Thursday, July 02, 2009

Thursday | Your Layoff News & Comments

Real Time Comments is parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

14 comments:

  1. Does anyone have any news on Montgomery?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What about Louisville?

    ReplyDelete
  3. News on Wilmington?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another day in Reno with the executive editor on vacation and not a peep from the publisher ... other than to send out Dickey's memo.

    Now, that's leadership. Can't tell you how inspired I am.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Notice that all this news has done wonders for the stock price. At this rate we'll easily close next week in the $2 range.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Does anyone have any info on The News-Press?

    ReplyDelete
  7. If you're a straight white male over 40---LOOK OUT!!!!!! IT'S COMIN," BIG TIME!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jim --

    I don't agree with everything you've ever done or ever said, but it's at times like this that you really shine.

    Well done, sir, and good luck wherever your future takes you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's interesting that almost every property announcing cuts follows the announcement by stating that it is still profitable.

    Just how badly managed is this company? Is it possible that each property is still making money, yet these dimwits went so far in debt that they can't claw their way out? And this after decades of a profit margin exceeding 20%.

    Did nobody think of putting a little contingency money away? Was every penny pissed away in dividends and executive bonuses?

    The more we deal with this crap, the more it becomes apparent that any sap off the street could run a major U.S. corporation. The only apparent qualifications are greed and shortsightedness.

    Bet Dumbow is glad his surgeon takes his job more seriously than he ever did Gannett. No wonder the stock price has dipped since it was announced that he's on the road to recovery. If he does come back one can only imagine what he'll do for an encore.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 10:13: same at APP. The publisher's secretary forwarded Dickey's memo and there hasn't been a word from him or the top editors.
    The quality of leadership is absolutely astounding.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The $1.8 billion in stock buybacks by Martore & Co. after McCorkindale's $2-billion-plus all-cash deal for The Arizona Republic, The Indianapolis Star and other papers at top-of-market prices, were the death blows. Maintaining an irresponsibly high dividend for so long (Martore) was simply nails in the coffin. Now, the creditors want the remains.

    But what do I know? I was the nobody USA Today reporter when they bought me out in December 2007.

    ReplyDelete
  12. But what do I know? I was the nobody USA Today reporter when they bought me out in December 2007.

    7/03/2009 7:18 AM
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Didn't you volunteer? Doesn't that equate to you "sold out?" I think so. Nice try at twisting the truth.

    And you had so much cash from the deal you were able to cruise along on an island for a year, then live in one of the most expensive places to live in the US, only to return to the island - all while only gathering $12,000 from the results of your new business. That's not investing in a business, that's living off a sugar daddy. No accountability.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I really hope your not one of my former USAT colleagues. I've treated the paper with kid gloves more than I should, given the paper's profile. To wit: I saved a couple e-mails from my final year there that would show a couple senior editors as the incompetent paper-pushers that they are. What I don't have in e-mail, I could recall in frightening detail.

    Keep it up. Hunke's looking for folks to shit-can. You don't want him to have more evidence than he's already gathered. I scrimped for 20-plus years to finance a second career, if need be. Folks like you maxed out credit cards on plasma TVs, so you could watch Dancing With the Stars. Who's the greater fool now?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rainbow the Editorial Boy7/03/2009 5:26 PM

    Jim,

    My computer will not activate on Outlook Express, so please excuse the "open" response to yesterday's message.

    I thank you for the kind words and very sadly look forward to your closing remarks on this blog.

    To answer your wonderful encouragement that my own Sparky would come along-- I love you, man! My Sparky did come along and is now with your Danny. Fortunately I am surviving on the meds that came along right after my Sparky passed away.

    I will never forget you, Jim! You have made me feel more loved and cared for than any corporate mongrul at Gannett.

    Peace/Love, Bro!

    ReplyDelete

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.