Thursday, July 09, 2009

Part 1 | Thursday's Layoff News & Comments

This section is now closed to new comments. Please go to Part 2.
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96 comments:

  1. Gannettoid.com7/09/2009 4:19 AM

    In response to Anonymous at 3:35 a.m., asking: Gannettoid: Those of us who want to help you, how do you suggest we make ourselves known?????????????
    --------------------

    Obviously, I don't do the reporting that Jim does and I don't have his knowledge of the company, but the main purpose of the site is to organize information and keep the communication open.

    I'm hoping people will gain credibility by registering a name and breaking news.

    I hope MyBoss said shares news.

    I will never identify anyone wishing to remain anonymous.

    I know there's plenty of room for improvement on Gannettoid.com and I'm working on
    it, but let me know what you think it needs to improve and I'll work
    on it.

    Again, the site does not take a pro- or anti-Gannett slant, the site is pro-Gannettoid and just a way for colleagues to communicate and be informed.


    For now, send an e-mail with tips to improve or whatever to news@gannettoid.com or post it.


    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7/09/2009 4:21 AM

    Management at Arizona Republic announced Wed. evening that 20 newsroom staffers were cut. A staff meeting will be held for the survivors Thursday afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jim7/09/2009 5:10 AM

    Note: For now, I've eliminated the "other" category, which until yesterday comprised 110 estimated jobs cut at the Detroit Media Partnership. Those jobs are now included in the newspapers total.

    As always, these numbers are subject to change, once I get more memos from publishers and other managers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim7/09/2009 5:26 AM

    FYI: I've added Tucson, with an estimated 60 jobs cut, when the Citizen closed. Technically, those were eliminated earlier, but I wanted to memorialize them somewhere. This seemed like the appropriate place.

    Database editors may be curious about how I track all this. I use Google Document's free spreadsheet program. It gives me always-on Web access to a simple worksheet, where I list worksites by city, number of estimated cuts, plus a field that codes whether the site is a newspaper, TV station or other.

    The pain-in-the-butt part is that I must then update this post by hand.

    I have considered giving readers access to the worksheet, so they could update these figures in real time. But I've never been comfortable with security and privacy issues that might emerge.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jim7/09/2009 5:56 AM

    In the long run, I believe Gannettoid's approach will work best.

    I've kept this blog as a shareholder activist, focused on the little guys and gals -- employees. That meant leveraging my more than 20 years' experience as a journalist to uncover information about Gannett, the Gannett Foundation and the allied Freedom Forum -- important stuff about the whereabouts of literally millions of dollars set aside for charity.

    Much of that spending has never been fully accounted for to this day, and perhaps never will -- unless the mainstream media takes a closer look at those two non-profit foundations. I remain especially concerned about the financial health of Freedom Forum, which has divulged virtually noting in response to legitimate questions I've posed over the past year.

    Gannett Blog's strength, and best utility, were the forums built around daily comment strings going back to early 2008.

    I believe Gannettoid's less-confrontational approach will serve readers in a different and ultimately better way, especially if it brings management into the conversation. In that respect, new Corporate publicist Robin Pence's note to Gannettoid yesterday is a good sign.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jim7/09/2009 6:09 AM

    Some of you ask for these details: Yesterday, Gannett Blog recorded 31,211 visits and 55,897 page views, according to Site Meter. The one-day record, as I recall, was about 50,000 visits and nearly 90,000 page views on Dec. 3, the height of the last big layoff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7/09/2009 6:17 AM

    The Arizona Republic needs to lose at least 200 more worthless people people............ : )

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous7/09/2009 6:26 AM

    After the embarassing performance Dubow, Martore, I'm a DICKey & Company have put in over the last 4 years (NOTE Dubow took over in July-2005 & GANNETT STOCK = $72,00 Per Share NOW $3.17 Per Share), If they get LIFETIME MEDICAL COVERAGE and MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR severance packerage, the existing employees & shareholders should sue for Executive Malpractive and DISGORGE them of their LOOTINGS. I hate the idea of government intervention in the private sector, but these asshole are the poster children for Statist Anti Business Radicals. They give decent honorable business people a bad name.

