Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday | Jan. 24 | Your News & Comments
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45 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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I don't think I know any gay men who play golf.
ReplyDeleteThat's because it involves putting a ball in a hole.
ReplyDeleteYou should pop over to
ReplyDeletePop on over to my page for a while...
ReplyDeleteThe Strange Death of Heather Renee Skarina
This whole thing has gotten so low that a pregnant employee was made to take her furlough before anyone else before she went into labor and missed the opportunity to take one for the team. Ciminy!
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteMaybe Bob Dickey can teach you how to swing a stick and drive your balls deep!
Gannettoid.com showed up in your Google ads, Jim. How interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat's because gay men have style and wouldn't be caught dead in those outfits. Golf attire used to be loud, not it's just drab and boring.
ReplyDeleteIt's because of the way you grip the club. I'm sorry I couldn't resist :)
ReplyDeleteI stayed away from this blog due to all the negativisim and non-news for a week. Came back today, looked around and noticed it's the same old same old. I'll check back in a week or so to see if there is anything interesting.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of, " Gannettoid.com" 5;57, I have yet to see any DISCLAIMER, that Gannettoid, is NOT in association with Gannett. I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteIn answer to some complete idiot's post of why do we care that dickey dick is playing golf: here is the answer: I live in a little town in the Midwest. His golf fee, if it was only $12,000, would pay my mortgage payments for a year. Now, people say, get out if you don't like it. Easy enough to do if you live in a city with more job opportunities than in a little podunk town with the only few industries around you laying off left and right. Moving is not an option for several reasons, kids in school, housing market is in the toilet, can't sell your house, no money to move on, what do you do, etc. So you get on the blog, you read about dickey dick flying out to the warmer climes to hit a stupid ball around a golf course when you are worried to death about whether or not you are going to lose your house down the road because there are no jobs to be had, if your kids are going to be homeless, have any food to eat, and he orders a week with no pay. What a jerk off. I hope he becomes impotent after all of his playing with hard little balls. THAT WOULD BE JUSTICE IN MY EYES! And the other jerk offs in suits sit there with their six figure salaries and don't have a clue what is going on in the real world. I wish they had to live on my salary for six months, and then see if they would just jump on an airplane and go play golf (they couldn't afford the meal on an airplane on my salary, let alone the ticket).
ReplyDeleteYea, it is cold here in the lower midwest, too.
@ Richard Michem:
ReplyDeleteThere is a disclaimer on the Gannettoid site, but it's at the bottom of the page. It says "This site is not affiliated with Gannett Company, Inc." Whoever runs that site might want to display that a bit more prominently.
Richard Michem: Look at the very bottom of the Gannettoid page. Wouldn't you count the part that says "© 2009 Gannettoid — All rights reserved. This site is not affiliated with Gannett Company, Inc." as a disclaimer that it's not affiliated with Gannett? I would. If not, I'd still count it since that's definitely not a site Gannett would operate.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else ever take a peek at the blog www.newspaperdeathwatch.com ?
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the thing: What makes Dickey or Dubow so exclusively qualified to command (read: extort) those many-six-figure salaries?
ReplyDeleteWhat work do either of them perform day to day that any of us, including the little guy in the podunk Midwest town, can't do?
Huh? Huh?
I also don't know any environmentalists who play golf. I also can't remember anyone intelligent who plays golf except Obama
ReplyDeleteDisgruntled 11:27 AM
ReplyDeleteYou have bigger issues going on than Dickey playing golf on his own dime. What did you do with all your money? Lease a new car every three years? Charge up your credit cards on items not needed such as flat screen TV’s? I’m finding that the biggest
Crybabies about this furlough and layoffs are the ones that have “over extended” themselves and thought little about the future. It’s your own damn fault.
The economy is it the crapper and newspapers are feeling the brunt of this. Stop complaining get off your ASS!!! It’s now time to take control of your life and find a new career. Newspapers are dying, and you my friend will be out of a job sooner than you think. Sitting around wishing bad on a suit is bad form and bad Karma. I worked for Gannett for many years mad a decent wage, sent my kids to public schools lived a fairly conservative life and saved for the future. I was shown the door eight months ago and I made the tough decision to find a job out of state, renting a studio apartment and only able to visit my family twice a month driving 12 hours each way.
It suck’s, but it will all work out over time. It’s time for you to start making those tough decisions and stop laying blame on the suits of the world.
12:27 yeah your right,blame on the display setting of computer. What people really want to know is Gannettoid, put out by the same person, that publish "Gannettblogsucks" blog?
ReplyDeleteHey, Jim. The check's in the mail. Thanks for all your efforts on this blog!!!
ReplyDelete11:27 - $12,000 would cover my house payment for two years. Makes the golf outing even more insulting.
