Friday, November 14, 2008
Friday | Nov. 14 | Got news, or a question?
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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."
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Gannett seems interested in questionable technology deals (see: Ripple6); maybe it should buy Gannett Blog!
ReplyDeleteah, Jim, then you'd be a director and we'd have to throw Donna Shalala out on her ear.
ReplyDeleteSomeone made a comment yesterday about how slow the websites load.
ReplyDeleteOur paper site is Pluck powered, if this makes a difference. I just loaded our main page - from the time the header on the window changed, to when the progress bar finished and I could see which stories had comments - took 14 seconds. I'm at home, on DSL, at 4:325 in the morning.
When I just want to peek in, see what stories on the carousel are getting comments, it takes 14 seconds. The load order is stupid, as well. The ads should come up first, always. We're trying to make money here!
It's a shame that after a hundred years of hearing customers bitch about timely delivery, we still can't give them the product they want when they want it.
The web site at our paper worked fine before Pluck. Lost a lot of people for being slower and harder to navigate. Another example of you get what you pay for?
ReplyDeleteJim, I am surprise, that Gannett, has not tried to buy you out yet. They want me to name a number and to see everything I had on Gannett. The first time, when just cash was involved and I TURNED AL'S office down. The second time, when it was hinted that their new projects division would like to see my business plans, for a couple of possible magazines. I have to admitted, I thought long and hard. It scared me to think, that the second time almost worked.
ReplyDeleteCan we all try to be civil to each other in this blog. I looked at yesterday's comments quite late. We are all professionals going through a tough time in our profession. Lets act like professionals.
ReplyDeleteMy idea has gone mainstream:
ReplyDeletehttp://seekingalpha.com/article/105988-media-companies-to-fed-tarp-me?source=yahoo
Media Companies to Fed: Tarp Me!
(Can anyone say, "Bank of Gannett?!")
Listen up. My wife always tells me to worry about today and not tomorrow. If you have no control over what might happen then there is your answer. No control. This is a wonderful blog for getting things off your back but please take into account that we are all in this boat together wether you think it or not. While people are being let go, others are having to pick up the slack. This make it difficult for everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Gannett gave everyone tentative notice that there job might be eliminated in a few weeks is down right criminal. Here is my analogy.
Being blindfolded for execution and stood in field until the guy decides to pull the trigger is plan torture. Maybe he will decide not to do it, maybe he will decide to wait another week. Which ever way you slice it, it is torture.
Remember your family and friends will be there for you and it is a lot sunnier on the outside.
You're right, 8:02, getting shot by a mugger in the street is much more preferable to getting your affairs in order before there is a possibility of being shot by a firing squad.
ReplyDeleteWho here can say they couldn't do with a little belt tightening, refreshing the resume, reviewing your life plan? Even if you aren't severed, the process is one you should take regularly anyway. I'm glad I got the early notice, as I have made several financial moves to alleviate my household's stress.
Yes, either way you get shot, you're still dead. But better to stress about it at a lower level for a few weeks than to get a big ol surprise, and living with the regrets of 'if I knew then what I know now."
Hmmm, stock trading under $8 yesterday and Saridakis gets another sweet deal. I guess that ethical ignorance is pecuniary bliss?
ReplyDeleteIs there any truth in the rumors that The Courier News and The Home News Tribune will soon join the Daily Record and be delivered by PCF?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have a clue as to how many people the Wilmington newsroom stands to lose?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've heard rumblings about the possible folding of the features section into the local section. Anyone else?
Isn't today Decision Day by management to announce which buyout requests will be honored and which will be rejected? Any updates from any of the sites?
ReplyDeleteGotta smile at this memo we just received from corporate about cost cutting.
ReplyDeleteAttention all employees,
DRESS CODE/PAY INCREASES:
It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada sneakers and carrying a Gucci bag we assume you are doing well financially and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better so that you may buy nicer clothes and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress in-between, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.
PERSONAL DAYS:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday and Sunday.
LUNCH BREAK:
Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed
to drink a Slim Fast and take a diet pill.
SICK DAYS:
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.
RESTROOM USE:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. There is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.
SURGERY:
As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplation, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.
Have a nice day.
Human Resources
DecisionDay? Ha! I love it... and all the posts about the gannett staffers urging them to be "civil" as they see their jobs disappear. Five years ago, the Gannett folks were the cocks of the walk, arrogant and well paid and all full of their ethics policies and diversity and strutting around at every conference and convention the media had to offer. And now what? The workers are finding they have been duped by this pathetic, brain-dead company. I quit Gannett and got $80 a share for my stock.
ReplyDeleteI seriously think that the people that have the most to fear are the ones that will be left after this round of cuts. Its gonna be hell to be left behind.
ReplyDeleteI'm just a blue-collar type. Probably will lose my job. I just thank God I had the balls to buy Put Options in August. The last of them just closed out -automatically- and gave me a Total Return of UP 503.11% (pretty good for 12 Weeks). Not enough to retire on, but I can start a new small business and have enough to buy seeds to grow food for my family during the tough times ahead. Best of luck to all of you and your families.
