(Updated at 11:20 a.m. ET.) A second source I know also says another round of layoffs is now in the works.
Confirming growing speculation on Gannett Blog, a tipster who has been spot-on in the past tells me in an overnight note: "Another round of layoffs will happen on July 8. That is the day all be notified."
Can anyone confirm, and add details? 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.
Friday, June 05, 2009
66 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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ReplyDeleteRumor or confirmation aside, let's hope the next round of layoffs trims the excessive layers of management that permeate Gannett properties. And when it comes to editorial, no where is management more bloated that USA Today. Pick any department. In a world where we have to do more with less, the worker bees could certainly function without the queens (and princes and princesses) who spend their time going to meetings and second-guessing underlings.
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Mr. Hunke...
Hey 7:39 AM - that's hardly true in USAT IT where even the managers go on-call over the weekends and also work the phones...
ReplyDeleteBut I agree - all of the other departments are strewn with too many "managers".
USA TODAY has been a second-rate organization for a few years now. A lot of ugly things have been swept under the carpet by various managers. Some of these managers should be the first to go if there are layoffs. These horrible managers have harbored some of the most incompetent or simply lazy staffers I have ever seen at any newspaper. Most work banker's hours and seem to have forgotten what it means to be a newspaper person. Some bosses, past and present, spend most of their time dodging the truth, which snowballs into other problems. Some have gotten rid of or forced out many of the hardest working and competent people this newsroom has ever housed because their egos, pettiness and bad judgment wouldn't allow them to have people smarter and more ethical than they are on their staffs. One or two managers seemingly just want to be buddies with their staffers. They play favorites.
ReplyDeleteUSA TODAY needs a good house cleaning and it should start with the managers who have condoned bad behavior, turned a blind eye to the fact that some of their staffers are bordering on illiterate and who have messed up everything that once worked just fine. They broke things that weren't broken and failed to fix things that were. These managers must go. I can think of four off the top of my head, at least two within the graphics department alone (one a chip off the old block), and the others in sports and life. But I am sure their are others. These are people who spend their time trying to impress their bosses with phony pleasantries, and unfortunately have some key people fooled, but their lack of true leadership skills has created major problems in the inner workings of this newsroom. The newspaper has suffered because these folks are in way over their heads or have totally out-of-whack priorities that center mostly on themselves.
What is so amazing is that the folks even higher up (the top editor and publisher) were completely fooled by these managers. One ME in particular was a menace for years. Through some simple smoke and mirrors techniques, he survived but caused havoc in people's careers and lives. Betrayed those who showed great loyalty to the paper. It is no better now. Just different. The fundamental problem reamins, however. There is a lack of honor within these people who climb the USAT ladder. Something that just isn't right. Until they are identified and discarded, this paper will continue to slowly spiral downward. Until there is more of a willingness in the good managers and staffers to speak up, nothing will improve, more people will be lost and those who replace them will be sub par.
9:08 often posts about USAT editorial and makes useful points but just doesn't get what USAT is about. This post is typical: 457 words where 100 would do.
ReplyDeleteBloated Upper Management = The Arizona Republic.
ReplyDelete9:08; I think it's more about managerial redundancy and incompetence at USAT - which leads to a lot of bad and inept decision making as far as the product goes. But I hear what you are saying.
ReplyDeleteThrow the BUMs out!
ReplyDeleteYou guys have a bad case of manager envy. You were never promoted so are envious of ANYONE who was, regardless of their level of competency. You place all managers in the same bucket. You lives must be pure misery.
ReplyDeleteSigned,
a manager who tries to do a good job
Why does ANY mid-size paper need an Executive Editor, a Managing Editor, an Assistant Managing Editor and a Digital Editor???
ReplyDeleteThat is FOUR levels of managers to manage section heads, who then manage ASSISTANT section editors, who then manage writers, artists, photographers etc.
