Friday, July 10, 2009

Part 3 | Friday's Layoff News & Comments

This section is closed to new comments. Please go to Part 4. For earlier editions, here are Part 1 and Part 2.
at
Tags:

180 comments:

  1. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:05 PM

    I'd say they're spewing vitriol to distract from more bad news coming today. They're ticked that you haven't disappeared so they can pursue their evil shell game. (Apt name, for after they've gutted these papers, that's all that's left!)
    Keep on truckin', Jim!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:07 PM

    7:53 AM has it exactly right, Jim. You've done a lot of work here, but a lot of it got undermined by your biases and paranoia. You want to see things in black and white when most of it is in shades of gray.

    Still, I hope you enjoy your retirement from here - and I mean that. Relax, de-stress and find yourself again before it's too late.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:09 PM

    The continued silence regarding the reorganization in WI Central Group tells me more bleeding is on the way.

    Who is replacing Mike Beck if anyone?

    Was Mark Baldwin demoted?

    What positions in the 3 Southern CW sites are/have been cut?

    If there are no cuts is there a reduction of hours for hourly employees? Pay reductions across the board?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim7/10/2009 1:10 PM

    Anonymous@1:07 p.m. wrote, "You've done a lot of work here, but a lot of it got undermined by your biases and paranoia. You want to see things in black and white when most of it is in shades of gray."

    I agree with all of that, except for the paranoia part.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:10 PM

    Corporate is cracking me up today. Keep trolling the blog, assbags! You're making zero impact. It's a beautiful thing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:12 PM

    According to Gannett spokesperson Robin Pence:

    "One of the reasons we are working with TMS (the company handling the SUB-Pay severance debacle) is that they are experts on a state-by-state basis so truly the best thing is for our people to work directly with them to ensure they have accurate information."

    Really Robin? It's to ensure "your people have accurate information." Really? I thought corporate management is working with TMS because:

    1) They are experts on the best way to screw over laid off employees while limiting your own liability.

    2) You were falsely hoping that using this 3rd party intermediary to handle this screw-job would deflect some of the blame from Gannett management.

    3) You are all soulless fuckfaces.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:14 PM

    Jim,
    I found this blog last fall as I started tracking the precipitous fall of mostly all publicly traded newspaper companies. My paper is family-owned, which I've come to appreciate more, watching the corporate disarray at Gannett, McClatchy and elsewhere. Gannett folk owe you their gratitude. Good luck. Enjoy your new venture.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:16 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:17 PM

    I am in the acceptance stage of corporate newspaper death. Nothing at this point will reverse the inevitable. Gannett and its higher power - Wall Street - has made sure of that. This had nothing to do with technology and young readers. It's all about decades of greed and employee disdain. Now it's coat-check time for this souless company, and the other clones that followed it into hell.

    And Jim,
    You deserve a Pulitzer for your courage. All the best. And all the best to the rest of us looking to survive this plague.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:18 PM

    Jim wrote: "I agree with all of that, except for the paranoia part."

    I'd say that thinking anyone critical of your performance here is a "corporate troll" is pretty paranoid. There are probably a few, but putting that label on all of them has been an easy "out" for you.

    Enjoy your time away from here. You clearly need it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:18 PM

    Since the last day of the blog is being controlled by the jackasses, I wish a "fond" farewell to all of the CN/HNT people who ruined so many lives and somehow managed to stay in power:

    Skippy
    Thorney
    Grzella
    Cooke
    Stahoski
    Coddington and VanZandt
    Sampson

    My they sleep well!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:21 PM

    11:12 Yes, you're correct, the only reason Sundays are up in Phoenix is the result of approximately 15,000 subscriptions from displaced Tribune readers and the subsequent SC purchases. It will be fun to see what happen this fall as they cycle over last year and everything catches up. Many of those Tribune readers were Tribune readers because they didn't like the Republic. Watch a large percentage of them drop off in addition to the paper catching up with the trend masked by the Tribs subscribers. It will be fun to see them try to spin a 10-20% drop YOY!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:24 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:27 PM

    You know, I think it really says something about some ones character that folks are coming on here to trash Jim and those that have been laid off. Are you serious?? If that is your job, please know that karma does exist. IF it isn't, get a life. These folks have no income now and the jobs out in this economy are few and far between. I for one totally appreciate this blog and Jim's efforts. I think he's been quite restrained considering the horrid things some of you guys have written about him. Thank you Jim - for all your efforts. I am a former employee who left on my own accord when things got so rotten that my entire life sucked. I love life beyond Gannett. I work for NYT now and although the industry is in flux, they at least have the decency to communicate with the employees before the media. My best wishes and prayers go out to anyone who was laid off this time or before. The best of luck to you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:30 PM

    AD from CH-loser

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jim7/10/2009 1:32 PM

    1:12 p.m.: Oh, snap!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:33 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:34 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:34 PM

    1:21 The only reason that they are making such a big deal out of the Sunday circulation gain is that the Marketing VP is now in charge of circulation. She is a master self promoter.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:37 PM

    This is from www.Chris-Brewer.com. Chris was the multimedia reporter at the Springfield News-Leader:
    My Career At The Springfield News-Leader Has Ended

    Article Posted: July 9, 2009

    At 5:30 today, I walked out the doors of the Springfield News-Leader as a reporter for the final time.

    Only three hours prior, I had been notified by Executive Editor Don Wyatt that my position as Multimedia Reporter had been eliminated by corporate. I proceeded to spend the next three hours wiping my work laptop’s hard drive, packing my important items and making the rounds to tell everyone goodbye.

    The layoffs that the Gannett Corporation have imposed are a source of major confusion to many, including myself. Why, if the corporate folks at McLean say their future is digital content including live video, would they lay off a videographer?

    I don’t know the answer to that, and I’ll never know. And you know what? That’s okay with me.

    Fifteen months ago, I began my job at the N-L after having met Pam Baccam, the prior multimedia reporter, by chance just months before. I had been working at a local RadioShack to try to make ends meet, and she came in one night asking for a microphone windscreen. I told her, while helping her find what she needed, that I was a videographer in the Air Force and I had also freelanced at KPTV in Portland, Oregon. She then told me to contact her — and the rest is history.

    I don’t believe that happened by chance. The Lord opened the door for me to get the job, and it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It just so happens that today, he closed that door fifteen months after he opened it.

    I covered stories from a two-headed calf being born in a nearby town, to one-on-one interviews with Presidential candidates when they came to Springfield. I loved shooting sports events here, notably when the U.S. Olympic softball team came to town last July.

    It’s all over now, sadly.

    The worst part of being laid off isn’t so much losing my sole source of income, but rather the great people I worked with. They’ve been through hell too, trying to make sense of the changing face of the newspaper industry and making something good out of so little being afforded to them. Everyone I worked with in that newsroom was great, from the copy editors all the way up to the editorial staff.

    I can’t think of one bad word to say about my time at the News-Leader other than I wish we promoted online multimedia a little more. Ad revenue just isn’t there, and that’s not only why my videos received little promotion, but also a major factor as to why I am unemployed.

