Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Wednesday | April 1 | Your News & Comments
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This is no April's Fool joke, here's the lead on a story from Wisconsin's Holy Grail paper in Appleton.
ReplyDeleteAPPLETON — In a minor feminist victory, menstruating female inmates can now buy tampons at the Outagamie County Jail.
Until this week, jailed women only had the option of using sanitary napkins, rather than tampons. Tampons absorb the menstrual flow inside the body. Sanitary napkins don’t, leaving the user feeling as if she’s wearing a sticky diaper.
“It’s archaic,” said Supv. Anne Strauch, who raised the issue — along with inmate health care and solitary confinement — at a recent meeting of the county’s public safety committee. She is the first woman to serve on the committee in nine years and its only female member.
And this is our future?
Jim:
ReplyDeleteWhy no details on the rumored layoffs for next week?
Are you still trying to confirm?
Is this part of what's currently going on in Jersey?
It would be interesting to know what you're hearing through the grapevine if it's from a source that you trust.
bring on the dumb april fool's comments.
ReplyDelete12:39 am: I am still gathering information. Until then, I can only repeat what I posted late last night:
ReplyDeleteI've been told it's now very likely there will be some newspaper division layoffs the week of April 6 -- next week. But I haven't been given any companywide figures.
I am on the "gannett" rag don't bother me.....................@#!%^&$*&*(!!!!!
ReplyDelete12:20 a.m.
ReplyDeleteThe story's no joke.
It's a jail that has a history of trouble caring for inmates, including the horrific death of an inmate whose pneumonia went untreated.
You have some serious problems with women if you think that not providing female inmates at the mercy of the state with basic hygienic products is something to mock.
Your post leaves out the key part that inmates were fashioning tampons out of sanitary napkins.
It seems obvious that you don't have much contact with women.
Last time I checked our mission was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Seems the Appleton paper is doing just that in its admirable reporting (interestingly all done by women, or 'women reporters' as you'd probably refer to them) on conditions at a jail run almost entirely by men.
It wouldn't be the first time Appleton exposed terrible treatment of women in confinement. It did great work on the shackling of women during childbirth at a state prison. That led to changes in policies.
It also did reporting that led to changes in how the jail provided its obviously lacking care.
That better be our future. We're doomed without the digging that produces the sort of reporting that makes public officials (and sometimes the public itself) uncomfortable.
It's clear you could learn a thing or two from the reporters who have put a spotlight on injustice and righted wrong.
I'd love to see your best work. I'm sure there's lots of it in the past. In the future? I doubt you'll be part of it, if we're lucky.
You know what people and co-workers? Shit does roll uphill in an economy like this! For years the rich raped the common worker. And know," We the people", need to turn the tables on the corporate asses that created the mega -coporations, like gannett and walmart, on their asses!! UNION< UNION UNION!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was only 18 when the newspaper that I worked for went "On strike", The comapny Knight Ridder, decided that it was going to squeeze the union printers and we went on the longest strike in the city of Philadelphia for that newspaper. It wasnt the sacrifices and dispare from its locked out workers that I remeber the most!! It was the generous strangers and support from total stangers that arrived at the pickt line with donuts and yelling louder than anyone who was not working!! This is "true America" this is true unionism!!!!! I would give a pinky off my hand to meet people on that day again and to again thank them!! I would give an vision out of one of my eyes to see this again in the land that created dreams in this united states of america! America works when everyone is happy including the middle class and lower can prosper!!
ReplyDeleteGannett has been looking at production hours recently. What's up with that?
ReplyDelete3 a.m. on the East Coast, and still I can't sleep.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should read.
Yeah, that'll do it. Something soothing from childhood maybe.
Ah -- here. Perfect.
"Goodnight Moon"
(w/apologies to Margaret Wise Brown)
"In the great empty MacLean building
there was a telephone ...
and 8,700 pink slips ...
and a picture of...
A golden parachute opening over Craig Moon
And there were millions in stocks Now worth pairs of socks
And ten moral defectors -- sorry, a Board of Directors
And bonuses in cash
And jobs in the trash
And pensions worth squat and papers full of mush
And a spokeswoman wishing Jim Hopkins would hush
Goodnight loon Goodnight Moon
Goodnight golden parachute covering that goon
Goodnight faux "diversity" and Goodnight "mainstream" perversity
Goodnight retirement and Goodnight acquirement
Goodbye salary but hello furlough --
Who knew our copy could ever sink this low?
