Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday | Dec. 18 | Your News & Comments
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67 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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Thank you, Al Neuharth, for all the great material -- again!
ReplyDeleteWhat's a Bus Capade?
ReplyDeleteThe Mountain Xpress, an alternative weekly in Asheville, NC, reports that former Citizen-Times Executive Editor Susan Ihne has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the newspaper.
ReplyDelete(Ihne was a Gannett import to Asheville - its fourth EE under three publishers in a span of about eight years. She implemented the GCI-mandated "Local, Local, Local" dismantling of the newspaper's traditional sections, then apparently was fired when the GCI initiative backfired among readers.
(Ihne's husband, John Yenne, was the C-T's internet guru who stayed on after her firing in May 2008 but was axed himself in September, as part of Gannett's Production and HR director genocide.)
Here's part of the Mountain Xpress story, also reported on www.Ashvegas.squarespace.com:
In a $15 million wrongful termination lawsuit filed Wednesday against the Asheville Citizen-Times, former Executive Editor Susan Ihne claims the newspaper’s publisher bullied and harassed her.
Publisher Randy Hammer couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
...
In her lawsuit, filed in Buncombe County Superior Court, Ihne charges that Hammer began harassing and bullying her six weeks after he joined the newspaper in October 2007. The lawsuit states “that this harassment and bullying consisted of yelling and raising his voice at the Plaintiff, belittling and degrading her on the job, and misusing his power in a calculated effort to destroy her self-confidence and get her to resign from her job.”
In one instance, Ihne claims, Hammer yelled at her in a one-on-one meeting “in an attempt to frighten and terrify her.” Other times, Hammer would refer to her with “pejorative names, such as ‘nasty person’,” according to the lawsuit.
In her lawsuit, Ihne also claims that Hammer threatened her job and ordered her not to call corporate headquarters concerning him, and ordered her not to forward his e-mails without his permission. Ihne charges that, in one instance, Hammer also undermined her leadership by telling a project team they’d done a good job, then telling her she’d done “a lousy job” as team leader. Hammer “created a hostile work environment by his abusive conduct,” according to the lawsuit.
Susan Ihne's $15 million lawsuit names as defendants Gannett and Randy Hammer personally.
ReplyDeleteShe's represented by Harold L. Kennedy of a Winston-Salem law firm of the same name. I don't know the firm's reputation, but it may be significant that she went outside Asheville for representation. Heavy hitters?
Susan Ihne's lawsuit (a copy of which is linked at www.ashvegas.squarespace.com) is asking a total of $65 million in actual damages and $50,000 in punitive damages in five separate actions.
ReplyDeleteA 27-year Gannett employee, she won two President's Rings and one Gold Medal award before coming to Asheville.
Hammer is in his first publisher's job.
Regarding lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteI know of an age discrimination one against a mid sized Michigan paper a couple of years back. It was settled though very quietly. The employee got a payoff and went away quietly.
I think more of these are on the horizon and the company could be in real trouble.
Jim, how about a separate thread for the likely successor to Paulson's throne at USA Today. Four years ago, the finalists for the job included Bennie Ivory, the top editor in Louisville. Will he be in the running again?
ReplyDeleteI know little about Paulson or Big Al (only what I read here) but I did meet John Seigenthaler, and I have to say I was extremely impressed with him. He seemed genuine, extremely smart and articulate, and concerned about the future of journalism and what it means to First Amendment rights. Was I snowed? What is he really like?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the story on Hammer?
ReplyDeleteInsiders in Asheville say he went berserk in OC meetings, was verbally abusive and in-your-face threatening.
Here's the link for the Mountain Xpress story on Susan Ihne's lawsuit:
ReplyDeletewww.mountainx.com
8:28
ReplyDeleteYou were not snowed. John Seigenthaler is the real deal, and Ken Paulson is no John Seigenthaler.
Finally. Hammer is going to get bit in the ass for something he's been doing at other sites for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIf others who were on the receiving end of his abuse step forward he and Gannett could be in big trouble. It could turn into a class action suit.
He brought many reporters to tears (especially women. What a tough guy.) and in one case, took a reporter's notebook and threw it at her in a heated meeting.
He loved shouting at reporters and slamming doors. He would stop news meetings to take an editor or reporter into his office for some loud verbal abuse.