    If they get to keep the ill-desrved booty, every bitter employee who was screwed by this company should dog them for the rest of their lives; so they won't be able to fully enjoy their wealth.

    Good Luck to

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7/09/2009 6:51 AM

    What distrubs me about some of the Cincy and Ariz. layoffs is that nice people were let go over others. One insider told me that a guy in Cincy and a guy in their Kentukcy satellite were "scorekeeping" as people were laid off, almost enjoying themselves too much and making a game out of it. That insensitivity blows my mind. Character should count for something.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7/09/2009 6:56 AM

    Could anybody out here state which individual and from what department in the CNY paper, Binghamton, Elmira and Ithaca was eliminated? Would love to know as a lot of those remaining in the CNY hub are big time butt kissers!!! Guess it does not pay to kiss butt they are sacrificed for the big great one!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:14 AM

    6:51 is another clueless wonder.

    I have it on good authority that none of that happened. What's more, I'm told that the numbers Jim has posted are wildly inaccurate for at least two sites.

    Don't fall for the lines of B.S. Get your own information.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:16 AM

    6:56 am dont worry they left a big time butt kisser behind in binghamton to run ad production which is technically under advertising now
    they let go the one manager who knew what they were doing and actually knew about DESIGN and DESIGN PROGRAMS...haha what a joke

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:16 AM

    Jim

    Wanted to take the time to thank you, especially for losing sleep this week when you could just put this on autopilot. I wish you well - and more peace - in your next chapter.

    I am heartbroken about the death of newspapers and I am bracing myself for today. I am having December flashbacks and while I know I must let go of all this emotionally and find a new career, I am struggling still with putting a 25-year calling behind me.

    Strength to all of you today and hopes for a brighter and healthier and more hopeful future.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:17 AM

    Y'know, if anyone can think of a better or different way to follow and dig up news than the way Gannettoid is doing it, then they really need to start another site. We need as many of these sites and blogs as we can get. It'll help TPTB as well as the sites themselves to stay honest.

    Also, I like the way Twitter and Facebook are being used to get info out there. But we do need more sites that gather all this info, record, analyze and mobilize.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:18 AM

    6:51: While I don't necessarily care who is nice or not (everyone deals with nervous tension differently, I guess) - it seems to me that the cuts in Cincy were based on the assumption that the paper is going out of business in a few years.

    They kept a few 6-figure people who don't have job duties or interests outside of the printed product as they laid off the folks working on new digital products. They kept editors and reporters who still think the internet is a fad to be ignored as they let go a lot of savvy people who had either had fresh ideas outside the paper - or at least who were willing to give their all when asked to do online/multimedia work.

    It's no more than a good PR move to keep every reporter - regardless of their actual output or abilities. Nobody outside cares if a damn good copy chief loses his job so long as the bylines stay the same. Who cares if this leads to even more errors?

    Not to mention the Enquirer has apparently decided it no longer cares to reach out to the under-30 audience we keep being told is so important. I guess we won't need readers in 10 years if we've closed up shop, right?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:25 AM

    Buchanan's done a great job running her hometown newspaper since her arrival...into the ground.

    Yet, corporate continues to hand out rings and accolades in Cincy like lollypops. History shows she'll do anything to earn more.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:32 AM

    The totals are off for at least four sites.

    Don't worry, Jim. Mistakes happen to the best of us. And the not-so-best of us. And the below-average of us. And the bottom-of-the-barrel us.

    And then, after those groups, there's you, Jim. You're probably somewhere between the coffeehouse know-nothing and the bum on the street. But on a good day, you probably could beat out the bum.