Goodbye careers killed to give Dubow millions,
Goodbye newsrooms stripped like wax Brazilians
Goodbye police scanners and Goodbye deadline rushes,
Goodbye nut-job sports guys, and copy-desk lushes
Goodnight accurate Goodnight fair
Goodnight newspapers everywhere."
There. Much better.
Tomorrow: "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day Bob Dickey Got on the Horn with Stock Analysts And Completely Screwed the Pooch."
Night-night.
Anon 2:46a. Who are you kidding? What a tear jerker of a story. I would give my left "nut" if someone got rid of unions all together!
ReplyDeleteThis is America and people have the right to run companies the way they want to and never by the fear of mobster unions.
If you don't like your job, then you can leave. That is what is beautiful about this country.
So, stop the union donut licking bullshit story and face reality. Unions do shit for you.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteJust got back from the convenience store in Birmingham Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) to get my News and Free Press (since no home delivery). It was 7:40 a.m. and the single copy van was just pulling up. He took away large stacks of yesterday's papers and replaced them with today's. Seems like there must have been production issues to be more than hour and a half late with delivery ... especially since they are only printing like 200,000 copies between both papers and not delivering to homes.
ReplyDeleteWhat's happening in Tucson? Did the "phantom buyers" show up?
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who wonder what's really wrong with Gannett, go back 55 years to the movie Executive Suite. Rent it if you can, or catch it on some cable service. It's a story about a struggle at the top. One contender for the CEO spot in a board room fuss promises higher profits at any cost. His opponent argues the future of the company is built on maintaining quality of brand and customer trust.
ReplyDeleteOK. It was the 1950s, when people still howled down attempts to jack up prices and voted with their pocketbooks on cheapened merchandise.
But in the end, the board goes with the fellow (William Holden, BTW) who wants to stick with quality.
You never find out whether he saves the company or not, but the story was one of principle and honor.
Fast forward half a century.
Good God what we baby boomers have allowed to happen around us.
And our reward? Look around you at your co-workers, beaten down by absurd corporate propaganda campaigns in the newsroom, astounded that company officers can be obscenely rewarded while workers bees are cast aside.
Quality? In Gannett terms of relativism you'd be hard pressed to define it at so many levels of the operation.
News 2000, Real Life, the hypocrisy of publicly crying diversity and targeting wealthy, mostly white suburbs for coverage.
And now comes Content One.
Ironic, isn't it? The loser in the board rooom fight in Executive Suite seems to have been more on track for what was to come in corporate America.
And it's our fault as a profssion. We grew up looking up to and being inspired by the Clark Kents of the world.
But we were betrayed by the wolves whose only goal of maximizing profit at any cost (and you can see the culture still even in these horrible times in the corporate-speak dished out daily) has nothing to do with principle and honor.
Those are qualities for another era, and my experience in Gannett newsrooms says their value collectively won't buy you a half pint of milk.
Just sign me, older and wiser.
I have to reapply for my job in New Jersey shouldn't Craig have to do the same?
ReplyDeleteI heard that Gannett is hiring everybody back that they laid off, and everybody is getting a 20% raise.
ReplyDeleteNo need to say April Fools.
Thank you second 1:59am post. Well put
ReplyDelete6:49 am
ReplyDeleteWhy do unionized workers get paid more?
Why are unionized companies better run?
Why do unions get better treatment for workers?
Why do unions provide a democratic voice in the workplace?
6:49 am
ReplyDeleteWhy are unionized companies better run?
Can you say American Auto Industry?
12:20: You'd probably like the female inmates kept pregnant and barefoot too. This is a great story on many levels. And if it made you uncomfortable, that's just one of them. Stories that evoke reaction and emotions are the best. Boring, pedestrian and lazy ones have helped put our industry where it is.
ReplyDeleteto 6:49 and 9:38
ReplyDeleteI belonged to a union when I worked at the AP long ago. I have no doubt I would have been paid less, I would have paid more for health care coverage, and I would have had horrible working hours (i.e., starting at 6 a.m. one day, 4:30 p.m. the next, then 10 a.m. the next. Because of the union, I could have only two different starting times a week. I got regular pay raises. And no furloughs.
