Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday | April 17 | Your News & Comments
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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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Does anyone know why the head of sales for Pointroll, Deann Harvey was thrown out by Jason Tafler?
ReplyDeleteFirst! As in Wall Street didn't seem to mind first quarter earnings...
ReplyDeleteDon't know if this made it to the NY Comments section. Didn't see one up for today, but feel free to move it Jim.
ReplyDeleteNew VP of Sales named for Westchester: Jandell Herum.
Anyone know anything about her?
Ass and Shit. These are words that got cut from my post today, at the end of Al's set of words, on USAT web site. Gee USAT, you can say those words, on TV, I bet their probably is not a former Gannett's staffer here who has not utter those words, after getting fired from Gannett. So all you Gannett's sport writers out their, the next time your talking about a Yankee home game, you can now refer, to the stadium, as "THE TOILET OF THE YANKEE"
ReplyDeleteWHAT?! Okay...what are these guys up to NOW?
ReplyDeleteJust got my Cobra subsidy letter. Says "their records show I'm ineligible because I wasn't involuntarily terminated" but I can APPEAL that decision?!
What is the definition (according to Gannett), of "involuntary termination"? Should I have clung to the doorframe the day I was laid off? Should I have refused to leave the building when I was FIRED?? Was it "voluntary" because I walked out the door when they stopped paying me?
Maybe it's only "involuntary" when you jump out the window in frustration.
Appeal begins. Jerking off starts. Meanwhile, that benefit check I write every month for $1200 continues...
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ReplyDeleteFOR 7:41 A.M.
ReplyDeleteWhat does "involuntary unemployment" mean?
"Involuntary unemployment" is defined as an instance in which you leave your job unwillingly (i.e., you are laid off or terminated) and you qualify for your state's unemployment benefits.
What do I need to do to activate benefits due to involuntary unemployment?
You can request activation after you have been out of work for 30 or more consecutive days due to an involuntary unemployment. Call us toll-free at 1-800-379-7999 and we'll send you a Benefit Activation Application with instructions. Along with your application, you must also submit documentation from your state's unemployment office indicating that you qualify for unemployment benefits (a letter of determination or a copy of your unemployment check stub).
You'll then receive written notification of approval, additional documentation needed, or denial.
Once approved, benefits will be retroactive to the first day of unemployment.
You will need to provide continuing proof of unemployment benefits each month (via a copy of the unemployment check stub).
HOPE THIS HELPS.
WELCOME TO THE USA 6:43.....time to check up and buy
ReplyDeleteTop Story on MediaNewsDaily is Gannett's financial "woes."
ReplyDeleteGannett Co. television revenues will continue to sink at a double-digit percentage rate in the coming months. This follows lower revenue trends that the company's TV stations had in the first quarter.
Broadcasting revenues for the first quarter 2009 were $143.5 million, compared to $170.2 million in the first quarter of 2008 -- a 15.7% decline. Operating income for its broadcasting businesses sank 24% to $44 million.
Much of the drop comes from the absence of political advertising versus a year ago, and from weaker ad sales from the automotive and retail categories. [more]
Is anyone familiar enough with labor laws to know whether or not Big G (but getting smaller every day) could impose furloughs in the 3rd and 4th quarters? Rumors at my Gannett site, in sunny AZ, are that they can not.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
While hourly workers can be furloughed as often as managers at private employers want, salaried employees that are not entitled to overtime cannot be furloughed repeatedly, says Loren Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor.
ReplyDelete9:10.. there will be no 3rd and 4th quarter furloughs. only layoffs.
ReplyDelete9:43am
ReplyDeleteSo it looks like its the salaried ad reps who are exempt from overtime are the ones that can no longer be furloughed. Make sense as the 3rd and 4th quarters are usually higher in ad revenue.
All of our pay cuts, furloughs and lost comrades came strictly in the name of profit preservation. Gannett's $77.4 million in 1st quarter net profit from $1.4 billion in total revenue comes to a 5.5 percent net profit margin, which would be HIGHLY enviable in most industries. The revenue will bounce back when new advertising channels solidify, but once again the company asserted its PROFIT OVER PEOPLE mission priority. Even though the total profit figure fell, almost all of what it reported will stay in the corporate wallet instead of going out as dividends. Take out the year-to-year comparisons, and you've got a company that should be high-fiving and lining up new golf outings.