He forced a sports department to hire his daughter. She was worthless.
He liked dating women much younger than him, too.
Yeah, this could be a good one. Stay tuned, especially if others speak up!
Susan Ihne was an outstanding editor, and won top honors for her commitment to diversifying newsrooms. She served as a mentor to many, many folks as part of this effort. Many in the top editing ranks were shocked to see her summarily fired because she was well thought of in Gannett and won news honors from the company on many occasions. Colleagues I know were shocked that there was no offer of a soft landing so that she could work elsewhere in the company. That used to happen when there was a case of a publisher not getting along with a editor that had merit. No longer.
ReplyDeleteIhne’s suit has far broader implications for Gannett as it has knowingly and openly tolerated the behaviors that she alleges Hammer demonstrates from far too many for far too long.
ReplyDeleteAnd, you don’t have to dig to deep to find similar egregious behaviors…Henry, Buchanan, Collins…the list goes on and on. People like this damaged this company more than anyone will ever know.
It’s time for Gannett to finally listen up and clean up. And, in Ihne’s case, pay up.
Randy Hammer was Denise Ivey's nuclear solution for Asheville. He was her mentor. She despised Smith, who corporate saved, and she resented Green because corporate appointed him pub without her approval. When she got the chance to get rid of Green, she cut loose Randy on Asheville. And the result is a $15 million lawsuit against the company.
ReplyDeleteJim, Please create a separate string about the Asheville lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a BusCapade?
ReplyDeleteAl Neuharth wrote a book about it.
Buscapade: Plain Talk Across the USA
In 1985-86? Big Al rode on a bus (at least part of the time) visiting cities across the nation, talking to people, getting interviewed by reporters at Gannett newspapers and TV stations, generally making a big deal about something most politicians do every election cycle, except Al wasn't running for anything except maybe self egrandizement. The reporter at the Muskogee Daily Phoenix came back to the office after her interview freaking about how inappropriate "Mr. Neuharth" was.
There are lots of stories about his escapade that, of course, didn't get into the book. I wish others would share them now.
On the Asheville suit, since when is being yelled at and belittled grounds for a lawsuit? I don't think this one goes anywhere.
ReplyDeleteA comment from yesterday said: "...President Rings. You ha[v]e to be pure evil to get one of those."
ReplyDeleteBoy, you nailed that one! I knew one of these ring bearers when I worked in Tucson. Gannett allows these people to exist (in this case, production director) with a wink and nod as long as they stay under budget and they don't become an embarrassment for Gannett. After twenty plus years of his reign he finally ruffled a few too many feathers and became that "embarrassment." He was shown the door. But how many careers were ruined because of him.
Gannett was the entity I held reponsible for this man's existance.
10:26 AM - It happens more than you think, especially when the bullies create a hostile work environment.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in Gannett's case, it's in its DNA. If you do it, you should stop.
Wait until the class lawsuits hit Gannett for unpaid overtime. That could easily start in Asheville as well.
ReplyDelete10:26 AM
ReplyDeleteHave to disagree with your opinion that this lawsuit will go nowhere. This single action by one courageous person will, I think, send waves of change throughout the company.
If you haven't read the entire complaint, you need to.
Regarding the FLSA and overtime, there IS no need for a class action suit. If one employee files a complaint for unpaid overtime, and it is proven, the consequences apply to ALL employees who have worked under the same conditions - including former employees - and they ALL get back pay.
ReplyDeleteBut the provision applying to all employees generally is construed as meaning in a specific work environment. The newsroom at a particular newspaper but not a sister publication, for example. A suit against the company as a whole would be jarring in the hallways at corporate.
ReplyDeleteGannett Legal is known to settle lawsuits. They do not want to risk losing a suit at one newspaper that could potentially affect them financially at all of their newspapers. 11:09 hit it right on the head regarding unpaid overtime and that would apply to any other wrongful termination suits. Whether you have been laid off already or if it happens to you in the future, if there are any grounds for wrongful termination you should pursue legal options. There is a very good chance Gannett will offer you money to go away.
ReplyDeletePresident rings mean nothing, and I find it sorry that Inhe cites hers in this lawsuit. I find myself with Hammer on this one. Inhe was way over her head, and needed to go.