Sure, I didn't like paying dues. But the return I got more than compensated for that money.
For those who are rabidly anti-union, you're free to work in some place or some job that isn't covered by a union contract. I've worked at newspaper jobs that weren't union, and I'll take a union job any time.
hey did anyone else see the big story on McClatchy yesterday? This is no joke.. their CEO took a 40% pay cut and will take no bonus. This is no joke. Hey Craig.... listen up and follow suit.. oh wait... never mind... your bonus is already in the bank.. but you can still give it back.. oh wait... you are not that committed.. so go ahead and cut my pay.
ReplyDeleteInteresting - Kentucky's new coach John Calipari is holding his first press conference in Lexington. The Louisville Courier-Journal is streaming it live and it looks pretty good. The local McClatchey paper, the Herald Leader, can only live blog.
ReplyDelete"Why are unionized companies better run?
ReplyDeleteCan you say American Auto Industry?"
Union works do not run the American Auto Industry, that's why they are workers.
The executives RUN the American Auto Industry. Case in point, GM's CEO is getting $20 million to leave.
$20 million would pay for a lot of union labor.
The bottom line is the price of health insurance that is part of the cost of every car and truck. Remove that, and the US Auto Industry could pay their union workers more and sell their cars cheaper.
Blaming union works is like blaming the horse for not pulling the cart, when the cart is so mismanaged by the cart's owner by overloading the cart with too much stuff.
Logic people, not emotion. We're journalist. HA!
3:05am
ReplyDeleteGannett looking at production hours has to do with the quota of ads they demand be sent to India.
I swear they run this company with a pin-ball machine and a dart board. Every day these idiots just throw a dart or pick a ball out of the spinner and do what it says. And if that dosen't work they consult Vp Magic 8-ball, who makes all final decisions.
ReplyDeleteIf you lost your job, good luck move on. But in the end you can only take care of yourself. Go back to school, use your skills. Don't sell out to a union.
3:16 - loved it! Thanks
ReplyDeleteTime to pay up, people! Jim's quarter ends today. Fork up your five bucks.
ReplyDelete12:59 and 9:40, No one said the story idea wasn't a decent one, providing decent conditions for inmates. There was just way too much information about the menstrual flow ... I shudder to think of the details the rest of the story provides.
ReplyDeleteJust heard that Myron Maslowsky is going to be the acting pub at USAT, Jim:
ReplyDeleteUSA Today publisher retiring amid newspaper tumult
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE – 18 hours ago
USA Today Publisher Craig Moon will retire April 17, becoming the second top executive to leave the nation's best-selling newspaper this year.
Moon's retirement, announced Tuesday, will come slightly more than two months after USA Today's editor, Ken Paulson, left for a nonprofit group that promotes free speech.
USA Today is temporarily filling the vacuum from its own staff.
Myron Maslowsky, the newspaper's top financial executive, will take on Moon's responsibilities until USA Today owner Gannett Co. names a new publisher. John Hillkirk has been the newspaper's acting editor since Paulson left Feb. 1.
So I guess this line from Dickey's letter is completely bogus, eh?
ReplyDelete"Everyone’s participation in the furlough will enable us to minimize the need for additional layoffs during the quarter."
He must be using a different definition of "minimize" than I do.
There's your $5 from me, Jim. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteNEWS: Only one bid for Daytona paper:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01040109.htm
The $26M offer is less than 1/10th what they said earlier in court that it was worth!
Does not say who made the offer - hope it wasn't GCI!
Oh, spare me 4/01/2009 10:45 AM.
ReplyDeleteToo much information about female monthly menstruation?
All the dither about male sexual dysfunction and frequent urination we're bombarded with on TV is OK?
You guys may not want to hear about it because it isn't your cross to bear, but it is a great story that addressed conditions in a pretty barbaric jail.
Applause to the reporters and editors. Thank God for the women in the newsroom. They fought hard to get there and they have done themselves proud.
The union has been very good to my family, and worth every penny that's been paid into it.
ReplyDelete9:50, both 10:28s, and 10:29 are the idiots of the day so far.
