Friday, February 06, 2009
Friday | Feb. 6 | Your News & Comments
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
100 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."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good morning Craig...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make Friday a better day than I had yesterday.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else read the McClatchy results, and see they are reporting that January's ad revenue picture actually worsened over the previous three months. If that is the picture for us as well, that is hardly good news. One thing I didn't anticipate was to read of the impact on advertising budgets of the decline in car dealerships. As the industry solidifies, fewer car ads.
ReplyDeleteLee newspapers following Gannett's lead on furlough days, I'm told.
ReplyDeleteThere are things we can do with the help of Jim's blog to get Gannett to listen to it's employees.......a group speaks louder then one person.....get your co-workers too just look at the blog....it is going to get a lot worse down the road....those guys at the top make a ton of money.....they need to cut themselfs back....band together and protest in the blog up to and including a one day company wide furlough...give them back what they gave you....just one day but all on the same day....grind to a halt for 24 hours, I know damn well they will rollover and think straight and cut cost at the top!Gee poor little Amy, Joe, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Smith in the Mailroom at $6.75 an hour made a be change on the bottom line....GET REAL
ReplyDeleteIt was revealed yesterday that all ad production for Elmira and Ithaca is being consolidated to Binghamton.
ReplyDeleteAny updates on layoffs in Detroit? How many layoffs were there this week in all? Any word on when we can expect more to go? Has their master plan been leaked yet?
ReplyDeleteAll these questions. Could you guess I'm a reporter in a newsroom?
Best lede of the day:
ReplyDelete"Current investment wisdom holds that the four horsemen of the apocalypse — pestilence, war, famine and Keanu Reeves — will soon be joined by a fifth rider: inflation."
John Waggoner, USAT
Gannett's stock tumbles below $5
ReplyDeleteBy Leslie Turk at the Independent Weekly
Thursday, February 05, 2009
For the past two days, Gannett Co.'s stock has closed below $5 for the first time in its history, dropping to $4.75 Wednesday. Gannett Blog calls the dip "a critical level that could spur mutual funds and other big investors to dump it from their portfolios, risking further decline." Institutional investors own most of the shares and are prohibited by their charters from holding stock worth less than $5, the blog went on to say. Gannett, which owns The Daily Advertiser, is the nation's largest newspaper chain. Gannett Blog, which is not affiliated with Gannett Co., reported:
The new low pushes the dividend yield up to 32%, pressuring the board of directors more to cut the payout - a possibility Chief Financial Officer Gracia Martore (left) warned about Friday, during the fourth-quarter earnings conference call.
Moody's downgraded Gannett senior unsecured debt to Baa3, its lowest-investment grade rating, from Baa2. It also ratcheted down the rating on Gannett commercial paper - unsecured obligations issued for short-term cash needs - to Prime-3 from Prime-2.
Moody's also put the ratings on review for another downgrade - which would put the company into junk, depressingly familiar credit territory for many of its newspaper peers, including The New York Times Co.
A junk rating would cut Gannett's access to investment from important sources of funds that will not buy debt that is not investment-grade rated.
12:13, the auto industry meltdown is bad for even those smug folks who think the US companies should fail and the Japanese are perfect. The auto companies buy TONS of ads in magazines and on TV; the dealers buy local ads. How many magazines have shut the doors in the past few months? Six in January alone! And mostly not due to circulation, but because of drastic ad revenue drops.
ReplyDeleteAnd the domestic car companies bought ZERO Super Bowl ads...but Cash4Gold was there. Not a good sign.
Saint Toyota the Infallible just posted a big loss--they are all going to be cutting spending wherever they can. Ads, marketing, philanthropic spending, NASCAR et al will be affected. More ripples and contributions to the downward spiral.
And the WSJ has announced a big loss, with layoffs to come.
Appreciate the effort to be optimistic, Jim, but some days it's just difficult.
how does gannett pension work? who gets a pension, when, how? etc.
ReplyDeleteI heard that our advertising department made plan/budget for Jan. I guess that's a good thing. ;)
ReplyDeletedo you said solidifies, you mean evaporates.
ReplyDeleteOver 1,000 people in south Florida showed up for 25 jobs; son of a bitch. This is happening all over the country. I have to buy a camper so I don't end up in a homeless tent city encampment after next round of lay offs.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I am thinking now. I know some of Gannett Blog readers will likely flame me, but it's winter so it won't be altogether unwelcome.
ReplyDeleteGannett is a big company. Gannett is still profitable, just not nearly as profitable as it once was. I don't like the idea that the stock is such a bargain right now, but since I don't own any, it is not skin off my nose. I have never liked the way corporate KowTowed to Wall Street, but those decisions were beyond my control.
After decades of service, Gannett offered me a buyout and I took it, thankful to be able to supplement my Social Security with a Gannett pension. Some in my newsroom said they were envious, as they would like to leave and do something else, too. Since then, Gannett has instituted layoffs and furloughs and some of those people who wanted to go but needed a push ... well, went.