ReplyDeleteYear-end: A message from Craig Dubow
ReplyDeleteDear Co-workers:
As this painful and difficult year closes, I wanted everyone at Gannett to know how much I appreciate your hard work, support and concern for our business. We could not have come this far, through these tough times, without the willingness of everyone here to give this company their all.
I want to assure you that relative to our media peers and many other industries, Gannett is transforming and leading the way. We are profitable, and our debt is moderate.
Gannett is in this position because of your hard work and sacrifices and because we made and executed on tough decisions throughout the year. We managed our cash and our debt. We've decided what to buy and what not to buy. And we've made the toughest decision of all: to keep expenses in line with revenues.
I know, as well as anyone here, that the decision to layoff employees is unpopular and wrenching. But acting as we have allows us to move forward in this recession and support the mission of our newspapers and TV stations while positioning ourselves for the digital future.
We can do this because we have a solid strategic plan. We are executing on it and we will be prepared to move quickly when the economy improves.
Our plan is to grow our digital business in a way that takes full advantage of our local strengths and our national footprint. The plan is about making smart acquisitions and partnerships such as becoming the majority owner of CareerBuilder; buying out our partners in ShopLocal and merging it with PointRoll; investing in Mogulus and 4INFO; and rolling out our internal and external digital ad networks.
Our plan is about innovation, such as the bold step of changing the newspaper paradigm in Detroit or launching ContentOne, which will change the way we share information throughout the company and with vendors.
Next year will continue to be difficult. But it also will be a year of solid management and great experimentation - of trying new ways to deliver information in ways customers want and need it. In the end, that is what we are all about and have been for more than 100 years.
Thank you all, and my best wishes for a brighter, happier new year.
Regarding Inhe's lawsuit:
ReplyDeleteNot all the abused employees were women, I can tell you. Abusive, little dictator-style publishers thrive in the Gannett environment. That is why this suit will be so wonderful.
I am contacting her attorneys to let them know that I will be more than willing to be deposed to testify that to the pattern of ugly, vile, vicious, mean-spirited, vindictive, abusive publishers in Gannett.
BUT they are even more rampant in the smaller Gannett community newspapers in Wisconsin and Ohio. THAT is where the real powderkeg lies for gannett! If the employees at those smaller papers ever stepped forward, it would crush this company! PLEASE! Step forward folks in Wisconsin and Ohio - tell your tales of abuse. Contact her lawyers and make this a done deal!
This is the tip of the iceberg IF ex-employees and employees will step forward, contact the attorneys and make it clear that Gannett has RUINED many, many careers by encouraging abusive, hateful publishers and EEs and other department heads to abuse their authority.
Workers have rights today and a hostile work environment like what Hammer does, along with the ones presently at papers in Wisconsin and Ohio, should not be tolerated.
In an e-mail, a reader just forwarded the following letter to employees from CEO Craig Dubow. "I guess Craig's year is over,'' the reader says. "Some of us are, you know, working for the next two weeks."
ReplyDeleteThe full text follows:
Dear Co-workers:
As this painful and difficult year closes, I wanted everyone at Gannett to know how much I appreciate your hard work, support and concern for our business. We could not have come this far, through these tough times, without the willingness of everyone here to give this company their all.
I want to assure you that relative to our media peers and many other industries, Gannett is transforming and leading the way. We are profitable, and our debt is moderate.
Gannett is in this position because of your hard work and sacrifices and because we made and executed on tough decisions throughout the year. We managed our cash and our debt. We've decided what to buy and what not to buy. And we've made the toughest decision of all: to keep expenses in line with revenues.
I know, as well as anyone here, that the decision to layoff employees is unpopular and wrenching. But acting as we have allows us to move forward in this recession and support the mission of our newspapers and TV stations while positioning ourselves for the digital future.
We can do this because we have a solid strategic plan. We are executing on it and we will be prepared to move quickly when the economy improves.
Our plan is to grow our digital business in a way that takes full advantage of our local strengths and our national footprint. The plan is about making smart acquisitions and partnerships such as becoming the majority owner of CareerBuilder; buying out our partners in ShopLocal and merging it with PointRoll; investing in Mogulus and 4INFO; and rolling out our internal and external digital ad networks.
Our plan is about innovation, such as the bold step of changing the newspaper paradigm in Detroit or launching ContentOne, which will change the way we share information throughout the company and with vendors.
