Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday | Your News & Comments
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68 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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From yesterday: "Too bad, I really did like finding out things here. They don't tell us a thing at the job. (work for a NJ paper) I know something is going down... they just trained the inside sales reps to outsource ad material to 2adpro. Nice."
ReplyDeleteI too work in NJ and all the Gannett-owned papers are moving toward this scenario. All changes begin with the largest and most controlling of the papers. Then it is filtered down to the rest. All of the papers are managed and printed at the main property. Saw this coming back in the beginning of 2009 when they introduced the fancy do-everything program called AdTracker. Couple that with our friends in India and wallaaa! more jobs lost. Fascinating.
2 AD PRO BLOWS
ReplyDeletethat is really interesting that they trained inside sales to do 2 ad pro...now how are they suppose to be selling if there spending there time SCANNING ALL DAY?
or are they just some back up in case your 2 ad pro scanning people are out?
I HATE 2 AD PRO
how long is are contract with them ANYONE KNOW???
until the GANNETITANIC SINKS? lol
The blog has been a great resource. Listen, with everything you read you have to weed through the crap, consider various biases, etc. That's why I read multiple newspapers whenever I can. I want the broadest perspectives and want to see where the facts align or don't align. I wouldn't be able to do that if I read just the NYT or USAT. As credible as the public might think those publications are, I know better. Things are slanted in the NYT, and USAT is just flat out incorrect in much of its reporting in stories and even graphics. No different than this blog. But I don't stop reading. I don't dismiss everything in print or on a computer screen as useless. You pick and choose. You try to stay informed. That's what this blog has been good for.
ReplyDeleteWhere there has been smoke there has almost always been fire. The little side rumors come and go, but the big news was only being uncovered here. It was interesting to vent on occasion and to read the rants of others. I learned a lot I didn't know about papers like USAT. For instance, I didn't know MEs get paid by corporate and get bonuses for hiring minorities. Regardless of my opinion of those things, it was good info to have. It was also good to learn that our biggest paper isn't necessarily the best place to be employed. Saved me and probably others the trouble of aspiring to work there.
USAT did produce at least one innovative journalist...Jim Hopkins. Thanks for your service JH. And good luck with future endeavors.
God bless America. What kind of company can be any more American? And we still managed to find a way to send our work to another country. How I wish there were a way to have people from India/Mexico/China (you fill in the blank) do cold calling, reporting and managing from their remote locations. Let's just sell Gannet to them and call it a day. Wonder if they'll pay for our unemployment benefits and health insurance once we're all out of a job.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for JR, JM, JK, JC, DVZ, DF to have there jobs outsourced. Maybe Gannett should send their jobs to the middle east where dictatorship is the rule of thumb.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that due to the UNWILLINGNESS,LAZINESS,AROGANCE,and STUPIDITY of our sales force and there BOSS that money making products are being put out to pasture
ReplyDeleteOur editors in Cincinnati are too paralyzed by the upcoming layoffs to put out a good paper. The front-page spread today is about the GI Bill, as if that was news, and right next to it is a blow-job on an enlarged riverboat casino that represents a good source of advertising revenue. The opinion section is a collection of columns from other newspapers and college professors out of state. I shake my head all the time at how busy editors seem to be when the final product shows no effort other than slapping something together on the fly.
ReplyDeleteWow, Jim - you've acquired your own kool-aid flavor!
ReplyDeleteJim said...
ReplyDeleteJust caught this: There is NO SUCH memo about only RUMORED layoffs of 4,500. That was a tip posted on one of my other blogs.
No GCI executive has confirmed or otherwise said anything publicly about any rumored pending layoffs.
+++
You just now caught this? Are you kidding me? I don't even spend that much time here, and I noticed it immediately. The culprit is Biz Journals.com. Have you let them know that they need to run a correction? Are you going to devote a separate post here to stop this erroneous information in its tracks?
I don't doubt that something is afoot. But let's try to be 100 percent correct in our reporting.
10:31 am: Then you share responsibility. This blog is a community effort. I try to keep up, but I can't do it all.
ReplyDeleteFrom yesterday: "Too bad, I really did like finding out things here. They don't tell us a thing at the job. (work for a NJ paper) I know something is going down... they just trained the inside sales reps to outsource ad material to 2adpro. Nice."
ReplyDeleteOkay, this is happening at........
the mothership.....which is docked on the planet Neptune.
