Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Part 2 | Real Time comments Wed. open forum

This section is now closed to new comments; please go to Part 3.
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162 comments:

  1. Jim12/03/2008 3:11 AM

    I've started this new open-comment thread; hopefully it will tide you guys over until tomorrow.

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  2. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:17 AM

    If you are complaining about 1 reporter covering the state legislature in New Jersey..... It's zero reporters covering the state legislature at some sites after these layoffs.

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  3. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:24 AM

    where's the freehold schoolgirl and her AFL conspiracy when you need her?

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  4. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:27 AM

    What up, Guam?

    It's coming up on Wednesday so you should be getting Internet access again, right?

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  5. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:28 AM

    Corporate took care of themselves about 1.5 - 2 weeks ago, taking voluntaries at a rate of 2 weeks per year worked. Others have announced retirement, but after the first of the year. Nice that they are getting through the holidays by delaying their departures. It is certain they've checked out, but are taking additional weeks of pay by extending their departure dates.

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  6. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:35 AM

    Why would Corporate get 2 weeks per every year worked when everyone else is getting 1 week per year worked?

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  7. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:38 AM

    So much of blogging is just regurgitating information from elsewhere and offering up a free forum for people (which is good) but someone really ought to try and raise the bar by interviewing members of Gannett's board of directors and finding out what they have to say about these lay-offs and the future of the company.

    Some reporting such as that would add another dimension to this here blog, don't you agree?

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  8. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:38 AM

    Nobody seems to see the hints!
    Consolidation of printing facilities?
    Lots more will be let go soon.
    But Corp is not saying so yet.
    60 days notice on mass layoffs so they have to give notice soon to make the February plan! I have seen plans the do change within somewhat daily. Just like the papers! The plan is showing around 40% reduction in staff!! No Bullshit. If I was fired yesterday or today I would post all the things I was smart enough to email to myself. But I was told I am not gone yet.

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  9. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:41 AM

    Not to poke fun or anything at your post, but i've gotta point out that this sentence may be the future of our industry...

    "I have seen plans the do change within somewhat daily."

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  10. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:45 AM

    Re the Jersey pro sports writers that were laid-off.. What type of coverage did they provide that could not be had from any of the other hundreds of journalists covering the pro teams ? Serious question - i'm just wondering why these suburban papers need their own pro sports writers when there are SO MANY sources for pro sports coverage of any team these days, whether it be from AP, some other wire service or many other sources.

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  11. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:46 AM

    12/03/2008 3:41 AM

    That was no accident!

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  12. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:51 AM

    3:46:
    Huh??

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  13. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:53 AM

    12/03/2008 3:41 AM
    Once they start charging for spell check.

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  14. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:54 AM

    What he/she meant to say probably was that sentences like this...

    "I have seen plans the do change within somewhat daily."

    ... will probably be quite common on news pages what how we got no copy editors still here anyway

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  15. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:56 AM

    1 spellcheck provided for 1 Rupee will be the going rate going forward.

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  16. Anonymous12/03/2008 3:56 AM

    12/03/2008 3:41 AM
    I think once they are sick of paying editors this could be true

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  17. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:01 AM

    12/03/2008 3:56 AM Anonymous said...

    "1 spellcheck provided for 1 Rupee will be the going rate going forward."

    I say nicely worded!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:01 AM

    12/03/2008 3:56 AM Anonymous said...

    "1 spellcheck provided for 1 Rupee will be the going rate going forward."

    I say nicely worded!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:05 AM

    if you work in production or circulation then you should be getting ready.

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  20. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:10 AM

    Thank goodness for Jameson... Irish whiskey will always get me through the tough times! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:14 AM

    me included!

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  22. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:15 AM

    yep

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  23. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:16 AM

    WOW I feel better

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  24. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:18 AM

    "Thank goodness for Jameson... Irish whiskey will always get me through the tough times! :)"



    Looks like someone else is Irish?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:19 AM

    Sparky - thanks for letting us have Jim this week.

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  26. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:22 AM

    Not Irish, but... it's still Jameson... thank goodness.

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  27. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:25 AM

    I don't know Sparky or Jim.
    I am not gay but the vote came in!
    WTF?

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  28. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:26 AM

    Thank Goodness My Guiness!

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  29. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:33 AM

    On a past post from yesterday or maybe the day before. I do agree if Jim wants to step into the blog realm he needs to get off this platform! Many other blogger type platforms are better.

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  30. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:37 AM

    So people do sleep?

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  31. Anonymous12/03/2008 4:40 AM

    Not really. There's been a steady drumbeat of comments all night, on different threads.

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  32. Anonymous12/03/2008 5:18 AM

    F_CK OFF
    the people the media have no recourse or the people have become complacent at this point I see no light at the end the American dream has been officialy ruined

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  33. Anonymous12/03/2008 5:21 AM

    Thanks Top 1%
    You are great!
    NOT:(

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  34. Anonymous12/03/2008 5:35 AM

    I've woken at 3 am for the last week. I struggle today to compose myself to go in to sit at my desk and wait for the tap on the shoulder, whether it be me or the staff that reports to me. Around 9:30 the carnage will begin, if I survive -the staff will think I knew they were the target..but I have no idea...I'm nauseous..I know we will survive somehow but how sad is the message in all this. CoWorkers be strong..we all know how hard we worked and how little it's appreciated. For those left it will be an impossible task, VP's haven't a clue, they manage by email, only worrying about making their weekly OC meeting. Seems it doesn't really matter but customer service will be nill,so more will cancel the paper. There is no one who has a clue how to steer this ship.
    How sad...Gannett has let us all down

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  35. Anonymous12/03/2008 5:47 AM

    UNPAID OVERTIME ISSUE (Revisited):

    Jim Please set up a separate posting for this subject. It is very important now.

    from yesterday's posts:

    QUESTION: I know the answer depends on the level of fear of loosing one's job in a bad economy, but how are the remaining people going to handle the implicitly expected UNPAID OVERTIME work in the weeks and months ahead.

    I do my job and work hard, but if this is how we're going to be rewarded -like a character from Goodfellas getting an unexpected ice-pick to the neck- after giving (out of fear) FREE TIME to these schmucks, I'm going by the Employee Handbook and telling my supervisor to request EXTRA TIME in writing so I can keep track of it for the Day I'm taken out and shot (figuratively).