ReplyDelete9:12 a.m., and others:
ReplyDeleteToday is the day for publishers to submit their layoff plans to corporate. That's all. Don't expect to hear anything for awhile.
Layoffs are supposed to be announced the first week in December, though I wouldn't be surprised if some do them a little earlier or a little later, depending on circumstances at individual papers.
11:01 AM
ReplyDeleteIs there a reason you keep posting that same information?
@8:23 CN has around 12,000 home delivery subscribers and HNT around 28,000. It would be haywire to contract their entire circ area with PCF all at once.
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing Cincy also will turn features section into a couple pages inside local. Guessing that will account for several layoffs of writers, copy editors, page designers, artists and/or photogs. Sad, because there is a lot of talent there.
ReplyDeleteCincy is going to turn the features over to the new Moms site.
ReplyDeleteAny word on more layoffs/buyouts at USAT? Lots of reorganization going on in the newsroom across all silos. The rumor mill is spinning up.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else think it's just a hoot that all those Gannett digital people and newspaper publishers have to hold a face-to-face, two-day meeting to talk about----the digital landscape? Can someone who's good at math figure up how much two days in Nashville is costing the company?
ReplyDelete11:57, maybe they will do one at a time. CN first would be my guess. PCF will more than likely be beefing up their forces to absorb the work (if they are any kind of a smart operation)
ReplyDeleteI see that the Courier Post in Cherry Hill is promoting a Job Fair next week . . . I wonder if they will allow the people who are going to be let go attend??
ReplyDeleteI don't think that USAT or the TV division is exempt from these layoffs...I work for a TV station and have seen so many close door meetings and rumblings of something big happening...Hold on to your hats kids, we are just not being told about them.
ReplyDeleteIf they are hiring Digital Sales people, all in one place, does that mean reps at other sites are going to be layed off?
ReplyDeleteAny news on Rochester in all of this?
Three new jobs posted with today's date for Gannett's US Publishing.
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing new. Gannett's been chasing the digital panacea for a long time now. This is another in the line of failed strategic acquisitions. The thing about this one and PointRoll, it STINKS to high heaven.
ReplyDelete$5 stock, here we come !!
The company will not last the next year in its current form. Think that's a bit extreme? Wait and see. The dismantling has already begun.
A face to face meeting is always more productive than a digital one....especially when people's lives are at stake. Digital does not replace human contact.
ReplyDelete12:59 I also see the big cuts coming in TV operations. The traditional even-year bump in TV revenues from elections and Olympics didn't show up this time around. They are going to go for money, with the highest paid the most vulnerable. USAT, too.
ReplyDeleteI actually think Gannett will be doing us choosen a favor. This economy is going to be getting even worse. Come summer finding a job will be very difficult. As difficult as it will be now, there's a better chance now than in the future of finding one and this isn't going to be the last round of layoffs for Gannett, I think we all know that. The ones that think they're lucky won't think so in a few months when they get let go and enter a dried up job market.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the job fair sponsored by the Courier-Post, this is nothing new. They run them often as a part of their classified ad program. Of course a Gannett employee could go. The "fairs" are open to the general public as they are basicly sponsored (paid for in part) by the exhibitors who pay to participate. Most of the jobs at these events are low paying and are attended by chronically non-employed and under employed segments of society.
ReplyDeleteI really hope my super annoying coworker gets laid off. Our entire department despises you. Here is an idea: try and focus on YOUR accounts, not mine.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I have my hit-list, too. It is probably unhealthy to wish too much that my dreams come true. But my horoscope says some of my wishes will be fulfilled in Sagittarius.
ReplyDeleteIf you keep thinking bad thought towards your coworkers you will probably be the one to get axed.
ReplyDeletewhat or who is PCF?
ReplyDeleteHa! Asan ex-Gannetter, I so enjoy reading thwese posts.... the bitterness, the anger, the finger-pointing... the animosity... it delights me to see such turmoil in a company I have grown to despise. All us ex-Gannetters are just loving the collapse of this vile and hateful company!
ReplyDelete4:10- PCF is Publishers Circulation Fulfillment... http://www.pcfcorp.com/about.aspx
ReplyDeletePCF's operations are much more advanced than any Gannett community paper's circulation department.
I really only subscribe to the CN print version so I can scan legal notices for story leads for my hyperlocal blog (redevelopment cases, public hearings, special meetings, etc.). But my paper is frequently missing because I live in a so-called urban center where street people like to swipe papers off porches to sell for change, pad their pants legs or sit on while they drink beer all day. CN will send me another paper, but this must be a big problem for circulation in the "urban center."
ReplyDeleteI read several Gannett papers daily due contacts in their readership area. I find it very interesting that not all of them report on the the layoffs that are taking place at their own newspaper. Are some newspapers exempt from reporting all the news?
