Thursday, May 01, 2008

At USAT, I questioned management fairly often

And that was back when they could still fire my ass. Hah! USA Today held monthly staff meetings during the last four years I worked there as a business news editor and reporter. The end of each meeting was devoted to questions from the audience -- and from those staffers, like me, who dialed in from the field. I wasn't very shy about asking questions. (Like: Hey, is that swell newsroom reorganization you're about to roll out gonna result in any job cuts?)

10 comments:

  1. Jim, that was then and this was now. You jumped the shark my brother!

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  2. For anyone wondering about "jumped the shark,'' here's the explanation: http://tinyurl.com/82qca

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  3. WHAT: Reliving the past
    WHO: Jim Hopkins
    WHERE: On his blog
    WHY: 'Cause he got back to Virginny and the cat got his tongue.
    NEXT UP: Hopefully, he keeps giving the bastards the what-for on his blog. Makes up for his silence at annual meeting

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  4. To Mr. Yesterday: LOL. Looks just like a Gannett breakout box.

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  5. BTW: Here's the punch line to that question I asked about job cuts. The presiding manager at that meeting said there would be none; USAT might, in fact, likely be hiring, the manager said.

    Just three weeks later (or so), USAT announced that it needed to rapidly reduce editorial employment by nearly 9% -- the eventual 43 buyouts that led to my leaving Gannett.

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  6. Stop living in the past jim. You were a tough guy over the phone, just like you are a tough guy behind the blog.

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  7. Just like you're a tough guy on Jim's blog, anonymous at 3:13 a.m.

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  8. Jim, I appreciate your dedication to keeping the blog open to all viewpoints, but these Gannett spittoons -- I wonder if Craig is paying them by the post -- are really bogging things down with their carping and personal attacks on you. They are using their "freedom of expression" to disrupt our freedom. I think you should really think about at least reining them back somewhat.

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  9. To Anon@12:27 p.m.: Worry not. It's good to let 'em blow off steam now and then. The poor things always get tired, and eventually return to taking naps -- or whatever the heck they do -- at their desks on the 10th and 11th floors at the Death Star Tower.

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  10. 9%? Was that it?

    Gannett will see that the "43" wasn't nearly enough...the newsroom is still over bloated...

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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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