Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday | May 27 | Your News & Comments
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
49 comments:
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."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteJim - If you can't make enough money (with a low cost one-man operation)to continue on the web how can newspapers make a go of it?
ReplyDelete1. There will be some "serious" layoff's that will be announced end of this quarter. The estimates are now 2,500 to 3,500 layoff's. These are not buy-outs.
ReplyDelete2. Gannett management has contemplated another set of furloughs possibly for Q3, but since this will interfere with unused vacation, they will most likely perform a series of salary reductions.
3. Dave Hunke is taking the axe to USA Today. Apparently,USA Live, Marketing and USA Weekend are on the table.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteFrom Tuesday:
ReplyDeleteRegardless what we may think about this blog, that kind of thinking (above), is just crazy. Anyone who thinks they can't say what they think at USA TODAY doesn't have much of a backbone. Seriously, what kind of mindset do you have that you'd feel that helpless?
That doesn't mean you will prevail, and yes, the mood at USA TODAY is pretty dismal right now. But afraid to speak up? Or speak out? The only way out of this mess is for everyone to start speaking up, and speaking louder -- about what's new, what's achievable, what's the future.
There's no crying in journalism. If you're afraid to speak up, or feel muzzled by managing editors who at USA TODAY are actually fairly tame and nondescript compared to a big-city newsrooms almost anywhere, then you really are in the wrong business.
People get all bent out of shape when some are labeled "whiners.'' Well here's a perfect example. Afraid to speak up??? Give us all a break.
5/26/2009 2:46 PM
I would guess that you have never challenged the authority at any Gannett paper, because if you had, you'd understand the reality.
The reality is that when you challenge the authority of some of these goons, you are branded a troublemaker. I watched one of these Napoleonic complex freaks fire a copy editor who refused to bow to his wishes. I watched this freak play word games and mind games with people and managers he didn't like, moving them around to make their lives as difficult as possible -- even doubling the commute of one reporter just because the reporter wouldn't trash the school district that the freak's kids attended.
I watched this same freak pile more and more work onto the people he hated. And I watched him heap praise on the people who kissed his ass and ignore those who won awards.
I challenged this freak, and I stood up for myself. And I nearly lost my health as a result of the way my workload tripled -- between help being withdrawn from me and additional requirements put on me.
And any ideas I had were ignored. I had lots of ideas for ways to take advantage of the web and use it as a vehicle to strengthen our grip on our market, and I was told they didn't have time to hear them or think about implementing them.
So don't tell me about speaking up, about offering ideas, or challenging authority, because I've been there, and I barely survived it with my sanity intact.
Call me a whiner all you want, I don't fucking care. I gave them 60 hours a week and an award-winning section and they pissed it away.
And it's the attitude of the goons and the Napoleonic freaks that is killing this company and taking a whole lot of good, honest, hard-working people with it.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteJIM,
ReplyDeleteIf this Gannett Blog was responsible for your split with Sparky, you have made a very wise choice in stepping away from it. There is nothing that can replace the love of your partner.
If it is meant to be. Sparky will see your sincerity and return.
Being gay myself, I know that there is often trouble when the male ego is in conflict with the other male ego. If you can help him understand your willingness to "mend the fences" then go for it.
If nothing is resolved, remember you are a very good looking, charismatic, smart man and you will find love again. Danny is watching over you!
Love, Dude!
Anyone who thinks senior editors at USA TODAY are interested in what reporters or low level editors think are out of their minds. It isn't that people are afraid to say anything. It's just a big waste of time. Too much inbreeding; most section leaders and deputies have been there forever. Many came from small G. papers and lack any kind of perspective other than how many meetings they'll attend and how to fill next week's paper. The hires they make aren't much better. Sheep. Compare any section of USAT, with the possible exception of Sports, to the NYT or WSJ on any given day. What a joke. On line? Last week they were running gossip and entertainment crap under a News banner.Bigger joke.
