Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday | March 11 | Your News & Comments
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120 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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I'm first. Yippee.
ReplyDelete$1.85 a share. Absolutely amazing.
I've never seen a company fall so quickly. And I've never enjoyed it as much.
Another Badger State first!
ReplyDeleteTo all those Gannett boosters out there, why not put your money where your mouth is. GCI has hit a bottom, and it is surely now going to soar back to $70 in a New York minute. So if you think this company has a great future once the nay-sayers are gone, why not buy some stock at $2, and have a laugh on all of us who think GCI's day in the sun has gone?
ReplyDeleteAny news on what's to come after the 1st quarter furlough?
ReplyDeleteLayoffs and furloughs to be announced at daybreak TODAY.
ReplyDeleteLouis Bozo to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteLee Webber to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteOk how about a funny topic of the day? Does anyone have a furlough tale to tell, what happened when such and such was on furlough?
ReplyDeleteto 2:22 a.m.:
ReplyDeleteIf you have credible information about furloughs and layoffs TBA, please send to Jim via e-mail citing the source and you will get anonymity.
Messages declaring shocking or life-chagning announcements may be right or wrong.
Please have some humanity as you scare individuals with families and potentially cause someone harm due to creating more panic.
If you have BIG news, e-mail Jim and give it some credibility he can report
3/11/2009 5:02 AM
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't get it, but who is Lee Webber?
Lee Webber is probably some guy at some Gannett building in some state. People on here post stuff like that all the time, assuming their little corner of the Gannett world is understood by everyone.
ReplyDeletebtw: word verification was "blood" (not sure if that's funny or not)
HEDGE HOG
ReplyDeleteNEWSWIRE--Accused investment scam artist Bernie Madoff is expected to plead guilty today and could face life in prison.
A pink slip means your laid off,
A furlough means you're day'd off
A buyout means you're paid off,
All, better off than Madoff.
www.newsandverse.com
Light verse, ripped from headlines
2:22 - It's 8:28 a.m. here in Michigan, which means morning has broken. How's that crystal ball of yours doing?
ReplyDelete3/11/2009 7:40 AM
ReplyDeleteOk Lee Webber, I get it he must be like the little guy in the back ground that has been with Gannett at the same location forever and has never said a word, now speaks? We had this guy Sonny that never said a word to anyone ever, but at the monthly meetings was awsome at shooting questions to management in the early 90's we would call it the Sonny speaks meeting. LOL it was pretty cool, and he had some great points!! He he would not say anything until the next meeting to anyone...I spoke to this guy only 2times in 17 years, the first day was welcome to the paper the next was 17 years later was "I hear you are leaving" god bless Sonny I was around him every shift, he did not work for me nor did I work for him....I say Sonny to the rescue!
Charlie Nutt to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteLarry St.Cyr to the rescue!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust a short tale from the past that says a lot about how Gannett operated then, when the newspaper industry was thriving, and how it continues to operate today.
ReplyDeleteIn 1986, I was on a copy desk when it came across the wire that Gannett had acquired the prestigious Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky.
I turned to a friend on the desk and asked: "How long do you think it will take Gannett to destroy it?"
Without hesitation, he responded: "What time is it?"
Sadly, that is a true story.
Thus, it is no wonder Gannett finds itself in the dumper today, considering the "meat-cleaver" approach it took to strip profits from almost every property it acquired.
Warren Buffett to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteJeff Grant to the rescue! Seriously.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I'll stop.
24/7 Wall St.
ReplyDeleteStocks That Should Double: Media (GCI)
Gannett (GCI) will never recover. That is the conventional wisdom. It is in the newspaper business which is dead. Its debt was recently cut to junk by Moody’s and it reduced its dividend. Shares have fallen from a 52-week high of $31.86 to $1.85. Over the last year, the stock has dropped as much as shares in some of its major rivals. but Gannett is by far the strongest company in the industry. Even if Gannett out of business in a decade, it prospects over the next year or two are reasonable. Last year Gannett had revenue of $6.8 billion, down from $7.4 billion the year before. After backing out a non-cash charge, the firm made about$1.2 billion, off from almost $1.7 billion in 2007. Gannett’s revenue will almost certainly be down again this year, but it should benefit from two things. The first is cost cuts it has already made along with more that it is likely to make and the very good chance that the company will begin to close money losing properties. The print industry will never be close to what it was five years ago, but small recovery in national and local advertising combined with brutal costs cuts will keep Gannett on its feet. The stock should be down, but not to under $2.