ReplyDeleteUSA Today story in editor and publisher about Marriott changing hotel program.
ReplyDeleteThe revenue will bounce back when new advertising channels solidify
ReplyDeleteDream on. The advertisers are dying off and the new ones are unlikely to pour money into newspapers.
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ReplyDelete10:43am
ReplyDeleteYou're right, the ad revenue will never bounce back because digital has yet to find the right combination to get the advertisers
same day response like print does.
Businesses don't have 6 month to get one response and have managers try to claim that as a 'success story.'
It's going to be very interesting to see Jim interact at the Shareholders meeting. Will he be true to his blog or get all mousey. Please don't ask a stupid question about Dickey's golf outing. Corporate already has an answer for that. There are far more important questions to ask during a limited time frame. You get one shot at this.
ReplyDelete11:20 Right. That's what the Point Roll stuff is all about. Advertisers want to know they are getting a response from the money they pay. In the past, they could measure response in terms of people who came into the stores to take advantage of sales. Today, they measure eyeballs in hopes that it translates into more store visits, but it doesn't do that. Most people don't read their computers and then rush off to the store. The final death stroke for print will come when they finally figure out how to measure sales on the basis of Internet ads.
ReplyDelete(by the way, I don't think PointRoll has the solution).
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ReplyDeleteI AM SO TIRED OF THESE GAY-BASHING POSTS. STOP IT!!! This blog is supposed to be about Gannett and its employees. 12:30 GET A LIFE and don't post anything that's not Gannett related.
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ReplyDeleteTo 7:41 a.m. -- At least you can write a check for $1,200. My entire unemployment income is only $100 more per month than your COBRA payment. Yes, I was laid off in December.
ReplyDeleteJandell Herum has to be better than that crazy man Charlie Rowe. Westchester hasn't had a professional ad leader since Peter Anderson back 20 years ago. The results speak for themselves. It's too bad Westchester was once a great property.
ReplyDelete"First! As in Wall Street didn't seem to mind first quarter earnings..."
ReplyDeleteAnother of Jim's assmonkeys.
Deleting this will accomplish nothing.
11:20am
ReplyDeleteYes, most people don't read their computers and rush off to a store unless the offer brings out the 'buy now response.'
Jandell is from newspaper in Milwaukee. Formerly of Rochester.
ReplyDeleteIn our Daily News Summary, courtesy of our publisher, it is stated:
ReplyDeleteGannett’s first quarter earnings were down 60% and US newspaper ad revenues were down 28%. Thanks to your efforts and your peers across the company, Gannett was able to report $78 million in profit.
$78M in profit, huh? Can I please get my furlough pay back? Furloughs allegedly saved Gannett $22 million. Give it back, still leaves a profit of $56M. For the first quarter. Isn't that enough? How greedy are these SOBs?
As of today, Deann is still listed as SR VP on PR's website. GCI tends to remove any traces of the departed fairly quickly.
ReplyDeleteAs an hourly employee, does anyone have any idea what would happen if you refused additional furlough weeks? We've already accepted one week in Q1 and they show a profit of what $78 million? There's another one week furlough under way for Q2. I'm just curious what would happen. You aren't refusing work, you're just refusing to take time off unpaid.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else hear the rumor that Gannett sites will stop running classified ads on Mondays and Tuesdays?
ReplyDelete1:49pm
ReplyDeleteThey will pocket the profit and furlough savings and continue to implement the program. In other words, wages will never go back up they will stay lower for as long as one works there.
Jim, What happened to Jersey Confidential for today. It does not show up?
ReplyDeleteIn regards to PointRoll having a solution, they have to have a clue first...Bob Dickey shot a 52 on the front nine, drive on ten is in the rough.
ReplyDeleteKeep hammering your suppliers for better pricing and cutback your overall usage of say a suppliers' newsprint offerings and look what you get...Canadian newsprint giant AbitibiBowater Inc. filed for bankruptcy-court protection Thursday in the U.S., after an attempt to restructure its borrowings collapsed.