Asheville
ReplyDeleteMore dramatic changes coming for the Asheville Citizen-Times From area Asheville Blog:
Sunday, June 21, 2009
There are more dramatic changes coming this summer for the Asheville Citizen-Times, a newspaper that over the past 18 months has closed its printing press, laid off dozens of workers, furloughed workers, cut the number of pages it prints in its daily edition and increased the price of the print edition by 50 percent.
First off, the Citizen-Times will be shrinking yet again. The broadsheet newspaper will drop to 10 inches wide by 21 inches long. Right now, the paper is about 11.5 inches wide and 22 inches long. Measure it out on your paper and you'll see just how severe a cut in size that is. The "tiny times" will indeed be a fitting nickname. The Greenville News, the Black Mountain News, the Mountain News and the News-Record & Sentinel — all Gannett newspapers like the Citizen-Times — will see the cut. Tab-sized editions such as the Take5 entertainment section will also be reduced in size.
Look for the shrinkage to be effective July 14.
Meantime, everyone in Gannett-land is on pins and needles, awaiting another expected round of lay-offs to hit in early July. The Gannett Blog says it will be, so I'm trusting that source.
How will those lay-offs play out in Asheville? Here's my conjecture: the newsroom, which has largely dodged past lay-offs, will get hit this time, and the most likely area is in the newsroom copy desk function. The Citizen-Times will continue to merge into its sister newspaper in Greenville, S.C., and I can see Asheville's entire copy desk function be cut and shipped to Greenville. Copy editors in Greenville will have to produce more pages, and a few jobs might shift from Asheville to Greenville, but I can see a bottom-line savings there.
After all, that's what's been happening between the New York Times-owned Hendersonville Times-News and its sister newspaper in Spartanburg, S.C.
Thanks to several loyal readers for the tips.
6/28/2009 11:10 AM
ReplyDeleteSounds like what they did in NJ: they call it Content One.
CAUTION AHEAD: These are informed rumors and speculation, everyone! Trust is nice. But skepticism is nicer. Be journalists: Check your sources in the days ahead. I would be DELIGHTED to be wrong this time. (Please!)
ReplyDeleteMaybe the " BIG NEWS" is that there is going to be an all out effort in promoting,pushing ,and trying to get the print product back to,or as close as can be to what people want,With the people and resources that are on hand
ReplyDeleteI'm finding it hard to believe that someone who avidly reads everything written about himself would have missed an erroneous sourcing to a Martore memo. I won't quibble, except to point out that in the time it took you to tell me that I share responsibility, you could have notified bizjournals dotcom or started a new thread here to set the record straight.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. I think you've done a great service in a lot of ways. You've also done some very good reporting here.
Don't go out as some cowboy blogger or a tabloid wannabe. Be a principled journalist, take responsibility, even though it wasn't your error, and get it fixed.
(insert sign pointing to the high road here)
Jim -
ReplyDeleteIf you spent less time censoring criticism of yourself you might have more time to find errors in the posts you actually allow through.
Re: possible 10 percent cut. I was told that a director in the newsroom at the Arizona Republic posted on his facebook wall that Gannett is preparing to hand down 10 percent in cuts. Sounds like it is gonna happen; this is a high-ranking person, so he is in a position to know.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is worried silly over there.
12:17
ReplyDeleteAnd the facebook guy probably read that here...
I got a note recently from a long-time reader who's a Wall Street analyst. This makes me think the shops might be starting to factor layoff rumors into their 3Q estimates. Assuming that, why hasn't Corporate issued a statement, managing street expectations -- unless . . .
ReplyDeleteEvery newspaper was given a expense target to meet. This was calculated in conjuction with revenue declines over the first five month trend. This will project out the second half of the year to give Wall Street something to expect. As a result, layoffs of 10% to 18% will occur at every newspaper. It is going to be the worst one yet.
ReplyDeleteJim, please consider an extention on the blog date. This layoff news will be the worst one yet. All of us should have taken a buyout when we had a chance. Gannett is in self-distruction mode. We all see the signs. I urge everyone to establish a possible exit strategy.
12:24: Believe what you will if it helps you get through. But the director was not allowed to take a proper bereavement leave for his mother because of the impending cuts.
ReplyDeleteThis breaks my heart. But it's time. Sparky gave me an ultimatum, and I choose him. He has sacrificed too much. He told me just days ago: "You've given them your pound of flesh already." And he is right.
ReplyDeleteGannettoid and I check in often by phone, and mail. He's aware of your concerns, and is adding new features. We have a detailed plan.
