"I know many of you may be wondering if more job eliminations will come in the future,'' newly appointed Publisher Arnold Garson said in a memo to employees. "The only thing I can tell you is that it depends on revenue, and we are working as hard as possible to turn around our revenue declines."Garson says layoff notices will be completed by Aug. 27, and severance packages will be offered to those who lose jobs. Severance and continued medical benefits will be based on length of service.
Urgent to all readers: Please post layoff notes and memos -- with your location -- in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
Anyone think this has anything to do with Craig's 8-27 meeting?
ReplyDeleteOn sportsjournalists.com today there was a thread with a very interesting, and frightening, rumor.
ReplyDeleteThe gist of the rumor is this: The company is going to shut down local newspapers, and replacing them with USA Today, but there would be a "local wrap" around each of the four sections. One page of local news, one page of sports, one page of entertainment and another local page.
The poster specifically mentioned Louisville and Honolulu as two of the possibilities.
Despite Gannett's influence on this paper, the Courier-Journal is still so deeply entrenched in the community that to do that in Louisville, would be...shocking to say the least. There's still a market here for a newspaper, though I believe that long-term almost all existing print media will either fold or migrate online, including the C-J. In other words, I would expect the C-J to move completely online before being folded into USA Today. But I don't run the company.
http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/index.php/topic,59854.0.html
The other item is from a local blogger who wrote about a member of the Bingham family returning to Louisville recently.
"Molly Bingham and Steve Connors screened their movie Meeting Resistance last evening for Louisville’s Metro Democratic Club.
During the Q&A, Bingham was questioned by Brian Smith about whether or not she would consider moving back to Louisville in order to buy back the Courier-Journal, which her family owned for millions of years.
The crowd roared with applause and yells. (Keep in mind that we’re Democrats– we don’t get excited)
Her response was: “Print media is dead.”"
http://thevillevoice.com/2008/08/14/quote-of-the-day-from-molly-bingham/
I'm wondering why they are marching straight into layoffs at the C-J without giving buyouts a shot.
ReplyDeleteActually, I guess I know the reason: Buyouts cost more and give management less control over who gets the ax.
Still, I wish we could get the same two-weeks-per-year offer that other papers put on the table. I suspect we'll get something far less generous.
I feel like the turkey a week before Thanksgiving.
The Courier-Journal is still quite profitable and has deep reader loyalty. The sort of USA Today w/local wrap being described would be a disaster in Louisville -- described in one reader survey in the mid-90s as the most conservative community the survey company had ever dealt with. (This doesn't mean politically conservative -- it means averse to change). Such a wrap wouldn't last a year.
ReplyDeleteThe online journalism model still does not work financially -- the ad dollars won't support any significant level of reporting. That will change someday but that day isn't anywhere near. Print is the bridge to online-only, but the day of online only is far off.
Or we could have a wage freeze, like McClatchy announced today:
ReplyDeleteTopic: Memos Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 8/14/2008 1:25:16 PM
Title: McClatchy institutes company-wide wage freeze
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
Memo to employees at McClatchy's Rock Hill, SC Herald
From: "Abels, Debbie - Rock Hill"
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:00:07 -0400
To: RH All York County
Conversation: Wage Freeze
Subject: Wage Freeze
Dear Herald Employees,
The Herald and McClatchy continue to manage through an economic downturn that is having an unprecedented negative effect on revenues, and, therefore, our financial health. While we have taken many steps to reorganize and streamline operations to respond to changing business models and these economic challenges, we need to do more to control expenses.
As an important part of that effort, we are implementing an across-the-board, one-year wage freeze effective September 1, 2008. This means that if you are scheduled to receive a merit or salary review between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009, your review will occur one year later than scheduled. For example, if your next salary review date is March 1, 2009, the salary review will be postponed until March 1, 2010. You will, however, receive regularly scheduled performance reviews during this period.
