Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wednesday | Nov. 19 | Got news, or a question?

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127 comments:

  1. Got a layoff-related comment or question? Please post it in the special "10% Layoff Central" open-comment forum, right below. Thanks!

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  2. I have never applied for unemployment. How does it work? How long does it last? How much do you get? Thanks.

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  3. @9:53. You need to find out which department in your state government handles unemployment comp. Rules and benefits vary from state to state, so you will need to do some research.

    You cannot count on getting the equivalent of your current pay, but exactly what you are eligible for is a question your local officials will have to answer.

    In general, states will allow you 26 weeks, although Congress may extend that to 39 weeks.

    Be aware: Volunteering for a buyout or layoff does NOT automatically preclude getting unemployment. Again, you must investigate your state's rules.

    Finally: Do not go to HR for answers. They don't know much about it in most cases, and might give you wrong info.

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  4. On average, you can expect to get approx 40% of your former wages, give or take a few percentage points.

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  5. Unemployment varies from state to state. File immediately after leaving because you will receive your first check after a week waiting period.
    The benefit is paid on the basis of where you work. For example, you live in Maryland but work at USAT, you file in Virginia. THis is a bummer since Virginia's benefits of a maximum of $378 a week (that is not a typo, three hundred and seventy-eight maximum a week) are less than Maryland. It normally lasts six months and requires you to search for a job as long as you draw benefits. You have to give the unemployment agency the name of two people you solicited for a job. It is a government benefit, so assume they will make random checks.
    Watch Congress because they will increase the length of benefits because of the recession, probably by another six months.

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  6. Among the reasons corporate relocated to McLean, Va., was to take advantage of the low corporate taxes in Virginia. That explains why unemployment benefits are $378 a week.

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  7. Jim, how about a poll where people can guess/estimate what areas will get cut the most?

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  8. In Wisconsin you can file for unemployment online; Just go to https://ucclaim-wi.org/InternetInitialClaims/default.asp

    After that, you can file you claim online and have the checks direct deposited.

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  9. Also, in Wisconsin the max you can get weekly is $355

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  10. OK, I realize this is probably a stupid question, but you can't go back to school while you're collecting, right? I mean, if you're in school, you're not really job hunting and you have to provide weekly proof that you're applying for jobs, right? Sorry for being dense.

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  11. Um, Corporate was in Arlington before moving to McLean. Arlington is also in Virginia, so they were already taking advantage of those benefits.

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  12. 10:55 I'm wondering the same thing. I am also wondering if there are programs that will help pay for school if you've lost your job. I guess each state is different. I would say that as long as you are attempting to look for jobs then it shouldn't matter if you are going to school.

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  13. Corporate used to be in Rochester.

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  14. On school, you will have to talk to the unemployment office. Rules vary from state to state. If you are taking courses for retraining, it is permitted in many states.

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  15. Neuharth moved corporate from Rochester to the Air Rights Building in Arlington in the mid 1980's.

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  16. Wow, are most of you guys living isolated lives! Many people in this part of the Midwest would love to bring home $378 a week. maybe you were living well while with Gannett, but now... well, it seems we all pay the price for the nice salaries in the East, eh?

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  17. $378 is the price of dinner for two with wine at Tyson's Galleria's Ritz Carlton restaurant. You could get by for a little less at some of the other eateries there.

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  18. Everyone complains about the news from the NJ Group. Mean-spirited comments are made about us comparing us to the anus of the anatomical map of the United States.

    However as one of the casualties of the last big lay off at a NJ location not to be named, I took these measures in advance, and boy, and I am glad I did:

    Each and every day, I filled my pockets with the free Sweet n' Low in the lunchroom. It amounted to about 92 packets a day.

    Catsup, mustard, pepper and other condiments were not as readily available on some days, but I managed to get enough to last for 7-9 years.

    I made it a confidential duty of my assistant to remove as many female hygience products as possible from the ladies' bathrooms. It is now stockpiled in my condom drawer at home. My assistant, of course, was given 15% of the gross take since she did the heavy lifting.

    Not knowing if any of the family will be coming to our house for Thanksgiving, I did manage to fill a large cardboard box with paper plates and cups. Platic knives, forks and spoons (all in basic white) were taken as well as a good number of coffee stirrers. We went to the market to look at the food we can no longer afford, and we found a beautiful Shickhaus Bologna with only a few rodent teeth marks and only a little bit of green mold on it so when I showed the manager my press card and inferred I could make big trouble, he gladly gave it tome and threw in a tiny can of cranberry sauce.

    At my location, all of the people management really loved and cared for has been laid off or tee-hee (fired, but don't tell anyone) months ago. This has left the entire remaining people in the building with that cheap and scratchy toilet paper that causes acne on the buttocks. We managed to get several cases of that in case we have more company than we expect. We are told that this toilet paper from flown to us on the corporate jet from the Cherry Hill location where toilet paper is no longer needed. Surely everyone remembers the Poopgate incident at that location. Tee-hee!

    Over the Thanksgiving weekend, instead of getting all depressed and bent out of shape, we intend to grab up all of last year's Christmas presents from the publisher (those God-awful Central Jersey Moms hoodies) and sell them on e-bay. We have spent the better part of a year scooping these designer jackets out of the dumpsters in all NJ locations except the Asbury Park Press where we heard they were thrown in the ocean.

    We are aware that Corporate had intended to ruin the big Thanksgiving weekend for us, but we are showing how resilient we are!

    If any other Gannettoid would like to spend the holiday with us, just let me know what you're bringing (Kool-Aid and hardboiled eggs are in low supply) and we'll have the door unlatched for you. In case you forgot, it's in Somerset on Magnolia. Please keep the address a secret!