ReplyDeletePlease give him a chance. No one else has stepped forward. I think he's rather brave, given Corporate's new comment hit squad.
I'd like to know who the Arizona Republic Facebook person was. I work there, and I think most managers are kept in the dark on these rumored layoffs.
ReplyDeleteWe're actually making money for the company, so many of us wonder ... as an individual business, what can we do to hold off more damage here in Phoenix? The likely answer is that it's out of our control, I'm afraid.
The bean counters rule in this one.
All of you Gannett types who waited too long to get out are going to pay a huge price for your poor judgment. Welcome to lower than Wal Mart wages for many of you while you try to retrain, something you should have been doing the last 3-4 years.
ReplyDeleteSome of the Gannett affiliates actually had dept. meetings to discuss these rumors and they were confirmed. Pay cuts for broadcast divisions and lay-offs for newspaper divisions.
ReplyDeletelove is definitely better then hate
ReplyDeleteand most of the time this blog just has a bunch of hate its not worth the energy to plow through it
i truly feel for you, jim
for a while i couldnt even look at this blog
and at a time i was obcessed with looking at it and it was torturing my soul
i really cant understand all this hate in the world right now its oozing out everywhere
just look at iran
so Jim im glad you are pulling the plug on this blog
and i hope you and sparky can find some peace
and maybe someday this world will eventually wake up and realize that we need to stop hurting each other
cause it only makes things worse in the end
namaste
Courier News has a special section today to mark the paper's 125th anniversary. When does the public know about this? Yesterday -- top left corner of page 1. No house ads all week to remind readers, no display cards for use in quickie marts or vending boxes.
ReplyDelete1:19, great point, how many house ads ran throughout the week advertising your online component, mom.com, or other alternatives to the print product?
ReplyDeleteI'll bet your paper like others spends more ad space ($) promoting lower revenue generators than print.
1:08
ReplyDeleteSince they were confirmed, why not identify the places of which you speak?
That's priceless, Jim!
ReplyDeleteYou are the Savior, and if you goof up, it's our fault!
Your defensiveness is showing...
Are you sure you're not a Corporate plant?
Gannett has hurt many of us. Therefore, whether right or wrong, we inflict pain back. That's been one of the uses for this blog. Sorry to see it end, but also satisfied that the company was stung in ways that individual lawsuits can't approach. Make no mistake about it, the pain was often inflicted by the truth. If there wasn't truth in what people were saying, the blog wouldn't have gotten the attention it did. Were there exceptions? Sure. But I think we are all aware of the nut-case commentators. In the end, more and more scumbags got through, but the damage was already done to GCI.
ReplyDeleteI have never said a word that was untruthful here, but I also didn't pull any punches when it came to USA TODAY in particular. I tried to state opinions that were heavily based in fact, yet I know they were still opinions. Not everyone agreed, but most who didn't had some other agenda they were promoting, so it didn't really matter to me. My feeling was that USA TODAY should be held to higher standards.
Let me say for a final time that USA TODAY is a troubled workplace. The roots of the problems run deep and have been aggravated by some new issues/people. But it's probably like that everywhere within Gannett. Still, I feel the stakes are somewhat higher when these injustices are occurring at the supposed flagship.
Gannett brought a lot of the hate on itself, through its actions and through the behavior of some of its more unstable managers. For years, there wasn't much anyone could do about it other than leave the company. But then, when Gannett Blog started, all of a sudden there was a platform to vent from. As the blog became more credible, the company heads got more annoyed.
I would guess there aren't too many other American companies that could generate the kind of hateful comments that flowed freely and often here against GCI. Current and former employees alike bashed the company, and it wasn't just because of layoffs and furloughs. Some revealed some pretty dark secrets about management at papers such as USA TODAY and the New Jersey properties. A lot of this stuff has been talked about for years at the water coolers and various industry seminars and conventions. But Gannett Blog took what was a dull, underlying moan and turned it into a roar. It embarrassed the company and put a huge dent in the reputation of GCI, which wasn't so great to begin with. Bad reputations lead to bad talent pools. When hiring resumes, it will be interesting to see how many talented people want to work for a company that was hammered daily by thousands of those in-the-know.
I hope the company has learned a few things. There will be more bloggers in the future, so if it hasn't learned its lessons, the bad pub will continue. There will be more angry ex-Gannettoids trashing this company in ways we haven't even thought of yet. It's bad for business, so one would think Gannett would want to reform its ways. But there is a lot of arrogance in the Crystal Towers. They truly do think of us as stupid, which is why we are so easily lied to on a regular basis in the corner offices and grand auditoriums. They tell us that they appreciate us, but their actions speak louder than sugary words.
