Monday, March 02, 2009

Monday | March 2 | Your News & Comments

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151 comments:

  1. Hah! I'm first! And it's snowing!

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  2. Ha Ha I'm second and it is going to be 90 today in phoenix..........need my shovel?

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  3. Lets have a good day! I think I will buy some Gannett stock today....11500.256 shares...hmmm if it goes up .20 I make $2300 dollars or.....lose $2300.....sounds like a good day to me!!Maybe if I win I can take a trip to go golfing.....and invite Bobby

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  4. Hey Phoenix you're still working for Gannett so yes, you will need your shovel.

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  5. -4 in Green Bay today.... six inches last Thursday but nothing but sun and cold today!

    Need our shovels to keep dumping our profits into the black holes the rest of you work for....

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  6. yes I am still in phoenix working for Gannett , but first is shoveling snow off the sidewalks for loose cahnge!!!!!1 Ha loser!! Lets pray gannett goes bankrupt! and the faulty papers will sink and phoenix can swim!

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  7. I'm going to be watching the stock ticker play Limbo again today.

    How low can it go?

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  8. Nasdaq GCI premarket trades

    Pre-Market
    Time (ET) Pre-Market
    Price Pre-Market
    Share Volume
    08:00 $ 3 100
    08:00 $ 3.24 1,666
    07:49 $ 3 200
    07:32 $ 3.01 200
    07:32 $ 3.01 800

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  9. Amazing.
    While employees take furloughs and wonder about job stability, the company is posting a job for a senior research analyst to apparently dabble in demographics, psychographics to understand audiences and their buying behaviors.

    How many more "doers" will have to get axed so they can hire a few more "analyzers?"

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  10. @8:26 AM got a link?

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  11. "How many more "doers" will have to get axed so they can hire a few more "analyzers?"..."

    Probably just the tip of the iceberg, although they did attempt to create the big digital think tank awhile back before all the layoffs. You remember - the one where we were all asked to send in our ideas. Problem was the ideas were usually to better existing processes. You know... small incremental changes that could be easily implemented and measured. Of course these were all shot down because we were off looking for something really big like Content One to save the company (or destroy it).

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  12. Anyone interested in applying for an accountant job in Lansing. It has been open for awhile and has not as yet been filled.

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  13. Pre-Market Open---Gci--2.90/share !

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  14. I can't wait until you all get fired you fucking journalistic pussies!!!

    The only thing you are clinging on is this shitty blog, until you are fired. THen the reality sets in that you are screwed and your newly elected savior Obama isn't coming through with the goods.

    No more handouts!!!

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  15. Point of information... It was reported when Honolulu employees were asked to give wage concessions that only a "handful" of Gannett's newspapers weren't profitable. I'm wondering if it's a "Bleeds, It Leads" mentality going on here? We hear only of the recently aquired papers with large price tags and now, crushing debt.

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  16. to 3/02/2009 9:44 AM

    Time for some anger management classes and a prozac.

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  17. When I worked for Gannett I always resented the fact that the highly profitable newspaper I worked for had to sacrifice to bolster then-unprofitable USAToday and the the acquisition lust of corporate. If each paper could have stood alone financially, sending a set amount to corporate (requiring it to live within its means) we could have invested in the workforce, technology and developed industry saving strategies.
    Instead, corporate demanded more and more, killed our innovation and replaced it with stupid mandates and boring and poorly crafted technology.
    No wonder the company is struggling. The chickens have come home to roost.

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  18. Talk about shrinkage!!!
    The Springfield News-Leader gave its readers a FOUR-page sports section this week, a new low in serving its readers. Anyone else seen the Sunday paper contracted to that extreme.Some readers notices. Most have already abandoned the paper for something more fulfilling.

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  19. Any word on credit depts

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  20. I thought News 2000 was the answer. All we needed to do was give them more graphics, shorter stories and points of entry. Wasn't that what all those expensive, worthless consultants and reader surveys said? And the reason why it and other attempts to pander failed, and why those responsible were fired, is...?

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  21. Where's the love 9:44?

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  22. Hey, 8:26--have you seen this?
    http://www.nteu9.org/membership/teamrace.pdf

    I got it from someone at GM, where they know a thing or two about stupid management

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  23. The collapse of these papers should have been foreseen as inevitable some time ago.

    Basically newsrooms had an untrainable work force that not only had few skills, but also relished having few skills. The journalists could not adapt to a changing environment.

    The bad have driven out the good.

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  24. Another funny job.
    Now. I'll bet you the phones are buzzing at those centralized places that handle subscriber calls. Do you suppose that job posting for a Distribution Analyst will render the call centers unnecessary? Yup. Hire some more analysts to meet and think and innovate and shit.

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  25. The number of comments that continue to appear here slamming the “lowly workforce” amazes me.

    Apparently, they expended their energies without supervision? Please. If they failed in fulfilling their roles, then the managers they report to and up own it as they knowingly allowed it. And, this view comes from a publisher’s perspective, one who also holds the CEO ultimately responsible for it all.

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  26. 10:38
    Read it, loved it, and sent it to everyone I know.

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  27. Good morning Green Bay!!! I was born in Oshgosh - still have family in the Green Bay and Manitowoc area - but was raised in Little Rock. Am now in Louisiana, which, at 45 degrees, seems downright balmy compared to "you's guys"...to think Gannett has infiltrated every one of these locales....jeez, small world....or, big corporation, depending on your viewpoint.

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  28. 10:38
    Thanks!

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  29. I hope most of you were smart enough to save for this day. The writing has been on the wall for years now. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that what we are facing was red flagged years ago. Since you all know how this company should be run, then I'm sure you figured that out and have planned accordingly.

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

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  31. To 10:57, yep, the big G snapped many of us up in 2000, and for five minutes we thought it was a good thing. Then we knew better and it's been shit rolling downhill ever since. Some of us make quite a handsome profit but we're getting pinched by corporate just like the loser sites.