ReplyDeleteI've worked hard for the company, put my emphasis on producing quality work, and have been working constantly to improve my skills and make myself more valuable. I've been trying hard to stay current with the software and trends. We're repaid with furloughs and layoffs and tiny or no raises, not for the sake of keeping the company solvent, but for the purpose of fattening up the profits. I know a lot of my co-workers are looking for work elsewhere. When the economy rebounds, and there are more opportunities out there, there's going to be an exodus of talent from Gannett. That's where their problem lies, because the company won't lose the "go along to get along" workers. Instead, it will be the best talent leaving. Those will be the ones who will have the opportunities. Those will be the workers that will go to the companies that stand to make Gannett irrelevant if the company continues on its present course.
11:27, you speak for a lot of people in this company. Gannett likes to call itself an industry "leader," but why are its newspapers, reader for reader, among the worst in the country? Why is Gannett invisible when Fortune ranks its most admired companies? Why does Gannett like to talk down to its employees rather than encourage lively debate to make things better? Why does Gannett pay HALF the IRS-approved mileage reimbursement rate for privately owned vehicles? Why does Gannett recruit and retain so many uninspiring, uncreative and people-averse managers when it offers industry-leading executive compensation packages? Why does Gannett treat its highly educated and skilled work force like a crew of pyramid-builders? And why do Gannett directors sit on their hands and live with the clueless Gannett management lifers who only know how to approach challenges by cutting costs and not by putting out truly high-quality products and engaging in real, not copycat, innovation?
ReplyDelete12:51, I admire your courage in moving on. And it's true, many people in the newspaper business haven't yet come to grips with the idea that they may need to do that.
ReplyDeleteBut certainly you can understand that for many people, seeing their families two weekends a month is not a viable choice. I couldn't see doing that. It would suck the meaning out of my life.
Today's suggestion box:
ReplyDeleteLet's clean out all the perks ranging from company supported golf to cars for publishers (et al) to refrigerators stocked on the company dime. These are good, reasonable perks for good times.
We are in rough waters.
When Gannett stock gets back to 30 or so and our profits are rolling where needed, the perks can be put back in as an incentive to emerging leaders.
They do need a draw to the high-stress non-stop jobs. Top jobs never really seem that appealing, less so now.
We can zero-base (Bobby Collins style) the perks and begin to offer again as successes come back.
What do you think?
1:25 - I couldn't agree more about the impacts of losing talent. Gannett booted a lot of talented innovators out in the last round of layoffs. A lot of folks were eliminated due to personal issues, not what they did for the company. It wasn't simply about cutting the fat. These layoffs gave a lot of directors an opportunity to eliminate people who didn't march to their cookie-cutter philosophies.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, people like DuBow and his cronies read comments like mine and simply dismiss them as unrealistic and "bitching." These people have no freakin' clue that they have purged a lot of their best and brightest. Those layoffs sent a big message to the talented folks left at the newspapers: get out as soon as possible. I predict once this economy recovers Gannett will continue to flail at a much quicker pace.
12:51
ReplyDeleteI admit my life sucked for those seven months away from my family, but you do what you do for your family. The disruption of not having dad around I think was very minimal to having dad around, depressed, no prospects in sight and no income. For my family it worked out well, money flowed in bills were paid everyone understood and made the adjustment. You go where the jobs are, not where they’ve been..
Great idea to start a thread on publisher perks that should be eliminated. Cars or car allowances, car washes, free gas, car insurance, using maintenance staff to move furniture at the house, using petty cash to stock the office fridge, free lunch every day including chicken salad, and even using pressmen to fix the HVAC at the house as well as a leaky faucet or two.
ReplyDeleteCome on Ft. Myers employees... current and former. You guys have the goods.
So even if Dickey took vacation time and spent his only money for his golf vay-cay that's beside the point. It is the perception! At a time when people in his company many of whom helped him climb to the top (let's face it, we all benefit from the hard work of colleagues) are being let go and all are being furloughed, don't you think he could have spent the time a little more wisely? I know this is silly to think, but hey, what if he spent the weekend calling up long-serving staffers who had been laid off. That is what a LEADER would do. Yes, we would all want to give him an earful if he called, but wouldn't you think a little bit more of the man?
ReplyDeletefrom disgruntled 11:27 to 12:51:
ReplyDeleteMy cars are both way over 10 years old, my tv is over 8, not a flat screen, and I barely make over $10 an hour and have worked at Gan. for over 15 years. Salary is the same for everyone here in my state.
5:45 - True example: I've been with the company 25 years, moved three times and make $60k. A guy who has stayed with my current paper his entire career makes $12/ hour and has a newer car than I do, though no wife or four kids. Before the end of the year I will be at another paper and his union position will be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteYou live with the choices you make. It's more important to want what you have rather than having what you want.