Even with all that has gone on here - all the revelations - there are still managers rallying around each other insisting all is well and forcing the rest of us to believe the same. Appear happy or else!
Amen 1:07
ReplyDeleteJim, you are not wrong. We don't know how many, but we know it will be a lot. They are looking for big dollar savings.
ReplyDeleteThat's my fear. My back of the envelope in that recent layoff FAQ is north of $300 million. But who knows? (Oh, right: Martore and Connell.)
ReplyDeleteI'm putting out more feelers.
ReplyDeleteJIM:
ReplyDeleteWhile we really do need you in the coming weeks, there is no doubt that you need to give Sparky the respect he deserves. He's cut you a great deal of slack in your relationship tolerating this blog for so long. You have served us well.... and risking a spanking from Sparky might not be the best idea. Or is it, studmuffin?
xoxoxoxo,
Riding the Bus
Oh, double snap!
ReplyDeleteJim said...
ReplyDelete10:31 am: Then you share responsibility. This blog is a community effort. I try to keep up, but I can't do it all.
6/28/2009 10:39 AM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, if we share responsibility for errors we also share responsibility for content. My responsible content decision is no more Ibiza and no more Jackson - or anything else unrelated to Gannett.
You can't have it both ways. If it is your blog YOU own accuracy responsibilities.
Has anyone heard if they're accepting volunteers before the coming bloodbath. And what the severance terms will be this go around.
ReplyDeletethanks.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteJim -
If you spent less time censoring criticism of yourself you might have more time to find errors in the posts you actually allow through.
6/28/2009 12:15 PM
Amen to that one, brother!
Jim said...
ReplyDeleteI'm putting out more feelers.
6/28/2009 4:26 PM
Please, keep your pants zipped. You'll just scare the children.
5:30 pm. Fair, and reasonsible request. Agreed, except when real Gannett-related Jackson news warrants. (I'm still interested in rack sales and traffic reports, for example.)
ReplyDeleteRumor last week was that Period 6 was as bad as the last five periods. I did not see the figures, so I do not know. But I highly suspect the north of $300 million salary savings estimate could be a little conservative. They are going for big salaries this time, which is why the managers are in the dark about what is about to happen.
ReplyDeleteI've never understood the carping about this blog. I don't even work for Gannett any more, yet I found it a fascinating and ambitious undertaking. At its peak (roughly 6 months ago), it was one of the most interesting and newsy blogs I read regularly.
ReplyDeleteJim has gotten most of the big things right. The blog hasn't been as interesting recently, mostly because there hasn't been major news. But he's been ahead of the curve on most of the things that count most.
I'm not in Ibiza Confidential's target demographic, sexually or financially, so probably won't spend a lot of time there. But I certainly have enjoyed the connection to Jim through this blog. I'll miss it.
Well done, Hopk. You can exit with your head held high.
1:07 -- What is the point to a post like yours? There's a lot of truth to it, sure. People who had the time and money should have been re-training three or four years ago.
ReplyDeleteBut, again, I don't understand the point of your post. Hingsight is 20/20. Are you just trying to make yourself feel better?
You should have sold your house six years ago, rented and then bought a new one at 30% to 40%lower prices. You should have dumped all your money from your 401k prior to the big Wall Street downturn.
If you did these things, good for you. But why write a post that essentially rubs salt in the wounds of people who are already fearing for their jobs.
As for the wages you mention, many Gannett employees already work for less than Wal-Mart pays. And I'm betting those who make a lot more have other marketable skills.
If you're a salesperson, you can sell something else. If you're a journalist, you have many skills useful to a number of companies. If you're in marketing, you can enter another industry. Etc., etc., etc.
All this reminds me of that scene in "Titanic" when the ship has finally gone down and all the people are in the water screaming and splashing and nothing, no power on earth can save them and they still cling to hope...
ReplyDeleteWill the next round or layoffs include more management/director positions?
ReplyDeleteKool-Aid drinker here. I still love my job after 30 years with the company and if am shown the door will say THANKS and move on with current new media skill set in hand. Nobody owes you a living...it is up to you to make your way in the world. Thank you Ayn Rand.
ReplyDeleteYo, 8:15. That's ... vivid. Eek.
ReplyDeleteI heard it took 6 months before people I know got their retirement money, so if you are banking on getting it quickly, think again.
