Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday | Feb. 24 | Your News & Comments
Special note for Tuesday's board meeting: If dividend news breaks while I'm offline, post it here, in this special Dividend Watch edition of Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
115 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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Paraphrasing Bette Davis from "All About Eve," "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy week!"
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone in charge at gannett will every figure out what seems obvious to me.
ReplyDeleteFrom where I sit, I can tell every move, every cut, every layoff, handed down by corporate is an attempt to appeal to the investors.
None of those things even begins to offer any sort of value to our readers.
Its fairly obvious that Gannett is going down, and on our current course there is little we can do about it - save for throwing everyone overboard until there's no one left but the captain on-board.
Once we accept that this is going to happen, we might actually be free to make some real, profound changes in the way we operate. Once there is no hope left to hold on to, there'll be nothing holding us back - nothing to lose.
Maybe instead of cutting every corner we can find, how about we actually invest in something that will add real, tangible value to our readers.
Has anyone in McLean ever wondered what might happen if we actually try and provide our audience with something they want, something they need, something that's not just hastily thrown together so we could choke more advertising down their throats while trying our very best to keep real content to a minimum to save on paper expenses?
Instead of creating a half-assed product that's really aimed at trying to get more advertising dollars, maybe we could try and put together a solid product that people want to use (even if it has NO advertising in it). If we can come up with something THAT good, then advertisers will be begging us to find a place for them to advertise in it.
But sadly its all about the bottom line, and since appealing to our customers has no instant ROI, anything that's aimed towards being a valuable product that doesn't meet advertising standards will never see the light of day. Let alone even get developed in the first place with no one around to come up with these things.
This poor economy has shown me one thing. Americans are a bunch of complaining lazy-asses with an enormous sense of entitlement. When's the last time anyone in this country has broken a sweat earning an honest day's living without complaining about it or sewing someone over it. I'm quite ashamed honestly.
"When's the last time anyone in this country has broken a sweat earning an honest day's living without complaining about it or sewing someone over it."
ReplyDeleteI knit people, personally. My wife crochets them when she gets lazy and doesn't want to work.
Hummm......$3.66 Per Share.
ReplyDeleteAt my local pub I can get a Jack & Coke (before 6pm) for $3.50....that leaves 16 Cents for a tip
I'm not sure what, if any, connection there might be with GCI, but the TMZ.com gossip site has a pretty fair expose on the millions of dollars spent by Northern Trust of Chicago on its recent golf tournament in California and lavish series of Hollywood parties. Northern Trust is, of course, the bank from which Gannett pension checks are distributed. I hope they didn't spend any of what might be left of our pension fund on those events.
ReplyDeletePS: Did Bob Dickey play in that tournament, too?
The only bump in GCI stock price in the last two months has come when the 401(k) match is applied each pay day... followed immediately by a drop as we all dump it.
ReplyDelete12:55am - really good post - going all the way to no advertising isn't practical but at least heading in the direction of where you state is the answer. The problem is - this answer is too logical for Gannett. It is not political enough, does not have enough buzzwords and the leadership of many of the papers can't see this answer because they are too busy trying to position themselves for their next promotion or are too afraid to speak up because they feel they may not be in line with the higher ups.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fixable situation - unfortunately we do not have the culture and leadership to pull it off.
The corner office on the 10th floor, formerly vacant, has been cleaned and a new nameplate is ready. It's nearly certain Arron Barrett will be named to a senior position in the Company this week, possibly at the Board of Director meeting. My sources are usually pretty good.
ReplyDeleteit's kitten killin' time
ReplyDeleteI emailed my former hr director the other day about not receiving my pension information. Usually, she always gets back to me. Not this time. Something must be going on with that pension fund. Is it possible that they underestimated the number of people who'd want to cash out? I'm wondering if there is a solvency issue here. It just seems so strange that people can't get the forms about cashing out and they aren't getting their checks.
ReplyDelete"Its fairly obvious that Gannett is going down"
ReplyDeleteIt's not just Gannett that is going down, it's newspapers everywhere.
The industry has to find a way to be profitable at margins that are a fraction of what they were.