    Today I walked out of the office with my head held high and told my co-workers and friends in the building that I pray the Lord’s blessings upon their lives. I really mean that, too — I still care about everyone there and want the very best for them. I also told them I hope Gannett pulls its collective head out from where the sun doesn’t shine and begins to treat its employees with a little more respect.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:44 PM

    A fitting song to sum up life for Gannett employees, past and present:

    "Pressure pushing down on me
    Pressing down on you no man ask for
    Under pressure - that burns a building down, splits a
    family in two
    Puts people on streets

    That's OK
    It's the terror of knowing what this world is about
    Watching some good friends screaming "Let me out!"
    Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
    Pressure on people - people on streets
    Chippin around - kick my brains around the floor
    These are the days it never rains but it pours
    People on streets (twice)

    It's the terror of knowing what this world is about
    Watching some good friends screaming "Let me out!"
    Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
    Pressure on people - people on streets

    Turned away from it all like a blind man
    Sat on a fence but it don't work
    Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
    Why-why-why
    Love
    Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

    Can't we give ourselves one more chance
    Why can't we give love that one more chance
    Why can't we give love.....
    Cause love's such an old fashioned word
    And love dares you to care for the people on the edge
    of the night
    And love dares you to change our way of caring about
    ourselves
    This is our last dance, this is our last dance
    This is ourselves
    Under pressure
    Under pressure
    Pressure"

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:44 PM

    Jim, I'm trying to simultaneously defend you and make the troll cry. Why do you keep deleting my stuff?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:46 PM

    1:34, Yes and there's something to be said for being consistent! Nearly all the specialty pubs and glossy magazines she bragged about are gone (taking with them the ad dollars as advertisers were actually told the newspaper didn't focus on their core client market!). This fall, she'll sharpen her pointing finger as their Sunday numbers tumble in a YOY comparison without another Tribune collapse to save them. There are some very qualified people still at the paper and gone who were far more responsible than Ms Crotchfelt and her marketeers. Come this fall, they'll provide graphs and reports showing readership way up and fault others for the drop in circulation. It seemed at times as though our advertising department was more focused on her pet projects than the core product and there was never a shortage of hearing how successful these programs were in Reno!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:48 PM

    Re: The severance debacle. It's time for people to call some of the business reporters at the NYT and see if they're interested in doing a story on this fucked up shithole of a company. Forcing taxpayers to pay for their layoffs while execs like DuBlow and Martwhore get their packages is wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous7/10/2009 1:56 PM

    Jim or anyone,
    Can you post a few links to good recent stories/analysis pieces about the layoffs and collapse of Gannett?

    Not the generic Gannett laid off X number of people today with a stock "the economy sucks" quote from corporate.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Jim7/10/2009 1:59 PM

    1:44 pm: I appreciate the effort. But I think we've now established conclusively that these guys are:

    1. Fuckfaces
    2. Ass-hats
    3. Both of above

    BTW: What exactly *is* an "ass-hat"?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:03 PM

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=asshat

    If you don't know what it is, then how can you call someone that and know it's accurate?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:04 PM

    Gannett Corportate read this I know that you look at the blog.
    How about terminating some of your high paid managers, at least in Tennessee we have managers who manage other managers who in turn manage another manager. geting rid of one high paid manager could same3 workers job. after all the workers are the ones who are keeping the place going, some mnagers are just taking up space and money. Please look in to this problem and you will be surprised to see how much money you are really wasting.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:06 PM

    Asshat=From the slang expression having one's head up one's ass, thus, wearing the ass as a hat. The term is extended to people who are clueless or bumbling, who don't understand what is going on.

    heh

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:07 PM

    To any current Gannett employee (manager, writer, etc.) ripping someone else here today: Remember that your time will come soon if you don't get out now. Another 10 percent of you won't survive the next cuts. Time to amp up your job search and get the hell out! There are jobs out there. You just have to keep digging and keep the faith!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:08 PM

    2:04 PM

    Corporate will spend millions as long as the "Yes Men/Women" keep saying yes, kissing corporate ass and telling them the new condom initiatives are great ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Jim7/10/2009 2:12 PM

    2:03 pm: Crowdsourcing!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:14 PM

    I can't believe the A-Hole Publisher we have here at The Courier Post - Walt Lafferty - has a meeting in the newsroom to calm us and take our questions and then when he doesn't have any answers he acts like he's the the one we should pity. We do! Should have been the 31st layoff yesterday. Maybe we should all wear shirts that say 31 - think he'd get the message? I doubt it.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:14 PM

    I hope Gannett gets out of the newspaper business soon. Please, sell some of the properties to local owners who truly care about their towns and cities. I would like to see local ownership that understands the role of media and won't just focus on the bottom line and silly things like quota hiring and building crystal palaces.

    I would like to see corporate and USA Today riding off into the sunset together, doing what they do, and leaving the rest of us the heck alone.

    Forget ContentOne. Forget forcing grand digital schemes down our throats.

    There might be a place for web journalism but not at the expense of sound reporting. That is what Gannett is doing. It's getting rid of good editors and content people and throwing resources into programmers and web page designers. This isn't just about the economic downturn. The faltering economy came at a convenient time for Gannett in some ways. They are always looking for a reason to get rid of older workers, but even more so now.

    If USA Today and corporate want to pursue that web path, I wish they'd do it alone and let us cover our towns the way our readers expect. Let us maintain our standards of editing.

    As for some of the comments about USA Today...I worked there for a few years. I found it to be an incredibly frustrating experience. There were so many cooks in the kitchen, so many layers of people who you had to go through to get the simplest things done. I got the impression that people had to have their fingers in the pie in order to justify their jobs.

    I thought USA Today was massively bloated, yet there were pockets of extremely over-worked people who were doing more than their fair share because there were also pockets of gross incompetency and laziness that dragged everyone down. I assume that still exists, which is why it's surprising USA Today did not sustain any staff reductions this week. While some might have left there in recent years, I doubt they were the ones who should have departed. I am guessing, like myself, many got fed up with things and either left on their own or were pushed out for not being team players in the eyes of those only interested in mediocrity and office politics.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Oregon Media Central7/10/2009 2:20 PM

    Final numbers out of the Statesman Journal (Salem, Ore.): 8 laid off, 4 changed positions. The 8 laid off:

    2 production artists
    2 in classifieds
    1 community editor
    1 copy editor
    1 driver
    1 customer service representative (position unconfirmed, number confirmed)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:20 PM

    I haven't worked with Walt for several years, but always found him to be an upstanding, strong, caring individual. A good manager, and a guy who would listen. It's a shame to see him constantly beaten up by ass-hats on here.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:25 PM

    Jim,

    Gannett Blog 2: The Deuce is now live.

    http://www.gannettblog2.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:30 PM

    Perhaps calling it "The Deuce" is not the best idea.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:30 PM

    Dubow must feel like the Last Emperor of China or maybe more like Hermann Goering.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:32 PM

    This corp. is soooo sleazy and slimy. I thought it was just my property where people felt the way people on this blog do. To see the pervasiveness is surprising really. If the attitudes on this blog are even somewhat representative of the workforce at Gannett then this place is in real trouble, aside from the real trouble they're already in being a newspaper chain. I've worked at several places and I've never seen anything like it. After some analyzation it really appears the core of the disengagement is a leadership issue that goes right to the top. This place is in dire need of some leaders with courage, compassion, and most of all principles. And they must demand that from managers below them, and on down the line. I hope the board of directors takes note of the overall mood of the workforce here. Many companies send out attitude or engagement surveys to measure and try to improve the mood if it is not good. This company has not once ever, in years, asked how we felt. The reason is they just don't give a crap. If you own Gannett stock you're a fool.

    Finally, Jim, you are awesome! Davids who take on Goliaths have a special place in my heart. I appreciate all you've done. One day I'd like to have a beer with you and say thanks in person.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:35 PM

    The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newsroom was beaten up pretty badly. Just about all the administrative assistants, the copy desk chief, an assistant features editor, a copy editor, two data desk assistants (the folks who create the info for the extensive on-line calendars), an artist, a designer, and a Web/Local editor who had well over 30 years in the joint.
    I was lucky to get out when they were still offering buyouts for early retirement. You can't put a dollar amount on the freedom. The folks running the show at corporate are neither journalists, nor information specialists. They are bean counters. I'd rather have Neuharth than these clowns.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:41 PM

    "The folks running the show at corporate are neither journalists, nor information specialists. They are bean counters."