Next year will continue to be difficult. But it also will be a year of solid management and great experimentation - of trying new ways to deliver information in ways customers want and need it. In the end, that is what we are all about and have been for more than 100 years.
Thank you all, and my best wishes for a brighter, happier new year.
*edits Dubow memo to note that "lay off" is two words*
ReplyDeleteHe has a cruise to catch in the Bahamas!!
ReplyDeleteHey 12:04
ReplyDeleteYou are correct in that not all the abused were women. I worked in Michigan for a B#$@$ who was moved to a southern paper. I have never met a person so closed off. She not only alienated the staff at the paper. But the entire city as well.
I thought Publishers should have an open door policy and talk to employees instead of chewing then out at the 1st chance you got.
I am so glad I no longer a gannettoid. My family is happy too. I actually have a life.
2:18 - I know exactly who you are talking about. She did it in West Virginia as well. Close the door, ride the staff hard via e-mail, and act like she's working with a bunch of idiots at the OC meeting. The people in town couldn't wait for her to leave.
ReplyDeleteScary day for our brothers and sisters at McClatchy. Share price of MNI down nearly 30 percent, almost falling through the $1 floor. Gannett employees have every reason to be watching this closely.
ReplyDeleteWow. The idea of Randy Hammer yelling at or belittling somebody is unheard of. I never saw him do that to anybody else. (For those who never worked with him, that is sarcasm.) That was SOP for him.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he and Kate Marymont had a very good working relationship in Springfield, especially at the end. That could be a fun situation.
Jim or anyone else out there - any word on the timeline for the "Finance Project"? Credit/Collections is gone and so is accounts receivable with the remits going to the mid-west. But, what about Acct. Pay., Debit/credits and Gen. ledger people? This has all been hanging over the Finance depts. peoples heads for months! ANYONE out there know anything?
ReplyDeleteHey 2:18
ReplyDeleteI looking at her bio, I see that about 2yrs is all anyone can stand of her. Then the big whigs move her on.
I would like to hear what LA people think of her style. I bring this up only because this mirror what is happening in Asheville.
Great Pubs. are very few and far in this company.
Ive worked here in Asheville for over 15 years and I can tell you that I hope Hammer gets what he has coming. Maybe they should ask for more money and sue the previous publisher Green too! He was pretty awful but Gannett eventually figured out they made a mistake and moved him out but then we went from the "heat to the frying pan"!!
ReplyDeleteBusCapade stories? Oh yeah ...
ReplyDeleteAt one point the paper organized "town meetings" at several Gannett "sites" to take the nation's pulse about issues, and these meetings (I think four or five if dim memory serves) were timed to coincide with the BigAlBus's arrival in those states (part of the schtick was, each week another state, and on that Friday, an AlColumn about that state).
Anyway, I was working at one of the town meetings -- we had reporters in the audience for each, covering what was said and getting names/contacts of people who spoke up so we could get further details afterward for a follow-up story about the gathering.
And the very FIRST thing we had to do AFTER the meeting ended was troop off to the AlBus, sit down inside with Al's crew, and unload the best of our notes and quotes to THEM for use in "his" column, which naturally they were ghost-writing.
Among the crew on the AlBus, besides Paulson, was USAT fabulist-in-training Jack Kelley, who later went along on Big Al's "JetCapade" to 30-some foreign countries ... or did he?!
for those people who got lay off did you recd' a letter stating your positon is being ELIMINATED AS A RESULT OF CURRENT BUSINESS CONDITIONS.
ReplyDeleteemailing the people that were left at the work place and telling me that some of my work (responsibilites) are being done by people that were left there. Now i ask this questions. If i recd' a letter stating my job has been ELIMINATED would that mean everything that i did is gone?
looking up in the Webster dictionary on what eliminated means - tells me get rid of - removed. well, i don't think that's what happening . Is Gannett stupid or do they just hired stupid people to hand out this lay off papers ?
3:09 pm: I don't know anything more about any phase of the finance project. But the moment I do . . .
ReplyDeleteTo 3:50 PM and all the other reprobates who still subscribe to that school of management, your days, like your newspapers dwindling subscriptions and profits, are numbered because of it.