This freeze is being instituted across all of McClatchy, including at corporate and McClatchy Interactive. Employees for whom salary reviews are pending or whose scheduled salary review dates fall before the September 1, 2008 effective date remain eligible for their reviews. The freeze doesn't affect salary increases related to promotions or minimum wage adjustments.
We have avoided taking this step as long as possible. We know this freeze comes at a time when the economy is putting stress on your personal expenses and when you are working hard to adapt to our changing business model. I greatly appreciate all that you do for The Herald, and I hope I can continue to count on you as we manage through this very difficult period.
Please feel free to contact your division director or me if you have questions.
Debbie
Debbie Abels
President & Publisher
The Herald
132 W. Main Street
Rock Hill, SC 29730
Louisville is not the only paper suffering massive cutbacks. The Tennessean laid off 15 people in the finance department last week. They are transferring the credit function to another newspaper, as well as closing down the cash cage/lockbox operation which served other Southeast newspapers for years. The A/P staff are gone too. I remember when I first started working for the company that the goal was to eventually consolidate accounts payable for the entire company - I think they are closer than ever to that goal.
ReplyDeleteThe Courier-Post in Cherry Hill will be laying off 35 people next week, according to a memo circulated among staff today. It will come from all over the company, not just the newsroom. Severance and benefits will be offered.
ReplyDeleteAsbury Park is laying off 50 people by next Wednesday. 1 week of pay per year of service and health benefits is the package.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Bennie from 2002-2006 just decided to reduce Louaville staff by forced attrition. He let his cadre of hacks scream and belittle and make life so miserable that writers would just quit. Only placed I ever worked where I saw people in tears at the desks after getting reamed in a screaming session. That's the Gannett way.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Lansing State Journal publisher:
ReplyDeleteFrom: Priester, Brian
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 3:28 PM
To: Lansing-All
Subject: Important News
Importance: High
Dear Fellow Employees:
I hate for one of my first communications to all employees to contain tough news, but I firmly believe that open and honest dialogue is essential during difficult times. As an organization we encourage transparency from other institutions and we should hold ourselves to that same standard.
As most of you know the current state of the economy is putting tremendous pressure on our business. As a result of declining revenues, all Gannett newspapers are being asked to make staff reductions based on local performance and previous reductions. Company-wide this effort will translate into approximately 1,000 fewer positions or 3% of the workforce. Because some of the reductions will be achieved through not filling open positions, retirements and normal attrition, it is estimated that around 600 layoffs will be necessary.
For us it means reducing the LSJ workforce by thirteen positions. I have met with each department head to discuss positions that can be eliminated or left unfilled. There were no easy decisions, but we have done our best to protect our content gathering areas and sales capacity. We have also tried wherever possible to eliminate positions that are currently open. Using this strategy we have reduced the number of layoffs necessary to eight. We are in the final stages of completing our plan. All layoff notifications will be completed by August 27. Employees who are affected will be individually notified. We will provide severance and continuation of medical benefits based on length of service.
Gannett management reviewed and authorized these cuts to ensure they are consistent with the company's strategic direction. Also, these reductions are not related to any other changes or consolidations in the company.
I’m sure you are wondering if more reductions are coming. Of course I would prefer no more reductions, but we must keep expenses in line with revenue. If advertising and circulation revenues continue to decline, further payroll reductions may be necessary. So, it behooves us all to do everything we can to support revenue growth. There is no doubt these are difficult times, but I firmly believe that the changes we are making as an organization position us well for the future.
Again, this is a very difficult letter to write, the affected employees have each contributed to the LSJ’s success and I wish each one of them both professional success and personal happiness. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Brian Priester
President and Publisher
Montgomery is cutting 19 ... including 10 honest-to-god layoffs:
ReplyDelete"In total, we will eliminate 19 positions from our organizational structure. Six positions have already been eliminated with the discontinuation of the Army Flier; three currently vacant positions due to resignations will remain open; and 10 existing employees will be laid off. Announcements here in Montgomery will be made on Wednesday, August 20. Affected employees will receive severance benefits that include compensation and the continuance of medical benefits through the severance period. Those leaving the Advertiser have made a significant contribution to our success and we will graciously thank them for their years of service."
