Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday | Feb. 23 | Your News & Comments
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
126 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."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Philadelphia Media Holdings, parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
ReplyDeleteThe Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News filed for bankruptcy on Sunday. Former Gannett / Courier-Post executives (publisher, advertising director and circ director) went to these Philadelphia papers within the last few years. Looks like they took their Gannett "skills" across the Delaware river and helped bring this about.
ReplyDeleteYes but if you had your facts straight.... the bankruptcy is only to reorganize their debt. They clearly stated this will NOT affect their daily operations as a newspaper. In other words, they're not going away.
ReplyDeleteThis week is going to really suck.
ReplyDeleteBrace yourself.
The Tax Poem
ReplyDeleteTax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom..."
When he's gone,
Do not relax,
It’s time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Self Employment Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation T ax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes ! existed 100 years ago, and our
nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise
the kids.
What in the hell happened? Can you spell "politicians?"
And I still have to "press 1" for English!?
I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!!!!
YOU can help it get there!!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!!!!
So do you think there will be post-meeting layoffs like Dec. 3? What are the chances of them deciding to close more properties? I just wish something would happen. While I'm still employed, every day is hell. I know that if I lose this lame journalism job, I'll have an even lamer future bagging groceries somewhere.
ReplyDeleteCorporate is on to something. Glad to hear they recognize the importance of this blog. Jim, was that Tara Connel who said that to you? But don't copy the original. Why not employ Jim to be an independent contractor (or whatever) and feed him information to feed us? Or are you scared, Corporate?
ReplyDeleteI really like my job. I've been with Gannett for 18 years and I love my job. I am a minority and believe that the company has always stood behind it's mission to become more diverse.
ReplyDeleteI have had my share of crappy editors, but I've had good ones too. I've had fellow reporters worth no more than the pen they write with; but I've known some kick-ass reporters as well who I've absolutely admired. I also don't have a death wish to be miserable and figured that if my job ever made me as miserable as some of you on this blog, I would quit.
I've worked for other companies too, and they're all pretty much the same as what I've written above.
I also understand that newspapering is a business that allows us news folks to do what we need to do.
So, I'm not sure what media nirvana everyone is looking for.
I think it's kind of pathetic to stick around and whine either about a company that you no longer work for; or a company that you still work for, but hate. I'm not sure what's worse. If there was one type of co-worker I could not stand, it was the whiner and this blog is where all of you have gone.
Yay for you, minority who loves your job! I loved my job, too, but GCI gave me the axe. I am a former employee, and I come to the blog to get support for the feelings I have - which remain, yes, because I remain unemployed and unsure why this happened. I still don't understand it and I still can't believe it. So I come here to find strength in numbers, and camaraderie with my fellow lay-offees. I'm thrilled you love your job. But if you hate the blog, don't visit! Seriously. Some of us just need a venue to vent. Or to talk to our former colleagues about issues we're all facing (e.g. where is my pension money?). Don't take this away from us, too, by being a "holier-than-thou" naysayer.
ReplyDeleteThen fine. Hang out here to vent and make yourself better, but stop trying to dictate how a company that you no longer work for should operate. It's really is no longer any of your business -- I mean it is no longer your business -- period.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:50 am -
ReplyDeleteNewspapers have the following "missions" in this world:
1. To serve as a the public's watchdog over its government.
2. To inform the community of its goings-on, good and bad.
3. To make enough money to ensure it can continue to accomplish numbers 1 and 2.
If these priorities are not taken care of first and foremost, there will be no Company in which to improve diversity.
But I'm sure everyone here is glad your needs are being met.
Why hang around and criticize? Bud, this company made many, many lifetime enemies and was just smug about how it could mess with people. I am 50+ and have worked at six papers and I have never ever seen a person yelled at in public and cry at her desk. And this occurred more times than I want to count. They messed with people as they pleased, employing vile, confrontational tactics. So by God, I will exercise my right to free speech and say just what the hell I think.
ReplyDeleteSo let me get this straight. Gannett tells Brevard to reduce cost so we cut draws to racks...a precurser to pulling them off the street entirely. Does Gannett know WHY sales are down? Do they know the press can't start on time, or have a complete nonstop run? Or that insertion can't insert anything without stopping every 10 bundles or so? Does Gannett know single copy is getting hampered by 4-5 am starts to a large area thereby keeping sales from reaching it's potential?
ReplyDeleteWe need help, and it isn't by cutting the amount of papers on the street by draws or racks. Isn't it wiser to fix the problems that cause less sales than to clower the sales ceiling? I just don't get it. gannett....are you really signing off on this strategy?
OK. 2 typos at the end. Ooops
ReplyDeleteAnd what were you doing while that person was crying at her desk and being yelled at in public? That's what I thought. Essentially, that seems to be the spine that runs through this entire blog.
ReplyDeleteRe: 8:26
ReplyDeleteThat's why you're an employee and not an employer.
Re: 7:55
You got cut because you work for a business. A newspaper is a business and if you look around, businesses everywhere are cutting employees. It has nothing to do with you personally. I'm sure.
Former Citizen-Times online director moves to Iwanna, where he joins former C-T publisher Green
ReplyDeleteFormer Asheville Citizen-Times online director John Yenne has joined the Iwanna, Asheville's free weekly packed with classified advertising. Classified ads in print -- that's an anomaly in this digital ads, but Iwanna has been making it work for 30 years.