But back at the farm/info center, people are fearful and furious. And some of the ones laid off and furloughed are feeling vindictive. They've been saying stuff like, "I hope the company fails."
I don't want Gannett to fail. It is my fondest wish that all the cuts and sacrifice will keep the company afloat to succeed far into the future. I also want it to discover the most profitable way to deliver the news and then do that. I also want GCI to keep sending me my pension check.
At least 80 percent of the people who ever worked for Gannett still have a job. Their paychecks don't bounce. Their job satisfaction may have been curtailed and doing journalism may not seem as much fun as it once did, but people are still given the opportunity. Our colleagues are still the same great people they were before the economic downturn.
How many of us have written stories about people enduring and triumphing through life changes thrust on them by forces beyond their control? Did we think we were going to be exempt?
I feel badly that things have turned out the way they have. But we are not alone in this. No family, regardless of how they earned a living, has gone untouched.
OK, I've had my say. Flame away. Just don't accuse me of being corporate or management. I was one of those exempt editors who never supervised anyone.
I have heard recently, if GCI stock falls below $5.00, that the company can no longer match 401K contributions with their stock. Do you know if this is a true statement?
ReplyDeleteFurther, do you know if that means the end of matching 401K or if GCI would match with other funds?
The idea of we having another round of layoffs PLUS furloughs seems likely. However, we are not hearing that the hard work of doing it is underway.
ReplyDeleteWill we get word that this is happening in time to plan ways to keep operating?
Will we get word early enough for employees to process and have a heads up reducing panic and stress (the reality of bad news is better than the unknown)?
How many good people will leave after the next round because they are losing hope of a turnaround or can't afford to stay?
Will management include mid-level managers in determining how to proceed or will people get blindsided because the fear of a leak outweighs the need to have sites develop their own plans?
Unless we can just get used to lower profits, more layoffs are the only way through.
Furloughs present short-term results. Another round will create hardships that will damage the products.
Layoffs will too, but layoffs should include product changes that respond to the local markets real opportunities versus legacy content and models.
Jim, Just for you, and me, I too will have a great day!
ReplyDeleteCan someone give us an update on whats going on in Corporate? Have they also experienced the pain of furloughs and lay offs to the same extent as those in the field? Why does it seem like their complaints are never voiced here? Could it be that they don't have the same issues as the rest of the Company?
ReplyDeleteShirley in Texas: I'm with you; I don't want Gannett to fail either. What would happen to the thousands of communities in the U.S. and the U.K. that depend on the company for news?
ReplyDelete7:45: My favorite lede by USA Today personal finance writer John Waggoner is from his Feb. 14, 2002, column: "If you've ever woken up with a pounding headache and a penguin in your bed, you have some idea of what utilities funds are feeling these days." http://tinyurl.com/b99mgh
ReplyDeleteSearching for that column, however, I discovered that John uses penguins in his column a lot!
Read Big Al today. I wonder what give him the right to say someone is overpaid.
ReplyDelete10:04 I am with you. Enough of these cutbacks at community papers. GCI's survival depends on the revenues local newspapers produce, and not on the larded ranks of vice presidents sitting in offices in the Crystal Towers dreaming up mindless new programs like ContentOne. These are $250,000 salaries, plus benefits, a secretary, subsidized meals, and a free health spa. I have to pay $110a month for Gold's Gym, and I don't see why we need this huge corporate bloat. It is time to thin out the corporate ranks.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who was canned from corporate in the 12/3 massacre (and I, too, was blindsided, and I, too, remain unemployed and waiting for my pension), I can promise that "the little guys" at Corporate are feeling your pain, too.
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, we pay for the "free health spa" at corporate! Dues are taken from our paycheck every month.
ReplyDeleteHey 10:04. I work for Corporate. We do feel your pain. We are just too afraid to talk about it here, I guess. At least those of us who are feeling your pain, are. We suffered drastic layoffs on December 3 - the same day you did. We lost several great, loyal employees. We have to take a week of unpaid leave. We all fear for our jobs, too. Admittedly, I am low on the proverbial totem pole, but just so you know, we feel your pain! At least, those of us who don't work on the 11th floor do.
ReplyDeleteYou should see the rows of Acuras, Mercedes and BMWs in the McLean parking lot. This is an American company with big interests in the future of Detroit, but there is no loyalty to American brands in the Crystal Towers. Why should our readers buy our products if we aren't buy what they produce?
ReplyDelete10:04, I'm amazed how some of the GCI corporate staff I keep up with appear to be brainwashed, working in the crystal bubble with the attitude that nothing will happen to them and that they'll keep their jobs, benefits and cushy perks for years.
ReplyDelete10:33, Don't complain about reasonable gym dues deducted from your paycheck. The cost of the gym and personal trainers is a heck of a lot cheaper than going outside, and furthermore, a lot of GCI people use it on company, not free, time.