3/11/2009 8:48 AM
ReplyDeleteCorp. America.....! What they do sucks but true, run it into the ground, then sell the ground it lies on and move on
Charlie Nutt to the rescue?
ReplyDeleteLMFAO!!
To 3/11/2009 8:51 AM
ReplyDeleteOk Anal Andy sure I will call Jim to have all the "to the rescue" removed thanks for the input and consider it done!!!
Gannett Manager I bet right?
Craig Debow to the resecue! Oh, wait? My bad.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous ANAL ANDY said...
ReplyDeleteJim
Could you please delete these annoying, idiotic "to the rescue" comments that are appearing every day. Thanks.
3/11/2009 8:51 AM
LUCKY DAY!!!! YOU TO THE RESCUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH YEAH
A tipster told DCRTV that Channel 9/WUSA's news director, Lane Michaelson, is out on furlough. In the middle of the March ratings "book." His out of office reply says the following: "I am out of the office from March 7th to March 16th. I will not have access to e-mail or voice mail during this time, so I will get back to you once I return. If you need immediate assistance, please contact the 9 News Now Information Center..."
ReplyDeleteApropos of the general industry, the Albany Times Union's guild is about to get busted by Hearst:
ReplyDeletehttp://albanyguild.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/company-declares-war-on-guild/
Q: When is a contract not a contract?
A: When a Hearst signs it.
Charles Foster Kane glowers in approval. (The Company, Inc., doesn't love you, folks.)
'NYT' Exec Sees Papers Forming News Co-op
ReplyDeletePortfolio
Martin Nisenholtz, New York Times Co. digital chief, says that newspaper competitors working together on a cooperative news outlet is a real possibility as the industry struggles.
In the paper's "Talk to the Newsroom" series, a reader asks whether newspapers have considered forming a cooperative news site where people would have to pay a monthly subscription fee to access the papers' articles. Nisenholtz says such a plan is possible--"particularly as more publishers question the advertising-only model. I can easily imagine such a venture taking shape among many newspapers."
There's more ... But just posted this to show Gannett isn't the only company mulling ways to dig up more revenue.
Ok when is evertone going to learn that when you ask someone not to something idiotic that the "children" will do it anyway. Just ignore the "firsts" and "to the to the rescues" or appreciate them. JUST STOP COMMENTING ON THEM.
ReplyDeleteSooo.. there is the fodder for something new to comment on?
2nd time posting a comment on this blog.
Any news on 2nd Qtr furloughs?
For the person who posted the $70/share posting - please, that's not even funny. You either know nothing about the stock market, or you're being silly.
ReplyDeleteMany longtime employees have privately sought my advice about their 401(k)s. I am sadly amazed at how many people have never sold their company match. For your own future, sell the stock. If this were the strongest company in the world, you should sell a good portion, because you should never have that much of your retirement tied up on one stock. Some folks believe that there are some corporate bogeymen reviewing 401(k) activity, and privately assembling a list of "disloyal" employees. I can believe a lot of things, but I can see no evidence of that. Even if, there's too much at stake for longtime employees within sight of retirement. Folks, we need to take control of our 401(k)s. If you need advice, seek advice. It would even be worth paying for some advice. And there are plenty of laid-off MBAs right now willing to give it.
There are good funds in the 401k. There are plenty of options. The web site is easy to use. With all the downside here right now, this is probably the bright spot for employees -- if you take advantage and use wisely.
"Ok when is evertone going to learn that when you ask someone not to something idiotic that the "children" will do it anyway. Just ignore the "firsts" and "to the to the rescues" or appreciate them. JUST STOP COMMENTING ON THEM.
ReplyDeleteSooo.. there is the fodder for something new to comment on?
2nd time posting a comment on this blog.
Any news on 2nd Qtr furloughs?
3/11/2009 9:52 AM"
Gotta be a Zengerbossie.
Do us and yourself a favor and stop telling people what they ought to do. Hasn't that attitude wrought enough destruction? Let people solve problems creatively and in their own ways.
7:29 a.m. OK. I worked my ass off before and after my furlough, and while everyone else was on furlough. Is that funny?