    God Bless all of you who have been released. In the long run I think it will ultimately be better for your minds and souls; even if its hard on your wallets now.
    **********************************

    GANNETT EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK:

    Any hours worked in excess of 37.5 are PAID at One & One-Half Times your hourly rate including Sundays. Overtime is intended to meet emergency needs ONLY and MUST BE AUTHORIZED in advance by your supervisor or department manager. When the need for overtime arises, it will be assigned in a fair and equitable basis.

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  36. Anonymous12/03/2008 6:05 AM

    Where I work, most of the layoffs were deadwood, surprisingly. Like my boss, so the newsroom would have been rejoicing.

    Except that they also laid off a bunch of young people that they had just hired a few months ago, and all of those people were good. Not a single one of them deserved to get laid off, and there was still plenty of deadwood left to cut instead.

    Maybe they'll get some more of that when they do another round in February.

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  37. Dutch619m12/03/2008 6:12 AM

    @ Louisville C-J, we are losing 7 in the pressroom. Last day will be 12/14/08. On the 15th we will start running one press at nite instead of two. We will have an earlier start time,so lots of sports will be missing. Later off time means losing carriers and then customers, which leads to lost advertising, which leads to lost revenue which leads to.....

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  38. Anonymous12/03/2008 6:19 AM

    6:05

    Remember: The people you call "dead wood" were probably made lifeless husks because of years having their souls sucked out of them by Gannett.

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  39. Anonymous12/03/2008 6:41 AM

    Instead of laying me off, perhaps they'll just donate me to the foundation.

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  40. Anonymous12/03/2008 6:44 AM

    I saw an earlier question asking about Lansing, rumors around the building say 25 of us will be cut today.

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  41. Anonymous12/03/2008 6:51 AM

    Anybody at USAT? what happened there? I haven't see/heard anything about you. Please tell me Ken Paulson got the ax.

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  42. Anonymous12/03/2008 6:58 AM

    Lansing State Journal stated in the paper this morning that it would be printing the Battle Creek Enquirer and this would add an undetermined number of Jobs.

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  43. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:06 AM

    and they left out that "this would lose an undetermined number of readers."

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  44. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:08 AM

    Right.......

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  45. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:08 AM

    anyone let go on the night team at the APP in ADS?

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  46. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:13 AM

    Can anyone shed some insight into what it's like to be untouched by these layoffs? After all the cuts that have been made to the NJ papers, I can't imagine what it must be like to still be a reporter there. The cuts at the HNT were just stunning, and the APP has been bleeding people for three years straight now.

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  47. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:23 AM

    7:13am

    If you have seen either one of these three movies:

    The Last Man on Earth
    Omega Man
    I Am Legend

    Then you probably have a feel for what it's like if you're a worker still standing after this plague.

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  48. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:36 AM

    NJ - We listened to a very incompetent employee bragging that she would not be laid off due to her pregnancy. Is that true? Is there a law?

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  49. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:41 AM

    Good Luck to everyone today!

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  50. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:43 AM

    This will be my last post for ACT:
    Yesterday after talking to several local radio stations, and attempts to send comments to our local TV station, no one would comment on this story. Not to mention the whole censorship aspect of this situation, the blocking of public comments not only at ACT when all of this was first announced, to follow suit after talking with Eddie Fox & Sharon Green local DJ’s at KISS, the Comment Pages and Message Board links were completely removed from their website within minutes after hanging up with them, All the DJ Blogs were on-line yesterday morning at 99.9 KISS COUNTRY. To say this move is unconscionable is an understatement. Let us not forget the First Amendment is a two-way street, protecting free speech for everyone, not just the news media. After watching URTV last night hoping everyone watching would start calling in voicing their outrage at what Gannett is doing here, but I guess it’s just a personal thing. The phone just didn’t ring. My fight is over.
    The boycott was never intended to close the newspaper or a personal attack towards anyone at the Asheville Citizen Times. The boycott was towards Gannett. They’re closing a fixture that has been in this city for over 123 years. The boycott was intended to get Gannett to rethink their decision I hoped, and give those laid off their jobs back and keep our local paper as it has been for all those years.
    Once again I think that Gannett is putting the final nail in the coffin of the newspaper themselves. I think Gannett has underestimated what it will take to produce this paper on a daily basis in Greenville, especially Sundays and Holidays. In the end, the customer who buys this paper will be the ones to suffer when they go to their paper box or local paper rack to find it empty because the paper is not there, its late. How many late deliveries will customers tolerate before they quit looking for a paper rack or call to cancel their subscription?
    What I dread will be having to tell everyone that has become almost like family goodbye, some people we may never see again, but the hardest part will be when we hang that wreath on the door that last day that says “Rest In Peace” we’re going to miss you old friend. 1885-2009

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  51. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:48 AM

    I think the fact that some newspapers decided to report on their layoffs in their news columns says a lot about the maturity of a newspaper's leaders compared to those who tried to hide the news from their readers and hoped no one would find out.

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  52. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:56 AM

    I think you can bet Gannett checked out discrimination laws about age, pregnancy, etc. before they made the choices regarding layoffs.

    The pregnant employee has no more rights than anyone else on a job - if not, what a loophole!

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  53. Anonymous12/03/2008 7:59 AM

    Jim, thanks for this forum. As upset as my stomach is, I think I'll be able to face what's coming because of what I've read here.

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  54. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:18 AM

    3:45, that attitude of "who needs pro sports reporters" is just one of the many problems with Gannett. They all boil down to this:

    Corporate tries to apply a cookie cutter approach to everything without taking a moment to understand the communities it is serving. Local is important, but for some that "local" includes the pro coverage. The readers don't care that they can get it elsewhere -- they want it from "their" guys, their paper.

    Yes, everyone knows that you can get pro sports coverage 24-7 on the web. But there are still a significant number of readers out there who want to see it in their newspaper. At the APP, when the oh-so-charming EE Skip squashed pro coverage, the readers were up in arms. Not that he would know -- he stuck his fingers in his ears and pretended not to hear it. He wasn't fielding the calls and complaints -- the sports department was. Even now, if you read the sports forums on the Star-Ledger's website, you'll see people bash the APP there for having nothing in it.

    Cherry Hill is right across the river from Philadelphia and from its sports teams. We're not talking an hour drive or more like it is from Neptune to New York. We're talking 15 minutes and you're at a game -- any of the games, as the stadiums are all right across the Walt Whitman from there. Cherry Hill/Camden is as much part of Philadelphia as if it were right in downtown Philly.