ReplyDeleteShirley in Texas, I was laid off. But I still don't want Gannett to fail. I do believe it should be less tied to huge profits, more transparent in its dealings with employees and the outside world and less top-down in its management. There's nothing wrong with this blog aggressively pursuing all of these issues and many more, like the famous golf trip, the paltry scholarship fund for employees' kids, etc.
ReplyDeleteI want Gannett to fail but for most people who work there to succeed. Ideally, the company would be sold or divided up. Most employees would be retained. Those higher-ups who drove the company into the ground, and killed morale for years, would be booted out just as they booted many of us out. Only their departures would be justified. None of this smoke and mirrors crap that went on in December with layoffs that seemed to have little to do with the economy or individual performances and everything to do with age discrimination and personal vendettas. I want to see high-ranking editors out there with me in this horrid economy. They'll see just how bad it is for aging newspaper people. I want to see publishers trying to live on unemployment payments. And for the average hard-working employee, I want to see an environment that promotes treating people like adults and respects talents without judging a person on whether they brought the doughnuts or not. Gannett has failed. It's policies and methods have failed. It's been a miserable place to work long before layoffs and recessions. It has always been one of the most despised newspaper companies in America. There has always been an underlying rot that was bound to spread when economic conditions worsened. This company has to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Shirley and Jim and other posters who don't want to see Gannett fail. And I was laid off in December and yes, I'm still angry and confused about it. My background is community news and I've done it all, from reporting to managing reporters. This is the news that simply MUST continue to be reported and written. It should and I would think, IS the mission of newspaper companies to achieve this, i.e. informing the public.
ReplyDeleteIf a quality newspaper can be produced with the current newsroom staff, then why lay more people off?
On the other hand, if there are reporters who only write one story a week, and deputy editors who don't edit but are EE pets, if there are assistant managers and section editors who protect their spouses over loyal, hardworking employees, if recent college grads at lower pay are favored over savvy veterans, well then, I say, wake up and start cutting out that fat and the people making, biased, illegal decisions that unfortunately will never be proved, and leave the real workers alone.
I would like to see every Gannett board member and executive picked up by UFO's and probed till there eyes poped out of there heads.Then realeast,only to find that no one would belive there story or care. Just like they don't care what happens at all there satalite papers and comps.And yes "still on my forced vacation,and the smoke is still thick in here,think I will go get some twinkies LOL
ReplyDeleteFor Shirley and the other bloggers who "don't want to see Gannett fail", I agree but Gannett wants Gannett to fail--they are no longer interested in the newspaper part of this industry, they want to go 'all digital.' Again, this was orchestrated by Gannett.
ReplyDeleteHere's a question that needs answering. If GCI ends up in Bankrupcy, isn't it likely that those humongous golden parachutes for the top exec's and AHN's, McCorky's and Millers & etc consultant contracts, pension and health care for life would be canceled. The top execs supplemental pension is not partrof the pension plan and is not covered by ERISA so I suspect they would be lumped in with general creditors and be SOL.
ReplyDeleteHey 12:05, that was a vase Michael Phelps was holding - you need to step away from the pipe!
ReplyDeleteOr at least invite your friends on furlough over to party. I have cheetos....
11:25 has it right. The Gannett corporation needs to fail. The papers, or their replacements, need to succeed long after the inevitable occurs.
ReplyDeleteThe newspapers don't need Gannett to continue operating, but Gannett needs the newspapers to continue operating.
Ok, here is something interesting. One small department in Corporate who is staffed still with a president,VP and director and staff, can bring back a retired employee to help them because they are busy but are still asking active employees to take a furlough? hmmm...
ReplyDeleteNO flaming here - Shirley - I agree with you. I still have plenty of friends w/ Gannett. If Gannett fails, so do my friends.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the newspaper that had 100 layoffs yesterday or the other day? Any more big layoffs today?
ReplyDeleteHey, 11:25 AM.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure glad you don't have a magic wand!
I also do not want to see Gannett's failure to harm those working for the company. However, my sympathy is tempered by the fact that all those working for this miserable company knew what they were getting into. You sleep with the devil.... sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those who wishes to see this company fail, and fail hard.
As one of the many management folks whose career was ruined (and you can never get a career back) by a petty and awful publisher, my hatred for this company is limitless and endless.
Gannett does not care anything about any of you. Get that through your head. If you work for them, they will treat you with contempt whether you ever know it or not.
If you are good, solid journalist or manager, get out now. You likey will be shown the door soon.
If you are a lazy, worthless, brown-nosing minion of Gannett, PLEASE stay with the company, you are helping send them down the tubes.
Besides, if you are an EE or ME at one of the Gannett papers now, you are obviously an idiot anyway, so no need to tell you to ----
Keep up the terrible work!