    ------------

    Amen to that, brother.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:42 PM

    Jim

    Thank you for all your effort in running this blog. During these past 9 months, I have read the site to keep up to date on what is going on.

    THANKS FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:44 PM

    check out this info from Ruth's blog in Indy. We should all be in unions.


    A Guild member says ugly the rumor floating around is true: those let go by the Indianapolis Star yesterday who were in management are getting no severance pay from Gannett.

    Here is what the Guild person says:

    "An exempt employee just confirmed that they are getting no severance. Gannett has set up a trust and requires them to take unemployment.

    "Gannett will make up the difference between unemployment and their salary for an amount of time based on years of service."

    What a dirty, rotten company.

    As a friend said earlier, it does not pay to be in management in Gannett. You can work yourself almost to death for these bosses, and the reward will be to toss you out without a thought or a cent.

    Shameless.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:46 PM

    If TMS is such a great thing, how about if all top executives and high level managers agree that TMS manage their severance packages when their time comes? Why do I hear suddenly crickets?

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:52 PM

    RE: • Fort Collins Coloradoan: 0 of 198 (pay cuts instead) As reported on Gannettoid.

    FIRST OF ALL,we do not have 198 people anymore! There are only 118 of us left.
    As for the pay cuts, that was ONLY for the non-exempt employees. That number is about 60. The rest of the exempt employees were not touched! But instead, Kim sang for them this morning in their sales meeting. They were also fed breakfast. Talk about rubbing the non-exempts face in it. What a true BITCH!!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:52 PM

    Just like 1:18 pm said "I wish a "fond" farewell to all of the Courier-Post people who ruined so many lives and somehow managed to stay in power:"

    Here's the Courier-Post list and I hope you let it stand Jim:

    EJ Mitchell
    Walt Lafferty
    Tom Hearon

    and from the infamous retail advertising department these people:

    Tom, Melissa, Dennis, Mindy, Eileen, Stephanie, Jacqui (the secretary), Jackie (the sales? person...ha)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:56 PM

    Can anyone tell me if I will actually come out ahead by have this sub-pay plan??? It seems like not having to pay federal taxes will actually make a difference?

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anonymous7/10/2009 2:58 PM

    I am contacting the AFL-CIO today to have someone come in to talk with employees at my company about forming a union. This crappy severance setup is the last straw.

    Q: Will a union be able to halt future layoffs?

    A: Doubtful.


    Q: Will a union give employees a voice, be a thorn in the side of management and give employees hope for better treatment going forward?

    A: Definitely.


    Q: If we don't unionize what can we expect in the next round of layoffs?

    A: Nothing. Probably not even "SUB-Pay". Just a kick in the ass on the way out the door.

    ReplyDelete
  50. C.J. Lou7/10/2009 3:05 PM

    Jim, thanks for everything you've done over the past two years. You've given a voice to current and former Gannett employees who might have been blindsided had your blog not been there to tell what was going on. I hope that Gannettoid will pick up the slack and continue what you began, in regards to informing employees and the public what is going on with the corporation and its newspapers. I wish you and Sparky well in all your future endeavors.

    -30- for Gannett Blog

    ReplyDelete
  51. Unknown7/10/2009 3:08 PM

    Any names of reporter or editor victims at Rochester Democrat $ Chronicle?

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:09 PM

    Hey Jim,
    How about a Hopkins/Sparky ticket for president in 2012? Just kidding.

    Good luck, brother.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:14 PM

    "throwing resources into programmers and web page designers."

    Not anymore. They've been centralizing online efforts in an attempt to eliminate the higher paid programmers and designers at the local papers.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:15 PM

    This just in from Gannettiod:

    Matthew Wolk, GM of both Wis. Rapids and Marshfield sent packing due to "restructuring".

    Wis Rapids: Alan Hicks, 34 named GM/editor.

    Marshfield: "Boy king" Jonathan Gneiser, 29 named GM/editor.

    No other news on Departmental restructures at this time.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:21 PM

    Jim you're a true American hero. The shocking arrogance of corporate not communicating with the workforce, and simply sending out scattered orders for people to report to the gas chambers is appalling. Your tally here is the only window we have to this death march. Sadly, I think it portends Gannett is on course to the final destination of all despotic regimes: collapse and infamy.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:27 PM

    A 34-year-old and 29-year-old named "GM and editor" of two Wisc papers?

    Good lord.

    Why not just take them out of the high school yearbook staff and make them publishers??

    ReplyDelete
  57. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:27 PM

    So WI has gotten rid of at least 3 suits in the Central Group?

    Were Wolk's replacements flown in from other sites?

    ReplyDelete
  58. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:33 PM

    To 1:09 p.m. - Wis Group: Fondy's Pub Hackney & EE Stern out - Oshie lost 5.5: Publisher out; EE to new GM slot; a reporter gone & cuts elsewhere - In SP, Baldwin is new GM. Any new legs to old PC/Osh merger rumors? Action Adv. sure looks ready for blending into the Reporter. Did Ellen Leilfeld survive in TN? Frank Wood could stop rolling in his grave.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:34 PM

    Someone from Gannettiod said:

    "Don't think it'll be long before Gannett unveils "Central Wisconsin Today" produced by three people in Wausau, which I called five years ago when it was obvious this cluster was already going in the tank."

    Why not? Sunday is already a 3 market piece.

    Watch Gannett try to sell this to the advertisers with a hike in prices as "value added" due to covering 3 market areas, and watch the Advertisers call BS and pull every last dollar out.

    I know of one customer specifically that will pull all ROP. 40K a year minimum.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:34 PM

    One more copy editor has been laid off in Lansing … rumor has it there may be one more layoff in the newsroom.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:35 PM

    Someone should to a database story looking at birthdates of those laid off in this round. Better yet, the 50 year old replaced by a 34 year old should contact a plaintiff lawyer who does age discrimination cases. An age-discrimination class action law suit -- if its warranted -- would be just.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:37 PM

    To 1:09 p.m. - Wis Group: Fondy's Pub Hackney & EE Stern out - Oshie lost 5.5: Publisher out; EE to new GM slot; a reporter gone & cuts elsewhere - In SP, Baldwin is new GM. Any new legs to old PC/Osh merger rumors? Action Adv. sure looks ready for blending into the Reporter. Did Ellen Leilfeld survive in TN? Frank Wood could stop rolling in his grave.

    7/10/2009 3:33 PM

    Thanks for the other news, but it was established yesterday that Baldwin has been GM of Stevens Point since Dec 2007.

    Old news.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:37 PM

    3:34 - Are you able to name names? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:41 PM

    3:37 pm - Thanks. My bad. Any word on the other stuff? - 3:33 pm

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:43 PM

    3:33 not quite right. Osh lost the publisher Wed. and then 5.5 Thurs.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:44 PM

    Jim said...
    Anonymous@1:07 p.m. wrote, "You've done a lot of work here, but a lot of it got undermined by your biases and paranoia. You want to see things in black and white when most of it is in shades of gray."

    I agree with all of that, except for the paranoia part.

    7/10/2009 1:10 PM

    You are too paranoid to agree.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:47 PM

    3:37 here again.

    I'm watching Gannettiod for information that isn't already reported here.

    Yesterday, some Suit mentioned waiting on some "Official Groupwide Announcement".

    I've yet to see a memo posted here or Gannettiod regarding this.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:47 PM

    Thanks from Honolulu Jim for taking a stand Jim and for all your hard work.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:52 PM

    3:43 pm-Any titles or names? AP: Cooper out as pub & Rieckman is new GM/EE. One reporter gone. Where are other 3.5?

