"The continued economic downturn left me with no alternative than to say goodbye to many talented and valued colleagues in all of our departments," Publisher Ted Power told employees today in a memo.The job cut total emerged in a Gazette-Journal story, now online; the paper employs about 340. Reno's brings to 262 the number of Gannett jobs cut through layoffs and other means since March 21, when I noticed company job eliminations begin surging near the end of the first quarter.
Nevada is one of four Gannett states that were slammed extra hard in the real estate bubble's collapse, contributing to above-average circulation losses, Deutsche Bank data show.
The other three states: Arizona, where the Tucson Citizen hangs by a thread; Florida, where the Pensacola News-Journal just laid off 84 of 200; and California, where GCI's four papers are led by The Desert Sun at Palm Springs.
Reno's circulation at Sept. 30:
- Daily: 53,926, down 9.1% from the year before
- Sunday: 64,276, down 8.1%.
Be counted!
Gannett began a new round of job reductions near the end of the last quarter. We're keeping track in our site-by-site Roll Call IV. Is your workplace represented?
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.
[Today's front page, Newseum]
Any newsroom cuts?
ReplyDeleteHeard the CPG manager was let go, as was the Publisher's secretary. No other word yet.
ReplyDeletemajors manager let go
ReplyDeleteReno Magazine editor let go. And that was their flagship niche pub. She was awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe axe is going to drop everywhere, corporate is trying to avoid bad press of company wide layoffs. They figure a few sites a week will keep the under the big radar.
ReplyDeleteCPG manager was not let go. Two CPG staffers were.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, newsroom cuts -- two so far that I've heard of, with some nightside ones to come as well.
Christ, I thought Reno had a skeleton crew before today. Now it's beyond ridiculous. We'll sink to even lower lows now.
Just heard that an IT guy is gone too. Too bad. All they have left is 2 IT guys, and a Drama Queen manager.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think they have a part-time help desk lady too.
There are a lot of Ex Reno people in Phoenix, Publisher, Sr VP and a few others, any chance of consolidation?
ReplyDeleteConsolidation? Let's hope so. I could see Phoenix editors who have never set foot in Reno doing a great job doing Reno pages. Reno's not anywhere near Phoenix. It's 90 minutes by airplane! Reno is an island as far as Gannett properties go.
ReplyDeleteReno wasn't always such an island, as Gannett once had full control of Stockton (sold outright) and Marin (dumped into MediaNews partnership) And don't forget GCI still has TV in Sacratomato. I'm still surprised Salinas appears to consolidate with Visalia, vs. dropping it into the MediaNews partnership and kinda combine it with Monterey Herald.
ReplyDeleteHas Gannett figured out a way to consolidate print with TV yet?
ReplyDeleteif phoenix is an example, not very much. The newsrooms do coordinate with each other on what they have/are missing in news stories. The azcentral.com web site is officially operated together, so the tv's video is accessible. But it's not like running the news efforts jointly or offering TV-newspaper ad buys together.
ReplyDelete3:55 - it's called the internet. Al Gore invented it.
ReplyDelete3:55 p.m. said:
ReplyDelete"Has Gannett figured out a way to consolidate print with TV yet?"
It's called the Internet.
Word is up to 10 newsroom people will go. My verification word is "phimper". Substitute a w for the first p and it describes how it all ends.
ReplyDeleteThis is like watching a suicide -- or the Titanic (and the band's playing). It's obvious the cost-cutting measures are no more informed than the ignorance which led to this mess in the first place. Once again, a lot of the absolutely wrong people laid off. And I don't blame the local representatives of their masters -- in fact I have a lot of sympathy for them; this is Virginia through and through. It's not economics; it's treason. It's not what a patriotic company does. Is it. Shed American jobs to get the job done on the cheap to produce a crappy product that even more people won't buy or view on the Internet. Who are these people? I'm sorry, but "clowns" has already been taken.
ReplyDeletenice 10:10 and the publsher is "YES" Man to the folks back east.
ReplyDeleteTo give you an idea of the classly leadership in this company, a moment from Reno.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, at a time when upper management clearly knew that 9 percent of the newspaper staff would be purged,publisher Ted Power came out of exec. editor Beryl Love's office belly laughing. And we're not talking quietly chuckling or smiling. We're talking, knee slapping, make a spectacle of yourself laughter that could be heard throughout the entire newsroom.
It's good to see that he understands what these cuts mean to people's lives and that making them is at least taking an emotional toll.
This seems even more insulting to Reno folks who have made a life in the city. Both Power and Love came from out of the area a few years ago and their legacy is a vastly downsized newspaper and a significant drop in quality.
Essentially, they've been corporate hatchet men, and some of the first people to go were the community's best known columnist, two of the best known sports writers, and a number of good, upper-level editors who had lived in Reno for 20+ years.
