Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Tuesday | Jan. 6 | Your News & Comments

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44 comments:

  1. Just wondering if anything is going down at the APP in New Jersey? Heard that something is or might be happening there. Anybody at the APP or knows someone still there... know anything. I'm at a sister paper up north in Jersey.

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  2. to 12:18 YESTERDAY.

    RE: Publishers' Circulation Fulfillment taking over home delivery.

    Go to P.C.F.'s website and look under PRESS RELEASES. You will see GARY DISANTO quoted saying how well PCF is doing for other GANNETT papers.

    Of the 6 New Jersey Papers; P.C.F. starting delivering the DAILY RECORD in Parsippany in early-Novemeber-2008 and will (in a couple of weeks) take over the COURIER NEWS in Bridgewater.

    Home News should be next and then THE ASBURY PARK PRESS.

    Our days are numbered.

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  3. That whale museum that the Freedom Forum gave money to? Check out who they hired to run the thing:
    http://www.sanjuanislander.com/groups/whales/director.shtml

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  4. Home Delivery Here:

    Carriers have had the choice beteen using 8.5inch wide by 21inch long; 9.0inch wide by 22inch long and 10.0inch wide by 23inch long bags.

    This morning (for the 1st time in 12 years in home delivery) we received 7.5inch wide by 21inch long bags for the carriers.

    Like George Costanza from SEINFELD, it looks like newspapers (Gannett & non-Gannett alike) are suffering from "Shrinkage."

    God, I have to find a state to move to where in can afford to be poor (& un/under-employed). I've always known the world economy was going to contract, but now that it's hitting us it's like being on the beach and seeing a 300 foot Tsunami coming right at us.

    Reggie H.

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  5. A bomb scare at The Tennessean is causing delays this morning for Nashville, Clarksville and Murfreesboro.

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  6. Jim or anyone out there - still no word on the "finance project"? They seriously have to have some dates by now, as I had heard that Accts Pay were going in Jan. and the consoildation would be completed by March. What's up with the secrecy? Or, again, are they going to let these good people hang in the balance forever?

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  7. 7:22:

    Wow! (Or should I say, no surprise.) But seriously, good catch!

    I hope, Jim, that your IRS consultant will be looking at questionable goings on at both non-profits, not just the Gannett Foundation. These FF donations are just plain sleazy. Adoption organizations run by the House of Neuharth, whale museums (whale museums!!!), equestrian pursuits, etc.

    All, as Rome keeps burning.

    Wilford

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  8. Here's the text of that link that doesn't work from the San Juan Islands web site. What a tangled web they weave...

    posted 01/27/2007
    The Whale Museum has hired a new director. Jenny L. Atkinson takes over from Dr. Rich Osborne who is moving to Port Angeles. Osborne will continue as a participant in the Museum's Stranding Network and other research projects.

    Atkinson comes to the Museum from the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center based in Nashville, Tenn. For more than six years, she was the special projects coordinator seeking to raise awareness of First Amendment issues and rights through programs, musical events and exhibits.

    Prior to that, she was the founding executive director of Leadership Brevard (a community leadership organization in operation since 1985) in Brevard County, Fla.

    Atkinson is also a nature photographer who has had a long attachment to Southern Resident orcas, other marine mammals and the sea. She has been a long-time supporter of The Whale Museum's Orca Adoption Program. Atkinson began her tenure as director of The Whale Museum on Jan. 1, 2007.

    Founded in 1979, The Whale Museum’s mission is to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research. In addition to providing exhibits, the Museum also provides programs including: the Orca Adoption Program, Soundwatch Boater Education, Marine Naturalist Training, San Juan Islands Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and the Whale Hotline.

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  9. Tennessean Editor Mark Silverman tried to tell readers Sunday that they would be getting more for less in newspaper sections and staffing.

    So I had to call him on it.

    Also read my five part series on the rise and fall of Tennessean, complete with all the sexual hijinks. Somebody call Showtime.

    www.politicalsalsa.com

    Thanks.

    Tim

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  10. Very sad. Gannett flagship TV station in Washington, DC is canceling newscasts to run infomercials:

    DCRTV first reported on Monday that budget-slashing Gannett's Channel 9/WUSA will be axing its low-rated weekend morning newscasts. Last one: 1/18. The replacement: Mainly revenue-generating infomercials. In a staff memo, WUSA President/General Manager Allan Horlick writes: "Effective January 24th, we have decided to utilize the Saturday and Sunday morning time periods where we have traditionally produced our weekend morning newscasts, as the launch pad for a variety of new initiatives which we will now be free to develop. Some of this content may be produced under the direction of our Information Center and some by other departments in the station... These time periods will be used to directly generate sales revenue through outside productions".....

    from dcrtv.com

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  11. I was just on the Gannett Co. site and noticed this under the section heading "Company Highlights:"

    The Detroit Free Press announced first-of-its-kind plan — emphasizing more online delivery of news and information and cutting back home delivery days.

