed about the current situation would be ridiculous.
Besides, Jim would look a little odd with pigtails.
6:34 AM
ReplyDeleteSpelling sophomoric wrong is just plain....um, never mind.
Well put, 7:34.
ReplyDeleteI've learned more about Gannett from this site than I've learned from my publisher, all of Craig's worthless emails and Google News Alerts combined.
I will be wearing black on 12/2. I'm not going to be over the top and emo about it, but I will be in mourning for my company and my coworkers.
6:34 AM
ReplyDeleteIf you attended public schools, chances are your teachers had union protections. If union protected workers are so terrible, why do millions of parents hand over their children every day to teachers?
Gannett workers need the union now more than ever, I think.
One thing to remember:
ReplyDeleteThere will be no government bailout for Gannett.
I know people are concerned about the upcoming layoffs, but to me here in the good old NJ group, it is all mind boggling. The "worried" people never seemed to mind coming in to work late - in fact, despite the layoffs, they are still coming in late. Our parking lot, at 9:30am, is almost always empty. Likewise, the office empties out at 5pm. Under no circumstances is that a full work day.
ReplyDeleteLong lunches, doctor appointments scheduled during work hours, and general bullshitting during the day is the norm.
The truth is, I don't want to hear about last night's tv shows, if I wanted to I would have watched them myself. I don't want to hear about your neighbor's party or what is going on with your husband and your kids. Keep it to yourself.
Turn your blasted cell phone off - the entire office knows all of your business.
If it sounds like I am tired, I am.
We are in the fight of our lives, and some people just don't get it.
7:34
ReplyDeleteYes, crowdsourcing works to a point. But something you didn't point out. Who foots the bill for the Web site on which all the crowdsourced stories get posted? Sooner or later, without bucks, it will die - as will ALL Web pages without finances to keep themselves afloat. And (newsflash people) many of those sites are run by newspapers. Bottom line is, eventually that free news on the Web everyone demands will die. SOMEBODY has to foot the bill.
8:25 AM: "f you attended public schools, chances are your teachers had union protections. If union protected workers are so terrible, why do millions of parents hand over their children every day to teachers?"
ReplyDeleteUh, because they don't have any choice unless they pay for private-school tuition over and above the local taxes they are probably paying already to finance the public school system. Teachers' unions are a flagrant example of what is wrong with public education in America. The last thing we need is more of the same, here at GCI.
Look, it would be great if Gannett handled these cuts in a more humane way. It would also be great if I won the lottery. But neither is likely. If you don't like your job or don't want to live with the uncertainty that comes from working in a less-than-essential occupation, go work somewhere else or choose a new career.
Gannett is, unfortunately, no different than 90% of the rest of U.S. business: executive compensation with no tie to market performance, myopic focus on short-term earnings, and a view of workers as disposable assets. If you really think you can do better, put together a business plan, shop it around, and take the company private.
But for Christ's sake, can we quit all the bitching? It's only worsening the situation.
Just donated $10, having been a 'free' reader on here for a while. I work for Newsquest, Gannett's UK arm and this blog is invaluable in finding out up-to-date information on our parent company. I know it'll be little consolation, but the barbaric cuts are happening here too. It's just been announced that one in six journalism jobs is going at the Northern Echo, Newsquest/Gannett's biggest paper in the north of England. A promised annual payrise, due to come in in January, has also been withdrawn at several papers apparently.
ReplyDeleteTo the person earlier who said unions didn't work... I don't know enough about the situation in the States to argue about it there, but certainly here in the UK the NUJ is the only organisation that has protected journalists and journalism as the big owners have slashed jobs and pay.
I agree with the person at 7.32am - local papers will survive, but only if they became truly accountable to their local community. We need local papers back in local ownership, so decisions are made on what's best for the community, not for shareholders and executives living another state, country, continent or planet.
It saddens me to see, even amid layoffs, several people piddling over the time others arrive at and leave the office. Assuming we're talking about newsrooms, that mindset is part of what led us to this point.
ReplyDeleteSolid journalism does not clock in or clock out. It is efficient to the extent that it needs to be, and those who do not meet deadlines find their way to the door.
Assuming we're talking about newsrooms, it doesn't matter how many cars you see in your parking lot. Frankly, I wish fewer people had to report to the office -- that would mean they were reporting in the field, which used to be fairly common, don't you know.
Besides, I can't fault anyone for counting hours after seeing their editors, and even their executive editor, floating in and out of the office, purpose unannounced, heading to unnecessary events for purely social reasons.