    Even Bob Collins, for as much as people hate him, understood the relationship between the two cities -- and cherished that. His pal Skip sure didn't, and to this day does not. Sports is a nuisance to him. The most amazing thing about the HNT cuts is that Skip didn't go after sports up there.

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  55. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:18 AM

    Asheville having staff meeting today to discus impact to departments. LOL

    As usual advertising is making promises without following through with actions. They did this in 07 and in 08 and I wonder what is in store for 09. I presume if they can't meet their numbers they will just cherry pick more employees for termination.

    Time for new leadership.

    It appears that some of the people cherry picked yesterday were picked for several reasons. Location, wages, and just plain sat in the wrong place.

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  56. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:19 AM

    7:43 AM
    Sometimes good things take time.

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  57. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:22 AM

    7:36, I don't think being pregnant protects you during a layoff. The only guarantee is that they can't fire you and hire someone else to fill your job. And since Gannett doesn't intend to fill these jobs, she may wrongly believe she's safe.

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  58. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:22 AM

    to 3:24 keep drinking the kool-aid

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  59. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:25 AM

    This is not personal... this is business...just like in the Godfather....we were laid off in Sept. and still in a spin...all of us should have best wished for Gannett because that is where your severance will come from...look around many companies are doing the same with their employees...life will not be the same but you can go on...nothing is truly lost if you choose to find it again

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  60. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:29 AM

    3:28am: Which departments and how many in Corporate were affected in this round? Any in Broadcast?

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  61. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:29 AM

    Meanwhile, Gannett hiring picks up. The company posted eleven jobs for the publishing division yesterday and today. If you were laid off, you might want to see if they've posted your job.

    This is truly absurd.

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  62. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:35 AM

    So the question is, how does this possibly help "return the troubled 102-year-old publisher to prosperity"? The kind of journalism my paper (my former paper, now) was doing five or 10 years ago, and what it's doing today - it's pathetic; doesn't even compare. Reporters just aren't given the time not only to do long investigative pieces; they don't even get the time to get out on their beats, what little semblance of beats there are, and learn the ropes, make relationships with sources, comb for stories, learn about the fabric of the towns, etc. It's sad.
    Now this? How is further reducing the quality of the newspaper going to save it?

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  63. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:37 AM

    We need to list all of the names of the Board of directors here and start asking them what they think about the CEO Craig Dubow and the CFO Gracia Martore. Clearly, people like Duncan McFarland, Donna Shalala, Jeffrey Louis, Neal Shapiro can't be happy with this management team. I know they hired two more board members, so perhaps they will throw out Dubow!

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  64. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:37 AM

    "@ Louisville C-J...On the 15th we will start running one press at nite instead of two. We will have an earlier start time,so lots of sports will be missing..."

    First off, I'm very sorry for the people losing their jobs in the pressroom. You do a great job and I hope for better things for all of you, those who "left" and those still there, from this point on.

    Secondly, does going to one press mean that the C-J will go from three editions to two, or one? And, how early deadlines are they talking about?

    You are right about their being less of everything as a result of this: readers won't understand, and they'll just say it's more evidence of a once-great newspaper circling the drain...

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:50 AM

    Strength and courage, everyone, as the purging continues today.
    I've started a blog for a collective of journalists who have been laid off or took a buyout. Imagine the impact we can have if we join together nationwide.
    Stop by 4thestatenews.wordpress.com to help get this started.
    4th Estate

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:53 AM

    8:37,
    Fat chance: Dubow, Martore, Mayman and crew suck up BIG TIME to the Board.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:59 AM

    What they've done to the Photo dept in Phoenix is reprehensible. Since the bloodletting started last summer, we've last 8.5 photographers. Four photographers took buyouts last summer, yesterday we lost three photo editors and 1.5 photographers. The cuts in photos went well beyond 10 percent.

    Most of these people were good experienced photojournalists. Their value went far beyond the photos they made. Their value included their knowledge of the communities they covered, their news judgement and their ability to help guide the increasingly young and inexperienced reporters we're saddled with.

    How much profit is enough profit for the blood sucking bastards that run this company.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Anonymous12/03/2008 8:59 AM

    4:10 - "Thank goodness for Jameson". Heh. Had to laugh at that one. The president of the Tucson operation is named Jameson. I don't think too many people will be thanking goodness if he comes to see them today!

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  69. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:00 AM

    Can we get a final roll call for The Asbury Park Press posted?

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  70. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:05 AM

    What Gannett needs to do is get rid of all Chiefs and let the Indians do their job.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Shirley in Texas12/03/2008 9:09 AM

    EVERYONE should read Paul's blog this morning. A former Gannetteer, he calls corporate profits obscene .. and he's right, of course.
    Here's the url:
    http://www.oberjuerge.com/?p=552

    ReplyDelete
  72. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:09 AM

    update on Louisville:

    1 Real estate sales manager
    1 private party sales manager
    many more to come from adv dept.

    will keep posting

    ReplyDelete
  73. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:14 AM

    contacting the board members is a great idea but we would need to make sure it is done carefully and professionally or it would not be heard. I would imagine it is relatively common for boards to get hit hard with emails and other forms of communication during a layoff but the concerns are brushed off because they are perceived to be just frustrations made by disgruntled layoffed workers. However, if we could have Jim and some other editorial folks on this blog partner on a brief hard hitting piece that would get the directors attention - that could work.

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  74. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:18 AM

    I was let go yesterday and just tried to access the benefits website was denied access? WTF?

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:23 AM

    Use the phone number.
    I had the same problem immediately after I took a buyout.
    They kept insisting that I could use the web, but I never could get in.
    Just remember your pin and other ID stuff needed to get into the website. The phone people, while polite, will ask for it.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:28 AM

    Gannett Wisconsin is getting hit hard today.

    Apparently the bulk of the casualties are coming in Appleton and Green Bay.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:31 AM

    Phoenix news?

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  78. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:32 AM

    9:14 AM
    The board? Why?
    Go local local local with your information, I'd say.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:33 AM

    8:37 -- to get a list of the Board of Directors go to GANNETT'S website....it's right their.