    ReplyDelete
  70. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:55 PM

    RE: 3:35 PM

    It's not as clear-cut as you'd think. I consulted an attorney when I was laid off and what I learned was that Gannett does a pretty damned good job of covering their bases in regards to law suits for age discrimination.

    In some cases, they hire your replacement usually before they let you go, but give them a completely different job title. When you leave the new person just ends up assuming your responsibilities.

    They basically play the shell game with job titles/responsibilities and requirements so it's all gray area. You've got copy editors doing reporting, multimedia folks doing graphic and web design, graphic artists doing web development, etc... A realy nightmare when you're trying to prove that Suzy Newbie took your job.

    I didn't find an attorney that after some preliminary investigation, would even go after them. Too much work involved and they (Gannett) didn't violate the letter of the law any way you looked at it.

    YMMV.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:57 PM

    Take a look at the products that are now being printed by Gannett.
    Gannett is no longer in the newspaper business nor an information center. Besides the muddied up appearance of the papers, it's the same news stories over and over again. Not the reporters fault, there is no one around to cover the news accurately or effectively.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Anonymous7/10/2009 3:58 PM

    Congress should do something about the SENIOR management at Gannett.

    They're just as bad as Bernie Madoff.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:01 PM

    3:37, Jan Jeffries was the other copy editor laid off today. No one has any idea who the other person could be.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:04 PM

    I was hoping that GCI stock would've plunged under $1 after this bloodbath, but unfortunately not yet. Praying that it will plummet after Martore's 7/15 financial analysts conference call.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:06 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Reader7/10/2009 4:09 PM

    Jim, thanks for all your work on this blog, and thanks to the other readers for their comments. When I read yesterday that Alderette was gone from the Courier-Journal, I about fell out of my chair, and I read it first here.

    Good luck to you and all of the other past/present/former Gannett workers.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:11 PM

    Jim best of luck in the future. I am amazed at the a--holes that have been putting this site down. But I guess corporate needs to have their lackeyes do something for the money they are paid.
    Thanks for all that you have done to make things easier for us ex-Gannettoids . . .

    ReplyDelete
  78. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:11 PM

    As this blog nears an end, and I read over and over about Gannett employees working in stiffling environments: publishers they've never met, berating department heads, zero communications and on and on; I would like Gennett employees and all those here to know that at SOME newspapers, it is NOT that way.

    At some newspapers, people are treated with respect, as adults, and like they have a brain.

    I work at a smaller Ohio daily, NOT in Gannett thank God. Today all the employees got together for a two-day benefit garage sale/auction for an ailing employee who has been off sick. We held in in our parking lot. Everyone contributed, everyone took part - the publisher even flipped burgers and hot dogs to sell!!!!!!!!!

    This place is hard driven, for sure. We MADE our budget numbers, we are holding our own in circulation and we have a PAID website... so everyone here - all 30 of us - work very hard.

    BUT WE ALSO HAVE FUN!

    And that is important. From the publisher on down, everyone is told that they MUST enjoy their work. The publisher walks through the building EVERY day to say hello to each employee and knows every one by name.

    The depaetments get teretorial, of course, but we get along. And above all... we practice REAL journalism here.

    Yes, we have had to have a few layoffs and furloughs like everyone else. But the employees here like coming to work each day. See??? That IS possible folks.

    Do not despair!!! There is hope.

    The downside of course is the pay ain't so great, and hours can be long. But we are a family here and we get the job done.

    This is a just a letter of hope for all you out there who think that ALL newspapers are like Gannett - they ARE NOT!

    Here, we are relaxed, but hard-working.

    So good luck and pass this story on - they ARE good newsroom (and newspaper) environments out there to be found.

    Hope you all find one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:11 PM

    4:06pm
    Your post reminded me of the following poem:
    "In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
    And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
    And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
    And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

    And they will come for you because the layoffs will never cease at Gannett. This is the orchestrated dismantling of the newspaper industry.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:13 PM

    3:37 here again.

    I'm watching Gannettiod for information that isn't already reported here.

    Yesterday, some Suit mentioned waiting on some "Official Groupwide Announcement".

    I've yet to see a memo posted here or Gannettiod regarding this.

    7/10/2009 3:47 PM

    Hope you're not holding your breath!

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:13 PM

    Thanks for the other news, but it was established yesterday that Baldwin has been GM of Stevens Point since Dec 2007.

    3:37, you're missing the point. Baldwin indeed became the GM at Point in 2007. However, he also was the regional executive overseeing Wausau, Stevens Point, Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids. That's no longer the case. So it's significant news. He was demoted. His boss, Mike Beck, was demoted from publisher of all four papers to editor/GM of Wausau. And the Marshfield and Rapids GMs are out. That's a big, big cut.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:15 PM

    Think of how many resumes that could've been written with all of the wasted words on this blog. Let go of your collective entitlement complexes and realize that this company and this world owe you NOTHING. Get off your asses and go get a job, because nobody gets paid for whining (Except Andy Rooney maybe). If you can't get a job, that only demonstrates why you were expendable in the first place.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:16 PM

    4:11 gives us the unoriginal melodramatics of the day.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:17 PM

    We're all in this together! Oh wait, USA Today, isn't. They didn't have any layoffs since last December and many of them act smug about it while strolling around sipping their lattes. Nor is my manager, who has a knack for picking all the wrong people every time we go through layoffs. Nor are the kiss-asses who maintain their jobs by surrendering their pride and abandoning their coworkers on a daily basis.

    And I am so tired of reading about fallen advertising revenue. That isn't the main culprit behind our problems. The most horrendous errors were made by all the folks who will never lose their jobs, or if they do, they will land softly with their big cash payouts that are paid for by the loss of your jobs.

    We are losing our jobs because Gannett pays fat bonuses to fat heads. We workers are going extinct because someone thought it would be a great idea to put up a newspaper building in one of the priciest areas of the nation, when in fact it could have been built for half the cost and maintained much cheaper almost anywhere else. We are going down because bad managers keep making bad hires and paying them big salaries at places like USA Today. Some of those hires go back 20 years, while others are fairly fresh. The cycle continues.

    Layoffs can't be blamed entirely on the economy. Basic economics and budgeting require saving for a rainy day, not over spending like so many people did on mortgages. Gannett was no smarter than the Average Joe who thought he could afford a $400,000 house on a $35,000 salary. But at least in that case Joe is the guy who pays the biggest price for his error. At Gannett, we pay the price with our jobs for other people's mistakes. People who make 10 times what we make. So, hey you f--king publishers, stop telling us that it's the economy and dwindling ad revenue that's behind this. The blood is on your hands and on corporates hands. Accept responsibility for once.

    And for every manager who used these layoffs to get rid of good people who they personally had some issue with (like they didn't like their hair or the way they dressed), may your lives soon be in shambles too just like the people you've screwed. The only people who should have been lost were people who weren't doing a good job or whose jobs were no longer needed. Based on last December's layoffs, and the fact that those jobs that were lost are still having to be manned, it appears that lowlife site managers and editors blew away people who simply didn't kiss enough ass. And Mother Gannett stood by and let them do it.

    There is so much to say about this company. So much I wish would be investigated more thoroughly. I truly believe crimes have been committed. I know incompetence and immorality are abundant at Gannett and USA Today. Gannett has operated in bad faith for many years, but the ugliness of the last year may eventually draw the attention of some people who can do something about it. It's time for a huge change, not just the removal of one CEO or a publisher here and there.