Look at the office of your executive editor, and those of the people down the line. For one week, at regular intervals, look, and write down whether their light is on, their door open, their seat occupied.
Then bitch about the people who actually put together the paper, who make a quarter of his or her salary.
For those who spit on unions, try to think for yourselves. Don't assume your stereotypes about unions carry over to all unions. Such organizations begin because of situations in which employees have no control, no knowledge, no say. This is one such situation.
Just because workplace troubles aren't life-threatening doesn't mean they shouldn't be fixed.
8:30am said: "We are in the fight of our lives, and some people just don't get it."
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
Without work, all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless, life stifles and dies.
ReplyDelete--Albert Camus
Just seemed appropriate
"It saddens me to see, even amid layoffs, several people piddling over the time others arrive at and leave the office."
ReplyDeleteWhat's even sadder is the fact that there are managers who will not stand up and say "That reporter is out getting the news. News doesn't happen in the newsroom. It would do you some good to quit watching the clock and do the same."
Lowlights of Monday's USAT layoff meeting:
ReplyDelete- Ken and HR's inability or lack of willingness to answer a question about whether volunteers for layoffs would be eligible for unemployment benefits. Not only did they not have an answer but they failed to understand the importance of that issue. On one hand Ken was practically pleading for volunteers but on the other hand a question central to providing incentive for volunteering almost seemed like an annoyance. HR was particularly cold and lawyerly.
- Ken started the meeting by saying the meeting would go as long as it needed to be, but then promptly cut off the meeting while two other people had their hands up wanting to ask questions. Did anyone happen to notice how late he and the MEs stayed to answer questions after the meeting, as they said they would?
- We found out that the international edition loses $2 million a year, yet shutting it down was never considered as an option for saving a few jobs. What else wasn't considered. If every job is so valuable, as Ken stated, why wasn't more done to save those jobs?
- Ken said he/they went over everything during this process over the last few weeks. Asked lots of questions and looked at every angle in terms of trying to ease these layoffs or at least present what's going to happen in a thoughtful manner. Yet several times during the meeting he admitted to having not thought of something raised by one of the staffers. So there was a lot of "we thought of everything" followed by "we didn't think of that." The people at the top rarely have all the answers, but more importantly, they don't seem to have all the questions either.
- We learned that the people at the very top, above Ken, are about as cold as they come. According to Ken, this isn't about dollars so much as it is about number of positions/names. It's 20 positions/name, period. Doesn't matter what current positions are unfilled. The people at the top want names, regardless of how much money the cuts would save or what the salaries of those people are. You can speculate for yourself why that is.
- The meeting wasn't confrontational, yet did anyone else notice how many security people were stationed outside the auditorium?
- Ken made it clear that this was going to be an elimination of jobs that the managing editors felt they could do without. Yet I suspect that this is going to be a cutting of jobs of the least popular people. If there isn't any questioning or oversight from the top of who the MEs chop, some proven logic and reasoning, then they could make some decisions that lean more towards personal than professional. We could lose important jobs done by decent people just because they fell out of favor with their editor at some point. I hope that doesn't happen, but it could without oversight and without these editors having to explain to Ken or John why these folks were chosen for layoffs.
- Does anyone believe online isn't exempt? Ken claimed all jobs are in play, unlike last year when online was exempt.
In all, it was a fairly depressing day. It struck me odd that Ken said this was one of the most difficult things he's ever had to do, yet he seemed somewhat light during the meeting. Not like man carry a heavy burden or someone who was bruised and bloodied from fighting the good fight to defend us. Ditto on the managing editors. Nothing in their body language or words that seemed all that worried.
We'll know by the end of next week whose lives are going to be disrupted in a profound way because someone at the top felt USAT needed sacrifice bodies like the smaller papers have even though USAT still makes a ton of money. This is a perception thing more than a dollars thing. There is no longer any prestige or sense of accomplishment, let alone security, working at the flagship. I can recall a day when folks came from the smaller Gannett papers feeling proud to have made it to USAT. Those days are over.
Ken and others like to use the economy to lessen the sting. But there is a big difference between USA TODAY and Citigroup or GM. We are profitable. They aren't. That fact rarely seems to be mentioned in these gloom and doom meetings. This isn't just about the economy.
9:39: Fantastic recap.
ReplyDelete6:34, I am no longer with Gannett but I still care about the company - in some odd 'stockholm syndrome' kind of way, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteAmen to 6:34. There are several aspects of this blog that reflect poorly not on Gannett management, but those of us who work there:
ReplyDelete- The fact that the discussion takes place in a vacuum, as if none of these problems exist elsewhere in the industry.