Anybody at any Gannett newspaper spared this time?
ReplyDeleteHere's the word that came down at Sprinfield, Mo.:
ReplyDelete8/14/2008
To all employees,
As you read, like I do, about the weakening economy in Springfield, many of you are questioning what impact will this have on the News-Leader. We have talked at our quarterly town hall meetings about the fairly significant decline we have seen in 2008 across several of our advertising segments. Some of our customers are seeing declines in revenue and reducing their advertising budgets to match their revenues.
What we are seeing locally began happening as much as 18 months ago in many markets and it has become clear that the upturn we are looking for may be awhile in coming.
Our newspaper division management has given all units goals for payroll reduction to adjust expenses due to declining revenue. The goals were arrived at by reviewing the unit’s financial performance and previous levels of reduction.
Our News-Leader managers have worked through evaluating all positions to develop a plan to eliminate positions that will position us to achieve our payroll reduction goal while still protecting our ability to produce quality products and properly service our customers. I know you can all appreciate how difficult that is recognizing that all jobs in some way contribute to our success. We have submitted that plan to our division management and after reviews are completed, we will have about five positions that are filled, which we will eliminate over the next two weeks. We will have eleven other positions that are open that will be eliminated. We have been holding many of those positions open to offset declining revenues for much of the year. This plan may also require some change in duties for some employees who are not displaced. Across the division the reduction will be about 1000 positions requiring a layoff of about 600 employees.
We will continue to aggressively fill positions that come open in the future that are directly related to content creation and sales.
Severance benefits will be provided to the employees who are laid off and the benefits will include one week of pay for each year of service with a maximum of 52 weeks and a minimum of two weeks. Medical benefits will continue for the length of the severance period. Based on employee preference employees may begin receiving their pension or 401(k) benefits. The displaced employees may also receive other government benefits after severance expires.
These reductions are not part of any other consolidation plans being evaluated or launching across Gannett. You may have already been hearing from your manager about the changes announced that will affect accounting departments across the company. Taking advantage of the news technologies, many accounting functions are being centralized. As you read in our newspaper, we will gain 53 jobs in our building for the Credit Center that will be responsible for all advertising credit and collection functions across most units.
The employees who will be laid off have contributed to our efforts and successes, some for many years. We appreciate all they have done and don’t take any action like this lightly.
We have no immediate plans for any further reduction after this is complete but future changes in expense will be contingent on changes in revenue. Our sales teams are working very aggressively to grow sales for our customers and our company. All efforts by you to support them are greatly appreciated. We will achieve our greatest success when we work as a team across all departments.
Tom Bookstaver
Publisher
Once again will any managers get the boot. I surely hope so i could name a few in Louisville that need to go.
ReplyDeleteToday, I have some tough information to share with you. As many of you know, the U.S. Community Publishing division of the Gannett Company has been facing some significant revenue declines in this tough economy, and Fort Collins is no exception. In nearly every advertising segment, our customers are also bearing the burden of a down economy, reducing expenses wherever possible, including advertising dollars. As a result of our softening revenue performance, the U.S. Community Publishing Division is eliminating 1,000 jobs across all properties.
ReplyDeleteIn Fort Collins, we will be faced with four layoffs along with not filling some currently open positions. Coloradoan employees who are directly impacted will be notified by their supervisor by August 27.
I know that there will be additional questions to come as a result of this announcement, and I plan to meet with each department individually beginning after the layoffs. At the moment, my primary concern is those directly impacted. We are working to ensure that these individuals will be treated with dignity, and the respect that they deserve.
Kim Roegner
President/Publisher
Fort Collins Coloradoan
1300 Riverside Ave. • Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Fort Collins (970) 224-7885 • Fax: (970) 224-7798 • Denver (303) 623-9209
www.coloradoan.com
In Montgomery there is a manager for every 3 employees and most of these guys don't work 20 hours in a week. Why not trim some of this fat. Oh right, that would be good business therefore it will never happen.
