Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday | March 18 | Your News & Comments
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102 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 am circulating the idea our newspaper secede from GCI in protest of Dubow's enrichment.
ReplyDeleteSo much for the board of directors taking a hard stand and showing their independence from management. The compensation cave-in is somewhat of a last straw for a board that has failed to live up to its fiduciary responsibility to the SHAREHOLDERS instead of management. Having seen what has happened to other media companies, the board should have hired investment banking counsel to see if there are buyers for any of Gannett's assets. The parts are certainly worth more than the sum, especially given that the sum comes with corporate overhead baggage that adds no value to the enterprise but costs millions and millions of dollars that would be better spent on the actual business units.
ReplyDeleteI am with 11:54 pm to secede...our newspaper is making money but since we are part of corporate we have to send our profit to them plus abide by their mandates.
ReplyDeleteThis is just some food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI've had plenty of time on my hands and not so much money lately. Time to get depressed about the economy, lack of "good" paying jobs.
How much money does someone really need to live high on the hog?
I have always been appalled at the enormous salaries athletes/celebrities/CEO make. But of course they should be doing well. What does it take to do well? Do we always want more? An old friend and I were talking candidly, she makes a bit more than minimum wage. My household brings in nearly $100,000. But we both feel broke often. Of course when we started making money we bought a house, then we upgraded when times became better. We "need" to continue to make nearly six figures to keep up with house payments, kids, food etc. Do Craig and the rest of the CEO feel that they "need" to make their crazy incomes?
It's outrageous that the board sought to pay management bonuses this year. While Gannett didn't get any bailout money ala AIG, what's the difference between paying incompetent Gannett managers bonuses and paying the so called "expert" managers at AIG bonuses? There isn't any. You've again rewarded incompetence. And how tone deaf is the board when almost boasting about the "significant" reduction in employee headcount?
ReplyDeleteAs the board says in the proxy statement, there's no set formula for establishing bonuses. So why do it? Because Dubow stacked the board with his buds? How about there be a shareholder proposal next year that all directors be compensated in company shares? Maybe then some of them will see the light.
I really wish that the company would invest more in their online departments by hiring skilled individuals who have experience in both coding, design and creating web functionality. Gannett's sites are currently holding the company back. They don't have enough people on staff to do the work, and many in charge of that department have no clue about the web and how it works. The company will never survive unless attention is paid to sites. It is critical. No one can implement new ideas if they cannot be executed. They need to follow a New York Times website model. It works better than the rest.
ReplyDelete12:43 -- Good point. But no matter how one looks at it, it's time for these overpaid CEOs, etc. to receive a wakeup call.
ReplyDeleteThe common folk have already received such a call. Thing is, regular people are losing their houses, suffering with inadequate medical care and finding themselves unable to fund college for their children. For people like Dubow, a wakeup call might mean selling a vacation home, parting with a yacht or losing some other luxury that most people will never have. Whatever monetary thing they have to give up it will be minor in comparison to what most Americans face everyday.
How would a paper secede?
ReplyDeleteI propose that every non-union shop look into forming a union immediately. It just became a lot easier.
It's true that unions aren't in strong bargaining positions, but can you imagine how many management heads would be spinning if they were suddenly faced with unions at every paper? It would be worth it just to see the greedy suits sweat.
I hope one of our out of work, out of benefits, out of savings, out of home (foreclosure/eviction) brethren, bumps into Dubow, Martore or Dickey somewhere ,maybe as they pass our brother in his cardboard shelter on the sidewalk, and engages in a vigorous discussion of the relationship between their Enlightened Management+EXCESSIVE PAY & the STOCK PRICE.
ReplyDeleteFunny, we americans bought into the wall street thing of public traded companies that we work for. So let me get this straight. I invest into stock from my company! They match! And they are in the market to make sure they please the stock holders. Even if it means doing away with my job!? And I am investing in this. Sounds like washington giving all the tax breaks to the telephone people in india and all the foreingers running the gas stations. When will my tax dollars go towards myself or my children instead of people I am beginning to hate! It is truly to time to go lacal with the newspapers, screw coporate, and also turn to americanism and screw the foriengers send them home , the freeloaders!!
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that the saint patrick can come once again and drive the snakes out of this company! Yes the self deserving big paycheck do nothing people with the golden contracts that are money leaches for this company!!!!!If we irish people rid our selves of this "vermin" we shall overcome and endure for the betterment of the common worker!!
ReplyDeleteGANNETT= CROOKS>...........................>> what don't you get? And how many years do you need to work before you realize it? They are the devil of corporational satan!!Thieves and soul stealers!
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that these executives have worked hard too? How can this blog start pulling the class warfare bullshit when these executives are busting their asses just as much as you losers on this blog.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen what has happened to other newspaper companies? Tribune? SF Chronicle? etc...
Give this team some credit, you are not hearing about bankruptcies at Gannett nor are you hearing about the newspapers turning into web only editions.
