Sunday, May 03, 2009

Sunday | May 3 | Your News & Comments

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40 comments:

  1. I'm first!!!

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  2. TODAY IN UNEMPLOYED: Lay-Off Victim in Outsource Home Delivery move. I delivered my last paper at 7:47 AM; over 10 years I've thrown approximately 500,000+ for down routes and training, killed cars (wear & tear), and worked hours most on this website don't work.

    I'm anxious about the future, but I feel more fortune than most facing this fate. I'm am shedding expensive home (and all Debt). I am buying a 20 year old Winnebago for $2,500 to go with my one-owner 22 year (new-like) $800 used car; so I will be able to go where jobs are.

    Good Luck & take care to the "GOOD PEOPLE." The rest of the duplicitous corporate hacks who don't really give a shit about anyone or anything but their bonuses on the backs of little people.....well; I just hope you you didn't sell any of your GANNETT stock.

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  3. 8:28 good luck to you. I've never delivered a route but I can sure appreciate the hard work involved in delivering the product satisfactorily(sic?. Unfortunately, not enough folks in the industry did. I wish you the best in your travels.

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  4. Berkshire also has a substantial investment in the Washington Post Co. He said the company has a solid cable business, a good reason to hold onto it, but its newspaper business is in trouble.

    5/02/2009 1:44 PM

    Buffet also owns 3.4 million shares of Gannett.

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  5. I advise everyone to read the early post below titled: "Diary | My year of blogging, dangerously." Some of the comments in support of Jim are also fairly enlightening.

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  6. "Before this century shall run out, Journalism will be the whole press - the whole human thought. Through that prodigious multiplication which art has given to speech - multiplication to be multiplied a thousand-fold yet - mankind will write their book day by day, hour by hour, page by page. Thought will spread abroad in the world with the rapidity of light; instantly conceived, instantly written, instantly understood, at the extremities of earth, it will spread from pole to pole.

    Sudden, instant, burning with the fervor of soul which made it burst forth, it will be the reign of the human soul in all its plenitude. It will not have time to ripen, to accumulate into the form of a book - the book will arrive too late. The only book possible from today is a Newspaper," - Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine, 1861.

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  7. A Kindle survey shows that the majority of readers are over fifty:

    The comments themselves are as illuminating as the numbers. So many users said they like Kindle because they suffer from some form of arthritis that multiple posters indicate that they do or do not have arthritis as a matter of course. A variety of other impairments, from weakening eyes and carpal-tunnel-like syndromes to more exotic disabilities dominate the purchase rationales of these posters. Which in turn explains Amazon's pseudo-statistical case that e-book purchases are incremental/additive, rather than cannibalistic of their print sales. Countless people report being able to read much more with Kindle because it overcomes physical obstacles or limitations that had made reading difficult for them previously.

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  8. The Arizona Republic did its annual top employers in AZ story this morning. Most depressing is that Walmart is the state's leading employer with more than 31,500 employees.

    Gannett is also on the list. According to the Republic's story, there are still 2,403 Gannett employees in Arizona. That's for all G properties in the state, although the overwhelming majority of them are at the Republic.

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  9. Damn, Jim, you sure are posting a lot for a guy who's taking some days off.

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  10. You're nuts, Jim. Please retire this mess.

    For the sheep who say "Just don't read": Another post nailed the problem with that approach. Jim allows anonymous attacks on specific people. It's necessary to keep tabs on the lack of responsibility and the paranoia.

    As much as Jim cries about being "threatened," we expect the real threat is when Jim will go postal. Someday, somewhere, Jim is going to flip out. Of course, if he can't handle a microphone, then he probably can't handle a weapon.

    But the real threat to stability comes from Jim Hopkins.

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  11. 3:39, I assure you there are many of us who couldn't care less how someone can or cannot handle a microphone.

