Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Wednesday | April 15 | Your News & Comments
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59 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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ReplyDeleteJim--I am job hunting and keep having to go over my qualifications and strengths. Wish I could say I started a blog that garners national attention, brings out emotions in people and is a service to a large group. You should be proud, and we should feel lucky that we have a "community" gathering place. Thanks for taking all the abuse and still keeping with the blog.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe attacks on Jim Hopkins are mystifying. He has stumbled often, usually in an effort just to see how far he could push things and whether it would shake out some truth-telling, and has been finding his way day by day for months now.
ReplyDeleteBut at least he is trying something, and the company is actually better for this blog than without.
Those who hide behind their computer screens spewing hate at him are small people who somehow prefer the status quo.
Jim, in contrast, looms large.
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ReplyDeletehey 1:01---
ReplyDeleteI'm 12:59. I'm not trying to kiss his ass, I'm giving him a sincere compliment. Based on my own shortcomings and recent experiences, I've realized that some of us are doers and some aren't. Just as some of us can say positive things and some of us can't!
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ReplyDeleteok--12:59 again.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell???
Jim--I will ignore my name caller. I just don't understand the purpose of bashing me. Don't anyone else out of the goodness of your heart stick up for me, cause I want 1:01 to be ignored!
Here;s the long list of journalists who just took a buyout in the AJC's latest round:
ReplyDeletehttp://atlantaunfiltered.com/atlmainstream9.html
Some real legends on that list.
Atlanta readers just lost, big-time.
please remove these posts with homophobia and other offensive tidbits.
ReplyDeletethey can go off somewhere and play with themselves.
I want Gannett news and insider stuff, like the Dubrow 'scholarship' expose.
also - more on employment and layoffs.
please aggressively remove those other posts.
the only sex life I am interested in is mine.
A sure sign of success: the number of trolls that lurk on your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThat Saridakis is leaving Gannett soon to start something big!
ReplyDeleteSorry, no other details beyond that, but it seems credible.
What the heck is that all about 12:52-1:47....well things are turning in the market....early this week GCI up then down Tues, but when earnings does comes out GCI will go down but within reason......thats when I am getting back in for the short term next week, buy then sell in a couple of days. Test the waters for the short term can mean big $ for my 401k, you can buy 5000-10000shares, dirt cheap, you can do the math for .25 - .75 increase per share, I see good clean money... : )
ReplyDeleteOn a less crude note, this from MediaNewsDaily this morning:
ReplyDelete'USA Today' Bows Kindle Offerings
by Erik Sass
Seeking to boost its mobile distribution with more Kindle offerings, USA Today is making some blogs and online community features available via Kindle, the portable electronic reader from Amazon. The move comes as struggling newspaper publishers look to new digital content strategies, hoping to recoup some of their losses in print advertising revenue. [more]
NYT today says newspapers are facing better than 30 percent drop in ads, and suggests they may be too optimistic in those projections. Quite clearly, this downturn is far from over and so I think the consolidations, cuts, layoffs are bound to continue.
ReplyDeleteOn the other issue of Jim's blog, don't be distracted by those who attack Jim, or his visitor count, or his alleged negativity. This is the first positive effort I have ever seen at GCI of providing average employees any information of what this company is doing, with the added advantage that we get to comment on it. I think this is wonderful, and Jim is doing an absolutely wonderful job. Thank you, Jim, and I hope you find a way to make it by with the pittance you are getting from this blog effort. I don't think I could do it, and take the regular abuse as well.
Jim:
ReplyDeleteDid I read Google Finance correctly? Were 100 million shares of Gannett stock traded yesterday during its 79 cents / share fall to $3.27. That's a huge number considering the average shares traded are 8.4 million.
Just curious ...
Tune into today to hear “CMO 2.0 Conversations: A conversation with USA TODAY's' SVP of Marketing Susan Lavington.”
ReplyDeleteThe webinar will take place Wednesday, April 15, 2009 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT .
You may register for the webinar by clicking: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/976771504
Looks like bankruptcy near for McClatchy. Fitch just downgraded MNI debt to near default. So will corporate fish for some papers in that mess, or pass and continue with its transition to the Web?
ReplyDelete8:52 This is options expiration week, so short-sellers are rearranging their books. These are people who make multi-million bets on stocks, so you can expect huge ups and downs for GCI given its current price. Unfortunately for GCI, there are so many stocks out there that it is being whip-sawed by short-sellers and other speculators. Another consquence of the blithering management in McLean.