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  32. Are there ad production depts that are told they can't send too many ads to 2AdPro? At our paper, we have a limit on how many ads and specs we can send out. Why did Gannett lay off artists if we can't send out work?! That's why they hired 2AdPro! With these damn furloughs we are short on help and can't get all specs done. This is BS! If Gannett wants more revenue, specs are needed but who's going to do them?

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  33. Hendersonville Star News (a local community newspaper in middle Tennessee) closing.

    How many other small papers are we losing?

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  34. Why doesn't the company take the lead and charge for online? It could show itself to be an industry leader again (USAT) and maybe even save journalism. Since the company has a monopoly everywhere, it's not like local audiences will have other websites to turn to for in-depth local news. Besides, how could anything be worse than it is now -- the alternative is to continue cutting the size of the staffs and papers. Pretty soon there won't be staffs for newspapers OR online. What is there to lose -- if it didn't work, i.e., readers balked and no other companies followed -- go back to giving it away.

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  35. "Why doesn't the company take the lead and charge for online?"

    Lack of content.

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

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

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

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  39. 11:54 AM wrote: Lack of content.

    Case in point... I can go to a Gannett newspaper's website and get day old headlines, or I can go to a local TV station's website and get today's news. With Gannett's new cookie-cutter design, even national news is buried. A quick browse to any of the free outlets like CNN, FOX, Reuters, MSN, etc. and I've got a mix of fresh local and national content.

    Honestly, why would I pay for content I can already get for free?

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  40. Agree 11:54. I heard on the news (Radio - I no longer subscribe to my local paper and the website is not worth going on even if it's free) that Newsday is going to be charging to go on their online site.

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  41. All: I know you're pissed off. And I try to stay away from editing comments. But "bitch" and "whore" are not acceptable. Please find another way to make your points.

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  42. What would happen to topix if Gannett started charging?

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  43. Jim @ 12:27

    Thank you for trying to clean up your blog.

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  44. "Thank you for trying to clean up your blog."

    A big "Me too!" from this side of the screen as well.

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  45. Jim,
    You might want to remove the comment that someone put on the snow picture too.

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  46. 12:28 asked:
    "What would happen to topix if Gannett started charging?"

    LOL - you know, there were so damn many "save our ship/all rats to this side of the boat" type of technical incentives right around the time I was let go, that I can't honestly remember how Topix was paid for. I *think* it was by contract based on per-article fee, so Topix would float along until the whole Gannett online thing self-implodes from lack of revenue.

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  47. What's failing here is the large corporate model for newspaper ownership. Blow it up, let (wealthy) community-oriented people own their hometown newspaper, and operate from a service-driven standpoint that isn't worried about appeasing Wall Street investors who don't give one whit about quality journalism.

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  48. Hay PLEASE READ 3/02/09 12:36 WHAT DO YOOU THINK?THIS IS BIG

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  49. 12:11:

    That news is days old.

    Journalists are so slow to adjust to change.

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  50. As a former Gannettoid (an escapee who fled in terror a few years ago) I can tell you that other newspaper companies ARE looking at a paid website.

    Us, for instance.

    The company I am with now charges for most of its newspaper websites (it is up to the local site to be free, paid or partly each). We started charging for access to anything more than the "cover" or homepage late last year, and it was....

    The BEST decision we ever made!

    Yes, some people grumbled and complained, but we were amazed at how many people signed up, OR, just paid a bit more for a print edition which gave them the online for free.

    You see, all existing print subscribers get the online edition free. If you don't take the print version, you have to pay for the web content. Period.

    We thought this would generate just a few subscribers, but at least stop the print subscription bleeding.

    What we found was AMAZING! People actually paid up! Lots of them!

    But yes, local content is key. And we have lots of that on our website, which is updated from OUR newsroom, not somewhere else. Wwe control our website here.

    Ain't that nice? Anyway... I cannot believe Gannett papers online are still free.

    It is ... suicide.

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  51. RE: 1:03 PM

    That's more than likely where this is all headed - back to basics. Unfortunately it's gonna flush a lot of talented people's out of news before it's all said and done. That's the real shame of it all.

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  52. Thank you 10:19 am I tried,10:50 am YOU WILL NOT SEE OSHA SHOWING UP AT THE APP PLANT NEPTUNE,FOR SOME REASON I COULD NOT GET THEM TO COME OUT,ASK BOB COLLING AND MIKE,THEY MUST KNOW.Please read 12:36 am from Ernie Gant its important!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  53. As a former Gannettoid (an escapee who fled in terror a few years ago) I can tell you that other newspaper companies ARE looking at a paid website.

    Us, for instance.

    The company I am with now charges for most of its newspaper websites (it is up to the local site to be free, paid or partly each). We started charging for access to anything more than the "cover" or homepage late last year, and it was....

    The BEST decision we ever made!

    Yes, some people grumbled and complained, but we were amazed at how many people signed up, OR, just paid a bit more for a print edition which gave them the online for free.

    You see, all existing print subscribers get the online edition free. If you don't take the print version, you have to pay for the web content. Period.

    We thought this would generate just a few subscribers, but at least stop the print subscription bleeding.

    What we found was AMAZING! People actually paid up! Lots of them!

    But yes, local content is key. And we have lots of that on our website, which is updated from OUR newsroom, not somewhere else. Wwe control our website here.

    Ain't that nice? Anyway... I cannot believe Gannett papers online are still free.

    It is ... suicide.

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  54. "But yes, local content is key. And we have lots of that on our website, which is updated from OUR newsroom, not somewhere else. We control our website here..."

    Which is exactly the reason behind why this won't work for Gannett owned properties.

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  55. Share price just went below $3.