    All the best to those who have lost their jobs. Many folks from December's round are sadly still looking for work, so the future doesn't look bright, but at least you're out of the evil empire now. Try to find some peace in that.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:20 PM

    4:15pm
    Expendable ? I think not. Gannett begged me to stay when I quit but I know I am too good of a person to work for an organization like Gannett.The best in the industry have already left.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:21 PM

    4:01 - Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:24 PM

    4:15 F-You!!!!!!

    You obviously have no idea how bad the job market is right now, regardless of one's qualifications, values, work ethics, etc. Not everyone who lost their jobs deserved it. This company, which you seem to embrace, did some bad things to some very good people, when in fact I wish they would have targeted you and everyone like you who see the world in black and white.

    So either you are naive, stupid or just an insensitive a-hole. Wait until your day comes. We'll see how smart you are then. Better yet, mouth off like that to me in some bar sometime and see what happens. I will defend my former colleagues in a way you mind find a bit, uhhh, distasteful.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:25 PM

    4:20pm
    Well, said.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:25 PM

    4:15 embodies the problem with our society. You have nothing to offer thus you find yourself in the situation you are in. Pat yourself on the back buddy, you earned it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  90. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:26 PM

    Playing catchup here - who's in charge of the Wisconsin Group now?

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:26 PM

    Miss Jodway from Lansing, please do remember that you "work" (strolling in the office at 10:00 a.m.) for a newspaper, the right to free speech and all. Quit telling the people you have left to quit reading the blogs and what is being said about you, the truth must hurt,Hmmmmm? I hope your daughter has the pleasure of working for someone EXACTLY like you someday.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:27 PM

    The initial layoff story was reported by the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Did I miss something? Because I saw nothing in USA TODAY.

    Jim, thanks for giving us this forum. One thing, though: I don't understand why you didn't block some ISPs or ask someone to filter the nasty and homophobic comments so that you wouldn't have had to read them and they wouldn't have preyed upon you so.

    You might have stayed around longer, been a little calmer and seen this through to a more fitting end. I do feel like you've taken your marbles and gone home, but I guess I can't really blame you. Good luck and God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:27 PM

    4:20, 4:24, and 4:25, you all put yourselves squarely where you are, get comfortable, I have a feeling you'll be there a while....

    ReplyDelete
  94. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:29 PM

    4:16pm
    You wish 4:11's post is melodramatics, seems to be right on the mark.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:30 PM

    Andy Rooney is still alive?!

    ReplyDelete
  96. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:30 PM

    3:37, you're missing the point. Baldwin indeed became the GM at Point in 2007. However, he also was the regional executive overseeing Wausau, Stevens Point, Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids. That's no longer the case. So it's significant news. He was demoted. His boss, Mike Beck, was demoted from publisher of all four papers to editor/GM of Wausau. And the Marshfield and Rapids GMs are out. That's a big, big cut.

    7/10/2009 4:13 PM

    So are you saying that the person from Gannettiod who said Beck was being sent packing was mis informed? He's still with Wausau?

    Who will be the new publisher?

    Wolk being gone ( he was GM for both Marshfield and then Wis Rapids since Dec 2007) is 1 (one) person and you call that a BIG BIG cut?

    Hmmm I don't know where you learned math. Ohhh in Gannett management

    Nevermind....[rolls eyes here]

    ReplyDelete
  97. Lorraine7/10/2009 4:34 PM

    "Breaking News

    Poodle missing in Melbourne - 4:06 pm"


    I am an animal lover... all five of my pets are rescues.

    BUT...

    What's quoted above leads the 'breaking news' headlines on Florida Today's home page.

    Really? A missing poodle?

    That's the future, folks...

    ReplyDelete
  98. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:34 PM

    4:27pm
    Be where awhile? I moved on a long time ago with Gannett begging me to stay. As I have said before, the best have alreadly left.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:34 PM

    RE: 2:20 Mrs Lafferty - shut up and drop me from your Holiday Card list.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:34 PM

    Great job Jim. Thanks for your efforts. Good luck with future endeavors. I guess the only good thing about the blog disappearing will be that I won't read comments from corporate flag-wavers anymore. I was always amazed that those who stood up for the company seemingly were always the most mean-spirited and juvenile in their remarks. Says a lot about the type of people this company values the most.

    Gannett's "Republican Guard" is all around us, not just on this blog, so beware my friends. luckily, they're easy to spot. They work five-hour days, drive nice cars, have coffee with the boss every day and laugh at all of his stupid jokes. They pretend to be concerned about you when all they are doing is gathering intel. One day, it would be nice to see them all strung up, figuratively speaking, of course.

    Take care, Jim.

    ReplyDelete
  101. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:34 PM

    4:15 is either a corporate troll or someone from the advertising and business side that could find a job in another field a lot easier after helping ruin the newspaper industry for reporters and truth-seekers everywhere. Either way, thanks you greedy bitch who clearly knows zilch about the news industry.

    Sincerely,
    Reporters/copy editors/content producers everywhere

    ReplyDelete
  102. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:37 PM

    4:15 must be employed at the GCI tower of Crystal Palace.

    ReplyDelete
  103. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:38 PM

    Thank you, Jim for all you have done for your fellow colleagues.
    Best wishes and good fortune for you always.
    Your courage to confront Gannett shows what a great journalist you are. Keep writing.
    Hasta Luego, amigo!

    ReplyDelete
  104. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:38 PM

    Hey Jim or anybody know anything about this law firm website, I saw it on facebook. They are targeting ex-gannetters and specifically the layoff in relevance to the WARN act. Are they legit or ambulance chasers? Here is the click:
    http://www.law29.com/pages/cases-we-handle/overtime-wage-cases/warn-layoff-cases.php

    Thanx
    Kathy PB - formerly ADS APP/HNT - NJ

    ReplyDelete
  105. Richard Michem7/10/2009 4:41 PM

    4:06 Since you work for Gannett, I would not trust any info, that came from their investigator. The info, they have on me is so wrong and so funny, it is unbelieveable!

    ReplyDelete
  106. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:42 PM

    Bwaaaaaaaahhahahahahahahahahaha.

    4:34 is NOT KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  107. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:43 PM

    Who at the PoJo was laid off?

    ReplyDelete
  108. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:45 PM

    4:15 is a big part of the underlying problem with this company and why we remain splintered and unable to fight back against corporate as one.

    My best advice is to not name call here, but to identify these 4:15 type of people, then alienate them into submission. Don't be friendly with them. Don't give them the fake hellos. Ignore them. They'll get the message. No one can withstand being hated by one's colleagues forever. If we keep tolerating people like this, we will never get anywhere with our causes.

    Once they are gone, and we are more united, we'll be able to steer things in a more righteous direction.

    Starting Monday, turn a cold shoulder to the 4:15s. Don't buy the lies or fake chit-chats of these people. Many are bosses, and crave acceptance by the troops. You don't own them crap unless they are truly genuine people. Most Gannett managers have an agenda, as do some teacher's pets outside of management, but you don't have to follow it. You can choose people with higher values to associate with, and at the same time, send a strong message to the 4:15s.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:47 PM

    I have a suspicion that 4:15 is a USA Today employee. Probably fairly well paid and without much real talent of any kind.

    ReplyDelete
  110. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:48 PM

    I'm been reading the blog for a few days now and it seems to me that except for a few exceptions (the AD in Cherry Hill) that management once again missed the mark and left too many bums including themselves behind.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:53 PM

    To the owner of the Jodway comment... I.LOVE.IT.

    READ the BLOGS!! Every word about her is true. Useless excuse for a human.

    You made your bed Jodway. NO ONE LIKES YOU - your department thinks you are junk, and your colleagues think you are an abusive full on bitch. Go away. Before we throw a pail of water on you. Nobody wants you here.