    ... I don't see how that's a highlight/something you should be prominently displaying on your site.

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  12. Re: Asbury Park Press - Word is Donovan is going to give out more sweatshirts so they can turn the heat off in the building to save some cash. Oh, and the elevator will no longer be in service either.

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  13. The Indy Star doesn't have a prayer ... literally.

    From Poynter.com:
    Indianapolis Star drops The Prayer, readers complain
    IndyStar.com

    "The Prayer, a short ecumenical petition that is prayer at its most vanilla, has been a staple of the morning read for decades," writes Star blogger Robert King. "Interestingly enough the prayer's longtime companion, a daily attempt at humor in 8-point type known as the Chuckle, kept its slot."

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  14. Jim
    Cuts in New Jersey group coming in February. Heard that.Great thing.
    Can't wait to see who they get this time.

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  15. Winter storm warning for the Hudson Valley tonight into Thursday morning. Snow and ice in the forecast -- lots of it.

    Imagine printing the Poughkeepsie Journal in White Plains and then trucking those papers up to Dutchess County in an ice storm. I-84 east of the Hudson River is very hilly and can get very treacherous in bad weather.

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  16. Tim Chavez's blog (see comment from 9:26 am) is a joke. He simply posts on a well-read blog like this one to drive traffic to his blog. Jim, you should charge him for the exposure you are giving him. :)

    The entry he links to today includes more baseless accusations (and his previous posts have been much worse). He accusses the Tennessean's editor of "lying to readers" about the newspaper's commitment to improving its watchdog role. The editor's column explains exactly what they intend to do. I doubt Tim even read it. He's just all about spewing hate. A journalist he is not.

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  17. hi, jim! i'm a recent gannett cast-off and want some dirt! i love my former colleagues, but hate my former employer. how's morale? are people bracing for more lay-offs? is communication any better? have people heard from bob dickey and his henchmen?

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  18. I do agree about the Tim Chavez "blog." It reveals far more about his inadequacies than anything he accuses others of.

    He probably thinks he's being strong and heroic in discussing his victimized spin on everything that ever happened in his newsroom, but instead it shows his powerlessness to do anything about his life except blame others.

    Really low-end stuff, but all too common on the web.

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  19. A different story that sheds light on a few reasons the paper is crashing hard. It came from the Ashevegas Blog concerning the Asheville Citizen-Times.

    I agree with Tami. HH should have been at the plant until the last paper came off the press. What a positive message it would have sent for him to stick around and shake the employees hands as they ran the last pages. Virgil or Jeff Green would have had the decency to buy them pizza and beer. He cares B***S**T.

    If HH had his way, there wouldn't be anyone at the paper that wasn't a model. I heard it on good authority, that one of the Marketing models sits on one side of HH in OC meetings and the blonde sits on the other side. It is not a well kept secret why these women keep their jobs. I have been told by several people at the paper that Gannett told HH to close the marketing department. I bet if the Barbie dolls in marketing weren't Barbie dolls and were over 50 they would be out of their jobs as well.

    Speaking of marketing, I forgot to write that the Marketing Director left the paper earlier this year. That means that Hatchet Hammer got rid of at least 1/2 of the Operating Committee in 2008. And, the Ad Director is leaving soon.

    Count the number of ads in Monday's paper. If the paper gets any smaller they will cut back the number of days that they publish.

    It will take quite the delusional person to think that they can bring back the hundreds of thousands of dollars the paper has lost in real estate, automotive and chain store advertising. How do they expect classified revenue to grow, when they are only going to print classifieds five days a week.

    I really do think that Hatchet Hammer has a fat phobia of some kind. Pay attention to the number of stories that they run about fitness. It is astounding.

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  20. It would be no surprise if, not far down the road, GCI announces it's suspending matching contributions to employees' 401(k)'s.

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  21. Did the people who where let go due to press consolidations or outsourcing receive severance?
    I am surprised that at up to 50 people being let go per location was not announced as a major layoff? We keep hearing rumors about this coming at our site so I am just wondering how it went down at other locations.

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  22. Shrinking the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

    January 4, 2009


    Coloradoan making changes with daily paper, TV Week


    The newspaper industry, like many other industries today, is faced with having to make some tough choices.

