Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday | March 28 | Your News & Comments
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51 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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Guys, I waited up late to post so that I could reach more of you. You really need to know that things are looking up for us. Things won't change over night, but they are looking up. In the next few weeks I will be sending Jim some places that he can look for some hard numbers. Also I would recomend Jim lean on his board source for info. Many of you are playing a direct role in some of the positive changes. I would encourage each of you to share any positive information that you may have. Hang in there troops, things will get better. The sky is not falling.
ReplyDeleteThanks 2:53,
ReplyDeleteWhen's your 2Q furlough. Mine's scheduled for early May.
Drink some more chard, Tara.
ReplyDeleteThe last full week of June is, for many, the first week of summer vacation for students. Maybe corporate doesn't want the bulk of staffers with kids taking off that week so they closed it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=103042
ReplyDeleteInteresting Ripple6 stuff.
2:53. THanks for the optimisitic post. I would like to believe you. I'm just a cynical journalist who has seen too much of the same old same old at Gannett for the past three decades. Diversity hires over competency. Management promotions over competency.Towing the corporate line. Not listing to experienced reporters and low level editors. And worse, rewarding failure, which we continue to do with the current CEO and management team in place.
ReplyDeleteOKAY! That's REALLY it! I tried, at 2:53, to cheer you guys up but you just keep ignoring me! So I'm gonna give you the REAL scoop.
ReplyDeleteThis problem is hurting me as much as it's hurting you. The Mrs. and I have had to force our maid to change over to all those energy efficient lightbulbs. Have you ever tried to read those tiny stock reports by that bad light??
Our kids are no longer in private school. They are in SEMI-private school. That means they are sharing rooms with...undesirables. (If you know what I mean) I even encouraged them to cover their books with Whole Foods grocery bags.
I've fired my landscaper and hired an illegal. He works for 1/2 the price of the other guy and I can work him and his crew for 12 hours instead of 6.
I donated my Ping golf clubs to a homeless guy (GREAT write off) and now when I go to the club, I RENT. And...I even go look for my lost balls!!
Most importantly, I took my bonus and put it back into the economy. Consider it my very own contribution to stimulating the economy! I bought a vacation house (just had to kick out those pesky squatters), a flat screen TV for the limo and I had enough left over to buy the Mrs. a boob job!!
C'mon guys! Cheer up! Things are getting better! Really they are. Would I lie to you??
Love,
Craigy
PS Any of you laid off employees have caddy experience??
Kudos to The Desert Sun in Palm Springs for kick-ass coverage of a major police raid on gangs. Check it out at mydesert.com
ReplyDeleteFor those of us who were involved in the coverage, it was nice to spend one day not focused on furloughs or our crumbling industry, and just again be a team of reporters chasing the hell out of a big story.
We were told in the 1Q and the 2Q furloughs that the last two weeks of each quarter was off limits because A. the publisher and editor wanted to wait to take their furloughs til everyone else had completed theirs, and B. in case anyone screwed up (called in, had someone call them, and had to resked the remainder of their furlough.
ReplyDeleteOf course none of this means there won't be a big layoff announcement in late June.
10:21, I would just recommend you to get friendly with your business unit people that know the numbers. See how they feel. They are the ones that know which way the wind is blowing. I would bet that they are not the negative people that post here. They have an eye witness view of the company's situation. We are still a multi-billion dollar company, not the 500 million that the stock price would suggest. Investors know this even if several employees do not. Just look at what the stock price has been doing. We have very valuable assets. Our great people, USA Today, Controlling interest in career builder, Our local papers (other companies really envy our local positions), Our TV Stations, and important for our future, our digital positions. Our Content One wraps all of our assets into a coordinated strategy that will propel us to success. Stay tuned! I know you all are thirsty for details, that's your journalistic nature. You will get the information that you need.
ReplyDeleteTo 2:53 am, things are only going to get better if things change and the GCI board fosters that change. I hope they read this blog everday because it provides a road-map for the way back.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much going on, where to start: let's begin with Alan Henney's heartfelt goodbye. This is exactly the kind of talent Gannett can't afford to lose but will continue to lose without wholesale change. A smart, hardworking guy with integrity who obviously cares about the state of chaos created by clueless broadcast management at WUSA and Corporate. When GCI acquired this station it had the #1 evening and late-night news broadcasts in the market. Years of moving people in and out of the GM and anchor chairs caused viewers to lose that all important "connection" which drives ratings. The dumbing-down of enterprise reporting only added to this demise. When are we ever going to learn that all politics is local! Viewers tune-in to see familiar faces (like those at the top-rated NBC affiliate, Channel 4), and reporting that portrays the soul of our communities. WUSA has become a sad joke on that score. Alan is right, we need to get the corporate no-nothings out of the way and take back a station that once was a shining beacon of hard-hitting news with stable on-air talent. Problem is, Gannett\WUSA wants something for nothing and treats viewers as itinerantly as they shuffle anchors and reporters. Stupid - period. If you want to make money you have to spend money and if you do so intelligently, your profit will far exceed your expenses. Shakespere should have said "kill all the beancounters" instead of lawyers because its the beancounters who sit at the center of Gannett's downfall.