I've always thought that newspapers would survive in larger metropolitan markets where more people use public transportation, and it was easier to pick up a copy of the local paper and read it than it was to log into a PC or use a small hand-held device to read news.
Apparently the recent news has proven me wrong.
$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! Yes, Bill Albrecht and family in a box under the bridge to live. Bring a blanket and it will be as cold as you are in MN. Leave us wuld you!
ReplyDeleteRe: 8:37
ReplyDeleteOh, pleez cut the crap. Newspapers are in trouble because of greed. If it weren't for greed, many would still be making money although not the astronomical numbers those at corporate got used to. My paper is certainly healthier than the banking, auto, housing, real estate and retail businesses.
Oh, yes, Zenger Miller. I can remember complaining about it at the time, thinking it was pulling me away from doing my job. But I miss those days when the company actually invested in its people by offering them training.
ReplyDeleteYou are all trying to hang on to something that is terminal. Move on and find a new career.
ReplyDeleteI'm done with print.
Nobody cares....nobody cares.
ReplyDeleteWhen the dust clears from the implosion of Gannett, whatever form it ultimately takes, the innocent and the guilty will lie naked in the sun, their bodies picked over by vultures with names like News 2000, Real Life Real News, Moments in Life and Phil Currie.
And you can bet that somebody (multiples possible) will walk away from the massacre well compensated with the golden parachute that eludes those who took the beating on a daily basis, gave their all for the company and the community.
I never worked for a company filled with so many maladjusted people who, in many cases, genuinely need psychiatric care.
But mostly, their management skills would suggest the collective IQ of a pine cone. That's proven over and over, and not just by the collapse of the stock and the value of the company.
As I said, nobody cares. Not the board, not the executive management, not local managers and increasingly not the rank and file.
We have been betrayed by ourselves.
I agree with 12:55am, for the most part, the newspapers Gannett is producing are no longer intended to survive and prosper but simply ride out the demise. It's unfortunate someone couldn't figure out how to settle for the reduced revenues many papers still produce and build a quality product around a new model versus reducing the existing product around the old model. It's a sad "shrink to fit" mentality that will only speed up the unfortunate future management has on track.
ReplyDeleteThe dividend will be cut this week (which should have been done before) which will only hurt the stock more and this is a another direct result of poor corporate management.
The Pensacola News Journal is a mere shadow of what it was when it was in the Perry chain.
ReplyDeleteA more liberal criteria for tallying circulation totals show the circulation at 57,000 more or less.
The traditional way of counting circulation when Gannett bought the paper from Perry had the paper with a circulation of almost 100,000. If you total the circulation number the same way today, the circulation would be about 41,000. These figures were given me by a retiree who knows.
This retiree also indicated the PNJ now penetrates 31 per cent of the homes in its circulation area while when it was in the Perry Chain its penetration was between 65 and 70 per cent of homes in its area.
Recently the PNJ started giving free weekly delivery for 13 weeks if you bought the Sunday edition ($1.75) each week. That has been increased to some customers for 6 months. I imagine the PNJ is trying look like it is increasing its circulation to impress Bob Denny and it advertisers.
Of course, it main source of revenue now are its advertisers. The Editors favor any issues
which the power brokers of this community advocate. Woe to those who think the City should not build an eighteen million dollar plus baseball stadium on the waterfront for a semi pro ball club and charge it an annual rental at an annual rental which is less than the annual payment of principal and interest on the bond to construct same.
Advertising is now down. Subscriptions are down. Perhaps have lost interest with newspapers but those of us like a real newspaper to read prefer one which reports the news fairly and honestly and does not try to manage it.
Gannett had not bought in a competent publisher since Jim Jessee. It has not had a good editor
since Paul Jasper. The last true editor the PNJ has was Marion Gaines(a Perry Editor) and we
miss him.
Perhaps the PNJ should recognize it is functioning in this community as an advertising
and coupon dispenser and cut the editorial staff to the bone. It has destroyed this paper.
