Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tuesday | Dec. 30 | Your News & Comments

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58 comments:

  1. I'm off to a late start today. How are you?

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  2. Good morning, Jim.
    Have you ever given a thought to an unofficial end-of-the-year "Most Clueless Gannett Executive Award"?
    This would be more of a grass-roots contest: Obviously, Craig Dubow would easily win a company-wide initiative.
    But there are plenty of clueless management team members bumbling along at the various sites who deserve recognition for their stupidity and utter incompetence as well.
    I'll just throw this out there to see if there's any interest. We have an excellent (read: NOT excellent) nominee at my paper here in St. Cloud.

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  3. BLOOMBERG today has article by Sarah Rabil

    "MACY'S, GANNETT FACE DEBT HAGOVER FROM PAST (Stock) BUYBACKS"

    Another example of Corporate's genius

    Oh, yesterday someone said Circulation was "Being quiet not to be noticed because of lay-offs"....well New Jersey home delivery is getting hit with elimination by outsourcing one paper at a time.

    Just waiting for my turn. I've never been homeless before.....I'll have to get used to it. Maybe I'll learn how to grow my own food.

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  4. I'll nominate Randy Hammer-Asheville
    completely clueless, fiddling while
    Asheville burns.

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  5. REgarding 8:53's suggestion. It's a good one and those of us here at the Courier-Post could fill a page. Let us know if this is ok to do, Jim.

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  6. My vote on the most clueless is a group award. The Op committee in Lansing. The biggest bunch of goofs I have ever seen.

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  7. Smaller Gannett papers in Ohio announcing they will no longer deliver missed papers Monday through Friday. Subscribers can ask for a credit or next-day delivery of the day-old paper.

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  8. Hi folks. I would appreciate it if anyone can share tips on how they made the jump from a newspaper reporter to a job in public relations, public affairs etc. etc. I have tons of clips, a long list of writing awards and some Web skills. But nobody seems to be impressed with all that.
    Thanks for any help anyone can give.

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  9. Business Development Manager job posted for USAT it looks like, but in the hospitality industry---not media? WTF?

    I believe job descriptions and postings can offer up a great look into where a company is headed.

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  10. How about a team award for the folks who decided to consolidate the email to corporate. We had less issues when the mail server was at our newspaper, than all the slowness and outages that seem to occur on a daily basis nowadays . Whomever at corporate who rolled this out or maintains it, should be nominated as most clueless.

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  11. The EE who posted the personal vacation photos on the paper's online edition gets my vote!!! (I think there were close to 100, or three complete photo galleries of 'em for readers to "enjoy.)

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  12. Most Creative Advertising Director Award should go to the Lansing Advertising Director...She has very creative ways to blame everyone except herself on her stupidity. We have lost so many advertiser's since she has taken the position.

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  13. http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/2008/12/who%E2%80%99s-the-lowest-of-them-all-glassdoor-reports-companies-with-lowest-ratings/

    #36 Gannett
    Craig A. Dubow 19%

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  14. Go ahead Cherry Hill - let's hear it all.

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  15. To 11:36 - Think outside the box. Match the skills not the job. If you can write, research and interview, look for something outside PR; insurance, legal, medical, government or criminal justice. After 15 years at a metro GCI paper, my new job did not come from compulsively mailing resumes and scanning classifieds; it came from meeting people face to face at ballgames, parties, restaurants, parades, etc. It came from small talk and just engaging people I knew. One of those conversations led to my current job. No nights or weekends; a nice Xmas bonus, no annual reviews, a fair price for travel and occasional kind words of appreciation for the work I do.

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  16. 12:13

    Sounds just like the Asheville paper. lol

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  17. I think the "Innovator of the Year" award should go to the person in Westchester who came up with the idea to post the video of the Yule Log so people without a real fireplace can enjoy the experience. Lets thank Westchester for leading our industry into the future.

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  18. I say an award should go to the publisher of that "smaller Ohio Gannett paper" (which one?) that decided no longer to deliver missed papers to subscribers.

    Talk about giving the finger to customers. They are saying, loud and clear: "We no longer care"

    "If we treat you badly enough, eventually you will stop bothering us and go away"

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  19. I say an award should go to the publisher of that "smaller Ohio Gannett paper" (which one?) that decided to no longer deliver missed papers to subscribers.

    Talk about giving the finger to customers. They are saying, loud and clear: "We no longer care"

    "If we treat you badly enough, eventually you will stop bothering us and go away"

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  20. 11:06 & 12:13

    Yeah, I agree with both of you. But in the case of Lansing, I really think the award should go to the entire Operating Committee. Perhaps special mentions could go to the executive editor, circulation director and advertising director. Of course, that lot is so clueless that any award (even a negative one) would just expand the sizes of their heads. I heard a rumor that the publisher in Lansing has received urgent requests from his OC to enlarge the doors in the building because several members have complained to HR that they can't fit their heads through the doorways anymore.