- The ugly scapegoating of "online" staffers, many of whom are putting in tons of hours at unusual hours for far less pay, and most of whom are well aware they'll never have the family-supporting salaries that their "print" peers have, even though many of them are well-educated and dedicated.
I understand the notion of crowdsourcing to shed some light on what's hidden, but I generally (this week is an exception) refuse to give this hateful, whining blog the traffic. Maybe if I'm laid off, I'll start my own blog and encourage the same info-sharing on a site that doesn't turn current Gannett employees against each other.
But Jim, I will say something nice about my co-workers. Most of them know their subjects very well, and they're real pros at their jobs. What you're doing here hurts them and enables the people who just want to find scapegoats for losing interest in their jobs as they're going to be defined in the 21st century.
The person commenting about the time issue was more than likely referring to advertising folks.
ReplyDeleteFor All The Paint It Black ?'s:
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be dripping in black, just wear something black. Perhaps a shirt or blouse, sweater, or pants. Something, that's all.
Peace
- Sleepless in NJ
Do the math. International edition is losing up to $2 million a year, according to Paulson at Monday's meeting. USAT wants to lay off 20 people. If every one of those people made $100,000 a year, which is highly unlikely, that equals $2 million. Clearly, it's true. USAT wants bodies gone. The layoffs obviously aren't only a cost-saving measure.
ReplyDeleteThere were way too many jokes from Paulson at the meeting. Of course, he doesn't have to worry about being laid off.
BTW, Paul Weissman (not sure if there's one "s" or two) is moving from the Hong Kong bureau to the London bureau, according to Paulson. Guess that's one more person who's not being laid off.
Some good comments about yesterday's USAT newsroom meeting in the item titled "Meeting notes" posted a few items below.
ReplyDeleteNegativity breeds negativity.
ReplyDeleteThis blog owes its existence to the people who have nothing but negative things to say about a company that has given you the opportunity to put food on your table.
All this negativity drags down the good people who believe it is their responsibility to give their best to their employer.
The Gannett news properties would be better served if all the malcontents and slackers who post 99 percent of the comments on this blog were to be forced to find another job where they could find something else to bitch about.
Let those who are trying to do a good job operate in a more positive climate.
If you have an ounce of appreciation for the honor of the industry or the face you have a paycheck, STFU and try to add to a positive climate.
I am not nominating Gannett or its corporate executives for sainthood, but as long as they continue to provide me with a chance to work in the industry I love and provide me with a paycheck, I will strive to do my best.
We all should.
Otherwise, move on!
The USAT meeting was too cavalier for my tastes. The fact that the international edition is losing $2 million a year added insult to injury. It was disturbing not hearing enough specifics about why these 20 jobs are being lost. C'mon, you can't blame the economy, bad as it is, when your main product (the newspaper) is bringing in loads of money and you admit you will be hiring more people in 2009. Wonder if those will hires will be web site people? Hmmmm... And can we please do away with the HR department?
ReplyDelete10:27 AM
ReplyDeleteWhy are you here if it's interferring with your productivity?
10:27. Wow, simply a stunning perspective. Now take the chip out of the base of your skull and try to see things as they truly are. Most people aren't negative just for the sake of being negative. We all would like to live in a more perfect world. Negativity arises when wrongs are committed over and over again. I suggest you "move on" if you can't deal with some of the comments on this blog that address those injustices. In fact, with your perspective, why would you even bother coming to this blog?
ReplyDeleteNext shoe to drop?
ReplyDeleteSaw an article that cites Gartner is calling for a drop next year in cell phone sales by 4 percent.
"Cellphone sales are set to fall up to 4 percent in 2009 from this year as the economic slowdown hurts consumer demand across the world, research company Gartner said on Tuesday." http://www.cnbc.com/id/27904548
At first, no biggie, but then it hit me that this is a considerable threat to the already fragile display advertising base our papers have left, that from wireless carriers. Today's newspapers are dominated by ads for cell phones and wireless carriers; telco has replaced, in many cases, department stores, automotive, real estate, etc as the predominant advertising category in our papers.
So, a modest drop in cell phone sales could be significant in blowing out any semblence of bulk on our display ad pages.
6:34 am writes: "Jim's blog won't make it through January 2009 and many people are happy about that." And: "No one cares about Gannett after they leave."
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to make predictions like this when you're posting anonymously, since there's no way to be held accountable when you're proven wrong. In any case, unless I'm run over by a bus full of Sarah Palin female impersonators with turkey feathers in their hair (I DO live in San Francisco after all) Gannett Blog is going to be around well past January 2009.