Keep the manager/editors who actually EDIT, keep ONE top editor to run the newsroom and get rid of the rest!
What is so hard about this???
Eliminating the salaries of THREE top editors would easily pay the salaries of five to six TALENTED "worker bees," which is what this company needs to start producing decent content again.
Upper management is bloated to say the least! I was laid off in December, and I cannot understand why our paper needs so many non-editing editors!
Here's a clue: If you're a top editor, and you arrive at 9 a.m. and leave by 6 p.m., regardless of the news of the day, maybe you do not have enough to do!
10:46 -- I didn't write any of the above posts, but they make some valid points. At my community paper we have people who spend most of their days in meetings while everyone else is doing all that they can just to get the paper out the door.
ReplyDeleteThen, every now and then, a meeting-bound manager will pop his or her head out of the door with a new idea that will add more work for everyone else.
Clearly, some managers work VERY hard and do an excellent job. But there are definitely those who are redundant.
And I do not have manager envy. I've been a top newsroom manager in the past and I have passed on several opportunities to become a manager again. Why? Because I joined the profession to be a journalist, not to deal with the same sort of problems I might face at a Wal-Mart or Sears ... only for considerably lower compensation.
If I ever decide to go the management route again it will not be in the publishing industry.
In Montgomery, they have skimmed that newspaper so badly now that too few people are doing more than they ever did. At least they haven't replaced the ME so that has saved money. Now, does the Advertiser really need an editorial page department? Maybe it's time to just let the executive editor write a daily editorial and put that department to pasture.
ReplyDeleteMore gannett layoffs!???
ReplyDeleteOh no! That means MY newspaper company will soon follow suit.
Every time Gannett has laid off (actually, let's call it what it was - a mass firing of older, better workers) or furloughed, MY newspaper company has followed suit about a month later - every time.
We is all doomed!
At any but the largest papers, there shouldn't be a layer of management between department heads and the ME. The layer of AMEs (or whatever we call them these days) exists mainly to shield the ME and/or EE from problems. It also creates fiefdoms for the AMEs, and a lot of office politics that shouldn't exist.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, with a few exceptions, they're mostly in the way. One way you can tell this is so -- if one of them goes on vacation, no one else has to do that person's job.
It will be interesting to see how these next layoffs, if they come to fruition, will play out at papers like the Poughkeepsie Journal.
ReplyDeleteIt is still slated to lose its copy desk and design desk by the end of the year when the functions move to Westchester.
"That is FOUR levels of managers to manage section heads, who then manage ASSISTANT section editors, who then manage writers, artists, photographers etc.
ReplyDeleteKeep the manager/editors who actually EDIT, keep ONE top editor to run the newsroom and get rid of the rest! ...
Here's a clue: If you're a top editor, and you arrive at 9 a.m. and leave by 6 p.m., regardless of the news of the day, maybe you do not have enough to do!
At our small ciommunity daily, we have a publisher/editor who oversees it all; a "local editor" who functions as a managing editor and jumps in wherever he is needed, usually 6 days a week, usually WELL over 8 hours a day, and is available by phone 24/7 for questions and emergencies. He regularly does pages for the understaffed copy desk and features department, and takes a metro desk shift once a week. He also fills in for most vacations and furloughs.
Not all managers are slackers, and not all reporters and line editors are talented. Sometimes managers are actually managers because they were very talented and were rewarded (Peter principle is another discussion...).
I worked for a major metro some years ago, and we had an EE, two MEs and more deputy and assistant MEs than you could shake a pica pole at (showing my age here), and they, mostly, were the same. The MEs would often grab a desk and read copy, they and the EE worked long days, and most of the other managers worked their tails off. It was a union shop, and the union filed grievences because management was doing TOO much work.
So if your managers are slacking, it is not because they are managers, but that they are slackers, and would be slackers if they were reporters, ad reps, etc.
I like your post, 1:11pm. Where do you work? For a Gannett paper?
