A reader writes: "As you pointed out earlier this week, the drop in daily circulation at the Courier News in Bridgewater is one of the highest amongst all of the Gannett papers. The Courier was merged/consolidated with the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick last year, purportedly to save it from going under completely." Since then, the reader says, "blatant favoritism" has been shown toward Courier staff at the expense of Home News employees, "who are forced to pick up the majority of the extra work."Bridgewater and East Brunswick staffers: Can you confirm, or add details? Leave a note in the comments section, below. Or use this link to e-mail your reply; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
You ARE kidding, aren't you? Gandhi ripped apart the Bridgewater newsroom, making more that half of them move to East Brunswick where not only were they not wanted, there was no room for them. Even though the Courier News property is huge and wholly-owned by Gannett compared to a leased building in a God-forsaken area of a nasty-looking county.) Some wonderful talent was also forced out.
ReplyDeleteThe Bridgewater sales staff sells quite a bit of advertising into both papers and the production staff has to build ads for the same. Although the Bridgewater production staff is 3 times as big as that of the Home News Tribune with 2 managers and they DO get OT, they are picking up a lot of slack.
Let's also not forget where most of the staff for the newly-developed mycentraljersey.com is from: The Courier News!
I'm not sure some of the East Brunswick people care for the 'leased building in a God-forsaken area of a nasty-looking county' comment. You should also note that your building no longer prints the paper (same is true for EB, which has always been offices only), so unless you want the staff to move into the former pressroom, you may want to temper your remarks.
ReplyDeleteplease, I worked in the EB office for 4 years. it's a turd with a ribbon on it now. Ketan got the approval to dump a ton of money into a warehouse space that they do not even own. the area is fine though, East Brunswick can hardly be judged by being butt up against New Brunswick and the turnpike.
ReplyDeleteanon 5/04/08 @ 6:39am - how bout a trade? We'll take staff into the Bridgewater pressroom if you take our Ad Director back for good, deal? The "Collins Culture" started way before Ketan ever arrived, rather when a certain advertising manager relocated from EB. Though the game of "who will be the retail sales manager this month" has been entertaining.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things about the East Brunswick newsroom was the signed Jim Dine print that hung on the wall by the advertising design workstations.
ReplyDeleteI think only three of us actually knew who Dine was and how much that print was worth.
Oh yeah, there also were some secret nooks to smoke grass in. Or so I've been told.
I find it extraordinarily interesting that the Ad Director from the loser newspaper is now the Ad Director of BOTH papers! Didn't she do enough damage to the Courier News over the past couple of years? Now corporate risks the Home News Tribune AND the Courier News down the toilet.
ReplyDeleteI say CLEAN HOUSE and replace ALL the managers that have been in place for WAY TOO LONG!! What's the worse that can happen?
Loser newspaper? Why the animosity, HNT?
ReplyDeletewow. i'm in the middle of this and i didn't realize there was so much hate building up. just call me one of the "way too long" managers.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, you people need to get over your turf mentality and understand it could be a lot worse. Either one of those papers could've been shut down, which, obviously, would've meant quite a few folks on unemployment.
ReplyDeleteThe merger was done to save money, thereby saving jobs.
If you can't be with the one you love, honeys, love the one your with.
Get over it.
To save money yea, but jobs? You got to be kidding me, if you believe that. The fact is that they're still worth more apart than together. At some point when they've been run into the ground, they'll be put together, or counted as an edition of some other paper nearby, like they did with the Ocean County Observer.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon Wow
ReplyDeleteIf you didn't know about all the "hate building up" you're truly not doing yer job, honey! Just another so-called "manager" with yer head up yer own butt!
Why don't just one of you managers take a stand? Take the high road. Come up with some fresh ideas and present it to your peers. Too afraid of damaging your so-called career? Pleez! You should be as ashamed of working for Courier News/Home News Tribune/Asbury Park Press as the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteFolks...please get over yourselves. Yes the merger is not the best of circumstances. Yes our papers are in the dumps. But daily I see a number of people that come to work and do a fantastic job. If all you can do is complain about one another than frankly we are doomed.
ReplyDeleteThe Director is the only manager in advertising who knows what she is doing. Both Retail Managers - at the Courier News and the Home News are incompetent - one got her position by kissing butt all the way to the top and the other can't hold a single thought in her head.
ReplyDeleteanon 5/7 @ 4:10am - The Director has a long, well known history of replacing retail managers when her decisions backfire (which is often). How many different retail managers has the CN had in the past 5 years? Take a look at the circumstances of both their hiring and firings. Take a look at her reputation with her own sales teams. The fact that she knows what she is doing RELATIVE to the retail managers is both true and a very sad, telling statement. Less incompetent does not equal competent. She has held on to her position for so long and forced out every sales person with any talent that now no one in bridgewater remembers or even knows what a decent manager even looks like.
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight. Ad Director CN= Bad
ReplyDeleteAd Director HNT= ?
Retail Ad Mgr CN= Bad?
Retail Ad Mgr HNT= ?
Lots of pronoun references that are little confusing to follow. Are they all she's/her's? Maybe you can label them with aliases like Babs Bossom or Katy Kissup. Can't tell the players without a scorecard.
"Are they all she's/her's?"
ReplyDeleteYes they are!
Anon 5/7/2008 4:10am: AT - is that you? You would be the only one to toot your own horn while putting down others. Perhaps a bit of soul-searching would do you good.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting that all of the managers are she's/her's? Is this not discriminatory?
ReplyDeleteSome times you go into the CN Ad department and salespeople are still in the office at noon. There is no starting time there.Often salespeople are unaccounted for. Where is the management??
ReplyDeleteboth CN & HNT would benefit with the CN director to be replaced!
ReplyDeleteshe is bad to the bone
There are several directors at the Courier News - you should really be more specific. The Advertising Director knows the business. If you meet with her on any issue, she is a total professional. Some of you have sour grapes. Any good director gets rid of the non performers and possibly that is what she did.
ReplyDeleteHey Anon 2:30 PM: AT is that you? Sure sounds like it. If the Ad Director knows the business, etc., why such a high turnover rate? Why an impending lawsuit sue to a hostile environment? Why are the numbers so low? Sounds like a failure to motivate. Isn't that what a good leader does? True Professional my ass!
ReplyDeleteGET HER GONE!
I was one of those retail mangager that reported to AT.
ReplyDelete