Yenne joins former Citizen-Times publisher Jeff Green at Iwanna. Green has just been promoted at the Iwanna, which is owned by the Fayetteville Observer. The announcement was made Sunday:
Jeff Green has been named president and CEO of the company’s Iwanna division, with headquarters in Asheville. The division includes classified-advertising publications based in Asheville and Greenville, S.C., and their Internet operations (www.iwanna.com), Sophie magazine in Asheville and a commercial-printing business.
Green joined Fayetteville Publishing in 2008 as the chief marketing officer.
It sounds like Iwanna is poised for some big moves this year.
So I guess not all print is dead.
12:49 The inky can clearly state what they want. Dude what goes around comes' around.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYes but if you had your facts straight.... the bankruptcy is only to reorganize their debt. They clearly stated this will NOT affect their daily operations as a newspaper. In other words, they're not going away.
2/23/2009 12:49 AM
Oh, yes. Because they said so.
Like when Tierney said this would never happen in the first place.
Just like Zell said it would never happen in the first place.
Just like Dubow has said it will never happen...
What you get from these borrowing blowhards:
"We have adequate cash flow and continue to aggressively manage costs".
"We are making great progress as we match resources to needs".
"We are growing our online position and revenues while strategically managing our core businesses."
"We are confident that we can meet our debt obligations for the foreseeable future".
And then, Jim, or Alan Mutter, or Ken Doctor or eventually, E & P, show you the house of cards has been blown down.
December layoff casualty here. Still looking for my pension payout!
ReplyDeleteThe Inquirer files how interesting. The 3-stooges won't make it afterall. What goes around comes' round dude.
ReplyDeleteJust curious to see if anyone has called Northern Trust about our pensions? If so can you please give us details of your communication with this company so others can follow suit? The number for those who are late to class:
ReplyDelete312-557-9700
I have found that people who work for newspapers are a different breed. They simply don't go to work, punch the clock, always make sure they get a lunch, and then leave immediately at 5 each night. No, most newspaper people feel a deep investment in their jobs and their role as being part of a public trust. That is why it's so hard for most who have given so much more of themselves and just expected a stable job at the end of the day to not feel an investment in the company even after a layoff. I must also say that a lot of managers used these layoffs as an excuse to exercise and excuse to eliminate people they didn't like, regardless of their productivity, talents and contributions.
ReplyDeleteFunny that through all of the financial distress Gannett still finds the money to pay for the executive Porches, BMW's, Aston's etc., and the ridiculous club dues. Maybe they can furlough a week of these to help the employees who can not afford to think about a round of golf after the furlough.
ReplyDelete9:24 you are 100% right!
ReplyDeleteto 2/23/ 2009 9:24 A.M., who wrote: "most newspaper people feel a deep investment in their jobs and their role as being part of a public trust."
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Many journalists see their job as a calling and not a 9-5 way to earn a paycheck. And I agree that's why they have a strong feeling of betrayal when business decisions get in the way of them performing their role as part of a public trust.
I was like that, too, and was crushed when editors moved me around to better fulfill the needs of the newspaper, even though it dragged me away from the jobs and beats where I was the strongest.
We love our jobs so much, but if we would think about it, the jobs don't give back as much as we invest in them. Beyond a "good job" from your supervisor or an occasional journalism award, there aren't many rewards beyond our paycheck. We don't get much more back than the 9-5 people, do we?
And our job, no matter how much attention and devotion we lavish on it, never says "I love you, too."
9:24 is correct, particularly about managers using the layoffs to get rid of people they personally didn't like. I know of at least two highly professional and highly productive folks who got laid off from Gannett -- one from USA Today, the other from a New Jersey paper. There was absolutely no legitimate reason either one of these people should have been let go. In fact, they should have been even more embraced as we enter rougher waters. We needed their talents, quiet leadership and work ethics now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame on both ends. The company lost significant human assets because of rogue managing editors who improperly used the layoffs to settle scores and to feed their own egos. And the folks who were let go were mid-to-late career people who still have not found jobs in this awful market. At least one of them now is facing some very difficult life decisions. It's sad. Yet, these things were never considered by Gannett or these manager's who made the selections.
These two layoffs, probably like others, were not about positions that were no longer needed or fiscal problems. Their salaries weren't that high. These layoffs were the acts of childish, small managers who in my opinion have severe mental/emotionally problems. I know one of them well and have heard many stories about the other. These men have such insecurity problems that they have a hard time distinguishing between right and wrong, yet they've been smart enough to fool corporate and respective HR departments for many years. One of them was notorious for driving away good mid-level managers. Yet the company never seemed to suspect a thing. This manager knew how to cover his tracks or intimidate people into not exposing him.
I often feel that the December layoffs stripped the soul from this company. In some cases, the dismissals bordered on criminal. Not because layoffs weren't somewhat justified in this business climate, but because the layoffs were botched. The wrong people were let go. There was horrid negligence and lack of oversight. God knows I am still surrounded by people with a tenth of the talent, maturity and professionalism of my closest colleague who was cut. How did these people survive the cuts? Half of them can't even show up to work on a regular basis!
It wasn't the number of layoffs or the need that is in question, it is the tragedy of Gannett allowing at least two, and probably many more, truly dedicated, loyal and hard-working people go based on nothing more than some ME's warped perceptions of what makes a good employee.
I am not sure how Gannett can ever right this wrong. But if there isn't an investigation into why so many layoffs of quality people occurred, while the company harbors so much dead wood, then there is little hope Gannett or its properties will ever regain traction. The two injustices I spoke of here are so off the charts in terms of being flat out wrong that I have lost all faith in my employer. I am sure others feel the same way. And as a result, we are all in danger of being so negligently let go for all the wrong reasons.
