Saturday, August 26, 2006
Tuesday | Aug. 26 | Got news, or a question?
Can't find an appropriate place for your comment? Write it, in this open post. Real Time Comments: here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
53 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I wish someone like Bill Maher would take up this issue and begin hammering home to the public that if newspapers die, corporations will rule the country more than they already do.
ReplyDeleteAll: To keep things fresh, I've just started this new open-comments string. You can always return to earlier editions by clicking on the Real Time Comments label in the blue sidebar, to the right.
ReplyDeleteHey 12:41am
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA! There are plenty of ways to get the message out to Bill Maher as well as other news icons: think Bill O'Reilly of Fox News. Log on to their websites and state your case. Include plenty of detail. Bill O'Reilly of the O'Reilly factor has had issues with the NY Times staff for years. Maybe he would have a Gannett board member on for an interview to answer some of our many questions. "The Spin Stops Here."
Bill O'Reilly. LOL! If only he were a legitimate journalist. Still, he does spoon feed the neo-con machine quite well.
ReplyDeleteOK, WHOMEVER! Maybe just get it out there, Bill Maher or anyone else of your choosing...do it...don't just talk about it!!!
ReplyDeleteI shudder at the O'Reilly factor but don't disregard the audience. I agree, this needs to be shouted from the rooftops - from "Now'' on PBS all the way to the Drudge Report and everything in between.
ReplyDeleteBill O'Reilly?
ReplyDeleteWhy would you consider him a reliable person to share your tale of woe with? Is that the best you can do?
Why do you need a two-bit TV personality to carry your water?
Talk about ridiculous, O'Reilly is about the most inaccurate, bombastic TV talking head this side of Rush Limbaugh.
If you want to be ridiculed, go right ahead. But I don't think so.
8:33, does it matter who you share your tale of woe with? If the word gets out there through TV talk, maybe then Corporate will start responding to the masses. If Corporate was smart, they'd start answering some questions now instead of waiting for this to become so public it's an embarrassment. People don't look kindly on companies who treat their employees like crap.
ReplyDeleteIt matters who you confide in because with some of these high profile FOX-bozos, it is all about them and THEIR agenda. They will very likely twist and bend whatever you tell them to suit their script. They'll use it to bash the evil liberal media without a care about you, your job situation, your colleagues or your place of employment.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you buy into the whole evil empire mindset, have at it.
Oh i love open posts! i wish more bloggers would do that.
ReplyDeleteI saw this and thought it was interesting:
http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/tag/cincinnati-enquirer/
In about 45 minutes, it will be one week since I was laid off...and I am still upset. I wish they had laid off someone who was already thinking about a change, like the asshole who said "I wish it had been me." Then raise your hand and volunteer and save my position!! Call me naive, but I still love newspapers and was willing to do whatever to change with the industry--I knew video production and did blogging on top of my writing and reporting.
ReplyDeleteI know this will be an opportunity, but I had my dream job...now I am looking for my new dream.
Anyone looking for a talented journalist with multimedia skills and great rapport with sources and fellow employees?
Hey 9:04 we must have been on the same execution schedule. I know how you feel with the 'wish it had been me' crap. There are opportunities out there for us all. Don't give up hope and don't let the callous behavior of Gannett damage your self-esteem or your dreams. I wish you well my fellow laid-off 'good person'.
ReplyDeleteBill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh would laugh at the amateur journalists that write for Gannett newspapers and USAToday. Remember, you are all local pennysaver reporters that are being replaced by 12 year old bloggers, including Jim.
ReplyDeleteGood luck sorry losers because your jobs are being outsourced to high schoolers.
And do you think that just because these important people advocate reading the newspaper that people are going to rush out and subscribe or buy a paper at the newstand. Come on and get real. I was in circulation and heard more reasons of why someone didn't want the newspaper that I could write a book. The large metro papers will probably be the only survivors years from now.
ReplyDelete9:04. I admire you for admitting you liked your job and did not want to be laid off. If I were a decision maker, I would want people at Gannett who love what they do...not all the complainers who come on this blog and complain about how much they hate their jobs. Quit or volunteer for the lay off. Leave those of us who love our work to keep working.
ReplyDeleteNewspaper Management is not causing the demise of newspapers....consumers are. And consumers have moved all those millions of classified ads for employment, real estate, cars, jobs online .....not management.
ReplyDeletewhy the heck would you want to draw attention to that? you would be out of work faster than ever.