ReplyDeleteThere were a few people at my plant who, when they took furlough, no one noticed. Funny in a sad way.
Sorry 3/11/2009 9:52 AM
ReplyDeleteI also get sick of the ANAL ANDY's so I just had to post to that person and dog that person and call him an Anal Andy.
But anyway,
I have not heard anything but something is brewing....
People who will be retiring in the next five years shouldn't have (had) their money allocated to stocks anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe rule of thumb is that as you get closer to retirement age, you should move larger and larger portions of your assets into safer instruments so you don't lose it all should the market tank. Like it has.
"And there are plenty of laid-off MBAs right now willing to give it."
ReplyDeleteThe MBAs got us INTO this mess.
Smell the coffee.
sheesh.
10:01. this is your definition of creative. It is trival and boring.
ReplyDeletePut some creativity into your 9-5 and maybe you can earn "to the rescue". God you are a Yawner!
"10:01. this is your definition of creative. It is trival and boring.
ReplyDeletePut some creativity into your 9-5 and maybe you can earn "to the rescue". God you are a Yawner!
3/11/2009 10:09 AM"
Only a genuis ubermensch Zengerbossie would/could be so presumptuous and patronizing. I quit being a wage slave for twisty dips like you years ago and never looked back. Now, I wallow in schadenfreude.
Shorter Zengerbossie: You bore me. Touch my monkey.
ReplyDeleteMonkey to the rescue!
Something is about to happen, but I'll be damned if I can find out what it is. Anyone have any good intelligence?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Gannett execs themselves don't know exactly what is going to happen, but this much I guarantee they do know: they are going to announce massive layoffs in April. As soon as these furloughs end.
ReplyDeleteDoes, say, the Arizona Republic need 2,200 workers? Does Louisville need 800? Wall Street is now pricing Gannett as a pure Web play. Gannett management will respond by hacking 20-50 percent of the workforce and closing many papers. So say goodbye to more than 1/2 of those Arizona workers. This sucks, but it will happen. Even in the stock magically goes up 100 percent ... to $4.
Intelligence? in Gannett! Ha! Perhaps we should consult the great and powerful Courier News columnists. I hear they are full of great information.
ReplyDelete10:52 - How do you know? What is your proof? I have absolutely had it with all the unfounded speculation. If you have no conclusive proof of layoffs - or anything job-related that affects people - then DON'T put it out there!
ReplyDelete9:57 am - I also am surprised at how many people have retained - to their dismay now - Gannett stock.
ReplyDeleteHowever ...
When I was with Gannett and received Gannett stock as my annual "bonus", I would sell this stock the MINUTE I was eligible to do so -- usually about a year after it was awarded. So each year I'd watch the clock and when the shares were "released" to me, I'd go online and sell it!
I NEVER thought that someone in corporate was keeping a list of disloyal employees who sold their stock option - and frankly I didn't care.
After all, I already WAS a disloyal employee. I hated Gannett then, and sold my stock mostly because of the clause that said that if you are fired, you loose all those stock options... so I sold immediately.
It was the best decision I ever made. Year after year, they'd give me a "bonus" and as soon as I could, I'd sell... I was NOT going to get caught getting fired and losing all those stocks!
I see more consolidation and layoffs ahead as well. I don't believe there will be many papers shutting down except perhaps in markets like NY where there's geographic overlap and consolidation is being viewed as a possibility.
ReplyDeleteEven with advertising and circulation numbers down the papers are still the only big money making arm of the company.
10:57am
ReplyDeleteTake your head out of the sand and open your eyes. It is obvious that the layoffs are going to continue.
The rush to online is like the lemmings going over the cliff.
ReplyDeletePrint papers make money, debt-burdened corporate owners just suck that money away. Time to relocalize...
10:52: The Republic has experienced small circulation gains since the beginning of the year, and advertising, while down, doesn't seem as grim as others are reporting on this site. Can you say that about your site? And, by the way, I'd challenge that 2,200 number of employees you've thrown out. There is no way the Republic has that kind of payroll these days. Yes, there remains a small pocket of dead weight, but there is very little give if we are to continue to give our readers what they want and will pay for.
ReplyDeleteGannett's web site says the Ariz. Republic has 2,650 employees. I figured that's an outdated number, so I guessed 2,200.