Look, clearly Dubow and Martore could do a better job, everyone can, but pull your head out of your asses and start looking around. Gannett is challenged like many other companies...AIG, Caterpiller, Bank of America, Dow Chemical, FOrd, Chrysler, GM, GE, Dell, Yahoo, eBay, Blockbuster, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Toll Brothers, KB Homes (did I miss an industry???)
Why don't you dimwits pick up a newspaper and read it every once in a while and stop listening to a President who has a hard for anyone in corporate America.
So, if you think that this management team has done a bad job, then leave the company. Put your skills to work somewhere else.
If you don't like the industry your in, go on to to another one (Take your pick!)
Bottom line is that everyone on this blog needs to wake the fuck up and start pitching in. Stop complaining about the executives, because I trust they are working just as hard as you are (if not harder Work together and let's solve this problem. What do you want on your resume? That you worked for a failing newspaper company or that you worked at the only newspaper company to succeed in the crappiest market ever?
You should be proud of the fact that we aren't on our knees begging for a "web only" edition or for the newsrooms to drop by 80%!
Finally, I am NOT a troll, so don't start bullying people off of this blog. I am a loyal Gannett employee that has seen a lot and believe that we all need to come together and not have people be so divisive.
3/18/2009 1:45 AM
ReplyDeleteI can tell you not one management head would spin, including mine, go back to Jr. High
1:45 How would we secede? Simple. Declare we are independent and no longer part of GCI. Ask yourself: How many gunboats does Dubow have?
ReplyDeleteOur newspaper is hugely profitable. We can make it on our own easily.
ReplyDeleteNews from Arizona:
ReplyDeleteGannett: Sale talks delay 'Tucson Citizen' closure
Mar. 17, 2009 06:51 PM
Associated Press
TUCSON - The Tucson Citizen will not close as planned on Saturday because there are continuing negotiations with two interested buyers, the newspaper's publisher, Gannett Co. Inc., announced Tuesday.
Robert J. Dickey, president of Gannett U.S. Community Publishing, said in a teleconference that the negotiations would not be completed by Saturday, Editor Jennifer Boice said. Two months ago, Dickey announced March 21 as the deadline for sale or closure of the Citizen, which began publishing in 1870 and is Arizona's oldest newspaper.
“We are going to continue publishing beyond the 21st,” Boice told the newspaper's staff in a meeting in the paper's lobby.
A final commemorative issue that the Citizen was to have published on Saturday will be delayed, she said.
On Jan. 16, Dickey announced the planned sale or closure from the same lobby location. At that time, he said certain assets of the paper were for sale.
Those assets apparently did not include Gannett's 50 percent share in the joint operating agreement it has with the publisher of the morning newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, owned by Lee Enterprises Inc.
The two companies jointly own Tucson Newspapers Inc., the subsidiary that handles all non-editorial operations for both papers. Gannett and Lee share operating costs and profits of both papers under the JOA, which runs until 2015.
The Citizen has struggled for years against the Star, a 117,000-circulation morning newspaper. During the Citizen's heyday in the 1960s, circulation was about 60,000; today, it's 17,000.
In a statement Tuesday concerning the Citizen, Gannett said it “has been engaged in discussions with parties who are interested in continuing to publish a printed daily paper in Tucson.
“In light of these ongoing discussions, Gannett will delay a decision regarding the potential sale or closure of the Tucson Citizen, but expects to make a decision in the very short term.”
Boice said Dickey gave no details concerning potential buyers, what was being negotiated or how soon a decision would come.
The announcement threw the staff into turmoil, with a series of questions concerning how much longer the paper would be staying in business, what would become of promised severance packages and what would happen if the paper were sold and not all present employees were retained.
“There is some hope that could come out of this ... that we could have a new owner with a functioning newspaper, with the staff employed,” science writer Alan Fischer said. “On the other hand, it's very disconcerting to be told that you're going to be closing down.
“We have people here who made plans, who have new jobs that start on Monday and who could potentially lose their severance packages because of that, so it's kind of thrown everything into kind of an uproar here.”
If it closes, the Citizen would be another casualty of a newspaper industry struggling to survive despite the tough economy, dwindling advertising revenues and Internet competition.
The battle has been especially tough in two-newspaper towns, including Seattle, Tucson and Denver.
Hearst Corp. printed the last edition of Seattle's oldest newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Monday night, turning it into an Internet-only news outlet.
E. W. Scripps Co. closed the 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News, one of two daily newspapers in Denver, in February.
Four newspaper companies, including the owners of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune and the Philadelphia Inquirer, have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent months.
Hearst also has said it will close or sell the San Francisco Chronicle if it can't slash expenses.
On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked the Justice Department to broaden its view of media competition when reviewing merger proposals. She said antitrust concerns that arise from proposed newspaper mergers should take into account online news sources and nearby daily and weekly papers “so that the conclusions reached reflect current market realities.”
Her effort to help struggling newspapers stay in business did not mention her hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle.
Pelosi said a House Judiciary subcommittee would hold a hearing soon to discuss the trend's implication for antitrust policy.