ReplyDeleteCan you post something dumber than what these people did? Then rush in to Gannett Blog!
Gannett Blog: Where the dumbest people in the newspaper world meet.
Hey fellow Gannett Blog readers! If you haven't done so yet, it's time to step up to the bar and send in some $ to Jim to keep this valuable source of information going. It's easy to do. Either send money via the credit card option on this site or send $ directly to Jim. We really do need to keep this blog alive. And, as journalists, we all know how much work is required to search for and collect news and then take on the production by getting everything onto this blog. It's a monumental task that Jim has taken on with great skill on the behalf of every current or past Gannett employee. Please...do take a few minutes now to contribute anything you can. Thanks from everyone who has benefitted from the information source.
ReplyDeleteGannett Blog: Where the dumbest people in the newspaper world meet.
ReplyDeleteyou painted yourself into
a corner on that one!
Are all these anti-union comments from people in management?
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly possible to be in a bad union. My wife was in one that was worthless, so she dropped out. But the really good unions can do great things for their members.
The way corporations are operating these days, I can't imagine any intelligent worker bee coming out as blatantly anti-union. They are the only protection that workers have in many areas. Are they perfect? No.
But wouldn't you rather have some bargaining power than none at all? And I say this as a person who isn't in a union right now. But boy do I wish I was.
In GCI, some of the people who got laid off from union shops received considerably better severance packages than those from non-union shops. If you don't see that as a positive, I can't help you.
And anyone who thinks GM is struggling because of unions doesn't see the bigger picture. The company is struggling because its cars aren't as good as those produced by Toyota, Honda and any number of other companies. It's also struggling because it put all of its marbles into the SUV market and then gas prices went crazy. Even if their labor had been cheap they would have been producing sub-par cars that a majority of the people didn't want.
Sort of like the newspapers GCI is delivering nowadays. Fortunately, we're giving the stuff away free, so we still have some readers.
Maybe GM should try giving away its products.
My monthly $20 is on the way, Jim.
ReplyDelete11:53 The $25 million offer is much more than I thought the Daytona paper would bring in. They are lucky to have that price, given the collapse of the worth of newspapers. Advertisers are no longer interested in newspapers, and young readers want nothing to do with them. There is no future for newspapers.
ReplyDelete12:08:
ReplyDeleteNice try, but you failed to outdumb the three specific posts I named.
Try some reading comprehension next time. Then maybe you can join the other April fools here -- again, named specifically in the post.
so....anymore news about next week's layoffs?
ReplyDeleteYo 9:33am:
ReplyDeleteThey Don't
They Don't
They Don't
They Don't
You are living in a fantasy world.
In reference to yesterday's 11:30AM post:
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head there. 100% accurate. I hear from photogs all the time about how their EE/ME demands that galleries have tons of photos, regardless of their quality. And many times, they are "batch-captioned" to save time, using a variety of photo software applications.
That's mass production. Not journalism.
And viewers don't appreciate their time being wasted. We hear it all the time. But when they click through them fast, it only proves the point of having large galleries, because of the increase in clicks!
I know of a certain shooter, great guy, who does 100-picture galleries at his Gannett paper, with many of the same redundant photos appearing one after another. The reason for 100? That's the maximum amount that can be put into the web content tool (Saxotech) at any one time.
I saw another Gannett shooter's gallery a couple months ago, who had to cover Obama landing at their city's airport. There was about 15 photos of Air Force One coming in for the landing!
Where would our credibility be if we used the same quote 10 times in the same story?
---------------------
Here's yesterday's comment, for reference:
Anonymous said...
The Asheville Citizen_Times has put up a photo gallery of Amboy Road Park, which is indicative of all that is wrong with the Gannett approach to newspapering, and journalism in general.
The gallery has over 30 obviously amateur images posted which are mostly blurry snapshots not worthy of viewing. It is presented in the featured galleries section of the web site, and appears as if it might have been produced by a staff photographer, but I pray it was submitted by a 'citizen journalist'. I have not included the URL because I'm sure they use galleries like this to increase their page view count in order to inflate their online circulation figures.
I find it hard to believe that anyone who is a professional editor, either word or photos, would expose the public to such poor quality.