ReplyDeleteI've got my fingers crossed that this time, the tipster is wrong. ... But, suddenly I understand why our paper won't be replacing our managing editor. If they let that position go maybe they can keep one or two staffers. I hope.
ReplyDeleteIf further reductions take place, as suggested here, maybe they will get rid of many of the useless, non-productive supervisor/managers and unproductive sales reps at the Courier Post. The hard workers who are left at our paper get sick to our stomachs watching what doesn't go on in the department. Is this a newspaper business or a babysitting and social club?
ReplyDeleteI am 10:58 a.m., and I have to agre with 11:33 a.m. (in fact, we probably know each other).
ReplyDeleteI can also attest that Montgomery has been stripped bare. And it's been that way for years. That is not the case, however, at other Gannett properties. What I do see in common with MGM and others is the over-staff editorial departments.
Does any mid-size daily need community columnists who are not expected to produce daily copy? No. Yet these vestiges of the past are protected through round after round of layoffs. And why can't an EE -- paid a huge sum of money by newspaper standards -- write a well reasoned editorial every now and then??
In my opinion, from section editor down, editors and non-editors work their tales off to produce and refine copy, but there is plenty of extraneous weight that could be culled. It's just that these publishers and EE's have no clue who is really producing day in and day out. The way layoffs have been handled thus far is a disgrace.
I wouldn't wish a layoff on anybody, but Gannett at least could be smart about it.
Instead, it spread its model of centralized power down through the properties, and publishers and EE's either protect their turf or do not trust the people they have hired.
Newsroom folks are some of the smartest, most creative individuals in any industry, and yet section heads are not trusted to hire and interview their own staffs; they are not trusted to participate in any outreach or to recruit in any way. Those dutiees are reserved for the ME.
Newsrooms should take a lesson from PR and marketing shops and train your manager-editors to budget, do long-range planning and think stratgically.
In order to survive, Gannett should slim its top management and opinion page ranks and put a little faith in the people who have workd in the trenches and understand their own sections better than the four levels of beurocracy above them.
Visit St. Cloud for an example of managment heavy.
ReplyDeleteVisit the 4th floor of the Crystal Palace for another example of management-heavy. Dickey, Krans, Ray, Gialombardo - these are just the beginnings of the management-heavy structure.
ReplyDeleteRE: 10:05
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it. You could lose the entire A1 leadership team and the quality of the paper would skyrocket. Those three are some of the most talentless, uninspired people I've met in 25 years of newspapering. Like cockroaches though they seem to survive every calamity.
>>>Bloated Upper Management = The Arizona Republic.
6/05/2009 10:05 AM
News graphics should be eliminated in this round. Full time graphic positions are a waste of money, how often do they contribute to print or the Web? They should be centralized or substituted with freelancers.
ReplyDelete2:19: It depends on how you distribute the work load. At one site where I worked, the two-man graphics department designed front pages, some special sections and lots of charts and maps on a daily basis -- not much design talent on the copy desk. They really needed three people.
ReplyDeleteAt another site, the two-man design desk rarely put together a map or a chart or a front page. Hard to justify two FTE's at that site.
Every paper is different. The bottom line is, the pubs do not care how talentd you are or how much you contribute. If you make X amount of money, and don't supervise X number of people, you're gone.
1:36 PM...Once again, everything you have stated about the Courier Post applies equally to the
ReplyDeleteCourier News/Home News Tribune. The NJ Papers are an incredible mess!
I couldn't agree more regarding the comment about bloated management at the Arizona Republic. It's protected since Dickey and Ray came from there and certainly under THEIR watch they would have NEVER hired or tolerated too many managers....besides,Dickey would have to call up at "the Lake" to get permission to let anyone go. Ain't that right Sue?? Still callin some shots or just advisin?? On another note, anybody know the mystery why Leslie Gialombardo left Gannett as Publisher in Nashville several years ago after only a short time and then months later is hired back at Corporate???