I believe when this recession is over, the flood gates will open and many other good people will leave Gannett, having not forgotten what happen to some of our brothers and sister in December 2008. Then Gannett will be left with nothing but the idiots that it seems obsessed with protecting. See how well business goes then!
About the pension problems, people who were vested in the Asbury Park Press pension before 1998 would be wise NOT to sign the form to withdraw or roll over their pension until after they get full information from both the present and the old APP Summary Plan Descriptions. I don't think Gannett's actuaries are calculating correctly, but I'm trying to get more information before I publish more about that here.
ReplyDeleteAt Newspaper Deathwatch -- http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/ -- is the headline "Blogger’s Growing Influence Doesn’t Faze Gannett."
ReplyDeleteThe story says that if Gannett would follow Dell's lead of responding to blogger commentary rather than ignoring it, "it would win sympathy just for listening, regardless of whether Hopkins agreed or not."
But added, concerning engagement rather than avoidance, "Gannett still doesn’t get it."
10:22. Many Gannett managers protect "idiots" because they themselves are so insecure. A confident manager understands the benefits of being challenged and of open dialogue. Crappy managers want to be surrounded by "yes people," which ultimately crushes initiative, creativity and morale. Crappy managers also lay off people for the wrong reasons. But until Gannett can truly identify these shitty managers, there will be more crimes committed during the next round of layoffs, like the wrongful layoffs of Dec. 08. I too believe that the layoffs were improperly used to settle old scores in some cases. That shouldn't have happened in one case let alone the two or more you mentioned. Gannett makes it so hard to fire people that these managers couldn't just build a case against people they didn't like for no reason and get rid of them. Then in December, that changed and the layoffs opened the door for these managers to do away with all the folks who hadn't kissed their asses enough over the years. It was open season for these creeps. They didn't have to give factual, legitimate reasons to get rid of people. They could mask their personal reasons by saying the job was no longer needed...even though we all know many of those jobs are still needed and have even been filled internally by lesser quality folks.
ReplyDeleteThe added tragedy in all of this is that it happened at a time when things are so difficult. If those editors can sleep at night, reflecting months later on what they did, I would have to say they are truly heartless.
As for Gannett's role, the company was grossly negligent in not having safeguards built in to prevent some bad things from happening to some very good people. I know the company was more concerned about numbers than faces, but for the editors who axed some staffers, it was ALL about faces and not positions.
From Advertising Age:
ReplyDeleteGeneral Motors and Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser, are among major marketers asking ad and media outlets to wait as long as 120 days to be paid for production costs and media outlays. Many firms and trade groups say the massive companies are essentially bullying their media and advertising vendors into making them no-interest loans. "
No newspaper, magazine, radio or TV outlet can survive is people don't pay their bills or if they don't pay their bills on time.
The Wall Street Journal reports that ESPN will start to cover local high school sports due the deep staff cuts a local newspapers. A big name like ESPN with a great reputation will spell even more doom for the already dismal local Gannett newspapers.
ReplyDelete9:24
ReplyDeleteThe problem: too many of the top people are working 9-5 and know nothing about journalism as a calling - at least where I work. any others have the same situation.
Forget journalism. There are some where I work who haven't even mastered the English language!
ReplyDeleteYea, I don't understand why some of the people in December were chosen to be let go. Makes no sense from my perspective down in the trenches. At least one of those people in my shop was an outstanding employee who made my job, and the jobs of others, a lot easier.
So much for Mogulus saving the day, I think people will rather watch ESPN coverage than the one low resolution camera of Mogulus. ESPN can also steal a huge chunk of the local advertising dollars. If you were fired from your local sports department or if you are an out of work shooter, I think you should get in contact with ESPN and offer up your services.
ReplyDelete"So much for Mogulus saving the day"
ReplyDeleteNothing, I repeat, NOTHING in online is going to replace newspaper classifieds, retail and subscription revenue. Revenue based primarily on online ad models doesn't work well enough to support anything but online itself. It can't support both worlds.
Online should have always been treated as a necessary expense rather than a business to bet your survival on.
If we wanted to sell online subscriptions, we should have gotten into the high-speed service provider segment of the online market. Would have been cheaper than buying all these idealistic online solutions that fail a month after launch.
The building I work in is freezing!! Some employees are wearing coats at their desks! Looks like Gannett is trying to save money by turning down the heat. How greedy! You've made us take 5 days of furlough and perhaps an impending pay cut, can you at least keep the furnace on?
ReplyDeleteIS GANNETT GOING TO BUY PHILA. ING.
ReplyDeleteAND DAILY NEWS.
"Mogulus saving the day"
ReplyDeleteOn my computers, Mogulus is terrible. On live presentations, it locks up and is so herky jerky that you can't follow along. It is the reason I rarely use that feature on Gannett websites.
The only newspaper that I've ever found successful was the Lafayett, LA, Advertiser in its hurricane coverage. They did news updates and they worked great. Then corporate swooped in the "help" and loaded down the Advertiser.com website with many screens from other hurricane news sites running Mogulus and it all became inoperable.
The small paper got it right and did a great job.
10:52 a.m. oh yeah. Then they go home to dinner with the family and forget about us.
ReplyDeletephilly is going to survive, and they make money. if it wasn't for the huge debt, they wouldn't be in this problem. the local investors need to take a haircut on their $150mm investment; the bank-provided debt will probably be wiped out, but at least they can look toward perhaps a govt stimulus / bailout program to help them with that loss.