    In recent weeks, you've read about significant changes at great newspapers in Detroit and Chicago. Closer to home, the Rocky Mountain News in Denver faces a sale deadline in a couple of weeks that will determine whether the paper will continue its long history of service to Colorado.

    Here at the Coloradoan, in the face of the steepest national recession in decades, we need to align our newsprint usage with lower advertising volumes. Make no mistake, we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide local news, business and sports coverage that is relevant to our community. None of these changes will reduce our capacity in these areas.

    The first change is TV Week. The listings each Sunday have been running at 24 pages; starting today, that is reduced to 12 pages each week. In reducing the page count in TV Week, we've eliminated the rolling movie logs and individual grids for each weekday. We've also eliminated the summary of sports programs for the week.

    Starting next week, our Monday and Tuesday newspapers will consist of two sections instead of five.

    These days' papers will continue to include local and national news, sports, lifestyle and business news, as well as regular features like puzzles, comics, classifieds and obituaries. These features will now be in two sections.

    The first section will include local news, the opinion page, nation and world and sports. The second section will include business news, Life, comics, TV listings, horoscopes, Dear Abby, obituaries, classified advertising, puzzles and the weather.

    The sections the remainder of the week will be kept the same at this time.

    Again, it is our top priority to remain the best source of local news and information. As always, we welcome your feedback on how we are doing.

    We appreciate your loyalty and support during this transition.

    Additional Facts
    Contact us

    You can contact President and Publisher Kim Roegner at 224-7885 or KimRoegner@coloradoan. com or you can contact Executive Editor Bob Moore at 224-7755 or BobMoore @coloradoan.com.

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  23. There were lay offs today at the COEs. Not sure how many positions were eliminated. Does anyone have the specifics?

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  24. 2:38
    The printing facility in Asheville did get a severance package as well as those let go in early December. However, good luck getting Gannett to admit any were let go due to outsourcing. I've been trying to get my exit letter reworded and they keep telling me NO...I didn't qualify. I was a graphic designer that sent ads to India myself...but I didn't qualify. Two designers were let go in my department (advertising) and we knew by sending design to India would shorten our days...not sure what it takes to qualify.
    Happy "New" Year!

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  25. Someone mentioned Donovan in a previous post. Please don't make me laugh---this brainchild came from the Journal News and probably the best way I can explain the Journal News and their cracker-Jack leaders is---anything that they touch turns to shit in a manosecond.

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  26. Jim,
    What is the URL for ContentOne?
    Thanks

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  27. On the coes....i was one! 8 total positions - all management staff and support roles. Many were offered lower paying jobs - many took them - 3 did not.

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  28. when i was laid off in indy a month ago, it was a relief, in part because i knew they were going to gut the features operation, smoosh content into classified and otherwise give readers less and tell them it was more.

    the changes started yesterday. this morning, at my grandchild's school, the office worker said she thinks the changes are awful. i said yeah, i couldn't argue.

    she said she'd noticed that despite all the other changes, sports was pretty much the same as before.

    hmmm. did i miss the meeting at which new marketing data said that men now make the majority of the purchasing decisions, so it doesn't matter how much papers piss off women readers?

    yes, much of what features sections run is trivial -- the price of the latest fashionable purse is no more meaningful in the great scheme of things than a high school junior varsity baseball score. then again, some of it can save lives -- like not washing out the cat box with bleach because mixing ammonia (from the urine) with it releases chlorine gas. (an actual hint from heloise several years ago, submitted by a woman who'd survived doing exactly that). or not eating certain foods with some medications, or not putting fluffy blankets on the baby.

    i really don't know whom to pity more, the ripped-off readers or my former colleagues who have to take the complaint calls.

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  29. Gannett's UK division Newsquest is having some union problems, and appears to be playing hardball by docking pay for a union meeting that is sort of a half-day strike:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/06/darlington-newsquest-nuj

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  30. Attn 1:48:

    I thought it had happened already. When I went to the site today to move my matching funds from Gannett stock to other funds (a bi-weekly occurrence), there was no money in Gannett stock. I contacted Customer Service and was told company match for the Jan. 2 paycheck will be included Jan. 16.

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  31. Not sure if this was posted yet or not but check this out...one of Gannett's finest. Perhaps he got lost while looking for more expense cuts.

    http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009901040353

    Snowshoer safe after 2-hour search
    January 4, 2009

    VESTAL -- A Binghamton man emerged from the woods safely Sunday night after approximately 30 rescue workers searched for him for about two hours in the area of Jones Park in the southern part of the Town of Vestal.