    If you want list of largest shareholders (to ask what the F*ck have you been thinking over the last couple of years) go to MSN Money and it lists them when you ask for a G.C.I. quote.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:34 AM

    6:51: Anybody at USAT? what happened there? I haven't see/heard anything about you. Please tell me Ken Paulson got the ax.

    KP is still here at USA TODAY, and I don't expect him to be going anywhere, much to the displeasure of many people. There is something lacking in this man. The newsroom hasn't been hit yet, but at least four people were let go from the production department on Tuesday. Management is not saying a word about those layoffs or any still to come. KP held a meeting with us last week, didn't really answer any significant questions, and that's about all we're going to get from him or upper management. We expect to get hit today or tomorrow based on various rumors.

    Not sure about the other Gannett properties, but at USAT, this round of cutbacks, like the last, is mostly about opening up positions for digital. There are several things wrong with that, but one of the most disturbing is that no one is suppose to be exempt from these cutbacks, yet I am willing to bet that not a single digital staffer is involuntarily let go. There is as much dead wood there as there is on the print side, but because they are attached to the web site, they aren't seen as unproductive loafers. The attitude seems to be that even a bad Web-ite is better than a staffer who still works almost exclusively on the newspaper. That attitude is arrogantly applauded by some of the more hostile Web-ites. Yes, there is an underlying cancer in the newsroom that the top managers are totally unaware of.

    And just so no one mistakes what I am saying, there are many folks working primarily online who are hard workers with a lot of skills. Nice folks, too. I am just saying that there are some, a relatively small minority, who should have been let go a long time ago, but won't be touched during these layoffs.

    I hope I am wrong, and I hope the layoffs are based on performance rather than platform, but that remains to be seen. The proof of what I am saying will soon be revealed when we see who exactly is INVOLUNTARILY laid off. If we don't see a single online person on that list, then we will all know exactly what this is all about...the extermination of print. And that would fly right in the face of what KP and others have said about the importance of the newspaper.

    Again, I hope I am wrong for the sake of the brand as a whole and for the jobs of some fairly good people.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:36 AM

    I agree.
    Go to the local TV, local alternative news, local blogs. the talk radio guy who regularly bases his show on what is on Page One every morning likely would love this story.
    Tell the story of what happened to the people the community depends on to report its news.
    Readers have terrific buyin to Gannett newspapers, even though corporate ignores them.
    Remember, if you're one who is picked to go, your sources and critics are ringing the phone off the hook, expecting to reach you for their story.
    Local, local, local ...
    They're going to hate it.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:36 AM

    8:53 --- Given stock on financial performance over last 3 years, they don't just suck the Directors, they must Deep Throat them.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:38 AM

    Did everyone in Westchester get notified yesterday? I saw a posting that accounted for jobs and 18 were missing. In the Mount Kisco bureau, no one was affected, but we are wondering if we will get a visit from HR and BF today. Any word on this? If you haven't heard yet, are you safe?

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:42 AM

    Given the numbers that have been reported so far, it doesn't look like they're anywhere close to the 10 percent number, or approx 3k that was floated earlier. This certainly suggests that today could be a lot worse than yesterday with more blood on the floor.

    As I recall, isn't this the week when the annual review / salary increases / stock options / bonuses / etc are doled out to the OC / mgt team at each site? Do they even have options / SIR's or other financial mechanisms to retain anyone who is any good at that level?

    ReplyDelete
  85. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:45 AM

    Some high-level newsroom people at The Republic were axed last night, including two AMEs. Both had more than 25 years of experience. Several assistant city editors also got whacked.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:48 AM

    9:34 -- I'm sticking by my prediction that a couple of online people will be gone. We already know at least one is taking a voluntary.

    In any case, with "online" folks contributing as they are to the print products (note plural) these days, it's not really a case of getting rid of print. We'll do as much print as advertising will allow. But we'll ask the "online" folks to do multiple jobs.

    On another note -- some folks on this forum of hatred may cheer as people lose their jobs in Gannett's corporate tower, thinking they're all "shopping at the Galleria." A lot of us at USAT know better. We see them at the more pedestrian Tysons Corner Center -- or Target. We see them as we pick up our kids at school. We know how expensive it is for all of us to live in this area. (Good thing Gannett hasn't realized how much money it could save by picking up the whole operation and going to the Midwest.)

    So let's be sympathetic today. And if you have ideas of how to do this better, let's hear them.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:54 AM

    I just added a page called The Talent Pool over at 4th Estate News Service. On this page I will list links to personal Web pages of those seeking a new job. I will not post names on this page, put you can come up with a description of your skills, such as “Sports Reporter with 10 years experience covering Major League Baseball” or “Award-Winning Graphic Designer,” etc. These postings are FREE. It is a way of helping us all to find new work.
    Please send your page link to 4thEstateNewsService@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  88. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:55 AM

    9:48, I think Jim has figured out how to do it better. He's serving a targeted community with passion.
    Yeah, I know, we do need to figure out how to make a living. If I'm getting laid off, I'm going back to my passion and serve my own community. Maybe the money will follow or maybe it won't, but at least it will remind me why I got into journalism.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous12/03/2008 9:56 AM

    Once you go local local local (news outlets, chambers of commerce, etc.) please share the story links here. I would think it's not everday a "profitable" corporate giant gets by with laying off the very people who helped create last year's profit margins.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:02 AM

    Gannett Blog should morph into a site to help laid off employees and help the ones that remain. The blog is depressing and demoralizing and gets worse everyday. I can complain all I want and put people down, but it serves no useful purpose. Reliving the past does me no good. I need to direct my energy to finding a new job. To those of you who remain be thankful you still have a job. If you don't like Gannett and the people you work for please give me your job.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:02 AM

    9:45, names only if comfortable sharing and if you think THEY would be comfortable having them shared?