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with 9:08. Frankly, I didn't count the words in the comment as 9:38 did (why would anyone count words?). I think a lot more can be said about the leadership team(s) at USA Today. Just the lack of focus these managers display would take more than 100 words to explain.
ReplyDeleteUSA Today lost something somewhere along the line that is hard to articulate. It involves more than just bodies and competency levels. Both of those things have taken a hit, of course. But there is also something else - something on a soulful level that has become tainted. Maybe it's just an accumulation of too many lies, bad decisions and neglect.
If there ARE layoffs in July, Gannett's Cystal Tower should know that THIS time, those smaller community papers in Ohio and Indiana should not be exempt from the cuts.
ReplyDeleteThey need to share in the layoffs this time.
This is expecially true since some of these smaller papers, especially the ones in Ohio are WAY overstaffed based on their true circulations - which have been plunging the whole last year.
Hell, some are just 8 pages a day but they have kept the low real circ numbers from Gannett.
Heads should be rolling there.
IF there must be layoffs, why should the community papers in places like Michigan and Wisconsin shoulder the burden?
3:14 PM - Are you crazy, the sites in Ohio and Indiana are not overstaffed. Heck, we barely have enough people to function some days with the furloughs and layoffs that have already occurred. It may be different at the Ohio and Indiana metros. Please get your facts straight.
ReplyDeleteHere is a short take on USAT for those who can't seem to handle more than 100 words about the flagship:
ReplyDeleteUSAT is bloated and parochial. It runs like a high school, where popularity is more important than competence.
Any layoffs (or force outs) must NOT include people who know what they are doing and have sound work ethics. There are enough people here, who have no business being employed by a newspaper, who should be the first to go in the next round. If there is a next round, that is. I am not sure I trust the info on this dying blog anymore.
I agree with 2:47, every site is different. But for the people making the cuts, it shouldn't be too hard see. Just look at a few months worth of papers and the web site. If an individual is full time and has only three graphics in the paper in one month, it should be a no brainer.
ReplyDeleteThe problem in the Life section has been the same for 17 years-- a clueless, self-absorbed ME.
ReplyDeleteTypical comment from a USATer. 9:38 doesn't want to read anything over 100 words. Probably would sum up WWII in a couple bulleted graphs. What is it with those people? Do they think everything can be said in a snappy little brief or zany (albeit it idiot) graphic? Do any of them read, you know, books? What an intellectual wasteland. I am beginning to believe claims that some people there are, uhhh, lacking even basic reading/writing skills and have virtually no clue as to what is going on in the news.
ReplyDeleteSeems there is no shortage of candidates to be laid off at the nation's newspaper! Self-absorbed MEs, illiterate and uninformed staffers, etc. The backstabbing seems to be getting worse. Guess all those popcorn parties didn't really build the unity management had envisioned.
ReplyDeleteOK, let's all get back to work now and pretend that we like each other.
Perhaps there is a little bit of management envy. I think the bigger issue is what others are expressing.
ReplyDeleteSome management is a drag these days. Literally
My brand of that envy is of departments that have decent management. I envy those people.
There really are some great managers around. An endangered species, but there are a few.
As employee ranks shrink to lower and lower numbers, and the ratio changes. It becomes even more clear that many managers CREATE situations. All of the sudden everything has to be routed through them. The tiniest of decisions become a series of meetings, or a flurry of emails.
Where previously something would just get done quickly. We now face the anguish of waiting for some sort of pretender to "decide" something.
In short, work is created, where it never existed before. We just don't have enough workers to balance out the drama.
Any stories about how things flowed like a river, when your personal Napoleon was on vacation or furlough?
I wish my boss would take more time off, things get done when he's gone!
And for the anal retentive grammar cops around here. Remove stick, and whack yourself over the head with it. Not everyone here is a writer.
Send the video to Youtube, as prrof. <---this is a test.