ReplyDeleteBehaviors like those that you support hurt companies, quantifiably so. If you can’t figure out why on your own, then perhaps you should use the internet to discover the answer. Better yet, pick-up a copy of The No Asshole Rule as surprisingly enough it fits my OC/Publisher view of what’s been going on in Gannett far too well.
I cannot believe that some people are telling folks to suck it up. I have worked under at least 6 publishers and worked with more than that. Some of the Gannett publishers around right now are just nasty people. I can always see a place for heated debate, but never belittling people, screaming at them and eventually firing them just because you don't like the truth. The current publisher in Nashville is the worst I have ever worked with. Thank God I got out of Gannett. I wanted to send a letter to corp when I left letting them know what a mistake it was to keep promoting these demonic publishers, but who would listen? I think there are many of us who would be glad to go on record about the abusive way some Gannett publishers treat people. We have all worked with other effective publishers who never had to do that.
ReplyDeletehttp://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/its-the-internet-dad/
ReplyDelete2:18 and 2:40 -- I once was a director under her. And I have never met anyone in my life as paranoid, demanding, unreasonable, vindictive and totally unhinged. Ivey's evil blonde twin.
ReplyDeleteBus Capade: Al showed up at the Palm Springs newspaper wearing a summer suit that was white -- a rather thin material that displayed his red bikini briefs. I think he wanted all of us young girls to look down.
ReplyDeleteA newspaper did a mocking cartoon of buscapade that made the rounds. It showed Al's plan with the Gannett logo on the tarmac with the stairs down and the bus next to it with the do open waiting for AL. The bus was basically a big taxi to take Al from the plane to the "town meetings"
ReplyDeleteJet capade was the excuse to upgrade Al from a Gulfstream I to a Gulfstream III. The G3 had a larger cabin, more luxurious accommodations and longer range.
Some people here seem to have lived cloistered, cushy lives where they have never had a boss yell at you. Hey, welcome to the real world. You will see after GCI that there are some real s.o.b.s in business whose only role in life is to make their employees miserable. Don't want the yelling and screaming? Don't take the paycheck.
ReplyDeleteThis entire scenario only demonstrates how Gannett operates as a cutthroat (dis)organization. To wit:
ReplyDelete- A multiple President's Ring winner (I suppose we have to count "The Good Community" yearlong self-esteem circle jerk in Arkansas) demonstrating his leadership by bullying, humiliating and childish tantrums.
- A multiple President's Ring editor being kicked out of the company after 27 years of presumably outstanding work. What value is a President's Ring when some thug wants you to disappear.
- A plaintiff (known in the Asheville newsroom as "Roseanne") who allegedly fostered similar disrespect for employees and carnage in her own newsrooms.
- A retiring corporate news executive who apparently lacks enough character (or perhaps spine) to reverse a back-stabbing culture.
God, what a show. And what a dysfunctional organization. The best any Gannett newspaper can hope for is to be sold. I worked for a respected media company for 25 years and never saw anything approaching this level of self-destructive behavior. Our newspaper group, and its corporate executives, were constantly offering support as our newspaper made its own community-based decisions. A far cry from Gannett's cookie-cutter rotation of carpet-bagger dictators.
Am I glad to no longer be involved in the Gannett charade? You bet. Life is good on the outside. Am I angry to see what Gannett has done to our hometown newspaper? Angry doesn't begin to cover those feelings.
Everything that 7:04 said. Right on, brother/sister. I agree 100% with every word.
ReplyDeleteBut 6:50, your post is pure delusional fantasy. Gannett's management culture is so vastly different from the way businesses operate in the real world. I know from several personal experiences. Also, many of my former newspaper friends have all been excited and surprised by the positive work cultures they have discovered outside the walls of a Gannett property. It's appalling to suggest that Gannett's way is just the way of the world, so we should all just be happy with it. That's a crock! It's a total fabrication and reveals many truths about you. If you truly believe that, then you don't have much experience outside of Gannett.
Gannett's reputation for humiliating and degrading its employees is widely known throughout the journalism world. The belittling management style is just the Gannett way, and it's promoted by the upper echelons of the corporation.
Companies that have been successful in the 21st century don't operate like this. They understand the importance of inspiring employees, boosting morale, promoting success, and giving confidence to an entire team to help achieve the company's goals. Gannett managers seem to believe that morale can be achieved through intimidation, threats and elimination of those who ask questions or may be just a little different. Gannett creates a fear-based culture that persists throughout the entire chain.