ReplyDelete3:05 pm: Traffic got so low in yesterday's edition that I decided to hold off on a new one until I got a request. It's up now.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else catch that question in the GCI conference call, where an analyst asked what Corporate will do to come up with the $22 million if the quarterly furloughs are discontinued. Dubow ducked the question, but it stuck with me. What are they going to do? I bet they are going to continue someone with the furlough savings, perhaps translating it into a salary reduction.
ReplyDelete2:25 it’s already happening in Reno. no classified ads on Monday and Tuesday.
ReplyDelete2:09, give it a try, let us know how it works out. Either way, I think you'll be getting time off without pay. Unless of course you can find a way to force them to pay you.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, not long ago in NY, a young female left with a nice little walking-away package because her boss was a disgusting pig and she had tons of proof.
It's going to be very interesting to see Jim interact at the Shareholders meeting. Will he be true to his blog or get all mousey. Please don't ask a stupid question about Dickey's golf outing. Corporate already has an answer for that. There are far more important questions to ask during a limited time frame. You get one shot at this.
ReplyDelete4/17/2009 11:43 AM
________________________
I agree with every single word you wrote.
2:25-
ReplyDeleteMonday and Tuesday Class stopped several weeks ago for us...employment only on Sundays now.
As an hourly employee, does anyone have any idea what would happen if you refused additional furlough weeks? We've already accepted one week in Q1 and they show a profit of what $78 million? There's another one week furlough under way for Q2. I'm just curious what would happen. You aren't refusing work, you're just refusing to take time off unpaid.
ReplyDelete4/17/2009 2:09 PM
Why don't you try it. You are told to leave work and do no work. When you try to do work by showing up you'll be told to leave; if you don't leave you'll be hit with insubordination and fired.
Get over it. We've all had to get over it. I'm personally happy to have a just in this economy.
11:43 am: I, too, agree with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteNews & Tech April 2009 issue article Newspaper CEO: A tenured position for a poor performer http://www.newsandtech.com/issues/2009/April/04-09_page-column.htm
ReplyDeleteWhy has Westchester been given a new VP of Sales ? The circulation numbers are horrid and falling fast. Instead of bringing in a Sales Genius , perhaps corporate should release some of the extremely dead weight people they have there. The Directors and managers are a joke and they have driven this paper into the ground. But I guess that is the Gannett way--another reason they were down 60% from last year this time---and if you remember last year was awful.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have news about the Indianapolis Star. I'm glad it's spring now, because all winter I had to wear my fleece vest why working because I think they turned down the heat to cut cost!
ReplyDeleteNews about Indy? Where ya been, cog? How's a 12% pay cut grab ya?
ReplyDeleteSo what is the deal with the Indy union heads having "NO" recommendation, or endorsement??
ReplyDeleteHow disheartening that must be for union members...Why are these people even negotiating for you??...I don't believe you're being well served.
I suppose all I can say is good-luck, and hang-tough!!
Todd, is that the only tune you know? You've been spewing the same crap in every post. Give it a rest. If you have nothing beneficial to say, don't post. It is tiresome and just enforces the fact that you're a Fucktard.
ReplyDelete9:43 a.m.: There may be limits on the number of times that a salaried/exempt employee can be furloughed. But I expect the standard is something more precise than "not repeatedly." Salaried employees already have been furloughed "repeatedly" -- those making more than $90,000 will have been furloughed three times by the end of the second quarter. It must have something to do with how the furloughs impact the exempt employee's annual (or average weekly) pay. Without knowing the precise standards, I would not assume that all exempt employees are safe from furloughs in the 3Q and 4Q.
ReplyDelete90k plus employees will have been furloughed twice as well there...there is no definitive time frame on a furlough, it isn't one week, it can be two weeks, whatever.....thanks for the update on what repeatedly means though, you may be a editor but you'd be a crappy lawyer.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever been called a fucktard in person at any location? Im guessing there can't be too many people that use such lingo but a gannett wordsmith is understandable??
ReplyDeleteI envision a revolt in some newsrooms when the $90K-plus people are forced to take 2 weeks of furloughs. The big-buckaroos will be revealed and for their sakes, I hope they aren't slackers but I'm betting a good lot of them are just that. Which begs the question, why didn't THEY get laid off in December?
ReplyDelete