Friday, January 09, 2009

Friday | Jan. 9 | Your News & Comments

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48 comments:

  1. If you are under 45, dont have a newspaper specific job, still work for Gannett, and have talent, WTF? Why be the band playing on the Titanic? There are enough life rafts for you, get off that sinking ship! If you havent been reading this blog for the last 6 months, let me fill you in. Gannett sucks! :)

    www.monster.com <- its your way out!

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  2. Yesterday someone asked if anyone wanted a Director from the Westchester Journal News----------My answer---No Thanks !!! This is the greatest group of losers I have ever seen. Because they are now delivering single copy for a few other papers doesn't mean they know what they're doing---besides the number of El Diarios that they are delivering is about 1500 , and the breakdown on revenue from that is about 15.00/day. WOW What a dramatic economic upswing. The directors at the Journal News do not have a clue and if corporate was smart they would be asking why the circulation at TJN is so awful. Seems like they have been safe for quite some time ( why I do not know) but sooner than you think they'll have to answer some tough questions and their ignorance will sign through.

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  3. Oh and I almost forgot----KRISTA MUELLER TO THE RESCUE !!!!!!!!!!!

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  4. If you think you might get a lay off notice next round, should you use as much of your benefits as possible before then. Should I get new glasses using my vision insurance and make a dentist appointment before February?

    Thanks Jim for all you do.

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  5. Over 11.1 million Americans are now out of work, and the unemployment rate just jumped to 7.2, the highest in 16 years:

    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Carnage-continues-524000-jobs-lost/story.aspx?guid={F9716B93-2009-4F9D-A2CC-6890DA427BF2}

    First graph:
    Nearly 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008, with 1.9 million destroyed in just the past four months, according to a survey of work places. It's the biggest job loss in any calendar year since 1945, when 2.75 million jobs were lost as the wartime economy was demobilized.

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  6. Man the spam was hot and heavy yesterday. It certainly spiced up my inbox. Here are some of my favs:

    - Global job vacancy-apply now
    - She kept sucking all night long
    - Don't disappear again!
    - I don't know where are you!

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  7. Looks like some volume activity in the stock late yesterday afternoon, don't know yet if they were buyers or sellers.

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  8. Telling Wall Street expenses will mirror revenues may be perceived as engaged leadership and please them (though it hasn’t), but in-practice, repeatedly doing so further damages this company.

    Even less experienced managers and business owners know that when you have to cut, you cut deeply once and move forward. Not Dubow, not the board, nor many of Gannett’s other vacuous suits. Instead, this lot keeps nibbling and nibbling away, in some cases on and off randomly for at least three years. The negative outcomes of their efforts include: declining morale, less collaborative and risk taking environments - many people expect to be next, and ultimately, disappointing results.

    Luckily, Dubow and his lot of “leaders” have current economic conditions as their cover; else their real short comings would be exposed even more. Addressing rumors of another round of fast approaching terminations would help, including committing to a window of none. Now, that’s leadership.

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  9. 3,058 more down the road

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  10. What's Kate's vision?

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  11. Jim,
    Have you considered your blog model for another company... Consider the Big Three or AT&T or Walmart. They are employee pools that might interact too.

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  12. to 8:40 am - I would say yes.

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  13. has anyone heard anything about a february layoff?

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  14. Re: February layoffs.

    From what I've heard from an EE it will be done on a site-by-site basis. The most profitable papers or the ones that have already cut back a little extra won't get hit this time. The ones that are really struggling will get cuts.

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  15. 9:49:

    To have stock activity, you have to have both buyers and sellers.

    Also, according to Google Finance, 4.1 million shares of Gannett traded yesterday, the lowest volume since Dec. 30 and well below the 3-month average of 4.5 million. So there was no spike in activity yesterday. You just made all that up.

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  16. The ones that are really struggling will get cuts.

    1/09/2009 11:38 AM



    Wouldn't it stand to reason that if the paper is struggling, that means it needs MORE help and not LESS? Fewer bodies would logically mean worse results than they already have.

    Great thinking Gannett.