ReplyDelete5:07pm Must live in the lovely city of Plainfield, NJ. I drove quickly through there once. The urban section, mainly ignored by the CN, is rather down trodden, but the suburban sections are quite nice. CN barely covers this city, one of the biggest population centers in its coverage area.
ReplyDeleteP.C.F. Distribution taking on a few Jersey papers in the near future so get ready circulation depts.
ReplyDelete5:32, most of the history of CN was Plainfield. Gannett built two buildings there, then left in 1972 for the suburbs. Money talks and there was a lot of money in the 'burbs and rural pastures. Gannett had wanted CN to be "the" paper across a swath of the middle part of the state (they were covering parts of Warren County and the lower half of Morris County.) I guess competing with the Star Ledger for 35 years didn't work out, did it? It's taken a generation for the CN to lose its "the Plainfield paper" moniker. Seems to me that papers which didn't move out of urban centers (the cities) kept their ground. Methinks that would make an interesting study.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a Gannettoid at CN, a publisher once asked what the paper always wanted to do but never did. Turns out it was to expand along with the westward-moving population into Somerset and Hunterdon counties. So they did, although with better success at covering the Wealth Belt Somerset towns than trying to have one or two reporters cover the 23 municipalities in ho-hum Hunterdon. The only big news out of there was the Jayson Willliams shooting case.
ReplyDeleteThere was talk of dropping Plainfield at several junctures, but it never happened (yet).
Since I retired in 2003 after 16 years, there has been a turnover of four reporters on the Plainfield beat. The newest one is getting out lots of news and features and deserves a prize for showcasing Plainfield almost every day.
But that and a few bucks may only be worth a something-something latte at the Starbucks in Westfield nowadays.
4:27- I find it a tad disturbing and short-sighted that you are looking forward to the "demise" of Gannett. You might not have liked working for Gannett, and good for you that you left, but I like my job. I actually like (most of) my co-workers. And don't tell some of the other grouches on here, but I even like my newspaper. I'm young, and I need to pay off loans so I can afford to eat. This is what I've always wanted to do, and I'm not willing to quit like you did. So yeah, I'm disappointed that I'm now forced to look into other options because it could be me out the door in a few weeks. But remember, while you laugh at the misfortune of others, news media is still the way you and the other ex-Gannett employees get your information. Without news media, you'll be left reading semi-accurate blogs without any attributions and riddled with opinion. So when you're wondering why nobody's talking about your city council members pocketing tax dollars or the illegality of the way a business is operating, remember that was the role of the newspaper you were happy to see wither away.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kansascity.com/382/story/890490.html
ReplyDeleteInteresting hostile work environment/age discrimination case just filed.
TV layoffs are already happening, mostly with behind the scenes people so far. ( production, administrative, etc ) On-air people who's contracts will be coming up or have come up are simply told that their contracts are getting renewed. ( or Gannett says they were unable to come with an agreement with the said talent )
ReplyDeleteRemember, as a contract employee, you don't have to give out any severance as such when your contract expires. Any severance has been reserved only for non on-air people.
Anyone in the broadcast division who thinks that layoffs are just mostly going to happen in the newspaper division probably need to rethink those thoughts. While the overall percentage of employee layoffs will indeed be from the print, TV will also have no shortage of people being shown the door. I'd expect those to start early in 2009 after 4th quarter earnings come in, with even bigger layoffs after first quarter of 2009, as those earnings will likely be even less than 2008 reports.
When the ship is sinking, it's almost impossible to refloat, and in the case of Gannett, only the Arizona and the Titanic sank faster.
TV faces a horrible future, and I think Corporate will kill off the news operations before too long. The even-year ad increase didn't show up this year, and cable has so diluted the audiences that local news no longer is viable compared to re-runs or whatever. Yes contract employees won't have severance, but that's the agreement they made when they signed contracts. Sorry, but I feel much more for the lower levels of salaried employees who are going to be really screwed.
ReplyDelete7:10 p.m. Exactly what the heck is your point and why should anyone outside of a 10-mile radius of Plainfield care? PS. The CN never made any inroads into Hunterdon, not because it is ho-hum but because The Hunterdon County Democrat is all anyone wants or needs out there other than the Times or the WSJ. The CN always thought it could "cover'' Hunterdon with one Flemington dateline, one Clinton cute kid photo and 20 Bound Brook, Manville and Plainfield datelines.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the 9:19 p.m. comment and as soon as I wrote it I was sorry I wrote it. First of all, if the vast majority of you dont care about Plainfield, you sure as heck don't care about Flemington. Second, I am just grouchy because I may be unemployed shortly and am scared. I apologize to the original poster and I am sorry I added even one drop of vitriol to this blog.
ReplyDeleteJim: It's telling that you would suggest that Gannett buy the blog. Even if in jest. You just can't wean yourself from the company. It's sad.
ReplyDelete