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  56. Flash -- GCI collapses through $3 and now is $2.97 and falling as I write this. This is now a $600 million company. Don't blink, as $400 million company three weeks off at this rate. Corporate take note: this is all the responsibility of your dithering, inaction and ineptitude.

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  57. To ALL I never made a bomb threat and why they would have hired guns at the door ,well I don't know,I was nice and calm even when they fired me.Even when I talked to SKIP PLEASE READ 12:36 AM

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  58. Wow - $2.97 and dropping! Jeez, I'm sure glad I was laid off in August so I could at least get another job before they were all taken.

    Oh, and by the waym to that guy that laughed when I was laid off because you were able to keep your Gannett job...


    ... good luck - you're sure going to need it!

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  59. Jim I was wondering,could you re post my 12:36 am

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  60. "Oh, and by the waym to that guy that laughed when I was laid off"

    When they laid me off, I was the one doing the laughing.

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  61. 1:08, I didn't say I heard it on the news today. Actually I think it was a couple of days ago. The radio is still ahead of our local gannett newspaper.

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  62. So how much is a small (20k circ) daily paper worth now? I'd love to own the one I worked at for 10 years of my life. And I know it's still profitable, or at least it was when I left, even with all the Gannett "tax" added on....

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  63. When is Hendersonville Star News supposed to be closing?

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  64. 1:15 p.m. - I understand, but you know, it doesn't have to be that way.

    I'd bet that if the newsroom REALLY wanted to take back control of the localn website operation they could. IF they had a strong publisher who fought for the control, and IF they were willing to take on the tasks.

    "Back in the day" too many Gannett newsrooms willingly gave up the website control because it was "too much work" and not a "newsroom duty" which has led to the cookie cutter mentality.

    I say, take back control, then make the super-local-content website a PAID website. That would stop the loss of subscribers and generate more revenue BOTH.

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  65. AT the "Arizona Republic" they have shortened the space for obituaries by just saying two lines in each one is "for information please contact the funeral home at.............". then they list the phone number. They crammed alot onto half a page! funny how creative they are getting with the dead! But when will they decide to list Gannett?

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  66. 2:41 you're full of it, so high and mighty. Our site tried on so many levels to actually control our Website and fix what was wrong and what readers hated. We hit so many brick walls and crazy mandates it was useless. And we had the full backing of our publisher.

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  67. Who is Ernie Gant?WTF Gannett paid for hired guns at the doors? nice to see were the money is going

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  68. "back in the day" too many Gannett newsrooms willingly gave up the website control because it was "too much work" and not a "newsroom duty" which has led to the cookie cutter mentality."

    Nope. First of all, Gannett created Online departments that were not under the newsroom, but typically under marketing. Next everyone went off and developed their own site and learned how to automate the flow of information from news to online. Next were several small grid-based redesigns, and Publicus which was a corporate mandated standardized solution paving the way for an across the board design solution for all papers, who's purpose was to sell aggregated national & local advertising.

    Yep, I suppose "back in the day" if the publisher was loony enough, he could've offered up a sweet deal to purchase the paper outright and do what he wanted to do, but if you were in the Gannett fold, Publicus and the G2/GO4 initiatives (online standardization) were mandatory.

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  69. 2:45 and 2:52 .... well...

    If that is the case then...

    You fail. You guys lose. You will never be able to charge for your website if you can't update and manage it from your own newsroom. Because that is what online visitors want - NOW. They want NOW, not later.

    Both of you are saying Gannett doesn't allow that personal freedom at the paper. Well..

    Then you guys are crap outta luck then. Maybe that's why Gannett stock is under $3 a share.

    Glad I quit and sold mine at $76 some years ago.

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  70. "Who is Ernie Gant?"

    I don't know, but either he was hammered when he posted, or he needs some basic literacy tutoring. Regardless, if his story is true, he ought to be talking to a labor lawyer, not posting crap here.

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  71. To 2:50 My name is Ernie,I'm told that APP NJ hired guards to protect Bob Collins and Skip Hidlay,and I'm told that the APP was told that I made a bomb threat as I said I never did,if you want to know some of the story just look at 3/2/09 12:36 I don't want to wright it again!

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  72. "I'd bet that if the newsroom REALLY wanted to take back control of the localn website operation"

    The facts are that online was never controlled by the newsroom. The way gannett presented online initially was it was a necessary evil - a direction we needed to take to remain competitive in a rapidly changing world. News was not even the first online product. Classifieds, real estate and autos were the first online products while we (Online) was left to our own devices to try and figure out how to produce online news.

    This put the newsrooms at odds with online as it was perceived early on that online would replace newspapers and eliminate jobs. Online was seen as the newspaper's competition.

    In reality it was gannett's own foray (or folley) into online that failed to take advantage of it's full potential.

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

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  74. "I don't know, but either he was hammered when he posted, or he needs some basic literacy tutoring."

    The same could be said of many journalists who cannot write.

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  75. To 3:01 If your fellow Gannettiers health doesn't matter to you,you must be management, to say that this is crap!and as to talking to a lawyer it is still going on.I bet if this happend to you,it would be important!And as to why post hear,could you think of a better place.I'm sorry but every time I see someone saying NJ papers rock,well if it happend to you, you would understand.And just for the record I WAS A PRESS OPPERATOR,NOT AN ENGLISH MAJOR OR RIGHTER!