--------------
The markets have already factored in a GCI dividend cut (Management sent a pretty clear signal a month ago that the dividend would be reduced) and if it's substantial (more than half), we can probably expect a nice bump in stock price. Not just Gannett, and not just the publishing industry, almost all companies are now looking to conserve cash in the tightest credit conditions any of us have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteHey free news online demanders, if we go down, we'll take our free news sites with us. You won't be able to get it there nor from numerous other Web sites that post our stories. Where ya gonna get free local news then? Oh and by the way if your answer is TV, please know that a good percentage of TV stories come about after station execs read local papers to get ideas.
ReplyDeleteFewer subscribers and advertiser, profits are down
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Layoff people to pay dividend
Step 2: Product suffers, fewer subscribers and advertiser, profits are down
Step 3: Layoff people to pay dividend
Step 4: Product suffers, fewer subscribers and advertiser, profits are down
Step 5: Not enough to pay dividend, investors go elsewhere
Step 6: Debt comes due, no money
Gannett goes into bankruptcy
I pop open a bottle of champagne
It's not just Gannett that is going down, it's newspapers everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThat's inaccurate. I'm a beat guy who works with/against peeps from a variety of chains. The "smaller" chains around me aren't struggling at the same rate.
Their travel hasn't been scaled back, they're hiring and there has been no talk of 401k cuts, pension cuts or furloughs.
I like the second post of this thread. The only way we can escape this (entirely escapable) situation is to have GCI crash and let another entity pick up the pieces. If we start over without the insane overhead the community papers have, we can make money and provide the right kind of coverage.
So, you know, I'm hopeful.
Newspapers Still Make Money; Debt-Laden Owners Don't
ReplyDeleteAdvertising Age
Even as they suffer from the recession and digital media, newspapers still earn decent profits, especially papers outside of big cities. Publicly owned newspapers averaged an operating profit of 10.8% in the first three quarters 2008, says industry analyst John Morton.
Newspaper owners, on the other hand, are posting huge losses and struggling to make payments on debt they took on under projections that didn't pan out. But that's no reason for newspapers to stop the presses.
2 bucks! 2 bucks! 2 bucks! 2 bucks!
ReplyDeleteI saw the post on yesterday's comments about layoffs in the community newspapers.
ReplyDeleteThat will be a mess. I'm pretty shocked by how sparsely staffed we are right now. My newsroom is maybe half full.
Take away a handful more journalists, factor in furloughs and you have a staff that can't produce even the basic stuff on a daily basis.
I'm hoping for a GCI crash. I honestly believe journalism will be better on the other side. There would be far fewer layoffs in the CND if we didn't have to ship all that cash up the chain.
@8:25 - From Wikipedia about Aaron Barrett
ReplyDeleteAaron Asher Barrett (born August 30, 1974) is an American musician. He is the lead singer, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter for the ska-punk band Reel Big Fish.
Because it pertains to 10:01 AM's comment about long-term consequences, I'm reposting this contribution from late yesterday:
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.
I 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 teach 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.
to 9:22 - done with print? Fine. But are you done with news?
ReplyDeleteGCI probably is terminal, yes.
ReplyDeletePrint news? Not yet.
News? No way.
Remember the "Far Side" cartoon of the scientist at the blackboard with a long string of equations, followed by, "And Then a Miracle Happens" -- a humorous take on how we all sometimes make big plans that really count on some unforeseen good luck to make it all work.
ReplyDeleteThe comic was funny, but it's not funny how Gannett managers used that approach with its approach to online news. They NEVER had a business plan that showed how they Internet advertising would replace print advertising. Still, they rushed to push readers away from print and onto the net, assuming (praying) that somehow online revenue would rise to fill the gap.
Of course, it didn't. And when the miracle didn't happen, they didn't have a plan B.
What is killing newspapers? Mismanagement. Lesson: Don't abandon your main revenue stream for a dream.
If every Gannett newspaper had refused to make its content available online for free, we would still be hurting -- but the company would not have collapsed. We would have at least had more time to transition into new revenue models for the future.
Or in a simpler form after the wise and powerful Underpants Gnomes of South Park:
ReplyDeleteStep 1 - Get Underpants.
Step 2 - (*************).
Step 3 - Profit!
Note the lack of a Step 2.