ReplyDelete2:46; USAT could actually use some jerks from big city newsrooms. I hear a lot of them are unemployed and can be bought on the cheap. My guess is that they're metro experience would come in handy on breaking news. These crusty sages would be especially valuable teaching young on-line reporters the basics of reporting.
ReplyDelete5/27/2009 8:49 AM -- Where did you find information on a 40% drop in newsprint prices?
ReplyDeleteI can only seee a 15% decrease in 2 months.
See:
http://tinyurl.com/q427fe
Whoever came up with June 10 is sounding right. The decline in newsprint prices expected and not going to provide the sort of near-term savings they are looking for. The good news could be this will be the last of the big mass layoffs, the bad news is that layoff plans are still being put together.
ReplyDeleteJim: Have you tried to find another suitable host for this site?? Why not pass the baton on to someone else?? I worry that if there are more layoffs, or whatever, nobody will be around to tally them up.
ReplyDeleteA couple of thoughts from a former Gannettoid (23 years that ended in 2006 when I left the newspaper biz). I have been a lurker, but it has been a great way to keep on top of my old company and my former colleagues.
ReplyDelete1. Jim: You provided a great service that required a great deal of effort. Passion and caring about anything -- a person, a cause, an idea, an animal -- sometimes exact a great personal cost. At a certain point, though, sometimes you have to save yourself. Your personal life is your business (arguably, until it impacts others), and is irrelevant to discussion about a company that was never really that great to work for in the first place.
2. The tone of this blog has in some ways become a reflection of Gannett itself: a mixture of bewilderment, pride, frustration, negativity, with a healthy dose of a search for information.
3. This blog is almost a textbook case of one facet of human relations in the past few years. If you can't refute or rebut the message, attack the messenger. It is a tactic that has been used effectively by so many groups -- political and non-political -- in recent years that we have become numb. Most people have an agenda of one sort or another, including you and the majority of the folks who post on this blog. And, frankly, if I'm not intelligent enough to question everything I read or hear and draw my own conclusions -- whether it's in this blog or elsewhere -- I am part of the problem.
4. With that in mind, someone may respond to this post with a personal attack, rather than with a logical argument refuting the points I'm offering. And they don't even know me. Which says something about the times we live in, I guess.
Good luck to you as you move forward. I appreciate your efforts, and I should have said so long ago.
10:30 - what is the practical value of tallying up the layoffs? And what mechanism do you think Jim has had to verify any tabulation published here?
ReplyDelete10:37 Verification? Easy, it is called crowdsourcing. You note how off-the-wall stuff gets shot down? There is a self-verifying process on this blog, which works. Not perfectly, but it works.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is to take over this blog, I would like to see a messaging system like a bulletin board. Something along the lines of a phpBB system.
ReplyDeleteDisagree with bosses at Gannett papers? Tell bosses in meetings that their suggestions were tried already or that their story ideas already ran? Refuse comically stupid tasks? Yeah, right. Let me peel off my shirt and show you all the stab wounds in my back.
ReplyDeleteJim, have you gone fishing already?
ReplyDeleteYou have not posted any new comments. DID Gannett give you money to quit this blog? I know you need money but wouldn't this make you a traitor?
We may never hear form you again, why don't you at least give us an answer?
I wonder how Russ Louder *now with White Birch) likes being on the other side of the fence. The one who used to beat down mills so they lost money in order to keep orders, is now himself being pummeled.
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh, Jim - I'm so so so so so sorry about Sparky. We love you, man.
ReplyDeleteWhile everybody is commenting on Jim's decision about this blog, there are layoffs afoot in Gannettland. Ohio was hit. More are coming. Information, anyone?
ReplyDeleteMost already know USA Today will be eliminating live, weekend and marketing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete12:39 p.m. - Where in Ohio?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThese kinds of rumors and personal attacks are further testament to why this blog needs to close. Good call, Jim.
ReplyDeleteWhere in Ohio was hit? If you mean Port Clinton/Freemont... that has already been posted.
ReplyDeleteSome of the other Ohio small dailies are heavily staffed for their circulation numbers (falling) so it would be interesting to see if those papers got hit! They were spared in the December Firing Massacre!