ReplyDeletethe situation would be a lot worse if they didn't have at least one of the three former G execs that went over from C-P ...
To the tax poet:
ReplyDeleteCute.
Maybe you'd like to live like it was 100 years ago.
If you were a woman, you couldn't vote.
Very few people were allowed share in the prosperity.
If you were a minority, many places wouldn't even let you buy a home, and there was no law barring that.
Let's see, car tax? Would you have even owned a car? And if you did, would you have many paved roads to drive on?
We could go on and on, but, you know, life's expensive. Government services aren't free.
And trying to enforce rules that attempt to make sure you don't get screwed out of your share of the American dream is just part of the cost of living.
Gannett just started a creative website: gannettcreative.com. They want the artists to post our best work (print and online).Why? So 2AdPro can use our designs because they suck? Or is it, once alot of ads are posted, they'll fire all of the current artists and hire newer younger, less- paying artists? And they are sugaring this by making it a contest with prize money. Gannett is slimy! They don't care about quality of ads in the paper, only ways on how to save money.
ReplyDeleteHere is the info:
I am please to announce that US Community Publishing has launched gannettcreative.com, a Web-based library housing a robust selection of the best multi-media creative across the division. The creative library will be regularly updated via individual uploads from our graphic designers and will include newspaper, glossy magazine and online ads—either existing campaigns or speculative work not yet published. Sales representatives and ad creative staff have access to the site with easy-to-use, drop-down menus that can narrow a creative search by business category (autos, banks, restaurants, etc.) and ad type (newspaper, glossy, online), making it easy to zero in on specific kinds of campaigns.
This is not a library of all creative from each site. It is intended to be a selection of our best work that can be shared across properties.
This shared library is an opportunity to include creative on just about every sales call made, so the first order of business is to populate the site.
To quickly collect our best work, a contest for artists will take place from now through the end of February. Graphic designers will have the opportunity to earn monetary incentives in five categories. Contest rules and guidelines are posted on the site at www.gannettcreative.com. Our goal is to generate at least 100 quality creative ads in the next two weeks.
1:09, you're not the only one suspicious of the motives of the creative contest. As ssoon as I was told about it I had to wonder just what they're planning to do with this stuff.
ReplyDeleteGannett is a very traditional company that doesn't do so well with embracing or encouraging creativity. It is somewhat strange that they want people to spend time submitting ads they've designed for a contest. Maybe the goal is to create a large-enough template library so clients can select a template from the library. Then 2adpro can make it happen.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT sounds exactly like something the company would do, 1:20. You might be on to something.
ReplyDeleteTo the vindictive morons who are most likely jealous they weren't offered jobs in Philly by the former C-P execs:
ReplyDeleteThe three had absolutely nothing to do with the current financial situation at PMH; the problem is exclusively the debt Brian Tierney and his partners incurred before Mark Frisby and the others were even hired.
From all indications, they are actually doing a great job, considering the conditions they are facing.
Gannett just started a creative website...
ReplyDeleteIf your a designer and want to be creative, I'm afraid your going to have to get out of Gannett to do it. Especially if you want any recognition for your work.
While this could be a useful tool for the reps, I agree that it could force you into more templates than you would really like.
Although (now I'm thinking a little while back) haven't they tried something like this before. Does anyone recall the "Miss a Day, Miss a Lot" campaign. They created an online database for all of the papers to use those marketing pieces. That didn't last too long did it?
Regarding the ad contest, once they have all the award-winning ads, the designers of those ads can kiss their jobs goodbye. Given the outflow of American jobs to India and elsewhere, does anyone really think Gannett won't outsource all ad-building to 2adpro? Gannett has been an avid cheerleader in the destruction of America, with its real estate ads on section covers, thinly disguised advertorials masquerading as features on beautiful homes, and cheerleading retail, credit-card publishers. 1st amendment? What a joke!! They'll be happy to participate in administering the coup de grâce. Let them eat cake, then off with their heads!
ReplyDelete"NEW JERSEY PAPERS ROCK"
ReplyDeleteThis blog has gone very far afield today. No one has taken the time to mention the fact that NJ PAPERS AND NJ MANAGEMENT SUCK!
ReplyDelete"Creative contest?" You've got to be kidding me! From a company that DEMANDED cookie cutter graphics from project 180 with "Miss a day. Miss a lot"?
ReplyDeleteGive me break, I've got years of art direction experience from advertising agencies and have won hundreds of awards but sill had idiots without one minute of graphics experience telling me how to "properly" design ads just because they were in a higher position than me. Gannett doesn't give a damn about good graphics. They only care about getting it done as cheaply as possible.
My guess is that this a way for them to once again "cookie cut" graphics and further save money so the directors and bigwigs can continue to get their bonuses. Winners will get little if any recognition and the recognition they do get will probably mean their jobs are gone!
Gannett sucks the blood from all the "little people" so the directors can continue to flourish. Why else do they continue to keep certain directors that wouldn't now talent if it bit them on the ass and do nothing to earn their bloated paychecks and bonuses?
Contest? Yeah, sure.
I used to complain a lot.
ReplyDeleteI don't complain anymore. I focus on the aspects of my job that I enjoy most (there are plenty) and ignore the bad stuff.
I don't even care about losing my job. How do you feel about that? I do good work, I dedicate far more than 40 hours per week to this gig and I know people out there care, at least peripherally, about the work I do.
That's good enough for me. Good enough for GCI? Couldn't care less. I'm rockin' and rollin'.
