Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday | March 15 | Your News & Comments
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58 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."
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Any stock predictions for Monday?
ReplyDeleteA fascinating take on the place in which we find ourselves: http://gawker.com/5170088/cause-of-death-determined-for-print-media
ReplyDeleteToday is a good day Jim! Lets all pull together and make it be nice today!!!
ReplyDeleteSince my furlough some weeks ago I have not visited my papers web site,or looked/purchased the paper. I am that discusted
ReplyDeleteJim ... thanks for everything you're doing. You have a lot of class.
ReplyDeleteSure is quiet. Where's everone today? Did I miss an email?
ReplyDeleteFor the second time in a couple days, my local Gannett Website won't open and freezes my computer to the extent that I have to shut it down completely.
ReplyDeleteAnybody know what's going on?
In a commentary published in the Dallas Morning News this morning, Daniel Drezinger states that one of the "long legs of the crash" [unexpected consequences of the economic downturn] is the "Internet is about to get a lot more #@%$ing annoying.." because newspapers, looking to online advertising revenue to deliver them from bankruptcy court ... "So expect more web advertising on your news sources -- pop-up ads, welcome screens, articles hacked into ever shorter segments to maximize clicks -- that cannot be escaped easily."
ReplyDeleteAre these techniques being used in Gannett Web sites? I have a popup blocker, so those don't affect me. What about segmenting the articles? I don't mind that as much as I dislike the ads plunked down in the middle of the stream of text.
We just started segmenting articles recently in NJ. It's pretty annoying. And even my Firefox pop-up blocker is having trouble screening everything now.
ReplyDeleteSomething certainly looks and feels different about the sites today. Slow---confusing---lack of local stuff. But I can still find the obits. Why doesn't Gannett charge people to read those things?
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a warm sunny day here. The birds are singing and the squirrels are out playing already this morning. I plan to go for a nice long walk today to soak up some sun and enjoy nature. It's been a long miserable winter.
ReplyDeleteTake time to do something you enjoy today.
Regarding the comment on the leadership at the Mansfield paper, let me just say that Mansfield was an award winning and profitable paper under Thomson, Horwitz and Ingersoll.
ReplyDeleteMaybe ownership had something to do with the demise of the News Journal and other good community dailies in Ohio and across the country.
Just saying...
"Are these techniques being used in Gannett Web sites? I have a popup blocker, so those don't affect me. What about segmenting the articles? I don't mind that as much as I dislike the ads plunked down in the middle of the stream of text.
ReplyDelete3/15/2009 10:12 AM"
They are.
I've noticed the mechanical problems with Gannett-owned paper Web sites in the course of my blogging rounds. They tend to have flashies and popups and a large array of ad-on tricks that force the reader to click through ads and additional pages just to reach content. I've quit going to those sites because of the annoyance factor. (And these pages hose up my workflow even though I'm using a relatively immune computer platform, a Powerbook with Firefox -- I cannot even imagine how annoying it is for PC users!)
so Tucson is just going to dry up and blow into the desert?
ReplyDeletewhere will the people go?
on the street?
10:58, it is so annoying I do not go near a gannett website with a ten foot pole!
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is just a fluke for today. But maybe it was planned.
ReplyDeleteMy "local" paper didn't have lottery results, but it had something to click on USAToday to get 'em.
Anyone know anything about this?
To 10.37, The Mansfield News Journal, is an editorial piece of shit. True their are some good writers, who really do not get a chance, to practice the type of journalism, in Mansfield, that deep down inside they know NEEDS to be done. When I started,this affair with Gannett, I begs sources, inside Gannett, to consider buying the NJ.( a mistake looking back on it) To the point of providing inside info, on the NJ's finances. (I was so deeply root, that Forbes, pulled the Horvitz wealth estimated, from the richest family, for a year to get caught up to my numbers). Several years, ago, I ask the Cleveland Plain Dealer, to have a special section, dealing with Mansfield's news, that the N.J. did not cover,just because I knew people in this city was hungry, for the truth. When "THIS WEEK", newspapers, started, a weekly in this city, in which I was originality offer the job, as editor and co publisher. Despite being basely a weekly newspaper magazine, deep down inside, I want to take the paper to a much hardener approach. In so far as This Week, long before computers became so common, I was ask if I knew how to do a spreadsheet. Instead, of doing what say a Gannett's person would do. Lie, delegate authority, and blame then if something went wrong. I told the truth, and did not get the postion . Their is a reason, why best places to live's book a few years ago, name Mansfield Ohio, as the worst city in the country, to live. It is because the local main press, both the NJ and WMFD,is nothing more, then a PR tools, for certain peoples in this city.
