Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Wednesday | May 13 | Your News & Comments
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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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ReplyDeletePerhaps we could hear how our friends that were let go in December are fairing - it been six months are you all OK?
ReplyDeletehow about some posts on how the design hubs are working in New Jersey and New York? details of the work flow, how varying newspaper designs are being handled, how many jobs were lost?
ReplyDeleteObama is cutting Chrysler's ad budget in half, and GM expects the same under its government control. That is more than $100 million in lost TV and newspaper ads for new cars. But that is only the beginning. The loss of local car dealership means an end of that river of revenue corporate once wallowed in. So all those happy folk out there who have said the recession is all over and there's nothing but peaches and cream ahead, think again. We have not yet begun to feel the full effects of this recession.
ReplyDeleteWishing everyone with Gannett a prosperous Wednesday. Phil 4:19.
ReplyDeleteAnyone notice a trend on this blog?
ReplyDeleteSomeone paranoid, lazy person that refuses to do his or her own research posts the following ...
"Any news on furloughs for 3rd and 4th quarter? When are more layoffs going to happen?"
... expecting Craig Dubow himself to appear on the blog to answer.
Then the following comment comes shortly after ...
"Furloughs to continue in 3rd quarter. Layoffs announced June 10."
... from a sick **** who takes pleasure in further scaring the lazy, paranoid employee.
So how do we break this annoying cycle and rid ourselves of these sick ***** that take pleasure is messing with people's fragile minds?
Well, lets try to quit asking the same question that's on everyone's mind, that has no answer right now.
When information comes available to Jim, he'll share it. If you are really dying to know about your job security, then start doing your own investigating instead of relying on a blog for all your information in life.
So please, stop asking, "Any news on furloughs for 3rd and 4th quarter? When are more layoffs going to happen?"
Then we won't have to deal with as much BS on this blog.
word: ovennom
to 10:52 -- at a recent lunch gathering of December newsroom layoffs, 10 people showed. Two had new jobs, of which one was still in news, but not print. Both job holders were under 50. The rest were either eking out a living with freelance writing or editing projects, seeking regular employment, or trying to launch businesses.
ReplyDeleteThis was not a scientific poll by any means (so don't ask for a freakin' margin of error), but if the rest of the Gannett departed match this, it's kinda grim.
[Past performance is not an indicator of future earnings.]
^^^^So please, stop asking, "Any news on furloughs for 3rd and 4th quarter? When are more layoffs going to happen?"
ReplyDeleteThen we won't have to deal with as much BS on this blog.^^^^
Man is that the truth.
I do think some of the "anyone know if I'm going to be fired?" questions come from genuine Gannettoids who maybe heard about this blog and think it may have answers. But the cycle does seem endless.
By the way, anyone know where my keys are?
2:53 am
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim knows, you'll all already know. The only thing that happens here is you might learn what has happened someplace else.
With all the BS out there, just like you describe, I can't even trust that anything happened yesterday in HR or with wedmasters overall.
Obama is cutting Chrysler's ad budget in half, -- 5/12/2009 11:26 PM
ReplyDelete"Obama" isn't cutting anything.
The company is bankrupt. What part of NO MONEY TO PAY FOR ADVERTISING don't you understand.
They're in cash up front mode from here on. And Obama didn't get them there, either.
Those of us in the 55-65 age bracket generally cannot find jobs and have a major struggle on our hands. Resumes are not acknowledged, interviews are not given, there is no money to open a new business. It is grim, and this is not self-pity. It is reality.
ReplyDeleteThose of us in the 55-65 age bracket generally cannot find jobs and have a major struggle on our hands. Resumes are not acknowledged, interviews are not given, there is no money to open a new business. It is grim, and this is not self-pity. It is reality.
ReplyDelete5/13/2009 10:16 AM
And depending on the region, mid-40's aren't getting anywhere either. If there is a Univercity campus in town or nearby, businesses recruit the younger entry-level graduates. They come cheaper.
how about some posts on how the design hubs are working in New Jersey and New York? ...
ReplyDelete5/12/2009 10:58 PM
The Resurrection Hub in Bing Town is humming right along.
8:50 You are SO wrong. Obama did it. It is what the Auto Working Group told the bankruptcy court. Here is AdAge report"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/13/obama-halves-chryslers-ma_n_202843.html
@10.52 on 5/12 - still looking for a job, got laid off in December. Looks like time for career change. Eternally grateful for a supportive family & everything that I have.
ReplyDeleteThose of us in the 55-65 age bracket generally cannot find jobs and have a major struggle on our hands. Resumes are not acknowledged, interviews are not given, there is no money to open a new business. It is grim, and this is not self-pity. It is reality.
ReplyDelete5/13/2009 10:16 AM
Then add to that the federal government is saying Social Security and Medicare are in even worse shape than they thought and the scenario is beyond frightening. And the Obama admin is saying that Social Security definitely is NOT untouchable. Fine, then give me back 33 years worth of contributions.