It may require Gannett to fail for the newspapers to succeed. The newspapers are still profitable, even though the profit margin is reduced in this recession/depression.
ReplyDeleteIt would be the best thing for each property to be sold out of corporate bankruptcy back to local ownership that created the profitable papers in the first place.
Gannett is the poster child of "strip and flip." Other corporations don't want them, but local business people do, for a fair price. Bankruptcy won't mean the newspapers fold.
Thus, I want Gannett to fail, before it ruins many more employees lives and communities, as it has mine. It has nothing to do with vengence.
I think it's time, once again, for the Dubow $7 million reminder.
ReplyDeleteI feel a total lack of sympathy in the fact that Furlough is screwing the workflow in our department. All I hear is: Why isn't this done, When can I expect this. You have had this long to work on this. Not to mind that boss obviously didn't read your out-of-office reply telling them that you are out on Furlough. The ignorance of the over-paid and oblivious directors should be noted during the first period. Anyone who is not a worker bee and above should be fired immediately! These directors could never run the ship without us! :) FurloughFred
ReplyDeleteBut don't you see...that's just it. My newspaper (Green Bay) is profitable, we have a wonderful publisher who cares about his staff and wants to help us succeed, and he/we are handcuffed to this dying company that is rearranging deck chairs. We NEED Gannett to fail so we can break free, stand alone, and profit, all the while, serving the needs of the community. Who's in for a sick-out for all employees? Jim, would you organize one from this venue?
ReplyDeleteI suggest that the company be run by the janitors. After all, it's obvious that only the lowly have any clue about how to run a business.
ReplyDelete1:19pm says it best: "It may require Gannett to fail for the newspapers to succeed."
ReplyDeleteI can't see any other way around this... Gannett has torn away any structure in my department (Pressroom); Every day is a new futility in pounding the square peg in the round hole. It's a constant juggling of runs to the point where the printed product is now secondary. It's driving managers to distraction and workers are just throwing up their hands in frustration.
This laid-off editor/writer does not want Gannett to fail. Newspapers are necessary for the function of a free society. (Didn't someone say that way back when?)
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd like to see is a return to the independency of the fourth estate so that it's first priority is not to stockholders but to ferreting out the facts and presenting information objectively.
This has gone by the wayside, alas.
Also, as to journalists never taking time off. Please spare me this idea that we are more lofty than anyone else in the building.
The truth is that the best people in any department never really leave the job behind -- consciously or subconsciously.
The best people in finance are always trying to find the best deals to keep costs down or the best way to process payments so your expenses get reimbursed faster.
The best people in IT are always mulling over ways to network better and faster so your stories and photos can be processed faster.
The best people in marketing are always wondering how best to attract people to read your articles.
The best people in delivery are always trying to come up with ways of doing routes faster and give good service.
The problem is that because of The Peter Principle and social promotions, we no longer get the best people. We get mediocre people who are no threat to their bosses or the ones who are pals with the boss.
Subject: Daily World Building
ReplyDeleteAll,
Earlier this morning, I announced to the Daily World staff that we have reached an agreement to sell the building in Opelousas. The closing is expected in March; however, the Daily World staff will occupy the building for several months after the sale.
Hargroder Equity Partners is purchasing the building as an investment property. The sales price was not made public.
For some time, we have been looking for an opportunity to move into an office that better meets the needs of our operation. In addition to technology that allows staff members to spend more time in the community than in the office, the manufacturing area of the building has not been used for several years. A search for new office space in Opelousas is under way.
Although we'll be providing a support base in Lafayette, we recognize that it is more important than ever that our Daily World staff continues to be a part of the Opelousas community, covering the stories that matter to Daily World readers and selling, servicing and providing creative solutions to advertisers. Our readers and advertisers rely on us to be the top source of news and information; our commitment to the community will not change.
The Daily World has a long and proud history in Opelousas and St. Landry Parish. The newspaper, first published on Christmas Eve 1939, is the longest continually offset-printed daily newspaper in the United States. A copy of the first edition now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Gannett purchased the newspaper from The New York Times Co.
One Opelousas veteran, Christie Veazey, will take on new responsibilities. Christie has been promoted to manager of our Sales Center, overseeing classified inside sales for the Daily World, The Daily Advertiser and The Town Talk in Alexandria. Please join me in congratulating Christie on her well-deserved promotion.
- Leslie Hurst
For those with longer memories, remember the once-successful afternoon papers? While their popularity might have been falling anyway due to lifestyle changes, Gannett took certain steps on purpose, especially in the '80s, to force readers either to take the morning paper, or just wholesale changed many into a.m. papers.
ReplyDeleteFor those who see a certain effort nowadays to force the rest of print readers into online, there is certainly a parallel.
Only, with the a.m. vs. p.m. issue, it seemed we knew upfront that revenue wouldn't suffer compared to cost savings of eliminating most p.m.s.
This time, we don't know how make as much money online.