    And just remember: YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

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  19. Very creative! At least New Jerseans have not lost their sense of humor,

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  20. About Unemployment Compensation:

    Yes, you can get schooling/training while on unemployment. As a matter of fact, most unemployment facilities will assist you in determining what kind of jobs you are best suited for as well as tell you what kind of market there is for such occupations.

    I also understand that if your job was outsourced to another country, you may collect unemployment benefits for up to 2 years! Of course, this may vary from state to state. And it would also be interesting to find out if this also includes an individual's job being outsourced to another state.

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  21. In Jersey, $355 will get your car out of a parking garage, across the bridge, a full tank, a few lottery tickets, and a WaWa sub for dinner. That's about it. Compensation is according to cost of living. In Jersey, it caps out at $560, which would let you add a case of beer, some On Demand and maybe a Egg McMuffin for the next morning.

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  22. 8:11am

    My advice would be skip the lotto tickets, the beer and pack a lunch.

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  23. 8:14 p.m.

    I dont buy lottery tickets. That was just meant to illustrate that $355 does not get you very far at all in a state with a high cost of living. As for the beer, well, I suspect the liquor stores and the pharmacies are the only things benefitting from the recession, except of course for the repo man.

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  24. Oh, this is rich: under the new payroll system, Gannett can't track how many vacation days we have left in 2008, because part of the year was under the old system which apparently is no longer accessible. The new tracking software won't kick in until 2009. So....

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  25. 8:25. I think you're right about liquor stores, but I heard a scary statistic (on CNBC-SATELLITE RADIO) from from Great Britian where they are famous for drinking -excessiviely- at pubs.

    Presently 5 Pubs a Day are closing in England, that's a bad global economy.

    I gotta get a book on how to make my own beer & wine

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  26. Maximum unemployment in Mississippi is $210.00 a week.

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  27. Doesn't make a difference, 8:32am. The abuse of taking time off at GCI Corporate any which way you like and getting away with it has gone on for a long, long time.

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  28. 8:48 the good news is the money. The bad news is you live in Mississippi. You guys make the Jersey guys feel good about jersey

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  29. Maximum unemployment in Oregon is $480 per week. If you volunteered for involuntary severance you are NOT eligible for unemployment benefits in Oregon.

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  30. 9:01---as someone who was INTIMIDATED (always verbally) to fill out fraudulant time-sheets that DID NOT REFLECT 10-25 Hours of unpaid OVERTIME Per Week, that makes me F*CKING SICK.

    It was always inferred that if we didn't come in on days off (WITHOUT PAY) to cover work, we would receive an "Occurance" on our Employee Profile. We we told we are "Managers" and were EXEMPT from OVERTIME----BULLSHIT. In 2004 I went to the state llabor department after getting in trouble for not working long-enough on an unpaid "Day-Off" and was told and shown -CLEARLY- that according to Federal & State Law Criteria, I was an NON-EXEMPT HOURLY WORKER. The guy told me that if I pursued it, the company could figure out a way to Get Rid of Me. I needed the money, so I stayed, But I kept every record.

    I hope those lazy rat-bastards at corporate kept ALL their money in Gannett Stock....that would be justice.

    All of you out there read the Employee Manual, Get ALL your reviews from your personnel file (you are entitled to copies), and if they try to push you around on overtime, RECORD THEM. Also right an e-mail to your supervisor referring to the part of the manual that says ALL work over 37.5 Hours MUST BE REQUESTED by a Superior IN WRITING----hold them to it.

    Good Luck

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  31. In Florida the max benefit is $275 per week.

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  32. In Louisiana, the max you can get on unemployment is $258 per week.

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  33. re 5:32 am's "it's in Somerset on Magnolia"... there are four Gannettoids on that street -- now THAT is FUNNY!!

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  34. TAA & ATAA programs might be of interest to ad make-up/composing/ad layout employees that get the boot next month. Your paper will have to send more of the ads to India to get done. Basically your job was outsourced.

    For more details:
    http://tinyurl.com/5ddejb

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  35. The answer, if you missed it, to our future:
    Tribune Company and Gannett Partnership Doubles Revenue and Site Traffic in 2008; Rapid Growth Reflects Consumer Demand for Local Entertainment Information

    CHICAGO, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Metromix LLC, the joint venture between two of the nation's largest media companies -- Gannett Co., Inc. and Tribune Company -- today announced it has doubled its revenue and web traffic since its October 2007 launch. Metromix (http://www.metromix.com) is the leading online authority for young and socially active adults looking for an insider's perspective on local entertainment information, trends and hotspots.

    As of October 2008, the Metromix national network draws nearly four million unique visitors that generate more than 45 million pageviews.(1) Combined, those measures reflect Metromix's high level of engagement (pages per visitor) that sets it apart from its competitors.(2) Corresponding with this traffic growth, Metromix has more than quadrupled its geographic footprint this year. The Metromix network already has expanded from eight markets to 35, with an additional two markets planned to launch this month. Metromix can be found in 18 of the top 30 DMAs with the goal to reach all 30 DMAs by the end of 2009.

    "There is no shortage of demand for quality local entertainment content. This outstanding growth is a testament to the depth and breadth of Metromix information, and demonstrates that our visitors enjoy our optimal blend of editorial and user content -- and rely on it daily," said Kara Walsh, CEO of Metromix LLC. "Metromix is well established as the 'go-to' trusted entertainment resource in the local markets we serve. Our goal in 2009 is to continue to develop and expand the Metromix network to millions of new consumers in cities across the U.S." ...
    (the news release goes on, but you get the point.