ReplyDeleteSmall rises in circ. and advertising won't save jobs. Remember: In the good old days, when Gannett papers like the Cincinnati Enquirer had profit margins of 30 percent, did that money stay in that city, as bonuses or staff reinforcements? No, it went to Virginia. Likewise, now, Virginia isn't going to spare workers in Arizona just because you eeked out a small circ gain. The Republic has 2,000+ employees in a dying industry, in a recession, in a city whose main industry (home building) is gone, in a chain loaded with debt and little options, with Wall Street writing the firm off as dead.
The jobs are gone. Kaput. I think everyone who visits this site already knows that, but you're hoping for a deus ex machina.
Silly 11:04, it's not about what readers want anymore.
ReplyDeleteFor you "old timers" Wayne Vann and the dobermans to the rescue!
ReplyDelete"NWE JRESYE PPEARS ROKC"
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Republic staff is pretty slim and most of the people who have been left behind are working their tails off.
ReplyDeleteBut...but...the paper is...well, awful. There is little news in it, rarely anything revelatory or investigative and the person in charge of Local has no clue about what she is doing and is a micro manager to the hilt.
The top editor has surrounded himself with yes-people who are pretty dim bulbs. He simply does not want to be challenged or questioned, and his closest minions will never tell the emporer he is wearing no clothes.
It is very sad that when I go to the grocery story there is a Republic hawker pushing people to subscribe to the newspaper FOR THE COUPONS, with no mention of the journalism at all.
And it will only get worse. I have no info, of course, about more layoffs, but it does seem logical given the stock price and what has happened to McClatchy, and what will happen in Seattle and San Francisco. And what happened at The Rocky.
11:23 am: I agree with you on your estimate of 2,200 employees now at The Arizona Republic.
ReplyDeleteContentOne to the...
ReplyDelete(aww, nevermind)
"Charlie Nutt to the rescue!"
ReplyDeleteBut who will rescue Charlie?
Is he still around?
Isn't Charlie Nutt at The Vineland Daily Journal in Vineland, NJ??
ReplyDeleteYes, Charlie Nutt is at Vineland. Don't care what anyone else thinks, but he was a nice guy, mild-mannered and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
ReplyDeleteJim Hopkins to the rescue! NOT.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Charlie Nutt is alive and well and making Vineland one of more stable and workable newspaper environments I've had the pleasure of experiencing, especially given the circumstances...
ReplyDeleteFrom the Coloradoan website:
ReplyDeleteMarch 11, 2009
Coloradoan, Denver Newspaper Agency create printing and distribution partnership
Printing and distribution of the Fort Collins Coloradoan and USA Today will move from Fort Collins to the Denver Newspaper Agency beginning May 12 in a move that eliminates 48 jobs in the Coloradoan's press room, mailroom and circulation department.
Coloradoan President and Publisher Kim Roegner announced the layoffs Tuesday and Wednesday in meetings with staff.
"The current economic conditions and the changes for the future of our industry have indicated it's time to take a hard look at our operations and we're fortunate to have a partner as strong as DNA to work with," Roegner said.
"This has been one of the toughest decisions of my career."
The Denver Newspaper Agency installed new state-of-the-art presses in 2006. Because of the speed of the presses, Coloradoan news and delivery deadlines won't be affected, Roegner said.
Customers will continue to get their papers by 6 a.m. weekdays, 6:30 a.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. Sundays.
The affected employees will continue to work for the next two months and will receive severance packages, Roegner said.
The move will end more than a century of newspaper printing in the city and comes at a time when newspapers nationwide are being challenged by the economic recession and the ongoing migration of advertising to the Internet.
The news, advertising and business offices will remain at 1300 Riverside Ave.
For more information on this story see Thursday’s Coloradoan.
Note that the collapse of these complex, energy-intensive systems has nothing whatever to do with the increasing scarcity of crude oil:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_depletion
It's right there for everyone to see. We are the inhabitants of Easter Island.
Charlie Nutt, executive editor at the Star-Gazette in Elmira when I was hired there in 1994, was always a gentleman to me. I was too far down the totem pole to work with him closely before he left for New Jersey, but I always felt he was a good guy.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Nutt probably got banished to The Vineland Daily Journal (circ under 20k) because he (apparently) was a gentleman and didn't fit the mold of the typical Gannett so-called executive.