I've heard from two separate sources of possible pay cuts. I don't want to be a gossip-monger, but has any one else heard similar?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the online vs. print advertising is the problem.
ReplyDeleteOur primary problem is overhead. Most properties are sending huge chunks of money up the chain to fund ... something. Is it USA Today? Newseum? Freedom Forum?
Without that "Gannett tax," we'd be in a much better position.
It'll all work out -- with or without Gannett. You just watch. Credible news is valuable.
I'm assuming pay cuts are coming.
ReplyDeleteYou should as well. Start finding ways to make subtle cutbacks in your life so the change doesn't completely wreck your finances.
Learn from Gannett's mistake: Plan ahead.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete^hahaha, not for long^
ReplyDeleteif you call that holding it together I hate to see what it's like when you fall apart. keep dreamin babe
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ReplyDeleteRobert T. Collins formed the NJ Group. His egomaniacal repulsive behavior demanded it. That guy wouldn't go for ice water. It's why your where you are today. No time to play catch up. Done.
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ReplyDelete11:26, that's the best laugh I've had in a long time. I forgot all about those little guys. One of the best South Parks ever.
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ReplyDelete2:00pm has it exactly right. The whining on here is really too much. If you've been laid off, I truly feel bad for you. But if everyone who was had bad things happen to them reacted the way most of you are reacting, this country would never have risen to the heights that it has. Instead of spending time hanging on to the past, move on and figure out how to play the cards you've been dealt. Otherwise, you're just completely wasting your own time because no one in the company is going to change their decisions based on your words on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI truly hope those that are hurting find ways to pick themselves back up. In the end, no one is going to help you but you. And posting on this blog isn't going to change your circumstances.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteRemember to ignore those abusive posters. They just want attention.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI just removed a series of increasingly abusive and so just plain boring comments. Now, a reminder:
ReplyDeletePlease, IGNORE abusive posters; deny them the attention they crave.
Gannett stock is up more than 14 (that's FOURTEEN) percent today.
ReplyDelete2:15, I'm sure you can't see the irony in your post.
ReplyDeleteWhy come to the Gannett Blog to whine about people who you think are whining?
If you don't like it, go away!
Abusive comments out of bounds now? You let readers regularly trash folks at the OC level and above. Nothing factual or insightful about the comments. Just nasty. Or abusive, as you would say. Sorry I missed reading the offending comments here. Are you turning over a new leaf?
ReplyDeleteWow Jim, I knew you were gay, but come on really removing my 2:00 PM post? What a douche!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you suddenly feel you must protect the anti-gannetters.
Go fuck yourself, Jim. You're no reporter, you're a piece of shit. A true reporter or editor would let freedom of speech go through.
Guess not on here, go fuck yourself. Asshole.
Anon 2:15 PM – You might as well add that nothing anyone shares inside the company will be listened to either and isn’t that at the heart of Gannett’s problem and peoples overwhelming concerns here?
ReplyDeleteAt least this blog, despite its whines, has shared information that the company would not and it has exposed some egregious acts by more than a few managers. Perhaps Gannett should quit treating their employees as disposable, replaceable assets and openly listen to what they have to say. Maybe then the words which you don’t want to hear will lessen up and the company might actually improve its results.
Other companies do it. Yet, at Gannett, that would take some real effort.
2:48 pm's comment stands, despite the abusive language, because I'm reluctant to spike criticism directed at me.
ReplyDeleteIf you've been laid off from Gannett, why would you still clinging to this blog?
ReplyDeleteSure it's a great place to vent shortly after getting kicked to the curb but move on. Delete this site from your favorites and start working on your new life.
If and when management decides to send me packing to save their buddies, I could see myself checking in on Jim maybe once a week but why cling to the past?
Clinging to this site after getting laid off is like stalking your girlfriend's profile on facebook ... and then telling every guy that posts on her wall that she has herpes over and over and over again.
Move on.
2:57, you'd check the blog "once a week"?!?! Well, la di da. How do you know I'm not doing that, too? How is that any better. You're checking your ex's facebook page once a week, too? Judge not, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThis is a bit of an aside, but has anyone actually analyzed the layoff lists and seen the ratio of editors to reporters laid off? They seem to be cutting from the bottom. Just look at USA Today. Many bosses are still there who supervise um, who??