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  12. Anonymous said...
    The reason many critics of this blog continue to visit and post here is pretty obvious. It's become clear in the last six months or so that the true mission for Jim, and many Gannett critics who post here, is to undermine those still working at Gannett newspapers and TV stations. I don't think tht's the way they see it -- they probably see it as trying to undermine the corporate honchos. But the effect is the same, and that's what's led to the increasing criticism on Jim's blog.

    The level of pure bullshit posted here -- guarantees of mass layoffs and deep wage cuts, for example, that never panned out -- was designed to create a lot of anxiety among Gannett employees. Mission accomplished. But as those "guarantees" increasingly failed to materialize, Gannett employees started striking back. And that striking back has increased as Jim has made it clear in the last couple of weeks that he's not interested in passing along good news about Gannett, only bad news. His response to people questioning him on that is that they can post it themselves. Fair enough, but Jim's motivations are increasingly clear.

    The homophobic stuff is horrendous. There's no excusing that. One sad thing is that because of the homophobic threats and some flaming, Jim's paranoia has ramped up. He now re-invents history to say his silence at last year's meeting was part of a double-secret strategy. He keeps repeating over and over again, without any evidence, that he's the victim of a corporate conspiracy. It reminds me very much of Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny" muttering over and over again about strawberries. I do feel bad for Jim, who is obviously feeling a lot of stress. That was evidenced in the abysmal performance at the annual meeting, particularly his "what's my name" rant after Dubow had already addressed him by name. And now he cites as his biggest victory being able to report what has been obvious for months, that the Gannett Foundation contributed the money that was used to create the Dubow scholarship at WCU.

    Jim, the criticism on this blog is not the result of some corporate conspiracy. It's driven by the same thing that led you to create the blog and for many ex-employees to contribute in the first place. That is frustration and anger with the state of events. Initially, that frustration was about a company that was shedding jobs at a terrific pace and creating massive uncertainty even for those who kept their jobs. Now, you're seeing frustration from people who are tired of all the deliberate attempts to create anxiety, and the deliberate attempts to undermine the company -- meaning their jobs.

    Finally, Jim, you have asked your readers to contribute to help you continue your work. But you spent almost half the money they gave you in the last quarter on a bodyguard? How does that advance their understanding of what's happening in our industry?

    Jim, I hope you get past these stress levels that are clearly affecting your behavior. This blog offers great opportunity for information and discussion about the state of Gannett. But that hasn't been happening in several months. You may blame your critics, or even corporate conspirators, but you need to also look in the mirror.

    5/03/2009 12:57 PM

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  13. 12:57 offers some of the most eloquent, spot-on observation of what's been happening here for the past few weeks. Im assuming the writer is no corporate shill - neither am I - but I have to agree. Jim, take a real break for a day or two. shut down the blog if you want to protect yourself from homophobic attacks. and try to figure out what you really want to accomplish. journalists with real needs and concerns want to see something substantive here. not a careening train wreck.I hope you can get back on course. I know I would like to regain faith in what your doing. But even the most subjective observer would tell you something seriously has gone wrong with your approach and rationale of late.

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  14. Anonymous said...
    3:39, I assure you there are many of us who couldn't care less how someone can or cannot handle a microphone.

    5/03/2009 4:30 PM

    Perhaps, but not when you are the one that is supposed to be the voice of all the employees at a major company's annual shareholder meeting. Then you had better practice both your questions and your delivery. How do you screw up standing in front of a mike? Even an old man from NY could handle that task.

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  15. Anonymous said...
    12:57 offers some of the most eloquent, spot-on observation of what's been happening here for the past few weeks. Im assuming the writer is no corporate shill - neither am I - but I have to agree. Jim, take a real break for a day or two. shut down the blog if you want to protect yourself from homophobic attacks. and try to figure out what you really want to accomplish. journalists with real needs and concerns want to see something substantive here. not a careening train wreck.I hope you can get back on course. I know I would like to regain faith in what your doing. But even the most subjective observer would tell you something seriously has gone wrong with your approach and rationale of late.

    5/03/2009 4:49 PM

    Thank, thank you, thank you. I couldn't have said it any better than both of you have. I, too, have been on here complaining about the state of this blog. I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one.