9:47, this is 9:04. I guess the lesson I learned was that the world is not fair, right? I knew newspapers made us all a little more cynical (how often can you report double murder-suicides with nail guns and not be a little cynical) but never thought that my cynicism would come into play realizing the internal politics of the newsroom is really what makes the Local Information Center go round. Loving your job and doing well and winning awards and changing with the times isn't enough...you have to know whose butt to kiss too.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with you 9:43 AM. I live in a smaller market where the paper is still profitable and the community embraces every story that's written. Our paper is not only respected by the community, but the reporters, columnists, and photographers are well known. I think the papers that are in the most trouble are the major metros who are competing with the likes of the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal.
ReplyDeleteI have worked in TV, in cable, in print, online. Forcasting the demise of media has been around as long as I have been employed (20 years). Newspapers will be here....so will TV and everything else. Will it change? yes. Will many people choose to get news online? yes. Will the next big technology breakthrough provide something even better for consumers? maybe. The truth is....the total demise of newspapers is largely overstated. Its reduction is real....but its death is not certain. For companies like Gannett, bringing world class jounalism to multiple platforms and figuring out how to recap the shifting ad revenue model are the key (especially classified). That is what our executives should be wholly focused on. It seems they know it. Now lets see how innovative they are at executing it.
ReplyDeleteWell said, 10:16 AM. I think this is what our executives are doing, but they're going about it the wrong way. You can't have very important decisions being made at corporate without including the publishers at each individual paper. In order to succeed, you can't work in a bubble. This cookie cutter approach is going to fail. Until they recognize that, we're all in trouble.
ReplyDelete9:47, your disdain smacks of someone in management. I loved my job, I busted my ass and I was really good at what I did. People loved my section. Loved it. "This section is the only reason I buy the paper," people told me over and over.
ReplyDeleteYou know what it got me? A near nervous breakdown, an ulcer and a fractured relationship with my family because my 60-hour weeks (forget about even daring to ask for overtime, even though I was writing, editing, shooting video and shooting photos) weren't enough to even merit a "thank you" or a "good job." Raises didn't keep up with the escalating cost of the health benefits. My section produced revenue, I changed with the times and I still got beaten on.
Am I gonna complain about it?! You're damn right I am. If you don't like it, go read another site.
Just a recommendation: Can you please put the latest comments on the top rather than on the bottom of each blog? Would make for easier reading.
ReplyDeleteCourier-Journal has eliminated the post of media critic, essentially firing the incumbent, who had been there 36 years and had been pretty much mailing in in for a while. Read about it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://thevillevoice.com/
REMINDER
ReplyDeleteDid you remember to post your information on the "Memorial to the Departed Employee" section Jim set up a few days ago?
10:29, I think 9:47 was in your court- he/she was lamenting the fact that perhaps some of the wrong people were let go.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up on ex-cj's 10:34 a.m. post:
ReplyDeleteTom Dorsey is the aforementioned "media critic" a.k.a. TV/radio columnist. He apparently was one of four people to be let go in Louisville, although an official list of those let go has not been released. In fact, Louisville employees only found out about the four layoffs yesterday in an email from the publisher.
Other departures included nine people from circulation who took a buyout package.
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?s=8897056
http://thevillevoice.com/2008/08/26/what-the-circ-cuts-mean-to-you/
I wish someone would explain to me what was the criteria for laying a particular person off.
ReplyDeleteIn my four-person department two of the people were let go. The two who were competent at the job leaving me with an incompetent whiner who has shuffled from department to department and no one wants him back. (He was dumped on us during the last re-org a little more than a year ago.)
So now, even though he has been "doing the job" for a year, my boss is telling me I have to train him to take up 10% of the workload left by the other two leaving.
Am I the only one who sees the irony in that this request was made with a straight face and no hint of an apology?
11:25 More details. Ages and length of service for the 2 let go vs the incompetent whiner.
ReplyDeleteGannett's TV stations are being left out in the cold when it comes to sending local reporters to the Democratic National Convention (and presumably the RNC next week).
ReplyDeleteIn Atlanta, local media blog Live Apartment Fire has a great post about WXIA's political reporter Denis O'Hayer and how instead of being in Denver today, he's covering storm-downed trees that haven't hurt anybody.
http://liveapartmentfire.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/sympathy/
As a former Gannett employee in the IT department at the MOC, all I can say is this: Gannett does not care about you or what you have done for the company. Gannett's management could truly care less about the blood, sweat, tears and soul you have put into this company that at one time made it a leader/innovator in the industry. Stop being slack and get out of your comfort zones with this company. Put your irons (aka your resumes) in the fire and look elsewhere to other companies and/or industries that will value your work ethic and experience.
ReplyDeleteLife does exist outside of Gannett. Be proactive for your sake and your family's (if applicable) and by all means find other employment.