    Go cry to Michael Kane. I can almost hear the phone ringing now... boo hoo!!!

    ReplyDelete
  112. Anonymous7/10/2009 4:56 PM

    4:15

    Your response is bullshit.

    If I have done my job well it is a reasonable expectation that my employer do their jobs as well.

    The current financial condition of Gannett is a direct result of poor management. Everybody at the top rode this company into the ground.

    It is not entitlement it is a core belief of right and wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:04 PM

    4:15, please just go off of the blog if you hate it so much. Why don't all of you haters just go off of it? Why not let us all "wallow" (as you call it) and you just leave us alone?

    ReplyDelete
  114. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:04 PM

    4:45 take comfort in knowing that I in no way associate with your kind, just so that we are clear. I owe no dignity or respect to the ver people who are not only destroying the industry that feeds you, but destroying the nation you call home. The hatred you hold onto is like holding onto a hot coal: you're the only one getting burned.

    If you only read your own ignorant rambling you would realize the problem with journalism; which is dead in this country anyhow. Report the truth; not as you see it, but as it exists. This industry has been run by left wing hacks for entirely too long and now it's hens are coming home to roost. When you alienate 50% of the readership, they will stop buying/subscribing and you are left with big ZEROS on the balance sheets. I watch at least 2 to 3 people everyday come into our office to cancel subscriptions because the journalism is so shoddy, and because of that, none of the advertisers want to renew contracts in a thinning paper that is losing readership. Take your statements to the mirror and say them outloud, the enemy you face is staring back at you.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:08 PM

    4:15 is just more of that bullshit line of "work hard, do what you're told and this just world and the people running the show will recognize it and take care of you."

    That bullshit has ruined the lives of many good people. Face it. Scum rises to the top. Be very wary of what the people running the show tell you. Instead of doing what you're told all the time, spend a good chunk of your day figuring out how to get them by the balls. Then, when the time comes, use it.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:11 PM

    If all "haters" got off this blog, it would be a lonely place indeed. I guess it's just where the hate is placed?

    ReplyDelete
  117. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:13 PM

    Before I started reading this blog, I came close to thinking my frustrations, stress, sleepless nights were MY problem. When you are a woman, over 40 who is q smart, super-hard worker and isn't afraid to speak her true mind, you often aren't liked by the ass-kissers, pets and slackers. I couldn't udnerstand why I'd be "talked to" when those in the newsroom longer than 20 years who worked hard only at not working got treated like gods when they still couldn't manage the copy machiine.

    I first ignored the comments from other hard workers about the paper driving way yet another good employee. I liked my job and my coworkers, but the management was crazy! I was in the military and their "chain of command" was worse and not half as smart. You had to go through multiple egos to get a simple answer for a simple question or suggestion.

    Most good managers LIKE hard workers who take initiative. But at my paper, smart people threatened their cushy nests and reason for being.

    I hope everyone left LEAVES as soon as possible. Why give notice? They didn't give those they axed any prior consideration whatsoever.

    I like many others worked at many other places in my life and NONE came close to total mismanagment at Gannett. Every day was a battle. Why live like that?

    ReplyDelete
  118. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:14 PM

    5:08 I got where I am without going beyond highschool for my education and 8 years in the military, by busting my ass so that I make myself an indispensible commodity. I change jobs on my terms, it's always been that way regardless of economic circumstances. Good people hold all the cards, which explains why your hands are empty my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  119. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:18 PM

    HA HA Jodway, and if you only had a clue as to what is actually said about you in the community, whenever i tell someone I work at the LSJ, they roll their eyes and say, UGG, PAM JODWAY??? WHAT A BITCH. Believe me you have no idea what it means to lead people in a productive way, as a matter of fact you do exactly the opposite, your day will come and there will be a standing ovation at the door when you take your little sidekick and your fat ass out of there.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:19 PM

    Playing catchup here - who's in charge of the Wisconsin Group now?

    Genia Lovett is president of Gannett Wisconsin and publisher at Appleton. Kevin Corrado is publisher of Green Bay, Manitowoc and Door County and based in Green Bay. There are no other publisher left in the group.

    Beck is staying in Wausau as editor/GM. Gannettoid is wrong about him leaving.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:21 PM

    5:08, I don't think anyone said anything about "do what you're told and this just world and the people running the show will recognize it and take care of you." That goes against 4:15's original statement that neither the company nor the world owes you anything (though I would qualify that by saying the company owes you your agreed-upon wages and any benefits that it specifically promised you, which I'm sure did not include perpetual employment as long as you "worked hard").

    ReplyDelete
  122. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:21 PM

    Employees are reeling from being fired, from having friends and worthwhile colleagues unceremoniously axed. Those who are now gone and those who are still left -- for now -- are wondering what happened to the noble profession in which we chose to make our careers, and how it ever gets better.

    It takes a remarkable breed of asshole to come into a group of people dealing with that and continue the tired attacks on Jim, or to pick nits about COBRA.

    Please, tell us more about the stockholders meeting from several months ago. Make personal comments about Jim and his mental state.

    Do you think you're succeeding in your mission, to deflect our attention away from the fact that we've hitched our wagon to a soulless corporation that doesn't give two shits about quality journalism?

    FAIL.

    Thanks for your efforts, Jim, and good luck in the future. Your website consistently provided me with information my employer didn't, but should have. Period.

    ReplyDelete
  123. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:22 PM

    5:14pm
    Good people do not judge others and have some semblance of humility.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:26 PM

    Dear 4:45:

    Good to see "advertising" continuing to blame news. Sell some fucking ads and then maybe some of those positions that were frozen could be filled, thus improving the quality of reporting. Oh yeah, that's right, you lazy fucks CAN'T SELL - you relied for years on businesses to come to you. You wouldn't know what it's like to hit the pavement and make actual contacts ... because your fat sassy ass was perched in your chair in the AC hoping for someone to call YOU.

    It ain't the reporting that's causing newspapers to fail. Ask your cronies in upper management - it's "the economy" ... ergo, you being bad at your job to find new streams of revenue.

    Go fuck yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  125. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:27 PM

    That last post was to 5:08

    ReplyDelete
  126. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:27 PM

    5:22, sounds like a judgment.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:28 PM

    5:22 Isn't your statement doing exactly what you're accusing? Judging someone for being judgmental while being simulateously prideful?!?! Ye hypocrites!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  128. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:30 PM

    5:26 sounds like someone had an extra helping of the liberal kool-aide....

    ReplyDelete
  129. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:32 PM

    5:13 wrote: "I hope everyone left LEAVES as soon as possible. Why give notice? They didn't give those they axed any prior consideration whatsoever."
    Yes, those left behind, if & when you get another job, don't give 2 weeks notice. Turn in the resignation on your last day. Do they really deserve any notice?

    ReplyDelete
  130. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:33 PM

    5:26 I don't know about the more urban sites, but I know in the rural papers the daily's are nearly 40 to 50% ads, the rest is propoganda surrounded by incoherent drivel, most of which isn't even written locally, but taken off the AP. Hmmm, maybe the editors are smart enough to recognize the lack of talent in their news room....

    ReplyDelete
  131. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:33 PM

    Anonymous said...
    According to Gannett spokesperson Robin Pence:

    "One of the reasons we are working with TMS (the company handling the SUB-Pay severance debacle) is that they are experts on a state-by-state basis so truly the best thing is for our people to work directly with them to ensure they have accurate information."

    Really Robin? It's to ensure "your people have accurate information." Really? I thought corporate management is working with TMS because:

    1) They are experts on the best way to screw over laid off employees while limiting your own liability.