    ReplyDelete
  92. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:04 AM

    There is so much happening that is reprehensible. Worst I think is that hundreds in Jersey, thousands across the country, are being laid off when this corporation is still making a profit. And most of our individual papers are still making a profit. No one is alleging here, as was the case with the Star-Ledger, that we're actually losing millions each year.
    And what did happen at the corporate level? I am sure it is nothing approaching what they should do. Every move they have made has lost us readers and led to layoffs. Get rid of 'em, let the locals do our job and serve local news the way we know people want it. More than 100 jobs could be saved by getting rid of Dubow's still too-large salary AND benes.
    Like so many others have said, everything we do loses us more readers. Cut sports, cut circulation staff, impose earlier deadlines. You give people no news or don't even get the paper to them and of course they're not going to keep reading. We keep spiraling down the whirlpool and keep getting closer to the black hole at the bottom. At my paper, the ee sends people off with a fond farewell and, "See ya online." Of course, the web pages take so long to load no one wants to put up with that either. Another brilliant corporate decision.
    Good luck to all, I only wish there were jobs and a future in journalism -- which this country desperately needs -- waiting for those laid off.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:06 AM

    I did not provide names because I'm not sure they would be comfortable with that. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:07 AM

    An appeal to board members who might be sympathetic should center around having employees' voices heard without fear of retribution. I don't know what the proportion of shares owned by employees amounts to, but even if it is not a plurality, it's nothing to sneeze at. To have employee-owners at all levels be denied their voices because of implicit fear of job loss is just piss-poor investor relations.

    And, just to bang the gong, it is pretty f***ing sad that all these cuts are being made not to return to profitability, but to insure continued profits above most other American businesses'.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:07 AM

    totally understand, 10:06

    ReplyDelete
  96. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:07 AM

    I agree local would be better for communicating the "story". But the board option would be better for Debow and company,

    ReplyDelete
  97. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:09 AM

    OK DETROIT - someone start sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:12 AM

    Go local. What's there to lose? Put the Gannett profit margin on the resume, insert the day they laid you off and march right into the mayor's office. Tell your story calmly. You don't have to get emotional at all. The facts about this local local local company (and where the profits are going) will speak for themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:13 AM

    Local will listen and is more likely to react in a way you will appreciate.
    Corporate and Board of Directors are unlikely to listen or even care. It is likely the board knew about this painful episode long ago.
    Do you really think a former HHS secretary gives a hoot about a reporter in NJ?
    It's biznss, as we say down south.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:13 AM

    9:00, I'm not sure we've seen the last of it at the APP. Donovan's memo said 92, but the names I've heard barely put a dent in that total.

    In the newsroom it was the AME/Design; one of the community conversation/editorial page editors; a page designer, two younger artists and a third one who was a fixture at the paper (the page designer, btw, counted as part of the four from the art dept); an assistant sports editor; the entertainment editor; an online news producer; there were rumors of two others in the newsroom, but not confirmed so I won't give job titles. Finding out here would be a crappy way to find out you were out of a job. I think the Statehouse reporters who were cut count in the APP total. I heard ADS took a humongous hit and I know there were some in advertising too but I don't know the details. I also heard some pressmen got cut but again, I don't know totals.

    ReplyDelete
  101. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:16 AM

    Did someone say that Corporate employess who were laid off would receive 2 weeks for every year? My understanding for layoffs to be legal is that everyone had to be treated the same if they are all laid off at the same time. I guess Gannett Corporate believes they are above it all.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:20 AM

    Elmira - 15 total Tuesday (3 in news) and more to come today - rumor building being sold because so few people left; printing moved two years ago along with most ad, HR, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  103. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:22 AM

    AME of Design at the APP - Is that Harris Siegel?

    If it is, what a truly sad day this is going to be...as if any of us questioned that already. Harris has done some incredible work for the APP and if he was shown the door, I can only imagine how the rest of this day is going to turn out.

    So many uniquely talented individuals will be shown the door and will leave professions they love and enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:27 AM

    http://seekingalpha.com/article/108945-poor-strategy-is-costly

    What is the company's strategy? Ask that when they lay you off?

    ReplyDelete
  105. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:30 AM

    This is making the Spanish Flu look good. And remember. Just because you've escaped the Grim Reaper so far, your health is still very much at risk.

    ReplyDelete
  106. Shirley in Texas12/03/2008 10:30 AM

    The Gannett purge has hit the national news/blogs ...

    From Reuters media blog:
    http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/12/03/watch-gannett-layoffs-in-slow-motion/

    ReplyDelete
  107. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:32 AM

    I lost my job yesterday. I have great challenges ahead of me, which I won't go into here. But somehow, when I walked out of that place, I felt liberated.

    I can't even begin to imagine what my future holds, but I know for sure, I will do my best to avoid a place like the one I left yesterday, ever again.

    It is a cesspit that good people go to do die. The funny thing is that, we are so afraid of what awaits us that, we we stay in situations that are so harmful to our very being.

    I look at today as a new beginning. I hope for many others, who will get their walking papers soon, to take comfort that brighter days are ahead, despite what the situation looks like now. Take it from me, I've got more crap to deal with in my life daily, but leaving that toxic environment behind, gives me a new lease on life.

    Whew! It feels good to breathe again!!

    Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  108. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:34 AM

    In Pensacola, with layoffs in the newsroom, it must be like two editors per reporter. Is that right?

    ReplyDelete
  109. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:36 AM

    Layoffs have started at the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

    So far, two advertising, one voluntary, one involuntary, and a news assistant at the community newspapers.

    ReplyDelete
  110. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:36 AM

    9:55 -- Tapping into anger? I don't know -- USAT does that pretty well.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:37 AM

    Some "online" folks have no interest in print. Plain and simple. In many ways, I can't blame them. They are mostly young and looking to the future. What they don't realize is that by coming to USA TODAY, a major paper now getting rid of print journalists annually, they are going to eventually be asked to help prop up the newspaper so that it can continue bringing in the revenue. This is the Gannett way. One has to wear many hats, and if the money-making end of the brand (still the paper) is suffering, and there aren't many folks left focusing exclusively on that paper, then the slack is going to have to be picked up by someone. So that 25-year-old web whiz might have to occasionally work a late shift on the copy desk or layout a page or draw up a map for the paper. They might occasionally have to pull off a project and crank out a 10-inch story for final edition. Occasionally could turn into more than occasionally at the rate things are going.

    As more print people are asked to leave, that expectation of "online" contributing to print might sound like a doable idea to the bean counters, but it's not going to happen in certain cases. I would expect a lot of the web folks to become as disillusioned as their brothers and sisters still toiling away in print.