I am in the process of losing my house, wish gannett would have gave me something for relocating and buying a house when prices were at thier peak (sdame time Dickey bought his). No, I was just laid off and not even thanked for my 20+ years of dedication. I would lovwe to run into Dickey or Debow when I a homeless. But they would not even talk to me when I was an employee, why would they talk to me now?
ReplyDeleteI'm disgusted and ashamed at the lack of reporting on Craig Dubow's bonus & pay in Gannett press. There is no mention of this news on USATODAY.com. A quick search found that Dubow has not been mentioned in USAT since Feb. 27. This should be on the front screen of the web site's Money section. The same financial reporters who are reporting and commenting so vocally on AIG should be reporting about their own backyard.
ReplyDeleteCraig Dubow has done an excellent job of leading this company through these very difficult times. It is not his fault that the economy is slumping. He deserves every penny he earned and then some. Half our jobs should be cut, pay reduced, and furloughs inforced in order to ensure that we maintain his corporate intellect.
ReplyDeleteNope, these fools are gonna ride the GCI bomb to the ground just like Slim Pickens.
ReplyDeleteThere is a tragic twist to what happened to some of the Gannett layoff victms. Many of them jeopardized their own futures by showing loyalty to their papers and their profession. As a result of that loyalty, and out of the belief that working for a large company provided a fair amount of security, they didn't learn new skills that would allow them to transition more easily into other occupations. They weren't perpetually job hunting/hopping or taking night courses to get a real estate license or teaching certificate. They were dedicated to one thing. The craft of newspapering. GCI benefited from their loyalty to the business.
ReplyDeleteWhile some newspaper/journalism skills are transferable to other industries, in this bad job market there are fewer and fewer companies willing to take a chance on an old newspaperman (or woman) being able to learn new tricks. By old, I mean anyone with more than 20-25 years of experience.
I believe Gannett had a moral obligation to protect these people's jobs and to not throw them out into the cold. They were expelled for no other reason than they were older and probably making more than your average 25-year-old Gannett employee. Gannett abandoned the people who showed the most loyalty and had the least amount of time and resources to reinvent themselves in this new world. There had to be a better way of balancing the budget. But unfortunately, in the business world, the human nuances and potential tragic consequences of cold-hearted choices are rarely factored into decisions. This isn't unique to Gannett, but as a newspaper company, there should have been greater awareness of what getting rid of people of a certain age and skill set meant to them and their families. Gannett should have shown more humanity, awareness and intelligence in how they went about choosing the thousands who were let go in the worst economic times in our lifetime.
The company, without warning, severed far too many good employees who still were of value and who would have been willing to make whatever concessions in order to keep their jobs another five or ten years. These were people with kids about to go to college. People who needed the medical insurance because of ailments that come along with getting older. Older folks who don't have enough time in their lives to recover losses in retirement saving. These were people who for the most part did one thing in their professional lives...worked for newspapers, naively thinking that all those late nights, holidays, weekends in the office would buy them enough respect in order for them to keep their jobs.
And if you believe as I do (or did) that companies connected to journalism have a higher responsibility to do what is right, then the injustices of last December were and continue to be obvious and very hard to stomach. Lots of my former colleagues are suffering. And I almost feel guilty for still having a job, knowing that some of my former colleagues were even more talented and dedicated than I.
3/18/2009 3:54 AM, the two will never meet. The Gannett potentates would never soil the soles of their shoes to frequent a sidewalk where a former employee might frequent, let alone live.
ReplyDeleteThese people live in a bubble, protected from the discomforts of morals, loyalty or empathy.
Just received my Proxy email.
ReplyDeleteVoted FOR the shareholder proposal #3.
I withheld all on election of directors.
So Jethro's background is in ad sales.
ReplyDeleteBut "Director of The Associated Press"? Is that correct?
link: http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=176972&capId=20571&previousCapId=21719&previousTitle=The%20McGraw-Hill%20Companies%2C%20Inc.
Is there going to be an announcement today about paycuts and shorter work weeks? Thats the rumor here....anyone else heard anything?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, all the complaining about Dubow's compensation package won't get anyone anywhere, nor will a sufficient voting block of shares be gained to force a needed change.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, the only thing employees can do is to publicly expose this company's questionable behavior at every turn; i.e. inflated circulation numbers, over-charging customers, management abuses of perks and employees, using staff for personal business, setting food properly on a plate for one publisher's lunch, etc.
This may not even result in changes, but the farther some of these characters can be dragged out from under the rocks they live into the light they deserve for their actions the better. And, you'll feel better for it too.
does anyone know about furlough announcements today? I've seen on here the last few days that something is supposed to happen today--is anything happening??
ReplyDeleteIf AIG stands for arrogance, incompetence and greed, what does GCI stand for?
ReplyDelete10:11 am - Any time you start a sentence with the phrase:
ReplyDelete"I believe Gannett has a morale obligation..."
You are screwed! The only thing Gannett will do (and even this is doubtful today) that they don't want to do is is they have a "Legal obligation."
Gannett corp long ago abandoned any morality or ethics.
7:33 -- Your head spun long enough to respond to my comment.