Having worked for Gannett after coming from another major corporation in the energy industry, I and other former co-workers should never have to be subjected or treated in such an adversarial manner by management and it be accepted practice. Alot, of really good people work at Gannett and I emplore any of you that still work there and read this blog to simply get out now and not look back. I wish you all the best.
Jim, are you still doing a live blog during tomorrow's meeting?
ReplyDeleteCHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- New York Times Co. said Tuesday that July advertising revenue at its newspapers fell 18% $119.9 million, as even online ad growth slowed to less than 1% compared with the same month a year ago.
ReplyDeleteChart of NYT
Classified ad revenue, traditionally the most important source of income for newspapers, dropped 30.1% in July, after declining 25.6% in June and 24.8% in May. "It really just fell off the cliff," said Ed Atorino, newspaper analyst at Benchmark & Co.
Makes USAT July numbers look really good, in compaison.
Florida Today never received their e-mail from the Publisher on the layoffs. Does this concern anyone else besides me?
ReplyDeleteIt should. Maybe he's not done yet? Somebody should inquire. Keep us posted.
ReplyDelete3:23 pm asked: Jim, are you still doing a live blog during tomorrow's meeting?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Yes!
Here at the APP, Donovan's "General Staff Meeting[s]" have been put off until Thursday. Could he be waiting for orders from Berlin . . . er. . . McLEan?
ReplyDelete4:39, Florida Today must have received their letters from the Publisher because it was posted on the blog. Were you absent that day?
ReplyDeleteSomeone earlier planned to hire a pension company---pension detectives or something like that--- to make sure Gannett's giving them what ther're owed. Any update on that?
ReplyDeletenew publisher michael kane spoke at indy star printing plant today, anyone who was there want to tell us what he said?
ReplyDeleteJim, you need to put that entry about position, years of service, and age in an easy to find place.
ReplyDeleteI get some satisfaction in NOT using careerbuilder in my job search. It is by far the worst of the online job listings in our area. That may be part of the problem. You listening, corporate? Your little online endeavors are limp and ain't gonna help in the long run. But you keep on hiring those web producers and laying off experienced journalists. Good plan.
ReplyDeleteI effing HATE careerbuilder. It has so much spam in it, its not even worth looking at.
ReplyDeleteWord in Cincinnati is that a lot of people in news are going to be turned down for buyouts if they stick to the goal of 50. Anybody have any guess on whether GCI might tell them to take more? Have they done that anywhere else?
ReplyDelete@ 8:16:
ReplyDeleteThe "web producers" you so disdain think careerbuilderplanetdiscovermomslikeusetc is just as much of a piece of crap as you do....
Do you really think knowledge of the intertubes can't possibly intersect with journalism skills?
I don't know what hurts Gannett more, the morons at the top of the heap or the Linotype-fetishizing fossils at the bottom.
Probably the Linotype-fetishizing moronic fossils, truth be told....
Linotype-fetishing fossils.. that's funny.
ReplyDeleteSerious question for Jim and others. Does Gannett still have a goal of focusing on "clusters" of papers in places where it has clusters such as Ohio and New Jersey ? Is so, what does this mean for papers and TV stations on the fringes (more likely to be sold)??
Bottom line: What Gannett property right now is most like to be sold???
Gannett focused on clusters in hopes that the FCC would relax rules against cross-ownership of newspapers and TVs in the same towns. But those rules have never come. The Federal Communications Commission considered them, but Democrats in Congress howled about media consolidation. I suspect the FCC will take them up again after the elections, with the newspaper industry arguing they are necessary to save the newspaper industry from economic collapse. If the rules are ever adopted, there would be trades among newspapers and television companies to set up new regional news gathering operations. How that dividing of the company will work is anyone's guess. I have heard many versions, but the economic turmoil now makes previous plans moot.
ReplyDeletei suppose it is the "new regional news gathering operations" that make pple nervous in places like Des Moines (which is surrounded by Lee Enterprises newspapers ! )
ReplyDeleteMore to the point: Does Lee Enterprises have the cash to buy the DM Register ?
ReplyDeleteWould Gannett sell the DM register to Lee ?
Truth be told, we would all be better off if Gannett sold the papers.
ReplyDeleteGiven Lee's problems, more likely Gannett would buy DM, or let it go into bankruptcy and pick up some of the pieces at a bankruptcy sale. Lee is not long for this world.
ReplyDeleteWhat's left of Cherry Hill is waiting for the death of Philadelphia, also
ReplyDeleteI suppose that stupidity knows no bounds. But doesn't it seem just a BIT TOO MUCH conspiracy to think that Gannett would make DM one of the four group sites, elevating its publisher, only to sell it? Short version: get real.
ReplyDeleteDes Moines is way too profitable for Gannett to let it go. Ain't gonna happen.
ReplyDelete