As to the second point: dead wrong. Check out the ongoing "Where do you work" survey in the blue sidebar, to your right. Of the 2,323 readers who have taken it so far, 27% say they are ex-Gannettoids.
I'm not surprised. There are thousands and thousands of folks out there who have devoted their careers to Gannett. Even though they've left in retirement, buyouts or layoffs, their concern for the company and its employees remains very, very strong.
6:34
ReplyDeleteHasn't Jim contacted Tara Connell(I think that's the flak's name) for corporate's version of the story???
I think corporate, the other side, is not returning phone calls. So much for information from the information company.
Hey, coworkers that sit around me in my department. YOU GUYS RULE. Sure, we all have some issues, but you're always there to help out, listen, crack a joke, share some treats, cover each other's butts. It's been a pleasure to work with each and every one of you.
ReplyDeleteBut Jim, they have a funny way of showing it. So do you.
ReplyDelete10:27 here again.
ReplyDeleteA. I visit the blog on MY OWN TIME, never on company time.
B. To quote Jim about Neuharth, it's a lot like watching a train wreck.
C. I want a heads up on the latest BS that will be circulating around the office.
10:27 am: LOL. In my lead-off comment this morning, I wrote: "At least until this string gets overrun with some other subject, could someone please write a nice comment about one of their co-workers? (Please?)"
ReplyDeleteSo, how did you respond? "This blog owes its existence to the people who have nothing but negative things to say about a company that has given you the opportunity to put food on your table." You then tell anyone disagreeing with you to "shut the fuck up.''
Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Here's my shout out to my coworkers.
ReplyDeleteGMTI, this one's for you. I know you're hobbled by small staffing, crummy products and backward-thinking higher ups. But everytime I call or write, I get an answer. It may not be what I want to hear and it might take a while but you come through. And you're always professional and always pleasant to deal with. I don't know how you do it.
Thank you for all you do.
To all my Gannett friends/co-workers: Wishing each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. Whether you are still employed or not we each have a lot to be thankful for. I was one of the many laid off. But I still have much to be thankful for- my family, my friends, my ex-coworkers, and my health. So no matter what happens next week, I wish each of you a happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family and friends, eat lots of turkey. And know that there are many of us who are thinking about you and wishing you the best.
ReplyDelete10:37--Your analysis of cell phone sales declines next year is just another in a seemingly endless symptom of a huge drop in the economy. I'm in New Jersey. I've lived next to a church in a small city for over 20 years.
ReplyDeleteYesterday when I got home at 2PM (I work nights) I saw over a hundred people in line for food. I've never seen that many people before, even during holidays. And the peopel kept coming until 5 PM.
In the past, the people were mostly hard luck looking individuals, yesterday they were families with good clothes & relatively good cars (2-6 years old). It was a very disconcerting site.
I wonder if I'll be on one of those food lines next year.
In our shop we are not experiencing the morale problems or the poisoned relationship between employees and management that seems to reflect the reports from other papers posted on this blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are facing the same cutbacks and there is some anxiety but there is a critical difference.
We are a union shop. With our seniority clause employees know who is vulnerable to layoff and who isn't. Management cannot wield the fickle finger of fate to pick and chose who is naughty and nice.
There is also a respectful relationship between the employees and management honed by years of working out our differences through the grievance process.
And maybe we have a more enlightened management corps, because in the last round of layoffs, they went to great lengths to protect the newsroom.
Unions work.
12:02 - But how is that fair to your younger (dues-paying) workers that they more vulnerable to layoffs than an older member who might not have the same skillset? The fact that someone's been at the company longer doesn't necessarily make them the better candidate to keep, but your union ensures that they'll remain.
ReplyDeleteHi. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I'll bite. I'd like to send a shout-out to all my former cube-mates in the Life department at USAT. I miss you (well, most of you anyway). You're not just my colleagues, but many of you are dear friends as well.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!
I am also a member of a bargaining unit. Over the years,we too have had a good working relationship the management at our place. I am one of the people looking at the buyout.I really don't want to leave,I really enjoy what I do.Our contract says that in case of layoffs , seniority would be the determining factor.I guess my question would have to be, Did Gannett honor the contract or did they try to get around it.There are always rumors, I'm looking for facts.
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of Jim's request, and the season, I want to say thank you to the many, many great journalists I was privileged to work with during my recently ended tenure with GCI.
ReplyDeleteI worked at a number of community papers, in the newsrooms, both as editor and reporter. I can't count the times that those newsrooms felt like Pork Chop Hill because too few people were stretched to the limit while fending off abuse from above as they struggled to get decent newspapers on the street. I admit there were too many days when we didn't deliver what we promised.