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  76. Here's 12:36 a.m., via cut/paste:

    ErnieG said...
    Ok so here we go,my name is Ernie Gant,I worked for the Asbury Park press for almost 18 years,I am the one who got fired for trying to get something done at the paper.I do still have the pictures,The day that I was fired I told Skip that I would not go back to the print shop until I got to talk to someone on the Board Of Directors.The print shop was not safe.Over the time that the floors were put on to the building,there was trouble with the drains for the bathrooms from up stairs.Raw sewerage came up from the grates on the floors,and each time this happened they would make the maintenance guys use Clobber Drain cleaner to fix the problem.The trouble is this product was made to use in a specific way,1 you don't pore 93% sulfuric acid into standing water,2 besides a reaction to water the acid does not act well with metal(Print shop were this happened was the old metal shop!,3 they were only supposed to use a little THEY USED EXCESIVE AMOUNTS of this product well out of the range of the manufacture warnings,4 you are not supposed to use this stuff wile people are working in the area!The funny thing was, that when I was trying to make people aware of the Gannett papers had dune stories on this exact thing.So when I mentioned this to Bob Collins,I was told no one would care,and after talking to the Monmouth County board of Health and OSHA,You know what he was right,SO I TRIED IN ONE LAST MEASURE TO GET SOMEYONE TO LISTEN AND I WAS FIRED.I never threatened anyone But I got hurt AND THEY KNEW IT ,WHY DO YOU THINK SKIP WAS SCARED.but THEY NEVER TOLD THE PEOPLE THAT GOT SICK UPSTAIRES WHAT THEY WERE EXPOSED TO,I DID.I am not a righter so this is only the short of it YOU SHOULD HEAR THE REST!Anyway I just think people should know. So that is it I am not anonymous I am Ernie Gant UFO!and I will swear to this in cort witch is what I realy want to do THANK YOU.

    3/02/2009 12:36 PM

    Not that there's anything in it for you guys now, but the old APP Trouble Shooter offered to help get answers to pension questions for the older APP employees due pre-Gannett pension that Gannett has. Maybe she'll help you guys get your questions and information to the right place.

    I remember smelling that sewage odor in the bathroom upstairs for many months. It smelled like there was a pipe leak between floors. What good did Clobber do?

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  77. "You will never be able to charge for your website if you can't update and manage it from your own newsroom."

    Charging for the website and posting content directly from the news desk are two different things entirely.

    With Publicus, Gannett newsrooms can control news content quite handily - what Gannett has not done yet is to try and charge for this content.

    At a time where newsroom staffs are being cut to the core and local content is more challenging to produce than ever, it's not just a matter of whether or not we can technically create a PPV model, but the real issue is, is there enough content being produced to make it worth selling.

    IMO, now's the time to do it - we certainly aren't making a killing on advertising.

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  78. If you're enjoying this discussion, remember to send Jim $10 to help him keep this blog afloat. Just do it.

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  79. Pension update from a Dec. 3 layoffee: My paperwork arrived Saturday from McLean. It explains options (immediate payout, with 20% mandatory fed tax withholding); direct rollover into IRA; annuity options at retirement. It says it will take "a minimum of 4-5 weeks for payment."
    Hope everyone else got theirs too.

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  80. The Clobber did let the water go down,but it had a explosive reaction I got the pictures of the pump room next to the print shop,wish I could post them hear.I can tell you that the drains in the floor looked like the residue underneath your car battery,except 1000 worse got pics.What people forget is that APP did an air quality test.They fixed the report and I found out! why do you think Skip Bob and mike were scared and ordered armed guards at the doors the were scared!I got fired,and as to who will listen(talk about the power of the press)well I can tell you its true I called OSHA and they did NOT send anyone just a letter to the APP ,The health dept.came in but MANIEGMENT TOLD THEM NOTHING WAS WRONG,THEY DIDENT EVEN LOOK,MIKE L.COVERED IT UP.If an investigation was done now I bet they would still find proof!

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  81. "ErnieG said..."
    (snipped it all)

    Ernie - I'm not an attorney, but I'd betcha a nickel that no attorney would recommend you post this information in a public blog prior to a potential court case.

    You might want to check on that.

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  82. 3:55 PM, Ernie said he "would" tell what he feels to be the truth in court. I don't see him saying he has a lawyer under contract or an ongoing court case.

    And give the guy a break. He's not a writer, but that doesn't make what he has to say less valuable than anyone else's experience.

    Ernie, have you read the OSHA whistleblower laws and the statutes protected by them?

    http://www.osha.gov/dep/oia/whistleblower/index.html

    You may have missed a ridiculous 30-day deadline to report your firing as a discriminatory action. This may need Congress' attention, like the Lily Ledbetter time limit did on gender discrimination related to salary. Might be worth pointing all this out to Sens. Lautenberg and Menendez.

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  83. Did S&P downgrade Gannett again today?

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  84. I'm doing this because I do care what happens to other workers,the reaction to,"and here is the important thing"not only was Clobber used improperly but it was mixed with not just the water,but sulfuric acid was mixed with metal dust and shards.And worst was that it was mixed with the Developers and fixers that ran into the drains directly from the plate developers.I'v bin told that this mix was and might still be very very bad.I don't care about the attorneys this is the truth so hook me up to a lie detector,and them too ,well would get to the bottom quickly I bet

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  85. I am very aware of all the laws that are supposed to be there to help the employees.Trouble is at the time the big bosses at APP were the ones that covered up everything Bob Collins was coming up for retirement and I would guess that this is why when I tried to go through the CHAIN OF CAMOND NO ONE WOULD LISTEN.Just toss that Gannett Hand book right out the window!It's hard for people to believe just a worker when the head of HR and all the other powers that be were so scared of Bob they went right along with everything he said,BUT LIKE I SAID HOOK US UP AND LETS SEE WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH!

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  86. I tried that 30 day thing but was late on my response,you see they include weekends and holidays,try to get through to our Gov. at these times.You know its a jock!

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  87. Grow up. The only thing Clobber can do if used improperly is scar your lungs. You don't die.

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  88. 4:24 Oh is that all,well you sure make me fell better!I guess the crystallized lymph nods that I have in my chest came from somewhere else.I wold like to know how you got your info?.Then you can look up how it reacts to the other cems.and metals in the drain at the quantities that were used.And I guess your management?