Peel a few layers from the management onion please.
Life has its problems, no doubt, but can anyone top the graphics department for most mismanaged? Those peeps have had a stranglehold on the No. 1 position for years. I don't mean the troops. I am referring to the top management team which has gone from difficult if not plain surly, at times, to useless and unproductive. Way too often I can't even get a simple correction made without feeling like I am talking to a second-grader. A second-grader put into a position of responsibility by managers who seem to have lost touch with the reality that this is a major newspaper that deserves a degree of competency at all levels. So yes, some of these managers do need to go before they do more harm.
ReplyDeletethe courier post slaves
ReplyDeletemust be frantic.
At my site the unproductive graphics people are kept around in a desperate attempt by their high level manager to save his own job.
ReplyDeleteIn know for a fact that some of the Michigan properties are overstaffed in the newsrooms, especially at the Lansing State Journal.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though they could show the top editor in Lansing the door and things would still function as business as usual.
Interesting that management bloat appears to be an issue throughout the flailing Gannett empire, at least judging from today's posts.
ReplyDeleteAs far as USAT, Life and Graphics have their share of issues. But when it comes to management bloat, ineffectiveness and indecision, Money and News take the brass ring. These sections are ground zero for long-in-the-tooth senior managers who are tone-deaf when it comes to news and personnel matters. Or just wait to be told what to do. Or simply are punching the clock.
And what's with a separate management system for the front page? Five years ago, an outside panel of competent editors investigating the systemic problems of USAT in the wake of the Jack Kelley mess questioned the valadity of a separate 1A desk and the lack of cooperation between departments. Has anything changed?
Sports? Numbers alone imply too many senior editors. But do ANY departments REALLY need two to three deputy managing editors, senior assignment editors and digital editors to boot?
Unfortunately, what's likely to happen is that any cuts will come from rank and file reporters. Make that experienced reporters. And even more editors will be promoted to higher rank as direct reports to John Hillkirk. Truly wasteful and a snub in the face to those in the trenches, and ultimately, readers.
And please don't label me a disgruntled type jealous that she was never promoted to management. I've worked both sides of the fence at several newspapers. It was my decision not to remain in management.
4:30 p.m.: "What's likely to happen is that any cuts will come from rank and file reporters. Make that experienced reporters."
ReplyDeleteOne can only hope!
I've seen far too many bright, energetic and multimedia-savvy reporters cut.
The excuse? They're young.
That's such a joke.
Stop the whining about protecting “the experienced.” Don't you have anything else going for you other than you're "experienced"?
If top managers would start making decisions based on ability and contributions -- more than how many years you’ve been sitting there -- we certainly wouldn't be in as big of a mess.
If usat heads choose wisely, they could lose a quarter of their newsroom without it having much impact on the newspaper or web site. The key word is "wisely." In some ways, less would be more, particularly in the managerial ranks, and might even improve things. If, however, the brand continues to lose qualified people (managers and non-managers), the level of journalism will sink to new lows.
ReplyDeleteNo one is discriminating against the young as far as I can tell. Geez. Look at every job ad, and every new job added at USAT in recent years. They are almost always targeted at people under 30. This is Gannett! This is a company infamous for discriminating against older workers. The young are almost always favored for one main reason, they are cheap. If you want to complain about anything, complain about unfair pay for similar work. But don't put down experienced people who work every holiday, have vast institutional knowledge who built the brand credibility and keep this company out of libel suits.
ReplyDeleteThe facts don't support the claim, 4:36. The young'uns aren't taking it on the chin. I agree that productivity should be a priority in how the company evaluates employees, but being young doesn't mean you ain't lazy or incompetent. Being old doesn't mean you don't know how to work the printer or surf the web. Pettiness and selfishness are far bigger problems at USAT than discrimination of any kind.