ReplyDeleteOur site has begun segmenting stories. It might now require four clicks to get through an 800-word story.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know why this was being implemented, but it makes sense now.
I have to say, though, that this doesn't bother me. If it helps build revenue, so be it. It's much better than some of the things we do that blur the line between advertising and editorial. Of course, it will only be a temporary fix if big numbers don't translate into results for advertisers.
2 a.m. -- I think stock will continue to hover around the $2 mark. It seems that we've hit a "temporary" floor.
ReplyDeleteWe'll sink if the market sinks overall and we could see a bump if it continues to grow. We may also see a little drop around the first of April, after that last big dividend is paid. It will be interesting to watch.
Like most folks who follow our industry closely, I'm sure we're going to see more cuts down the road. I was, however, ignoring most of the rumors that some big announcement would be made March 16-20. Who knows who posted that stuff?
ReplyDeleteI will say, however, that the rumors began to sound more viable late last week, like somebody actually got word of an impending announcement.
Jim -- Are you still completely in the dark ... or has anyone reliable dropped you a hint that something could go down next week?
"Jim -- Are you still completely in the dark"
ReplyDeleteOf course he is.
Lots of non-grammatical posts today. Jim, I thought you were going to eliminate the grade-school stuff.
12:05. I think telling the truth was not the main reason you did not get the job. I would hope that an editor and publisher would have better grammar than indicated in this post.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, though, that this doesn't bother me. If it helps build revenue, so be it. It's much better than some of the things we do that blur the line between advertising and editorial. Of course, it will only be a temporary fix if big numbers don't translate into results for advertisers.
ReplyDelete3/15/2009 12:13 PM
The segmented stories are an attempt to "fudge" the pageview numbers and time spent on site in order to build a false sense of value to the advertising customers.
Can't you hear a Sales rep pitching...
"In the past 3 months our page views have nearly doubled. With XXX of unique visitors every month, and the numbers of page views doubling at this rate, you certainly want to double your monthly impression buy by as well to continue to get the same reach into the online reader audience you had."
Hello - Can anyone give an honest opinion of what they think will happen with Gannett, and the time frame inwhich it will happen?It seems fairly obvious to all that we are past the point of being "in trouble". In my office we have WAY too many managers who are warming up to throw underlings, like myself, under approaching buses. It is really a stressful place to be now, nobody tells us anything. Our work is suffering because of it. I'm floored with the lack of leadership from above. Imagine our upper management as the crew of a ship (our ship). We're taking on water and starting to list. Mid-level managers are rushing for life boats, it's chaotic. Everyone aboard is looking for a captain, somebody to stay on the loud speaker with updates, to take charge. Since this is the situation we find ourselves in,....why the silence? CD, this isn't going to look good on the resume. "Remained completely silent while a 100 year old company crumbled all around me".
ReplyDeleteI see the stock raising a bit this month. Not much lower for it to go, plus the rest of the market should raise, too.
ReplyDeleteAfter that???
Our site has had troubles staying online that last few days, too.
ReplyDelete2:41 -- Part of the problem is that I don't think many people know what will happen. We were in trouble prior to the economic meltdown because newspapers and television stations were losing readers and viewers. Plus, our company has never placed a real premium on quality content, and we have now cut many of the quality people we did have.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anybody expected the economy to tumble as fast as it has, and made things really bad. Now, we're left with a terrible advertising climate and products that -- in many cases -- just aren't very good.
I think the lack of leadership that you're seeing is due to the fact that nobody, not even managers, know whether they'll have a job next week. Some people are sucking it up and working harder. Others are putting all their efforts into finding something new.
My guess is we're going to hear lots of talk about what we're doing to save the company, but we won't see any real leadership until the economy recovers.
At my site, an initiative that's presented as the biggest deal of the year one day, is completely scrapped the next in favor of a new plan. The only thing that is clear, is that nobody has a plan and that everybody is running scared.
1:27 -- You're absolutely right, of course. I don't really like the practice, but at least people can figure it out.
ReplyDeleteAt my site, we've done some things that really blur the line between editorial content and paid advertising. Stories about certain clients that our marketing department demands, etc. This really bothers me because nobody sees the behind-the-scenes dealings.
With the segmented stories, at least, a savvy Web advertiser can look at the site and figure out what's going on. It's not unlike selling USATs to hotels at a bargain rate. You get to claim the circulation whether or not anybody actually reads.