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  17. Asheville:

    I read this post yesterday and was going to respond with my typical venom toward Gannett and the CTimes. I decided it might help this person if I told my story. The blogger is in a situation much like my own several years ago. Torn between self-respect and the need to make a living, I stayed at the CTimes and suffered many of the same indignities because I needed to have an income.

    The sleepless nights, nightmares and self-doubt pushed me out the door. If I could survive the barbs, the screaming, hte uncertainty, the lack of leadership, the constant belittling inside the CTimes then I certainly could survive with less money and the job benefits.

    I didn't find a job right away. I went to therapy and discovered that I was suffering what was close to post traumatic stress. I finally went to work for a company where my bosses say "Thank You" and "Good Job" and, "Thanks for the extra effort". Phrases I never heard at the CTimes.

    There are hundreds of people that have left the CTimes that are working free lance or left the newspaper industry altogether. Many of us discovered that leaving the CTimes was one of the best things that we have ever done for ourselves. We gained back our dignity and self-respect.

    I say let's help this person. If you are a former CTimes employee that feels better since you quit, or were pushed out the door, please share your story. Maybe we can help this person see that the managers and the toxic environment are not worth one's mental or physical health.

    It is sad to see traditional newspapers go the wayside. If Gannett thinks it can survive this storm by keeping publishers like Hammer and finance managers like Stenseth, it deserves to go down the tubes. Alt weeklies like Mountain Express will continue to survive. Once the economy turns, I think you will see more free weeklies stealing market share from the CTimes.

    Blogger take care of yourself. You will survive and there is life after Gannett.

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  18. Kate's vision is 20/20 I believe.

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  19. From the MOtley Fool:

    You might think newspaper companies such as New York Times (NYSE: NYT), Gannett (NYSE: GCI), and Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) have enough troubles, what with declining circulations and competition from the Internet. But here's a new one: lawsuits from disgruntled readers. A reader of North Carolina's News & Observer, complaining that reduced staffing has reduced the quality of the product, has sued the company. He may have a point -- layoffs sometimes seem unavoidable to businesses, but cuts that go too deep can compromise quality and send customers away.

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  20. GANNETT WELCOMES YOU TO THE OVAL (blog)
    Just what will The Oval be covering?

    • Breaking news about the Obama administration, its policies and what both supporters and opponents are saying and doing.
    • Highlights from and links to White House and Congressional reporting by USA TODAY and its Gannett partners.
    • Conversations with key players in the administration and behind-the-scenes looks at the White House and the reporters who cover it.
    • Links to the best White House-related stories, photos, audio and video from other news media outlets and the blogosphere.
    • News about what potential 2012 presidential candidates are doing.

    This is also going to be a place where you can talk about politics and the president, via the comment threads and in forums, with others.

    Mark Memmott, a long-time USA TODAY reporter and editor who has been blogging at USA TODAY On Politics (and before that at On Deadline) will be guiding The Oval. USA TODAY White House correspondents Mimi Hall, David Jackson and Rich Wolf, along with Washington bureau chief Susan Page and others from USA TODAY's News reporting corps, will be contributing.

    [Is this ContentOne, er, ContentOval?)

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  21. ALERT - All features at Community Newspapers to be eliminated in Feb.

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  22. 11:38, do you know of any potential layoffs in Louisville, next month or later in the year?

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  23. 1:05 pm: Would that be part of ContentOne's rollout?

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  24. In Fort Collins, on the front page of Sunday, Jan. 4. The paper announces changes to the daily paper, and the TV Week. In the article, the public is told to contact “President & Publisher Kim Roegner or Executive Editor Bob Moore, with questions. Poor Bob and Kim's’ admin are the lucky ones handling the calls from the unhappy public. Guess, when your the Publisher, you can make any change you want and other people have to try and explain why.

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

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  26. I just removed a comment about politics that did not bear directly on Gannett Co.

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  27. 8:40 a.m. This from a veteran laid offee. If you should get the axe, you will have health benefit for as long as your severance pay lasts. At least in my case, that's true for a two-month period. Your health insurance will run through the end of the month that you receive your last paycheck.