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  89. It feels as though I will never get my pension payout. I had to call to get the paperwork. Then I had to called to find out what the status was, only to learn that the 4-5 weeks it takes to get the check was delayed further for unknown reasons. Now I am told it might arrive by mid to late March, nearly four months after I was laid off. Just ridiculous! Talk about adding insult to injury. First they let me go for no conceivable reason whatsoever (the opinion of others as much as it is mine). Then I have to resort to taking the tax hit on the payout because the severance package was so lousy and I need money to live on in this horrible job market. And then the damn payment is going to take four months or longer to get.

    Warning to anyone who was recently hired or wants to work for Gannett:

    Run!

    You might not see it now, but eventually you will realize that this company has a very dark side. It's infamous reputation is very well deserved. And this pension mess is just a tiny indication of all that is wrong. Some very bad and two-faced people reside in this company. The inefficiencies are legendary. The selfishness and deceit are off the charts.

    It took me awhile to realize all this. And for me, it was too late. Don't make the same mistake I did. No matter how hard you work or how talented you are, odds are this company will eventually screw you.

    If you haven't joined a Gannett property, don't! This is a company that discriminates blatantly against older workers. And they actually get away with it! If you're still tempted by the crystal palace, and accept an offer at Gannett, make sure you have an exit strategy so that you can leave on your terms by 40 years old.

    As for this pension mess, you have to wonder why Gannett allows itself to become an open target for frustrated former employees. Couldn't they at least do this right and avoid some of the shots being taken on this blog and potential legal action? I mean, don't they have enough problems with falling stocks, bad morale, overworked staffers trying to take up the slack left by layoff victims, etc? Why would what amounts to an administrative or clerical task be botched so much?

    Well, I guess because they tend to botch everything. They don't think things through in detail. They just react and think they've formulated a plan, when in fact they've just created another mess that didn't anticipate what could go wrong.

    Just a horrible company. No wonder they've never earned a spot on any of the top places to work nationally or locally lists.

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  90. Hendersonville Star News is only closing its physical office in Hendersonville. The paper will still publish on its regular schedule. At least that's what we're told.

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  91. At the C-J in Louisville, we have had good results using our state OSHA. They have answered all of our calls and came in to make the Co properly install unvented parts washer and the power line for the overhead crane that was dragging the floor of the work area and once pulled an eye wash fixture off of the wall. Your Union Shop Steward should be able to help you with contacts. The IBT has a Safety and Health dept that can help also.

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  92. Those of you who think web content should go paid clearly have no business making business decisions. The New York Times used to charge, but when they went free their web traffic spiked. (Meaning more advertising dollars, no doubt.)

    Likewise, the LA times attempted a similar feat in charging for its arts section - and so people stopped reading it online.

    Unless every newspaper starts charging for news content, every few people will pay for it. It would have to be a systemic change across all outlets.

    Why do you think Jim hasn't required paid subscriptions in order to his blog? Because his readership would tank, AND if one person gets their hands on the content and mirrors it, others could get to it for free.

    That never happens on the internet. Nope. Not at all.

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  93. If the Hendersonville Star News is closing its physical office, where are the employees supposed to report to work from now on? Are support staffs being laid off? Maintenance crews?

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  94. to 4:06PM

    this is what I found.

    March 2, 2009
    15:45 EDT GCI theflyonthewall.com: Gannett-GCI ratings downgraded by S&P
    Standard & Poor's lowered its corporate credit rating for Gannett to 'BB' from 'BBB-'. The rating outlook is negative. At the same time, S&P lowered the company's issue-level ratings on its senior unsecured notes issues four notches to 'B+' (two notches lower than the 'BB' corporate credit rating) from 'BBB-'. :theflyonthewall.com

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  95. AH 5:50 there in lies the rub,it would be great if the APP was union BUT IT IS NOT AND Bob Collins COVERED up ALOT OF CRAP! LITERALY All OSHA did was send a letter to the Asbury Park Press asking to check it out.Guess how that went!No we did nothing wrong.Ah the power of the Press,besides look were the APP has or had offices in the trenton court house

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  96. >>>The New York Times used to charge, but when they went free their web traffic spiked. (Meaning more advertising dollars, no doubt.)


    The problem is, those advertising dollars are adding up to very little.

    It's worth another run at trying to create an iTunes model for journalistic content. Yes, it is easy to snicker at that, but .99 adds up quickly.

    Most of everything in life is free, content too, but some of it isn't. Let's see what people are willing to pay for. It certainly can't make matters any WORSE!

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  97. Elmira Star-Gazette is running its annual Limerick contest. How's this for an entry:

    There's a communications company called Gannett

    Whose prospects cause investors to fret

    The local paper is so thin

    That it's more than a sin

    'Cause readers flock to the Internet

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  98. I am confused,how is it that one fired press operator from APP NJ can scare said paper to hire armed guards?And if he maid a bomb threat,was he prosecuted?or investigated? what is the story? If nothing it makes this blog just a little more interesting since he gave his name

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  99. If you look at the various NJ Gannett papers and all the competing papers, daily and weekly, there is plenty of advertisement even in this economy to support them all in the black.

    Gannett papers are losing their share because they charge too much, not to pay local staff but to send millions a year to McLean to support Dubow & Co.'s golf, limo, private jet, etc. addictions -- oh, and dividends to investors who never have served any tangible, constructive purpose to any local paper, but rather put up cash for the corporation to buy more properties to keep their do-nothing game a'going.

    The best thing that could happen is if Gannett and the other corporate newspaper owners go bankrupt, and the still-profitable individual papers are sold to local entrepreneurs.

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  100. Don't worry APP -- HOLLIS TOWNS TO THE RESCUE!!

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  101. I am the one who mentioned being told from the rumor mill that this OSHA complaint was the cause for the armed police protection at all the APP doors.

    Let me be clear: I don't know it for a fact.