ReplyDeleteJim, best wishes to you and Sparky as you reclaim your life. The blog has been a help to many of us, both current and former Gannettoids.
ReplyDeleteAs many times as the rumors here have been on target, I have a hard time believing this is another red herring. Especially since there hasn't been an announcement of another round of furloughs.
And we know ad revenue hasn't gone up.
Jim, will we see you on Gannettoid?
ReplyDeleteBack room dealings going on with middle advertising management in Central New York, or whats left of it. They are interviewing former buyouts in Elmira for new positions in the CNY chain. Some management, Elmira, had no knowledge this was happening. Apparently leading towards the previously denied merger of all three (elmira, Binghamton, ithaca) into one paper.
ReplyDelete8:54 p.m.
ReplyDeleteKool-Aid drinker, eh? Well, you ain't Howard Roark, that's for sure.
Hey 5:31, if you're so hot for a voluntary buyout now, why didn't you go for it in December '08? Maybe you could have had a lengthy severance package and saved a few jobs at the same time. I'm betting that window was slammed shut and now it's lay, lady, layoff upon your bumpy brass beds. Sleep tight! (BTW, I was dumped in last round)ens
ReplyDelete10:42 pm: I'm any early adopter. I've registered under the name . . . Tara Connell! Hah!
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Sort of. I have, indeed, registered as Jim Hopkins. But I won't post comments. Instead, I've offered Gannettoid's publisher advice, background information, whenever he asks. I'm also going to introduce him to some of my sources.
I hear the sunsets are very nice at the Cafe del Mar, where I live now. Sparky and I will be wandering off in that direction, starting July 10.
Kool-aid drinker here too. 34 years and hoping for 10 more. If not, I too will say thank you for the good job you've provided for me and my family.
ReplyDelete1:07, Gannett said it was retraining, remember all the video, online, ladders of abstraction and everything else classes?
ReplyDeleteAND, to my knowledge, most of us in the great December dumping we're not availed the opportunity of a buyout first (the main difference being health benefits and pension enhancements as in that round there was still severance based on longevity).
The CNY group's middle management in advertising seriously needs to be looked at. What a waste of money. They should have laid half of them off last year.
ReplyDeleteWhile gannettoid is the official gannettblog successor blog, the Jilted Journalists folks have opened a blog too, aiming at journalists and others losing jobs in the news industry helping each other with transitions, money/investment issues that are in the main site, reinvention (ugh), etc.
ReplyDeleteSee if you like
jiltedjournalists.blogspot.com (not much there yet but comments are welcome -- but gannettblog for now and gannettoid are still the intended Gannett-focused blogs)
The main jilted web site is still
www.jiltedjournalists.com
(Thanks, Jim, for letting us share)
Just saw this on Google Finance....
ReplyDeletehttp://industry.bnet.com/media/10002877/gannett-the-bigger-they-are-the-harder-theyll-fall/
I knew a lot of people at my large Gannett paper in the Midwest who volunteered to be let go during the December round, and most of them were turned down. In several cases, people who wanted to stay were laid off despite there being people who were more than willing to leave.
ReplyDelete10:42 here: Thanks, Jim. I will miss you. This blog has taught me a lot about the company I have worked for since the early '90s. That information has been invaluable to me as I've watched our industry implode. When I am laid off by Mama Gannett and forced to leave a career I love, it will be a comfort to know how and why it all happened.
ReplyDeleteI know you have suffered as a result of this blog. But you have done a loving thing for your dysfunctional family of Gannettoids. This NJ sister will never forget it.
I wish you peace and blessings.
11:08 -- I don't know about you but I wasn't eligible for a voluntary buyout in '08. I would have seriously considered it if I had been, but no offers because I hadn't been with the company long enough. And, yes, I would have considered the buyout even though I would have received less than six months pay.
ReplyDeleteTo 5:31 p.m.: I don't know about volunteers, but I heard that the length of time you can carry insurance without COBRA has changed.
ReplyDeleteIn the first round, you could carry the insurance (with its lower employee-paid premium) until your severance ran out. NOW the insurance ends when you walk out the door and COBRA kicks in.
I got that information from someone who will be severanced when the Louisiana paper copy desks consolidate in the next few weeks so I believe it's accurate.
We've asked our publisher and EE about the layoff rumors. They said they don't know anything. We'll see what happens.
RE: COBRA. Ditto on that at one New York paper, I was told. That could mean more big savings.
ReplyDelete