Gannett is no longer a news gathering and publishing company. It is a holding company of media properties. It is only responsible to the stock ticker and that ticker will dictate every decision. Once this is realized it explains all of corporate's actions fully. If they can not raise further revenue they will continue to slash expense to justify the declining circulation and ad revenue. It is not the responsibility of this company to put out quality news, it is to make money and raise the stock price. If they can slash people, lower page counts, clog up the website with more rich media ads that reduce load time, turn glossies into regular paper stock pubs, they will do it to keep the stock up. This is the focus of this company, not news. If some good journalism actually happens in spite of it, then its icing on the cake. It sickens me to actually realize this but it explains everything.
ReplyDeleteYou know what — we may complain and feel sorry for ourselves — but things could be so much worse. I have met people that work for employers that do not offer them health insurance, no paid sick time, nothing. I used to get upset about Gannett, but you know what, I appreciate them so much more, now that I can see the other side of the coin. They give me paid sick leave, they give me paid vacation, they pay most of my health insurance. No, they aren't the best and could be so much better. But they sure aren't the worst. I'm thrilled I have what I have. I know it won't last forever, so I am training for a new career while I still have a job. Use your energy to help yourself, rather than complain. It really does make you feel better about your job and yourself. Also, Obama is offering great incentives for people who want to start a small business. There are tons of opportunities out there to change your life. Go for it!
ReplyDeleteStock price down on Monday.
ReplyDeleteThe segmentation makes absolutely no sense from a readership standpoint. Its only purpose is to boost click rates. Any savvy advertiser who checks the site out for him- or herself will know what's going on.
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely no good reason to break up a story on the Internet.
Gannett is going to do online the same way it does print -- driven by ad types who think they still have a monopoly. Sites overburdened with segmented stories will drive away readers. Gannett's no longer the only show in town and shouldn't approach the web like it is.
ReplyDelete12:48 pm: I'm now moderating more aggressively on CONTENT -- not grammar.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, some of Gannett's higher-ups were tuned into SUNDAY MORNING on CBS today.
ReplyDeleteIt offered an interesting, enlightening perspective on how "good companies" operate and treat their workers.
The piece was based on a list of 100 companies that Forbes had singled out as being among the best to work for.
Here's a couple of tidbits:
These companies respect and care about their employees. They are not just numbers.
They seriously listen to idea offered by employees that would move the company forward.
They admit they don't have all the answers.
And most interesting was a statement that leaders can't lead unless employees respect them and are willing to follow.
Should seem pretty obvious to most of us why Gannett certainly is out of step with the "best."
Here's the AP story on Tucson closing in a week.
ReplyDeleteby By Arthur H. Rotstein - Mar. 15, 2009 10:19 AM
Associated Press
TUCSON - Marshall Wyatt Earp's fabled 1881 shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone was reported this way:
"A day when blood flowed as water, and human life was held as a shuttlecock, a day always to be remembered as witnessing the bloodiest and the deadliest street fight that has ever occurred in this place, or probably in the territory."
For nearly 140 years, the Tucson Citizen has told the stories of Southern Arizona, but on Saturday (March 21), the state's oldest newspaper will tell its last - its own.
Gannett Co. Inc., the nation's largest newspaper publisher, announced in January it would close the Citizen if it didn't find a buyer for certain assets. Robert J. Dickey, president of Gannett's U.S. Community Publishing, said the paper was losing money and was a drain on Gannett operations.
The Citizen becomes the latest casualty of a newspaper industry struggling to survive despite the tough economy, dwindling advertising revenues and Internet competition. The battle has been especially tough in two-newspaper towns.
E. W. Scripps Co. closed the 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News, one of two daily newspapers in Denver, in February. Hearst Corp. has said it will close or sell the San Francisco Chronicle if it can't slash expenses, and has laid out plans to close the Seattle Post-Intelligencer if a buyer isn't found before April.
Four newspaper companies, including the owners of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune and The Philadelphia Inquirer, have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent months.
The Citizen, an afternoon newspaper, has struggled for years against the Arizona Daily Star, a 117,000-circulation morning newspaper owned by Lee Enterprises. During the Citizen's heyday in the 1960s, circulation was about 60,000; today, it's 17,000.
Editor Jennifer Boice said the Citizen's closure is a loss for the Star, the community and journalism.
"It's a loss because what we do makes the Star better, the Star makes us better, and because of that, the community gets better information," said Boice, who started at the paper 25 years ago as a business writer. "It's more than the sum of the parts."
The Arizona Citizen was founded on Oct. 15, 1870, by John Wasson, a newspaper man from California, with behind-the-scenes help from Richard McCormick, the territory's governor and later territorial delegate to Congress.