ReplyDeleteToday's big initiative:
ReplyDelete04/15 09:11 USA TODAY Launches Online Mixed Martial Arts Community
Becomes First National Newspaper To Offer Regular MMA Coverage
MCLEAN, Va., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY has launched MMA Fighting Stances, an online mixed martial arts community moderated by Sergio Non. MMA Fighting Stances can be found at mma.usatoday.com.
I'm sure this will turn things around. BOARD MEMBERS: Are you satisfied with management's initiatives? If NOT, what are you going to DO about it?
Are you kidding me? MMA community?
ReplyDeleteAs a former Gannetter I've lived through a number of downright stupid initiatives. What a waste of the few resources the company has left!
I wonder how much in community paper profits are being routed to McLean to fund this little pet project?
9:48 a.m. says, I'm sure this will turn things around. BOARD MEMBERS: Are you satisfied with management's initiatives? If NOT, what are you going to DO about it?
ReplyDeleteHa.
I'm NOT satisfied with the initiatives. I think I'll be launching a Death Star soon!
04/15 09:11 USA TODAY Launches Online Mixed Martial Arts Community
ReplyDeleteARE YOU KIDDING ME???? What an enormous waste of time and resources. Who is leading this ridiculous initiative???? Is this another one of Jeff Webber's brilliant ideas????
Any proof or is it still in it's infancy about GOOGLE looking to buy Gannett rumor
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the furloughs continue, and it's affected our ability to get our work completed. So what's that solution? Maybe move some deadlines around? No, we can't do that, even though other departments have. Work overtime? Hey, that defeats the purpose of the furloughs, so that's out. Tell everyone they're slacking off? Hey, there's a winner. Yeah, that's great for morale.
ReplyDeleteMMA community?
ReplyDeleteI thought MMA was the financial acronym for
Money Market Account.
Guess I thought wrongly.
Interesting review of a court opinion authored by judge Richard Posner about CEO compensation.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/id/2216165/
Mixed Martial Arts? Brilliant! Another amazing Gannett example of smarts. Own 100% of a market too small to matter. I'm sure the announcement of market penetration is being crafted today.
ReplyDeleteHello to everyone:
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the work that Jim is doing -- he is not shy, stays on top of what's going on, and leads the discussion.
I am also a financial supporter and wish that everyone who finds this blog helpful, interesting, or entertaining would support him with a quarterly or annual donation/subscription.
My Boss 6:55a...
ReplyDeleteI heard the same thing about Saridakis from Pointroll people. I know within Digital everyone is buzzing about this.
This would be a huge loss if he leaves.
Hold on to your Gannett stock.
ReplyDeleteIt's my birthday today - tax day and another year older - uuugggh.
ReplyDeleteWorst part - I miss practicing journalism today, solid journalism that makes a difference in the lives of our readership.
Best part - in my new job I no longer having to grapple with the drumbeat of daily deadlines in spite dwindling resources or moral support from management.
If more of you folks spent time doing something other than whining you would know that MMA is HUGE. Just because you don't know anything about it doesn't make it stupid or unimportant. I don't work for Gannett nor do I give a damn about Gannett, but the company is smart to try to cash in on a fast-growing sport. It may not ultimately be successful but it isn't stupid to try.
ReplyDeleteGetting Sergio Non for the new MMA operation is HUGE. Now all those people involved in martial arts will turn to USA Today. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe backlash here about the MMA blog just shows how out of touch many in Gannett are.
ReplyDeleteOr it's just the same old people with nothing better to do but bash everything the company does to make themselves feel better about themselves and their lack of ability.
Maybe if some newspaper folks put down the rags for a second, watched some television like CBS or ESPN, listened to some sports talk radio or heck, surfed the web a bit, they'd realize MMA is killing boxing right now and even taking away from pro wrestling.
Couldn't Michael Manness simply slip into Saridakis' seat?
ReplyDeleteNever heard of MMA before now. But I think it is awesome that we are doing SOMETHING. Maybe this will succeed and we WILL be brave enough to do something else--something that is cutting edge.
ReplyDelete6:55 am and 2:11 pm: I have now asked corporate publicist Tara Connell about Chief Digital Officer Chris Saridakis's employment status -- in particular, whether he is leaving, or about to leave.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:06
ReplyDeleteMichael Maness would definitely "slip". Not sure he has any relevant experience or has accomplished much.
I agree with the earlier poster. If Gannett loses Saridakis, we are up a creek. He is the only inspirational executive at Gannett.
Michael Maness is a brown-nosing doofuss. How he ever got to the Crystal Palace is a baffling mystery to those of us who worked alongside him at his earlier assignments at community newspapers. I had hoped that the recent absence of mentions of his name meant he was on the way out. God help us if he gets promoted again!