My life is much more enjoyable this way. I suggest you try it as well.
Let's face facts - Mark Frisby is a one trick (Bobby Collins) pony - cut costs and then cut some more - after the first year he had nothing to offer. It's not like he ever had an original idea. He is responciable for what has happened to the Philly newspapers - he did take their money didn't he? I wont even mention Tom's contribution to their demise.
ReplyDeleteFrisby gambled away the fortunes of the Philadelphia newspapers
ReplyDeleteGannett, do you REALLY think we're THAT stupid?
ReplyDeleteWe know the motive behind this "design contest." 2AdPro can't design shit so we have to give them our designs to follow. But of course you don't care about creative quality ads, this is just another ploy to outsource ALL designers in the US and send over all ads to India. (sorry "California". I NEVER worked for a company that has been so sneaky and greedy. You should be shamed of yourselves!
If you end up sending ALL ads to 2AdPro, you WILL lose business. Sales reps will quit because they are embarassed to show those ads to clients, and people won't by their crap. You get shit because you pay for shit. I will not be submitting any of my designs, I don't want 2AdPro to take credit for my work.
2:57, you are my new hero.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003944071
ReplyDeleteLooks like the duffy wants his drawings back. Hope he wins.
Here's a new one, kids: They lay you off and then lay claim to your creative work even if it has your own copyright on it jointly with the paper. The story doesn't mention it but you can bet Gannett will also get a tax break from the donation:
ReplyDeleteFrom www.kcci.com in Des Moines:
Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches
POSTED: 7:35 am CST February 23, 2009
UPDATED: 1:28 pm CST February 23, 2009
[NEWSVINE: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches] [DELICIOUS: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches] [DIGG: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches] [FACEBOOK: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches] [REDDIT: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches] [RSS] [PRINT: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches] [EMAIL: Cartoonist Fights Newspaper For His Sketches]
DES MOINES, Iowa -- When cartoonist Brian Duffy was let go from the Des Moines Register nearly three months ago, he didn't just leave a 25-year legacy behind, he also had to leave all of his sketches. Duffy found out this week that he might not get his cartoons back.
"They have the originals all sitting in my old office back at the Des Moines Register," said Duffy.
Brian Duffy worked for the Register for more than two decades.
"The editor felt that I wasn't important enough, or my work wasn't important enough to keep me at the newspaper, yet she wants to keep my legacy alive by donating all of my work to the University of Iowa," said Duffy.
Register Editor Carolyn Washburn told Duffy on Thursday that the newspaper was donating all of his original sketches to University of Iowa to be archived. The university is hoping to preserve more than 100 years of editorial cartoons in the state of Iowa.
"All along, it has been a history of the cartoon was in essence the property of the cartoonist," said Duffy.
Duffy said he was always under the impression that his sketches were a joint copyright, just like when he published his book.
"Copyright Brian Duffy and the Des Moines Register, not just the Des Moines Register," said Duffy. "I have no problem donating a large body of work to the University of Iowa. In fact, I'd love to do that."
But he wants to do it on his terms not on behalf of the newspaper that shooed him out the door.
Washburn issued this statement: "It's not about withholding things from Brian. The Des Moines Register paid him for his very excellent work, but we hold the copyright for the work our staff produces. We're trying to do the right thing and make sure these unique pieces of work are protected for Iowans and available to the public."
"These are all personal things to me that I have in essence lost," said Duffy. "I'm not giving up on trying to get my originals back. I'm going to fight very hard to get those."
Duffy said he has hired an attorney to help him get his sketches back.
Duffy is still at the drawing board. He now works for Cityview.
2:57 PM
ReplyDeleteAre you hourly or on salary?
3:05 No original idea's of his own. Superb analysis. The later a crippled highbred.
ReplyDeleteWOW!
ReplyDeleteI think I would respect the company more if they'd just say... we're getting rid of designers. Before we fire you, if you want to make a few extra $$, send us your best work that we can copy for the next 10 years.
My whole opinion on the 180 campaign "miss a day, miss alot". If if would have been implemented correctly it would have worked. But that was the only creative they came up with. I REALLY do see corporate's point in consolidating the marketing creative. (AS long as it can be tweaked for different markets) The 180 campaign was just dissappointing. I thought for a company of our size we should have been able to come up with something better. And continue the service--what happened after the miss a day mis alot? was there even another campaign (our site didn't use it if there was)
And of course, the contest is to get templates---just be honest about it!
2:57
ReplyDeleteIt's great to hear that you have a positive attitude and are able to sustain it.
I am a former Gannett employee. I was lucky to leave in the very beginning of this nightmare. However during my time there, I also tried to put on a good face and put aside the misery that loiters around the Gannett buildings. Yet, each day my new positive attitude was beaten down by the harsh management and disgruntled co-workers. The place just had a way of sucking the life out of me every day, regardless of how much I tried to change my perspective of my job or the company.
Working for a company like this drains you. It's difficult to pick yourself up each day. So you might be cheerful about going to this dreadful company everyday, but you are among the few.
Dont you people realize that if 2adpro needed templates all they need to do is look at e tearsheets.com
ReplyDeleteGeesh....
2Adpro isn't smart enough to use etearsheets. We have to make it easier for them, otherwise if they have to manually find templates, they'd charge Gannett for the time.
ReplyDeleteWow..... the whole Des Moines mess is so pathetic!
ReplyDeleteI hope Duffy's humiliation becomes national news and typical Gannett robots like Washburn are humiliated nationally for this insult to Duffy's legacy!