    It would be best to kill off print jobs in proportion to the death rate of the paper, but Gannett and USA TODAY are trying to have their cake and eat it too. And we are all going to suffer. It might be somewhat easier for staffers to work on both platforms at smaller newspapers, but at USA TODAY there are complexities to both platforms that your average 10,000 circulation newspaper edited and printed locally doesn't have. It will be almost impossible for USAT to have an army of folks who split their time effectively on both platforms. Something will suffer and for the higherups to think otherwise is just plain unrealistic. Some online jobs vary from print jobs as much as oranges vary from apples. That reality is not being recognized. Too many decision-makers are assuming that just because some newsroom jobs can easily work on both platforms, all can make that transition. With deadlines and certain production and technically demands and vast differences, there will have to be some separation so that the paper doesn't slip too much and so that the web site can grow.

    Question is, how many more print people are going to be let go in favor of hiring tech-savvy web staffers and can the newspaper get by with 100 or 200 fewer people focusing on that paper? USAT's newsroom lost 43 last year (online was exempt) and probably will lose close to 20 this time. The one online person who is leaving is most likely a voluntary departure, which 9:48 didn't mention. It's likely that job will be filled.

    This is a complex problem for USAT. Unfortunately, I see a rather simplistic approach being taken that doesn't account for those complexities. Laying off print people and hiring digital folks is a shortsighted approach to getting to where USAT wants to be. My prediction is that the quality and credibility of the paper will decline. The web site folks will become part of the machine and lose much of their independence. And the layoffs will continue for print and slowly begin to shift over to online. I also believe that younger folks are watching all of this, and can and will go work for other more traditionally digital companies like Yahoo, Google, etc., as the work environment at USAT deteriorates.

    Sorry for the negativity, but we really need to acknowledge what is happening at USAT, some of the reasons for the layoffs and what the future holds if we continue on this path. I believe that in many ways, the company had it right at the start when it initially saw the web site and paper as two separate entities because of the vast differences mentioned above. When USAT threw the switch and said we are now all one, they did so without really thinking things through. It was a panic move to catch up in the digital world. It was a move that had some success at the smaller papers, so the bosses assumed it would work at the largest circulation paper in the country. Very bad assumption.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:38 AM

    At the C-L, word is, columnist also laid off, involuntary.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:38 AM

    Any ideas if any Wisconsin papers will merge?

    ReplyDelete
  114. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:41 AM

    Sorry folks, but any Gannett employee insane enough to take his or her concerns directly to a member of the Board of Directors will reap the wraith of Currie and Co.!

    The poster who said it was a piss-poor way to run a company if employees are too frightened for their jobs to take complaints to the board answered the question - it IS a piss-poor company!

    When I worked for Gannett, all such complaints went back to the home paper to be "dealt with" by the EE or ME.

    Corp reported the employee to the group publisher, who then told the newspaper publisher who then told the EE who then told the ME and then the ME or a supervisor would chew the employee out for causing trouble. I know, this happened. DON"T CAUSE TROUBLE WAS THE MOTTO!

    ReplyDelete
  115. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:41 AM

    From the VilleVoice (a critical look at Louisvill KY, it says). Decries decimation at the Courier Journal.

    http://thevillevoice.com/2008/12/03/now-comes-the-tough-part-at-c-j/

    It's not just us who is upset.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:43 AM

    Yes, at the APP, the AME cut was Harris Siegel, who was doing double duty, filling in as designer and lead visionary for the magazine along with all of his other duties.

    The man is considered a visionary and leading force in the design world. They'll probably hire some kids who have been studying pages Harris won awards with. Disgusting.

    And it was the assistant entertainment editor at the APP who got the axe, not the entertainment editor.

    Also, most of the special sections staff got the axe and I heard a whole bunch of people in circulation as well.

    Irony of ironies, the poor guy who was putting in the new editor's ridiculously large flat screen TV, got the dreaded tap on the shoulder as he was working on installing it.

    ReplyDelete
  117. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:47 AM

    It's been long rumored that Appleton and Green Bay will merge.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:47 AM

    More word from the C-L (secondhand): 2 more voluntary (one in features and one part-time in sports) and 2 other positions will not be filled (business reporter and copy editor)

    ReplyDelete
  119. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:49 AM

    Jesus, I hope that TV guy laid down his tools immediately and walked out. But most people actually have too much pride to do that. He probably finished the job.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:50 AM

    What's going on in Hattiesburg?

    ReplyDelete
  121. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:51 AM

    Was it 9:37 a.m. who suggested that the web whizzez might have to "wear many hats?"
    It would do my heart GOOD to see some of them become content providers instead of just shoveling what the print side produces into preformed slots on Gannett's crummy Web templates.
    If all the print content providers get laid off in their one-paper towns, the Gannett websites can't be like Google and pick up what other people wrote. The paper is "it" and if nobody is producing copy, there will be no updates to post.
    Get out of the office, kiddies, and see what it is like to report the news.
    BooRah!

    ReplyDelete
  122. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:54 AM

    For the best in NJ news and sports coverage, consumers now can purchase the NYT, Philadelphia Inky along with the Star Ledger. There is literally no reason to purchase any of the 6 Gannett products in the state.
    S. Jersey has no more pro sports coverage due to the layoffs even though about 90 percent of the athletes and personnel from the Philly teams live in the CP readership area.
    As for the Trenton bureau. What Trenton bureau? Who needs to know what is going on in the state capital. It's not like there is anything important going on there, right? Is Corzine still governor?
    As for the local, local, local corporate jive, by my calculations GCI now has about 80 fulltime municipal/local reporters to cover 566 municipalities in the state. Don't think about a vacation gang or risk being fired in the next set of layoffs (see ya in March!).
    But I hear Skippy Jr. at the APP got a new remote control, plasma television this week for his office. So atleast someone is happy in Jersey.
    Yippeee!!

    ReplyDelete
  123. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:57 AM

    @2:42A.M. We all feel your pain. A.V. was great to work with, she was a true journalist and that is why she is gone. Westchester and their LoHud sight lost all journalistic integrity by making things like METROMIX more important than the news. They are very desperate for hits to show advertisers, photos of drunk girls kissing each other have no business on the site.
    A.V. is a smart person and will land on her feet. Yet the dead weight that drives the paper into the ground still remains.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Anonymous12/03/2008 10:58 AM

    Has the ax started to fall in Phoenix yet?

    ReplyDelete
  125. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:01 AM

    "It's been long rumored that Appleton and Green Bay will merge."

    I've heard talk about merging Appleton with Oshkosh (and maybe FDL) into a single Fox Valley newspaper.

    GB is to profitable for them to merge with another newspaper right now.