    It just amazes me that people like that still have jobs. I just wonder what they will do for employment once they run the entire paper into the ground. I guess there is always management opportunities available flipping burgers. Get you resumes ready Lansing OC because that property is sinking fast.ba

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  21. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  22. And another link to the similar survey from above:

    http://www.inquisitr.com/13692/gannett-ranked-as-one-of-americas-worst-places-to-work/

    Writeup says GCI is the only media company to make the bottom of the list. So proud.

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  23. does that website listed on the shrinking sections page list all of the papers cutting sections? At first I was stunned it was so many, then I figured if that many are doing it, it must be a Gannett-wide thing and it seems almost every paper would cut sections.

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  24. The word today is that the Ad Director in Asheville is leaving for another paper in NC next week.

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  25. I would nominate the managing editor in St. Cloud, who is not only a comically inept, micromanaging nitwit, but somehow is totally oblivious to the fact that everybody in the newsroom absolutely despises her.

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  26. Hey 1:22 - they're all doing that now.

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  27. re: Ohio Gannett papers not delivering missed papers:

    Zanesville, for one: http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20081230/UPDATES01/81229010

    Smaller papers like Lancaster and Chillicothe also posted similar notices, but I cannot find them online now.

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  28. 11:44 AM - I agree to a point. The cost for supporting 160+ email servers (assuming 2 per location) was stupid. Moving it to 12 servers was a great idea.

    However, like you, we never had a problem with our exchange servers when they were on location.

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  29. An honorable mention should go to Cincinnati Enquirer publisher Margaret Buchanan for giving readers of one of her community weeklies no reason why she shut down their paper for good two weeks ago, only that it “will cease publication with this week’s issue” (http://tinyurl.com/7ehtsy).

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  30. As of Monday the Cincinnati Enquirer ended same-day redeliveries with the exception of Sundays. Funny how that bit of information didn't quite make it to Margaret Buchanan's front page column in Sunday's paper that defined the changes that were coming. Imagine the look of surprise on everyone's faces after waiting a half hour on the phone to order a redelivery.

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  31. ANSWER NEEDED FROM GANNETT RETIREEES: I have a former co-worker who is 66+ years old. She was told today by Gannett that she cannot rollover her pension into a qualified IRA. She was given a voluntary buyout in May of this year.

    Can anyone verify that she is now not entitled to rollover the pension to a qualified IRA???

    Thanks for reaching out!

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  32. Westchester can't lead a horse to water.

    We don't even have garbage cans.

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  33. So, no word on the rumor mill of when the next batch of lay offs will be coming? Could New Years actually be a quiet, stess free holiday or are we just floating around in wonderland again?

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  34. Printed Newspapers are going the way of the Dodo bird. Everyone can see that. The golden age will never return. But that doesn't mean that news will end it just means that it will be distributed differently. Newspapers are only a way of the distribution of news, not news in and of itself. The vehicle of disseminating news may change, but news won't go away.

    Newspapers will fold because they are a for-profit enterprise. If they can't support themselves, they can't publish.

    Journalists aren't entitled to newspapers as a forum.

    I wonder if the Dodo bird cried as loudly before he became extinct.

    Why should newspapers be saved? (like the whale)

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  35. The readers in those smaller Ohio communities should feel grateful they are being missed by their carriers - the papers mentioned are all terrible products - they are costly with little revenue, yet poorly produced.

    One of them didn't even know the name of the mayor of their main city!

    It does point out how customer service is just a lot of talk when the chips are down for Gannett - in fact, all the "talk" about women's coverage and youth coverage and "new reader" coverage was all just talk when you look at how these sections have been decimated to same money!

    What a sad, pathetic, pitiful, humiliating joke Gannett is today.

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  36. Most clueless (and useless) at the Courier Post:

    The EE is a discard from Detroit and then Nashville. Was dumped here but kept by Gannett to keep their diversity numbers in line. This guy is unbelievably bad and everyone sees it in the newsroom. As usual, you have to smile (hard to do) and keep going to maintain your job...for now.

    the publisher is one but not worth the time to write about so this is all you get.

    The production director is a low-life crude person who came here with the present publisher after they got "moved" from Morristown. This guy treats people like garbage and has the filthiest mouth in the building. Real scum, but probably in the mold for Gannett.

    classified advertising manager is the number 1 joke here. This guy is so clueless it is far beyond anyone's comprehension. To a man or woman we all scratch our heads as to why this guy got this job! A truly brilliant person in the department was pased over. There HAS to be something between this clown and the idiot advertising director who keeps way unqualified people around because they probably know how to kiss her butt, OR, because she watns to keep really dump people around so she looks like a brighter lightbulb than she is or ever was.

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  37. Not much help but a local radio/tv blog in DC is hinting WUSA may be in big trouble in 2009.

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  38. Come on let's call the Publisher what he really is "The Village Idiot"

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  39. What are the actual chances that Gannett's board of directors will dump the current company leadership and replace them with somebody who knows what the heck they are doing? This group is leading this company into extinction rapidly and unless a chagge is made soon, I fear the end will be at hand sooner than anyone expects.