This age battle is really dividing this place. Part of the blame goes right to the top, where leadership is and has been lacking for years and where editors don't want to address difficult issues or go to bat for good employees. But part of this is our own fault. Young techies don't seem to have much regard for harden journalists and some aging journalists don't seem to have a much interest in keeping up with technology. Mix in layoffs and other pressures, and you get a lot of infighting and unspoken dislike for one another. It's all making our jobs that much tougher.
Can we just focus on getting rid of people who simply aren't qualified and forget about how hold they are or aren't? Can we hire people based on ability and not age?
5:34, that is impossible, GCI will never hire quality people again. They will hire young or very desperate people to work for peanuts.
ReplyDelete4:36. No one is challenging your competency. But don't equate experience with dead weight. Experience means one has the background and saavy to report, write, self-edit and perform on deadline as well as off. That one doesn't have to be led by the hand to do basic reporting and writing. I have found over the years, as both an editor and reporter, that many young journalists simply haven't acquired these skills. They are gained over time and by doing the job, often at small shitkicker papers. And at Gannett properties, those who had experience tended to have the institutional knowledge of their communities.
ReplyDeleteAnd no offense, but I have yet to see young'uns having careers jettisoned at USAT - voluntarily or not - with the speed and veracity of those who've been forced out or pressured to leave. I do see many new hires, however, who lack basic reporting and writing skills. They're young and cheap. But many are clueless beyond what happened when they were growing up in the 80s and 90s. We're supposed to have a broader, more sophisticated audience.
5:34 p.m.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you work that "the experienced" reporters volunteer to work every holiday", and don't stick it to the newer reporters?
Sign me up!
That certainly ain't at USA Today.
Trust me.
I've worked there.
This is so true! This could be where I work — down to every detail.
ReplyDeleteWhen my supervisor is on vacation or furlough the work starts flowing again. When he's there, he makes the most pointless corrections, you make them, then he decides to change something, then he's in a meeting, comes back decides he wants the whole project reworked and
then it is deadline and he is no where to be found to approve the final product! And oh yes, all the petty pointless emails!
In answer to your question — yes, work actually gets completed on time and is top notch -minus the
supervisor.
The tiniest of decisions become a series of meetings, or a flurry of emails.
Where previously something would just get done quickly. We now face the anguish of waiting for some sort of pretender to "decide" something.
In short, work is created, where it never existed before. We just don't have enough workers to balance out the drama.
Any stories about how things flowed like a river, when your personal Napoleon was on vacation or furlough?
4:04, why would the courier post slaves be frantic? Give some insight.
ReplyDelete6:21. It's called paying your dues. Many "experienced" journalists did - and do - the same. Many "experienced" journalists missed countless holidays, school events for kids and other family and personal time for this company before you were out of elementary school and jr. high. Many "experienced" journalists worked in the trenches in far flung places while you were sneaking smokes in high school.Many experienced folks were working graveyard shifts and weekends at low paying dumps while you entered the big leagues fresh out of college. Can we stop the youth vs. experience rants now or do you want to Twitter your self-aborbed feelings to the world?
ReplyDelete8:30: You rock!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else noticed that this coincides one week after the Iseries consolidation? The AS/400 systems are being consolidated to a large corporate system near the end of June. There will be many more technical jobs on the block after that. For the larger papers this will not be as much of an issue where the systems departments are pigeonholed into very specific tasks, but those of you that work in smaller papers that require systems to also handle help desk functions, you will unfortunately be facing a technological nightmare, one IT person will not be able to keep up with your requests as much as they may try. Good luck to those that are still in the Gannett empire, and those that are leaving with this round, there are jobs out there but you need to look for jobs that use your skills not the job title you currently have. I went from maintaining networks to technical writing and I couldn't be happier though I would have never imagined Technical Writing before I was forced to make a change. Use your imagination and you will find something. Good luck all!
ReplyDeleteLots of stupid people posting here again today. Lots of people who can't write a sentence and then criticize the grammar cops. Lots of people who haven't been missed since the second they were booted from their newsrooms.