Next topic: Tucson.
2:53 is right. Unless the bottom unexpectedly falls out again, company-wide layoffs are not on the table. The budget cut targets newspaper publishers received for Q2 are not nearly as bad as many thought they would be. Some individual papers may do layoffs this quarter if their finances are particularly dismal, but that won't be the norm. Publishers have been told to have layoff lists ready, but they also have been told they likely will not have to use them. The conclusion at Corporate is that the newspaper staffs cannot be trimmed further, and that a third round of furloughs would be difficult to sustain.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone seen our brothers over at McClatchy Watch? Apparently, the Miami Herald has reprinted - word for word - propaganda directly from the Cuban government as real news. The thinking is that, because of all the cutbacks, the Miami Herald is running out of reporters, so they just fill the news with Castro's words.
ReplyDeleteCould this/does this happen at Gannett as well?
Show us proof, 12:29.
ReplyDeleteSo someone probably already posted this link, in which the late John Walter points the finger at Big Al (among others) for the demise of papers.
ReplyDeletehttp://poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=160817
but if not...read and enjoy.
I'm just reporting what I read on McClatchy Watch. Anyone can research it for themselves.
ReplyDeleteMy word verification is "commu"
What are the papers with basketball teams doing? Can someone tell us from each how many staff members are at games. Are papers doing special sections for Final Four berths? Have the papers that cut sections lost space for their coverage of the games? Can someone from each market give us a basic rundown of their coverage?
ReplyDeleteThen I'll wait for MCT Watch to show proof. Not saying it's not true, but I'm used to people saying papers print items straight from campaigns and it's almost always BS.
ReplyDeleteHerald.com has republished this item that originated in the regime as if it were news from a credible source and, in fact, a reader might believe it's coming from the Associated Press.
ReplyDeleteMany who blog and care about Cuba often allege that lazy journalists pick up items from the Cuban "news" services (Castro's public relations agencies) and make a minor modification and publish them. This takes the cake. Herald.com is hosting an article produced 100% by the regime without any disclaimer whatsoever as to the validity of the source. I'm sure most readers have no idea what ACN is and assume that it's one of the many partners of the Herald who provide legitimate content.
I did a search for other ACN content at Herald.com and found that this wasn't an isolated incident.
Posted from Herald Watch.
If you go to McClatchy Watch I think you'll see that it is exactly word for word.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm wrong, tell me.
Next topic, Tucson: I wish all the employees at the Citizen the best. Look at it this way, maybe a new owner will actually support you because Gannett/Lee sure as hell hasn't.
ReplyDeleteAnn Clark is one of the most rude and arrogant people ever to walk the halls in the Crystal Palace. Bob Oliver may be a nice guy and may have been a decent journalist long-ago but he's been drinking corporate kool-aid for decades and I fear its too late to save him. He's lost his way by becoming a spineless, suck-up gatekeeper for Martore (not Dubow because he has relinquished control of this company to Martore). While the NEO's (Dubow, Martore, Dickey, Lougee, Moon, Horning, Saridakis, Williams) pay consultant's tens of thousands of dollars to make certain THEIR pay is competitive, they prop-up Bob Oliver to hide the fact that OURS isn't. If the Board expects to save this company they need to ask Horning\Oliver to produce a report on pay\grade\responsibility equity for ALL positions across the company. Oliver has presided over a massive fraud in compensation equity for years. We have lost great people and will keep losing them as long as this dirty little secret stays hidden. ARE YOU LISTENING MACFARLAND AND WILLIAMS, a la board compensation committee members?!! Or do you only represent and care about these few versus the thousands who actually do all the work that earns the revenue?
You've lost so many excellent people already and more are talking about leaving everyday. So if the economy and industry business is poised for a turnaround as predicted by 2:53am, these people will walk as soon as that happens.
This blog has been one of the best things to ever happen to Gannett because it shines the light of truth upon things management has long hidden from the masses. Sure, some of the content is oh so much whining but I don't hold that against discouraged employees who just need to vent. Most of this blogs' content is thoughtful, well considered information about what's really happening and advice on how to fix what's broken. Truth is, employees really do care about this company even with its wrong-headed management and cookie-cutter solutions.