Jim - This blog was more than just a source of information. It was a community of impassioned writers who found comfort in each others' words. It allowed people to praise each other and served as a reminder of why we do what we do every day. It allowed people to vent and get things off their chest in a safe environment.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your partner, but better days are ahead for all of us!
Good luck to you!
>>>>Disagree with bosses at Gannett papers? Tell bosses in meetings that their suggestions were tried already or that their story ideas already ran? Refuse comically stupid tasks? Yeah, right. Let me peel off my shirt and show you all the stab wounds in my back.
ReplyDelete-----------------
Poor baby.
I'm not saying there aren't horrendous bosses out there. I've dealt with my fair share, too.
And I've been shot down, ignored, countermanded and ridiculed over the years. But "stab wounds on my back" and all the rest? Get a backbone and just continue on.
I cannot believe that people blame THEIR lives on other people. As I've said, bosses have messed with me plenty, but I still survive and thrive and I'm here and they're not. Grow up. Jeez.
11:43 am: Sorry for delayed reply. I'm trying to get a bunch done before my planned departure for Spain.
ReplyDeleteAnswer: No. Indeed, no one -- including Gannett -- has paid me to go away, or even offered. I'm not for sale. Gannett Blog isn't for sale.
I, for one, really valued the information. I didn't value the stupid comments.
ReplyDelete10:37 Verification? Easy, it is called crowdsourcing. You note how off-the-wall stuff gets shot down? There is a self-verifying process on this blog, which works. Not perfectly, but it works.
ReplyDelete5/27/2009 11:01 AM
Bitch - Pu-leeeeze!
Most already know USA Today will be eliminating live, weekend and marketing.
ReplyDelete5/27/2009 2:01 PM
Bitch - pu-leeeeeeze!!!!
They will exist as long as they make moolah, and the still do. As for marketing, WTF? You can't run a newspaper without a marketing arm.
Methinks you are just a sabatour (sp?) trying to start something. Like I said: bitch - pu-leeeeeeze!
(by the way, yes...I posted twice)
"Sorry for delayed reply. I'm trying to get a bunch done before my planned departure for Spain."
ReplyDeleteWhen are you heading out?
I keep feeling so sad and then remember why. I feel so bad about what I read earlier today about you and Sparky. I am so,so sorry. And just for the record, I am one of 'them.'
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm not one of "them" and I feel really bad too. I've been divorced so I know the feeling. You'll get through it though, stronger than you were before.
ReplyDeleteJim, thank you for all your hard work and congratulations on putting new media to such valuable and eye-opening use.
ReplyDeleteI wish you good health and good fortune in whatever comes next for you. I hope we will be hearing from you in the future!
I was wondering if other people have found that there has been worked related communication by employees while on furlough. A big no no. Just this past week I received work related email communication from someone from corporate on the broadcast side. Is this happening anywhere else?
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping us informed.
ReplyDeleteInterested in a side job as a blog administrator? Just kidding. Probably after all the layoffs someone else will step up to the plate. I will do it if I am one of the “chosen ones”.
1. There will be some "serious" layoff's that will be announced end of this quarter. The estimates are now 2,500 to 3,500 layoff's. These are not buy-outs.
2. Gannett management has contemplated another set of furloughs possibly for Q3, but since this will interfere with unused vacation, they will most likely perform a series of salary reductions.
3. Dave Hunke is taking the axe to USA Today. Apparently,USA Live, Marketing and USA Weekend are on the table.
When is the end of this quarter? End of June? Thank goodness we finally are back to business as usual without all the back stabbing and gay comments. Delete them Jim. We have no use for these comments.
ReplyDeleteCome on, how can you even say that. You know it's BS. Lets leave all this crap behind and enjoy this blog for the reason it exists — to know what Gannett is doing. I refuse to even acknowledge such ridiculous comments.
ReplyDeleteLets all move forward and remember the reason we are here — to share our experiences with Gannett and to inform each other.