    There was at least one similar episode not long before that, also attributed word-of-mouth to a disgruntled fired employee. I know that employee and believe him when he says he made no threat or anything that could be remotely interpreted as a threat.

    Now, Ernie tells us the same thing here.

    So, if the armed police guarding the building for a couple of weeks on two occasions weren't provoked by these employees, then why did the APP hire armed, uniformed off-duty police officers?

    I can't believe a handful of honchos all have overactive imaginations. Could it have been a clever ploy to defame and discredit the fired workers, all done through the rumor mill, so the rest of us wouldn't find them credible and continue their crusade?

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  102. 5:48 PM ... or be afraid the same defamation will happen to us if we speak out against legal or ethical violations at the APP!!!!

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  103. Home delivery subscribers to the Courier-Post in cherry Hill NJ just received a letter saying that there will be an increase in delivery rates effective March 1, 2009. The amount of the increase depends upon the delivery frequency you are on. It looks like it may be about 87 cents but it is unclear if that is an across the board amount or is based on a percentage of the monthly rate you're paying now. "Due to rising costs associated with delivering the newspaper..." is the reason stated. The paper is now physically smaller and their are fewer pages and less content. Would not surprise anyone if they soon plan to increase advertising rates as well. There has been a traditional retail advertising rate increase each May over many years. They keep implementing more and more ways to drive away home delivery subscribers and advertisers. From where I sit, it would make sense to get rid of the so many useless employees they have kept arouund, many of whom are kept because they probably are friends of certain incompetent management. The demise is on the horizon.

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  104. There was a well known cancer cluster in that building for the way they illegally dumped all chemicals through the floors.

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  105. Hi this is Ernie,I don't expect anyone to say anything because I know that you will lose your job.I have bin fired for only doing what it said in our handbook,if you don't tell you are just as guilty as they are,and that is what I told them.I know what you all are saying everyday I read this blog.I feel sorry for the layoffs,stock going down,and the worried minds of you all.I can say that since being fired from Gannett for doing nothing but my job,I have lost my KIDS,HOUSE,CAR,GUITARS,and just about everything that I owned.So I know what you are afraid of,I am living it.I've have bin made fun of on this site,for my use of grammar and spelling.Go ahead and laugh if you want.All I can say is I hope that this kind of crap stops!I'v bin told to go somewhere else to talk about this hole APP thing,but please don't forget I was once a Gannett employee too,and now some of you don't want me here either,and to all of you I say tuff SH&T I am not going away,I want the world to know just what kind of people Gannett are.I also hope that some of the people that did this ,use this site a remember what whey did and WHY and for who

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  106. Regarding APP, OSHA and toxic chemicals - sounds like there is more to the story. Maybe they have been dumping stuff down the drain that they are not supposed to.

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  107. Ernie, are you a licensed plumber? As you noted, the manufacturer's instructions on Clobber forbids it to be sold to or used by anyone but a professional. Gloves, goggles and face shield are required, because the label says it can cause permanent lung damage if inhaled.

    http://www.herchem.com/specs/clobber.pdf

    It's regulated under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act. Hercules Chemical Co. might be interested, if you have proof its product was used in violation of directions.

    Who was the supervisor who instructed you to use Clobber this way? Did you object to anyone before you used it?

    Silver is the metal that would be disposed in film developing chemicals, although I thought APP removed and sold the silver before disposal (we did pre-Gannett, I know).

    Silver appears to be relatively low on the metal volatility scale, related to acids. What other metals would be in the drain, and why would they be there?

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  108. What about the mold in the APP ducts that someone was talking about yesterday? Is that part of this same deal with retaliating against a whistleblower?

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  109. MAYBE they have been dumping stuff down the drain that they are not supposed to? They were absolutely dumping illegal chemicals down the hole in the floor on the third floor. Everyone knew about it and no one wanted to sit anywhere near it. It traveled through all the floors.

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  110. What chemicals are on the third floor, since the presses moved to Freehold? And what hole, where?

    Also, I don't think this cancer cluster in the APP building is well known. I may be part of it and never knew anyone else suffered the same thing. Please expound on that, and how it was known cancers were connected, anonymous 6:03 PM.

    Word verification: guloging

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  111. "Could it have been a clever ploy to defame and discredit the fired workers, all done through the rumor mill, so the rest of us wouldn't find them credible and continue their crusade?"

    Management knows it can do that because lazy, stupid, ignorant journalists who should investigate won't. Instead, they'll join in the mindless braying that he's making it up.

    That's what happens when you have an untrainable work force with few skills. The force has great power over the weak-minded.

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  112. They just put a lid on the hole without cleaning it out when they were done. This is not sealed.

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  113. The smell that was coming out of the air ducts,smelled like old sneakers.you could see the mold coming out of the duct work! They did wash out the ducts,don't know what they used?but the smell went away.I knew someone that worked in maintenance that said the stuff was all over,but APP could not spend the money to clean it properly.And I believe it! this was a separate incident from the other two,and I was fired before I could check this out,But think for yourselves,do you think they spent the money to check the other side of the building? I don't think so.And whistleblowers are not supposed to take any heat Ha that's a good one(WANT TO BUY SOME GANNETT STOCK?) sorry that was bad,how about a bridge?

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  114. 6:30 PM, I don't agree the APP's newsroom is full of people who are untrainable to be journalists, but I have to agree the management has rewarded those who are willing to report stories according to a company agenda and not by traditional watchdog journalism standards.

    There are good journalists in the newsroom who have done good work ... and they've been allowed to when the stories don't cross the corporate agenda and after their puff pieces are done. Real journalism has been obviously on a back burner since Gannett bought the newspaper, IMHO.

    But from what I understand, managing editor Gary S is the only suit who survived from the old APP, isn't he, and has been running the show? If I remember right, he may not have had a full journalism education himself, although I don't know that for a fact.