    Every word you both wrote is true.

    My name is anonymous and I approve of these messages.

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  16. Has anyone heard of any advertising repercussions from the Chrysler bankruptcy? I'm sitting here watching the Red Wings and was thinking about how they (the Red Wings) offer a temporary "pick me up" for Detroit. Which then got me thinking about the auto worker layoffs and the Chrysler bankruptcy which led me to my final thought for the day (since it's Sunday and I'm on my second glass of wine) have Chrysler dealers continued their advertising? How much of an impact will it have if they do pull? I'm not in Advertising, so I really don't have a clue.

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  17. Jim's decision to:

    -- Brand all negative posts as corporate "trolls''

    -- Ignore thoughtful criticism.

    -- Rewrite history, some of it only a day old.

    -- Make the totally outrageous charge that Gannett higher-ups are backing the ugly homophobe campaign.

    -- Refuse to apologize for accusing corporate Gannett of destroying all those posts, when it actually wasa Google bug which Google admitted!

    -- Spend $2,000 of Gannett Blog contributors' money on a bodyguard??? Do I really have that right? He did that?

    Has me and most everyone I know in my newsroom shaking our heads in either disgust, amusement or outrage.

    I am not a coporate anything. Nor am I a troll. But the truth is, Jim, that many -- very many -- Gannett workers are sickened by what has happened here.


    Yes, you have been attacked, even threatened, by jerks.

    But that does not excuse you going off the deep end here. Many of my colleagues openly laugh about this blog now. That was not the case a month ago.

    Jim, you really need to recognize that you cannot simply make believe what has happened here will go away.

    You need to get back to real information -- layoffs, staff changes, consolidations, crowd sourcing -- and reduce your role as the starring character.

    Because you -- not your critics, but YOU -- are turning what had been a valuable thing into a farce. This is serious advice and many people share those feelings.

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  18. glad you had security detail and driver. that was expensive but worth it.
    love the blog and your watchdog work on the CD donation in HIS name to scholarship for his glory, not Gannetteers benefit.
    sorry about all the gay stuff, bashing. I thought that stuff was passe.
    not interested in your sex life, just delete please.
    hey - go somewhere fun this summer.
    rentals are cheap next to pumpkin center in Co. Bch., the economy here is awful and KSC will lay off in droves.
    you could rent for a song and share beachtime with Uncle Al. and me...
    just don't rent with west-facing exposure, those places are smokin' hot in the summer. be picky, condo owners are desperate. some want a warm body in the condo to housesit and so on for showings.

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  19. This troll is a jackass.

    Did anyone else notice in the video of the shareholder meeting that Dubow out and out lied about the golf trip? He told the shareholders Dickey came to him and asked if he could do the golf outing using his own money.

    That's not what happened at all, according to the facts recorded in real time, sans Dubow's revisionist history. Gannett paid the fees in advance, and it was only after Gannett Blog outed it as a junket that Dickey offered to repay Gannett, right? At least that's how I remember the facts as they went down. The check don't lie.

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  20. 5:29 pm and others:

    I'm sorry Gannett Blog doesn't meet your needs. Please start a Gannett website of your own, following my example. Spend more than a year building a blog from scratch. Get paid little or no money. Then experience what it's like to be bashed by anonymous posters like you.

    Better yet: Use the gannettblog.com URL that Corporate registered years ago, and has yet to use. http://tinyurl.com/dfnpkn

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  21. The truth is, it was Dubow's "performance" that was pitiful. That was the only one that mattered. None of the stockholders in the audience look approving, except Uncle Al.

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  22. That's glib, Jim, and as a one-response-fits-all bot, if that's the best you can come up with, then there's nothing your citics can say, is there?

    Yes, this is your blog. Yes, you made it happen. Yes, it is yours to control.

    That's what makes this all so sad. You won't even acknowledge that you have made mistakes. It's like we're dealing with Nixon.