ReplyDeleteThe first poster, the one who is "enjoying" our fall from prosperity, is a troubled individual.
ReplyDeleteAnd before you mouth off about how you have a great spouse, brilliant children and a house the size of Rhode Island, ask yourself this: Why am I so snarky on an anonymous message board about a company whose business feeds a lot of us?
Get real.
Arazi,
ReplyDeleteIt's called self-loathing.
Lots of folks get huge psychological mileage out of it. Think nothing of it. It's a coping mechanism.
NOBODY to the rescue - seriously!
ReplyDelete11:31 Not sure how you can say there is no investigative reporting going on at the paper. I'm not a reporter but I sit next to an incredible group of investigative reporters who are working on some interesting series about to become series in the paper in the next month.
ReplyDeleteAll of you who call newspapers a dying industry are probably the ones causing the downturn. Nothing lets something die faster than a bunch of blowhards standing around saying "yep...dying!". What are you doing to make the papers you're at better?
ReplyDeleteOur paper's non-circulation leaders are doing their hardest to kill our paper, yet it marches on. Losing readers? Sure. But because we can't get the thing out on the streets before 5:30. One day sure, the next the carriers don't even start until 5! You're not going to keep readers like that.
Newspapers fill a need no computer or I-pod will ever fill, no matter what you do with it. Why does the World Assoc. of Newspapers keep reporting newspapers across the world keep gaining readership....everywhere except the good old USA? Are there orders from unseen force for paper companies TO fold up? Make it slow as to not draw suspicion? I think it's hinkey that ALL newspapers across the country are suffering the same fate. Surely there are thriving ones. What's their secret?
Most of you people on here need to quit patting yourselves on the back for the horrible job you're doing and start rebuilding this great business.
More loose talk of online subscriptions to read the news:
ReplyDeletehttp://gawker.com/5167917/online-subscriptions-weighed-at-times-time-inc
Apparently, they cannot figure out how to make it work. Knuckleheads.
Memo to Roegner. Forget the boilerplate in your letter about how cutting the jobs at the Coloradoan was the toughest decision you ever made. The decision was made for you, not by you. That's not to say it's not a tough thing to handle personally, but don't kid people that you are the decision-maker. The decision was made by Gannett corporate in its infinite wisdom. You're just the hired gun. Your pay grade isn't high enough to rate making that kind of decision.
ReplyDeletePeople sure are getting punchy on this blog today. I think the stress is starting to get to everyone. Even those who share the same opinions about the leadership are divided on how they want the stock to do. Obviously, if you are heavily invested in Gannett, you're in deep doo-doo. I feel bad for you. I don't think your fellow bloggers are mocking you-they're just glad to see all those golden parachutes deflate. You are collateral damage, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/shortinterests.aspx?mode=&kind=shortint&page=short&selected=GCI
ReplyDelete75m shorted shares.... it's the shorts that are killing the stock, not some true lack of confidence in the company.
"75m shorted shares.... it's the shorts that are killing the stock, not some true lack of confidence in the company.
ReplyDelete3/11/2009 2:36 PM"
Kinda makes you wonder why they're shorted.
Short selling on this scale is done purely for forcing financial gain and has almost nothing to do with fundamentals.
ReplyDeleteShort selling is a bet that the stock will decline.
ReplyDeleteIt did. They won.
Charlie Nutt may be a nice guy but he is the root cause of what's happening to Gannett newspapers - no imagination, no inspiration, no involvement, no leadership, no clue. Need I say more? He's not evil, so what. The result will be the same.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't report for GCI, that simplistic viewpoint demonstrates an almost clueless understanding of short selling.
ReplyDeleteFunny editorial cartoon:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.caglepost.com/cartoon/Parker/62087/In+the+Pink.html
Stock price has nothing to do with the profitability of a newspaper. I see Wall Street as an enigma, a glorified Las Vegas roulette wheel, that's all.
ReplyDelete"I hope you don't report for GCI, that simplistic viewpoint demonstrates an almost clueless understanding of short selling.
ReplyDelete3/11/2009 2:59 PM"
Right. Deeper causalities than minds such as mine are capable of apprehending, right? Puzzlewits like you are the reason the Wall Street thieves have been rolling in dough the past thirty years.
"It's all so complex, it's like black magic and you need an Ivy League MBA to figure it out!"
What nonsense.