    2) You were falsely hoping that using this 3rd party intermediary to handle this screw-job would deflect some of the blame from Gannett management.

    3) You are all soulless fuckfaces.

    7/10/2009 1:12 PM

    I would promote you to president if I could. The truth must hurt and you for one found the right target. As I said before: We're firing people left and right and to put the cherry on top of all this BS Gannett outsources the severance package deals to an outside company.

    Why in the hell does Gannett even employ people in HR? Oh, I forgot: the have to organize the "Bring your children to work" day! Wow! That's a department that should be outsourced in a heartbeat!

    Must be nice sitting at your desk in HR and twiddling your thumbs........

    ReplyDelete
  132. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:34 PM

    "4:15 embodies the problem with our society. You have nothing to offer thus you find yourself in the situation you are in. Pat yourself on the back buddy, you earned it! :)"

    Nope, I'd say 4:15 was saying that about you and your group. You missed the point entirely, which is nothing new.

    ReplyDelete
  133. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:35 PM

    "Must be nice sitting at your desk in HR and twiddling your thumbs........"

    From my experience, they're generally sitting ON their thumbs.

    ReplyDelete
  134. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:36 PM

    "4:15 is just more of that bullshit line of "work hard, do what you're told and this just world and the people running the show will recognize it and take care of you."

    That bullshit has ruined the lives of many good people. Face it. Scum rises to the top. Be very wary of what the people running the show tell you."

    That's nice. But a few years ago, before all this cutting started, the idiots in newsrooms thought the opposite. Even the people who could not write were spouting off about how they were the chosen ones to be journalism.

    Now the tables have turned. Nice job of trying to spin it, but you fail.

    ReplyDelete
  135. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:37 PM

    Playing catchup here - who's in charge of the Wisconsin Group now?

    Genia Lovett is president of Gannett Wisconsin and publisher at Appleton. Kevin Corrado is publisher of Green Bay, Manitowoc and Door County and based in Green Bay. There are no other publisher left in the group.

    Beck is staying in Wausau as editor/GM. Gannettoid is wrong about him leaving.

    7/10/2009 5:19 PM

    Thank you for the update...so if I understand you correctly, there is no Publisher overseeing the Central Group.

    Beck, even after the outing of a blog poster's identity is allowed to stay on.

    Only one head rolled in the 3 South Central sites and that was Mr. Wolk.

    Do I have this information correct?

    ReplyDelete
  136. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:37 PM

    Jim,
    I have to admit that the uncertainty about the future of the business is amplified when I think about Gannett Blog's end.

    I can't blame you, though. It has been thankless and you were never really compensated for your work here. (And what does that say about the future of independent watchdog journalism. Not much...)

    Good luck. Although your new venture sounds more fun, I hope you miss this blog, because it meant something. Your readers stopped by despite the hit squad sent to turn threads from meaningful discussions into personal attacks and agenda driven distractions.

    I hope you miss it, and we will be in the dark without you.

    ReplyDelete
  137. MILKLUVR7/10/2009 5:38 PM

    Hi Jim. Just wanted to say what a help this blog was when I was laid off in Dec.I hope all the new layoffs can find somewhere to vent their frustration on these meaningless layoffs.Most of the papers were profitable just not enough to provide for all of the corporate GREED.Good Luck on your new venture Jim.And to all my buddies from the CJ in Louisville I'll be having my milk from some D cups 2nite GOOD LUCK FRIENDS and to Gannett you SUCK PEACE

    ReplyDelete
  138. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:38 PM

    5:26pm
    You like many have forgotten why newspapers started in the first place, for the ad revenue and they placed news there so that people would pick up the paper to read and eventually read the ads. Now, there are multiple stories on the same business that should not be a news story but an ad. Quit giving the advertiser free ad space and go beat the streets and find some real news. Also, the reps I know are always beating the street for new business. They are sales people for crying out loud and if the business is there, they will go after it. The problem is that with the decline in the quality of the newspaper, businesses are hesitant to align their business with an obvious losing one. (newspapers)

    ReplyDelete
  139. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:39 PM

    Yep, blame the "liberal kool-aide" (sic) drinkers for also apparently ruining Enron, the banking industry, the S&Ls and the auto industry. Perhaps your sorry ass would be better served with leaving the newspaper industry and going to work for one of those companies ... then off a long stint in federal pound-you-in-the-ass prison.

    ReplyDelete
  140. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:40 PM

    5:27 and 5:28
    "Thou doth protest too much, me thinks."

    ReplyDelete
  141. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:41 PM

    Someday someone is going to write a book about mental issues, and Jim Hopkins is going to have his own chapter.

    Other great Gannett Blog spin-offs would feature Jim as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, Jim as the crazy Scooby Doo villain, Jim and Dumbir as the latest duo of stooges to travel across the country, and Jim as a failed Erin Brockovich-type zealot who keeps missing the details of a company's misdeeds.

    ReplyDelete
  142. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:43 PM

    Oh and 5:38? Go read The Federalist Papers, The Jungle and All The President's Men and check back in here when you learn and understand the role of the free press in America.

    ReplyDelete
  143. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:45 PM

    5:39 PM Ok, I will: Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Sheila Jackson Lee, Nancy "Pill"osy, "Dirty" Harry Reid... I don't know if I should add more, does this blog have a charachter limit?

    ReplyDelete
  144. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:46 PM

    5:08 responding to:

    "5:08, I don't think anyone said anything about "do what you're told and this just world and the people running the show will recognize it and take care of you." That goes against 4:15's original statement that neither the company nor the world owes you anything (though I would qualify that by saying the company owes you your agreed-upon wages and any benefits that it specifically promised you, which I'm sure did not include perpetual employment as long as you "worked hard")."

    -----------------

    First of all, I haven't been laid off.

    Unlike you, I realize that's a product of random luck as much as anything and I can go at any time. I'm not still employed because, as you seem to think, I'm so fucking great and skilled and that's all that matters. Some of the most skilled workers and best people at my company have been dumped and I'm angry for them and about the lousy management of this company which got us in this hole in the first place. I know I can go at any time and when I do it will likely be with no warning and an increasingly shitty severance.

    4:15's statement suggests that all people have to do is just get off this blog, take the time to send out some resumes and, voila, they'll be making a good salary in jobs totally fitting their qualifications. It's a crock. It doesn't work like that. It just doesn't.

    Maybe you guys should get off this blog and go develop some new skills so you can become even more fucking awesome and employable. If that's possible, of course. You may have already perfected every skill known to man.

    Hmmm. Here's one you guys can try: Go blow yourselves.

    ReplyDelete
  145. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:46 PM

    5:43, then you need to read any book about modern businesses that lost sight of their objectives.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:47 PM

    Somebody needs to know that Bernie Madoff is a Democrat.

    ReplyDelete
  147. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:49 PM

    Interesting how 5:45 is turning this into a debate of personal politics when what was being discussed is how GOOD reporting exposed iniquity and illegality in the business world. Who is showing an "agenda" now? Therein lies the difference between the Gannett truth-seekers in the news side and the Gannett corporate slugs who don't mind a good coverup.

    ReplyDelete
  148. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:50 PM

    and let's not forget the mafia that is the Illinois democrat party... hmmm... isn't that the home of Obamunism????