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  36. Hey Poughkeepsie, where's the news? Stop printing fluff and perhaps you'll sell more papers.

    People don't want fluff stories about the same old business people getting the same old awards, it's tired. People in the community talk about canceling subscriptions for lack of news. Have some balls and chase some stories. Change your kiss ass attitude or become a relic.

    While some advertisers like seeing their pictures in the paper, the general newspaper-buying public wants news.

    That people getting drunk section is a disgrace. What is it called Pub Dance?

    It's time for the "good editor" to be the good editor that he has been in the past and not a corporate "yes" man that he is presently. That goes for the publisher too.

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  37. It's now Wednesday, and we are reasonably sure there have been high-level meetings about the budget and potential cutbacks at USAT. But there hasn't been a single word (here or elsewhere) about those meetings. Is Paulson waiting for Thanksgiving to break the good or bad news? What's up with Jim and his blog? Why hasn't he commented on the potential layoffs that might come out of these meetings? Inside sources drying up? Doesn't seem worth the price of a blog subscription if crucial information like this isn't brought to light on here. I can get silence for free at work.

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  38. 10:08 - 'revenue has doubled' needs to be put in perspective. Going from $100k to $200k would not be that impressive or whatever the number is. Profit and whether or not the benefit of these products added up will be enough to put a dent in our losses is the key. Hate to piss on good news but that is the reality.

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  39. Ohio pays a max of $479/week before taxes, that for a family of four. You apply online at the Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services and have a one-week wait before the first check comes. Unbelievably, the benefit is subject to income taxes, and you have the option of having those taxes withheld, in which case your check becomes $431.

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  40. Good luck to you too, 9:27. What's even more sickening is that some of these exempt and non-exempt abusers getting away with this work for very high-level management, who don't have a clue what the hell the frauds reporting to them are doing. How would you like the equivalent of 3 paid months off a year?

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  41. Maybe no news is good news at USAT. While I don't work there, I do keep an eye on what's going on at the flagship. My theory is that if USAT slashes jobs, you know the smaller papers are going to be hit even harder. When USAT had buyouts last year, I figured that was a bad sign for the rest of the newspaper division. And sure enough, several months later, massive layoffs were announced. We get hit before, during and after USAT's moves. If Gannett can't protect its largest newspaper and the jobs at that paper, well, what chance do we have out in the fringe areas? So yes, if there is any news coming out of USAT, it does in a way relate to all of us. So what's going on there? First I heard USAT escaped cuts, but then they backed off from that, and now there are meetings to discuss jobs/budget/etc...but still no news.

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  42. 10:30 am: I know you're worried about possible layoffs at USA Today, and so am I. But I don't have any more information to offer.

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  43. ***10:08 - 'revenue has doubled' needs to be put in perspective. Going from $100k to $200k would not be that impressive or whatever the number is. Profit and whether or not the benefit of these products added up will be enough to put a dent in our losses is the key. Hate to piss on good news but that is the reality.***
    Exactly right, 10:41.
    But Gannett never gives real numbers regarding online revenue -- only weasel words such as in the previous example.
    Wonder why....

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  44. 11:01 USAT's viability depends on the community papers, which are carrying much of the daily costs of printing USAT. They are linked together. I cannot think of making USAT a viable product without the community papers because of the costs involved in finding printing plants, etc., to replace those currently provided by the community papers. USAT may be a flagship, but it is the community papers provide the lion's share of the revenues for GCI.
    That is the dilemma Dubow now faces. Cutting back the community papers is going to hurt USAT, while cutting USAT will downgrade the flagship. Things are already becoming threadbare. One easy way to make savings would be to reduce or to cut the dividend, but they are not going to do that.

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  45. Got word today that the "Daily News Summary" from corporate - that useless compilation of grafs and links to media news - is being discontinued as of Friday.

    I guess it took them a while to discover Romenesko and Google News alerts.

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  46. Metromix is a piece of garbage. I guess that means Gannett is going to ignore rural and suburban areas, because the highest concentrations of young adults who drink booze and flash their breasts at the camera are in the cities.

    Can someone explain what's wrong with developing local brands - i.e., Ohio Moms instead of MomsLikeMe, a locally-named party site instead of the universal Metromix? You can still have them use software platforms that cater to national advertising. Gannett just doesn't seem to like the local identity. Any insight?

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  47. Metromix doesn't make the top 100,000 U.S. sites in Alexa, so it is not possible to independently verify these p.r. claims without buying a private report.
    Going from one viewer a day to two doubles your audience, and someone else made reference to the revenue hype.
    Take a look at Metromix. If our future is now this get laid, get drunk site, we are in deep trouble. Like the Moms BJ site, this site seems preoccupied with Girls Gone Wild T&A presentations. Yes, sex sells, but it has nothing to do with journalism. It would be nice if corporate told the rank and file their future was now to be sex, sex, sex. Will USA Today now have a Page 3 Girl like they do in England?

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  48. 9:27 -- Did you keep personal written records of your unpaid overtime? If so, you can bring them up to management and create quite a problem. I've seen it done, and I've seen the person who did it get paid.

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  49. Does anyone know how much money GCI spent on this hideous Metromix? Can you imagine standing on the unemployment line in December because your paper decided to put young drunk girls ahead of covering local news.

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  50. 11:20 Information I got from another mom on Moms Like Me helped me get the help I needed from my severely depressed daughter that helped save her life. Don't tell me it is a "BJ" site to me it is a key resource.

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  51. 11:25: I kept records and e-mails, Also know of others (in defferent departments who did same). In better times when there was a "Future" I and others didn't mind work a few hours a week over, but now ALL BETS are Off.