ReplyDeleteYou're a cool guy, 2:00pm. I like how Jim's sexuality has anything to do with him removing the abusive and offensive language you posted to the site. You're exactly the type of employee that is what this company needs - the "positive" person that you clamour for. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI love Jim, he is gay and so is the rest of the Gannett Management team.
ReplyDeleteReally? Really? Are we really discussing Jim's sexuality here, now, when there is a board meeting going on? Hey - I'm straight. Let's move on, now, and talk about important things. JEEZ people.
ReplyDeleteJim: I find that the personal attacks of you are inappropriate, offensive -- not to mention homophobic -- to the rest of your readers. I encourage you to remove them.
ReplyDeleteJim Said... "2:48 pm's comment stands, despite the abusive language, because I'm reluctant to spike criticism directed at me."
ReplyDeleteAww, c'mon! So now if I wanna slag 2:48, I gotta poke you in the virtual nose first? Jeez Jim, but ok, if you say so. ;-)
Can we take this up later, please? I'm close to deadline now.
ReplyDelete2:57 et al - Sharing substantive comments that aid discussions either as an employee or post Gannett is what makes Jim's blog great for those who know how to get value from it. Failing to share and speak-up, especially once gone, is what Gannett would love best.
ReplyDeleteAnd, baring any real change, reading this blog is great confirmation for those of us who left that we made the right choice.
Hear, hear, 3:31!
ReplyDelete>>>Clinging to this site after getting laid off is like stalking your girlfriend's profile on facebook ...
ReplyDeleteWow is this true!! Wow.
2:48 PM wrote:
ReplyDelete"A true reporter or editor would let freedom of speech go through."
Remember: Freedom of the press belongs to the guy who owns the "press" - in this case, Jim.
If you don't like it, start your own blog. I guarantee it won't have the same traffic as this one does.
[Verification: mobuc. As in, Gannett wants mo' bucks?]
2:48PM
ReplyDeleteYou are a disgusting example of intolerance and hatred. You may have noticed that there are many gay employees remaining at Gannett, and your remarks offend everyone in the trenches who still has some decency left.
Goodness knows, Hortense has noticed some very smart and hot gay men in the NJ Group (yes, along with dome dawgs). If any of them want to take a swing at straight life, Hortense and Boom-Z-Boom would be most willing to help them. But that is merely a dream.
BTW-- if you ever use such language to abuse our Jimmy Boy again, you will be bitch slapped from all sides. These gay men at Gannet have everything the strigt one have-- they just know how to present the package better!
God Bless the multiple Lesbians as well!
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty sad. You all need to take a step back and then come back and read these comments.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of legitimate issues to discuss about newspapers as we know them, journalism, the fate of our friends and fortunes of a company we've put a lot of our lives into. But these petty, personal, bigoted diatribes are way beneath most of you.
I know you're angry and scared, but you can be far better than this.
Take a breath.
Laid off in September
Why thank you, Ho-tense.
ReplyDeleteIt takes one to know one, my dear sweet Momma always used to say.
Pensions are protected by the U.S. Department of Labor through the ERISA law.
ReplyDelete"The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement and health benefit plans in private industry. ERISA does not require any employer to establish a plan. It only requires that those who establish plans must meet certain minimum standards.
ERISA covers retirement, health and other welfare benefit plans (e.g., life, disability and apprenticeship plans). Among other things, ERISA provides that those individuals who manage plans (and other fiduciaries) must meet certain standards of conduct. The law also contains detailed provisions for reporting to the government and disclosure to participants. There also are provisions aimed at assuring that plan funds are protected and that participants who qualify receive their benefits...."
For those of you who are upset about your pension and checks, etc., this may provide some small comfort.
I talked to an ERISA rep yesterday. It's a toothless tiger.
ReplyDeleteBlack limousines come to Tysons, they leave. Some limos remain. They are there, out the window. Does the blog have anything? Anything?
ReplyDeleteBueller?