Stop moving publishers, editors, ad directors, circ directors, general managers, news directors, and reporters in and out of markets like pieces on a chess board. Consistency and a long-established connection to the community, local governments and institutions results in a strengthened newspaper or broadcast operation. This isn't rocket science, its common sense. Let each newspaper and broadcast station determine what works best in THEIR markets. Corporate is full of poser geniuses who don't know jack squat about what it takes to be successful outside of their own offices, let alone in some far-off city where they have zero knowledge about local issues or what readers and advertisers want and will pay for. Top-down is a fallacy; how's that working for us? Very, very badly IMO.
Stop allowing Martore to make decisions solely on the basis of quarterly earnings, or the share price, or the spreadsheet of the day. We need visionaries not beancounters running this company. How many billions of dollars have been wasted on share repurchases instead of investing in people and product? Grow a set of balls Dubow and set the talent in this company free to breathe.
In your heart you know I'm right. Help us so we can save this company, or we are doomed. The Neo's will sail off with their guaranteed payouts no matter what happens, and that alone represents the biggest disconnect between moving us forward or continuing on a disastrous course laid out by these executives and their enablers.
Is there a national Content One page for March "Mania" like there was for Obama Mania?
ReplyDeleteI'm already hearing of some people at my site making over 90k and I'm stunned. Some you know, but I'm hearing quite a few people I would not have guessed. No wonder the company's struggling.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the address for MCT Watch?
ReplyDeleteJim, how much of your 4Q money came in the final week? Hold a telethon-like hour. I'll match if a few people stand up and get you near the goal needed to keep this blog alive, but don't want to donate to a losing cause. Are you definitely staying through the next quarter? Rest of the year?
ReplyDeleteAdding on to that basketball question, when answering, let us know what your paper has done in past years, if possible. I want to see how much change there is with the economy, less staff, etc. My site doesn't have a team in the hunt, but we're making space for hoops similar to past years. That's taking away from other stuff, but readers would prefer March Madness over spring training.
ReplyDeleteMcClatchy Watch is:
ReplyDeletehttp://cancelthebee.blogspot.com
If in fact this is true, it's headline news, in some circles.
Thanks, I thought that was it, but then thought maybe it was a branch off for just the Bee.
ReplyDeleteThat piece does say commentary, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteScroll deeper on MCT Watch.
ReplyDeleteFor on the ground reporting of the Miami Herald go to:
ReplyDeletehttp://heraldwatch.blogspot.com
That piece does say commentary, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteNot referring to just that piece, scroll down.
ReplyDelete2:53 -- Thanks for the encouragment. If you're right, this is good news ... in the short term. We will all do well to remember the last part of that sentence.
ReplyDeleteRecently, Bob Dickey verified that more consolidation is on the way, meaning the newspaper business will shrink in coming years, whether or not the economy recovers. Dickey didn't give a solid plan, as that would be too much to ask from a company like Gannett. He did, however, use the word "regionalization," and that means fewer jobs overall.
Everyone can interpret that the way they want, but I don't find it encouraging for employees. If financials are looking better for Gannett now that means two things. Gannett will continue to make money, and employees are safer day-to-day but not month-to-month.
I think most of us should continue looking for other jobs, especially considering the frustration of working in an environment that is increasingly unprofessional.
Verification word "vometing." You gotta love it.
Hey 1:05 p.m.,
ReplyDeleteSlowly reach up, place your hands on your head and slide the tin foil off.
Now, isn't that better? Is your "talent" breathing free?
Re: march madness coverage.
ReplyDeleteIndyStar.com — Indy is hosting the midwest regional — has a lot of coverage leading their homepage. Also they have a pretty sweet interactive bracket: http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/SPORTS/90315031
http://jconline.com (Journal & Courier, Lafayette, Indiana) has local coverage from the tournament for Purdue. The men are out now, but the women are still competing. Click the banner just below the menu on the homepage. The left column there is all local, the blogs are local but then there are things like Twitter updates and USAT/other newspaper coverage. Not sure if this is related at all to Content One or any of that. Look at http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/section/marchmania and http://www.desmoinesregister.com/section/marchmaniadm and they have a similar setup, for example.
furlough House swap!
ReplyDeleteFurloughhouseswap.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-talk-furloughmar29,0,4823333.column
Yes, there's an online Content One setup for March Madness, and as far as I know, every GCI paper's site is required to either run it or have a home-grown page with the Content One elements added.
ReplyDeleteThe page is at [your paper's domain name].com/section/marchmania. (It's "March Mania" because of trademark issues with "March Madness.")
2.53 tell the "Sky is not falling" to all the people laid off with chidren! Tell that to the people who lost their homes after working for years with gannett! Tell that to the people that have 20 or 30 years that didn't even get a severance and were put to the curb like a full bag of trash! Of course we the people can't tell you anything anymore because you have made the sucess dream story and get to drink all the free kool=aid you can drink and get free golf privledges at craigies countryclub! Hey 2.53, go f@@k yourself pal!