ReplyDeleteIf you're cool with a union in your shop, why don't you make the contact? Your employees would thank you for it.
GCI - Greedy, Costly, Inbreeds.
ReplyDeleteThis is an abridged cross-post from NJ Confidential:
ReplyDeleteGannett's pension administration staff is no longer responding to me since I requested copies of the correspondences between the pension trustee and actuary since 1997 pertaining to our prior Asbury Park Press personal cash-balance pensions.
It's bugging me that our taxes are going to pay those AIG executive bonuses, because their prior contracts just could not be broken when we bought 79.9% or 85% of the company (sources vary), yet somehow the contract terms changed for our old APP pension individual cash accounts that rolled into Gannett's group pension. I'm trying to find out who made or agreed to that change on our behalf and why. ...
It might help break the logjam if others lobbied on my behalf by contacting Carrie Oman or Roxanne Horning to urge them to respond soon to my request for copies of related letters/emails between the actuary (Oman refused to tell me who that is) and the trustee (Oman failed to answer who that is, but I believe it now is Northern Trust Bank of Chicago). It affects a lot of former and current APP employees and may parallel the pension deals for the Home News Tribune, Army Times and other Gannett properties purchased in 1997.
Carrie Oman
Phone: (703) 854-6281
Fax: (703) 854-2006
coman@gannett.com
rhorning@gannett.com
I created an email address, APPpensions@hotmail.com, for people who want me to keep them posted on what I find out or discuss details privately.
10:45 that would be GCI = Greed & Catastrophic Incompetence
ReplyDeleteto 10:45 Greed, Corruption, Incompedence
ReplyDeleteFor those who asked, no, nothing is happening today. The wheels are turning this week, with the main people back from furlough, but I'm told no announcements are expected today. Even Dubow probably doesn't know the exact announcement day yet.
ReplyDelete6:34 -- I've never said that CEOs don't work hard. I think they're among the hardest working people in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteBut Craig Dubow would have to work more than 50 times as hard as me to justify the salary he just claimed. And he's only human.
GCI was ready to go into a tailspin when he took over, and he did nothing to stop the collapse. My question, then, is why does he deserve such high pay? The answer, of course, is because people like him feel entitled.
But ... he did not found the company. He did not come up with a great idea to save it. And he launched numerous initiatives that were clearly foolish from the outset, while allowing subpar manager to implement them at local sites.
Only a fraction of America's very wealthy were born poor or middle class. You may not like the concept of class warfare, but in our society it takes money to make money. Thus, the rich get richer, leaving fewer crumbs for the rest of the populace to live off.
Perhaps it's you who needs to wake up. If you are one of the extremely wealthy, congratulations. If you're not, just wait and see if that changes during your lifetime ... no matter how hard you work.
Anon 11:12
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you know some inside info. Have you heard what's on the table?
I heard people at a large Gannett property were told there will be layoffs, furloughs, a pay cut for managers and a 4-day work week for hourly people.
In other words, armageddon.
To 9:41, what are smoking?
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI am circulating the idea our newspaper secede from GCI in protest of Dubow's enrichment."
Undoubtedly, this is the stupidest thing I've read in a long, long time.
6:34 said:
ReplyDelete"If you don't like the industry your in, go on to to another one (Take your pick!)"
I sure hope YOU'RE not not a a kopy editur.
Whatever 9:41 was smoking I'll bet he was doing it with Dubow using $100 bills to light it.
ReplyDelete8:30 I am sorry you are losing your home. I am looking at your "Tail Lights." I posted yesterday enumerating way I am reconfiguring my life to a sustainable paradigm after my lay-off. Read it; hopefully it gives you some insights. Take care.
ReplyDeleteDubow gets a $13 million pension fund? The mind boggles.
ReplyDelete"For those who asked, no, nothing is happening today.
ReplyDelete3/18/2009 11:12 AM"
Absolutely untrue. There will be numerous fabulous, Fabulous! "working lunches" and strategy brunches and sumptuously appointed buffet tables and open mini-fridges in the executive suites. Nothing will change, but Dubow and his flying monkeys will nosh, Nosh, oh lawdy, will they NOSH!
While you eat cake.
Corporate governance is completely corrupt in public companies across America. Gannett is just one more bad example of how shareholders and employees stand far behind the CEO and his minions when the lapdogs -- I mean directors -- meet.
ReplyDelete6:34,
ReplyDeleteSTFU. Many of us here HAVE been pitching in. We have proposed new moneymaking ventures (suggestions totally ignored), covered our regular beats plus more, pulled double and triple shifts to fill furlough gaps with the promise of "comp time" in the weeks ahead, taken photos and video and posted updates on the Web until our fingers started to bleed. We have been beating the pavement to try to sell ads to the fraction of companies still buying them in ever-shrinking, embarrassing-looking newspapers papers, and tried desperately to pitch ads on web sites that just started cheating to pump up the reader numbers.
What the HELL has Dubow done?
For those wondering about furloughs:
ReplyDeleteExpect 2 more weeks of them.