I think it would be great fun to have our own Gannett Blog awards. Here's a few categories for consideration in 2008:
ReplyDeleteBest Obnoxious Suit
Best Excuse for a Publisher
Best Inhumane HR Director
Best Bloated Advertising Department
Best Bloated Advertising VP/Director
Best Ass-Kisser (in the VP/Director category)
Best Ass-Kisser (in the management category)
Best Actor/Actress (in the Managing Editor category)
Best Actor/Actress (in the Executive Editor Category)
Best Actor/Actress (in the assistant managing editor category)
Best Actor/Actress (in the assistant to the assistant to the assistant managing editor category)
Best profitable paper with the most lay-offs (non-management category)
Best fake tears on layoff day (specific to HR)
Best Indian Designer
Best clueless OC
and my personal favoite...
Unsung Douchebags.
Nominees anyone?
In a local economy where 40,000 is the median income. Sales managers are pulling in over 100k, plus commissions. It's WAY out of line with other pay structures within the same building. Not to mention they aren't selling crap. WHY? Why are sales managers paid at such a rate without producing?
ReplyDeleteHow about other sites? Are Sales managers salaries this out of whack?
1st amendment??? I posted a comment and it was not published.
ReplyDeleteDisgruntled 11:27 AM
ReplyDeleteQuit crying, I believe you have some issues, or jealous of anothers that may have it better then yourself. Newspapers are going down the tubes and have been for well over 10 years. You should have been planning for today's market years ago......so know I guess you are S.O.L. and its your own fault for not planning.
6:20
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I personlly love "best Indian designer"
I am going to play golf on my furlough next week does anyone care? I plan on paying my own way, greens fees $85, lunch $15, beer $10, and since it will be warm out, bottle water $5
ReplyDeleteTo 12:51 and 7:06--Talk about smug. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes (no, not golf shoes) and then jump ugly at people who are struggling. You won't be able to. People who got laid off are HUMAN BEINGS. I suppose you would blame poor people who live in slum landlord ratholes for complaining, too. What's so interesting about this blog is that you can spot the jerks right off when they attack people who got laid off. Your high and mighty attitude is going to come back and bite you right where your head currently resides.
ReplyDeletePublisher Bill Albrecht St Cloud MN
ReplyDeleteHR Director Jean Healy
Hey 11:13 - Don't forget Sue Halena. Best Actress for anything anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI have a few posts for the Gannett Blog Awards. Lets get it going!
ReplyDeleteRespond to : 1/24/2009 9:41 PM
ReplyDeleteDude, I have been in every position within the Production Dept. in the newspaper industry, yes I started as a mailer and I worked my way right up to XX, so I have walked in your shoes at one time or another, it is your poor planning which is going to bite you in the ass.....you need to think ahead, which I can see you have not.....your just using your energy in the wrong format, I see you as one of the many slackers within Gannett, cry cry cry because you have not planned.......I will enjoy my golf game and my fishing trip...but remember I started at the very very bottom and made something out of it over 25 years sorry your just not smart enough to plan ahead!!!!!! Dude you really need to start looking for a JOB now!! Trust me
Respond to : 1/24/2009 9:41 PM
ReplyDeleteDude, I have been in every position within the Production Dept. in the newspaper industry, yes I started as a mailer and I worked my way right up to XX, so I have walked in your shoes at one time or another, it is your poor planning which is going to bite you in the ass.....you need to think ahead, which I can see you have not.....your just using your energy in the wrong format, I see you as one of the many slackers within Gannett, cry cry cry because you have not planned.......I will enjoy my golf game and my fishing trip...but remember I started at the very very bottom and made something out of it over 25 years sorry your just not smart enough to plan ahead!!!!!! Dude you really need to start looking for a JOB now!! Trust me
3:08 PM, since you asked....
ReplyDeleteDid you ever stop to think that maybe the perks given in the good times contributed to today's layoffs and furloughs?
Personally, I believe this company--- and many others--- could find many dedicated, competent and ethical leaders who would be willing to do the job without the perks, and put the money toward human resources and great products.
agreed 10:10. I would do it in a heartbeat. Some of us are still passionate about the industry and the job we do, not about the money.
ReplyDelete4:34 am, you make it sound like you're the only person in Gannett who's worked hard. Fuck you. I too have busted my ass for 20 years, planned and saved and God forbid my family gets hit with a layoff, we have something we can turn to if push comes to shove. But I am still pissed as hell that people like Bob Dickey are acting like a week without pay is no big deal, especially when they have outright said it won't eliminate layoffs. I'm tired of my family -- and yours and every other person still working for Gannett at the lowest levels -- being sacrificed in order to pay 20 percent dividends. It is bullshit. And I'm sorry, the sacrifice of being away from my kid just because of the shitty management of this company is wrong. You shouldn't have had to do that either.
ReplyDelete