    Shortly after I got canned, I made appointments (given your doctor's schedule, you may want to make appointments as soon as you get your walking papers, if not before, if you think you might be laid off)for everything from dentists, eye, to physical, etc.

    If you are anticipating being laid off, you probably should go ahead and schedule your appointments to see the doctor in time before your insurance runs out.

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  28. Jim you're cheating by jumping ahead in the playbook.

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  29. Kate's not going to blindside us - is she?

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  30. This is an eye opener for people seeking health insurance coverage from COBRA.

    By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. program aimed at helping unemployed people keep their health insurance costs so much it is largely unaffordable, a health consumer group said in a report released on Friday.

    On average, health insurance plans available under the so-called COBRA program take up more than three-quarters of a worker's government unemployment compensation, the non-profit Families USA reported.

    "On average nationally, the monthly benefit for unemployment insurance is $1,278. The average COBRA monthly premiums for family coverage are $1,069," Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

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  31. I am hearing that there will be an announcement next week- each employee will have to take one week of unpaid leave between now and April.

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  32. Finally someone with the right answer. 1 week for every employee without pay, everyone! Better than layoffs.

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  33. Will that unpaid time alway apply to newspaper directors as well as the Dubow and his minions? I'd be more happy to oblige if I knew my executive editor were also having to make due with less.

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  34. 4:04, How interesting. It sure would be better than laying more workers off or more downsizing of the papers. But man oh man it's rough when someone goes on vacation to get the extra work done. ... I shudder at the thought of everyone in my department getting an "extra" week off.

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  35. sad to say there will be layoffs in Louisville

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  36. ---ALERT - All features at Community Newspapers to be eliminated in Feb.


    What the heck does that even mean? People buy the paper for food coverage, recipes, movies, music, health n fitness, the comics and the danged puzzle. Pardon me if I'm slightly skeptical.

    I'm also skeptical of workers being told to take a week of unpaid leave. I guess time will tell.

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  37. 4:04 - With all the unpaid overtime that's talked about here, does that really mean you'll have to go to work without punching in for that week?

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  38. I would recommend one week unpaid leave every quarter. Only problem is covering the workload. Perhaps some of that leave could be scheduled during down-time, which of course, varies from paper to paper and department to department.

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  39. I sadly read that it appears all features staff members at Communities papers will be eliminated in February.

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  40. The last 5-7 comments (8:30 to 3 a.m.)yesterday in the general forum are reading materials for CEO and company leadership. There are pubs who think this but can't say it for the same of their jobs.

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  41. 1:05 pm and 4:04 pm

    Unless you offer up a few more details as to the credibility of your sources I consider comments like your detrimental to the many Gannett employees that come to Jim's wonderful site for information that will allow them to make decisions about their future and the futures of their families. Gannett employees are under a tremendous amount of stress and erroneous speculation degrades this blog and hurts those that rely on credible information. We need details.

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  42. 8:01 We have already previously established there is another round of layoffs in the works, TBA either Jan. 20 or in February. Look at the miserable results of periods 9,10,11 and 12 and it should come as absolutely no surprise. You think we aren't all under stress because of this already, so any details or glimmers of details of how these cuts are going to be made are of utmost importance. I would suggest that if you find it uncomfortable to read about these reports, then stop reading this blog. But there are others of us out here who want to know.

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  43. Layoffs won't surprise me -- layoffs on Jan. 20 would. That's Inauguration Day. Many Gannett papers will have special sections or at least many extra pages for coverage. A bad day to lay off anyone in the newsroom.

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  44. Jan. 20 is the day after the special inauguration day sections run.

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  45. Jan. 20 is inauguration day. Many papers, including the one I work for, will have sections covering the inauguration -- others won't have sections but will have many extra pages of coverage of the actual event. I know about the pre-inaug. sections -- that's not what I'm talking about.

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  46. It wouldn't surprise me if 4:03 comments are true. Its not looking good for gannett.

    An idea for Dubow; Have all of your directors, managers or employees making 100k plus follow in your foot steps and take a 10% paycut. I would estimate it would save 2 to 4 FTE per site. I guess this will not happen because the publiser making $250k base salary would not be able to live without the 25k.

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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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