1:53 said: "I suggest that the company be run by the janitors."
ReplyDeleteWe don't even have any at our site anymore!
GANNETT as a media conglomerate should fail and it's dead remains will be absorbed by the economy and reordered; many of it's components the papers can be "Recycled" (and purchased at fire-sale prices) and rehabilitated back to what they once were - Local Based sources of information, news, social & school events (managed by people who live in and know the area and have an intimacy with the community that the Crystal Palace dwellers cannot even conceive).
ReplyDeleteIt is the natural economic life-cycle of birth-growth-maturity-death that the great economist Joseph Schumpeter called CREATIVE DESTRUCTION.
Just as America's economic reconfiguration and renewal will not be easy or painless, so it will be with newspapers evolution, but if appraoched with the right attitude, offers an opportunity for many who love the "News" industry.
I don't me to sound like a "buzz-word" hack, but we will have to think WAY WAY OUTSIDE THE BOX in the way we approach our business lives and personal/family economic lives. Like USA TODAY article said the other day, household sizes are increasing as family members and friends move in with one another to survive this Depression. In business/employment we are going to have to think of the inconceivable to survive, adapt & ultimately thrive.
Sorry for the economics lecture. My point is I know it's scary out there. I myself am liquidating my home of over 20 years in anticipation of lay-off. But if we pull together and network with (non-bloodsucking) family, friends & business associates, we'll get through this once in 70 years Depression Storm.
All the best.
5th.Horseman.of.the.Apocalypse@live.com
I think if everyone spent 1/2 the time looking for ways to improve things instead of being negative , it might get better for those who survive in the end. As the saying goes , it is what it is !
ReplyDeleteSo its February. This is the month that Corporate usually doles out the big wig bonus. While we are out here on furlough, are they getting a bonus this month? Jim, anyway to check?
ReplyDeleteRegarding the pension plan: Is it a one-time payment, or is it a monthly payment? If monthly, is there a point you would be cut-off?
ReplyDelete(Bankruptcy aside...)
The board of directors meets this month to approve the bonuses.
ReplyDeleteThanks 3:48. I wonder if they will approve a bonus when the stock is in the tank, Dividnds are at risk and employees are out on furlough. Gosh, that would really send a message to us out here!When do the board of directors meet?
ReplyDeleteSo I keep hearing the same old debates on this blog about the survival of the printed newspaper. I think it's dying. I used to be the typical news junkie, but I have found that blogs like HuffingPost and Drudge Report give me the newspaper type news that I want much quicker and more often. In fact, my reading habits have shifted with the evolution of the Web. I now subscribe to a plethora of magazines in search of the long, thought-provoking expose type pieces that offer pause. The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, New York and The Nation arrive regularly in my mailbox to feed my obsession for great literature-tainted journalism.
ReplyDeleteMy point: I read with awe on this blog yesterday of how the Indy Star shuttered two profitable weeklies in order to cut expenses and focus on the "big" daily. I just don't understand that mentality. Don't newspaper editors and executives get that peoples reading habits are changing and shifting? Certain types of stories readers want to read on the Web, while there are others that people want to read in print. The daily newspaper concept is outdated and is being replaced by other sources.
I suspect that a company like Google will eventually pony up the money to pay for mostly reporters in cities so that it can continue to feed its news engine.
In response to 12:38pm about that supposed corporate dept., with a president, VP, director, etc. I feel compelled to respond in the event you're referring to Gannett Supply Corporation.
ReplyDeleteA few facts: we no longer have a VP. In fact, we voluntarily reduced staffing by 20% last year, plus another 10% buyouts. So our staffing is down 30% y/y at a time when we're expected to do more via companywide procurement centralization. And that retired employee helping us out actually saves the company money because we don't have to cover the cost of benefits. But more importantly, his efforts on one key project will help save GCI $2 million annually. Does half the staff in your group come in at 7am and leave at 7pm only to continue working when we arrive at home up to 10pm, often 'til Midnight? GSC's efforts and contributions are measurable and closely scrutinized; how about yours? We literally pay for ourselves 1,000 times over, year-in and year-out, and this statement has nothing to do with the way newspapers are charged for newsprint. For all the bashing of corporate staff I see in this blog, we're all being impacted and that same corporate staff has been subject to layoffs, buyouts and furloughs. Like everyone in this company right now, we're doing more with less and struggling mightily to keep pace. But you don't find too many of us whining about it because self-pity has taken a back seat to survival and getting the job done.
Yes we want this company to survive, with competent leadership and improved printed products, award winning broadcast stations and new digital innovations. We care about our colleagues here and in the field who are clamoring for smart and honest management and simply wish to do our jobs well and be recognized and rewarded for having done so. Doesn't matter if you're a journalist, press person, anchor, technician, administrative assistant, publisher, or in our case - procurement professionals.