Sometimes a cigar is a cigar and right now, nobody is driving the smoking bus. Occam's Razor always wins, especially now. History is happening to all of us & denial isn't a good coping mechanism.
So, after the short sellers get their rocks off, it goes back up, right? Right? RIGHT?
Looked at the chart for GCI for, oh, the past five years, Zengerbossie?
Obviously short selling is just driving the stock off a cliff: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/charts/chartdl.aspx?PeriodType=7&D5=0&D4=1&ViewType=0&D3=0&CP=0&PT=7&CE=0&Symbol=GCI&&ShowChtBt=Refresh+Chart&DateRangeForm=1&C9=1&DisplayForm=1&ComparisonsForm=1
Oh brother, the presumption of specialness, it burns!
Why would I want to be a reporter and be forced to work with puzzlewits like yourself? Oh, I remember; I wouldnt!
Frankly, short-selling should be eliminated as this practice has weakened far too many good companies for no other reason than driving them down for personal gain.
ReplyDeleteSort of funny that a media company like Gannett wouldn’t do more to take a stand one way or another on it, especially since part of its pummeling is based on the practice.
shorting crashed the market.
ReplyDeleteenough people betting Lehmans would fail and then on to others.
ReplyDelete"Zengerbossie" is sooooo two weeks ago. Frankly, you look like a douchebag when you use the term.
ReplyDeleteToodles!
The Lehman's won't fail. They know what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteHow about "Zengerflop?"
ReplyDelete""Zengerbossie" is sooooo two weeks ago. Frankly, you look like a douchebag when you use the term.
ReplyDeleteToodles!
3/11/2009 3:51 PM"
Does this observation make you Metapompous, Zengerbossie?
(Slip another expired Pepperidge Farm goldfish onto the barbie for yourself.)
This bickering is revelatory:
ReplyDeleteAlways a clique trying to form, always the cool kids who call the other kids douchbags and everybody forming alliances. Nice environment in which to work.
This is another reason gannett is toast.
Hey, 4:05 PM. I just watched you type that. We know who you are. Ever notice that blinking light on your toolbar? That's us.
ReplyDeleteHow does it feel to be the goldfish?
More furloughs and layoffs are to announced SOON.
ReplyDelete"Hey, 4:05 PM. I just watched you type that. We know who you are. Ever notice that blinking light on your toolbar? That's us.
ReplyDeleteHow does it feel to be the goldfish?
3/11/2009 4:08 PM"
Heh. You wish. Dorkus.
What are you going to do?
Poor-review me to death?
That's it! I'm going to clown college!
ReplyDeleteHomer J. Simpson said it. Seems very fitting that the American boob can be retrained from nuclear technician to professional clown. If he can do it anyone can!
jim,
ReplyDeletedo you have any info on the furloughs and cuts everyone keeps mentioning... you're our only hope of knowing.
I still can't believe the lack of coverage I'm seeing from Gannett on the Stanford scandle. That one has such deep Mississippi roots, and Gannett has a couple of papers in that state.
ReplyDeletePoor review AND a -.2 percent pay increase. Oh, whatever. Love you, man.
ReplyDeleteOK please help me out here.I watch B.Maher,S.Colbear,and all the others.CNN,CNBC,FOX,and all the others.I think that they are right,NOBODY DOES ANY INVESTAGATING ANYMORE!How can Gannett through so many stones,when they literally live in the biggest glass house.If you reporters cant say what you want,and your pissed,go to another outlet to tell your story.
ReplyDeleteDon'T the news paper used to be the other Gov.If Gov.and the Papers wont tell us what is really going on,then WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ALL FOR.Are they both gotten so big that they think they don't have to be responsible anymore!Grow some balls,speak your mind,or just give the f#ck up!
Now that Gannett shares are hovering around $2.00, perhaps it should consider throwing in some retailer coupons with every share sold…not unlike what it does now to hawk Sunday papers.
ReplyDeleteThough, it’s too bad that a program like Cincinnati’s Bonus Days couldn’t be used as that would actually charge current investors a bit more so the company could give away shares to non-investors too.
Hey 5:08, you missed an apostrophe in the contraction "can't." Sorry, it's just my inner copy editor needing to vent.
ReplyDeleteTo Army Timeser at 9:29 am
ReplyDeleteThe Albany Guild is far from being busted.