Anyone who thinks Gannett has a stake in the communities it supposedly serves is vastly mistaken.
10:10 -- Great post. But, sadly, I think this is what America has become. When is the last time you had truly great service at a retail store? How many really great products -- built to last -- are still on the market?
ReplyDeleteIt seems only a handful of companies do things the old-fashioned way: By selling quality products and giving consumers great service.
The rest produce crap on the cheap and take what they can before consumers figure out that they're dealing with garbage.
Fortunately, consumers can choose to spend their money only with the quality companies. The problem is the middle class is so strapped and overworked that cheap crap and poor customer service seems more appealing than well-crafted quality.
10:10 your writing style betrays you. We like your dog rants as well.
ReplyDeleteAhh! The point of discourse: well-reasoned comments, critique. Too bad Gannett's board isn't interested in emulating this function at all. The axe they weild may be necessary as some emergency measure, but it's in the hands of rankly disconnected idiots rankly unqualified for their responsibillities, Abbott at the capstan, sand in their hands. This entire global company is tanking under their gold parachutes, ruining lives. Saying nothing but silence save for the roadside kill of a coworker.
ReplyDeleteToo many hard working employees in Reno have gotten the old heave ho from Gannett. People that genuinely cared about their job and tried to do good work. The slow bitter anger creeps in and then you realize this is a greedy company who doesn't care. I was one who made it out, but I have a lot of friends who are barely hanging on or got the axe today. There is a demand in all of our communities for good news reporting. Unfortunately, Gannett has killed the newspaper industry. I wish they could see that they have an incredible opportunity to innovate a new platform for news instead of jumping on the internet bandwagon. The internet has been going strong since what 2000 or earlier.. yet they just now figured out how to sell online advertising? It's frustrating to see watch this all go down.
ReplyDeleteWe'd like to share some numbers with you Jim, but even we're in the dark in Reno. I'm not even sure if they're done laying off people, because none of the upper management people said a word of what was going on all day. We figured it all out talking amongst ourselves and reading it here.
ReplyDelete@10:14
ReplyDeleteSounds like typical behavior from Beryl the squirrel.
Did you hear him on local radio last week? What the hell was he doing there? Interviewed by our local lame-brain conservative spin-meister.
The radio guy literally stomped his butt into the ground. Outing him as no nothing carpetbagger. Beryl was obviously uncomfortable. It was a call-in show, and the Reno audience expressed great disappointment in the massive changes we've been making.
Of course Mr. Love was condescending, as usual.
On a side note.
Publisher Ted's wife, still has a job at the paper.
I'm ashamed of our product.
Our community deserves better.
Anyone know where I can get a recording of the radio show with Beryl Love? I missed it but would love to have heard that one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, any chance that some of the people on furlough this week are part of the lay-offs? Do they wait until they come back to then tell them they're out of a job?
I'm furloughed from the RGJ this week and also have been wondering, if I'm on "The List" of people being let go, would HR or Beryl call me at home this week -- or is it against the furlough rules to contact us? Do I have to wait until I get back next week to be notified? Has anyone ever been notified while furloughed? I know vacationers have been, but am so curious whether furloughed folks ever have.
ReplyDelete3:39 PM
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, I work in Phoenix and when many of the Reno people came into town they were filled with ideas that worked in Reno with no clue and seemingly no care how different Phoenix and the very large surrounding area was. Is trainwreck one word?
Beryl Love is one of several trainwrecks exported from Cincinnati. Smooth talking, butt sucking, little to no substance. But nice hair.
ReplyDeleteDon't know whether he was afflicted with the big-screen TV fetish of at least one other Elm Street export now bedeviling New Jersey.
Anyone have any credible knowledge of whether the flagship is facing any cuts? USAT seemed only lightly touched in the last round of layoffs (I think it was less than 5 percent), but with the departure of Moon and Paulson, one could speculate that it's catchup time.
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention....in Cincinnati, Love was known as a snake. None of the senior editors trusted him because of his method of operating.
ReplyDeleteGannett, on the other hand, apparently thought much of those qualities.
I'm just saying....
Can anyone provide a breakdown of the layoffs in Reno by department? Also, were these people offered any kind of severance package? Keep in mind that this comes on the heels of sixty one layoffs at Reno in December. What a crock!
ReplyDeleteI'm an ex-Reno staffer and can't get any news of who's left after this round. Can somebody let us know what newsroom cuts happened? You don't need to post names, just beats or something...
ReplyDeleteWorried that my e-mails aren't ever going to be answered b/c my colleagues have already packed up their desks....
Having worked with Love here in Cincinnati I can certainly second every comment expressed.
ReplyDeleteThe severence as far as I know is one week of pay for every full year you've worked. And you have health insurance through the end of the month. That's what a coworker who was just laid off yesterday told me...