Expect a 5% pay cut if you make less than $100,000
Expect a 10% pay cut if you make over $100,000 (no tears there)
Expect a few more papers to be put up for sale
Expect at least 2,000 layoffs
Dear 10:11 a.m. -- Honestly, your post brought tears to my eyes. You described perfectly my plight since being kicked out in a "job elimination." I devoted more than 20 years to community journalism and when I had a shot at a larger paper, I went after it. I really loved that job and when I got laid off in December, it broke my heart, my spirit and my life into a million smithereens. Every day I wake up hopeful, but as night creeps in, a vast emptiness engulfs me. None of my job applications have borne fruit, except one, for a part-time, minimum wage. I don't have the money to go "back" to school. To learn...what, exactly?
ReplyDeleteThe career I chose and in which I was rewarded time and again came to a screeching halt and unless you've gone through this, you simply cannot understand how devastating that is. I lost both my parents, cats and dogs, and some dear friends, too, but their deaths, which I still mourn, were acts of Nature. Layoffs are not. They are cruel punishment in most cases, and from what I can tell, they haven't helped GCI's bottom line much.
6:34 -- He's tried to con investors into believing there's still growth potential in his company, and padded his reputation by funnelling thousands of dollars of Gannett Foundation money to pet charities. And don't forget that he cut expenses significantly by laying off some of his most talented employees.
ReplyDelete11:31 - What paper do you work at or in what city? In a meeting last week, someone asked our publisher if there would be pay cuts, we were assured not, said "furloughs take care of that." About furloughs? Most likely. But I haven't heard about the 4 day work week? If thats so, who will be running the papers?! If they want 2 week furloughs ever quarter then they might as well have more layoffs. Why keep punishing the current employees? Are they trying to get people to quit so they don't have to give severance?
ReplyDelete12:35 - What paper are you at? Is your information credible? 2 more weeks next quarter? Or 1 week the next 2 quarters? Is the pay cut definite? When are employees going to be notified about this? What is Gannett waiting for?!!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many "rumors" on this blog, but how do we know they are truly credible?
You can not equate more furloughs with layoffs. I would MUCH prefer more furloughs - would gladly volunteer even - if it meant my coworkers and I can stay employed thru this terrible chapter in our history. In many states, you qualify for unemployment during furlough weeks. You can also anticipate them, plan for them, cut back before and after them - or time them to coincide with a money-making hobby or side venture - and then you get to go back to work. I know some people have a very hard time losing a week's pay, especially more than once, but it is still far preferable to being shoved out into this job market. Please, oh, corporate deities, if you are listening, furloughs NOT layoffs.
ReplyDeleteSecede from Gannett. For some papers a good idea, albeit most likely tongue in cheek. One doesn't just seced from a conglomerate. You would have to buy your way out. how many papers are willing to do that?
ReplyDeleteMore furloughs...great. When we were sent the e-mail about furloughs, I thought it was comical knowing EVERYONE would be affected. Will Bob Dickey notice the difference in his pay? Probably not. Will the publisher in Palm Springs? Don't think so. He is so adamant about following the rules about furloughs, but somehow he is exempt from these rules. I guess playing golf with an OC member, hiking with a mid-manager while on his furlough is OK - he is the Publisher/President after all. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteI'd also rather take another furlough - a week, two weeks - instead of losing my job or seeing my friends lose theirs.
ReplyDelete(Just this time, try doing it in reverse seniority. Howsabout it, huh?)
12:55-
ReplyDeleteFurloughs most definitely do not "take care of" paycuts. One does not equate to the other. Furloughs are a one-quarter cost savings that fall off the books the next quarter, while paycuts are permanent and can be taken off the books. Not only that, but salaried employees, by law, convert to hourly ones if they're furloughed too many times in a year. I'm not sure exactly when that is, but you can't simply keep falling back on furloughs alone.
It's possible but highly unlikely they'll lean on furloughs alone. I think a combination of layoffs + paycuts is the best bet this quarter. But what do I know?
12:35-
ReplyDeletewhere did you get your information? when is all this supposed to be announced?
What I heard from that conference is that ad losses at GCI widened in January and February, and there was a sharp loss of revenues at the flaghsip USA Today. The losses of 23 percent of retail ads, 32 percent national, and 46 percent classified ads represents an increase in the losses for the last quarter of 2008. Dubow skirted the question of layoffs, and failed to answer the question if more is in store. The impression I got from the session is that GCI is putting a lot of effort in whatever Sadirakis is doing, and that he is the new bright star for GCI, replacing USAT.
ReplyDelete2:39 nails it -- that's what I heard, too.
ReplyDeleteLooks like this is hitting the national radar on the Gannett bonuses. Check out this HuffPo story:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-turner/gannett-executives-receiv_b_176435.html
In the company's statement, it listed as an accomplishment, hiring Sadirakis...
ReplyDeleteYou know a company is in serious trouble when one of the few accomplishments it lists - as a pathetic excuse for giving a big bonus to Dew-Bow - just hiring someone.
Some "accomplishment" that was.