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  40. to 4:49 p.m., re pension, GCI apparently is right, this is at a church site, looking for something authoritative from a lesser god, though (end is key line):
    To contribute to a traditional IRA, you must be under age 70½ at the end of the tax year and have taxable compensation, such as wages, salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses, or net income from self-employment. In addition, taxable alimony and separate maintenance payments received by an individual are treated as compensation for IRA purposes.

    Compensation does not include earnings and profits from property, such as rental income, interest and dividend income, or any amount received as pension or annuity income, or as deferred compensation.

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  41. Regarding the pension rollover into an IRA, while in general it appears nothing should prevent it, some people at the time of their buyout had to make the choice at that time. So this may be a case where the retiree can't switch. Also, some folks at papers where Gannett acquired the property while they were employees (as in Phoenix, for example) had to make pension choices some time ago and therefore if they chose one way then (say, an annuity payout) they can't change now. Some of this came to light in the pension freeze info last summer.

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  42. To 12:13pm

    I beg to differ...CN Ad Director and her clueless OC gets the award for having "very creative ways to blame everyone except herself on her stupidity." We too have lost so many advertiser's since she has taken the position. Her worthless cronies aren't much better: they continue with the same useless, worthless practices that they always have. Would be great to see a change, just wish someone would have the guts to give it a try.

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  43. 4:49 Your friend can open an IRA up until they are 72.

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  44. Anonymous@4:49, the best thing you can do for your friend is to tell her to go talk to a financial planner. Seeking help from posters in a forum like this, no matter how well-intentioned they might be in responding, is not a substitute for solid professional advice, especially on something so critical as retirement funds.

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  45. OK. I'll bite. Which newspaper (or just provide clues) EE posted personal vacation pictures to the tune of 100?

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  46. Come on Jim waiting for the new post

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  47. Hey 1:25 OC requested the enlarged doors so that the Ad Director could get her BIG BUTT through them.

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  48. Why stop with the ME in St. Cloud? Granted, she's our ultimate toad with her obsessive dustbusting of empty desks next to people working on deadline. The best example of her incompetence came after the power went out during the middle of a tornado and other dangerous weather: She suggested to a group of young staffers that they might want to go to dinner since there was nothing they could work on. Hey, smart lady, good suggestion: go drive into the middle of a TORNADO!!!! The woman hasn't had an original thought since she took the position, but she sure will claim any idea you have to be hers. She has cohorts that are just as uniquely unqualified, though, including the publisher who hides and takes the OC with him every time the news starts to look grim. Thanks for the great leadership. Can't wait to see what all is in store for us in 2009.

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  49. Now that we know who the worst managers are let's find out who some of the best are, at least what sites they are at.

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  50. Gary Shawd of Louisville IT is a great manager. Along with him are Renee Gentry, Paul Wirth, Nate Russel. I could throw in Gary Swick as a good manager also. Louisville has a great team of managment.

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  51. @4:49:

    Your friend needs to get in touch with http://www.pensionrights.org/.

    She may in fact be in a bind because of a decision made some time ago, but she needs to find out exactly what's going on in her situation. Pension rules are very specific and detailed, and some expert advice is in order whenever something weird like this pops up.

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  52. There are some really good, hard-working, creative mid-level managers in Wilmington, but they're mostly stifled these days. Hard to blame them for not rocking the boat.

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  53. I noticed that several job postings at USAToday.com are not there anymore.. Specifically the Video editor and the Videojournalist opening. Any inside info on this? Were they filled or were the job positions eliminated? Is there any hiring going on there, or is it all downsizing and cutbacks?

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  54. can you hear the crickets now???

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  55. Regarding ANSWER NEEDED FROM GANNETT RETIREEES: I have a former co-worker who is 66+ years old. She was told today by Gannett that she cannot rollover her pension into a qualified IRA. She was given a voluntary buyout in May of this year. Can anyone verify that she is now not entitled to rollover the pension to a qualified IRA???

    I was once told there are more than 40 pension plan variations at Gannett. That's because many came from acquisitions, each with different formulas, payout features, etc. The Company Pension Plan was not one formula, but a mix and match of formulas.

    If this is the case, it only seems reasonable that some people have annuity options, while others have a cash balance that can be rolled into another, and still others have a combination of both.

    My guess is the company wishes it had only cash plans that could be moved, because it must invest the assets of all and with this market it can't be good thing.

    Or maybe they just wanted this 66 year old person to complain?

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  56. 11:31 PM Gary Shawd of Louisville IT is a great manager. ....Louisville has a great team of managment.


    "Great". REALLY?
    What makes him in your opinion "great"?

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  57. Responding to 4:49:
    I am 55 and was laid off in September. My paperwork said I could rollover my pension to an IRA - or take the money and pay the penalty. But either way, that money was mine to do what I wanted with. I got it out of Gannett's hands and rolled into an IRA as quickly as possible. Lest they announce their pension fund was broke!

    I can't think of a reason why your friend's situation would be any different.

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  58. 8:11 AM
    You can see Gannett's different pension plans at a site called freeerisa. It has the actual tax documents the company has to file each year.

    I sure hope your friend calls the pension rights center for help.

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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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