    Jim Hopkins: He's no bum. At least on his good days.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:36 AM

    7:32. You are convincing no one. You're only making yourself look bad.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:44 AM

    Since you apparently know the correct totals, 7:32, why don't you post them here? Jim is at least trying to provide the correct information here, and all you're doing is trying to undermine that process with your pathetic attempts to undermine his credibility.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:44 AM

    In addition to layoffs, anybody else hearing of staffers being cut to half or part-time?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:45 AM

    Question - what kind of package does DuBow get if he can't return to work?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:48 AM

    There was some talk about all that are left taking a 10% or more pay cut - any truth to that?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:49 AM

    6:51. The scoreboard, if you had bothered to look, is for an online blitz. Now get off your high horse, pull your head out of your ass and get back to work.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:56 AM

    No truth to any pay cut rumors. That's broadcast, not USCP.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous7/09/2009 7:59 AM

    Interesting comment 6:51, perhaps if Gannett’s top leaders pulled their heads out of their own asses years ago regarding giving away content (much of which you can find nowhere else) for free the company wouldn’t be doing as bad as it is now.

    Though, pulling their heads out would require kiss-asses to move their heads out of the way first.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:18 AM

    Any word from Cherry Hill?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:22 AM

    As a user, I have to say that Gannettoid is scattered and hard to navigate. I'm not trying to run him or her off, Jim. I'm just being honest here.

    As a water cooler, it's virtually unworkable. There are too many conversations going on at once, making it hard to follow them. I know I'm missing some completely, but it's too time-consuming to go looking. We're already disheartened as it is.

    As anyone who took Mass Comm 101 can tell you, that kind of "noise" is going to kill the message.

    At least in a Blogger format, you can find what you're looking for.
    And it's free. (Invision Power offeres a very good format, but it isn't free.)

    Don't underestimate the importance of Jim's reporting, even if some of it seemed oddly ego-driven. Obviously it make Corporate nervous, which is priceless. Gannettoid is no threat at all, starting with the name.

    And to deflect in advance the comment that Jim makes every time someone comments on Gannettoid's unwieldiness: I'd offer to help beyond what I hope will be taken as helpful criticism, but this in not my field of expertise.

    But surely in this vast communications company, someone has the constellation of skills needed to pick up where Gannett Blog is leaving off.

    Best wishes to all.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:23 AM

    Any word from Asheville or Greenville?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:41 AM

    Are numbers from individual sites complete, or will they grow throughout the day? Do these numbers include consolidation efforts happening just before or just after. Would like to know total jobs lost at given site in last month. One site had people losing jobs at a copy desk recently. Would those be part of the 1400ish announced or in addition to?
    Is Tuscon part of this or not?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:45 AM

    Okay 7:32 and 7:14,

    Both of you went after the numbers and Jim. And in very interesting ways.

    7:14, I have to wonder why you suggest getting the numbers on our own, since anyone who works at a Gannett site knows the company isn't releasing them and neither are very many individual sites? So why, aside from solely trying to cast doubt on numbers, would you make the assertion? And what interest would the average employee, or even a non-employee have in doing that? The only people disputing numbers is corporate.

    As for 7:32, you tried really hard to be clever. Again I ask why would anyone make a whole post that simply attempts to raise doubt about the numbers? What would the motive be? And even if they're 100% wrong, who would care enough to argue about them? Most people on here are worried about their friends and themselves, not math. Why do you care about the numbers?

    And furthermore, in both of your posts you go after Jim individually. This seems to be a logical strawman, when you have nothing to attack the information, you attack the individual.

    I have to be honest, I'm often very leery of what I read on here and generally take attacks against the company with a grain of salt. As a reporter, I question everyone's motives and include Jim in that questioning, which is I think is healthy. I generally consider it from the vantage of, if Jim were blogging about another company and I was covering that company, what would I print.

    But it would never prompt me to out right attack him for something so benign as layoff estimates, that if you've been reading these comments have been supplied by a number of people, often with names to accompany them.

    Who are you two?

    If your corporate hacks, you doing a pretty lousy job of trying to convince a group of people trained to question things that you're right.