On the resumes not being acknowledged: I think that has less to do with age in many cases than it has to do with employers being inundated with applications and that many jobs on the job boards already are filled. And if you don't have key words in your letter and resume that a computer scan will pick up, well, forget even reaching the hiring manager's desk.
I have been unemployed for nine months, save for some freelancing and part-time work (grateful for unemployment benefits) and I have learned the best way to get any kind of work is knowing someone who knows someone, etc. That is the only way I have gotten the small amount of work I have had, as well as some leads on a couple of other possibilities. The job boards are utterly useless.
The AP is opening a large operation here (Phoenix), and they advertised for something like 20 editing jobs back in January. Of course the hungry hordes descended. But so far, the only person hired is the top editor and she came from within AP. No other announcements of other hires and those of us laid off from the Republic or the East Valley Tribune who initially had some hope are pretty discouraged. Rumor is that most, if not all, of the jobs will go to AP insiders. So, why in god's name did they even advertise? One person was told they got thousands of applications. Yes, THOUSANDS. Pretty cynical to advertise if they had no intention of hiring anyone locally, or maybe just hiring one or two. Why not just fill from within and then only advertise the jobs that are left. At least people would know exactly what they might have a chance at. A very, very crappy way to do business.
10:30
ReplyDeleteWasn't the Huffington Post that had that story. It was Advertising Age. Huffy just linked to Ad Age's Web site.
This goes to show why pay-per-view online news is necessary. If a paid reporter does the work, his company ALONE should benefit, NOT some other company that does no work except for the time it took to create the link.
Online news should be pay-per-view and copyrighted. Wanna link to it? Fine. Just pay royalties. And yes, I know of the technical challenges, the ne'er do wells who would "steal" news anyway and the overall reluctance of spoiled Web users to start paying. But change is necessary! It can be done! Prosecute those who break the rules, ala Napster! We need to start changing the culture where everyone expects everything for free.
And please spare me the "it's too late" "you shouldn't have offered it free in the first place" comments. That is irrelevant. If this change does not happen, pretty much all newspapers will eventually disappear taking their free Web sites — complete with stories other Web sites link to — with them. Then, you'll ALL be screwed.
You have been warned.
That is typical, sadly, of AP. They have their own little clique of hiring.
ReplyDeleteAnybody at the member newspapers who sucks up to the AP folks for years trying to get a job with them will only get pursed lips for their efforts.
It's not about age, it's about attitude and accepting the fact that newspapers are dead. Now's the time for everyone to use their incredible creativity to pursue a new future.
ReplyDeleteCareerBuilder Launches Contest for U.S. Workers to Create its 2010 Super Bowl Ad
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/p4xe7u
With all the scam job ads that CareerBuilder posts on a daily basis, this could be quite the interesting contest.
The AP hiring practices aren't uncommon. I can't explain it, but my Gannett paper has also advertised open positions that it had no intention of filling ... at least not externally.
ReplyDeleteStill, we encouraged people to spend time and money applying for the position. We even got some very good candidates, only to string them along for a few months before filling the position internally and then not filling the position of the person who took the job.
Clearly, there was never any intention of bringing another person into the company. Gannett did, however, save money by having the person they eventually hired do the management job without a raise for several months.
Then that manager had to take over a department that was understaffed because her former job wasn't filled, saving the company even more money.
So, as it goes with AP, it goes with Gannett.
12:10 -- So true. Anyone who is out of work and looking for another job in newspapers should shift gears immediately.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying, "Don't take the job if you're offered one." But even if you do get another newspaper job you need to be re-training for your next career.
Very few people will be employed by newspapers ... or "information centers" ... in the future. And those who are won't be making much money.
I'm in my early 40s and am looking to make a transition as quickly as possible in hopes of avoiding a career switch when it's even tougher to get hired. I would encourage even my colleagues in their 20s and 30s to start making plans now.
If journalism somehow remarkably turns around, you'll always be able to get back in because that would mean the industry would need qualified people. I don't see that happening, though.
I would agree with earlier posts however, if a job opportunity is available in the newspaper industry and you're out of work, take it. That said, not only focus away from the industry, but do your best to reduce newspaper exclusive experience from your resume. My first pass at a new resume when I left the newspaper was focused on "cost savings", reductions... Fortunately, a professional immediately caught this and made the difficult point that a lot of what I had considered attributes, were somewhat unique to the newspaper industries decline and not seen as values by a company that's looking forward. I came from the sales end and changed my resume to focus on attributes, percentage increase, profits generated, sales made and as a result have been getting more attention when sent out.
ReplyDelete"Someone paranoid, lazy person that refuses to do his or her own research posts the following ..."