ReplyDeleteMY BOSS SAYS:
ReplyDeleteHow about Michael Kane in the Crystal palace?
Got a COBRA notice from Gannett today. It says I'm not eligible for premium reduction because I wasn't involuntarily unemployed, which isn't the case.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else who got let go get a notice like that?
Kane, eh? Hmmm: Does Detroit's Dave Hunke actually have competition for USA Today's almost-vacant publisher's job?
ReplyDeleteOr could Kane be heading for Detroit? I hear Detroit's No. 2, Susie Ellwood, may be retiring, so not a Hunke successor.
6:05pm
ReplyDeleteGot an informational 4 page Q&A
about Cobra benefits, etc. I voluntarily quit and will never regret the move!
6:05 Perhaps this will help:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
Got a COBRA notice from Gannett today. It says I'm not eligible for premium reduction because I wasn't involuntarily unemployed, which isn't the case. Anyone else who got let go get a notice like that?
4/15/2009 6:05 PM
What 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).
Michael Maness is a corporate waste.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if Saridakis leaves, I would have to imagine that Craig Dubow would lose his bonus. Didn't the board justify that he received a portion of his bonus because he was able to recruit Saridakis?
I'm glad the government is taking action against pirates infiltrating sports stadiums:
ReplyDeleteNavy Kills 9 Pirates After They Take 2-1 Lead Over N.Y. Mets
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roy-rivenburg/navy-kills-9-pirates-afte_b_187246.html
Michael Manness? OMG. Name one thing he has ever done, other than kill up to SCJ who loved him. The peter principle, embodied.
ReplyDeleteAs for Kane -- now there's a great idea. He's the best and brightest this company has to offer.
It would be really, really interesting to compare what proportion of people in each section of USAT have to take two weeks of furlough this quarter.
ReplyDeleteI would bet you that more people in News than in any other section fall into the top 15% pay category (and, therefore, have to take two weeks), which really pisses me off.
I've already heard a staffer in a section other than News complain about not making enough money to be in the two-week furlough category, while someone I know in News, in a comparable job, is in the top 15%, even though the News person has 6 or 8 years less experience than the non-News person.
Meanwhile, the managing editors want everyone to be hush-hush about whether they have to take a second week of furlough. Of course the editors don't want the information to get out, because that's how people would figure out that other staff members--mainly in News--who are doing pretty much the same job make more money.
I'm for furloughs if they prevent layoffs, but maybe the powers that be at USAT should take a look at paying similar salaries for similar work, no matter the section.
I don't think anyone has posted this yet. It's from the Intranet:
ReplyDeleteOffices for about 150 Hilton Hotels employees will be located temporarily in the Gannett tower in available office space on the 3rd and 5th floors starting early in May for about three months.
Hilton, a USA TODAY and Gannett customer, is moving its headquarters staff to the BF Saul office building just south of ours on Jones Branch Drive. While Hilton's space is being prepared in that building, its employees need
some temporary space and we are leasing them some of our unused space to assist them.
Etc. etc.
I wonder how much they'll make from the rent.
I'm curious to hear what the message board thinks about this. The Star is still insanely profitable; why we're willing to give up this much, I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteApril 15, 2009
Important update on contract negotiations
As you are all aware, the Indy News Guild has been involved in
contract negotiations with Gannett since January. The labor process
has been slow and frustrating, and it’s been complicated by the
recession and economic freefall of the newspaper industry. You all
have voted twice to approve furloughs that cut your paycheck by 1.94%
each time. You have done your part to keep the company afloat.
Now the company has come forward, and it’s asking for more sacrifice.
(Elements of the deal are presented below.) The Indy News Guild
bargaining committee — while offering NO endorsement and NO
recommendation — has agreed to take Gannett’s plan to the union
membership for a vote.
The union has only had parts of two days to digest this plan, but our
representative from The Newspaper Guild in negotiations, Jay Schmitz,
believes that given the current economic climate and the state of the
newspaper industry, it is unlikely – without an intense, vocal
mobilization campaign — that prolonged negotiations will result in an
improved deal. The membership could reject the proposal, and the
negotiating committee will resume negotiations where we left off, and
continue to keep bargaining until another agreement is achieved or the
parties reach impasse.
The contract would be for two years effective the date it is signed
through that date in 2011. It would cut your pay by 8% on July 1 and
another 4% on Oct. 1. There would be no additional furloughs and no
pay cuts for the remainder of the two-year contract. While there is no
written guarantee, it is likely we could save jobs and prevent further
wage cuts.