I've noticed this trend at many Gannett papers, The Greenville(SC) News being another example. The papers also send their staff photographers to large events like high school graduations, and have them put up galleries of every graduate as they cross the stage. There is no attempt at identification, and families and friends must click through hundreds of images in hopes of finding the people they know. It's another attempt to inflate web views without producing a quality product for readers.
I've seen galleries of press conferences with 20 photos of someone standing behind a podium because professional photojournalists are forced to put up every frame they shoot rather than edit the take down to one or two images that actually mean something visually.
The newspapers create reader upload sites where thousands of poor quality snaps of dog, cats, and babies,showcased for all who will click through.
Publishers who require this and managing and executive editors who allow this to happen are shortchanging the quality of the product the viewer/reader receives on the web.
It is a continuation of the 'lowest common denominator' brand of journalism which is at least partly responsible for Gannett's downfall, and those newspaper groups who have followed Gannett's lead in this approach are suffering the same fate.
This of course is not the sum total of the problems that newspapers are having these days, but they are a good indication that newspaper executives at Gannett properties are as clueless about how to draw readers online as corporate headquarters.
Free content from readers that is poor quality actually reduces the favorable opinion of readers knowledgeable enough to know the difference. Those people might also just be current or future advertising clients. Does anyone think they are going to spend ad dollars, especially in this economy, for a site that appears amateurish at best? I bet not.
3/31/2009 11:30 AM
"Seems like there must have been production issues to be more than hour and a half late with delivery ... especially since they are only printing like 200,000 copies between both papers and not delivering to homes.
ReplyDelete4/01/2009 7:48 AM"
We get that here at least 3-4 days a week and we only print up 67k plus now-a-days. It's either the press or the ever incompetent insertion.
I'm getting to the point I believe something/someone WANTS newspapers to close down, and it has nothing to do with the I-net, etc.
To 12:08 pm, you are indeed a jerk and a butthole. Don't like it here on this blog, try something like Sesame Street.
ReplyDeleteThe Tribune Company's Web site is a huge April Fools joke today (www.tribune.com) ... good to see they're focused on climbing out of bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteAnything lately on retirees' success in actually getting their
ReplyDeletepension payments from Gannett? How long is it taking?
12:09 you have to get real. The auto unions had thousands, that's right thousands of laid off workers colelcting 90% of their pay while they sat in big union halls playing cards. Thousands getting paid to do nothing. When the big 3 declare Bankruptcy these contracts will be void. Until then your brothers and sisters continue to drain their companies dry. Yes management sucks at the big 3 but your pals share in the downfall of the company. Respect and dignity. How about pourin gout your own koolaid for a change. Don't believe the fact about the laid off workers sitting in halls playing cards... look it up online. The unions don't even deny it.
ReplyDeleteNEWS from OHIO and its No April Fool's Day Joke: The woman who served as both the city editor of the News-Messenger in Fremont and the News Herald in Port Clinton was shown the door today. At one time there were separate city editors at each paper. Also today, one the two reporters at the N-H had his hours sliced to 20. It wasn't made clear who, if anyone, will be running the show.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, it was announced a couple of weeks ago that Gannett would be selling the N-H building in Port Clinton, and relocating the three or four people left there into a rented, cubby-hole office. At one time nearly 20 persons worked out of that building. Also, no mention has been made regarding the future of the newer and much larger building in Fremont. It once housed the press that printed both papers. Now, both are printed in Mansfield. It too is a "ghost town."
Only speculation exists that this may be the beginning of more job cuts at other Ohio Gannett papers, all of which are producing rather pathetic products, primarily because of understaffing.
I would say the main problem with unions is that they should have taken less pay and benifiets to save job. People are so greedy that if we get the big bucks and compensation that we do not worry about the people on the other end are new jobs to be created. Unions will not help the newspapers at this time because of the profit margain. One example a major grocery chain told the union if they went on strike they would close the stores. they went on strike and they closed the stores. The Detroit union at the newspapers finally won or did they.
ReplyDeleteShould have been "it's" in first line. I know better, but ... And don't bother mentioning the rest of the goofs. I'm sure you can find some. Being overworked, I'm sure you will agree I need a couple of "mulligans"
ReplyDelete2:38, on pension feedback.
