Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday | Your News & Comments
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128 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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Hmmmm What's up?
ReplyDeleteOk, not to be Moron of the Day, but what exactly is a middle manager in a newsroom? Is it an ME? An AME? A department head/section editor? An assistant department head? I honestly don't know as we lost all of those in the last go-round.
ReplyDeleteHere is a job posted today for the Airzona Republic:
ReplyDeleteGannett Pacific Publications, a member of the Gannett Co. Inc. family, is currently seeking an Editorial Director to direct and lead the operations of the editorial department. In this role, the Editorial Director will serve as a key member of the operation (management) committee and ensure that product and work produced support the strategic audience while adhering to quality standards.
Sounds like an advertising job or magazine job, as it for sure is not the newsroom. The question is, though, how can they advertise for a job when cuts are around the corner?
Sure they can. Gannett has proven time and again that it can do whatever it wants.
ReplyDeleteAnd you have no recourse. None.
Gannett's stock price is an inch off its all-time low and its financial misery quotient is such that it's resorted to firing employees. So how in the hell can it afford to pay airfare, DC hotel money and meal reimbursements just to have another sitdown with its top editors? How much money is wasted in the course of a year on the vestiges of an outdated chain-model of newspaper and TV station ownership that is crying to be unwound? How nimble and responsive to local market conditions can editors and publishers be if they are forced to follow idiotic scripts written by fools promoted to corporate mainly because of their sycophantic skills? Like colonies paying homage to the king and queen, subsidizing the suits and expensive overhead of corporate headquarters has shorn Gannett's individual papers and stations of their ability to respond creatively to local market conditions. At the current rate, all that will be left will be publishers and station managers in charge of operations that have been completely outsourced. Unless Gannett wises up and starts selling its papers and stations, they will be reduced to hopeless Web portals connecting this and that and running best-cleavage contests.
ReplyDeleteFirst, thanks for all your efforts Jim. I know what it's like to be criticized, even punished, for seeking and speaking the truth. You didn't have to do this blog, but you did. I think that shows courage. You did the blog with a journalistic flare that gave it more credibility than the average, run-of-the-mill blogs written by complete morons. It barely earned you a dime, so those who question your motives can't really be serious if they thought you were trying to get rich with this gig.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add something else. Your former paper, USA TODAY, has become a sad and fearful place to work for many people. Some suffer in silence and try hard to hide their agony for fear of being an outcast while others are more vocal about all that has gone wrong. Some still like it here, but you have to consider their circumstances. They are a minority of people who have it pretty damn good, not because they earned it, but because they've mastered the art of deception.
Look no further than the decimated/revamped graphics department to see proof of things going in the wrong direction. How they went from a longtime, emotionally ill tyrant propped up by some pretty good field generals, to a team of total incompetents at the top is beyond me. Was quite a trick that gives me even less confidence in those at the very top who allow things to go from bad to worse. It's maddening because I have to work with those people. I can't even articulate in a few words here how the dysfunction down there is so symbolic of a bigger problem at the paper and perhaps all of Gannett.
This blog has touched on many of the problems within Gannett. I will miss the public airing of those issues because until the head honchos begin to acknowledge the vast array of problems we face, nothing will improve. This blog actually gave me some hope things would eventually get better.
Now in hindsight, I don't know how you feel about "voluntarily" leaving USA TODAY, but I can tell you that you probably weren't going to last a whole lot longer. There is an undercurrent of age discrimination -- an assumption that anyone over 50 is overpaid and incapable of learning new technologies, when in fact many of us are pretty damn good at utilizing the arsenal of modern tools. Your blog was a perfect example of technology being put to good use. Also wonderfully ironic that you used it against Gannett much the way they used technology to get rid of many of our former colleagues. Now we have people on staff who can't write a complete sentence or define what libel is but boy they can find their way around Facebook.
So in your darkest days now, when a lucrative full-time job opening is about as rare as two-newspaper cities, remember that the USA TODAY that you probably had some pride in working for at some point, no longer exists.
Good luck to you. Good luck to all of us who still care about good journalism.