    I'm going to ask for a little boost to severance to "Quietly" make-up of many years of unpaid overtime and give them EXACTLY 36 Hours to respond, then......to quote Clemenza from the Godfather.."It's to the mattresses." I have all my chess pieces set up for Check Mate.

    Remember we have nothing to lose......they do!

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  52. 5:32, so that's where all the Sweet n Low went? Damn!

    and 6:13, of course we have a sense of humor still ... we do live in Jersey, after all :)

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  53. More BJ's would help my depression, let me tell you.

    If MomsLickMe can help them learn technique, let's make money off of it.

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  54. My bitch about Metromix is that the labor for putting it together wasn't counted in the bottom line of that report. Someone paid for GCI employees to write all that favorite restaurant garbage, and we all remember the time spent assembling it. So it gets revenue now, but what about the costs of putting it together and running it. I can run a spectacularly profitable company if I don't include what it costs me.

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  55. Things are going to go from bad to worse. You think finding a job now is tough wait until summer. At least now, we'll have the severance and unemployment. But Don't be to picky, take what you can get for now. It hasn't even begun to hit the fan yet.

    And don't be to happy if you're not one of the ones let go. Bad economy means less spending by consumers, means less advertising by businesses, means less revenue for Gannett means more lay offs for you. Early '09 I predict another 10%. By summer 20%-30%. No way Gannett can get by laying off 10% when other newspapers have to layoff 40% or more.

    Find a new job now.

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  56. 11:55 is right. Take a look at GCI today, which is sinking now into the $6 level. I can see Dubow having trouble making the debt payments on that $1.2 billion mystery loan, part of which seems to have gone to buy Ripple6. When the recession really hits, what price will Wall Street put on GCI?

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  57. come on people, don't file for anything. wait for Obama's spread the wealth to trickle down into your pocket...

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  58. 11:36 -- Good plan indeed. If you've got records and e-mails, I certainly wouldn't just let it go. My guess is you'll get paid ... and quickly.

    One reason Gannett papers have become so bland is because we are notoriously afraid of lawsuits. I've seen my paper skip what would be good stories out of the fear of controversy. It's too bad, but we were doing that even in the "good" times.

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  59. 12:08 Discounted Future Value of Gannett's PROFITS into future = $0.00.

    And your terminology is incorrect, this is a Depression. Characteristics include the following: 1) EXCESS DEBT induced Collapse of Financial Markets; 2) Sharp Collapse of CAPITAL GOODS SECTOR (i.e. heavy equipment, machinery for factories, etc.) 3) Collapse of Consumption of DURABLE (3-7 years) GOODS by consumers & business); 4) Continual Compounding of Items 1, 2 & 3 by Positively Collected (reinforcing) Feddback Loops; 5) REAL (not nominal) G.D.P. of Negative 4% Annualized for 6 or more Quarters; REAL (not B.L.S. gov Data) UNEMPLOYMENT of 15%+ for 8 or more quarters.

    GOOGLE:
    KONDRATIEV WAVE
    PANIC OF 1873
    JOSEPH SCHUMPETER

    Sorry.

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  60. With Metromix, you will never see the true cost of operation. That's because writers for the main daily newspapers are producing much of the content. So, resources are being pulled away from daily newspapers to produce Metromix. But the cost will be kept separate from the Metromix operating costs.

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  61. THANK YOU 12:24.

    Forget Lawsuit......image the Horror at The Crystal Palace if after 36 Hours & 1 Second thay DID NOT respond to me and I laid out everything......HERE??? Hmmmm. Might be amusing.

    Sort of like a cat playing with a mouse it caught.

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  62. 12:36 PM
    Good point. Do you suppose that's going on in CareerBuilder too? Also, seems a subsidiary, Cape something or other, and not Gannett per se was named in the SEC filings in that recent CB deal.
    I think that's just odd.

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  63. Can anyone take a guess at what percentage of ad revenue for print comes from the Big3 automakers? A collapse or consolidation in that sector would seem to have rippling effects for GCI.

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  64. I don't have any hard data, but I believe G.M is the largest single advertising entity in the United States

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  65. Come on, 'nice salaries in the East'? Have you noted the cost of living differential between say, DC and Omaha? It takes more money to live here, we aren't living high on the hog on those 'big salaries'.

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  66. 1:48 is right about the "nice salaries" in the East. The cost of living in the NY,NJ,Mld/DC area is astronomical. Auto insurance and property taxes alone can more than wipe out any raise obtained when moving there from Omaha.

    Regarding 12:24's comment and the quality of our journalism, assuming Gannett survives this economic catastrophe, brought on by the greed barons and their political enablers and cheered on by all of us, it will adopt a whole new strategy that may not include 1st Amendment concerns. Tough journalism, wholesale cost cutting, and non-employee stockholders just don't go together. The model for quality journalism must change if it is to survive.

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  67. Could anyone please explain more about how someone would confronted management to get back overtime?

    I'm thinking of all the loopholes the company has on its side. One, most of us are in "at will" states, where they can fire you after you give your ultimatum and not give a reason for firing, and also not pay any layoff severence.

    Then, even if you went to Wage and Hour and eventually won your case, which might be three years or so down the road, the most you can recover is only the balance of what you made in the job you took to get by until the suit settled and what you would have been paid by Gannett.

    Labor lawyers I know don't touch these any more on contingency, because they can't make any money -- meaning you do all the battle pro se or pay a lawyer more than winning the case will get you.

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  68. GOOGLE >>> OVERTIME

    You will see countless stories of companies (Wal-Mart, Merrill Lynch ), law firms, even governments, intimidating people to work "Free" overtime.

