Under the reorganization, perhaps one-third of GNS jobs will be eliminated through buyouts and possible layoffs, I've been told. GNS staff learned of the changes during meetings yesterday; Corporate hasn't made an official announcement. Today's tip follows speculation since mid-November that Connell would be given a major ContentOne role.Marymont announced some of the GNS changes in a memo to Gannett editors; I just obtained a copy. The memo doesn't say where ContentOne will sit in the company's hierarchy, however. "Please understand that ContentOne is being developed,'' she wrote. "Technology is being reviewed; structure is being debated. It will be developed over the months ahead and information will be shared throughout the process."
ContentOne 'next stage' in evolution
The memo continues: "These steps are part of Gannett’s ongoing transformation from a print-centric company to a full-service multimedia company. The next stage in that evolution is the creation of ContentOne, which will team new technology with journalists to deliver news and information where, when and how readers want it. It is cross-divisional, and is in the development stage. "
GNS has been effectively leaderless since its last full-time managing editor, Derek Osenenko quit in August 2007. Marymont's predecessor, Phil Currie, was only nominally in charge until his retirement last month, leaving GNS vulnerable to takeover.
The service now employs about 60 reporters, editors and other employees covering Congress and other national news for the company's 85 U.S. newspapers. The company launched GNS in 1943 as Gannett National Service. It won journalism's most coveted honor, the Pulitzer Prize for public service, in 1980.
Can anyone confirm -- and add details? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
Jan 26, 2009
ReplyDeleteTo: Gannett publishers, editors
From: Kate Marymont
This week we begin a series of changes at Gannett News Service. These steps are part of Gannett’s ongoing transformation from a print-centric company to a full-service multimedia company.
The next stage in that evolution is the creation of ContentOne, which will team new technology with journalists to deliver news and information where, when and how readers want it. It is cross-divisional, and is in the development stage.
This requires substantial restructuring.
Some of Gannett News Service’s functions will move to the new ContentOne. These decisions were based on a survey of your needs.
The corps of regional reporters in the D.C. bureau will continue.
Surveys showed that you rely on some custom content, such as the World/Nation page and the “Yes” section. Those also will be maintained.
The most significant change will be in a streamlined content-sharing operation. Advances in technology will allow faster, broader sharing of information across the company. That will require different jobs going forward.
As the first step toward the new structure, we are offering a voluntary severance program for all GNS employees. Details are being shared with GNS employees today.
If this offer does not result in a sufficient number of volunteers, involuntary reductions will be necessary.
You will see changes in your contacts with GNS, the kind of content that is shared, and the news budgets that are produced. I will keep you informed as this unfolds over the next few weeks. Details will have to be worked out as we go through the voluntary severance and, perhaps, involuntary severance.
Your budget for GNS will stay the same for the time being.
Please understand that ContentOne is being developed. Technology is being reviewed; structure is being debated. It will be developed over the months ahead and information will be shared throughout the process.
Gannett News Service has a long tradition of service to your newspapers and Web sites. Our goal is to retain that while we contemporize the sharing of content across the company.
Jim wrote: "Marymont's successor, Phil Currie ..."
ReplyDeleteShould be predecessor, no?
I'm sure "Content One" will follow in the footsteps of other well thought out corporate initiatives like the DIG, COE, RTC, 2adpro, Publicas, Mavin, momslikeme, and Mogulus. We are fortunate to have such great minds leading us.
ReplyDelete"Please understand that ContentOne is still being developed," meaning, we have no frickin' clue what we're doing.
ReplyDelete11:51 am: Indeed; thanks for catching that!
ReplyDeleteGotta give her credit for using evolution and creation two words apart!
ReplyDeleteGannett is trying all kinds of gimmicks to get it back to the good old days of 30 percent (and growing) profit margins. ContentOne is the latest such effort that will fail to achieve this goal. Thanks to the Internet, much of the news has been demonitized, and the days of monopoly newspapers are over.
ReplyDeleteI heard that GNS will likely be cut by half from a pretty good source inside the GNS ranks.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell: we have a wonderful new technology we are calling ContentOne. We are not quite sure what it is, so in the meantime we will just have staff cutbacks or layoffs. But we are sure this is the key to Gannett's future.
