Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday | Oct. 15 | Got news, or a question?
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38 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."
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Good morning, Gannettland!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Jim. I'm excited about the Gannett Stores opening at some airports. Can this company think of other ways to lose $
ReplyDeleteAll the machinations, empty "policy" notes, "vision for the future" statements by corporate, add up to nothing but the equivalent of Managerial Masturbation: they strock themselves and feel good about (thinking they are accomplishing subthing) but they're really not getting the Results of the Actual Act (of managing effectively).
ReplyDeleteMARKET VALUE of Gannett's Real Assets (based on future cash-flow) MINUS DEBT : = ZERO.
FOR ABOVE ENTRY: I menat STROKE not STROCK.
ReplyDeleteJim
ReplyDeleteHave either of those two jaw dropping tips (your words) - one of which was supposed to be positive - coming any closer to A. being true/confirmed. B. being something you can disclose? After reading those layoff projections in the post below, I'm sure we'd all love some good news.
@todd: You obviously know nothing about the situation. The only way the company will lose money from the airport stores is if weasels like you go in and shoplift. Please go find something useful to do.
ReplyDeletetodd: GCI has no money in the airport stores. They are operating under a license by some other non-GCI company. It's a wonderful deal because GCI just gets to cash checks from someone else who wants to use the USA Today name.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the early impressions of Hollis Towns in Asbury Park? We were so sorry to see him leave us in Cincinnati. Someday he'll be the editor of the Atlanta J-C.
ReplyDeleteThe stores will make money and its a good decision to get cash flow with little downside.
ReplyDeleteHow is the market taking Gannett's new ventures?
ReplyDeleteStock drop to below 12!!!
Jim,
ReplyDeleteSince there's so much interest in the stock price you might want to add a real-time GCI ticker window to the boilerplate on the home page. I believe that's pretty easy and free to do (though not sure). Quotes would be delayed by 20 minutes or so, I think, but that's plenty good enough for your purposes. Gives readers another bit of incentive to drop in here.
GANNETT $11.45 Down 12.99% on Day
ReplyDeleteJim: GCI off 13 percent this morning, hitting all-time historic lows at $11.50. Do you think Wall Street insiders got a glimpse of the cutbacks and layoffs being put together today in McLean. USAT not exempt this time. I hear 15 percent is the working figure. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI like thinking outside the box.
ReplyDeleteLet's give Dubow a bigger raise this year. Maybe that will stimuate new, innovative ideas from the top.
Whaddya say?
Unfortunately cuts of that magnitude are necessary. NOTE: I am Blue-Collar Grunt.
ReplyDeleteManagement is "Chasing After" the Declining Review when they should have ANTICIPATED long ago. What will ultimately cause GANNETT to sink is the execution of the Lay-Off/Buy-Outs tends to simply look at the COST of the individual (automiton>>GANNETT VIEW of workers) and not the BENEFIT/COST RATIO. With voluntary Buy-Outs, the most qualified people tend to leave first....leaving relative deadweight.
Also, intellectually insecure (Bob Collins (Patton-like authoritarian)) ultimately fail because people work better when not in a constant state of Fear. Fortunately for me...I saw PATTON when I was 7 and memorized....Untalented Empty Authoritarians don't scare me....LOL.
Wow,
ReplyDeleteMore cuts, as deep as 15% this round? Will there be anyone left to put out a paper?
Dear Anon 8:32am. Sorry to disappoint you but I put in twenty one hard years at a GCI Paper. I have no respect for them and believe they are running things into the ground. I put my time in at the Journal News in White Plains, New York. I know that you are probably one of those happy campers at a GCI Paper--well God bless you, because you're probably one of the lackeys that they have decided to run into hell with.
ReplyDeleteTo anyone who is in involved with the layoffs--my heart goes out to you. It happened to me and what makes everyone angry is that the people they choose to keep couldn't get a job elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMSN.COM Still has GANNETT STOCK as a HOLD.
ReplyDeleteHOLD? I got something for them to hold.....right here.
Amazing. Tell me to put in the brakes AFTER I hit a brick wall.
I ANYONE gets a Golden Parachutte. The Board of Directors (protectors of the Shareholders) should be sued for breach of fiduciary responsibilty and the should be DISGORGED of all G.C.I. compensation for their "Expert" oversight.
11:34 AM wrote: "More cuts, as deep as 15% this round? Will there be anyone left to put out a paper?"
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's the point.
it took me about 1 year to find a job i wanted outside of Gannett...start looking now folks, while you still have options.
ReplyDeleteSo one person posts that cuts of 15% are coming and the lemmings here all absorb that as if it is real news and oh-the-agony.