This news downfall is much bigger than anything to do with Gannett, I'm now convinced. Someday we'll get to read the whole sad story.
ReplyDeleteI have gone over that proxy statement a couple of times now, and what sticks out to me is the appearance of golden parachutes. Why would they suddenly be interested in ensuring their post-employment careers should someone come in and buy up more than 20 percent of GCI. The way I read that is that somone could come in and spend around $50 million to buy effective control of this company. Mind you, $50 million is not a hell of a lot of money if someone bright entrepreneur decided he could takeover GCI and split it up in pieces. Shows you how vulnerable we all are. We may not have to secede, but encourage some hedge fund to make an investment.
ReplyDeleteFrom 9:41
ReplyDeleteI was kidding, the SOB took away my pension when I was only a month away from being vested. Of course, it was great of him to increase the company match in the 401k to 5%, of course I was shit canned shortly after that happened. But hey, I am glad to see that satan got his bonus pay. I should have gone to work for AIG.
Jim and 2:39
ReplyDeleteHere is the question left unanswered: Of COURSE revenue is down 20-50 percent from its highs (ok 2008 was not the high but 2005-2007 certainly was.)
If is a percentage figured using gravy income from a boom so inflated and so unsustainable that it brought down the entire economy.
So instead of making billions the company is only making hundreds of millions.
Meanwhile, the stock has dropped from $70 to $2 -- why the emphasise on cut, cut, cut?
I thought it was to protect the people at the top from a takeover -- that is the only reason left worth boosting the stock for. Now Jim reports they all have fat golden parachutes.
So what gives? This is the only industry where continued and sustained (I'm talking at least a decade at this point) cutting of the quality of the product is the plan to survive.
I mean the company was putting reject press runs in the newsrooms and doing away with trashbags when things were good!
So why not ignore the stock market at this point and reinvest in the quality of the product?
I worked at one of Gannett's largest newspapers in Ohio and in the last 20 years it went from four bureaus to a one section newspaper with half a dozen reporters (and now costs 75 cents).
Gannett bought it from Thompson and then trimmed the fat, for Christ sakes.
In the last 5 years, newsroom staff has dropped by 2/3rds. And circulation is down, go figure.
Jim, what is the reason for worrying about the stock price at this point. I mean it made some sense at $70, or $50 or $25 but it is at 2 bucks. Who cares?
Grow up. 2005-2007 was utter gravy. The suits have no more a right to expect those kind of terms than they do the bonuses they were so unfortunately given (Boy it sure warms the heart to know they shared in the furlow pain, though, what with taking a week off I'm not sure how they managed to keep the lights on at home)
Reinvest in the newspaper. It's what they do!
So Craig Dubow gets $875,000 bonus so that little people like me can go without healthcare, apply for food stamps, pound the pavement for another job that seems so illusive.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-turner/gannett-executives-receiv_b_176435.html.
Wonder how these guys sleep at night.
I do think hiring Saridakis was a good accomplishment for Dubow. I am not sure he should bank his bonus on it, but Saridakis is a very wealthy person who doesn't need to work another second in his life (nor do his kids, nor his kids, kids!). He comes without any need to "do whatever" or "suck up" to keep his "job".
ReplyDeleteI also think this is risky for Dubow as Saridakis could challenge "status quo" without the fear of getting fired. I kind of like having his fresh perspective in Gannett and I also like the fact that he doesn't need Gannett to pay his mortgage.
He is a qualified risk taker, who, if anything is risking his reputation by being part of this management team!
If AIG stands for arrogance, incompetence and greed, what does GCI stand for?
ReplyDelete3/18/2009 10:45 AM
Greed Central Incorporated
So if they are talking about putting papers on the market, does anybody know what a realistic price might be for metros vs. mid-sized vs. community papers?
ReplyDeleteIs the overall value low enough now that local nonprofits could afford to buy the papers (or bigwigs buy them and donate them to the nonprofits) and operate them as a decent revenue stream for the nonprofit and less cost-cutting pressure for the newspaper?
TO ALL WHO WERE LAID OFF: How about a letter campaign to Dubow asking where your thank you notes are? After all, his bonus was based on doing away with our positions. Let's see if USAT covers that story!
ReplyDeleteAIG CEO in D.C. story is 5 graphs on page 23 of tomorrow's paper with no rail item or refer from A1.
ReplyDeleteIt will be the only paper on the rack tomorrow with no AIG component on the cover.
I have no confidence in management.
4:10 PM
ReplyDeleteThere's another way to look at risk taking behaviors. Who wouldn't want a giant like Gannett for a safety net?
Think of it in terms of the difference between freelancing and being a full-fledged Gannett employee. Freelancers are on their own when it comes to problems and lawsuits, but seems employees have the big guns at Gannett behind them.
I have my opinions on who needs whom on this one, and I know way too many successful entrepreneurs who would not, under any circumstances, take a job in a big corporation.
Jim - no doubt you've noted the change in this years Proxy regarding the NEO's. Both Craig Moon and P Davidson were there last year but not this. I always thought that the NEO's were the company's highest paid executives, but apparently not. Both Moon and Davidson earnt more last year than Dickey and Lougee this - and they won't have taken a pay cut - so why are they no longer there?