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  115. 6:30pm Your speech pattern, snobbery and language will give you away.

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  116. Ya Dutch that is about the only thing a union is good for. Oh wait, a non union employee can make that call too. Keep paying that dues lemming!

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  117. 6:46 PM, I think those qualities can be applied to most of us former and past APP newsroom staff.

    Personally, I find your post threatening, or at least chilling, to 6:30 PM, who is entitled to speak his/her point of view without fear of being outed.

    I've found that most people, including me, aren't even correct when they start trying to guess who is making anonymous posts.

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  118. Not buying Ernie's story. Sorry Ernie but I ahve found OSHA to be so anti employer they'd enver miss an opportunity to hammer a newspaper site. You sneeze at OSHA and they send in the troops. Nah, your story doesn't hold water.

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  119. right 6:46, anyone with proper grammar must be a suit. Heaven for bid an hourly person would know how to speak or write proper English. Now who is the snob?

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  120. Thank you! That is what I've bin trying to tell you all,Other chems.were dumped directly into the floor drains.
    No I did not use the Clobber,I was in the old metal shop were the plate maker and the copiers were.After on of this spills,I got sick and was put in the hospital for 1 week,wile in there I was given so many tests.They could not figure out what was wrong.First they treated me for a hart attack! then after 2 days the docs told me I don't have a hart attack.Then they started treating me for legionnaire's disease,after a day they said that I don't have this either.After 2 more days my fever broke and they sent me home.(but here is the most important thing,just before I was realest my Doc asked if anyone ever talked to me about metastatic cancer? No why,you have spots in your liver and lymph nodes swollen all over your body. I did not know for a couple of months after the fact that the stuff that was pored into the drains was sulfuric acid and what it could do to you!Ya so when I found out that the stuff that made my nose bleed and eyes burn was this I was pissed,that I nor anyone else was told (were was the right to know act laws? So that is why I say to you all PLEASE BE CAREFUL no matter were you work in this building

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  121. The newspaper presses at the APP are in Freehold. Ernie is referring to the print shop, still in Neptune, that brints flyers, mailers and inserts for Addresses Unlimited.

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  122. 6:50

    Say what you will, but my husbands union turned down the furlough idea, and he's not lost a week of work...Well worth what I consider pretty low dues.

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  123. To 6:53 Doesn'T hold water ,JUST LIKE THE DRAINS AT APP.But just so you know,I got the pics.Ones that I took and all that they took OK! so hook me up to a polygraph I'm ready to go!

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  124. 6:53 PM, are you speaking about experience in New Jersey, or elsewhere?

    I also have experience reporting on OSHA house calls, and I don't agree with either your extreme or Ernie's.

    The federal agency pretty much has to have the accusation in writing and with some clarity of where violations fall, which doesn't seem to be Ernie's forte. I think he said he telephoned authorities, and they responded with a letter to the APP publisher.

    I don't write off Ernie's claims so quickly. I know from experience that building has some bad problems.

    In fact, the APP building could have been sold for top dollar about a year ago, because a big outlet mall was built next door, finishing just as the economy collapsed. So few people work at the Neptune site now that it would be easy to relocate to the Freehold press plant, even if it meant building a quick addition on its many rural acres out there.

    Donovan's excuse for not doing that -- that we will need all the space in Neptune and Freehold soon -- didn't pass the smell test, even if you considered the notion that all NJ Gannett might move to one central location (the reason to do that would be to reduce duplicative jobs).

    So, perhaps Gannett didn't sell the Neptune building when it had the chance for big bucks because maybe it can't sell the Neptune building without exposing it as a hazardous waste cleanup site. I'm just speculating, mind you. But under New Jersey's hazardous waste cleanup regulations, such a determination would be very, very costly to Gannett.

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  125. All New Jersey group employees:

    I've just launched Jersey Confidential, a special forum for Jersey-specific news and comments. For sure, you're news and comments of a broader nature are always welcome across this blog.

    Thanks for your long-standing support!

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  126. You know,It just hit me.You don't think that my story is true,WELL ARENT YOU THE GOOD NEWS GUY.So without any info you just come to your own conclusion.MABY THAT IS WHY NEWS PAPERS ARE DIEING!

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  131. I just moved four posts that were specific about the New Jersey group, to the new Jersey Confidential forum.

    Please post your Jersey-specific comments there; thanks!

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  132. I guess I will not go any deeper then I am already sorry JIM,I just want to say that at one time I loved my job,my co workers were cool.I will just say goodbye for now,and thank you,to the ones that cared,be safe by.

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  133. Hey Jim, re: NJ what are you trying to say?

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  134. Gannett was so wrapped up in its abusive, military-style management that it left no room for innovation in a profession (journalism) filled with innovators. (In my area, journalists were at the front of the pack in doing their work on PCs– this in the 1970s -- and now are among the most creative bloggers). People want local news. They will pay for it online when they are backed against a wall and have no other source. (Wall Street Journal readers had no other source for that quality of financial reporting and the WSJ has a million e-subscribers.) And Gannett is uniquely positioned – because of the number of communities in which it is located – to do a national on-line paper with links to substantive, extensive local news sections from each of its communities. Selling that subscription, along with a rent-to-own “reader” like Kindle so the reader feels like he has a tangible “sheet,” would work. If Gannett doesn’t do it, someone else is going to design and market a business package that has the information/resources necessary to hire reporters, editors and computer savvy personnel, buy libel insurance, comply with labor laws, etc, etc, and make money doing it. It may rise out of the ashes when print go down, but I think it will happen.

    But if Gannett is going to make this work it needs a news orientation. Already it’s getting cute, wanting to make readers jump a half a dozen times in one story to increase “hits.” Readers aren’t stupid. They are not marketing targets. They want substance -- whether city hall or recipes. Gannett’s monopoly-marketing mentality made its print products easy to avoid and is likely to rot its online ventures.