But in every single case, when the big story broke, I saw everyone -- stars, wallflowers, malcontents, journeymen and prima donnas -- rise up and hammer the job like shock troops.
It was thrilling, it was inspiring, it was almost miraculous to see quality journalism wrested out of what was often near-chaos. Whatever it took, it was done, and done well.
Those are the days that defined journalism for me and made it an addictive occupation, no matter how crummy circumstances became. Those are the days I will miss the most, and I am profoundly grateful to all the people who showed me what pros can do when asked to do the impossible.
I wish there were more news to read here. Has anyone seen any hints of how or when exactly the news will come or how many people will be affected at their papers?
ReplyDeleteNo memos left on printers anywhere accidentally?
If you fear identification by IP address -- even your home IP address, which seems unlikely -- do us peons a BIG favor and go to your local library. Come onto the blog and spill the beans!
As a manager, this would be a genuine service to the people who you lead.
So all managers: Please stop on the way home from work today at the Apple store, the library or anywhere else you can get free internet access that's anonymous. Let us know what's up!
Copy editors, thanks for all of the hard work you do.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all the employees in Gannett -- journalists, sales people, pre-press, marketing, press room, classified, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe failures of corporate management are in no way a reflection of your hard work.
Best wishes for the holiday season!
7:32 I agree completely. I think the mega-chains are going away... maybe they will come back in better times, but for now ..going. I think small-town papers will survive -- residents want their courthouse watched, an eye kept on police and what to know about discounts at the local restaurants. But big chains? No. I think even the weeklies will do OK. Radio and TV can do what small papers do, but not as well, we know that. If I had the money to invest, I'd start a weekly in my city, with a real Web site that's updated with news, not fluff.
ReplyDeleteIs Neuharth's retirement perk safe? Newseum cuts staff, reports sharp drop in endowment value:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/24/AR2008112402482.html
But weekly readers want that fluff, believe me.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you cover the "real" news with a bit of wit, you may be successful.
Did everyone see the Simpsons episode where Lisa gets a TV news show? The ultraserious "library fees went up five cents this week" approach won't cut it.
To get back to USAT -- the entertainment coverage (which USAT does with far higher standards than anyone else) is probably saving a few jobs across the board.
Scripps is still getting 50 percent gross profits on its investments, so there is one chain not going anywhere but up. Where management of Scripps differs from GCI is that the execs don't rip off massively extravagant salaries. Who does Dubow think he is taking a $4 million salary? His house is only valued at $2 million, so it is not to make the mortgage. WIth a corporate jet, he doesn't need much money for vacations. It is just that Dubow wanted to rub shoulders with the likes of those who run New York banks. We see what happened to the banks.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow employees. Enjoy the holiday and try not to think about 12/2. I will definitely be toasting my friends at the CP Cherry Hill and Jackson. I hope everyone by now is aware of what is coming. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteJim
ReplyDeleteAre we getting one week or two for
each year.
6:34, I'm an ex-Gannettoid and I am here almost daily to see what is happening to a lot of good friends I left behind and good friends I have throughout the industry.
ReplyDelete10:27, You're missing one BIG, BIG point that's staring you right in the face: Gannett is taking away that paycheck for a lot of people and a lot of them -- contrary to popular belief -- are people who have busted their asses for this company for years. I have very close friends at the paper I left, and I watch them trying to cope with this while still caring about the product they put out, because, believe it or not, they do give a damn. Why? Because it's THEIR NAMES on the product for the community to see. When people bitch about the paper, they don't call up and say, "Boy, that crappy Gannett," they call up the reporter or photographer whose name is attached to said item. Because I still live and work in the community covered by the paper I left -- and because my name and face are well-known -- I STILL get a lot of comments about the paper. Some of my loyal readers don't quite get the fact that I'm no longer there, so even though I'm a year removed from there, I am at times the place they go with complaints.
Gannett is taking away paychecks and DESTROYING the industry that I love dearly. If you can't stand the bitching, don't come here. People have a right to be angry when their lives are being destroyed, a fact you are conveniently ignoring.
1:42 pm: Employees laid off in the current round get one week for every year of service, with a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 26 weeks.
ReplyDeleteA shout-out to the NJ group sports folks: Miss ya, pals. The comraderie was awesome.
ReplyDelete1:43 -- Yes, and the pride in our product is one reason why many of us still in the buildings don't like this blog. There are valid criticisms to make of Gannett and ridiculous criticisms (they're investing in online journalism? The horror!!), and this blog makes far too many of the latter, making us all look rather stupid. Probably won't help us on the job market.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in the job market with Gannett on your resume, maybe you should lie a little and just say you have been freelancing for a while.