    If you're not, get off the board and let the rest of mourn in peace.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:46 AM

    The numbers will grow. Rochester will not finish until today or possibly Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:47 AM

    They are coming to take me away aha. They are coming to take me away aha.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:48 AM

    I bet the final layoff stories will be held by newsroom editors until Saturday so they cannot be posted to this site.

    Like it or not, please post them to Gannettoid. I have many friends I am worried about.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Jim7/09/2009 8:49 AM

    That Nieman post raised a very important question: where are all the newspaper/media watchblogs?

    I am especially concerned about the News Corp. empire. Rupert Murdoch may someday add the remnants of the NYT, GCI and McClatchy to a portfolio that already includes Dow Jones, the WSJ, and MySpace. Is the journalism community going to leave him completely unchallenged?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Jamie B7/09/2009 8:49 AM

    To Jim: Thank you. As your time on this blog comes to a close, I just wanted to say thank you for keeping it up as long as you have. I wish you well in your future endeavors.

    To those laid off this go-round: I wish you well and have every hope that another job will find you soon.

    To those still left to pick up the pieces: May you find a reason to smile, despite the circumstances. Do not let the gloom consume you.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:55 AM

    The dawn is breaking on another work day - let's see what joy awaits us. God I (use to)love my job!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:57 AM

    Editorial chief David Hawpe out in Louisville, along with manager editor Ben Post, two people in marketing and a rumored 10 others in news. More names dropping Thursday.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:57 AM

    damnit this is horrible. they continue to make us suffer what creeps

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous7/09/2009 8:59 AM

    As a daily reader (but non-employee) I, too, want to send a parting thanks to Jim.

    And I'd like to offer this. I'm not sure what kind of numbers (eyeballs) most blogs achieve, but I believe this one has to be busier than 99 percent of the blogs out there. In fact, it has achieved a national reputation.

    Which leads to this: If a very popular site like this one can't even pay its owner $30,000 a year (without health care or retirement benefits), then what does that tell us about the economics of the Web? I don't blame Jim for moving on. Nobody else works for nothing. Why should he?

    Jim, you did good work. But the economics of the Web ... they don't look so good.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Jim7/09/2009 8:59 AM

    Stand tall! Don't let your laid-off colleagues be forgotten. Every one of them counts! Deny Corporate its goal of downplaying the significance of this news. Keep coming back with updated numbers, and post, now! Post now!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:01 AM

    ready to post jim! just waiting here in Cherry hill..the mood is somber

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:07 AM

    Jim,

    A very personal Thanks for the forum you created, the vehicle that allowed us to share information and you own reporting on various aspects of Gannett and associated charities and activities.

    For me it was a real bargain. $20 for a years worth of information. Perhaps if I had not taken a huge pay cut (the average Broadcast Division cut was more like 15-30% when overtime/penalties cuts are factored in) I could have donated more. It would have been money well spent.

    Why, at times, this blog has devolved into a "name calling" pit; I do not know. But like any discord, that is the price we pay for anonymity where anyone can post anything.

    I wish you well in future endeavors and THANKS for this check and balance to the demise of GCI.

    ReplyDelete
  43. My ISP7/09/2009 9:07 AM

    7:14 and 7:32 are the same person.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:16 AM

    They have started in Des Moines....

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:17 AM

    So Northeast Wisconsin learns today?

    Well, it's been a fun ride.

    And thank you, Jim, for the work you've done on this blog. I learned of it by googling Gannett in search of news about the company.

    To put up with all the name calling that took place, it takes a quality person to not just wave the white flag and give up.