We have a united membership and have fought many times with Hearst.
"To Army Timeser at 9:29 am
ReplyDeleteThe Albany Guild is far from being busted.
We have a united membership and have fought many times with Hearst.
3/11/2009 6:35 PM"
Indeed.
I hope you've got legs to stand on. But the scenario developing there reminds me of that circular shooting scene in "Reservoir Dogs."
Hopefully, you'll survive this round of disaster capitalism and at least get a couple more good years out of the gig before it folds under its own weight.
Good luck!
We had a town hall meeting yesterday and the publisher mentioned that nothing is certain yet about furloughs or cuts in the 2nd quarter.
ReplyDeleteI asked my sales manager if they had mentioned anything about cuts to him but he said they hadn't. He did mention the importance of performance-this will be used to analyze your contribution and to see if you are making the company enough money for them to bother to keep you.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteSorry to say but your blog has jumped the shark!
I think the phrase
ReplyDelete"jumped the shark"
has Jumped the shark.
This blog has swam over the minnow.
ReplyDeleteI can't find any concrete references, but it appears that Wayne Vann died in 2006.
ReplyDeleteThere's an undated notice on the Tucson Citizen Web site giving a Dec. 29 date of death for one Wayne C. Vann, advertising executive, and the SSDI lists the year as 2006.
If I'm wrong, please correct me.
I have heard we may hear something from corporate this week. I did not know whether it will be good, bad or will be the company informing us of what the direction the company is taking.
ReplyDeleteI think the papers that are not making a profit could possibly have some issues, but can't say for sure.
We will have to wait and see.
I have to agree with 7:51. it has jumped the shark. the wild, undocumented reports of impending cuts, etc., did it. even the worst rag will say "sources said."
ReplyDeleteMore furloughs and layoffs are to announced SOON.
ReplyDeleteI heard here that it was all going down three weeks ago. Then two weeks ago. Then last week. Now you.
I think this kind of stuff is higher on the Scale of Douchebaggery than calling someone a douchebag. Yes.
8:54, etc. -
ReplyDeletePlease understand the HUGE difference between the blog, which is written by Jim, and comments, which are written by ... well, us.
Commenters can post almost any damn thing they feel like. No accountability.
Nothing Jim has posted has, to my knowledge, been incorrect or overly speculative. He pins his sources or predictions on solid data or information.
Don't bash Ganett Blog because of a few idiotic readers who get a kick out of causing heartburn.
The rumors of furloughs/layoffs being announced soon might be true. We've had some unusual requests coming from the VPs at my site.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I know that's vague, but I cannot go into detail.
Of COURSE the rumors are true. Dubow said as much earlier this year. If you think otherwise, you're deluding yourself. The company has no plan other than cut, cut, cut.
ReplyDeleteYou are all wrong it is big Bill Albrecht Micro Manager to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteI am glad so many of you are using this blog to have fun. I found out today I am getting laid off and I am not seeing the humor in any of this.
ReplyDeleteHas it been reported here yet that Gary Shawd, vp of IT at the Courier-Journal, anounced today that he is quitting the company to go work for a cable company in his hometown of Sioux Falls?
ReplyDelete9:50 pm
ReplyDeleteA lot of us were laid off a long time ago, sorry for your loss, but we still need laughter and fun in our lives.
I'm very sorry. I hope you can use the time to find something you really enjoy and try not to be depressed. I know how scary it must be but I have faith that you will find something that will be much better than your job at Gannett. I know you will do well. Take a week or two to be depressed and then more on. Don't let all the negative affect you. You WILL find another job or you will create one yourself. Don't let all the other nay sayers get you down. Never listen to others — listen to yourself. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteI am glad so many of you are using this blog to have fun. I found out today I am getting laid off and I am not seeing the humor in any of this.
3/11/2009 9:50 PM
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ReplyDeleteCharlie Nutt once said, "To the readers, advertising is content."
ReplyDeleteThe EE's mantra for content was, "Eat, work, shop, play."
"Learn" and "think" were not part of the formula.
1:03 am: That's probably why they both tried to turn the CN into a shopper.
ReplyDeleteWho's Lee Webber?
ReplyDeleteThe answer is! He is the reason Hawaii needs more funding for protection from invasive species.
He's proof that the brown tree snake is alive and well in Hawaii