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  135. Sorry 7:00 it was either take teh furlough or folks would be laid off. So your lemmings took the latter. The Unions did nothing to save jobs or money.

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  136. 7:59 pm: Really, truly no hidden agenda, here!

    The New Jersey folks really are among my favorites. But a big part of my job is to keep comments moving forward, in the right spots, within the limits of this Blogger software architecture.

    We are entering a period of even more news developments within Gannett, I believe; this e-mail string has more than 130 comments already. So, I'm anticipating greater comment volume -- and planning ahead.

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  137. Sorry 7:00 it was either take teh furlough or folks would be laid off. So your lemmings took the latter. The Unions did nothing to save jobs or money.

    That makes no sense at all...They voted down the furlough, didn't take one, and no one in their department was laid off.

    So yes, it did save jobs...Specifically my husbands, and 8% of his pay this quarter...More if you look at what he would have to pay back the next pay period for ins., etc.

    Some of the unions chose to take the furlough for its members, but not his...He said he was prepared for a possible layoff,but didn't care, as it was the principal...At least for him.

    I feel we were fortunate to have that recourse,i.e to vote, that so many other GCI employee's don't have.

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  138. There are numerous present and past retirees in the press room in Wilmington that have bone cancer. They think it may be from the benzene that was used to clean the presses.
    They are considering a class action law suit.

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  139. I do not work anywhere near where the contaminated building is that people are talking about on this web site, but I know from my own experience working for Gannett (a very LONG time) that their buildings, unless you are talking about the Crystal Palace, are in an awful state of disrepair under a fresh coat of paint. Our duct work has mold in it and no one ever cleans it, people get sick a lot since ventilation is nil, and no one cares not one journalist in our building checks it out.

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  140. rodents, filth and stale air were problems where I worked.

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  141. Thank you Jim for creating the New Jersey confidential section. That OSHA discussion was starting to make me wince. And I grew up in N.J. so I can't be called a Jersey Hater.

    I worked at a newspaper not long ago in a "sick" building. They would clean the presses with this horrible-smelling stuff. The printout on it in the ringbinder they were required to post had a skull and crossbones on it! How do I know this? Because I asked what they were using that smelled so awful and they showed me the sheet. The smell gave everyone terrible headaches and burned our noses etc. But I've never worked at any office, ever, that didn't have major HVAC issues. It's a shame.

    Speaking of buildings, I envision Gannett Corporate starting to shop some of its extensive real estate holdings very soon, even though the commercial property market may be on the skids, too, in many areas. There must be many sites that can easily move to smaller space or consolidatae regional bureaus into one. In my state, an automobile assembly plant was acquired by the nearby university. So I think there are buyers out there. All corporations have a real estatae division. Jim, how about looking into that?

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  142. JUST A REMINDER:
    In 2009 Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8 and ends on November 1.

    Generally speaking, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November.

    All you faithful bloggers and readers - remember to to "Spring those Clocks Forward" on Sunday, March 8, 2009.

    "Jim, your blog has almost everything! Will gladly send more money this month."

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  143. JUST A REMINDER:
    In 2009 Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8 and ends on November 1.

    Generally speaking, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November.

    All you faithful bloggers and readers - remember to "Spring those Clocks Forward" on Sunday, March 8, 2009.

    "Jim, your blog has almost everything! Will gladly send more money this month."

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  144. In defense of unions... Gannett wanted furloughs and was laying off people at the time, has continued to lay people off, and will lay them off in the future. You have nothing to lose in telling Gannett to go piss up a rope! Gannett Exec's are trying to save themselves by cutting YOU!

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  145. S&P cuts Gannett's debt rating to junk status


    NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Monday cut Gannett Co's (GCI.N) ratings to junk status, citing worsening prospects for ad spending at the largest U.S. newspaper chain.

    S&P also warned that some lenders could recover only a negligible amount of their investment if the company defaults.

    Gannett's rating had been in danger of slipping to junk since the publisher of USA Today posted a 36 percent decline in ad revenue in the fourth quarter. A downgrade to junk status can significantly increase a company's borrowing costs.

    Gannett's bonds fell significantly after the downgrade. Its 6.375 percent notes due in 2012 fell to about 62 cents on the dollar, down about 2.5 cents, according to MarketAxess.

    Ad spending is expected to decline further this year in both Gannett's newspaper and broadcasting businesses, S&P said in a statement. Unfunded pension obligations have also been rising, and the company is likely to face an extended period of cyclical pressure, the rating agency said.

    S&P cut Gannett's corporate credit rating by two notches to "BB," the second-highest junk rating, from "BBB-minus." The outlook is negative, meaning another rating cut is likely within the next two years.

    S&P cut Gannett's senior unsecured rating by four notches to "B-plus," the fourth-highest junk rating, partly reflecting expectations of negligible recovery of zero to 10 percent in the event of default. The agency withdrew its "A-3" commercial paper rating on the company.

    Gannett last week said it would cut its quarterly dividend by 90 percent in response to the global recession and tightening credit markets. For details click on [ID:nN25511455]. (Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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  146. "You have nothing to lose in telling Gannett to go piss up a rope"

    Exactly!!...Thank-you 9:35pm

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  147. What website by committee means: vision is out the door, disagreement kills good ideas and molasses moves faster than innovation. Can we move past the cookie cutter, please.

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  148. Some of the spelling and grammar on the site is just plain terrible. There must be a more relevant conversation available than who put what down a sewer. Oh well, it is the free content model at work.

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  149. What like who is playing golf were.And GCI stock is going down the same drain don't you think? Makes it all relevant

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  150. 10:56 said "Some of the spelling and grammar on the site is just plain terrible"

    You've seen some of our newspapers, right? ;-)

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  151. Hey person who wants to buy 11500.256 shares of Gannett stock. You may be on to something. It could make you millions!

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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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