    Go to U.S. Labor Department website and your local state Labor Dept website to see SPECIFIC RULES for hourly (non-exempt) and salary (exempt) employees.

    Trust me, GANNETT, and other companies, have only gotten away with this crap because we have been to afraid to push them on it.

    They are wrong and they know it.

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  69. On the legal wage hour issue: wait for the new administration, and a new secretary of labor. Some rules are going to be rewritten, and a new atmosphere laid. Save your evidence, because I think GCI is heading for conspiracy to violate and triple damages cases. I know too many who have been screwed over this.

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  70. A while back, a bunch of the reporters at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. got together and sued for their overtime. They won.

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  71. Yes, keep and document your evidence. If we can put together a class action suit involving employees at several U.S. sites, we have a federal case not only of clear violation of federal wage and hour laws, but evidence of a criminal conspiracy. A conviction under the racketeering clauses forces a huge settlement for back payment, and triple damages. We need documentation.

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  72. Anyone with instances of racial, sexual or religious discrimination -- past or present, former employees and current employees -- should also be encouraged to leave their evidence, because that would really make the case solid.

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  73. In my experience, unpaid OT isn't so much a matter of being coerced or forced, but simply having to work long days to finish stuff, and having too much stuff on your plate the next day, and the day after that. If you raise the issue, and say you're coming in two hours later on Thursday because you worked until 7 on Wednesday, you risk being tagged as a lazy-ass clock-watcher. That doesn't get you good beats, promotions or raises.

    When I've worked really long days to cover breaking news - stuff that came up at 5:30, for example - my boss has TOLD me to take a few hours the next day, or take the day off entirely.

    But we do check our e-mail from home, and on the weekend, and return calls after hours, and scan local blogs and StoryChat comments... because the silent expectation is there that Good Reporters do those things, hard-charger types who are always plugged in and staying up on what's happening.

    I'm burnt out, frankly. I can't wait to find a new line of work that stops when I leave the building. Where I can volunteer for a political campaign of a friend or just someone I respect. When I can openly express an opinion, period. When I can go out to the store in raggedy jeans, uncombed hair and a T-shirt without worrying that I'll be spotted by the mayor. When my personal identity is not so closely linked to my professional one that I only introduce myself as "John Smith, with the Gazette." I want to be a bleeping ordinary person again.

    Thanks, Gannett, for helping me realize that.

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  74. Well written, 3:49. You speak for many of us.

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  75. GCI just blew through 7, and now in the $6 range.

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  76. FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT

    The FLSA requires that most employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hourS worked and overtime pay at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a
    workweek.

    However, Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and
    overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales
    employees.

    Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempts certain computer employees. To qualify for
    exemption, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less
    than $455 per week.

    Journalists/Reporters
    The final regulations do not change the duties test for the creative professional exemption, which is the most
    common exemption under which journalists and reporters are tested. The creative professional exemption
    applies if the employee’s primary duty is work requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a
    recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor (e.g., the fields of music, acting, writing and the graphic arts), as
    opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work. Work that can be produced by a person with
    general manual or intellectual ability and training is not exempt as creative. The requirement of creativity
    distinguishes the work of a creative professional from work that primarily depends on intelligence, diligence
    and accuracy. Since employees’ duties vary widely, and the creative professional exemption depends on how
    much invention, imagination, originality or talent is actually exercised by the employee, the determination of
    whether an employee is exempt as a creative professional must be made on a case-by-case basis.
    Relying upon federal case law, the final regulations clarify that employees of newspapers, magazines, television
    and other media are not exempt creative professionals if they only collect, organize and record information that
    is routine or already public, or if they do not contribute a unique interpretation or analysis to a news product.
    For example, reporters who rewrite press releases or who write standard recounts of public information by
    gathering facts on routine community events are not exempt creative professionals. Reporters whose work
    products are subject to substantial control by their employer also do not qualify as exempt creative
    professionals. However, employees may be exempt creative professionals if their primary duty is to perform on
    the air in radio, television or other electronic media; to conduct investigative interviews; to analyze or interpret
    public events; to write editorial, opinion columns or other commentary; or to act as a narrator or commentator.
    Thus, journalists’ duties vary along a spectrum from the nonexempt to the exempt. The less creativity and
    originality involved in their efforts, and the more control exercised by the employer, the less likely journalists
    are to be considered exempt. There is no “across the board” exemption for journalists; nor has there ever been.
    Rather, each determination must be made on a case-by-case basis, as is the case with all job classifications. The
    majority of journalists, who simply collect and organize public information, or do not contribute a unique or
    creative interpretation or analysis, are not likely to be exempt.
    Nothing in the new rules relieves employers from their contractual obligations to journalists and reporters under
    collective bargaining agreements. In addition, journalists and reporters paid by the hour are entitled to
    overtime.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Anon 1:24 PM - P&G is the largest advertiser, spending $5.2 billion overall in the U.S. in 2007.

    GM was number one as recently as 2004, but has since cut back spending to $3 billion last year (down 8.7% from 2007). All in all, the automotive category is now number two according to Ad Age at $18.5 billon (down 6.4% to 2007), retail is number one at $18.7 billion and telecom is number three at $10.9 billion.

    Regardless of whether the Big Three go bankrupt or not, you can count on them closing more dealerships, thereby cutting even more of the more than $400 million they spent on newspaper advertising in 2007.

    Even if sales rev up, which they are not expected to do, fewer dealerships in the future means even less revenue down the road. Not a very rosy outlook for some.

    ReplyDelete
  78. 3:45, my boss is a dick and I'm not. Can that count for discrimination?

    ReplyDelete
  79. FLSA

    "Off the clock" work.