2:09---You wouldn't be the Krista Mueller that is coming to the rescue would you ? I am feeling very verplempt !!!
ReplyDelete"Can we take this up later, please? I'm close to deadline now."
ReplyDeleteDeadline for what? The Contest for Dumbest Person Alive?
You're an unemployed simpleton; you have no deadline.
So stop making up stuff, and start to respect the intelligence of others. You've long forfeited that respect, but others are still entitled to it.
How many newsroom employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
ReplyDeletewhat a bunch of little kids. your stupid. no your stupid. go away. no you go away.
ReplyDeleteyou would expect news folks to be able to come up with better flame wars than what has been here so far
my captcha for this post is retch - pretty appropriate
Dont forget to apply and collect your unemployment check on your furlough week .Its only $584 .00 for the week in New Jersey but thats better then zero! I got mine today spanky!!!
ReplyDeleteHow many newsroom employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
ReplyDeleteWell, five.
The reporter screws in the light bulb. His editor will unscrew it but put it in backwards. A copy editor will come along and make it right, but screw in one of those blacklight bulbs. The AME, Light Bulbs, will see this and order a "rescrew," but it's one of those yellow bug lights. Finally the slot gets a hold of it and sticks a candle in.
"Jim Hopkins is so dumb ..."
ReplyDelete"How dumb is he?"
"Jim Hopkins is so dumb that when someone asked him to screw in a light bulb, he said, 'First, I have to (blank).'"
Jim,
ReplyDeleteIt is evident to me that the naked truth that comes out on this blog is the burr under the sadle of Corporate Kool-Aid drunkards. This blog has crushed their Rose colored glasses and in their anger over being dooped by the company for so long, they resort to infantile personal attacks on you and the other truth tellers.
The futures of local community papers will unfold here first. When a paper is up for sale, we learn about here first.
When our current or former co-workers jobs are on the line, we will hear about it where? HERE!
Because the "Company" can't bring themselves to be transparent and honest.
Scream all you want. Belittle and personally attack jim and other here.
Jim's supporters are beside him all the way.
Welcome to the REAL world beyond the Crystal Palace.
Pitch dark out. Limos are still outside Tysons.
ReplyDeleteA blog like this would never be supported or lauded in other media if not for the fact that something very wrong is going on at Gannett... and has been for years. It's all just beginning to come to a head now, ignited by the bad economy and reported on by a former insider who used technology and journalism skills to do what couldn't be done in prior generations.
ReplyDeleteI believe you will see far worse problems, lawsuits and even criminal investigations of this company in the future.
I support Jim's efforts and the comments of those trying to bring a heightened awareness to those GCI problems with their comments here. This is a very troubled company and it won't be long before the national spotlight is on it. Just too many wrongs, big and small, have been committed for Gannett to weather the storm.
Virginia license plates seen outside the Asbuty Park Press.
ReplyDelete(A pall falls over the audience.)
Limos. Are you kidding me? We're going through furloughs, layoffs and fear of pay cuts and they are in LIMOS? Can't they rent a car and drive themselves? How about an airport taxi? Disrespectful.
ReplyDeleteHey 2:57!
ReplyDeleteThis is a blog. All opinions are welcome and encouraged but I seriously doubt anyone here really gives a shit that you want them to move on. If it makes someone (me included) feel a little better after being axed after giving so much for so little, what do you care?
And I think you must mean X-girlfriend, not girlfriend.
Sheesh
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI emailed my former hr director the other day about not receiving my pension information. Usually, she always gets back to me. Not this time. Something must be going on with that pension fund. Is it possible that they underestimated the number of people who'd want to cash out? I'm wondering if there is a solvency issue here. It just seems so strange that people can't get the forms about cashing out and they aren't getting their checks.
2/24/2009 8:36 AM
I used the fax number and had my in about 45 days. They have 90 days to get this to you. They are paying out ton on this with the average being about $20,000. These layoffs cost Gannett a ton of money. They also are paying benefits for a lot of those who are now gone. Anyway, they have 90 days to pay you the pension from the date you left the company. They are probably trying to hold out until the second quarter to pay out some of these.