Take a deep breath everyone. Do what you can to make a difference and pray that our business can out-last the immediate economic challenges and the long-term secular changes in our industry.
God Speed...
Karen R. Moreno
President, Gannett Supply Corporation
I don't want Gannett to fail either, but I will not shed a tear if those EE pets, do-nothing managing editors, protected spouses, and brown-nosing others fail stupendously.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Karma -- what goes around comes around. Think of how many people you know who were sent away, axed, quit or were furloughed while some of this breed remained to earn a paycheck. Shameful.
um, isn't momslikeme.com a totally gannett thing? Please note this ad in CRAIGSLIST for the SF bay area! (where there are no longer any Gannett operated papers - unless you consider Salinas -- but Gannett is part of the partnership controlled by the Singleton group):
ReplyDeletehttp://sfbay.craigslist.org/
sfc/wri/1017705484.html
"Writer & Chat Moderator For Moms Website
"SF Bay Area MomsLikeMe.com is seeking several online "discussion leaders" to join our team.
Discussion Leaders post on the site each week and help keep the online community fun and informative for SF Bay Area moms.
We're not looking for lengthy posts or a professional writing style(but that would be okay). Most of all, we seek chatty local moms who can trigger lively online discussions about being a mom in the Bay Area. This can be done at any time of day(like nap time). You can also earn more by attending family-friendly events we sponsor.
Check us out, try a post and email the site manager: http://sanfrancisco.momslikeme.com
Compensation: $100 - $150 a month
....."
Just amazing what us laid-off, job-hunting journalists stumble across in our quests.
Newspaper publisher Gannett, retailers Macy's and J.C.
ReplyDeletePenney, consumer products maker Newell Rubbermaid Inc (NWL.N) and Fortune Brands Inc (FO.N) were among companies that were placed on review for downgrade into junk, or cut to the lowest investment grade by a rating agency this week.
For Karen Moreno: OK, I get it. Wow, buying newsprint in bulk saves money. That was the reason for newspaper chains because there are certain efficiencies. But please don't give us the garbage about a reduced, hard-working staff saving millions of dollars. They just reported GCI spent more for newsprint last quarter. Does this sort of job require someone to have a title and an office. My local Staples manages to avoid both.
ReplyDeleteto 3:32: for most, monthly annuity or lump sum distribution is your choice. There are exceptions, among them, some people, like when Gannett bought their newspaper, had to make that choice back when, so when their retirements come up, they can't change.
ReplyDelete1:11PM and 1:47PM have both told things the way they are with Gannett. It is a fair bet that they have their roots in the NJ Group. Where else in Gannett are there so many useless, frightened, selfish and hateful people at all levels of management? Aside from Sillypants the Editor and Skippy (not sure what he actually does)it's all women who are sinking the ship at the CN Somerville site. Have a dilemma-- eat a dozen donuts, order a pizza and pick your nose! If someone at the HNT was good they were replaced by a CN flunkie. If the HNT employee was mediocre to bad, they remained.
ReplyDeleteSad to say, but when all of the NJ rags fold, readers will pick up the Star-Ledger and marvel at what a good newspaper looks like.
Whats going to happen when SUPER JIM takes his furlough? Will the company collapse? Will ADS swoop in to save the day?
ReplyDeleteTO 4:22pm - Newsprint has never been a spectator sport so I won't go into how we do what we do and what that means to you and the company. But if you were paying attention to my response, you saw the comment that GSC pays for itself BEYOND what happens with newsprint. You're certainly free to say whatever you wish but that doesn't make it valid.
ReplyDeleteCall it garbage or whatever you choose, we'll just keep focused on the tasks at hand while making contributions that go straight to the company's bottom line. Hopefully your efforts will result in the same if not greater contributions. I'm not your enemy, I'm your colleague. Walk a mile in my moccasins, and then let's talk.
Karen R. Moreno
President, Gannett Supply Corporation
Quality newspaper? Are you kidding.
ReplyDeleteThe Gannett papers were not that great to begin with; now with the cuts they are a shell of what they used to be.
Enterprise reporting? Nada.
Strong coverage of courts, schools and neighborhoods? Not here.
Doing less with less is the new mantra for the Information Centers.
I know Phil Currie believed all the bull shit he spewed but those of us on the front lines in smaller dailies certainly did not.
Gannett is getting exactly what it deserves. The company raped these small properties and left nothing but the remains. Thirty percent profit margins were not enough. The money went to corporate and not reinvested in the local properties.
Quality? Are you kidding me?
These are rags. No, that's being respectful to my dish rags.
Some people just don't get it.
Moreno – While I did not enjoy having to pay more for newsprint and other items soon after Gannett acquired our company, I do applaud your willingness and efforts to actually use this blog to openly communicate back and forth with this company’s employees.
ReplyDeleteIt’s too bad more of your peers don’t openly do the same at the office, let alone even here, as that would go a long-way in changing a culture that badly needs to be changed.