ReplyDeleteGCI is dragging its feet on mine. Big suprise.
1200 and 1249 you can take your high school educated union supporting ass to the unemployment line when they close the doors. I'll take my independent college educated ass to another job and keep earning my money. I hope you have enough of a clue to enstill some independent thought into your kids to get into the jobs they want not the union you did.....you are truely the real April Fool.
ReplyDelete3:00 p.m. - I agree with the poor quality comment regarding the Ohio smaller poapers, but disagree on the reason.
ReplyDeleteIt is NOT understaffing. Some of those small papers have large - comparably - staffs.
The problem is poor leadreship in MEs and publishers at most if not all of them.
3:30...I was referring to my husband who is a union mbr., and ALSO has a college degree...As do I...As do our oldest 2 chldren, ( the others aren't college aged.
ReplyDeleteDid you not learn anything about sterotyping while you were in college??
And I apologize for my typo's, as I was on the phone, and there is no edit button, that I can find.
ReplyDeleteOhio, welcome to what happened in Central NY (BING,ELMIRA,ITHACA). Graphics will be centralized, as will management. The buildings will be put up for sale. One was already sold here (BING) and you'll be put into rental spaces.
ReplyDeleteBreaking news:
ReplyDeleteFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Jennifer Carroll named vice president and senior editor for Gannett's ContentOne initiative
McLEAN, VA – Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today named Jennifer Carroll as vice president and senior editor/ContentOne, a new company-wide initiative to enhance and improve the way Gannett gathers and delivers the news and information customers want.
Carroll, currently VP/Content for Gannett Digital, expands her role and moves with her content and audience team to ContentOne.
“Understanding audience wants and needs and guiding the development of the content that best meets those needs is the crucial part of ContentOne,” said Tara Connell, vice president/ContentOne. “Jennifer’s role in developing Gannett’s Information Center and her expertise in content generation for U.S. Community Publishing and the Digital divisions make her ideal to head up content resources for ContentOne. Further, this position is the logical extension of her role in creating Information Centers across Gannett.”
ContentOne is a company-wide initiative designed to improve the quality and efficiency of content development and delivery at Gannett. ContentOne will help end duplication, guide major event coverage across the company and seek new ways to use our content across multiple platforms and in multiple venues.
Carroll joined Gannett Digital in 2008 and previously served as VP/New Media Content for the publishing group. She also had top editing roles at Gannett newspapers, including as managing editor of the Lansing (MI) State Journal and The Detroit News, and as executive editor of The Burlington (VT) Free Press.
She was named Gannett’s Corporate Staffer of the Year in 2006 and was a co-winner of the Chairman’s Special Achievement Award in 2007 for her work designing and implementing the Information Center.
Oh, I'm sorry did I offend you? You must not have much faith in his abilities or education, if he is whinig about his union pay grade. He must realize he has been making way to much for way to long. I view myself as a mercenary and will take myself wherever I can apply myself on my terms. If a place has a problem with it, I'll leave but I don't need some union telling me what I'm going to make or how much time I'll be taking vacation. I'll get a job by my own merit and on my own terms. If you fight your own battles atleast you can respect yourself instead of paying someone else dues to pretend they care and "fight" for you. And being in a union is the epitome of being stereotyped because your being bundled into one ball regardless of your ability or whatever.....moron...btw i just got a raise. its not about your degree, its about how you apply it and yourself.
ReplyDeleteWhy would Jennifer Carroll work for Tara Connell? I don't understand, was she demoted?
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine working for Content One is better than working in Digital.
3:52, I'm not a union backer but your comment about "it's not about your degree, it's about how you apply it and yourself," (grammar corrections were needed, btw) is extremely condescending.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of us who have degrees who busted our asses to put out a good product and got crapped on because we weren't the favored children of the EE. I know how hard I worked -- my section won awards -- and I know how much I got shit on, because I didn't just bend over and say, "Thank you, sir, may I have another?"
Pray that you never end up on the receiving end of that treatment. Then you will have a very different view of life.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete2:38, on pension feedback.
ReplyDeleteGCI is dragging its feet on mine. Big suprise.