ReplyDeleteGNS also won a Pulizter in 1991 for a series about mysterious infant deaths.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem silly to make staff cuts during the experimentation phase---bt I thought last week was the trial run. I wish they'd just make a plan and stick with it.
ReplyDeleteThe notion of putting ContentOne under corporate communications rather than news is quite puzzling to me.
ReplyDeleteWill they be producing sponsored content? That seems like a logical conclusion.
1:59 Absolutely. This is going to be an advertiser-friendly product. You may remember the bad old days when the word "advertisement" appeared over news stories that were written by the ad departments. Under ContentOne, you just eliminate that irksome "advertisement" word.
ReplyDeleteAs the first step toward the new structure, we are offering a voluntary severance program for all GNS employees. Details are being shared with GNS employees today.
ReplyDeletePlease understand that ContentOne is being developed. Technology is being reviewed; structure is being debated. It will be developed over the months ahead and information will be shared throughout the process.
This doesn't make sense?
It's like the blind leading the vision-impaired???
That sound you hear is the shattering of the Chinese wall between editorial and commercial. The ad department now oversees news, with Tara as their chief cheerleader.
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused. About a month ago, Jim touted Tara as the new head of USAT. Today Tara is touted as the new head of ContentOne. Hmmm. Does this mean USAT is going to be folded into ContentOne, too??
ReplyDelete3:22 pm: Another possibility, Hopkins got a bad tip.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Ripple6 social networking software will be embedded into ContentOne feeds?
ReplyDeleteYes, Ripple6 is an integral part of ContentOne, but this is the part of it that corporate hasn't got its head around yet. There is a slight hurdle to be overcome involving legal issues of sending people ads on their cell phones. The FCC has ruled this is a no-no, because consumers are paying cell phone companies for each call they get, and spammers could bankrupt some poor sap with a flood of unwanted messages.
ReplyDeleteYou can bet your sweet bippy there will be a ContentOne/Ripple6 lovechild.
ReplyDeleteOooh! Ooooh! I know! Let's have a contest to name it! Like when we got to name the DIG (what is the DIG again? oh, nevermind)! The winner gets a coffee mug.
Maybe we should call it, "Cripple6."
Ha ha!
Or maybe we should call it, "Rip One."
Ha ha ha!!!
The whole point of everything they're doing now is focused on delivering audiences to advertisers, isn't it? What won't be made a niche community for Ripple6 intervention, marketing, research of whatever they're calling it?
ReplyDeleteHey, at least they're developing a plan! I consider this significant progress for GCI.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, don't have a major problem with advertising and editorial having conversations about how best to get things handled. It's still up to writers and editors to produce the good stuff ...
The Kate Marymont with whom I worked years ago knew better than this. Either she's sold her soul to the devil or she's looking for an opportunity to parachute out of that tower back into the real world. I pray for the latter -- for her sake, and for the rest of us, too.
ReplyDelete"Rip One." Finally, this blog has made me laugh out loud.
ReplyDelete4:15 according to my parents they had to get married because I was the love child brought about by too much Ripple. I think it was strawberry. Knowing my mother it definitely was not cherry. What does Ripple6 taste like?
ReplyDeletePrediction: Within two months, there will be no features sections left in the hands of the community newspapers, as ContentOne replaces individual departments with one homogenized features section to run in all 85 (soon to be 84) newspapers. This leave community paper newsrooms staffed with one or two reporters and one editor to provide local briefs that fill in the space on the page, trying to give the centralized product a local flavor. Readers will notice and there will be a backlash with circulation drops, I can assure you.
ReplyDelete9:09 if you are correct, that would be another nail in the coffin. What good would homogenized features pages be? In the frozen tundra, they do stories on how to tailgate in subzero temperatures for the beloved Packers and survive (beer, brats, more beer.) How would an Eastern generated features page manage that? I smell doom if you are right.
ReplyDeleteI foresee readers malcontent with Rip One content.
ReplyDeleteFrom where I am, I can hear the rumblings. Gannett's about to Rip One!
ReplyDelete