The latest newsprint inventory numbers just came out, and Gannett Supply is doing a fine job increasing inventory which puts more downward pressure on the price of newsprint.
ReplyDeleteWeb width reductions notwithstanding, the amount of newsprint used in the coming year could be down as much as 17%. Newsprint prices will also continue to go down, giving us some needed relief on costs. Newsprint manufacturers had their way in 2008, and now it's the buyers turn.
I applaud GSC (and Karen) for all that they do to hold costs down for us. Without these efforts to manage newsprint purchases, there would be many more jobs lost in the current economic downturn.
5:02 and 5:03 p.m. are both spot on!
ReplyDelete5:02, I'm embarrassed by what my small site has become. I know the economy is tough but man, everywhere in the community I go people ask me, what's going on there? The paper is so small anymore. They want meat and they're getting boring endless useless calendars and lunch menus and rarely the investigative journalism they crave.
5:03, for an entity in the communication industry, we are woefully lacking on that internally. And it's killing us.
5:02 p.m. - I don't know who you are, but you REALLY know what you are talking about!
ReplyDeleteGannett did come in and ruined the community papers it bought in 2000 in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio (although the Ohio papers were already terrible).
Quality was NEVER a priority at any of these papers, despite the contests and submissions. Just filling out forms and fulfilling Currie's latest "Flavor of the Month" initiative was all they wanted.
Oh, and diversity. Diversity, diversity, diversity. Which is a good thing until you make it a newsroom diversion rather than a goal.
McClatchy stock is getting delisted from the NYSE after Feb. 19 if they don't trade above $1 by then:
ReplyDeletehttp://biz.yahoo.com/e/090206/mni8-k.html
Reverse split, Pruitt?
I really don't know much about Gannett Supply to pick a bone. I do know one thing: Gannett's corporate headquarters are large. Anyone know how many employees are located there? Why is there a need for so many corporate employees, aside from the GSC folks?
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of you. Since this blog is now a fact of life ignoring it is counter productive. More executives should take the time to give this blog some balance. You have a very good story to tell and you told it very well.
Confirmed: January ad revenue decline worse than any single month last year, including the miserable October and November. The newspaper economy is getting worse.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I will have a job when I get back from furlough on February 18th ???
ReplyDeleteUnemployment numbers are terrible; and building like a tsumani. Long-term unemployed increasing rapidly....meaning no new jobs. total un/under-employment hit 13.8% (forced part-timers and discourage job-seekers who "fell" off tracking).
Not to change the subject, but does anyone else deal with High School Sports.net? Am I nuts, or is it one of the most godawefull sites ever put together by a professional organization? Does everything Gannett touch turn to shit?
ReplyDeleteLook at the website redesign. I don't know you about you, but at our paper the web numbers went way down after that fiasco. Then they tweaked the code to make it load faster, but overall it is still a clunky and poorly designed site.
Thoughts?
5:12,
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about the papers in Maryland and Delaware bought in 2000. The Salisbury, Md., paper is now a shell of its former self. Thanks to Gannett's title inflation policies, there's now an EE and an ME when there used to be an ME and an AME ... but they're in charge of a staff almost half of what it was eight years ago.
The affiliated weeklies have been stripped to the bone. They take kids straight out of college, burn them up for a year, and spit them out. There used to be some people there with longevity who had institutional knowledge. They've all fled.
Who the hell is SUPER JIM? or at least tell us what location he's at.
ReplyDeleteWould someone explain to me why there is so much middle management? One would think that with the reduced workforces they would reduce the number of managers. Think how losing their hefty salaries and bonuses would save a couple of the worker bees jobs.
ReplyDelete12:48
ReplyDeleteThat was the Detroit Media Partnership (News and Freep). 100 jobs lost Wednesday. Some are allowed to re-apply for other, lower-level positions. Not aware of any more cuts there this week.
7:01
ReplyDeleteJim Kroeze
at
drumrolllllll
APP in Good Ol' NJ
and we're darn lucky to have him
I am about to go on furlough, here are a few thoughts that may be selfish but it's how I feel. Remember that memo that said all employees must take a furlough, well it annoys me that Detroit is exempt (you know that huge Money pit for Gannett called "Detroit") I learned today that The Army Times is also exempt. So much for all employees. (ok the Army Times had layoffs so this may be harsh, but still, "all employees"Fooey!
ReplyDelete7:18
ReplyDeleteI was middle management and I wasn't well paid...and I got dumped on from above and from below.
6:13PM ASKED IF EVERYTHING THAT GANNETT TOUCHES TURNS TO SHIT!
ReplyDeleteTHAT IS A RHETORICAL QUESTION or else you just haven't been paying attention!
tuscon, hawaii and some production sites were also exempt from furloughs.
ReplyDelete1:57 PM -- Well said!