    But hey, I'm just a "troll,'' right? What would I know.

    It would reallty be good, Jim, if you addressed your very real critics -- many of whom want you to succeed -- without resorting to Good Guy-Bad Guy sensibilities.

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  23. Advise to all — if a post is not directly related to Gannett DO NOT respond to it. If we start just ignoring these people they will eventually go away.

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  24. So, 6:09 PM, what did you think of Dubow's performance at last week's show?

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  25. I thought Jim's performance revealed a seriously disturbed individual who needs a lot of mental aid.

    Good attempt to spin, though.

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  26. jim, i'm retired now, but i'll keep sending my quarterly "subscription" money in because i appreciate being able to keep tabs on big g.

    those who don't like this blog should feel free to go elsewhere. now. please. don't let the screen door hit you. and take your homophobic bullshit and other nastiness with you.

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  27. I'm 6:09 and I thought Dubow's performance was a non-event. Haven't yet seen a Gannett CEO besides Neuharth who knew how to speak to a crowd.

    That said, the stuff about the donations is a serious issue, and I don't fault Jim on that at all. Good get.

    But the stuff about "my name" and the rest, needless theatrics.

    My point is, it is possible for some of what the blog says to be true without it becoming a paranoid utopia. And that's what Jim has let it become.

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  28. I am very sorry. Thank you for your 10 years of hard work. It isn't easy delivering newspapers. I'm sure your subscribers will miss you dearly. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.


    TODAY IN UNEMPLOYED: Lay-Off Victim in Outsource Home Delivery move. I delivered my last paper at 7:47 AM; over 10 years I've thrown approximately 500,000+ for down routes and training, killed cars (wear & tear), and worked hours most on this website don't work.

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  29. Please everyone, just let this go about Jim. It is childish and ridiculous. How are we supposed to help each other with all this insane chatter about nothing. Let it go for god's sake. It's water under the bridge. Must we continue to rehash the same subject over and over again. It's time to get back to business and start discussing what is happening at our individual sites. We need to get a heads up on what is going to happen, if anything at the end of June. Stop all the nonsense and lets start posting things that matter.

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  30. Thank you 7:13 p.m. We need information - not endless comments about how everyone does or does not feel about Jim and this blog!

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  31. P.C.F takes over delivery
    [outsourced} of the" Asbury Park Press" as of monday morning in our Neptune NJ Warehouse and many District Managers were layed off today after many Years of faithful service.I want to wish them all good luck in the future! " N.J.ROCKS "

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  32. Kind of a thin skin, eh, Jim?
    So, anybody who posts criticism of you or challenges the facts posted here should go elsewhere and start their own blog?
    Sorry. Now that more and more people are challenging the nonsense and your obvious agenda, you tell them to leave.
    Ain't gonna happen.
    Loser.

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  33. CityBeat, the alt-weekly in Cincinnati, reported an 11 percent drop in Cincinnati Enquirer daily circulation for the six months ending March 31. The numbers had been up for a year because of the demise of the competing Cincinnati Post:

    "As the newspaper industry continues to suffer from declining ad revenues and a migration of readers to the Internet, The Cincinnati Enquirer is being hit particularly hard.

    "Dozens of newspapers nationwide reported drops in circulation, according to the latest figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. But the figures reported for Cincinnati’s only daily metropolitan newspaper were in the double-digits, well above the national average decline of seven percent.

    "For the six-month period ending in March, The Enquirer’s daily (Monday-Friday) circulation fell 11 percent, to 188,956. Also, the newspaper’s Saturday circulation fell 11.4 percent, to 187,719.

    "One bit of not-so-bad news for the Gannett-owned publication is that the drop in its Sunday circulation was much smaller, down just 2.2 percent, to 273,433.

    "In an expansive March 12 article in The New York Times about the newspaper industry’s troubles, a graphic appeared showing circulation changes for many newspapers nationwide. On the list, The Enquirer was one of only six newspapers that showed circulation increases.