    Sherman Bodner, Press & Sun-Bulletin president and publisher, called police at 4:48 p.m. to report he was snowshoeing by himself on a trail and became lost after taking a wrong turn, according to Vestal Fire Department Chief Doug Rose and Bodner.

    A state helicopter was about to be called for the search when Bodner found his way out of the woods at 7:10 p.m. and phoned emergency dispatch from a Route 26 house, south of Glenwood Road, said Rose.

    -- Eric Reinagel

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  32. Hey, Ellen. A former bud in the River City is sorry to hear you're no longer at Indy. Fun while it lasted, huh? Hope all is well w/you and yours.

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  33. When going outdoors, even in a known area and even just for a short hike or snowshoeing trip, always take a map, compass, basic survival gear, water, food and simple shelter. And most importantly... know the damn area. Don't rely on a cell phone to save your butt in the backwoods.

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  34. Layoffs are coming no doubt about it. All the divisional heads have been asked for a "back up ' plan just in case Gannett continues to lose revenue. Bob Dickey has sent out his minions like Evan Ray and others to start working on the next round of layoffs. I am hearing it could be another 2,000 or 3,000 real heads. Not just "to be hired" heads as they got away with last time.

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  35. Here's something LinkedIn folks may already have seen, but for thos who haven't yet, see if this works:

    http://metaprinter.com/?p=1408

    Robert Ivans writes: The Future of Local Newspapers? It’s Shoved in My Mailbox…
    Then rails against APP's free weekly.
    "Emails to the the Asbury Park Press have gone unanswered and every week the damn thing shows up stuffed into my mailbox. ... " The he praises DataUniverse and adds: "But other than that? awful, just awful. Making it difficult to opt out of Community Reporter is a sin that will negatively affect the long term image of Gannett, the APP, and newspapers in general."

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  36. I suspect that we will continue to hear to layoffs with newspaper companies -- especially Gannett. We're in the middle of a freakin' depression (imo) and those who run that company are continuing their reckless path of destroying this company's assets (its properties) with deeper, further cutbacks. There is a partial solution that could of helped fix the problem when Craig & Co. took over a couple years ago: Boot the directors and publishers responsible. It might sound extreme, but the problem with this company is people who don't know how to lead innovation. I never have understood why that wasn't done. After all, a lot of the people who led Gannett into this quagmire did not possess the skill set required to lead it out. DuBow's grand "kum-bah-yah" plan for this company has been hopelessly flawed by the bureaucratic, tradition-loving, do-no-good minions that have helped run each site into the ground.

    Of course, there are exceptions like that Michael Kane in Indy. No one can put on a company meeting with such gusto! I find it kind of bizarre that Kane left some awful directors in charge on his path to the top, tho.

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  37. hey, 7:25 -- just because i'm ex-gannett doesn't mean i consider you an ex-bud! we still should meet at the outlet mall sometime (preferably while i'm still getting a paycheck).

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  38. 4:14 pm: Sorry, but I don't have a ContentOne URL. I suspect it's behind Gannett's firewall.

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  39. On Randy Hammer, allegedly a publisher at a Gannett property in Asheville, why does the company keep him on? He has a very damaging lawsuit pending, and from insider reports, is not leading, only hiding in his office. That's not a publisher of a community newspaper. He is perhaps the worst publisher in the chain and it's embarrasing to keep reading about his lack of leadership skills. A publisher of a community newspaper should have some sort of moral standards and it doesn't seem this man has the right stuff.

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  40. Wait until the FAS-FAX numbers come out at the end of the month. My prediction is that USA TODAY will be down and could be unseated by the WSJ as the top selling paper. With that news in hand and Paulson on his way out, Gannett will take the axe to the USA TODAY editorial staff. Murdoch continues to add staff to make the WSJ clearly the best read in the country.

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  41. 10:25
    Low morals? Are you complaining about job performance or what?

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  42. 10:48...don't know. He took over a paper a year ago with 300 employees and now the tally is 160 or so. Morale is at rock bottom. He doesn't show his face in the community. He inherited 11 OC members and now there are two. He closed a press plant. He's apparently mean and abusive when contact is made (according to insiders). He has a huge lawsuit hanging over him. He has been married four times, maybe five. A section of the paper may be eliminated soon, but the entire newsroom staff has escaped job cuts...He's belittled good people. These are basically the facts and not fabrications so maybe he's just a bad manager that should be scrutinized before more damage occurs. That's my take.

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  43. Why can't the rest of the Gannett sites be as cool and user friendly as the Courier-Post?

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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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