Why was he even fired?
Does this miserable company have no shame at all? Oh wait... that's an obvious answer....
3:14
ReplyDeleteYou could not be so right. Do not send ads or you will pay later. Of course I had the same problem when I worked for the paper. I would do some design on the side for the Ad Director and then they would show them to the publisher and take credit. Neither of which is still employed anymore. Ha Ha Ha.
I am what should be The Tennessean's favorite customer: I have an annual, paid-in-advance, daily and Sunday subscription. (Home delivery in one of the coveted areas of the city, as opposed to the areas the newspaper has abandoned.)
ReplyDeleteI am currently paid up through August, though I am increasingly dissatisfied with paying more for less; especially since what remains of the shrunken paper apparently has no room for any number of neighborhood, local, regional and even under-reported national issues that the newspaper has no interest in reporting.
Yet, short of a buyer, I don't want to lose this daily newspaper.
With that in mind and foreseeing another rate increase shortly, I have offered today to renew my subscription for yet another year at the price I last paid.
I am told that is not possible. If that is the case, I can no longer justify continuing to subscribe.
Stacy Harris
Publisher/Executive Editor
Stacy's Music Row Report
http://www.geocities.com/stacy.harris/report.html
A conspiracy theory behind a design contest? Are you guys kidding me? Do you hear yourselves?
ReplyDeleteThis is why Gannett doesn't respond. Why should they? If there's anything productive here, it's hidden between all the crap.
They're firing designers? Gannett is like any other media industry. Go back 25 years, take a look at what jobs existed then and what exists now. It's an evolution. Get over it!
Stacy is typical of the abused customers who have fallen victim to Gannett's inattention (distain, contempt, whatever you call it) toward the people in the communities where they own newspapers.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad and pitiful how poorly the public is treated. Both by so-called "customer service" and the paper itself.
If Stacy were a major advertiser, that would be different. The Tennessean would be all over this person. But regular readers??? Naw, no time for them.
This is true in all Gannett newspaper towns.
Perhaps the worst insult is the "rotating publisher" or "rotating editor" who blows into town, ruins the newspaper, hates the community and then leaves after 2 years.
Callinan in Cincy and other Ohio and Indiana papers are great examples of that.
The Duffy thing in Des Moines is not in the best interest of the company. And Duffy may have a legal argument. Not what I would call a smart move, though I'll bet Washburn sees it as an act of benevolence on the part of the newspaper.
ReplyDeleteSo, that being said...... why didn't they give the stuff to Drake or Iowa State, the local universities?
And yes, Washburn is one of the robots.
Get real about Duffy and getting his cartoons back.
ReplyDeleteEverybody who works in the newsroom, graphics or editorial department knows that every piece of work they perform becomes the property of the newspaper. You get a paycheck, they get the article, graphic or in Duffy's case, an editorial cartoon. The stuff is copyrighted, for goodness sakes.
Perhaps Duffy's protest is just another behavior that made it wise to usher him out of the building after he was fired.
Isn't there a simple Duffy solution that would be win-win? Why don't they just talk about making a joint donation since it seems that's what they both want to do.
ReplyDeleteMy site doesnt have any major issues with 2dpro ads. Maybe some people are just doing a piss poor job of saying what they want and sending disorganized piles of crap. Obviously the places where its a mess are doing something wrong compared to the sites where it is going well. The failures just cannot own up to the fact that they are doing a poor job.
ReplyDeleteAnd no Im not on the corporate payroll..just wanted to clear that up before any of the black clouds here brought it up.
Next we will have a movement here to hang all the freelancers because they aren't gci employed.
ReplyDeletePeople here sound more absurd with each passing day. McCarthyism is alive and well on the Gannett blog.
$3.66. When I left the "company" in June 2004, the stock was (about) $87.55. Looks like the spectacular management climate, including all that investment in 30-year-old ZengerMiller technique is finnaly paying off!
ReplyDelete9:24 and 10:22
ReplyDeletei think what you said is true,
and i feel my layoff was personnel.
5:28
ReplyDeletewhat comes around goes around.
About Gannette's creative website, why are they in such a hurry to get 100 ads posted in 2 weeks? So they can gear up for another round of layoffs? And this time, it'll be ALL designers?
ReplyDeleteAbout Gannette's creative website, why are they in such a hurry to get 100 ads posted in 2 weeks? So they can gear up for another round of layoffs? And this time, it'll be ALL designers?
ReplyDelete2/23/2009 5:45 PM
A thought just crossed my mind, that Sales Reps will be handed a binder with cookie cutter ad designes, and Gannett rate sheets will reflect the costs of ads chosen from this preset group of layouts.
Custom ads would see an additional creative charge.
I really hate it when I get these visions. They tend to come true.
Jim Kroeze will save us!!
ReplyDeleteJim Kroeze? Who the heck is this guy? Where and what does he do???
ReplyDeleteThis is something I found disturbing, considering more and more of us experienced, ethical, college-educated professional journalists are being forced to sit home doing nothing or change careers.
ReplyDeleteI picked up a pamphlet, "Jump Start Your Career And Learn To Be A Responsible Journalist," at the political fair for high school students attending the Mid-Atlantic Junior State of America Winter Congress this weekend.
It's put out by the National Journalism Center, a nonprofit organization of questionable legitimacy that gave the weekend seminar that gave the male prostitute, James D. Guckert, his job at a Republican PAC's GOPUSA website and immediate credentials from the Bush administration as a White House correspondent.
