Deutsche Bank's analysis of newly released circulation data shows the biggest losers among Gannett newspapers.Now, the full report is available for download -- right here on Gannett Blog. (Caution: Figures for the Asbury Park Press are incorrect, however; I'm trying to get the correct data from the study's authors.)
Go to The Teletype Room widget at the bottom of the blue sidebar, right. The first file is now DB Newspapers -- Sept. 08. Click on the file, hit the download button, then choose where to save it. The Gannett data is in Figure 14 on page nine. (And while you're using that widget, scroll through the other files to enjoy the sound of the Teletype machines. You'll be glad you did!)
Questions? Please post them 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.
Thanks Jim.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI believe you are trying to expose as much nasty and dirty laundry about gannett as possible in hopes of further diminishing the business so that everyone is unemployed. Know what that means? No food for our kids, no clothes for our kids, no education. You cannot imagine how many more problems you create and yet you wrap it in the guise of "being for the people". You are creating a far worse situation than anyone in management could possibly contribute.
No, I am not management. I am the wife of a blue collar guy. But I am disgusted by your blog and I hope you can sleep at night . you are single and dont reguire much to live. But the rest of us need a job.
Your desire to create negative energy and distribute it freely shows your total lack of sympathy for what is truly happening in our industry. Gannett is trying to mange in this turbulent time...you make it far worse.
JIMBO! Once again giving us information the company could - but doesn't want to!
ReplyDeleteThe biggest losers in daily numbers?
* Bridgewater Courier News down 14.7 percent
* Tucson Citizen down 14.3 percent
* Salinas Californian down 13.3 percent
* Lancaster (OH) Eagle-Gazette down 10.2 percent
* Montgomery Advertiser down 9.4 percent
* Richmond (IN) Palladium Item down 9.3 percent
* Westchester Journal News down 9.6 percent
* Burlington (VT) Free Press down 9.2 percent
* Reno Gazette-Journal down 9.1 percent
* Battle Creek Enquirer down 9 percent.
Please check my numbers. I'm a journalist. I suck at math.
Maybe the percentage of cuts a-coming down the pike could be tied directly to circ numbers. The Asbury Park Press, for instance, would be forced to cut 1.8 percent of its staff, Green Bay a mere 3.7 percent and Tuscon, well, a whopping 14.3 percent has gotta go.
5:45 p.m.: I'm sorry you feel this way, because that's not my intent. I am a business journalist, doing what journalists have always done: Telling the truth.
ReplyDelete5:45 is understandably blinded by fear and anxiety, but she needs to be told in unambiguous terms that the profound problems in the Gannett company exist independently of this blog, and are not exacerbated by it. This blog represents the new digital journalism in all its glory. It is awful what is happening in Gannett, which was highly dysfunctional when it was fat and happy. Now the reckoning is under way, and it is more brutal than anyone could have imagined a year ago. I want Gannett to thrive and prosper. I want a good retirement. Only a fool who has no vested interest in the matter wants the company to fail.
ReplyDelete5:45, you are putting the blame in the wrong place. My family, too, is dependent on a salary and benefits from Gannett. In fact, this next round of layoffs may land us in COBRA because I gambled and didn't take benefits at my new job (after I escaped from Gannett).
ReplyDeleteJim isn't creating negativity; Gannett Corporate did that a very long time ago when they continually turned a blind eye to abusive managers and abuses of power.
I for one dealt with an abusive boss. Getting out of there was the hardest thing I've done. I had to give up a career and an industry I loved -- LOVED -- because of it. 60-hour workweeks because of assigned workload (and yes, I have the documentation to prove it) and threats and retribution at every turn when I balked went ignored. And I am not alone in that situation.
Gannett would be cutting these properties to the bone regardless of the existence of this blog because that is what Gannett does. If you don't believe it, I strongly suggest you locate a copy of the book "The Chain Gang," by Richard McCord. Gannett Corporate is a soulless, heartless, cruel company that doesn't give a damn about people.
This blog has at least given us fair warning of what lies ahead. It's given us a place to vent about what we've experienced and to see that the idiocy is not limited to one paper, one region, or one manager; the idiocy is endemic to Gannett.
Tell me, honestly, would you prefer to be going merrily along and find out three weeks before Christmas that your husband is out of a job? I for one am thankful that I know now that I may have to scrap my plans. I'm glad to know that I need to square away my kid's birthday -- which falls in December -- rather than finding out that I can't afford to do what we'd planned -- which is a trip to the bowling alley for her and some friends.
Don't blame Jim. Blame the people whose job it is to be the stewards of this company. They are the ones about to wreck Christmas. Not Jim.
I just read the report, Jim, and if the numbers given are accurate, what's happened at the Asbury Park Press is beyond shocking.