ReplyDeleteThis blog does much that is good, but as an out of control rumor central it actually makes things worse when weak minds buy everything posted here as GG (Gannett Gospel).
Who knows what will happen? Maybe there will be even worse cuts. Maybe far less. But to go kneejerk everytime someone posts something is to show no understanding for how things actually work.
So Mr. Know-it-all-Debunker, tell me about the meeting in McLean. If you don't have the 15 percent confirmed, then pls. inform me what the real figure is?
ReplyDeleteTalk about kneejerk.
There is no weeding out of rumors vs truth. Frankly, very little truth here.
ReplyDeleteBut here is an obvious observation...we all know that the strategy is not to beef up print anywhere.....so why are you STILL amazed that local papers will undoubtedly continue to trim? It reminds of GM when they kept wondering why all the jobs were at the Japanese imports like Honda and Toyota. While GM layed off for 20 straight years, Toyota kept hiring.
The clues have been there...local newspapers are not the future and they are over staffed. Yep, its that simple.
If I am right, we will all know next Tuesday. Stay tuned, and I'll expect a comment from you next week when this all begins to be unveiled.
ReplyDeleteDubow....what is the strategy going forward? Its better to share that with everyone than to let the rediculous speculation go on an on...much of it wrong.
ReplyDelete"Fear" has been the operative word for Gannett. " Management By Fear"--especially at the Journal News in White Plains, Westchester, NY. What makes it scary though is that the management that Corporate chose to lead in White Plains are awful. The circulation numbers posted on their website date back to March 2007. I guess March 2007 was a good month, because October 2008 has stacks of unsold Journal News' at every corner store. I have said it before and I'll ask Corporate again---How can the head of Operations be dismissed from the Asbury Park Press, but be put in charge at the Journal News ? Do we need the circulation to get any lower before you release ALL of your directors? Because they ain't making it happen !
ReplyDeleteTodd, the circulation numbers on their site are from 3/2706. March 2007 was the last time the page was updated. I guess with the heavy push towards the web they have no time to update the ADVERTISE WITH US page.
ReplyDeleteAnon--4:41PM. Thank you for correcting me. You have obviously worked there ( Journal News ) I appreciate your assistance---believe me I will tell all in the future posts about ALOT of staff there--mainly management.And I have alot of FACTUAL GOOD STUFF. Some are minor some are borderline criminal.If not outright criminal. I have names and proof that cannot be refuted.
ReplyDeleteTodd, I think padding circulation numbers or deceiving advertisers is borderline criminal. Did you ever witness unpaid overtime there?
ReplyDeleteAnother $13.6 percent drop for GCI today. Why is Wall Street picking on GCI? Other newspapers aren't suffering like this. Scripps stock showed a modest plus today, and the NYTimes was only off 7 percent or so in a down market. I think this points to the lack of faith Wall Street has in Gannett's management. We already know what employees think of their leadership, but the board of directors takes the judgement of stockholders much more seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe new look at the Courier News masks the fact that it's become sloppy and lazy.
ReplyDeleteTV listings include Philadelphia stations. Nobody in Bridgewater (or anywhere in the C-N area) watches Philadelphia TV.
Movie listings are said to be "provided by theater owners." Those listings are provided by Hollywood.com -- I can tell from the format -- and buying those listings is not cheap.
The real howler comes from today's sports section: A story filled with so many mistakes and omissions it's embarrassing. Yes, yes, the section is put together in East Brunswick, but that's not an excuse to not check facts.
Sooner or later Gannett's board will realize that this Elmer-glued collage of big newspapers, small newspapers, community newspapers, foreign newspapers, TV stations and oddball websites is unsustainable. The stuff's not going to be worth much more in the near future. A lot of the papers won't be worth anything at the rate Gannett is dismantling them and outsourcing so many functions. Time to test the market and see what these papers and stations will bring on eBay.
ReplyDelete10:03: Really? I worked in Cincy with Hollis... He did do one decent thing for me - but aside from that 0 a tyrant.
ReplyDeleteSell of the newspapers and you don't have crap. If it wasn't for the newspapers, there would be no revenue from online. Plain and simple folks. No print = no online = no Gannett.
ReplyDelete6:37, the Courier News is almost entirely put together in East Brunswick. In fact I would guess 95 percent of the CN pages are made up in East Brunswick. Have you noticed how very similar CN is to the Home News Tribune? Same news but with subtle changes to the layout. The papers have been merged without taking the final step of a combined flag. All reminds me of Westchester a decade ago. Though I think circ is disappearing faster.
ReplyDeleteAMEN 11:58!
ReplyDeleteAnon-5:19 I witnessed changed time cards so that an honest person did not get paid for overtime that was put in.
ReplyDelete