Whatever happened to teleconferencing? How many are staying up the hill at the Ritz-Carlton? And rental cars? I was always forbidden to hire them.
ReplyDelete10:09 wrote: "There is an undercurrent of age discrimination -- an assumption that anyone over 50 is overpaid and incapable of learning new technologies, when in fact many of us are pretty damn good at utilizing the arsenal of modern tools."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely true. That was the case at the Gannett property where I worked. Some of the most experienced reporters and columnists, after years of glorious evaluations, were suddenly not worth the space they were occupying. Paper trails detailing trumped up mistakes and reporting issues were generated for the reporter's personnel file.
It was a simple case as you said of getting rid of those whom Gannett felt were overpaid and underperforming.
Now, this property is beset with factual errors and reporting woes daily. Running incorrect headlines, the wrong photos, overloooking obvious stories, etc.
Gannett is getting exactly what it is paying for as tweeters and bloggers are trying to replace decades of institutional knowledge is kicked to the street.
10:03 Their thinking is that if one or two Editors get lost and don't return to their jobs, the savings in pay and severance more than pays for all the trips!
ReplyDeletePlus most of the presentations at the top include the ancient art of origami where they take useless reports and plans and fold them into swans and small drinking cups and everybody knows that doesn't translate well via teleconference.
Right. Plus, the Queen of Mean and Financial Mismanagement is much more scary in the flesh -- or whatever that is covering the robot within. (Memo to self: Snap!)
ReplyDelete9:20 -- If anyone who was laid off from the Republic is qualified for that job. They should apply ... and let HR know that they will talk to their attorney if not rehired. If these are layoffs, which Gannett insists on calling them, eligible employees are supposed to be rehired at the first opportunity. Not sure what the labor laws are like in Arizona, but it's worth a shot.
ReplyDeleteJust read about USAT's Michael Jackson commemorative thing. USAT refers to itself as the "Top Selling" newspaper which I assume includes the hotel distribution copies. Certainly the loss of Marriott distribution will hurt their next Fas Fax report (Marriott ended distribution hear the end of the last 6 month reporting period), but has anybody ever done a comparison of true circulation of USAT verses NYT, WSJ... Real paid circulation, both SC (legit SC purchases) and subscription. The papers are always sold out in my town around 10:00 suggesting they've dramatically cut back on draw which also effects sales.
ReplyDeleteRumors are running rampant that more layoffs at the Star are coming this week - up to 100. Is this true or just rumor mongering?
ReplyDeleteThose of us dumped in De4cember have tried on this blog to "warn" the rest of you of impending troubles and to get ready. I sure hope you have been doing just that. If you are a longtimer like myself, please brace yourself for the FACT that you may never work at a newspaper again. All the J-schoolers graduating? They have a better chance than people with top skills etc. because they will come very very cheap, but who's hiring? I finally took a menial job to make ends meet after a more-than-two-decade career. It's OK with me. I actually enjoy it in a perverse kind of way. Today I have a decent shot at a decent job that would require my skills. Will I get it? There were hundreds of applicants. I'm being interviewed. But it has been 8 months. So hang in there, folks. Patience, in this case, is definitely a virtue.
ReplyDeleteBingo: I'm as certain as ever that July 8 is real. Looks like 15-20% cuts. Will vary by worksite. I am so, so sorry. I hate this. I really do.
ReplyDeleteThinking good thoughts for you 11:42...Good Luck!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck 11:42. I'll be sending good vibes your way.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteThat 15-20 percent number is much greater than I've heard previously. Where do you get it?
Is this 15 to 20 percent of people or of payroll?
ReplyDeleteI've confirmed the 15% to 20% from a source.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the 15% to 20% cuts are in payroll. Corporate is only interested in dollars. If one person made a $1 million at one property, they could take that person out, and the deal would be done.
Also, the 15% to 20% follows similar reports we've gotten stretching back to June 4. I am very careful with this stuff, which is why I always hesitate to post them.
ReplyDeleteUSA TODAY easily has 15 percent fat in its newsroom, a newsroom that has at least 30 people who should have never been hired by any news organization, let alone the largest paper in the country. There is another dozen or so managers who simply have very little to do, but pretend to be busy.