ReplyDeleteto 5:02 p.m. poster, Feb. 6 - please don't use the word raped unless you mean sexual assault. you can be emphatic and angry and strong about your views, I welcome that.
ReplyDeletebut rape - well, that is not a word to toss around. trust me.
I was just looking over the top hundred best companies to work for and as you probably guessed 2009 is not the year for Gannett Employee's. Maybe 2010?????
ReplyDeletehttp://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0804/gallery.f500_bestcos.fortune/index.html
How is Super Jim going to save us? He is just another former worker bee that moved up the ranks, that reports to Jack. Right?
ReplyDeleteAnother note: There are too many managers & not enough actual workers in ADS. Exactly who are they going to manage when all the worker bees are buzzed out? I guess they will manage, when they will have to outsource the ads and paginate & harris the paper all by themselves. Why do you think they attended the Indesign classes and DPS classes? Hmmmm... Food for thought my fellow worker bees.
9:19, Rape does not necessarily mean sexual assault, as in the Rape of Nanking, a city in China devastated by the Chinese in 1937. Many rapes were involved, but the broader use of rape in this context means violence, which is what the Latin roots of the word mean. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings also uses the word in the rape of Gondor to mean general violence. The ambiguous meaning of the word is why the legal community uses more specific words if sexual violence is involved.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone at corporate is reading this blog, I have some food for thought for them. Be honest with your employees. Each month have a company wide meeting to tell the employees what is happening at each site. Everyone is already stressed and this will not add to their anxiety. It will actually help them to feel better. It will show them that your aren't being sneaky and hiding things, for months, like you have been doing the last year. If numbers are bad — tell them so. If there will be more furloughs or layoffs — tell them.
ReplyDeleteAnd do not have Mr. Dikey do it through an e-mail. That is spineless and inpersonal. Have the publisher at each site tell their employees. We are all adults. At least this will help them to decide to look for another job or to put that flat screen TV on hold. The biggest problem I have with this company is the dishonesty. If you were open about things with people maybe they would be more loyal and pull together to save their paper. But if you lie to them and tell them everything is fine, it is deceitful.Give them hope, but don't flat out lie and expect people to have a positive additude. Ask for suggestions on how money can be saved and earned. If you treat people like they are valuable and matter and ask for their input, you will retain more good employees. Treat people with respect. In other words, treat us like human beings, not children who can't lead ourselves. It is honestly, common sense. You get, what you give. And you don't need to have a retreat or a meeting about it. And remember some of your best employees are the ones that have been there the longest. If they didn't truly love the business or weren't loyal, do you think they would still be there?
AZ Rep. rumor is there IS another round of layoffs coming (Q2). Who can they possibly cut now that won't affect productivity and morale? I was "advised" that I was lucky to still have a job because my dept. is too "top heavy". Yeah, I'm lucky alright...lucky enough to work with 5 too many overpaid and overrated managers that oversee 12 underpaid and underappreciated sales reps and 8 overworked support staff, and treat everything like it's a "hot potato" and "it's not mine". And not to mention that worthless "trainer" position we have? Really? I'm lucky? What's lucky is the fact that the 2 less qualified pea brained managers still have jobs. Especially when the one manager came from "classifieds" and doesn't even know how to sale an ad or read a rate card and then has the nerve to tell the real backbone of the dept. that the furlough is GREAT because now SHE can go on a weeks vacation and not have to use her PTO! If that's not an indication that someone is overpaid and not to mention totally insensitive, I don't know what is!
ReplyDeleteWHEW! Thanks for letting me vent! :) BTW...I started in classifieds, so I don't even want to hear it! Taking an ad for puppies is a lot different than selling ROP; just ask my manager!
To 9:19pm... I think the term "Rape" is quite appropriate when explaining what Gannett has done to most of its newspapers... Tucson comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteI also like "Bludgeoning" employees into submission.
And there's always the ubiquitous "If you don't like it here, quit!"
All apply to the positive atmosphere Gannett promulgates.
Comments about Gannett and layoffs based on seniority, please.
ReplyDeleteHey, guess what. 13.8% real unemployment means we don't have to buy you dinner anymore, we can screw with you however we want. Don't like it? Leave.
ReplyDeleteThat, my friends, is what we face. Not only in our industry, but every industry.
"And that retired employee helping us out actually saves the company money because we don't have to cover the cost of benefits," 4:04 posted.
ReplyDeleteI'd certainly want to note this to my attorney and/or the EEOC if I had an active age discrimination case going on.
Maybe this poster doesn't even work for Gannett. But maybe he/she does, and has just revealed a corporate cost-cutting mindset that just may speak volumns about a company's treatment of a protected class. In other words, older workers are great---but only if they're old enough to qualify for benefits elsewhere.
Anyway, everytime I see things that I think smack of an ageist corporate culture, I note them.
It would seem that those sites (Detroit, Hono, AT) who chose layoffs are perfectly okay to not have furlough. Geez.
ReplyDelete