    Again, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:22 AM

    Lots and lots of good people are being sacrificed today because of the greed and incompetence of a few.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:23 AM

    started in Asbury

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:24 AM

    Nothing til 4 p.m. at my place. Nice of them to let us sit around all day and agonize. I'm not filing any copy until after 5 p.m. tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:25 AM

    They've started in Cherry Hill.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:27 AM

    With Hawpe and Ben Post leaving the 'Ville, there ought to be enough cash freed up for 15 people to keep working.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:27 AM

    A lot of really good people bit the dust in Cincy yesterday, some who gave up a lot for this paper and had 25 plus years in. Yet, a few high-salaried people, who like nothing more than to go to meetings, were kept. Rationale for that is hard to understand. How the design and news desk will get the newspaper out now is the big, big question.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:28 AM

    any word from bridgewater/somerville courier news or east brunswick home news tribune yet??

    ReplyDelete
  53. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:32 AM

    Thanks to Jim for keeping up this site for as long as you did. I worked for Gannett papers for more than a decade and still have many friends at various papers.

    I worry about them and was surprised yesterday at how often I came here for updates.


    This site has been a refreshing change of pace. My husband now works for a McClatchy paper and the atmosphere at that watchdog site makes this one look like a Sunday School picnic -- lots of right-wing nuts lying in wait to mock journalists losing their jobs and dance on their graves.

    Ignore the heckling, Jim. You will be missed.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:32 AM

    it's happening in Cherry Hill RIGHT NOW

    ReplyDelete
  55. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:34 AM

    I'm a bit confused about the severance situation.

    I know every situation is different and actual details require a conversation with HR or this consulting firm or whatever.

    But of the presumably hundreds already told they have been fired, why has not one person given us even a hint of what the basic deal is -- are they getting a limit of 26 weeks of pay? More? Less? Only two weeks total???

    I don't expect COBRA details yet, but what are people being told, basically? weird that not one person has offered a clue yet.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:35 AM

    Cincy will likely work on a regional model, which is why they got rid of a lot of the lower level folks as opposed to the higher-ups. Some of the functions traditionally done in-house will be done at another paper or site.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:37 AM

    1000 people today..........good luck and God Speed! I just got the word a bit ago I am safe along with my staff......good day for me not so for others.....this whole thing sucks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  58. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:39 AM

    Here's hoping that the "friends" of the just deleted AD at Cherry Hill all get theirs today!

    ReplyDelete
  59. ash7/09/2009 9:41 AM

    Jim,
    Thank you for your work on this blog. You'll be missed.

    I'm trying to keep tabs on my former colleagues at the Asheville Citizen-Times, and I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything.

    Best of luck to you.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:44 AM

    friends of the AD??? how can a woman like that have friends?

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:45 AM

    Walt's not that smart - he promoted her and kept her on this long.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:47 AM

    Note to Robin: Someone mentioned the changes look like a company planning on going out of business in the next couple years, perhaps you can explain how that's not true.

    Gannett announced yesterday that "Digital" is growing, please explain how they'd grow or even survive without the millions and millions of dollars in print ads, (In Arizona, whether planned or filling space from a cancelled ad, there's probably $40K per week in ad space for azcentral, moms.com and such. That's over $2. million per year!).

    And lastly Robin, could you confirm there will be no more layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs for the rest of the year?

    ReplyDelete
  63. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:49 AM

    Any word on EJ Mitchell?

    ReplyDelete
  64. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:49 AM

    Does anyone know who is getting or has been layed off at the Indy Star?

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:50 AM

    Has the TIDE taken out the corporate Ad Staff?

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:51 AM

    suggestions for gannettoid: keep it simple. Keep in mind what people are looking for when they come to your site and have threads that are titled appropriately and one can find easily. For example, I come here and to gannettoid to find out about what is going on in Detroit (where I was booted 5/29). It is like looking for a needle in a haystack over at gannettoid while here I can look for the most recent "layoffs" postings and then ctrl F "Detroit"-although I find myself reading most of the other posts about my wonderful former employer. Anyway, keep it simple - there is too much going on. That state by state index is useless. Can't figure out what dates the layoffs are from, etc. Have someone sit down and pretend they are looking for "X" (e.g., the number of layoffs on 6/9 in Cinci)and lay it out that way. Honestly, create a thread asking for some advice-that gem might be in someone's feedback...
    Hope that helps.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:53 AM

    At least seven laid off in the Salisbury newsroom.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:55 AM

    Re: Salisbury

    What positions?