ReplyDeleteThis is not an indictment of the poster of speculation, but of Gannett corporate leaving everyone in a state of paranoia. The lack of leadership from corporate to simply leave everyone in the dark to wonder is what drives people to this blog.
Somehow corporate doesn't get it, just as they don't get that local newspapers must be local. ContentOne does not provide local information.
To all you laid off employees who can't find work. It's not you or your resume. It's the fact that you were dumb enough to work at Gannett and then get laid off. Your best hope to find work is a turn around in the economy and then you will be able to come back to Gannett until they decide they don't want you around again.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't happen think about joining the military, or you might get lucky in a couple of years when some one takes pity on you.
was let go in december and am still looking
ReplyDeleteHas anybody heard that a company can only do 2 furloughs a year? I've heard through the grape vine that GCI wasn't going to be allowed to do furloughs for Q3 and Q4. Sounded like BS but I don't know the law. Or maybe being laid off for so long, I was getting a little hopeful.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, 10:52PM. I am still unemployed, struggling to pay my mortgage and still following you guys on the blog. Can't help but feel (still) that I've been punched. But I do miss my colleagues.
ReplyDeleteAs you age, you will be replaced by someone making half of what you make.
ReplyDeleteI hired on at a Gannett metro in the early 1990s for $40K and was making $61K when I left. Seventeen years after I was hired, a young writer recently started there @ $34K. Draw your own conclusions.
There is always someone willing to do it for less. I bet passengers on doomed Buffalo flight 3407 did not know co-pilot Rebecca Lynn Shaw was paid $16,000 a year. Continental should feel real good about the money it saved by farming the route out to a low cost contractor. This is where we are headed.
ReplyDelete3:05 PM -- This type of question has been posted in the past, but no one has yet identified a state or federal law that limits the number of furloughs. Someone suggested that a lawyer had told them that there could not be repeated furloughs of exempt employees, but there was no reference to a specific law or any attempt to explain what "repeated" meant.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete3:05 No federal law on furloughs, except if the furlough results in paying someone lower than the federal minimum wage. That is the only floor. Otherwise management can dictate the wage level it wishes, and can either augment or detract from that level at whim. What are you going to do about it?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone actually received unemployment insurance for the second furlough week? I'm told the first furlough week won't count toward benefits but if you apply during that first week, the second week will.
ReplyDeleteTrue?
That depends on the state. Each state is different.
ReplyDeleteResponding to 10:52. I was part of the December purge and have learned, like so many others, that it was probably the best thing ever to happen to me. I was out of work for 3 months but landed a job at a small family-owned newspaper that values its people and quality journalism. The publisher has even said to me on several occasions, "It's your call. You make the decision and I'll back you." Do you know how good that feels after years of clearing everything through Gannett channels? Anyway, this is just to say that amidst the unrelenting darkness, there is an occasional light at the end of the tunnel.
ReplyDelete5:26. Glad you landed on your feet and found a rewarding job at a family-owned paper. Many of us from the December layoffs have not been so lucky. Frankly, I would rather be employed anywhere, including Gannett, than collecting unemployment. I would have gladly taken a pay cut to keep my job. When the unemployment runs out, the house probably will go up for sale if I don't find work soon. My skills are top shelf, but the job market for me has been dismal. Maybe it's my age, which makes what Gannett did in December all the more harsh. Finding a newspaper job has been impossible despite my many years in the business at big and small papers. Trying to cross over into other professions has been fruitless. It's rare that I even get a reply from the many applications I have filled out. Something tells me this is the norm for many December layoff victims, particularly the ones over 50. We're newspaper people by and large. That's what we do. We could have done it on other platforms, like the web, but weren't given a chance. We have so much more to give, but we just can't find an employer willing to look beyond our age it seems. Our age is probably, in part, why GCI got rid of us. A lot of "baby boomers" are going to be on the streets if things don't turn around. I am not just talking about the economy. I am talking about attitudes of employers. I hope Obama, along with looking at corporate greed, also takes a hard look at age discrimination in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteAs for unemployment benefits... I am in the south... prefer not to name the state, I signed up my first week of furlough (that was my waiting week) then I was paid for the second week of furlough.
ReplyDeleteAt the TV station where I work, the department heads have been in closed door meetings all day with each other. Has this been happening at any other TV station? Is anyone else being layoff?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeletePerhaps we could hear how our friends that were let go in December are fairing - it been six months are you all OK?
5/12/2009 10:52 PM
Swept off my feet in the digital world. They pay me more better benefits. No furloughs. I was still being paid while working my new job from Gannett. Trust me their is a life after and I say thank you Gannett as you have really maid my life 150% better then 2 years ago. Thanks!
Anyone leaving Gannett. Trust me it is the first ten lines of your resume. Make yourself stand out with a catch fraise. You can't believe the number of applications coming in for jobs. When you have someone looking over resumes you need to make it jump out at them. Use different color paper. Card stock etc. I'm serious this is huge or you will get looked over.