Hearst May Sell or Shutter the SF Chronicle http://tinyurl.com/byylo2
ReplyDelete"How many newsroom employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
ReplyDeleteTwo. One to kiss the Managing Editor's and the other to call building maintenance.
haw haw haw
So, I'm curious does the board of directors fly First class, Private or Coach. I know gannett has a jet fleet so I wonder what these meetings cost to put on. They all need to get new hair dues.
ReplyDeleteMonday and Tuesday edition in MO going to 2 sections
ReplyDeleteDoug McCorkindale said: why don't you humanoids get back to work so we can sell some more papers to pay for my consulting fees.
ReplyDeleteLarry St.Cyr to the rescue!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete"How many newsroom employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
ReplyDeleteOne. The ME holds it and waits for the world to revolve around them.
At 5:34 pm, I asked: How many newsroom employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: 32.
One to screw in the lightbulb -- and the other 31 to complain about learning another new technology when they just mastered kerosene lamps!
6:50 p.m. thanks for your touch of sanity here tonight.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/cpz6t2
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about big shots and golf tournaments?
"This is a bit of an aside, but has anyone actually analyzed the layoff lists and seen the ratio of editors to reporters laid off? They seem to be cutting from the bottom. Just look at USA Today. Many bosses are still there who supervise um, who??"
ReplyDeleteSo true, 3:11, so true. The problem is that editors would never lay off one of their own.
The bigger, sexier brands — New York Times, News Corp., Time Warner, Gannett, even Washington Post Co. — are all hurting but seem to have access to enough capital to muscle their way through this year, at least. The Times has Mexico Slim’s cash, and its non-essential asset sale deals; Murdoch has Fox (though he is under pressure to spin off Dow-Jones now); Gannett and the Post appear to be in no real short-term danger.
ReplyDeleteA New Jersey professor, Princeton's Paul Starr, gives us this thorough perspective on the future of newspapers and journalism in general:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tnr.com:80/story_print.html?id=a4e2aafc-cc92-4e79-90d1-db3946a6d119
(snip)
"Despite all the development of other media, the fact is that newspapers in recent years have continued to field the majority of reporters and to produce most of the original news stories in cities across the country," writes Princeton prof Paul Starr. "Online there is certainly a great profusion of opinion, but there is little reporting, and still less of it subject to any rigorous fact-checking or editorial scrutiny."
@ 7:31
ReplyDeleteNo jet fleet. One jet.
Y'all have to get your facts straight.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteHow come you haven't reported on the huge newspaper division meeting starting tomorrow at the Crystal Palace? We hear as many as 70 people will be there.
HIRING IN THE PRESS ROOM IN DES MOINES
ReplyDeleteFrom The Des Moines Register:
The Wall Street Journal will close its regional printing plant in West Des Moines in mid-April and contract the printing of its newspaper and Barron’s to The Des Moines Register.
The (Wall Street) Journal plant at 1601 42nd St. in West Des Moines was built in 1981 and currently prints Wall Street Journals for a four-state area. About 25 people work at the plant.
The Register’s Des Moines plant southwest of the airport will add six full-time jobs and several part-time positions to handle the printing of the Journal and Barron’s, a joint statement said.
The Journal also has closed regional plants in Chicago, Orlando and Denver in the past six months. It continues to operate regional printing plants at 13 other locations, a spokesman said.
The Journal is printed six days a week and Barons is published weekly.
happy mardi gras!
ReplyDeleteCan those of us in Virginia get unemployment for our furlough week?
ReplyDelete5.42 you ought to feel lucky unemployment out here in arizona is only 240.00 a week!!!
ReplyDelete"your stupid. no your stupid."
ReplyDeleteStop it - YOU'RE killing me.
Regarding the earlier post:
ReplyDeleteAnyway, they have 90 days to pay you the pension from the date you left the company. They are probably trying to hold out until the second quarter to pay out some of these.
I spoke with the erisa people and there is absolutely no 90 day period of time from termination the company has to get you your money. Not true. There is a formal series of event that have to happen in a year. The company got my money to me in just under 90 days, I left in early December. But that is not a law.