ReplyDeleteOh one more thing 2.53- "things are looking up!" Oh really so ganett won't be looking to evermore downsize and lay-off anymore people? Gannett won't downgrade people reviews anymore so they don't have to payout measley raises? Gannett won't systematically try to break anymore unions backs after they buy up "ma and pa" papers and drain the money and blood out of them like a souless vampyre? Gannett now will unfreeze our pensions and put more money into them? Gannett will pay out the dividend again proudly? Gannett will start giving yearly raises in sync with the goliath bonuses that the board and ceo get in thier contracts? Gannett won't try to dismantle union contracts? I could go on forever!! Gannett will actually start caring and respaecting its employees? Is this whwt you mean when you say "Things are looking up?" Hello 2.53, when was the last time you seen your proctoligist? He should twist your head out of your ass!
ReplyDelete"proctoligist"
ReplyDeleteWhy do you post here, retard?
If you can't spell, then get lost.
5.49 craig troll
ReplyDelete5.49 you are showing your immaturity.........ha
ReplyDelete1:05 - True is told! You are right!
ReplyDeleteAlso, every Gannett employee needs to follow closely what is happeninmg is Tucson. It might well happen soon at your site.
And watch what you look at online. Especially if you are tempted to park here. Gannett is in a foul mood these days from all the bad publicity and will fire at the drop of a hat... or "funny" look from a worker bee!
Ann Clark - a terrible excuse for a media company executive... is just the tip of thre iceberg. Gannett may soon be at all your sites watching what stories are written and spiking where needed.
And by the way, ANY Gannett journalist who laboured under the delusion that this company in any way cared about quality journalism - NOW you know the truth.
I knew it years ago and quit in disgust.
2:53
ReplyDeleteSo you mean the circulation numbers are going up? Advertisers are getting results from the paper's internet sites? Wow!
How one intrepid Arizona Republic reporter made money during his furlough...
ReplyDeleteSelling beer at spring training.
http://tinyurl.com/d9m7y2
(But it you write about it after, is it still a furlough?)
I met Ann Clark once. She made it clear that she was a corp Vp and to tell anyone local that she "outranked them all" if they disagreed with the project.
ReplyDeletePretty soon she won't have to worry because no one local will be left to tell.
5:49
ReplyDeleteplease grow up and learn better manners.
2:53
i hope you are right, for the sake of those who still have jobs, but whatever happens to the bottom line, the news operations gannett bought in the late '90s and y2k will never see even a semblance of their former excellence. they have been systematically destroyed by corporate greed.
(by the way, has any gannett paper won a pulitzer prize for reporting or public service recently?)
David Sirota on "Newspapers' sefl-inflicted blows"
ReplyDeleteCan I have some of what you are smoking,cause it must be good.
ReplyDeleteGuys, I waited up late to post so that I could reach more of you. You really need to know that things are looking up for us. Things won't change over night, but they are looking up. In the next few weeks I will be sending Jim some places that he can look for some hard numbers. Also I would recomend Jim lean on his board source for info. Many of you are playing a direct role in some of the positive changes. I would encourage each of you to share any positive information that you may have. Hang in there troops, things will get better. The sky is not falling.
Sad to say 2:53 AM, but it is falling, but not just for Gannett. Within the next 12 months you will start to see inflation. Home mortgage rates wil increase, cost of living expenses, everything. If you study the words of any economist, you will see this is true. We are not out of the woods yet. I would highly recommend, if anyone has a dime to spare, to invest in the precious metals; gold, silver, copper. These will only increase in value as our dollar continues to decline. I think it's great that you see a silver lining but the reality is that things are going to get worse for all of us before they get better. That is a fact. I see third quarter numbers falling under what is projected by Gannett. I personally think there will be layoffs or pay cuts at the end of June or early July. Advertisers are not buying. I see it in every publication at our paper and we have a large circulation. Sections are being killed, other sections are struggling to survive. My words of wisdom are for you, if able, to pay off any debt you have. Do not buy anything you can't pay for with cash and get a part-time job. States budgets are in trouble and you will see your property taxes increase, your water and sewer rates and utilities and more. Those are the facts. Sorry, but I'm a realist and I see things for what they are — not good.
ReplyDeleteGuys, I waited up late to post so that I could reach more of you. You really need to know that things are looking up for us. Things won't change over night, but they are looking up. In the next few weeks I will be sending Jim some places that he can look for some hard numbers. Also I would recomend Jim lean on his board source for info. Many of you are playing a direct role in some of the positive changes. I would encourage each of you to share any positive information that you may have. Hang in there troops, things will get better. The sky is not falling.