The paper changed ownership several times over the next 100 years until Gannett bought it in 1976, just a few years after a U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Citizen led Congress to pass the Newspaper Preservation Act and new rules for joint-operating agreements for competing newspapers doing business together. Gannett also changed the name to the Tucson Citizen.
During its lifetime, the Citizen reported on Arizona's biggest stories, including the 1881 gunfight at the OK Corral and the 1934 arrest of bank robber John Dillinger and three other gang members hiding out in Tucson.
"It has such a long history," Arizona historian Marshall Trimble said. "That makes it part of Arizona history, and it's just another piece of our history that's going away."
Michael Chihak, the Citizen's former editor and publisher who retired last summer, spent a significant portion of his life with the paper. His grandfather was a pressman at the Citizen in the 1940s. As a boy, Chihak delivered the paper on his bicycle and was a high school stringer. He later became a reporter and editor, working for other news organizations along the way, and returned to the Citizen as its publisher and chief executive in 2000.
"It was more than a career, more than a job, it was part of my life," said Chihak, who is now executive director of a nonprofit foundation in San Francisco.
He said it's heartbreaking to see the demise of the Citizen, and "the loss of all the jobs of the finest journalists I knew."
Newspapers remain at the forefront of gathering and disseminating information, Chihak said, "but obviously the emphasis has shifted to other means of distribution, and of gathering, for that matter."
More than 60 newsroom employees will lose their jobs because of the closure, but Tucson Newspapers Inc., which oversees the Gannett-Lee Enterprises business operations under the JOA, will continue until at least 2015.
Star publisher John Humenik couldn't comment on the Citizen's closure because of pending legal issues related to the JOA, but Lee spokesman Daniel Hayes said, "it's always unfortunate when a community voice is lost."
The final Citizen will be a 24-page commemorative edition delivered on Saturday. About 20,000 copies will be printed and available in news racks for a couple of days.
The Citizen's staff continues to work as hard and as skillfully as ever in its waning days, said Bruce Johnston, who joined the Citizen 36 years ago.
"We're professionals," he said. "We're treating every day like it normally is, even though there's a lot of gallows humor around here."
Except for the stacks of boxes and large trash bins lining the newsroom to catch years' worth of notebooks and paper stacked atop desks, it was business as usual. Reporters continued to call sources, plan coverage and share laughs.
But they also shared tidbits about mostly fruitless job searches, punctuated by sighs and knowing nods as they prepared for their final week at their newspaper - and for many, likely their final week in the business.
Associate Editor Mark Kimble, a 34-year veteran, said he worries about what closures like the Citizen's mean for the future of journalism.
There are "fewer sets of eyes looking at what government is doing and keeping an eye on the things that I think we all take seriously," Kimble said. "That's very unfortunate."
I personally find segmented stories annoying. 6:38 is correct, in my opinion; there really isn't any good reason to segment a story on the Web. The notion of "pages" on the Internet reflects dead-tree thinking.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, when news sites become paid sites, that kind of thing will stop. Media companies won't have to boost "page views" by these artificial means because they'll have hard subscriber numbers to show advertisers.
I once interviewed for a job in Mansfield. It boggled my mind that they had a managing editor, assistant managing editor and city editor for a newsroom that would have fit in my living room.
ReplyDeleteThat's one ME who'd drunk the Gannett Kool-Aid, for sure - "circles of life," "good news," all that stuff. If he'd dropped the delusions of grandeur and focused on local news, it'd be a much, much better paper.
Has anybody heard anything about upcoming drama for this week? Besides the usual speculation, does anybody have any news?
ReplyDeleteThe big cheeses asked for all of our vacations to be scheduled through the end of 2009. Does anybody have any idea why they'd want that?
Friday was the end of a pay period.
UPI reports Tucson Citizen to close March 21, I think this is the first Gannett paper to close and unfortunately probably not the first. It amazes me that a 100+ year old newspaper can't find a way to survive the current changes and business climate. Or better put, Gannett corporate wizards couldn't figure out how to do business in todays environment. My heart goes out to those with the Citizen both past and present.
ReplyDeleteDubow was on furlough last week. For those of you who predicted an announcement last week - obviously, you are making things up. Do you think Gannett will announce furloughs or layoffs while the CEO is out? Earliest we will hear anything (if there is anything to hear) is next Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteJim , you responded to my question about what suggestions people have made to improve the company by saying you suggested to Gary Watson 14 years ago that we should aggressively pursue Internet strategies.