    ReplyDelete
  69. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:56 AM

    A word about Gannettoid.

    Give it a chance and you'll see it is very easy to navigate and you'll quickly see which threads have new comments and which are just sitting there.

    Unlike Gannett Blog, which is one long scroll except for subtopics Jim breaks out, Gannettoid is in message board format.

    So St. Cloud has its own folder, Cincy has its own folder, etc., and there are overall discussion folders.

    After two or three visits, you'll "get" it and it will be fine.

    What it won't have is Jim's "voice" or reporting, but it is a viable alternative and do check it out when this place goes dark.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:57 AM

    Any word on Port Huron?

    ReplyDelete
  71. Anonymous7/09/2009 9:59 AM

    9:47, "Gannett announced yesterday that "Digital" is growing, please explain how they'd grow or even survive without the millions and millions of dollars in print ads..."

    Hi, Digital employee here. Don't think for a second we're not worried about our jobs too! This company seems to value print over online time and time again.

    Please understand that house ads only run when space is available. These ads take up space that is left unsold by print... we don't turn down a paid Ford ad to run a MomsLikeMe.com ad. Print is important, but do you really believe readers can't find a media company's website without the help of a print ad?

    ReplyDelete
  72. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:00 AM

    Here's another good place to follow the Indy Star layoffs: http://www.ruthholladay.com/

    ReplyDelete
  73. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:02 AM

    Come on, Rupert Murdoch is actually good for journalism.

    Ever read the NY Post? Yes it is written at a fifth grade level, but the ruthless ball-busting reporters he has there all get the job done.

    Or I suppose the ass-kissing Obama lovers at the NYT are better?

    Did you read the story in the NY Post a few LIRR mechanic that made $278k last year because of BS union agreements? Talk about scewing the pooch, the NYT wouldn't touch that to discredit the Democratic union constituency.

    SHINE THE LIGHT WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE SHOWN, NOT WHERE YOU THINK IT NEEDS TO BE SHOWN! This was the rule of journalism for so long and has been forgotten with all the budget cuts and ass-kissing. But Murdoch still does it.

    Maybe Obama should nationalize the Dow Jones? He could name it after Michael Jackson, and fire all the people there too. Maybe if all of his cabinet paid their damn taxes that would help the economy. Kind of ironic how Democrats raise all the damn taxes to pay for their social programs promised to their under privileged constituenty (voters) but then are too elitist or stupid to pay themselves (Geithner, Daschle-not confirmed,etc)

    Obama moved to fast to get these people confirmed before the TRUTH could be exposed. And with the lax journalistic environment, due to the ass kissing of Obama of the big "National Record" papers the NYT, Washington Post, this type of crap flies. Murdoch and his reporters will do this. It is good for journalism, and it what it will be.

    Obama is trying to push through the Health Care issue before people can acutally evaluate it, because his media ass kissers can't tell anything wrong about him. Tell the truth, dig. He did the same thing with the cap and trade crap. Transparent Administration my ass!

    But I guess it is what hat you wear first, you profession or your party affiliation.

    And if your a journalist first, then I doubt you can refute this post!

    ReplyDelete
  74. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:03 AM

    I never knew about "control f"!!!

    I'm not a reporter or very computer savvy, so thanks, 9:51 am---- and thanks Jim for this Blog to allow me to learn something new about computer usage in general!

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:04 AM

    Rupert's never missed a payroll.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:05 AM

    This isn't directly related to the current layoffs but is nonetheless a game played by those in hiring positions at Gannett and elsewhere. I am sure those who were laid off in December can relate.