You may remember him as "Jeff Gannon," the stage name he used in his hooker job and also as a so-called "reporter." He lobbed what some call softball questions to Bush, but what went beyond by asserting fiction as fact in his questions.
The pamphlet offered to these high school students does not disclose this is a Republican Party group. It does not disclose that its magical weekend transformations into "journalist" really teaches how to produce propaganda in the name of journalism.
Whether deliberate or not, corporate ownership of media is causing verified-factual, objective journalism to be replaced with something worse than Pravda. God help us all, and God help democracy.
ZengerMiller
ReplyDeleteGeez.
Discredited by all but the true believers.
2:57PM
ReplyDeleteYour posting was the saddest thing I have ever read on this blog. Are you taking really good meds or are you suddenly "born again" or have you started hearing voices?
It must be very difficult to grin all day long and sprinkle fairy dust all over your office.
By no means ever tell management that you are so happy with your job. They do not want this ever to be the case, and they may not wait for the next layoff to get rid of you.
Maybe 2:57 left out the part on how ass he kisses.
ReplyDelete@2:57, you are fooling yourself if you think people care about the work you do. I'm not sure if you have an ego or you are just really dumb.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the odds that this new Gannettcreative.com website contest bullshit is somehow connected to ContentOne?
ReplyDeleteword verification: clonie
2:57, what kind of work do you do for GCI? Please tell, I'm not here to bash you like the others, just curious.
ReplyDelete7:21, that's the only reason why 2:57 is still there.
ReplyDeleteMy newspaper company moved my department out to Rockaway last month. I had the chance to pick up the competition's Daily Record for the first time since I interviewed for them in 2007 (thank god I didn't get it, production got torn apart a long time ago). Gannett wants 75 cents for a bare-bones two-part paper?
ReplyDeleteHourly employees at some Gannett Wisconsin newspapers were told today that in March they will work only 37.5 hours per week instead of 40 in order to help meet first-quarter budgets.
ReplyDelete2:57: It sounds like you do whatever you want and no managers mess with you. You may be enjoying it now but it means they are getting rid of you soon.
ReplyDeleteREMEMBER "NEW JERSEY PAPERS ROCK"
ReplyDeleteHas anyone asked Bill Albrecht how to fix this. Hopefully in the next year he will be living under a bridge in a box. I will continue to pray that this will happen to him.
ReplyDeleteNew Jersey paper rock..I'm laughing here. What planet are you from? Keep drinkin the Koolaid kid
ReplyDeleteWho's Bill?? Sounds like quite a character
ReplyDeletereplacement for Dubow??
ReplyDeletePeter F. Chernin, the longtime president and No. 2 executive at the News Corporation, the media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, will leave the company after failing to get a new contract, according to a person briefed on the matter who declined to speak publicly because the company had not made a formal announcement
2adpro can never totally replace local artists. If you don't believe or can't realize this, then you aren't qualified for the position you hold. Will there be reductions in staff?, yes. But then what industry isn't cutting back? Also, if you can't comprehend that what you create on company time, on company equipment and for company products isn't the property of the company, then youy are truley dillusional. Get a grip with reality. Start your own agency if you are so high on your throne. You should have clients flocking to be graced with your expertise!
ReplyDelete12:16p...You are perhaps one of the reasons why newspapers will DIE!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you think, actually BELIEVE, newspaper classifieds will save the day, you should have your head checked out.
Dude, you are living in the past. Move on and get a real job where you can create value. You are just sucking blood from Gannett.
10:19
ReplyDeleteYou have my undying admiration, and I mean this sincerely. You've nailed it.
7:58 p.m. Some of our hourly employees are also having their hours cut until the end of March. Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteCONFIRMED:
ReplyDelete1. Big layoff's (read: NOT buyouts) in Community Newspaper Division to be announce next week.
2. More furloughs will be enacted starting April.
3. Salary cuts of 10% or more across the board.
4. Not really confirmed, but I heard that Content One is not going well and that Dubow is still deciding whether Tara Connell should leave the company.
To: "The Truth"
ReplyDeleteBring it on.
To: Wisconsin
37.5 hours a week has been the norm for NJ papers for 10 years. That would be a 40 hour week with 1/2 hour per day of unpaid time for lunch. Nothing new here unless you were getting paid for taking lunch then that would be something to talk about.
Bill Albrect to the rescue!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLink detailing decline, doom of publicly traded newspaper companies: http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=134795
ReplyDeleteLayoffs and furloughs? How do you know? Can you source it reliably?
ReplyDeleteThat's the way boys, crush happy little 2:57 p.m. We can't let a self assured and positive person survive here at Gannett blog. Hammer her, belittle her, mock her.
ReplyDeleteYou are as bad, or worse than the corporate bullies you seem to so deeply despise.
Wallow in your stinking misery.
Hey, Dummy!
Is a 37.5 hour work week "normal" for hourly employee's across Gannett? Somehow I doubt that. These are not "paid" lunches. These folks punch in and out.
ReplyDeleteI would guess that the one person talking positively on this site about the three dolts who drove Cherry Hill and now the Philly papers into the ground must be Bobby Collins. But it can't be him - he doesn't know how to use a computer.
ReplyDeleteThe Truth said...
ReplyDeleteCONFIRMED:@ 8:52pm
If this is the Truth then why don't you cough up the PROOF to the TRUTH!!!!!
Gannett is a very traditional company that doesn't do so well with embracing or encouraging creativity. It is somewhat strange that they want people
ReplyDeleteBut, they designed the site so poorly the artists are only posting low-res jpegs and pdfs, which cannot be used at any other site. If they were smart they would have the native files posted so others could download them and change them for their own market. No, instead they design it so you can only upload one ad at a time and never be able to use the original content.