ReplyDeleteFine, you were right, he was wrong. Watson was a complete jerk anyway and no question he was not open to new ideas. But the culture of the company has changed over the past couple of years. They are much more open to new ideas. Problem is, we are in such a scramble mode right now because of declining profits.
So, forget about 14 years ago, what kinds of suggestions are people making now, or have they made in the past few months? Would love to hear them. I know that the Gannett paper I work at is trying new things, as I'm sure many others are too.
bwaaa-haaaa-haaaa!!!!
ReplyDelete"open to suggestions?"
dude, you stumbled onto the wrong site, this is the Gannett blog!
8:11,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's unusual. At my site, we were asked in December to put in our requests through the end of the year. Otherwise, there's no guarantee we'll get the dates we want if we spring them on them with a month's notice. They have to plan out the year just like we do.
8:40,
I submitted an idea for a moneymaking opportunity to two of my higher-ups. I never got even a "thanks" in reply. Sorry I can't give details, but that would out me.
IMPORTANT NEWS on delawareonline Moms site:
ReplyDeleteCONSTIPATED GECKO: Mom needs a vet who'll help a little guy that just can't go! http://tinyurl.com/bvuerp ,
Yes, really. Read the whole thread, you won't believe this.
It's probably already been mentioned.
ReplyDeleteBut I've already gotten into the habit of clicking the "print this page" icon, at the top of the story.
It opens the WHOLE story in a separate window. You might have to cancel the printer box that opens. No big deal. You get the entire story to view.
8:40 PM
ReplyDeleteI would think that it's just a little bit too late for hit and miss experimentation. That should have been planned and tested way back when this transformation was announced.
@8:40
ReplyDeleteI know you weren't directing your question at me. But at our site, a western site, suggestions are really not accepted any more.
Offering suggestions is now interpreted as "so, you're unhappy with the way things are?" or "we're waiting for corporate direction".
It's a sick environment.
To 7:54, did you get the job in Mansfield, if not why?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone noticed that USA TODAY's iPhone app is the No. 1 free news app on iTunes? Doing better (and better reviewed) than the app of the NY Times?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have an update on how many GNS folks stayed on and how many actually left?
ReplyDeleteWord has it bonuses were paid for 2008...how can bonuses be paid if the company is doing THAT bad? We can't purchase office supplies but hundreds of thousands of dollars can be spent on bonuses?
ReplyDeleteI have been in and around Ohio newspapers for 23 years and I can say with certainty that Mansfield had a strong reputation for reporting, particularly back in the Harry Horvitz days.
ReplyDeleteWhat's happened since is typical: Lots of newsroom openings not filled; younger reporters taking the spots once held by veterans and a focus on what the OWNERS of the paper want, be it Real Life/Real News or whatever.
A paper is good because of its talent pool. It's bad generally because the ME and others have their hands tied.
The news operation in Mansfield is now responsible for the paper in Bucyrus, a small market 30 miles west.
That means a smaller staff is now producing two print products and two online products each day. And they're doing it with far fewer staff than what it had.
The News Journal won lots of APSO awards when it was fully staffed. I know because I was there.
Ever since the USA Today's web site was "Dumbed down", I never go there. Too many quality web resources to read.
ReplyDeleteContent, content, we all want content, not ContentOne.
When journalism is run by those without a leg in the newsroom, we get today's mess.
Ever try to read any newspaper's web site on an iPhone or iPod Touch? The "Gray (now in color) Lady's" content is too full for the little LCD screen.
ReplyDeleteThe only paper with ContentOne can be read on that little window 'cause the content is so little.
Today NPR had a segment about a poll on where people get their news and why newspapers are in the toilet. While the internet is a hot commodity for younger readers, the older subscribers are not subscribing and circulation is down due to TELEVISION, not the internet. Ironic that the first true thing I've heard in a long while about our demise came from RADIO.
ReplyDelete11:39 -- Another reason older readers may not be subscribing is that for years papers focused on trying to land young readers. Now, they're pushing many of their resources to the Web. The thinking has always been that "core" readers will pick up the paper no matter what we throw into it.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think some core readers started realizing they were getting almost as much for free on TV. If newspapers went back to what they do best, they migh regain some older folks. They will never, however, see circulation numbers like they had in the golden years. Too much competition.
"Has anybody heard anything about upcoming drama for this week? Besides the usual speculation, does anybody have any news?"
ReplyDeleteI did see an interesting news item this week about company matches for 401-k's declining rapidly as a cutback measure. I'm frankly surprised that Gannett hasn't done this already (prior to trying a furlough).