Friday, October 10, 2008

Chatter: GM and you; what are USAT's real profits?

An occasional peek at what you've been chattering about over the past 24 hours. Latest: General Motors' shaky finances. Plus: How USA Today's costs get moved across the ledger.

Anonymous@2:17 p.m. wrote: "What does a bankruptcy of General Motors mean for GCI? It will cover the dealers, garages and everyone connected with the industry. It will also devastate Detroit and its readers. It is happening. Take a look at GM's stock today, which slumped to 1930 levels. We are really being screwed."

On USA Today, @3:57 p.m. said: "The truth is that USAT is not economically viable without the community newspapers which publish a majority of the USAT editions, and bury the huge production costs in their production budgets."

And I chimed in @6:36 p.m., agreeing with a reader's plea that I rein in the political chatter in Real Time Comments that has nothing to do with the company. "Much as I want this to be an open forum, implicit in that is that everything relates to Gannett,'' I wrote. "So, please: On any topic, including politics, please keep your comments sharply focused on Gannett. Thanks!"

Join the debate -- or start a new one, in Real Time Comments.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for reining in the political comments. We all have different views -- and they're laregely irrelevant to our discussion of Gannett. I'm not interested in hearing anyone's pro- or anti- Obama or McCain chat here. There are plenty of other places to get that.

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  2. Amen!! I just wish all the direct mail I'm getting for both camps was inserted in our paper instead!

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  3. GM issue is that they did not keep up with the times. They always had a wait and see attitude and look where it got them. Not to say the unions did not strap their budgets. Paying for such union contracts had to put a burden on the innovation side of GM and how fast they could role out a new innovative product.

    Sounds like Gannett!!!

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  4. General Motors denied Friday morning that it would seek bankruptcy protection. So much for the Freep.

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  5. All automotives are in trouble. This is just the first and biggest.

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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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