You have not posted any new comments. DID Gannett give you money to quit this blog? I know you need money but wouldn't this make you a traitor?
Yup. Just received two e-mails from a salesperson on furlough. Far as I know, Gannett has to pay them for their time off if they send work related e-mails and they have to give them another furlough.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if other people have found that there has been worked related communication by employees while on furlough. A big no no. Just this past week I received work related email communication from someone from corporate on the broadcast side. Is this happening anywhere else?
Then why don't they have people take a four day work week on days that won't interfear with production of the paper. Some get Fridays off, other's get Monday's off. Spread out the furlough days. An across the board salary reductions will certainly cause a mass exodus. I know for a fact the younger workers (the ones that Gannett is counting on to save them) WILL leave. Most live at home or don't have to worry about benefits, vacation, etc. I cam guarantee they will leave ASAP. I work with all younger workers and I hear how they feel. They want to make money and know they aren't making it at Gannett. Most have wealthy families that will carry them over til they get another job. You might want to reconsider this move Craig.
ReplyDelete2. Gannett management has contemplated another set of furloughs possibly for Q3, but since this will interfere with unused vacation, they will most likely perform a series of salary reductions.
Your grand experiment illuminated the risk-reward opportunity in providing the type of blog that gains readership but just can't pull the revenue to inspire or allow for hiring full support. Some audiences just can't be monetized, no matter how good the blog is. Public service without a successful business model -- one that has a strategy to grow and evolve -- eventually reaches an end for one of several reasons. While one reasons rules, many contributing factors led you to this decision.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on proving many points, including this one.
You provided insight, humor, satire and compelling reporting... Quality usually won, but good enough was OK most days.
Classified revenue is racing to zero. It will never come back. The classifieds are like a typewriter. They served their purpose for a time, but that's over now.
ReplyDeleteSo this was just an experiment?
ReplyDelete9:09 pm - I checked on this issue once before with my state AND federal Wage and Hour Division offices.
ReplyDeleteFirst, there is NO FEDERAL LAW reagrding "furloughs" or unpaid time off. So there are no guidelines about things such as emails, phone calls from work, coming to the office to pick up the check - or ANY of that.
In my state, there also is no STATE law regarding "furloughs" so I was told that anything that Gannett does regarding this is a SELF-IMPOSED mandate about what can and can't be done while on furlough.
Hell, the media company I am with... some people actually WORKED on their furlough days ! They were salaried people who just ran out time and had to get work done... so they worked anyway.
Gannett can - if it chose to - do anything regarding employees and furloughs.
I didn't see this on the blog about Jim's break up with his partner. I looked through it and saw nothing. If it is true, I am very sorry Jim. Life is tough and it turns your world up side down to lose the one person you thought you could always count on to be by your side. It's that dull ache and it's so hard to move forward. I am proud of you that you have chosen to move forward and start anew. Life is so precious and you have to make the most of it. If it wasn't meant to be— so be it. It hurts now but three years down the road the pain will be gone and you will have moved on. I always find it so amazing how in love we can feel about a person at the time and it seems to be the end of the world when they are gone, but then years later, it like, hey, yes, I remember them — but how could I of felt so strongly about them — I have nothing in common with them. No, I'm not gay, but have been through my share of relationships, and each time it hurts, but it is true the pain does ease with time and then finally goes away. I pray it will be the same for you.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
I keep feeling so sad and then remember why. I feel so bad about what I read earlier today about you and Sparky. I am so,so sorry. And just for the record, I am one of 'them.'
Jim, thank you for this blog. In my nice, long career in newspapers I had never once lost a job. So when I was summarily given the boot in December '08, I started reading your blog. It helped me get through what has proved to be the most difficult period of my five-decades-plus life. I now have a menial, part-time job to try to make ends meet. I could not even have tried to get it, pursued it and pushed myself to be aggressive after Gannett killed my spirit and career in one fell swoop, had it not been for the chance to share thoughts and yes, anger at times, with others who have written on your blog. I wish you all the best, and thank you from the bottom of my healing heart. God bless.
ReplyDelete