4/01/2009 3:28 PM
My wife just got her pension check last week. They lost the paper work 3 times! I had a finacial institution fax it to them each time and GCI admitted each time they had screwed up. Finally, I told my wife to tell GCI that the next call to them would be from an attorney.
The check came from a bank in Chicago in 3 days. You may need to do the same.
Tell me this:
ReplyDeleteIf unions help their members, and not the union itself, why the push to do away with the secret ballot?
You need to create a union for all Gannett employees. Gannett cannot intimidate or threaten in anyway. Look at the way they treat you without a union. If you have a union you will have a representative accompany you to any negotiations with management.
ReplyDeleteYou have a right to form a union.
Shirley in Texas:
ReplyDeleteHey, please don't jump all over the "guys" who were critical of that menstruation story - although why you assume they were guys I don't know. As a woman and reporter, I thought it was way too much information, too. You can write that story without going into the ick factor and you don't have to be a misogynist to not want to read that sentence of how sanitary napkins make the user feel. (really? all women feel that way?) It's just bad writing. They could have gotten a better point across by finding a stat that saying x% of women under 50 use tampons, or what have you. Putting in some generality in such graphic terms of how a generic woman experiences that stuff is just bad.
3:52
ReplyDeleteWho offended who??!! LOL
We've lived quite well on his wages...No whining about that here...He's worked at his job for almost 30yrs., and my dad retired from the same paper, 20yrs ago...So we have a long family tradition there...( And my dad was in mgt. by the way, BEFORE Gannett)...The hubs isn't that far from retirement, so if something happens to his job, we believe we can manage for a few years.
It's just very sad to see what this once Pulitzer winning paper has become, and how people are being treated.
I'm glad you've got that mercenary spirit...I think you'll need it...Cause I'm not really feeling the ( how did you describe it??)...Oh, your "independent" college education shining through...That's it!! :)
You know I might suggest, while you're still employed, a little Dale Carnegie on Gannett's time...It's never a bad idea to brush up on our people skills.
Not that your's are sooooo bad.
Uhhhhh, just saying!! :)
While I agree that it's nice to see some real investigative reporting, how is the lack of tampons horrible conditions? They're in prison, for goodness sakes.
ReplyDeleteAs a young boy, I used tampons regularly, because they are excellent devices for cleaning shotgun barrels.
ReplyDeleteSo there!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteArizona Republic laid off more than 30 people this week, most from Circulation.
ReplyDeleteArizona Republic laid off more than 30 people this week, most from Circulation.
ReplyDeleteAny names?
Ohio folks, Does anyone know if Carl Lovern is still out there and if so in what role?
ReplyDeleteThe Indy Star laid off at least 8 people in classified advertising today.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the Moonies?
ReplyDeleteWhere are the Moonies?
ReplyDeleteYou need to develop a mercenary mentality this day and age. Instead of worrying about loyalty, severance, being a company man, etc. All that crap is dead, its not just this industry, its everywhere.
ReplyDeleteTo 2:04 am...at least Walmart SHARES THE PROFITS with their 3+ million employees and EVERYONE from the door greeter up to the CEO receives a bonus - it's everybody or nobody. Haven't seen that happen at Gannett. As my husband said tonight, "It is SAD how Gannett is treating it's employees. I don't blame you for looking for another job."
ReplyDeleteIs EVERYBODY being responsible and filing for unemployment?!? Spread the word to your coworkers and encourage everybody you know to file. It's very easy online and there's no waiting in line or being on proverbial hold on the phone. IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO FILE. Nobody can fire you for filing plus Gannett pays unemployment insurance rates. Why should we care if their rates goes up? That's the only way they will sit up and listen to the file and ranks. If 30k people file for unemployment maybe they'll rethink what they're doing. Gannett is MAKING $$$, just not enough for the greedy people they have shown themselves to be. They take their bonuses and run all the way to the bank while making people take weeks off without pay plus freeze our pay when we are all doing more duties. Give me one reason why everybody shouldn't file for unemployment!!!
ReplyDelete11:29, I held off and didn't file last time because I fear that in this economy, finding another job is going to take a helluva lot longer and I don't want it to run out before I can find something to make sure my family can make ends meet.
ReplyDeleteTo me, not filing was THE MOST responsible thing I could do for my family.