    ReplyDelete
  126. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:01 AM

    Another Retail Sales manager gone on the ad floor in Louisville.. bring the adv management count to 3

    ReplyDelete
  127. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:02 AM

    What about the Indiana Group and Cincy?

    ReplyDelete
  128. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:05 AM

    I don't condone the name-calling and backstabbing at USAT between print and online folks (or, more accurately, those who are primarily attached to one or the other platforms). Upper management created this situation we're in by throwing us all together, despite vast differences in our jobs and goals and cultures. Management didn't think things through and had lofty, unrealistic goals based on nothing but wishful thinking. Management didn't take into account the many complexities to putting out a national newspaper and how that might hamper this transition. Some didn't have a clue about the web site yet were making staffing decisions.

    Add into the equation the fact that print people are disappearing from the newsroom at a clip of about 50 per year -- hard feelings are bound to arise. These layoffs are pouring fuel on a fire that's been burning longer than management wants to admit.

    Read 10:37. It's a pretty accurate picture of what went wrong at USAT and what disasters are looming (for both web and print oriented folks) if something doesn't change soon.

    Simply calling each other "kiddies" or "old farts" really doesn't do much for the newsroom as a whole. It might not seem like it right now, but we are all vulnerable and our jobs are about to get a lot tougher. Again, read 10:37 for some perspective on the online-print conflict and how the layoffs are about to make things worse.

    ReplyDelete
  129. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:06 AM

    C-L: One more on the weekly end and another news assistant.

    ReplyDelete
  130. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:09 AM

    10:37 -- Hi, 9:48 again, and if you'll re-read 9:48, you'll see this:

    "We already know at least one is taking a voluntary."

    I know there are a handful of "online" folks with little interest in "print," but I'd suggest they're the minority. They would've taken "print" jobs if they had been available. (They're much better-paying, for one thing.) And some "online" folks have plenty of "print" experience.

    I don't think it's going to be quite as simple as saying an "online" person needs to do some "print" content (though, again, you can check recent Sports fronts and see all the "online" bylines jumping out at you, and a "late" shift to the "online" world is 7p-3a or possibly 10p-6a). We need to be genuinely cooperative, all reporting and producing content of some kind.

    10:51 -- Just as some "print" people have an interest in working "online" but haven't been allowed to pursue it, plenty of "online" people would love to do more reporting and original work. USAT has made progress in reducing the amount of print-to-online shoveling it's doing, but there needs to be more. A lot of the grunt work in obscure programs could be easily done with a couple of simple tags added on the copy desk -- sending a story to "news/washington" should be no different than sending a story to "A4." Once we do that (and we're getting there), the difference between "print" and "online" will be blurred even more.

    I'm sure I'll be accused of drinking the Kool-Aid (which, if you read the thoughtful remembrances of Jonestown a few weeks ago, is a tasteless phrase), but really, I'm just trying to work as best I can.

    ReplyDelete
  131. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:10 AM

    To 11:02 am - Here in Indiana we are expecting it to all go down today. People are very nervous since there has been little to no information for Lafayette and Muncie. As Jim reported here, Indy has said 55 will go.

    ReplyDelete
  132. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:11 AM

    The theater critic laid off from Westchester was Jacques Le Sourd, who had been with Gannett for over 30 years. If the name is familiar it's because you've seen it alongside many pull quotes.

    Westchester will likely rely on AP or Bloomberg for Broadway material.

    ReplyDelete
  133. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:12 AM

    USA TODAY laid off four people in production yesterday. Another indication that Gannett wants to kill the paper as soon as possible. No one, not even the web folks, should delight in this. We all have a stake in the brand, and a big part of that brand is the paper that's out on streets five days a week.

    I concur with the last comment about urging folks to read 10:37 for some perspective on what is happening at USA TODAY, particularly in the newsroom. Talks a lot about the unrealistic expectations of the whole convergence thing, how it was approached and the results of horrid planning and implementation. My understanding is that the newsroom is bracing for layoffs today or tomorrow. That will certainly make things worse. I see a lot of people straining to smile and pretending to get along, but there is a whole bunch of underlying tensions between print and online-based people. Just hope we all keep in mind that there are no winners in this situation.

    ReplyDelete
  134. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:13 AM

    In an earlier post someone mentioned that the pressmen at APP worked 30 hours or less each work but got paid for 37.5 hours. How ridiculous is that. With so many others working unpaid overtime to have staff scheduled to work less but get paid for the full week is incredible. I sure hope someone looked at that as the first place to strike.

    ReplyDelete
  135. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:17 AM

    Re: Anon 10:58

    The ax has fallen with a mighty whack in the Phoenix newsroom. Two AME's, several city editors, several zones editors, four and half full timers from photo. Several designers, some online people. They didn't take many reporters this time around.

    ReplyDelete
  136. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:22 AM

    Very important: Will the people who took voluntary severance tell us about your success getting unemployment? I would have volunteered if I had gotten a straight answer on unemployment benefits. That would have made a HUGE difference to me. Oddly, the HR representative who I talked to about this didn't seem to get it. She said, "It only is 26 weeks." First of all, it's 39 weeks thanks to a federal provision (that expires in July but will likely be renewed). Second, I would rely on that money until I could get a solid free-lance backlog going.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:25 AM

    I'm scared to go to work today. I might cry or throw up.

    Think calling in sick will help?

    ReplyDelete
  138. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:26 AM

    The way I would have taken the voluntary thing regarding unemployment: You volunteered to be CONSIDERED for layoff. Therefore, if you got laid off, you still got laid off. You didn't quit. You tell unemployment that you got laid off. Plain & simple

    Just my $.02.

    ReplyDelete
  139. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:26 AM

    Thanks 11:17. How about from advertising, etc?

    ReplyDelete
  140. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:27 AM

    Binghamton has begun its cuts. So far, I've heard a part-time features person who was incredibly overworked has been laid off. There's ONE features editor and no reporters in Binghamton. That person is doing features editing for three papers now. How are they going to attract/retain readers without any stories?

    ReplyDelete
  141. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:28 AM

    At The Des Moines Register: Cartoonist Brian Duffy is getting fired. This allegedly opens a day when 10 people will be fired from the newsroom.