ReplyDeleteTo: All Employees
ReplyDeleteFrom: Walt Lafferty
Re: Staff reductions
Date: August 14, 2008
As you know, and as I've discussed with many of you, the Courier Post (sic) and the newspaper industry continue to deal with a very difficult economy. This business climate has impacted many key advertisers and advertising segments from retail to real estate to automotive, with no apparent relief in sight. We must face this economic reality head on and keep expenses in line with current revenues and continue to manage through the down cycle to position ourselves for a strong rebound when a more favorable business climate returns.
Over the past year we have trimmed expenses by keeping positions vacant, reducing shifts through efficiencies and eliminating products or sections that no longer made business sense. Unfortunately, we are going to have to make some additional reductions in staffing. The newspaper division of Gannett has given each location, including the Courier Post (sic), a dollar target based on the paper's financial performance, market pressures and previous staff reductions.
To reach our reduction target, we will be eliminating approximately thirty-five positions company-wide, some full-time, some part-time. The individuals will be notified early next week once plans are finalized and approved by division management. All will receive severance based on length of service and extension of benefits for the severance period. The decision on which positions to eliminate is a difficult one and will be based on protecting the core of what we do in gathering news and selling advertising. These are good people and fine employees who have served the company well and have been and integral part of our success in South Jersey.
Across the newspaper division, approximately 1,000 jobs are being eliminated. After allowing for the spots currently vacant, it will mean about 600 layoffs companywide in Gannett's U.S. Community Publishing Division.
I want to thank all of you for your continuing efforts. I will do my best to keep you informed about developments. As soon as the layoff plans are finalized next week, I will meet with each department to discuss the situation and answer questions.
("Courier-Post" is hyphenated. Shows how much he really knows and cares about our paper.)
My paper is laying off two people and leaving some spots unfilled. Our note said the two will know by this time next week. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteNo word on which department(s)... Though, someone joked with the publisher when he stopped in the newsroom about how important her position is. He made a comment to re-read the memo carefully as there are clues. I went over it again after overhearing this comment, and our memo is pretty similar to those posted here. The only real clue I can find that would apply to us is related to this line, which is from corporate's memo, "Protecting our content creation and sales capacity." Makes me think you won't see as many cuts to reporters and advertising sales reps as some are speculating. The "company’s strategic direction," per the series of meetings on the revamped information center points the way toward increasing relevance to target audiences through our products and a renewed commitment to public service journalism. Can't cut too many limbs and still do that well.
That said, they'll do what they want, which isn't always what's in their best interest. That's the sad part.
(Side note: guess I should be happy to be in a place where publisher actually visits the newsroom regularly and joking with him isn't out of line, even if personally, I think it's kind of tactless to joke about layoffs.)
Reno is cutting seven. No word on departments.
ReplyDelete"The gist of the rumor is this: The company is going to shut down local newspapers, and replacing them with USA Today, but there would be a "local wrap" around each of the four sections. One page of local news, one page of sports, one page of entertainment and another local page."
ReplyDeleteThat's been discussed since the launch of USAT (or so I heard from one of the original newsroom staffers there). Hasn't happened yet ... I doubt it will.
Another rumor is that the Courier-Journal will not print a Saturday edition and print only four pages of news on Sunday.
ReplyDelete8-14: 12:51PM Regarding your post about Molly Bingham commenting "print media is dead." Considering there were likely print media related folks in the audience. I think that was a RUDE comment by Molly Bingham and given the fact her family sold the Louisville paper. A rather smug coment. I guarantee you if her family hierarchy decided today to consider re-puchasing the Newspaper. Molly's TUNE would change in a heartbeat about the print media being dead. She is self congratulating her family for selling the paper is what she is doing. So I say to Molly Bingham F-U Molly!
ReplyDeleteApparently no layoffs in Montana or South Dakota, judging by a lack of response...it's already tight in Great Falls
ReplyDelete