    Have you ever been told by a manager in a hiring position that "sorry, we aren't hiring" when you've approached them in some way about any potential job openings? What they are really saying is that they don't want to make the effort to hire you, despite your qualifications and maybe even professional interactions with these managers in the past. A lot of the times it's a matter of your being too old in their eyes. It's an easy out for them to say they aren't hiring. A way to get rid of you in this very disposal world we live in. I often wonder what blacks or Hispanics felt in decades past when they were turned down for a rental property because of race, but were told it was because of insufficient income or that someone else beat them to it (when it fact, that wasn't true), etc. Discrimination is discrimination, and Baby Boomers are being screwed in ways in the workplace that is going to cause major problems in society over the next decade.

    There are still people being hired at Gannett, even as layoffs continue. But for one reason or another, exceptions are made in their cases. Hiring is happening at all levels, from the highest corporate positions to programmers in the trenches. We read about some of those hires on this blog. It makes the layoffs even harder to swallow.

    Once you're out of work, you kind of can step back and see the constant flow of bullshit coming from those in power. The liars actually believe their own lies. Many still believe they are decent, compassionate human beings, when in fact they sold their souls a long time ago.

    This can only last for so long, however. Those in power are going to fall by either government or legal intervention, or just by the cosmos striking these people down in ways they might not even connect to their professional misdeeds.

    Good luck to those who are laid off. Thanks for all your work here, Jim. I hope the same forces of the universe that will punish abusers will reward those of us who tried to do right but are now suffering in a variety of ways.

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  77. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:07 AM

    Any word from Springfield. Employees there are so intimidated they barely look up during the day. It's creepy. Hoping for the best for them.

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  78. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:08 AM

    hey 10:03-glad you can use the ctrl F - helps you get past things like right wing rants.

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  79. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:09 AM

    Knowing Hawpe and Post at Louisville and their lifelong devotion to the paper, they probably left on their own to save some other jobs.

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  80. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:09 AM

    Are you people serious? What is so difficult about Gannettoid.com?? It's in a forum format and not blog format. Is that so difficult to understand? Oops... I guess it is. No wonder Gannett is crashing to the ground... it's employees don't know how to use a frickin' forum. Unbelievable.

    This blog is going away and someone has stepped up to give us a voice... but NOOO... waaaaaa... it's too hard to use... waaaa... grow fucking up people.

    BTW - Thanks Jim for your time and this blog and you do deserve a break.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:10 AM

    I am one of those who get to tell people they are gone. I didn't get to say who - I was told. These people are my friends and valued co-workers. If I had any options, I'd quit - but I wouldn't even get unemployment then.

    I am furious that it has come to this, and I blame top management for a lot of it. The economy has a part, but the string of stupid decisions that have come from corporate are unforgiveable. They have forgotten, or never cared, that we have an obligation and a reponsibility that go beyond just making a dollar. And they never wanted to hear anyone question the decisions. If you dared, you were told that perhaps you worked for the wrong company - which turns out to be true.

    Some of the other media companies that went down at least went down trying to maintain standards. Gannett is going down as if planned. Who will profit from that? I think it is a question that should be thoroughly investigated.

    Those of you are gone or leaving today, I am so sorry. But it is likely to be worse for those left behind.

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  82. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:12 AM

    In Des Moines, early this morning, one computer guy and one maintenance guy so far. News room beginning soon.

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  83. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:13 AM

    7/9/09: Be Kind to a Gannett Employee Day

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:15 AM

    Perhaps we should HUG the person who fires us.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:16 AM

    The New York Post might be written for fifth-graders, but USA Today is produced for the totally illiterate morons who watch eight hours of TV each night and actually think Michael Jackson cured cancer and rid the world of starvation. USA Today appeals to the most shallow readers with the attention span of a water bug. It's story selection is a joke. It's graphics are without question getting more retarded by the year. It's a paper that edged its way towards credibility at one point, but has made a swift u-turn back to being just another colorful but uninspired rag. I bet they like to pat themselves on the back every time they do something well because it has become such a rarity. If this was some freebie thrown in your driveway once a week, it would suffice. But as a national daily, it leaves a lot to be desired. At least with the New York Post you know what you are getting. But with USA Today, and all its arrogance, you would think this was high journalism. Maybe in this increasingly idiotic society, the colorful rag is the new standard.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:18 AM