Anyone who needs a little reassurance about getting out should just ask their former colleagues what it's like on the outside. The corporate fanny-kissers who post here want you believe something that isn't true.
And we can any hope that 6:50 doesn't have any children.
ReplyDelete6:50 has two children, both girls. One earned $240,000 last year, and the other $82,000.
ReplyDeleteAwe, for God's sake, grow up. The swaddling clothing is long gone, and you are not going to be coddled in this life. There is no longer any going back to mommy, so get used to the real world. Awe, did your boss yell at you today? Was it unwarranted, or was it in response to some stupid mistake that could have got you fired if he/she was really vituperative?
ReplyDeleteAll Florida papers have had their A/P transfered to Tallahassee. A total cluster *BEEP*!
ReplyDeleteThey should make this blog a sitcom. Guaranteed Emmy.
ReplyDeleteWhat does having a Gannett ring mean? Do the ranks with lean staff get them very often? ... The editors who are part editor, part assignment editor, part online editor and part reporter? Can we get a list that is sorted by papers over the past 15 years noting how many rings earned there regardless of the editor? And get a list by editor name? Will we find that some papers earn them regardless of editor or vice versa?
ReplyDeleteI know someone who would have a solid case against a Gannett paper, but the person refuses to file, even after preliminary talks with lawyers that assures that the company was wrong, wrong in what it did to the person.
ReplyDeleteThe person is a really good friend, how can I convince that person to take a stand now before the statute of limitation runs out?
I didn't have to be lawyer to know that the person case screamed lawsuit.
Is there even one Gannett daily other than the mothership without that same cookie-cutter Web site?
ReplyDeleteThe true err is in trying to make everything within the company uniform and conform. Let individual properties fly free and just deliver the profits instead of strapping them with corporate initiatives that obfuscate local creativity. The homogenization is a recipe for death. The old adage about good leadership isn't applied...provide vision, put good people in place and get out of the way.
ReplyDelete7:51 p.m. is absolutely right.
ReplyDeleteThe tip of iceberg is this Asheville case... but there will be more.
What is sad is that in the wake of these rotating turds Gannett sends from place to place - look at Lafayette, and other towns where there have been a revolving door of idiots Gannett considers competent.
What I shake my head at is the fact that some of the WORST and abusive publishers and EEs are in the Wisconsin and Ohio papers.....
Yet they seem to frightened to even come on this website and talk AT ALL.
Knock, knock... hello? Hello? Anyone from the Ohio or Wisconsin papers there? Are you all so browbeaten that you are afraid to speak up.?
We all that at one paper the publisher berates paginators, yet is legally blind and his idiot editor spits chewing tobacco around everyone and humiliates staffers daily.
This is common, yet... the staffers are afraid of this site. Why?
You know - I read this blog fairly regularly and I've been interested in what is going on in the company, but what I don't understand is why the pictures are almost exclusively of white men. Aren't there any people of color in the upper ranks? It strikes me as odd because I know Gannett has made a great effort to diversify its news staffs.
ReplyDeleteI am the GREAT CORNHOLIO ! I got more (Dubow's memeo) "TP" for my bunghole
ReplyDeleteGetting a ring means being awarded a Presidents ring as in President of the Newspaper Division. Each major department headed by an Operating Committee such as News, Circulation, Advertising, Production, HR etc awards up to 10 rings each year to individual OC members that are nominated by their publisher and blessed by the Regional VP and forwarded to corporate. Each department has its own criteria but the universal truth is that the OC at regional HQ's won a disproportionate share of the rings each year. If you won five during a career you were then given a chairmans ring. To win a ring gave you some status and definately helped with the compensation (re:raise) the year you won. The three designated as the top three won some cash. Ironically it didn't ever guarantee continued employment as my first experience working for a ring winner was he won a ring in June and was gone the following Dec when he got on the wrong side of a higher up.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI just removed a comment from a well-intended reader who meant to repeat my advice from above: Please, IGNORE abusive posters; deny them the attention they crave. That includes not mentioning or acknowledging their name or screen name. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDeep Throat died.
ReplyDeleteWhen somebody got a Publisher's Ring at CN and then got demoted, my little joke was that first they gave him the ring, then they gave him the finger.
ReplyDelete