Yesterday, staffers at Gannett's New Jersey newspapers wasted no time leveraging this blog -- and not for the first time. Using this link, they fired off notes, alerting us to news that management had suddenly offered buyouts to 166 staffers at five papers. They returned with more comments and links, giving all of Gannett a real-time lesson on how an employee-driven blog works.Jersey Gannettoids have done this before: Moments after it was announced on Tuesday, a reader posted an internal memo, reporting that Skip Hidlay had been made permanent publisher for both the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick and the Courier News in Bridgewater.
But here's the textbook example: Readers say Gannett is now reinforcing rules about wage and hour laws. That's coming less than three months after the Courier-Post newsroom in Cherry Hill suddenly revolted, threatening a U.S. Labor Department complaint about unpaid overtime if Corporate didn't take action. And they made sure their allegations got widespread attention -- sending updates to me, in Brazil, where I posted them immediately to Gannett Blog.
[Image: Google Earth]
I think the Courier-Post shouldn't just threaten to go to the U.S. Labor Department, they should do it! As should all the other Gannett papers in NJ as well as all over this fine nation. Staffers screamed foul and I don't think Gannett should get off the hook so easy. After all, it's been going on for years and what thanks do employees get for all of that uncompensated work but to be outsourced, laid-off, demoted, etc. Stick it to em, folks!
ReplyDeleteSounds like crowdsourcing to me. Everybody creates content, nobody pays for it. Our new business model!
ReplyDeleteAnd look, Jim's blog has just as much advertising support as our paper's website.
Thank goodness I have my Thomson pension to fall back on.
All of this Jersey drama has happened so quickly, and it's all - funnily enough - occurred since Ketan Gandhi mysteriously disappeared with nary a word.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm sure that's just a coincidence...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE5k2euahDI&feature=related
ReplyDelete