    "Those figures, however, covered the period from the third quarter of 2005 to the third quarter of 2008, which includes a significant chunk of time before the most recent downturn began. Further, The Enquirer experienced a slight bump in circulation after The Cincinnati Post closed in December 2007, largely from Northern Kentucky readers whose subscriptions were transferred to The Enquirer, some media analysts said."

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  34. Jim, shake off the criticism and march on. This blog is vital.

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  35. If the critics on this blog had collectively directed their energy and criticism to their EEs, publishers and CEO all these years, Gannett might not be the sucky company it is.

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  36. Jim, Thank you for all the time you put into this blog. Ignore - the negative. BTW is there still something brewing in Detroit?

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  37. Oh, Gannett Blog.

    I've had a deep attachment to this place ever since the mass layoffs last year.

    It meant something to have this forum; to find out in real time what was happening at other papers and to know we weren't going through it alone.

    So I followed the blog. And I kept following it, even as the newspaper camaraderie was replaced by the usual chat room asshattery -- wild rumors, homophobic slurs and the anonymous airing of grievances. (Every day is Festivus on Gannett Blog!)

    Pfft. I'm a reporter. If I want to scroll through 87 comments about how Gannett sux, I'll surf story chat.

    I'm starting my second week of unpaid furlough tomorrow. And there is not one single item you have posted in the past month or three that is relevant to my hopes, dreams and fears. What gives?

    I truly, madly, deeply do not care about the stockholders meeting. I'm fully aware that our company is helmed by fathead with fat paychecks, thank you very much.

    At this point, I'm mainly rubbernecking. It's not news I can use, but it's hilarious and sad -- like a clown car wreck.

    (You brought a bodyguard to the stockholders meeting? Seriously?)

    And in conclusion: 12:57? I heart you and I want to have your furlough babies.

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  38. Here's an amazing example of arrogance and what's wrong with Gannett's largest daily. Last week, The Arizona Republic proudly announced they had finally made the top ten list for Sunday circulation (in large part due to the Tribune all but folding in the Phoenix market). Since the announcement, they've been running everything from several small ads in every section to full page congratulatory house ads. What do you do when you finally make the top 10 Sunday circulation? You start running ads like in today's paper announcing faster news updates via azcentral or text messages. In other words, if you want more news, faster and more up to date and free- You can find it online. Or as a major advertiser asked today, "how can you flaunt circulation while driving people away from the print paper?"

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  39. Jim; I think you're missing the point when you're telling your critics - the ones trying to get you back to making this meaningful for those of us still at the mothership - that we should just start our own blog if we don't like what you're doing. Of course you control the content of your blog - and you can do whatever you want - hire a FULL time security guard if you are that paranoid. But you've failed to take a long series of legitimate complaints constructively - and that's how they're intended. Instead, you spend your time with trumped up countdowns of how many hours you've waiting for some answer you're not going to get from management. Like some petulant child holding his breath until he gets his way. It's time to grow up, Jim.

    Seriously, do you think you are going to get any response from corporate? On top of that, reinventing and revising your latest actions and alleged success, particularly at the shareholders meeting, gives most of us the impression that from now on, the Gannett blog will serve largely as persona vendetta and ego trip. It certainly smacks of hard care narcissism. I could see the vendetta part if you had been laid off. But you voluntarily accepted a buyout offer which on hindsight, was presient of you and far better than any kind of exit deal most of us will get. There was no more conpiracy to push you out the door than any conspiracy theory your raising now regarding your dealings with corporate.

    I figured you might have seen the light by now, that any number of honest, working journalists would have been able to persuade you to refocus on what you had accomplished up until the last few weeks or so. Its obvious that's not going to happen. Too bad you are squandering all of the capital and goodwill you acquired from many of us before you sputtered out of control.

    Just pretend you have an editor over your shoulder suggesting you've got to refocus on what made this blog so good in the first place. We're practically begging you.

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  40. 12 a.m., don't try to pull any "we" bullshit here. You're speaking for yourself.

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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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