ReplyDelete3:54 - If you are working at one of Gannett's "bigger" Ohio papers, and it isn't Cincy, then it is a small daily, not big at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd it likey is of terrible quality. Yes, Thomson was cheap. But Gannett destroyede good papers as welkl as those in the Ohio Thomson purchase - Mansfield was a terrible paper then. It is an embarrassment now. The smaller ones are just 8 pages most days..
People in the communities HATE the papers, especially in Chillicothe, where incometence rules and has for years.
Gannett should never have bought these overpriced papers with poor quality poorer talent.
You are, by the way, a rarety - almost no one from those papers comment on this site. Maybe they are ashamed of the poor quality. Maybe Gannett has put the FEAR into them.
On the international level, what's Gannett's tie- in when it comes to CareerBuilder? Could someone please tell me---specifically---how CareerBuilder makes money? (How much is from postings, how much from ads, how much from affilate sites and clicks and all)
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Dubow & Co getting a bonus,Is like our sales force getting TV's, Bahama trip's, Computer's,and a chance to win a car among other things.
ReplyDeleteEither way there both getting rewarded for failing
My manager told me HR said Gannett can only legally do 2 furloughs a year. Is that so? Would they do both the first 2 quarters? Anyone else here what the legal limits on furloughs are? Is that really the case?
ReplyDeleteI swear after listening to that garble this afternoon that gannett execs are speaking a secret code and appear to be involved in a secret society that we're all not privy to. I wonder what you have to do to join? Talk about skirting questions with indirect answers !
ReplyDeleteI work at a small site, and even our low level managers get a bonus. But we (those of us who don't) are not supposed to know about it. It is a well kept secret.
ReplyDelete6:25 How do you think they became executives of this company: acccentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and if it is bad news, mumble and confuse.
ReplyDelete4:01, everything Saridakis has touched at Gannett has turned into steaming pile of you-know-what. And he keeps getting paid millions and millions while he keeps turning the rest of Gannett into even bigger steaming piles of you-know-what. Pretty soon, if we keep going down this road, we'll all be stuck inside a giant you-know-what, courtesy of Saridakis.
ReplyDeletePaycuts are not the plan who ever said this is wrong period
ReplyDelete6:37 p.m., the persistent rumors of widespread bonuses for even "low-level managers" are among the most inaccurate postings I see on this site, at least if you're talking about editorial.
ReplyDeleteI've held numerous editorial management jobs up to the level of managing editor and at different size papers, and I can tell you bonuses are not routine for managers employed by the site they work for (some high-level managers are direct corporate employees, so I can't speak to that).
I've never been given a bonus (I've gotten good raises for superior performance evaluations, but never a bonus). Never awarded a bonus. Never heard of a bonus for any newsroom manager at managing level or lower.
If you're going to make comments like that, substantiate them, that's all I ask. It's not hard to do if it's fact.
Thanks to those posters who provide documentation for their information. The commitment to accurate reporting here as in our jobs is appreciated.
This is a hugely valuable blog when the information is accurate and substantiated it. Without supporting documents or credible and verifiable comments, posts are useless.
Thanks again to those willing to risk to give us a true picture of what's going on, and to Jim for posting the documents we need to see to make up our minds about the quality of information on the blog.
Continued good thoughts to all my colleagues fighting through these tough times!
Wonder what English thinks of the 10 percent paycuts at the Augusta paper he is now EE of?
ReplyDelete7:39 p.m. I do not work in news, so I do not know if that is the case in that department. I am sorry I cannot give any more info than that, but I was told by the person who gets the bonus, and the person who used to deal with payroll that the bonuses are real. In fact, that person asked today if the managers got their bonuses, which she said usually come out in February.
ReplyDeleteregarding furloughs, if you can only take two a year, it dosen't specify how long the second furlough will be 1 week, 2 weeks? you may only be able to take two but length is not specified. the legal dept are the ones making all the money by finding all the loopholes to jump that screw you and save the money.
ReplyDeleteAnd ad reps are suppose to get quarterly bonuses besides their monthly bonus but don't worry the goals are always so high and unrealistic, the reps work, work, work and often don't see the quarterly bonus.
ReplyDeleteMany newspaper companies are experiencing what Gannett is suffering now. In one respect though Gannett management seemed to have position itself as smarter than the rest of the pack. I may be mistaken, but I often thought Gannett folks thought they knew something other newspaper companies didn't. This downturn indicates Gannett's top management really isn't smarter than the rest of the pack. If I owned the company and I still own some shares, I'd dump the silver towers. I'd move corporate into an old Wal-Mart. I'd dump everything that does't directly hit the print the next day. Let local managers rule with a minimum of corporate oversight except for what hits the bottomline. If a local site is making money, let it alone. If is losing money and can't be fixed,drop it. And, do all of this as fast as possible. There are local interests that might buy the losers and figure out how to make them profitable. What results may not fit the ideal concepts of quality journalism, but it is time to survive. Newspapering is a business and that isn't something dismissed. The proof of that is in this downturn. Next, sweetheart deals like the former CEO has, bonuses, etc., ought to be gone.