    Severance this time sucks it is managed by a third party company and it is still 1 week for every year minus unemployment dividend. no medical just COBRA. This company is a big turd.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:18 AM

    Layoffs will be announced in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday. We also expect to hear that Jackson's copy desk will start producing Hattiesburg's pages. Not sure what that will mean job-wise in Jackson or Hattiesburg.

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  88. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:19 AM

    Thanks Gannett for reminding me that where I've worked for the past 25 years.. has changed terribly in the last . 5 years. I'm so glad to go.. disfunctional

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:20 AM

    How many of the Ohio papers use the same editorial system? Design/copy desk centralization?

    ReplyDelete
  90. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:21 AM

    What is the unemployment dividend?

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:23 AM

    Jim,

    Could you please open a thread for just layoff news? We're hanging by a thread and having to wade through all the editorializing, etc. adds to the agony.

    Please?

    ReplyDelete
  92. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:25 AM

    Gannett is really starting to look like the USSR in 1989. It's blocks are crumbling from within at Dickey's divison. However the USAT represents the Berlin Wall and as long as it stand they (Gracia, Dubow, insert other morons names here) think it will remain legitimate. That is why they don't touch the USAT. But it's day will come, and Pink Floyd will have a concert on the ruins of the crystal towers when it does crumble.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:27 AM

    Layoffs in Wilmington, Del?

    ReplyDelete
  94. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:28 AM

    To those of you who say "those who are left behind will be worse off" or anything similar:

    Please quit now.

    You couldn't say anything more insulting to those who were just laid off. There are people being shown the door who want to stay and whose lives are thrown upside today because they cannot stay.

    They will now face emotional, financial and practical challenges that you will never understand.

    They would gladly trade places with you.

    At least you still earn a paycheck. You still produce work that you can show off to a potential employer. You still have a choice whether or not to work for that employer.

    Your laid off colleague has none of that.

    So, please, if you think you would be better off not working at your site or for this company, leave now.

    Save room for the people who actually want to work here.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:32 AM

    As someone who was laid off last December, I can only feel for those who are let go today by a company that mismanaged itself in such an irresponsible, almost criminal way.

    I recall the shock of being laid off. The suddenness of it. I also remember for the first couple of months afterward thinking that I had a chance to recover. I polished up my resume, networked with everyone I know, applied to every job I saw whether it was a good fit or not. Got a spiffy outfit to interview in. But the interviews never came.

    Reality began to seep in. No one was responding to my applications. Friends began disappearing. I discovered the harsh reality that they weren't ever true friends but merely work acquaintances. Those former colleagues who I reached out to for support or even a job (if they were in hiring positions), offered little of either.

    More months passed. The reality of collecting unemployment for the first time in my life began wearing on me. I kept applying to jobs, even ones that were close to minimum wage. Kept networking online and in person. But nothing was happening. I know in some cases my age (52) was working against me.

    Now I am close to the end of my unemployment payments. No more hanging on by a thread. Life will have to change. The house, and maybe one of our two cars, will have to be sold by the fall. We are going to have to move away from the few friends we have in order to live in a cheaper area.

    Still, I keep applying and trying and praying. But I am running on fumes and not getting any younger. Before you know it, the one-year anniversary of Gannett (more appropriately, my boss) betraying me will be here. There really was no logic to my layoff. And without going into details of why I believe that is factually accurate, I can only say that the combination of that injustice and the new job market realities have me at the end of my rope.

    Best of luck to those who lose their jobs. I suspect younger people will have time to recover, but it's not going to be easy for anyone.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Anonymous7/09/2009 10:34 AM

    Jesus, thanks for the uplifting words.

    ReplyDelete

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