Monday, September 29, 2008

Monday | Sept. 29 | Got news, or a question?

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26 comments:

  1. October is around the corner, with it comes insurance enrollment again.

    Anybody have any ideas on how much our negative raises (healthcare cost increases) are going to be?

    I'm not looking forward to it. Roxanne Horning must have been told to make up this year's losses on the backs of the 45,000....

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  2. Has anyone had the extra money put in your 401K as promised when the pensions were frozen?

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  3. We've heard Louisville is close to losing a commercial job. Anybody know. Ad sales people going bananas here.

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  4. To 6:49 a.m.: Yes.
    For me it works out to an additional $50 or so per pay period.

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  5. Wasn't Sept. 28 the deadline for all those APP drivers to get the boot? Anyone know how many drivers opted to stay as indie contractors and not get benefits, pay for their own trucks, etc, etc?

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  6. 6:49am said "Has anyone had the extra money put in your 401K as promised when the pensions were frozen?"

    Because Gannett froze my pension, I froze my contribution to 401K. Others should do they same to send a clear signal to Gannett. Better to do something else like pay off debts with it so as not to be left out in the cold if Gannett goes belly up. Also, why let them "handle" your hard eraned money when they're having such a hard time handling their company? Makes perfect sense.

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  7. to 7:29 ( Louisville losing...)
    Ya gotta giggle about Skip's hand wringing. Some think he over-sold.
    But yes, Leo is very upset. Lot's of phone calls and visits. Also Maker' mark raising hell. Maybe we can start another free weekly.

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  8. 8:48 am: Why on earth do you think not making contributions to your own 401k "send[s] a clear signal to Gannett"?

    Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. When you retire, Gannett won't care that you don't have anything in your 401k, but you might.

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  9. 8:48
    Gannett don't care!!!! Most stock is held by investment firms, our 401 is miniscule. I hope you are putting the money somewhere. We have doubled up payments to Credit Union, will be debt free in 21 months, then take lump sum and haul ass!

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  10. If Gannett is matching 100% up to 5% of your contribution, I don't know why you would not want to take advantage of that. It's taking money from them. Your not contributing up to 5% will make Gannett very happy.

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  11. All I can say is Sarah Palin is a papsmear that went wrong!!!! I use to worry about all this going on at the paper NOW I just worry that she might be VP one day....Can you imagine if McCain (who is 102 practically) croaks SHE'S in charge of our country??? We'll have way more than Gannett to worry about. What is she going to do for us?? Pass out cupcakes??? OMG her interviews are a joke.

    sorry.....just venting. Everything is just going to pot in the US

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  12. Re: 401K

    Please contribute as much as possible to your 401k1 These funds are managed by Hewitt and the mutual funds within the plan, therefore it does not benefit or hurt Gannett if you do or don't contribute. In fact, if you want to "stick it to Gannett," you should contribute at least 5% of your income. Gannett now matches up to 5% dollar for dollar for dollar. Make them pay it. This is FREE money, notwithstanding the tax savings on every dollar you get on your contribution.

    Here is something that occurred completely under the radar after our pensions were frozen: We now can contribute up to 50% of our income within the max IRS limits of $15,500 (unless you're allowed an additional $5,000 catch-up contribution.) Before the pension freeze, you could contribute ONLY up to 20% MAX, even if this was nowhere near the max allowable $15,500 contribution limit.

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  13. Yes, exactly! Contribute to something else or get yourself out of debt a.s.a.p. I agree completely.

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  14. Hey, when does the government bailout of the newspaper industry start?

    If Wall St. isn't happy with $700 billion (as looks obvious as the Dow drops like a stone), I'm sure we could use some of that cash.

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  15. Start? You must have missed the news about Gannett's little boost for the Indy Service Center jobs. Does anyone know if Illinois gave Gannett anything (abatement, training grants, etc.)for that center?

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  16. I'm going to hit up my senator for a bailout of my personal debt.

    But seriously... The little guy doesn't qualify. We are on our own. Everything else that's going on within Corporate America, Wall Street and Capital Hill is happening to separate you from your hard earned money. The mattress is looking better and better!