    Many FLSA lawsuits have involved employers failing to include time spent by employees performing work activities outside of their normal shifts. Some employees, for example, may "come early" and start working before the official start time of their shifts. Such time counts as work time and must be included in FLSA pay computations, provided only that the employer knew or should have known that the employee was beginning work early (and, of course, to the extent that the employee spent pre-shift time actually performing work activities). Pre-shift "roll calls" are work time. Time spent setting up equipment before the official start time of a shift is work time. Some employees may similarly "stay late" after shifts performing work; this time must be counted as work time, as well. Time spent by an employee cleaning equipment after the close of a shift is work time. Post-shift work time could also include time spent by an employee performing job-related activities "on the way home," as for example a secretary who drops off the day's mail at the post office or delivers some paperwork to a customer or supplier. Some employees take work home. That time may well be work time. Similarly, if an employee is contacted at home by telephone for work related reasons, the time spent is work time (and, of course, if an employee is "called back" to work, the time counts as work time).

    "Salaried nonexempt employees."

    The FLSA does not require that nonexempt employees be paid hourly. Nonexempt employees may be paid by means of a salary. Salaried nonexempt employees are still entitled to FLSA overtime pay if, when and to the extent that they actually work more than 40 hours in a work week. FLSA overtime pay is time and one-half of the employee's regular rate of pay. When a nonexempt employee is paid by a salary, the amount of the salary must be converted to its hourly equivalent to determine the regular rate of pay (time and one-half of which is the employee's FLSA overtime rate of pay).

    ReplyDelete
  80. I worked unpaid OT for months. The first time I refused, I got fired.
    I shared my story with the attorney firm that appeared in a previous post. That in itself was healing.

    ReplyDelete
  81. 4:06--You must work at the Journal News.

    ReplyDelete
  82. I worked unpaid overtime my six years with a Gannett paper. I even wrote in all the hours, but was told my total had to be 37.5 at the bottom no matter how many hours I worked. When I finally turned in my two week notice they paid me those two weeks with the overtime included. What did they think I was going to do, tattle.

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  83. 4:06 - it's not discrimination if you were hired as a non-dick affirmative action remedy.

    However, if most of the people in your department are dicks and as the token non-dick, you are taken advantage of, given worse assignments, scheduled on off-hours, etc.

    You'll have to provide proof of your non-dickness however. A note from your spouse will suffice.

    ReplyDelete
  84. 4:41 PM
    They paid you for six tax years of OT all in one tax year? Is that legal?

    ReplyDelete
  85. I went to statsaholic.com and typed in Metromix. The unique visitors as measured by Compete were 600,000 in Oct. 2007 and 1.5 million in Oct. 2008. The daily uniques as measured by Quantcast have fluctuated over the past six months. But it appears to average to about 50,000 uniques a day. I'm not sure this means anything, but those are the numbers.

    ReplyDelete
  86. It is not just off the clock work. Some GCI papers, such as Louisville, have designated certain reporters as salaried personnel so they could force them to work nights and weekends and cover the state legislature without paying OT. Same job, same newsroom, different pay structure and timekeeping requirements. A mighty risky endeavor in these difficult times.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Larry St.Cyr to the rescue!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  88. Clearly, 5:47, you either a) have no life or b) have never worked more than a "couple" of extra hours of OT in a given week in your lifetime. We're not talking a couple of hours here.

    The point is, no matter how much OT is worked, those in the trenches at Gannett (I'm a former soldier) will never be paid for it, nor will it even be acknowledged. The problem is that they continue to slash staff and expect the people who are left to do the same amount of work, if not more, without being paid OT. But they won't pay OT.

    So you're expected to fudge, and still do it, and shut up about it (ask a certain editor in NJ who has been in trouble over it before). Middle management knows they can't possibly make sure their staffs' work is done under 37.5 hours, so that's why fudging comes into play.

    Just a rant, but it's frustrating to the people who work those "couple" of extra hours of unpaid OT.

    ReplyDelete
  89. I have all my unpaid OT recorded too. I will be glad to share my information and documentation when the time is right. A couple of extra hours is one thing. Working every Saturday 30 weeks of the year -- which was supposed to be my day off -- to meet a weekly video mandate, in addition to working 45-50 hours a week, is slave labor.

    And yeah, I can prove it. In fucking spades, 5:47.

    ReplyDelete
  90. 5:15

    The job title and/or the salary structure (hourly vs. salary) do not determine exemption or non-exemption
    under the Fair Labor Standards Act.


    "These FLSA exemptions are limited to employees who perform relatively high-level work. Whether the duties of a particular job qualify as exempt depends on what they are. Job titles or position descriptions are of limited usefulness in this determination. (A secretary is still a secretary even if s/he is called an "administrative assistant," and the chief executive officer is still the CEO even if s/he is called a janitor.) It is the actual job tasks that must be evaluated, along with how the particular job tasks "fit" into the employer's overall operations.

    There are three typical categories of exempt job duties, called "executive," "professional," and "administrative."

    Exempt executive job duties.

    Job duties are exempt executive job duties if the employee

    1. regularly supervises two or more other employees, and also
    2. has management as the primary duty of the position, and also,
    3. has some genuine input into the job status of other employees (such as hiring, firing, promotions, or assignments).

    Supervision means what it implies. The supervision must be a regular part of the employee's job, and must be of other employees. Supervision of non-employees does not meet the standard. The "two employees" requirement may be met by supervising two full-time employees or the equivalent number of part-time employees. (Two half-time employees equal one full-time employee.)

