Today, everyone in the broadcast division with the title of 'webmaster' was laid off, with severance. . . . I've been told that web management will be consolidated into a few individuals doing web development for several stations.
One webmaster told me:
- There was no warning
- I was the first person he told
- He didn't know how the general manager was going to break the news to the staff
Hapless anchor Ted Baxter asks: Can anyone turn this Report 2 Reality, with more details? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com].
Buh, buh, but ... what about developing Web "product"??????
ReplyDeleteNah! Everybody knows cars don't NEED mechanics...Just contract then as needed.
Bwah-hahahahahha!
"Um, guys, site's down. Again."
Across the board, since last August, how much has the broadcast division been affected by layoffs, etc. vs. everyone else? Just curious. Equal opportunity for all, right?
ReplyDeleteWe don't need no stinkin' Web.
ReplyDeleteI don't like seeing anyone lose their job. But this web insanity had to level out. Maybe this is a start. The proof just isn't there that news web sites are ever going to make big money. Too many highly qualified journalists have lost their jobs because of Gannett's thirst to hire digital/tech folks. Maybe we will return to greater balance and caution before throwing more experienced editorial people overboard. Content drives Gannett products. We need editors who can edit, writers who can write, broadcasters who can communicate and managers who can manage. Yes, we also need a digital presence and technical innovation just as we need marketing and other departments, but not while raping every newsroom at every TV station and newspaper in this company. Even USA TODAY has been hurt by the over-zealous quest to build the brand's web site. Again, I don't mean that as disrespect to anyone or as an attack on digital. I just believe that until digital pulls its own weight, this company does not need to clear out anymore payroll to hire anymore web designers, engineers or animation experts. We have enough but don't always maximize how their time is spent.
ReplyDelete3:46 Looks to me like TV ad revenues off as much as in print, so the cuts have been about the same.
ReplyDelete3:52 That is a very silly comment. Digital is the future, and it is the fastest-growing producer of revenue at a time when the traditional producers of revenue are all declining. Gannett should be in the forefront of the digital revolution, but unfortunately it is not. The Web sites are terrible. USA TODAY's site looks like a jazzed up version of the DrudgeReport, and some community paper products are really sad. Take a look at the New York Times Web site if you want to see what a great site should be.
ReplyDeleteto Anonymous 5/12/2009 3:52 PM
ReplyDeleteGet your head out of your ass. You sound like a pompus newspaper guy that has a a jealousy for any media that doesn't dirty the users hands with ink. How many papers have gone under because audiences don't have any use for them any longer? How many TV stations have folded????? Heard of any TV websites shut down??? Didn't think so
Digital....
ReplyDeleteALLLLLLLL TALK
and
NOOOOOOOO REVENUE.
3:46 -- My station in particular has lost about twenty people to layoffs, but we had many more who took buyouts, and even more who have quit to take better jobs elsewhere. We participate in furloughs just like everyone else, too. Also, Broadcast is the division no one at corporate likes -- we have the fewest corporate resources and consideration. For example: if the Oshkosh Northwestern calls Digital and needs something built, they have all of Digital to do it for them (I'm told). If a TV station calls Digital, we have one guy, and he rarely answers his phone or e-mail.
ReplyDeleteBroadcast, Web, Print, it does not matter, Gannett will cut to the bone and consolidate. They are not interested in quality products, just short term numbers for Wall Street
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 4:00:
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a newbie who thinks media is king. Who gives a shit which media is carrying the content? Online sucks as much as newspapers if the content sucks.
Not sold that web sites are the future of news. Especially if these sites continue to be staffed by people who really don't know the basics of the business. People who have never developed sources, edited copy for libel, walked into a courtroom with a note pad, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhile digital might be growing, there is going to be a backlash if the content continues to slide.
My vote would be to present the news on as many platforms as possible while maintaining journalistic integrity across the board. The USAT web site does look a bit silly compared to the NYT, but even worse, the content is horrible. Where's the credibility? Where is the in depth coverage without all the silly bells and whistles? Who is running the show at the flagship? Even the paper has become rather ho-hum. My guess is that they are spread too thin, probably lost too much talent and are trying to make up for it in all the wrong ways. Typical Gannett.
Digital is taking over!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI heard Digital is going to take over all webmasters and throw them under GMTI. Starting with broadcast and then newspaper.
ReplyDeleteHere comes Larry St.Cyr!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, broadcast has been taking layoffs and buyouts since last fall, absolutely. The Gannett TV station I'm familiar with has taken about a 10% head count reduction, and no thinks it is over yet. Haven't heard the webmaster is gone yet, but it can take a day or two for that to filter out.
ReplyDeleteIt's called centralizing. It's just a guess, a gut feeling, not fact, that digital will be centrailized for each group if not for all groups. Just my feelings, nothing more.
ReplyDelete4:15 PM -- 100% Accurate!
ReplyDelete3:59 PM -- "Digital is the future, and it is the fastest-growing producer of revenue" -- Yes, $50 this year is 100% increase over the $25 last year.
How much did ALL of the "digital reps" that Gannett hired 6 months ago bring in? Less than $250K I have heard. A good auto print rep begins in that much revenue in one month!
Yes, digital has it's place, but not at the cost of destroying your primary revenue stream!
GCI digital earned $285 million in 2008. Look it up. It is money. Not the cash machine of other operations yet, but it does coin significant cash.
ReplyDeleteI think generally the way broadcast feels is that Gannett is a newspaper company, and if broadcast had an arm cut off at the shoulder there wouldn't be anyone in the newspaper end who would even admit to hearing the scream.
ReplyDeleteI'll scream good and loud. Plus, I've got a megaphone!
ReplyDelete11:13 -- $284 million would never support the company. So, we either need to shrink to the point of becoming a tiny corporation or prop up the parts of the company that bring in more revenue.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the nearly $300 million that digital brought in would amount to a serious, serious loss if we no longer had the traditional TV and print products to bare the cost of news production.
In other words, digital is a great secondary revenue stream but it doesn't even come close to being able to support itself.
gannett wants free money. it kills them having to pay more people to do a great job on something, when they could pay one guy to do it all half-assed and over stressed. the big guys at the top are just showing everyone how little they know about the business of quality and local appeal. i can't wait to get another job.
ReplyDelete