You’ll have many questions; we have some answers, but ultimately the
company is asking employees to take on faith the fact that Gannett is
in desperate straits. Please give the bargaining committee a chance to
provide explanations. Keep in mind the committee has minimized some of
the damage and that we have attempted numerous alternatives. Also keep
in mind, that if the membership rejects this proposal, be prepared to
be more actively in involved in activities in support of the
bargaining committee’s efforts to get a fair agreement. That is
everyone in the Guild and is more than displaying desk signs and
wearing lanyards.
Here are the details:
* The Guild agrees to a two-year term, effective at the signing of
the agreement.
* Four positions will be removed from the Guild (two designer
editors, calendar editor and a business editing slot).
* Wages:
* July 1 cut: 8%
* Oct. 1 cut: 4%
* No increases for the two years of the contract.
* Scales (the “steps” earned by newcomers) will remain in the
contract, but no one will advance in the scales for the two-year term
of the agreement.
* The current language relating to the merit pay system will
remain in the contract, but the merit pool will be at 0% and wages
will be frozen for the two-year term of agreement.
* The Guild retains grievance and arbitration rights.
* There is no change to vacations or personal leave days.
* A more defined process has been agreed upon for layoffs.
However, seniority is no longer the dominant factor in determining who
will be laid off; performance, skills and disciplinary record will
also be considered.
* The company withdraws its “same-basis language” that would
effectively kill the Guild’s power to intervene in day-to-day affairs.
* The company withdraws its clause that would have granted it
greater abilities to outsource Guild work.
* Paraprofessionals can write stories of a simple nature.
* No signing bonus.
* Some positions – certain sports beats and columnists – will be
exempt from OT.
* Certain language that relates to advertorial work is still being
hammered out. More details will be forthcoming.
NOTE: The company won’t guarantee, in writing, that if we agree to
this overall 12% pay cut that they won’t come back at a later date and
ask for more. But in all practicality, unless the company suffers a
dramatic financial setback, the company has given us verbal assurances
that the Guild will not be asked to take any further financial cuts.
In other words, if Gannett enacts a third-quarter furlough
companywide, it should not apply to the 200+ members of our Guild
because we have already “given at the office.” This has been the
company’s practice in relation to other union bargaining units in
other cities.
NOTE 2: Agreeing to this deal means we would have to drop a grievance
the Guild filed after the Dec. 3 layoffs. We are representing seven
people who we contend were laid off in violation of the seniority
clause of the contract. We have spent a great deal of time trying to
get those people rehired or get them some type of settlement. If the
membership approves this agreement, that arbitration will be dropped.
We will keep you posted on the date of the information session and the vote.
Your comments are needed, and welcome.
--Indy News Guild contract bargaining committee
3:14 PM wrote: "Getting Sergio Non for the new MMA operation is HUGE. Now all those people involved in martial arts will turn to USA Today. Wow."
ReplyDeleteOh, please. Are you Sergio's mom or Sergio himself?
From his USAT profile page, it looks like he's a Web guy doing this blog as a side project. NO ONE is going to give a s**t, guaranteed.
10:29 Obviously, you didn't read Sergio's coverage of the Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski contest. Red Smith would have blushed.
ReplyDeleteMan 10:15 ....... what is the point of a union if you are making concessions like that???
ReplyDeleteBetter to just go on strike ..
Oh no, wait... unions don't have the guts to do that anymore...
It appears the Indy Star's union would rather just throw a few staffers under the bus, let evreyone's wages be cut.... but keep some of their little power...
Man, if I had been paying union dues to this union... I'd sue their sorry ass!
12:14: Unless you were at the bargaining table, I'd say you don't know what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, striking is against the current contract. So that's not an option.
It appears the Indy Star's union would rather just throw a few staffers under the bus, let evreyone's wages be cut.... but keep some of their little power...First, the people at the bargaining table get their wages cut, too, so it's not as if that's an easy decision. And you have no idea what people went through to come to that decision; if you think anyone is happy about "throwing staffers under the bus," you're an uninformed idiot.
Man, if I had been paying union dues to this union... I'd sue their sorry ass!No suing necessary, just a vote. The membership still has a say, so if people are upset with what was proposed, they'll vote it down. The union isn't a dictatorship; everyone has a say and a voice.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete--I am job hunting and keep having to go over my qualifications and strengths. Wish I could say I started a blog that garners national attention, brings out emotions in people and is a service to a large group.
ReplyDelete4/15/2009 12:59 AM
_____________________
Jim wishes he could say that as well.