ReplyDelete6:34 a.m., I can honestly say that I want Gannett to fail. I find it disturbing to see what the corporation did to my hometown newspaper. All the blogs, videos and mommy networking groups in the world won't save it. Too much damage has been done.
ReplyDeleteJim -- You are aware that self-selecting online surveys are statistically meaningless, right?
ReplyDeleteYes and no, 4:03 pm. The "where do you work" survey results I referenced are 100% statistically meaningful for that sample of more than 2,000 respondents. You are correct, however, that the results can't be applied to another population.
ReplyDeleteI want to recognize my former colleagues at the Mississippi papers. These people who actually do the day to day work at these papers are hardworking, dedicated, and passionate about not only their papers but their communities. While their management might not share their dedication to the product as much as they are motivated by the bottom line, there are also some members of the management who believe in the product as well.
ReplyDeleteWhile I might have had the foresight to leap before being pushed (there is life after GCI), not a day goes by that I don't think of my friends and colleagues for whom I still have the utmost respect.
So yes Jim, former Gannettoids do read your blog.......
My colleagues are the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human beings I've ever known in my life. Now, can get them working on journalism as energetically as they're working on -- all these things people in Gannett do, reports and meetings and memos and strategic plans?
ReplyDeleteSlight confusion here, sorry if I missed the explanation.
ReplyDeleteIs 12/2 the day or is it 12/3, which was the original day announced?
1:26, Dubow has a very nice vacation home in the mountains of North Carolina, not far from Asheville!
ReplyDeleteKrista Mueller to the rescue !!!
ReplyDelete4:45 pm: I believe most of the layoffs are to be announced on Dec. 3. By "announced,'' I mean managers will notify individual employees that they're being laid off. Then, publishers will likely put out memos to staff, saying that X number of their co-workers have been laid off; those memos won't identify the workers laid off, however.
ReplyDeleteLarry St.Cyr to the rescue!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you think the layoffs will start and finish Dec. 3? And why can't the company make that clear to us? I had a co-worker come in this Monday thinking it would happen then. This is adding undue stress.
ReplyDeleteI have never been known as the sentimental dude giving everyone the "warm fuzzies" in the NJ Group, but they all know that I am not the feared bastard either! To see so many of our people with tears in their eyes and lumps in their throats has been the most miserable experience of my life. As the deadline approaches it is becoming worse, but I have never seen so many people supportive of each other! These are the memories I will carry to my grave, and even Gannett doesn't have the power to kill the love!!!
ReplyDeleteA shout-out to some excellent people in Wilmington (Del.) - though they're not physically in Wilmington any more. The already-small universal desk has done a fantastic job this year coping with a ton of copy and utterly unrealistic deadlines. They've caught more errors than I could count. The newspaper needs them all.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to ask for that list of laid off workers by position and age, if you're 40 and older. How will anyone know for sure if the company targeted or discriminated against older workers, a protected class, if you don't get the list they're supposed to provide.
ReplyDeleteJim -- So you're saying the poll is accurate for those who decided to take the poll?
ReplyDeleteEven THAT might not be true. Some people might identify themselves as ex-Gannett just to mess with you or in a misguided attempt to throw off the trail of anyone who might be snooping.
That's admittedly nit-picking -- the poll is probably 99% accurate (0.5% errors, 0.5% hitting the wrong button for whatever reason) for the people who decided to vote.
But I'm sure you have some readers who decided not to vote. My guess is that they'd skew toward "current" Gannett employees.
And the general point is that you can't toss up a voluntary survey online and put much stock in it. Voluntary surveys are just for fun.
But then again, aren't you the guy who thought the rotating carousel on the front page was a cost-cutting measure because it made the page shorter?
6:14, all those thoughts and I'm still not sure the point you were trying to make.
ReplyDeleteThe point is that Jim can't point to a voluntary survey and say, "See, my readership is 28.7% from Group X." Group Y and Group Z might have less interest in taking the survey.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprises me is how silent all the Gannett editorial people have been at the community papers in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio, the ones bought up back in 2000. All combined, that's a lot of people
ReplyDeleteYet they are silent on these blogs.
I think I know why... they were beaten into silence after being taken over by Gannett and the "fear of Gannett" was put into them
When the papers were bought, they all were delirious with joy - they were all Thomson papers, and they hoped to see better days under gannett.
Wrong.
All their newsrooms were treated like second-class citizens, at best, and ignorant country bumpkins and "hillbillies" at worse.