ReplyDeleteCan someone identify the people who got laid off in Reno? I've got friends who work there.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the Reno layoffs Gannett will fold a weekly in nearby Carson City.
ReplyDeleteTo those asking for names, etc..
ReplyDeletePlease stop asking. You'll only get someone in trouble.
If you are concerned about a particular person, call them, they probably know if they have been laid off or not.
I second 10:26 pm's motion!
ReplyDeleteI'm ready for a severance package. Maybe I should stop working so hard while all the others do nothing and get to stay.
ReplyDeleteOK, I will break down the newsroom layoffs at Reno by area. I don't want to release names. As best I know it:
ReplyDelete3 from Carson City: a photog, a writer and an editor
CPG: a paginator and Reno magazine editor
Digital (this might be called online): videographer/reporter
Data desk: calendar entry person
Copy desk: 2 staffers
I seem to be missing one person here because I know the total was 10 in editorial, 33 building wide.
I don't think sports or Living lost anyone.
too add to 11:50's report...
ReplyDeleteonline programmer
online sales coordinator
2 IT
marketing coordinator
salesperson in Carson
real estate sales rep
CPG sales - 1 rep + sales manager
majors manager (reported by 2:02)
2 advertising artists
publishers assistant (reported by 1:54)
remaining were in circ and distribution, maybe 1 from another weekly
Those that stayed through the day and took care of things for those left should be commended.
Can anyone provide a breakdown of the layoffs in Reno by department? Also, were these people offered any kind of severance package? Keep in mind that this comes on the heels of sixty one layoffs at Reno in December. What a crock!
ReplyDelete4/08/2009 4:11 PM
_______________
What a crock, you say? What is your alternate solution to the lack of revenue? Oh that's right, someone else should decide who the deadwood is. That will always be a subjective opinion, yours included.
"is it against the furlough rules to contact us?"
ReplyDeleteI'm quite sure they have to fire you on company time, so they could not do this during a furlough.
Yes, 4/9 6:35AM its a crock when good people lose their jobs because a company keeps trying to maintain unsustainable profit margins using a broken business model. Assuming for the moment that you're an employee, I wonder how you feel about it when they come for you?
ReplyDeleteFrom Career Builder:
ReplyDeleteReno's looking for an Advertising Director
To 6:35: Yes, advertising dollars are down but the RGJ is still profitable. So how do layoffs make any sense?
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see confirmation of Mr. Love's character. Snake, you say? I figured out a while back that he says what his audience wants to hear, different things to different groups. I expected more honesty from a newsman. You're either with your troops or you're not. He's not with his troops.
"you're either with your troops or you're not"
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the military, nor is it a war. If Love wants to keep his own job, he is required to balance the interests of his "troops" with those of his "commanders." People here call him a snake. Why, because he tries to be agreeable with the people he speaks to or tries to put bad things in the best light he can? Does anyone here NOT do that from time to time? You think gutting his own staff was his decision?
And so what if the paper is still profitable? If you think you're supposed to wait until you're losing money before you start taking action, then you wouldn't be able to run a business to save your own life. Some of the commenters seem to take their cues from inspirational "leave no man behind" movies than from actual business realities.
By the same token, Gannett is foolish to run itself as it has and is, destroying the quality of its content and insisting on the highest profit margins possible. But to blame the glorified middle managers for all of this ... that's just kind of stupid. And it's hypocritical if you haven't been willing to give up your job to save someone else's.
To the furloughed person:
ReplyDeleteSupposedly, everyone who was laid off knows they were laid off.
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ReplyDelete4:07 -- Clearly, it was not Beryl Love's choice to gut his staff.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow business professional who has watched him mature from the outside, I can tell you that he has never used his staff correctly. He seemed horribly ill-prepared to run a newsroom of this size when he arrived from Cincinatti, and he has done nothing but lower the quality of the product.
Now his staff is closer to a size that he might be qualified to manage, but he continues to use his people poorly.
People who work for him tell me he's uninspiring, and I can believe it. He's hardly a charmer in person.
Some people just aren't cut out for management.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe main kind of inspiration needed in Reno is electroshock therapy.
ReplyDeleteThere are some utterly disorganized and apathetic editors in that newsroom who forget what they're supposed to do five seconds after they said they would do it. And they get cranky if this is pointed out to them. This on top of a few complacent reporters who write sloppy, boring stories and whine like brats when asked to change this or to do anything that doesn't please them. On the rare occasions when leadership is asserted, it quickly suffocates in an overwhelming collective fart of fetid lethargy.
There are some dedicated and fine journalists there. But there's also just enough unimaginative goldbrickers to quash the vigor of any new initiative in that enterprise, good or bad.
Sad the memo didnt come from Teddy. The HR guy sent it with subject line saying "From Ted". Real classy move, which proves he doesnt care about anyone.
ReplyDelete