ReplyDeleteJim it would be cool to creat a blog of other jobs some are seeing in sales to post those jobs on your website for Gannett employee's I know a lot of places that want gannett employees.
ReplyDeletehere is a good job search website
ReplyDeletewww indeed com
I have been told by a personnel director who gave me a second interview to downplay my connection with Gannett if I ever expect to land a job. That was his purpose for the second interview! However good his advice might be, how does anyone "downplay" a connection with Gannett when you were let go after 30 years????
ReplyDeleteDo you believe Gannett unfairly singled you out for termination because of a disability or health related problem? Your responses will remain private and completely anonymous. Write to gannettblogwanderer at email dot com.
ReplyDelete10:58 seriously? design hubs??? you mean they actually are creative? my experience is slow
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience being away from Gannett now and at another publication, I actually am glad I saw the cut throat back-stabbing culture there. I was successful there and if you can survive in an environment like that you can thrive in any other environment. I mean the problems people that they think are huge here are drops in the puddle compared to the crap that went on at Gannett.
ReplyDeleteFor real if Gannett dosen't kill you it definitley makes you stronger.
I had an epiphany today about Gannett Blog that really saddened me. I realized that it is probably the only place in the world where Gannett can get honest feedback from the staff who actually make this company work.
ReplyDeleteThe pervasive culture of fear inside Gannett properties these days means it is nearly impossible for upper management to get more than the tiniest dribble of honest feedback from the highly talented and experienced mid-level managers and professional staff spread out across the geographic footprint that makes any company actually work.
Sure, there is a lot of venting and bile here too, but there is also an awful lot of wisdom that one would not dare say in a group of peers, let alone "upwards" within the organization.
They really need to do something about that. It is a bigger long-term threat than the debt load. I'm not entirely sure what --they'd need some method of getting anonymous but honest feedback from these people, so they can feel comfortable they can give their benefit of what they are seeing without putting their necks in a noose doing it.
Do you believe Gannett unfairly singled you out for termination because of a disability or health related problem? Your responses will remain private and completely anonymous. Write to gannettblogwanderer at email dot com.
ReplyDelete5/13/2009 7:13 PM
I was laid off and had medical issues, Doctors notes and numerous other forms of information for health issues caused by the paper I worked for. I was laid off for this reason. The Human Resources Department did nothing. The plan was to remove me from the company as they did. I know for a fact that a manager has been telling others about my issues. But to answer questions I was let go for this reason.
"To all you laid off employees who can't find work. It's not you or your resume. It's the fact that you were dumb enough to work at Gannett and then get laid off. Your best hope to find work is a turn around in the economy and then you will be able to come back to Gannett until they decide they don't want you around again.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't happen think about joining the military, or you might get lucky in a couple of years when some one takes pity on you."
~Anonymous 2:23
What an a**hole! Pricks like you are what Gannett wants. You must sleep with a blow up doll of CD! If we were in the military, I'd love to see you on the battlefield!
www sctimes com/business
ReplyDelete9:03 said
ReplyDeleteFor real if Gannett dosen't kill you it definitley makes you stronger.
---
Actually, that which doesn't kill you just delays the inevitable
(gracias, someecards.com, or was it despair.com - either way, not a rock song lyric)
9:10 PM -- So true.
ReplyDelete"Make yourself stand out with a catch fraise."
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder if real people post the type of illiterate phrase shown above. This has to be someone dicking around. Right?
I prefer "If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs. . .perhaps you have not comprehended the true gravity of the situation."
ReplyDeleteCarousel on Florida Today's website
ReplyDeleteItem 1: MetroMix Photos: See who's out on the town
Item 2: Photos: Today at Cannes Film Festival
Item 3: Space junk misses shuttle Atlantis
To 10:52 a.m.:
ReplyDeleteThree interviews since December, each offering half what I was paid at my paper. I have now made the second round for a job that pays twice what I was making. We shall see ...
Check out Nick Paumgarten's article in the May 18 edition of The New Yorker magazine for a terrific view of what he calls the end of a financial era.
ReplyDeleteFolks who say we're out of the woods can't see the forest for the trees. Don't be seduced by stock market gains (well, no gains lately...). Keep saving $$ and updating your Plan B's. Wish I'd done that before I got riffed in December.
"Trust me their is a life after and I say thank you Gannett as you have really maid my life 150% better then 2 years ago. Thanks!"
ReplyDeleteAgain, this has to be someone dicking around. No one can be that stupid. Right?
9:26 PM
ReplyDeleteThanks for the name calling you must be one of those mid level managers at Gannett because you sure are sensitive to the truth.
11:25 PM
ReplyDeleteBest of luck. Sure hope you get it!