    ReplyDelete
  142. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:30 AM

    The successes of USAT's convergence "plan" are being trumpeted by management like we've found a cure for cancer. Truth is, the successes are few and far between. I am not denying they don't exist, but c'mon, editorial production is way down, as are spirits. The merging process is painfully slow and disjointed. And the current failures are festering like a bad wound while the higher up theorize about this and that behind closed doors, hour after hour. Of course this is all being made worse by a second year of cutbacks in the newsroom while ads for online job openings are certainly to follow, adding insult to injury. Of course, management doesn't want us to think of them as online jobs...but that is exactly what they are. Let's cut the bull. A programmer isn't going to be editing money section stories on the side. We're not going to see any convergence there...although this is Gannett, and one never knows what one will be asked to do.

    As for online folks wanting to do more print stuff. Yeah, I have heard rumor of that. But not once has anyone connected more to online approached me in a serious manner about doing print work on a consistent basis. One or two bylines a year is all they seem to want...perhaps, just for their portfolios.

    This whole thing is a farce. Lots of smoke and mirrors and CYA, but not much substance or smarts.

    There are better ways to operate. More efficiences that could be built into the system so that frustrations could be reduced. But there is still way too posturing and not enough action being taken. We could use technology to our benefit. We could innovate and be productive on a daily basis, but not with the current leadership.

    Now we have layoffs to contend with. Then the aftermath of that and the worries about next year. We keep spinning our wheels and putting out brush fires. A lot of time wastes reading the tea leaves because some in leadership positions are simply horrible communicators. Just becoming a dreadful place to work. So many of us want to be positive, but just keep getting hit in the face.

    ReplyDelete
  143. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:30 AM

    Interesting response from Burlington.

    http://www.7dvt.com/2008do-you-want-know-secret

    ReplyDelete
  144. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:31 AM

    don't hate 11:13 when you are home at night and on the weekends and holidays we have to work. If you want I will gladly trade places with you.

    ReplyDelete
  145. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:34 AM

    10:57, You are right, there are very few true news people left and we are embarrassed by what the LoHud site and The Journal News has become. When we are out on assignments we find a growing number of people in the community that have given up on our product and will never come back.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:35 AM

    Was the features person Barb VanAtta? She was an incredibly hard-worker when I was there and she pretty much single-handedly put out the weekend section.

    Any other word from Binghamton or Rochester?

    ReplyDelete
  147. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:35 AM

    The flagship is sinking; not so much financially but in spirit and soul. Some will delight in that, but to many this is becoming a very sad situation, regardless of whether you lean towards the web site or newsprint. If there is a way to come together, I hope each usat individual will do so in the coming days in their own small ways. No one on our level benefits from layoffs. Even the new people hired will be walking into a difficult situation that probably wasn't discussed during the job interviews.

    ReplyDelete
  148. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:37 AM

    Even though it was "positions, not people", the key word was "balance" that the decision makers repeated over and over. You can't have a list of all females or all minorities and that broke down to individual departments as well as the overall list.

    ReplyDelete
  149. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:38 AM

    Tom Callinan, Cincinnati Enquirer editor and lifelong Gannett toady/yes-man, fired the following yesterday and is going after more today. Not sure if any of these were voluntary.

    - Copy desk chief
    - Business editor
    - Lead artist
    - A photo desk coordinator
    - A community news editor
    - The video trainer
    - A copy editor
    - A features copy editor
    - A news desk editor
    - A bureau editor

    There's some seniority and age here, but also some newer, younger folks. No reporters were let go. A lot of dead weight remains.

    ReplyDelete
  150. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:40 AM

    So did Green Bay get rid of the cartoonist and a Packers writer as predicted? Typical Gannett if they did. Get rid of the two most important positions at the paper. Makes sense to me.

    ReplyDelete
  151. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:41 AM

    One voluntary exit in Poughkeepsie so far.

    ReplyDelete
  152. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:42 AM

    Best of luck to the staff in Lafayette today...we will be losing some great people. Hopefully I am not one of those to go... But I will try to post info when receive it.

    ReplyDelete
  153. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:43 AM

    Two slashed in the Burlington newsroom today.

    One older editor (was doing database stuff) and one young features reporter.

    No word yet on others

    ReplyDelete
  154. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:44 AM

    Extra! Extra! Fresh cuts at The Tennessean:

    One Davidson AM reporter
    One photographer
    One food writer

    ReplyDelete
  155. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:44 AM

    Typical 11:31, a Gannett premodona. What did you expect when so took a job in the newspaper industry? I'm sure it was very clear that you would have to work nights, weekends and holidays. I lost my job while people like you that surf the internet all day were kept because you have your nose so far up the ass of management. When you are let go in the next round Feb. 2009, you will miss working nights, weekends and holidays and most of all you will miss a paycheck.

    ReplyDelete
  156. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:44 AM

    Any word out of Indianapolis???

    ReplyDelete
  157. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:46 AM

    Extra Extra Extra! Update on today's Tennessean cuts:

    1 copy editor/food columnist
    1 page designer
    1 entertainment reporter
    1 community reporter
    1 photographer

    ReplyDelete
  158. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:46 AM

    For all papers, many initiatives this year and next to take more away from readers: sections, TV books, size of paper, less customer service, less holiday/bonus day papers, etc.
    And, even more initiatives to continue increasing customer costs; Sunday single copy price increase to follow the daily that was done earlier this year, accross the board home delivery price increases for the majority of papers and other price increases to make up for revenue lost by reducing the holiday and bonus day papers.

    Also, no more papers for schools.

    A few items that every paper will be involved in.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:46 AM

    Dubow formula for success:
    Less news, sports and reporters. inoperable websites. More Metromix.
    Wow. Sign me up.
    Gannett R.I.P. - Jan. 2010.

    ReplyDelete
  160. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:51 AM

    Any ideas if any Wisconsin papers will merge?

    12/03/2008 10:38 AM

    When the creative department for all 4 Central papers was consolidated to Wausau last fall, I told a few choice folks I foresaw a regional paper in the works. When the Point Print Facility was shut down and all printing was also moved to Wausau(with some printing being outsourced) I reittereated this prediction.

    Less than 1 more year to see if my prediction comes true.

    ReplyDelete
  161. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:53 AM

    Green Bay will announce its layoffs and staff changes to the newsroom at 2:45 p.m.

    ReplyDelete
  162. Anonymous12/03/2008 11:53 AM

    APP had short story of 92 layoffs on website last night. Story seems to have been "disappeared" this mornin'.
    Shocking.

    ReplyDelete

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