    ReplyDelete
  149. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:50 PM

    Go sell some ads?
    Interesting concept if it's feasible. Imagine what was once a fairly decent newspaper. Located in a good market- competitive market. You ask "is there marketing material" to take out. The answer is NO, make one up. Do we have claritas or scarborough or something agencies and business's can relate too? NO show them the value of our paper. Tell me how the hell anyone can sell anything when the newspaper you work refuses to furnish its' people with adequate material. How can you compete? How can you do your job? This company did this to themselves, unfortuanately news suffered. But you guys have to admit once they started canning everything and undermining the readers intellegence it was all down hill after that. This company didn't just shot their selves in the foot. they aimed for their head. and BULLSEYE baby they were right on target! So no one is pointing the blame here.. I"m sure we all have stories. I can tell you first hand the newspaper I worked for caused everyone of their own problems. It was the advertising dept. It wasn't the newsroom .. it was shitty controllers brought in that started running these papers. We all know how it use to be. All publishers were journalists most of them anyway. Now what do you have? Shrewed underhanded people running these papers and you tell me did it work? I think not. NO whinning here just stating the facts. You did what you had to do and you made it-with no help from your superiors. It happened on both sides. It's a fact.

    ReplyDelete
  150. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:51 PM

    5:49 PM
    Great job of not letting the truth cloud the clutter ringing around between your ears dunsky....

    ReplyDelete
  151. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:51 PM

    5:43
    Oh, I have read them and understand the role of the free press in America. How many stories did they do on businesses' grand openings, menu changes and so on. Go beat the street and find some real news, or are you busy writing a story on a weekend sale?

    ReplyDelete
  152. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:53 PM

    To: 4:26; 4:53 and 5:18

    You are absolutely RIGHT ON about Jodway. Too bad she wears Kane as an "ass hat". Her head is so far up his ass that she may never see day light again. She brags that nothing will ever happen to her because he protects her. Maybe those of you left should bombard his email with the TRUTH. She is destructive, belittling and is known for her scathing emails to anyone and everyone.

    By the way she doesn't always come in at 10:00 a.m. usually she doesn't come in at all and the remaining days she brings her brats to work with her.

    ReplyDelete
  153. Anonymous7/10/2009 5:58 PM

    Oh Jesus,

    The pro-management trolls have hijacked this blog and turned it into a liberal-democrat bash-fest. Reads like every single StoryChat message board on every Gannett Web site. So tired. So irrelevant. So inevitable.

    ReplyDelete
  154. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:04 PM

    To 5:53 p.m., they eat brats in Sheboygan, dontcha know!

    ReplyDelete
  155. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:06 PM

    How some of these managers got in such high places is beyond me. Gannett is disfunctional. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. Your boss actually boasts that others call her a bitch and not just in the work place outside as well. She takes pride it in? You hear her saying it as if it's a good quality in anyone? Honey that's what I call a freak.

    ReplyDelete
  156. Jim7/10/2009 6:07 PM

    I'm back on, after taking a dinner break. I'll now catch up on your comments. Thanks for your patience!

    ReplyDelete
  157. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:07 PM

    HAHAAHaHAHAHahahahhahaHAHAhahah

    Yah der hey. And dontcha fergit the kraut and the mustard there.

    ____________________________

    To 5:53 p.m., they eat brats in Sheboygan, dontcha know!

    7/10/2009 6:04 PM

    ReplyDelete
  158. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:09 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:10 PM

    5:37, More than one head rolled in the top ranks in Gannett Wisconsin's Central Group. Beck demoted, Baldwin demoted and Wolk laid off. Also, two publishers in the East Group laid off, as well as several department/group heads.

    Obviously, there were deep and painful cuts at lower levels. But the top dogs took a hit, too.

    ReplyDelete
  160. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:14 PM

    5:53 you're right about her not coming in. wasn't here AGAIN today. what's up with that isn't she accountable to someone? Priester - get a CLUE

    ReplyDelete
  161. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:22 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  162. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:23 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  163. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:24 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  164. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:25 PM

    He's BAAAACKKKKK

    Jim...clean up on isle 4 please? Clean up on isle 4?

    ReplyDelete
  165. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:25 PM

    The candy machine is full. Lots of sodas. Good seats can be found in the break room.

    ReplyDelete
  166. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:27 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  167. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:28 PM

    Moderation slows down posting. What a way to go out

    ReplyDelete
  168. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:28 PM

    from Gannettoid thread: pay cuts
    by kitdowd on Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:02 pm

    Targeted pay cuts and hour cuts for some reporters and editors came down today at Florida Today.
    =======================

    i heard the same.

    thanks for sticking us with until midnight jim.

    ReplyDelete
  169. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:29 PM

    Jim, my sincerest thank you for a job well done. Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  170. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:29 PM

    Almost 4:20 here in Oregon and life is great even greater without Gannett.

    ReplyDelete
  171. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:31 PM

    If this is crowd sourcing I think I'll go find another crowd. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  172. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:32 PM

    Just throwing out the trash; thanks, Jim!

    ReplyDelete
  173. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:33 PM

    The horn-sprouting Jackie T. is gone from the Indy Star after several years of running good people out of the Features Dept. Ding-dong the witch is dead!!!"

    ReplyDelete
  174. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:36 PM

    hey jim 1:59 to answer your question.. an ass hat is what is left for ad production management at binghamtons press and sun

    ReplyDelete
  175. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:41 PM

    Jim, since this is the last day for the blog, can you just let 'er rip for the rest of the day? Most of us here are adults and have just skipped over the crap all day. It's been a fairly robust and informative conversation, with some needed humor thrown in. It takes too long to wait for you to approve comments, which is why I'm asking.
    Many of us are consummate journalists who thrive on deadline and we want to read the new stuff right away.

    ReplyDelete
  176. GBDeux7/10/2009 6:42 PM

    I guess you could say that it is now the Battle of the Blogs.

    I would like to reach out to Gannettoid and offer up www.GBDeux.blogspot.com as a place where readers that like the look and feel of the original Gannett Blog can go to converse with others, vent or rant.

    Gannettoid can focus on content, digging for Gannett and industry news, assisting with job searches, etc.

    It's an idea, anyway.

    GBDeux

    ReplyDelete
  177. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:43 PM

    Noticeably missing:

    Someone from WI posted yesterday about some official memo to detail the changes in the Wisconsin group.

    Are these not complete? Or was that poster just blowing smoke?

    Where is this official memo? Or is it being delayed till next week after this blog closes down?

    ReplyDelete
  178. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:51 PM

    Wilmington layoffs

    July 10, 2009

    TO: News Journal Employees
    FROM: Curtis Riddle

    Today, we completed conversations with 43 News Journal employees whose positions have been eliminated. Another three open positions will not be filled, for a total reduction of 46 jobs.

    As we move forward - and we will move forward - there is some hope we are seeing the bottom of a very difficult environment for advertising. However, it is not enough to justify our current expense base. The steps we are taking now in Wilmington, as well as throughout Gannett’s community publishing division, as painful as they are, will put us in the best position to grow when economic conditions improve.

    Actions such as those taken over the last few days are among the most difficult things we have to do. Those who are leaving are all good people and have been good employees. I am grateful for their efforts over the years and thank them for their many contributions. I also realize it is difficult for those who remain to say good-bye to valued colleagues and friends.

    As always, our success depends on your hard work and commitment. I know I can count on you to continue to do your best.

    -Curtis-

    ReplyDelete
  179. Anonymous7/10/2009 6:59 PM

    I read this on gannettoid.com:

    In regards to Newspapers -- "Yes, they're dying, not because of the internet, but because we are killing them. We have convinced ourselves newspapers are dead, we have convinced our customers newspapers are dead and we have convinced Wall Street newspapers are dead."

    I agree with the writer.

    Jim, good luck in tour future adventures! Thanks for "The Blog"!

    ReplyDelete
  180. Anonymous7/10/2009 7:15 PM

    Jim:

    Good luck with your new ventures!

    Thank you for the time and effort you invested in this blog.

    I believe you helped people by giving them a sense of community.

    Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete

New comments are not allowed.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)