ReplyDeleteLots of manager envy by people who were too incompetent, too clueless, too dimwitted, too unfocused, and too antisocial (Jim) to ever be considered for a management position.
Just pull the plug, Jim. This thing has served no purpose since the day you flipped out at the Gannett meeting. End it now and move on.
No, we are pulling the plug on people like you with your nasty hateful additude. Why are you here? To spill your fears of losing your own job? We have no need for ignorant rude people like you that only care about your job and yourself. Go to the Gannett site. Maybe you will feel more comfortable there — where everyone is a clone of another without the back bone to stand up for their workers. Here, we actually care about each other. It's an emotion you might want to try.
ReplyDeleteLots of stupid people posting here again today. Lots of people who can't write a sentence and then criticize the grammar cops. Lots of people who haven't been missed since the second they were booted from their newsrooms.
Lots of manager envy by people who were too incompetent, too clueless, too dimwitted, too unfocused, and too antisocial (Jim) to ever be considered for a management position.
Just pull the plug, Jim. This thing has served no purpose since the day you flipped out at the Gannett meeting. End it now and move on.
As a side note, we are not here for Jim, he has moved on. Some may be jealous of his resources and his lifestyle, but we make our own destiny. Rather than bashing Jim why don't you join us. We are here for all Gannett employees. We want to support and help exworkers and present workers that need us. Please let go of the hate. Life is too short.
ReplyDeleteNJ Group newsrooms are in need of some serious cuts -- here's hoping the axe will fall hard on July 8th.
ReplyDelete802 p.m. rocks. "It's called paying your dues."
ReplyDeleteThat is spot on.
if you are not part of the "digital team", and you are not sleeping with the boss, like ours are, your job is not protected.
ReplyDeleteSo our plan is to save ourselves into prosperity..... and we tell our advertisers they need to "invest" in their business...
ReplyDelete6/05/2009 11:26 PM -- Any chance you're at a south group site?
ReplyDeleteHey Jim,
ReplyDeleteI know you said you weren't going to allow any anonymous posts, but I know my brass here reads the blog so I have to be careful. Besides, I don't play into all that juvenile mudslinging crap anyway.
Actually got a look at the notes from the big meeting in late May. That is where they talked about the layoffs this next Quarter. Your source is indeed spot on. In addition they are getting creative with the severence package, using something they say is legal, they are going to make your severence somehow intertwined with unemployment so even though you still get the same amount of money (Actually 7% more because they are not taking taxes out) Gannett gets to put out less money from their pocket when the deal is done. It's funny, because they are prepping the HR folks by saying "We expect some pushback from this". Somehow I don't see us coming out on the good end of this!
Hope your having fun in Spain!
3:14
ReplyDeleteI work for an NNCO paper,and we are far from overstaffed. We just lost three people, and usually have two people on desk to put out two papers. We have 4 reporters. Yes, 4 reporters for a 7 day paper. 2 photographers, 3 sports guys. Maybe in ad or management they are overstaffed, but for you to think that Ohio is overstaffed, you are misinformed.
Want to see excess waste. Go to Indy Star circulation dept. They could cut 5-6 people and never know they were gone. All they do is make up lies knowing that their bosses will never leave their office to check on anything they do or say...
ReplyDeleteSome people are posting on Gannettoid.com. Maybe we should start posting there since it appears everyone is gone from this site.
ReplyDeleteDon't think I have ever seen 0 comments on this site before.
He's an idea. Inside of payroll trims. Stop bonus' which aren't earned through hard work and only "cuts".
ReplyDeleteI'm sure when the layoffs come, the upper managers in cities like Lansing will be safe from the ax. It doesn't matter if they don't know how to run a modern newspaper and are only interested in covering their own jobs. People like them have exacerbated the downfall of the industry and they are too arrogant to realize that.
ReplyDelete