The best of the lot all quit within 5 years.
Why don't these people at the good Wisconsin and Indiana papers talk about what is happening at their places? We know the Ohio papers are hopeless dregs, and don't count. But I wish the Appleton and other folks would step up and fill us in on their misery!
Folks in Ohio have feelings too, 7:21 and I am sure they could use some compassion along with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI am a former Gannett employee and I read this blog everyday. This industry gets in your blood, and for better or worse, Gannett stays in your heart. Whenever Thanksgiving rolls around, I am reminded at how everyone would chip in and pull together, for better or worse, to put out an oustanding product. How can you not be greatful for that experience? Even though Gannett all but destroyed our "community" newspapers with its cookie cutter ideas, it is no fault of the people that work hard everyday to survive at newspapers that many of them have devoted their lives to. If you happen to be one of the people shuffled out by December 1, please know that there is life after Gannett--even if you can't imagine it now. Happy Thanksgiving to all, take time to enjoy your friends and family.
ReplyDeletea shout-out to indy's hard-working staffers -- you've kept doing real journalism despite gannett efforts to make you do advertorial, you've kept your focus on serving the reader, and you've kept your sense of humor.
ReplyDeletebtw, dickey and dublow must of suddenly figured out that 12/4 wasnt a good day to come to indy. now they're not going to show their faces until next year.
paint it black 12/2, indy!
Regarding the statistical accuracy of the online "Where do you work survey?" that I've been running for months in the blue sidebar, on your right:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous@6:14 pm said of the survey results: "My guess is that they'd skew toward 'current' Gannett employees."
My guess is exactly the opposite: That it skews toward former Gannettoids and never-worked-for Gannett readers. Why? I suspect that many current employees distrust posting comments here, sending me e-mail -- and completing that survey form because of fears they might be traced by Corporate.
That, of course, won't happen, because my No. 1 priority is to guard the privacy and physical safety of my readers.
To the parajournalists who are daily berated and degraded, thank you for taking the phone calls and doing everything you do with dignity and patience.
ReplyDeleteI do not know how it is legal for human beings to be verbally abused in the middle of the newsroom by a hack who has been buddy-buddy with the ME way too long.
Every time I hear her insult you, I cringe inside. At least my degradation happens behind closed doors.
Sorry, 7:21, my job isn't miserable in Indy.
ReplyDeleteI love my job. If I'm laid off next week, I know I'll never find as fullfilling a job as this one. This has been six weeks of emotional misery, but the job? No, the job is great.
Do I like Gannett? No. Did I like the company that came before Gannett. No. Did my job really change that much because of Gannett? No. My job changed because of the advent of the internets. We're all trying to survive that now. The honest to god truth? There is no answer to save our print-oriented jobs in the face of that.
Anyway, call it an nformation center or a newsroom. It doesn't matter. It comes down to good reporting, writing and editing. I still have the chance to participate in that. At least for another week. And I work my ass off by the way.
A shoutout to all the hard working circulation district managers at the Asbury Park Press .Keep your heads up and keep doing the great job you do every morning getting that newspaper out to your dedicated carriers to deliver each morning.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteSo the definite date of layoffs is 12/3? Or the week of 12/1? Should I wear black every day next week? :) I will, if I must. I hope it's not 12/3, before or after would be better... 12/3 is my damn birthday!
- Sleepless in NJ
To 8:43 - the decline in the newspaper industry is not the "internets" as you say; it's the complete loss of the advertising dollar. Advertising accounts for 75-80% of your revenues. These pay for all your costs: newsprint, labor, overhead, etc. (including all you non-revenue producing reporter-types).
ReplyDeleteNot only has the internet reduced ad revenues through the capture of employment and real estate advertising, but also the advent of multiple targeted sources such as local cable television, direct mail, billboard, etc has greatly impacted traditional revenue streams.
Newspapers used to be a license to print money with 40%+ margins. An earlier poster noted that newspapers still make profits, however these do not meet the traditional-minded expectations of Wall Street, therefore there is pressure to meet historical norms when if Management was smart, they would redefine the paradigm to create more reasonable profit expectations.
All, be aware that Jim is monitoring your IP address and does provide to Gannett corporate when he is forced to.