    "Mere supervision" is not sufficient. In addition, the supervisory employee must have "management" as the "primary duty" of the job. The FLSA Regulations contain a list of typical management duties. These include (in addition to supervision):

    * interviewing, selecting, and training employees;
    * setting rates of pay and hours of work;
    * maintaining production or sales records (beyond the merely clerical);
    * appraising productivity; handling employee grievances or complaints, or disciplining employees;
    * determining work techniques;
    * planning the work;
    * apportioning work among employees;
    * determining the types of equipment to be used in performing work, or materials needed;
    * planning budgets for work;
    * monitoring work for legal or regulatory compliance;
    * providing for safety and security of the workplace."

    ReplyDelete
  91. Why must we get "Larry St.Cyr to the rescue!!!!!!!!" at least once each day? Who the hell is he and why do we care?

    ReplyDelete
  92. I sold my Gannett stock just recently, and I shouldn't have waited so long. There wasn't much value left, only about 4% of my total 401K, which is down by 50% this year! In fact, just about the only dollars left in my 401K are those that accumulated from my own contributions. Last year, I had $200K -- which included the company match and all the other gains from the days before the Depression hit -- now I've got $100K, from 16 years of pumping in the max and scrimping to make ends meet. I can't be pissed off at enough people right now about this. If I ever get my hands on them, they'll pay. Even so, I did enjoy clicking that mouse and selling out of Gannett.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Do you know what % GCI matches in our 401Ks?
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  94. 7:20 - It's a 6 percent match.

    ReplyDelete
  95. 7:22 - Isn't it now 3%?

    ReplyDelete
  96. Anonymous said...
    On the legal wage hour issue: wait for the new administration, and a new secretary of labor. Some rules are going to be rewritten, and a new atmosphere laid. Save your evidence, because I think GCI is heading for conspiracy to violate and triple damages cases. I know too many who have been screwed over this.
    11/19/2008 3:32 PM


    Bingo! This is exactly what I think, too. I note hours on my own planner each day, and if I got a lunch break or not. I'm going to contribute to Jim so this site stays up to help us compare notes once we see if Obama's DOL will clean house.

    I am sure the DOL under Bush rarely, if ever, enforced those rules we read in the statutes and regulations. Did the same in every agency ... we've been living in anarchy for 8 years.

    I'd be more specific about my own story of the clever misuse of the exempt law they've made in my case, but it would ID me. When we have a class case under a new DOL, y'all may be amazed at how they are snookering some of us.

    ReplyDelete
  97. It's actually a dollar for dollar match on the first 5 percent of your income. It used to be 50 cents on the dollar for the first 6 percent of your income, but the change was made with the pension freeze. (Hence the 3 percent and 6 percent confusion above.) The match is made in Gannett stock, but you can move that money to any of the other 401K offerings at any time.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Thanks so much for the info re: 401K! I love my GCI family!

    ReplyDelete
  99. On Metromix, go to Alexa, www.alexa.com, type in metromix.com, and you will see that the site are getting on average 0.1 percent of U.S. Internet traffic. I hardly see how that translates into 600,000 unique visitors, reported by statsaholic.com, a concern I have never encountered before. I note the poster above seems to echo a recent GCI release on this issue. Perhaps that is why serious advertisers aren't flocking to metromix.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Cincinnati,
    You were so right. Please take him back.

    ReplyDelete
  101. What do you all think Gannett has bribed/threatened all the top-level managers with that there is not one decent one in the bunch who will even post anonymously (!) what he/she knows about the coming layoffs. Are they that big of sellouts, rather than be semi-human to those who may or may not have helped them earn their big paychecks all these years. Unbelievable. And so very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Ah, 8:48, you are mistaken. I'm a 'top-level' manager and I'm as clueless as you are. And as scared. Add me to the list of Jim's sleepless 2am readers. The few people making the decisions are in a vacuum. And there are only a few of them. So please don't hate all of us at corpoate - we're scared, too.

    ReplyDelete
  103. I'm actually talking about individual papers and their managers, not corporate. You would think SOMEONE would open up, if even generically.

    ReplyDelete
  104. 7:40 PM
    Why wait? Get it started now. An earlier post shows the name of the law firm that's apparently interested in hearing from all of us who were impacted by Gannett's OT practices. I sent my story a few days ago.

    ReplyDelete
  105. What is that law firm? I missed the earlier post. I don't think it was in this thread.

    ReplyDelete
  106. yes, give us the name of the lawfirm, and let's get the ball rolling.

    ReplyDelete
  107. Speaking of MetroMix, our site has had some of the most tasteless photographs that you could ever imagine - primarily women with gigantic boobs on display that look like something appropriate for a Hustler submission.

    I almost fell out of my chair and had a "work place accident" when I saw some of the photos in the gallery. So, needless to say, it makes our paper look like one first-class operation.

    ReplyDelete
  108. Here's where I sent my OT story. Yes, I did get a response back.
    selander@nka.com
    Nickols Kaster is the name of the firm.
    (I got the information from something Jim posted in February. You could look back and get the details)

    ReplyDelete
  109. 10:22 and 10:43 pm: Here's a link to the post I wrote about the Minneapolis law firm that's been investigating OT complaints involving Gannett: http://tinyurl.com/5q3pny

    ReplyDelete
  110. Regarding the wage and hour debate, what about managers like me, who've always worked 60-hour weeks, always six and often enough seven days a week, on a set salary with no OT, no annual bonus like the editor/publishers get? I guess we're just chumps for being loyal Gannettoids who busted their asses so their hourly people didn't have to work unpaid overtime. There's no such thing as a wage and hour claim for us. Think about that -- 60 hours a week, week in, week out, wife at home alone with the kids, 14-, 16- even 18-hour days, all for the love of journalism, of doing something good and pure and true, fine-tuning copy, dictating headlines to fit on the first try, making sure all four editions were right, stopping the press when they weren't, smelling and smudging the fresh ink on paper before the delivery trucks even started up. Now I am getting to know how it feels when it comes to a very unceremonious end, and all that commitment and effort is shit on by bean counters and lawyers collecting salaries in the hundreds of thousands who've never even set foot in a pressroom. No gold watch for you, pal, no retirement party, just the door.