OMG! You mean advertising people actually was laid off??? Where I work they are the golden children...can do no wrong even when they're caught with their hands in the cookie jars and continue to get raises when the rest of us are treated like chopped liver.
ReplyDelete11:29 OK, everybody has to do what they believe is best. But what if you don't get laid off? That's $ that is provided to you that you could have had as you can put the $ in savings and use it later IF you get laid off. IF! But not everybody is going to be laid off. That's the fear factor the company wants you to believe in so you won't file. In my state you have 26 weeks of unemployment, and perhaps more. People in my family have been laid off several times over the years and it's always amazing how God takes care of us with or without a job! Is being unemployed fun? No! But did we grow in our faith and see some pretty amazing things come from it? YES!
ReplyDeleteFYI.. I was a December 3rd layoff graphic artist. 15-year Gannett employee. Took voluntary layoff. Yesterday, I got my Pension money deposited into my bank account. Now done completely with Gannett in every way/shape/form. Good luck to those still with this company.
ReplyDelete"...you have enough of a clue to enstill some independent..."
ReplyDeleteit's instill
"...whinig about his union pay grade..." It's whining
"...he has been making way to much for way to long..."
it's too
I suggest you ask for a refund from your college. You obviously deserved to fail.
Oh, and just so you don't misunderstand and point fingers somewhere else...I work in Production and I have a college degree.
6.49 the hex is on you!
ReplyDelete11:29 -- I agree with the other person who posted. It doesn't make sense not to file simply because you are afraid you could run out of benefits at a later date.
ReplyDeleteFile. Take the money now and put it in the bank. Even at the pitiful rates that an interest earning savings account pays you will make more money than if you file later.
If you're worried about a future layoff, take the money now but don't spend it. Money in hand is always better than the promise of money to come.
Many state governments are in such dire straits that the future could bring a delay in payments. And benefit extensions are extremely likely.
In short. There is no down side to taking the money now as long as you manage it. There might be a downside if you fail to file.
The anti-union bastards are just that! Young college kids that never learned manners nor respect!Hope you grow up one day and impress your makers!
ReplyDelete2:45 -- I don't need to get real. I agree that companies that pay worker bees decently run higher expenses than those that don't.
ReplyDeleteIt all boils down to this. Would you rather see a handful of CEOs, CFOs, etc. rake in millions while raping their workforce or would you rather see the money get spread around a bit?
I personally, would rather see unemployed workers receiving 90 percent of their pay than see that money go to an overpaid CEO. That is better for the U.S. because the middle class drives the economy. And don't tell me that GM was so well run that it placed the interests of the company ahead of the interests of its oh-so-talented leadership. We both know that's crap.
What's more, GM might not have needed to lay off thousands of employees if they made quality products that people wanted to buy. I understand that their union labor costs are higher than the costs at Toyota. My point is, that it's not the unions that put the company in the position that it's in. That's the smoke and mirrors argument that management uses.
The reason the company is on the verge of collapse is because it has consistently made subpar products. And it failed to look to the future until it was way too late.
If GM manufactured the Camry, Corolla, Accord and Civic it would be doing fine right now ... with or without high labor costs.
Not all unions are great. But the good ones offer workers some minor protection. In all but a few cases the benefits received far outweigh the cost of the dues.
And the guy who said he views himself as a mercenary and will jump ship to another company if he's fired is clearly out of touch with today's labor market.
I have long viewed myself similarly, but as companies focus increasingly on the bottom line, things like skill are actually devalued.
In my Gannett newsroom some of the least talented people are standing in some of the most influential positions. It's not because they're good mercenaries. It's because the company just doesn't give a shit about putting out a decent product. If the paper simply gets out each day the powers that be are happy.
So why would I hire a highly skilled mercenary at $30 an hour when I can get the paper out with a recent college grad who's happy with $12?
The mercenary attitude may still work in a handful of professions, but it doesn't work in journalism these days.
Personally, I would be fine in a union where somebody who doesn't work as hard or know as much as me is making the same salary. The reason? There's a good chance we'd both be making more than if we weren't in a union. And there's a very good chance we'd have more job security and better benefits.
2.57 here, here, couldn't of put the "punk" in the closet better than you did!!!
ReplyDeleteJob security is in a manning clause in a union contract!
ReplyDelete