ReplyDeleteBefore the holiday I will meet with my staff tomorrow in Wilmington DE to THANK them personally for working WITH me and tell them that no matter what happens next week that they should be as proud as I am to know that they gave the NJ the best service they could and to hold their heads high. NO better team could pump out the volume like we have. I don't have a clue who is going or staying.Surviving the cut isn't necessarily a blessing as I'm wondering how we'll be the job done with less bodies. If I am cut- I will urge them and hope that they will continue in their positions with the same dedication for their own personal satisfaction. Most of all I want them to know that this situation is not their fault. NO one could have planned for this and if after may years of dedication- I am gone then I'll survive somehow. It was very hard to concentrate today and see colleagues/friends that you may not be sitting beside next week, to all of you at the NJ- I thank you for 25 years of challenges and friendship.
ReplyDelete10:09 p.m.: whadda they gonna do, lay us ALL off?
ReplyDeleteJim, is the 10:09 comment regarding you providing IP address information accurate? I don't understand how you are legally obligated to provide that information. Also, IP addresses are not always consistent with the end user. A server could have several IP addresses. I know of newspapers that have been asked to provide information and have refused. I can't believe you do.
ReplyDeletethanks to you my co workers, the graphic designers. the most talented, funny, generous, hard working team in the building. they need no supervisor or manager to regulate or dispatch. they know their job and they do it. period. if it weren't for you i would not have achieved what i have today.
ReplyDeleteWhat is an IP address? Why are you giving them ANY information.
ReplyDeletedo u people seriously believe jim would give that information up to gannett? he's a reporter, for crying out loud. his reputation as a journalist and his ability to gather news is based on trust between himself and his sources -- us. this poster is obviously trying to erode that trust and erase any influence this blog may have on the company.
ReplyDeleteSo I hear at the Salem Oregon site they are starting to write up employees for all reasons. I am not clear on why this is starting now. Examples of write ups are;
ReplyDelete1) not using all vacation time prior to The holiday season
2) Being sick and haveing a doctors note to be out, but have no sick days to use. But do have vacation time. i guess the 2 types of time off don't over lap...
3)This one I understand... having a blow up with a client...
4) There is a few more, but I think you get the point.
It's starting to be crazy on how things are going at the site.
I also hear they are getting spoken to about gosiping about layoffs to come... What do they expect when they announce layoffs are coming 5 weeks in advance. Its a wonder nobidy has colapsed with a nervous break down at the office yet.
So on that note... anybody have news on the layoffs to come? have the volunteers been notified?
BLM
@10:44 - An IP address is just like your house address. It is what computers use to let other computers know where they live. Your computer has an IP address that is visible and can be used by agencies such as the FBI to track down people who are doing illegal things on the Internet. Every computer has one when it connects to the Internet.
ReplyDelete10:09
ReplyDeleteThe paranoia is bad enough without your stupid comments about confidentiality of IP addresses. Of course Jim doesn't provide IP's or
e-mail addresses to corporate.
You insult us all with your accusations.
Jim does use Google Analytics. This is what it says on the Google Analytics web page:
ReplyDelete----
Improve your online results
Learn more about where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site. You'll get the information you need to write better ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives, and create higher-converting websites.
---
I'm assuming this means that he can at least get the IP address.
@10:09 - That's ridicoulous. How could they possibly force him Jim to give this information up? There isn't any cause even though he does have them. I trust that he isn't.
ReplyDeleteOk... You got me.... Come and get me, I am at 127.0.0.1
ReplyDeleteWell put, 8:43.
ReplyDelete@11:04 - Why are you giving this information in this blog?
ReplyDelete9:49. I think you missed the point. And all you did was say it's not because of the internet, and then gave a definition pointing out how it is the internet. We all know the details; sorry I wasn't compelled to spell them out. So I guess I won't miss people like you.
ReplyDeleteAll: In response to your many good questions about IP address, security and the like, I've written a post that I hope will start to answer your questions. Please go to: http://tinyurl.com/685fh8
ReplyDeleteI've been with Gannett for 10 years. Until now I've never had a reason or curiosity to visit this blog. I am not a journalist, nor do I work in the newsroom. I am an advertising sales manager who is worried sick, just like everyone else. It has been my job to soothe and reassure people when I don't even know what their futures hold.
ReplyDeleteAs a manager,I haven't been given a lot of information. I have not been told who will be laid off, or from what departments.
Our publisher met with all the employees about 5 weeks ago to inform everyone the lay offs will occur the week of Dec 1st and that
our workforce has to be reduced by over $1 million. He also proceeded to tell us the change would be drastic. I am very passionate about my work and I love the people I work with. I do a very good job for the company and have always worked my ass off! Regardless of all the above I am
scared to death of what I will be facing next week because I think it is all about the dollars on the advertising side.It can't be about the head count...this will be our
3rd or 4th lay off. We're already down to just a skeleton crew, in every department.