    However, you guys can say "wage and hour" and you'll have an effect. I can tell you from having been on the inside long enough, nothing strikes more fear into the heart of top-level Gannett managers than those three words and all their implications for nasty, costly, career-ending lawsuits. If you want to make them nervous, keep saying those three words on this blog. Wage and hour, wage and hour, wage and hour ...... and document your claims. I am sure that, with the shrinking staffs and growing pressure on all departments, this is happening all over the company.

    ReplyDelete
  111. In Phoenix, vp for news is meeting with each dept this week to answer questions. No one expects any specifics. We have been told that a high review rating does not protect you. Only the most basic work is getting done. No one's motivated.

    ReplyDelete
  112. I need to vent about this layoff situation. We've been on pins and needles for four weeks and the stress is really starting to take its toll on our employees.

    We have people having anxiety attacks, people forming ulcers and others falling off the wagon and drinking again because the stress this news puts on them is too much to handle.

    Call them weak or whatever you wish, but the heads at Gannett are a bunch of pricks for forcing us to wait, worry and wonder. They know fucking well who is getting the axe, but want to make it through tight Thanksgiving deadlines before they send us packing.

    Fuck you, Gannett. I'm sending you the bill for the antacids my staff is chewing through while you screw around, forcing us to worry.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Is the employee assistance program doing anything?

    ReplyDelete
  114. Ha ha ha ha ha! 1:13, that's a good one!!!

    12:58: Well done. I applaud you, sir or madam. Very well done.

    ReplyDelete
  115. And with the consolidation of HR departments, we haven't even seen any HR folks to find help in weeks! Thanks, Gannett!

    ReplyDelete
  116. I just don't see the anxiety that everyone is talking about in Louisville. Everyone is going on about their daily work and very little is talked about. We've just all come to the conclusion that whatever happens, happens. I don't mean to trivialize others anxiety or fear at all. I just look at it this way. I know we all want this over with. I do to. I'm dreading it. But I would much rather have it this way then the way it happened to some of our colleagues a year ago that didn't know it was coming and were left wondering what to do next. We have all had plenty of warning and shame on the person that hasn't at least started doing something. Fixing the old resume, looking for jobs, seeing what their states unemployment offers, tightening their belts.

    I'm not in management by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  117. 1:34, I wonder how much of that lack of anxiety is just people who are putting their fingers in their ears (figuratively) and pretending this isn't going to happen? I know there are some out there who are not prepared in the least. The train is coming, the whistle is blowing, and they're continuing to blithely walk along the tracks. I don't know whether to pity them or shake them for being so foolish. But you can't make people listen when they don't want to, I suppose.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Or maybe there is nothing but a black abyss on either side of the track for them to go to so they are making due the best they can on it. It is not just our industry that is hurting, its just ours that will probably never come back when it dies. And I am not talking about that horrible MetroTits crap, that will flourish sadly.

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  119. 8:48 - you would be amazed on what even the directors have not been told at newspapers, much less department managers.

    I got my answer yesterday when the sweet old lady who is the publisher's admin wouldn't look me in the eye and give me her usual cheery 'hello'.

    I'm on the list, and I know it.

    ReplyDelete
  120. I'm with 1:34 am.
    I'm in Louisville. I'm not management. And I'm not afraid. Just using the time to make plans.

    For those of you who may be scared, don't be.
    Relax and remember this old proverb: Things are never as good or as bad as they may seem.

    About a decade ago I was without a job, without unemployment, without insurance, without a savings to fall back on and diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. But through faith in God, help from family and hard work we made it through just fine.

    So again: Just relax. Take realistic stock of your situation. Count your blessings. Do plan, but don't hurt yourself worrying. It does absolutely no good.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Plan for the worst, hope for the best and count every day as one more day that you are getting paid. I was blind-sided when I was laid off and while this may seem cruel and unusual punishment for you all, it does give you time to prepare (maybe too much time - 2 weeks would have been enough)

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  122. Maybe everyone needs to stop bashing Metromix and realize that this is where the future is. Not the drunken people, but the great reviews on everything from music to food...and beyond. I can vouch for the numbers that have been reported. And trust me, it's not all about getting drunk. People need to start being open to where this business is going and who we are trying to reach.

    ReplyDelete
  123. @6:54 (this is somewhat tangential): A close family member of mine was one of those administrative assistants five or six years ago for another large corporation. She had "the list" of people who were about to be laid off, and the stress of knowing which of her co-workers was about to get it almost killed her.

    The point is, this affects everyone -- profoundly. This mess will spare no one, even those who keep their jobs.

    (Also @6:54: I'm sorry. That's got to be the worst feeling ever.)

    ReplyDelete
  124. 10:11, stop drinking the Kool-aid, Metromix will not save this company. Google any restaurant and see how many review websites come up. Metromix offers nothing original or new

    ReplyDelete
  125. I think the Indy.com site was as good as Metromix's and could have been used at all the other newspapers, but then that doesn't have the "brand" or Tribune in it.

    ReplyDelete
  126. come on people, don't file for anything. wait for Obama's spread the wealth to trickle down into your pocket...

    HA HA that was funny

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