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  17. On the Us economy;
    The only thing that keeps me positive and going is maybe if we take this on the chin today, in the future our kids won't have to.

    On GCI;
    They have lost thier way. They have f'ed up the company so bad that I don't think it can be repaired. It's not just the economy, it's bad decision after bad decision. It's poor hiring choice, after poor hiring choice. There is a snowball effect happening in the company. The sad thing is thier are amny good people that are getting the shitty end of the stick.
    God save us!

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  18. yo! 3 suits from G-land in da NJ building last week, lookin' to buy! whattaya know, Jim, whattaya know?

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  19. @3:07: For those of us who don't have kids and don't plan on having them, that's not a comforting thought.

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  20. 3:07 is right. It's not just the economy, it's bad decision after bad decision. It's poor hiring choice, after poor hiring choice, bloated wasteful spending on new technology and cutback on real journalism. But you can guess the first line in the memo that comes out in December addressing the big layoffs. TO ALL GANNETT EMPLOYEES: DUT TO THE STRUGGLING ECONOMY

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  21. Here is what is wrong with Gannett:

    In TN the gov just appointed a new supreme court justice. Why is this news? This is the first state supreme court in the US that has a female majority.

    Knoxnews (Knoxville News Sentinel) pointed this out:
    http://tinyurl.com/4sl8pj
    NASHVILLE - Gov. Phil Bredesen has appointed East Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Lee to a seat on the state Supreme Court.

    The appointment means that women will hold three of the five seats on the Tennessee Supreme Court - the first women have held a majority on the state's highest court.

    Bredesen chose Lee over two other nominees submitted to him by the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission. The other two nominees were attorneys John McLarty of Chattanooga and Bruce Shine of Kingsport.

    Lee will replace retiring Justice William M. "Mickey" Barker on the Supreme Court.

    Said Bredesen in a statement: "Sharon has served with distinction on the Court of Appeals and I am confident she will bring the same level of honor and integrity to the Tennessee Supreme Court. I am very pleased she has agreed to accept this appointment."

    Lee began the practice of law in Madisonville in 1978. She was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Bredesen in June 2004.

    Bredesen’s prior appointments to the court were William C. Koch, Gary R. Wade and Cornelia A. Clark. Chief Justice Janice M. Holder was appointed in 1996 by Republican Gov. Don Sundquist.

    More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel.



    Gannett's Tennessean missed it and had this wimpy report:
    http://tinyurl.com/3ka64u
    Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed Sharon Gail Lee, who has served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals since 2004, to the Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday, his fourth appointment to the state's top court.

    “Sharon has served with distinction on the Court of Appeals and I am confident she will bring the same level of honor and integrity to the Tennessee Supreme Court," Bredesen said in a statement. "I am very pleased she has agreed to accept this appointment."

    Lee, 54, fills a vacancy left by Justice William M. "Mickey" Barker, who announced his retirement in April.


    That's the entire item. That's why we're losing our jobs in Nashville. No content - No news. I only know TWO Tennessean employees that still READ the rag, much less subscribe even at our reduced rates. Heck, a lot of us can pick it up FREE and we still don't read it. We read the City Paper in print or other cities' papers online to find out what is going on in Nashville or in the state.

    AND WE WORK FOR THE TENNESSEAN!

    The USAT? Well, it has a decent crossword...

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  22. to the poster above about Did INDY get any tax breaks. INDY is in indiana not Illinois. THat might be one of our issues.

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  23. 6:17 PM
    Yes, Gannett got a tax abatement and stands to get some other training grants for the Indy Service Center. I was wondering if similar requests/awards were made to the service center in Illinois.
    Sorry if that wasn't clear.

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  24. 6:06 PM
    Looks like you've just pointed out the difference between boring stenography and a compelling news story with a focus!

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  25. Are there some people here crazy enough to think that not complaining is going to save your job? Leave the NJ Group and others alone. They have to have somewhere to vent.

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  26. YOu are right, our company has some weak management....if they were doing their jobs they would fire the idiots that post on this site...

    "stop contributing to 401k to spite Gannett"...

    ..unbelieveable idiots!

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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."

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