ReplyDeleteHeard solid rumor publisher Dave Hunke is leaving Detroit. He has done such a terrific job running the papers into the ground I don't know why he would leave. Suzie Elwood, who really is the person behind every decision at the partnership, will take over temporarily. She has never had an idea of her own and has brought in useless high priced consultant after useless high priced consultant. Announcement should be soon.
ReplyDeleteI am so confused about this company right now. I thought things were financially dire. One person says more furloughs, a second says paycut reductions and a third rebuts both of them. I consider myself a logical person and logic tells me that plunging revenues indicate future pay reductions and furloughs. I just don't understand why DuBow & Co. skirted the layoff questions today.
ReplyDeletePlease stop taking the blotter acid, your hallucinations are to the point where we are going to have to hospitalize you for an indefinite amount of time. When you come out of Alice in Wonderland and you look beyond your limited exposure to the real world – then and only then will you see how far your head in stuck in Gannett quick sand. He doesn't deserve a dime, real my lips, not a dime.
ReplyDeleteCraig Dubow has done an excellent job of leading this company through these very difficult times. It is not his fault that the economy is slumping. He deserves every penny he earned and then some. Half our jobs should be cut, pay reduced, and furloughs inforced in order to ensure that we maintain his corporate intellect.
Exactly my sentiments. Wonderful post. I couldn't of said it better myself. Thank you for telling the truth that Gannett refuses to see:
ReplyDeleteAs a result of that loyalty, and out of the belief that working for a large company provided a fair amount of security, they didn't learn new skills that would allow them to transition more easily into other occupations. They weren't perpetually job hunting/hopping or taking night courses to get a real estate license or teaching certificate. They were dedicated to one thing. The craft of newspapering. GCI benefited from their loyalty to the business.
If that hunke rumour is real - what timing - 2 weeks before they light the match that will burn down the building he leaves. WOW. wish I could say it would be a surprise - sounds like a rocky mountain repeat on the way.
ReplyDeleteI hope everybody is being responsible and signing up for unemployment as it is due to you. I signed up for
ReplyDeleteduring my 1st furlough week so if we have to take another one within a year's time then I will have my "waiting" week over with and I will be paid for the 2nd week along with the 1st week. At least it will buy groceries and gas. Also, I found out that for hourly employees you can still sign up for unemployment benefits you just have to keep tabs on it more often since you take a day at a time.
Not EVERYONE in the company has to take furloughs...some sites have unions, others are TV stations, then there's the so called "special" ones such as certain online sales reps, plus the credit centers that are not forced to take furloughs.
ReplyDeleteHow does that work? I thought you had to take an entire week to qualify? I would love to do that, but one day at a time is easier on my paycheck. I wouldn't be able to pay my bills if I lost an entire week's pay.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I found out that for hourly employees you can still sign up for unemployment benefits you just have to keep tabs on it more often since you take a day at a time.
Go online to view your state's website, i.e. alabama.gov, and check out the unemployment benefits section. I have a family member whose work week has been reduced from a 5-day week to a 4-day week and she receives a day of unemployment every week.
ReplyDelete7:39
ReplyDeleteWere they specifically talking about the newsroom? I know circulation managers are eligible for a monthly bonus. Of course the goals are set so high that not much at all has been made in the past year to 18 months.
I can't imagine why there would be a legal limitation on the number of furloughs a company can demand.
ReplyDeleteSome state governments are furloughing people a day a month every month. That would be 12 furloughs a year.
A furlough is just a temporary layoff, and construction companies do it all the time.
The real question is can the company achieve what it wants through furloughs. With a furlough there is no savings on employee benefits and there is an unemployment expense in some markets. On the up side, for the company, furloughs don't demand severance expenses.
Pay cuts don't eliminate benefit expenses, but they don't have severance expenses either. And, with a pay cut, there is no loss in staffing.
All of this makes it tough to predict what will happen. Who knows? We could pull a McClatchy and ask for layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs.
DON'T BELIEVE THIS. NOT TRUE.
ReplyDelete"Heard solid rumor publisher Dave Hunke is leaving Detroit. He has done such a terrific job running the papers into the ground I don't know why he would leave. Suzie Elwood, who really is the person behind every decision at the partnership, will take over temporarily. She has never had an idea of her own and has brought in useless high priced consultant after useless high priced consultant. Announcement should be soon."
3/18/2009 10:08 PM
This is my guess on the legal aspect of furloughs. See what you think of my math...
ReplyDeletePart-time workers typically work no more than 34 hours per week, getting no benefits.
34 x 52 weeks = 1,768 hours
If you work 37.5 hours per week full-time, you could do no more than four weeks of furloughs (working 1,800 hours/year).
If you work 40 hours per week full-time, you could do no more than seven weeks (working 1,800 hours/year).
If you become part-time, your health benefits and, I believe, unemployment benefits are affected.