Go figure!
Although (now I'm thinking a little while back) haven't they tried something like this before. Does anyone recall the "Miss a Day, Miss a Lot" campaign. They created an online database for all of the papers to use those marketing pieces. That didn't last too long did it?
ReplyDeleteThis campaign didn't work “Why?”
Pay tons of money to an agency that provided the worse creative Gannett has ever used. Big waste of Gannett money and Gannett employees talent.
Just a quick note to start Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent, by reminding all that you need not give up anything for Lent. Gannett has already taken all but the very essentials of body, mind and spirit. Never forget that NJ NEWSPAPERS SUCK and ALL OF GANNETT MANAGEMENT worldwide SUCKS!
ReplyDeleteH
P.S. Boom-Z-Boom said to wish you her best!
Amen 3:50p.m., amen. And I WISH we worked less than 40 hours per week ...
ReplyDeleteGannett just started a creative website...
ReplyDeleteCan anyone else (has anyone else) say "OXYMORON" ...
Please don't randomly throw out these posts unless you KNOW they are true. The rest of us, who are still working, are trying to keep our heads above water and these type of fear tactics only make things worse. If this info is indeed true, I would think Jim would be able to verify it. Please lets listen to what Jim has to say about this. He has been correct all along. If something this big is coming, he will let us know — or better yet — Gannett, could you please clarify this information. Is it fact, fiction or a mix of both?
ReplyDeleteCONFIRMED:
1. Big layoff's (read: NOT buyouts) in Community Newspaper Division to be announce next week.
2. More furloughs will be enacted starting April.
3. Salary cuts of 10% or more across the board.
4. Not really confirmed, but I heard that Content One is not going well and that Dubow is still deciding whether Tara Connell should leave the company.
7:50
ReplyDeleteThere are no black and white male or female here. Here we are all the same.
we dodged getting stuck with "Carolyn Washburn" here in Nashville - we just said no!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Duffy, in Des Moines. They had to stick her someplace.
Be sure that lawyer works the press and calls into Romenesko to build media pressure to get you back your drawings. You family will treasure them someday.
Carolyn Washburn - rejected in Nashville, rejected by Knight-Ridder in Boise and passed along the sewer pipes of Gannett. Sorry Des Moines, it rolled downhill.
Duck!
Nashville hasn't dodged anything. Just look at the corner office.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if corporate is just now understanding that by laying off the senior people and paying them for 6 months, that there will be no savings from layoffs at least until the 3rd quarter. The furloughs are designed to pay for the first quarter cost of the laid off employees. How long will the furloughs last in the 2nd quarter?
ReplyDeleteThe beatings shall continue until the morale improves, and we'll keep cutting until the share price reaches $25.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm late getting back here, but I'm behind the "2:57" post. The optimistic guy.
ReplyDeleteI'm an hourly beat hack. I'm a 10-year GCI guy who grew weary of the negativity and just decided to turn it around. My life is so much better now that I don't worry about corporate-level stuff.
Also, I've never been happier in terms of writing. Since this crash occurred, I've had (nearly) free rein to write what I what how I want when I want. Those silly corporate "areas of emphasis" have disappeared thanks to our dire financial situation.
I'm serving my readers better than ever. That's no joke. I feel great about that.
"2:57" again ...
ReplyDeleteIf you knew me, you'd know that kissing ass is not my thing. I've been written up twice for insubordination. Those were stands that needed to be taken.
Hey 2:57,
ReplyDeleteDo you claim and get paid OT when you exceed 40 hours a week?
Thanks.
You must go further back in time to understand your dilemma. Allen didn’t buy your newspapers to expand the integrity of the Fourth Estate.
ReplyDeleteIt is only my opinion, but you may have been in a better position to withstand the current economic disaster had you not had to support corporate and USAT. But this was the entire goal to feed the ego of one man.
In 1981 I met Allen in New York for another Ra-Ra Yankee’s game. He kept ten box seats in those days to influence his friends. When I arrived at the Waldorf he handed me the two prototypes of USA Today then went back to the phone.
One call was to Howard Baker’s office, Baker wasn’t available. So, he left this message with his secretary; “Tell the senator, he’ll get the same deal as before.” I didn’t ask, and he didn’t tell.
Coincidently that same year, Gannett was under investigation by the Department of Justice for violation of anti-trust laws. To my knowledge that investigation disappeared. In my expose, From the Gang to Gannett, my reference listing these alleged violations comes from Richard McCord, author of the Chain Gang. The book depicts McCord’s attempt to save a Green Bay daily.
How many of you smart people out there, think Howie may have received a free subscription to USAT in return for tickets to Reagan’s Inaugural Ball?
So now what you end up with is this ravenous monster the you must constantly feed. Journalism has nothing to do with it.
By the way, I was a former dancer. I was a student at University of Rochester and managing Aloi’s realestate. So Allen was buying newspapers with Gannett’s money and I was buying property with Frank’s money. I, too, lost my job, my home, etc. before it was all over. But this is about all you other castaways from Gannett. I am one person and you are legion and you have a leader.
Are you going out in a burning flame of fire or waddling like a duck?
Incidently, Beaverbottom, Thanks for the plug. For me there is no such thing as bad publicity. I do not, however, wish you all my best, when displaying my worst will serve you far better.
xoxoxo
Naja (Boom-Z-Boom) Hara