ReplyDeleteNJ Asbury Park Press
Daily 69,183 down from 70,470 -1.8%
Sunday 82,599 85,280 -3.1%
I remember the celebration in the newsroom when we surpassed the Bergen Record's circulation and became No. 2 in the state. We had a daily circulation of 162,000 and
Sunday of 220,000, and that was in the mid-90s.
If those numbers really and truly are accurate, that's not just falling circulation; the bottom dropped out. In an area where the population continues to rise because of new construction, that's really a disaster, if you ask me.
5:45 This is information publicly available that Jim is pulling together, making it more convenient for those who want it. In many ways, that is the role of the daily newspaper. If we were curious enough, we could have found that stock analyst's circulation list, or for that matter gone through U.S. Postal Service filings and found the same. Employees of Gannett want to know the state of the company for which they work. You might think posting the circulation numbers is negative, but that is not necessarily true. Newspaper companies including Gannett have been cutting off outlying circulation that is expensive to service, and concentrating on their core population where average incomes and age brackets are more attractive to advertisers. Therefore, declining circulation could mean more profits for your husband's company, thus ensuring his continued employment. Looks like negative news, but it really isn't if you understand the business.
ReplyDeleteFinal point is that you came here to this blog looking for information. I think Jim does a bang-up job providing information GCI employees need. Nothing is forcing you to come back to this little corner of the World Wide Web. If the whole world was interested in Jim's blog, then Jim would be famous. He's not, and you have to have some interest in the industry to come and read what he posts and others post here. It is of little interest for anyone not concerned directly with Gannett.
The APP numbers have got to be wrong. They are completely different from other recent numbers on the ABC site
ReplyDeleteOh Jim. You are drinking, heavily, of your own Kool-Aid. "Telling the truth?" Telling your opinion? I'd agree with that. Shining a light on a closed company? Sure. But to say that everything you spread here is "truth?" You obviously need what everyone needs: an editor.
ReplyDeleteJim corrects mistakes as soon as someone brings them to his attention. He presents negative information, even when it's directed his way. Most importantly, though, I think he digs around, synthesizes information and tries to get at the truth---the way newspapers did back when I enjoyed reading them.
ReplyDelete8:41 Your are right, the APP numbers posted by 7:41 are wrong.
ReplyDeleteI've just checked the Deutsche Bank report, and those figures are, indeed, what appear in the report. But on the face of it, they are much too low.
ReplyDeleteI'll write the authors to find out what's up.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteAsbury Park Press, Neptune
179,294 Sunday {190,862 audited 9/30/07; 198,803 audited 9/26/06; 228,844 in 2002; 227,203 in 1996)
133,241 M-F Avg (144,072 audited 9/30/07; 148,989 audited 9/26/06; 168,198 in 2002 as M-Sat Avg; 156,544 in 1996 as M-Sat Avg)
130,853 Wednesday (143,233 audited 9/30/07; 147,259 audited 9/26/06)
Figures include Ocean County Observer from 5/01 to 11/07.
OCO was 9,467 in 2000 (16,952 in 1996) Daily M-F; 9,113 in 2000 (14,970 in 1996) Sunday. Rest in Peace.
10/28/2008 1:20 AM
Anonymous
I'm 7:41, and I really figured those had to be wrong. We had heard the numbers were down, but that's a crash of epic proportions.
ReplyDelete9:22, where did you find the numbers you posted?
10:27, directly from ABC FAS-FAX and audit reports.
ReplyDeleteOther examples where the numbers are wrong. Westchester M-F is below 100,000 -- slightly. They're at 99,000 and change. Other newspapers listed in New York are also incorrect, in some cases, the circulation is higher. Of course, those aren't Gannett newspapers.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would love to see is a chart comparing 2008 circulation to 1998 circulation for these papers. That would tell another story entirely -- the long-term trend.
ReplyDeleteFolks .... everybody cannot simply take the circ numbers at face value. While the numbers are accurate you must understand that a lot of the declines were self imposed. We have cut out large areas of distribution intentionally in an effort to save expense (and we thought JOBS). One of those 9+ declines listed really would be a 3+ if not for the self-imposed cuts and the corporate mandated HD price increase with another one to hit this quarter !!!! They'll never learn.
ReplyDelete11:42, those cuts weren't self-imposed at the Asbury Park Press. The market there is very contained -- two counties. You can drive north to south in them in a little over an hour and the APP is located at the midpoint.
ReplyDelete10:47, where can the average person find those reports? I would love to read a little further. Thanks for sharing the info. Made me feel a little better about the place.
5:29. Best way to find these type of reports is to go to msn.com or any stock-quote site, type in GCI for the stock quote. At the bottom of most is a segment called "recent news," which contains news reports and sometimes stock analyst reports like this one.
ReplyDeleteThe other way to do is to subscribe to the stock companies that are following newspapers. They are very few these days because newspapers are out of favor. I was surprised to find Deutsche Bank is still doing it, since most of the (formerly) investment banks have put their analysts on more lucrative projects.
Thanks.
ReplyDelete