ReplyDeleteIf top management lays off people based on incompetency, the paper will be fine in the aftermath of July 8 (or whenever). If they continue past behaviors of laying off or driving out competent/unpopular people (like you), we will be hurting big time! Not enough competent hands on deck as it is. One's value around here seems to be based on how popular, pretty or nice a person is.
And PLEASE don't let these MEs and DMEs make the decisions alone. There are a couple who they themselves should have been fired for horrible judgment, or never promoted into the positions they are in to begin with. There has to be some checks and balances this time to make sure the right decisions are made and that careers are needlessly ruined. I don't just mean legal oversight.
I've heard that Hunke favors reporters and lowest-level editors, plus page designers, photogs, etc., more than others. In other words, he would protect the real content-producers.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know if this is true?
A common theme in these layoff tips/speculation is that this time, Corporate is taking aim at mid-level managers, which I would guess are section editors at smaller papers, or AMEs/DMEs/MEs at the very biggest: USA Today, The Arizona Repubic, and The Indianapolis Star.
I also heard the 4500+ number from a source who has always been correct on previous changes. Also a hint there that could be some major restructuring tied to it which could explain the large numbers.
ReplyDeleteYou know what's really sick?
ReplyDeleteThe success of this blog is dependent on employees being laid off, screwed over, etc.
Rumors and tips, including unfounded ones, are encouraged -
we have to believe the sky is falling for Jim to succeed -
ick
RE: This blog and its critics: If it weren't for this blog, I would have NO IDEA what my paper's circulation was because the publisher continues to give out 2 year old numbers.
ReplyDeleteThis is where the truth can get told, even if it hurts.
I was a section editor laid off in December. From what I can tell, very few section editors were laid off then, but I suspect they will fall in the next round.
ReplyDeleteIt is very easy for pubs and EE's to justify heaping the work of section editors onto the chief content editors (or the editing onto the copy editors). I wonder if anybody even does second reads anymore.
I am also beginning to wonder of the 10 years of newspaper work on my resume is the reason I am still unemployed.
Newspapers now scream "old world," and imply that my skills are out of date, which they are not.
I would love to be able to erase 10 years of work experience from my resume, I honestly think I might have a job by now if I did.
My solution: go back to school for a wholely unrelated degree and condense my newspaper experience to one sentence.
Sad.
The reason I "friended" Jim on my Facebook page: I consider Jim a friend. He was the only sounding board I had after my layoff.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jim. The blog will be missed.
Confirmation, please:
ReplyDelete* Ann/e Saul is retiring as Corporate's News Department's long, long-time tech chief, possibly end of July.
* Ad director and IT/circ/production director yesterday said they're leaving, possibly for Freedom Communications.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that the more, and I hate to use the term loosely, bodies they get rid of will constitute in a bigger savings due to benefits being paid out by the company? I don't see how letting go of a few higher paid execs will help in the long run.
Thanks for seeing us thru this next round.
What the hell is an IT/Circ/Production Director?
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a position that fits that description.
Consider listing specific skills -- mastery of Microsoft Office, strong copywriting, other such "keywords."
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on taking film/online video classes next year. I've survived only by staying up on current technology. Adopt the idea that you are a digital communicator, with a deep background.
At the Arizona Republic, at least in the newsroom, most of the people let go in December were senior editors. Not all, just most. There were some "content coordinators", a reporter and BOTH managing editors dumped, too, and then many senior editors were demoted to assistant editor or community editor (though one general manager was demoted many levels to community editor). And almost all of those dumped and/or demoted were between the ages of 45and 60. The point is, these were middle managers. It is hard to imagine them getting rid of more. So, it is hard to know if it will be directors or reporters being let go this time...
ReplyDeleteDirectors' salaries would contribute more to the bottom line of a 10-20 percent cut, if the bottom line is all that matters. And truthfully, in this crunch time, it is hard to justify a director in charge of training. There are so few left to train...
Wonder if Michigan's papers will consolidate into a single super regional?
ReplyDeleteDitto for Wisconsin, Ohio, Louisiana, New Jersey, White Plains/Central New York? This would leverage the new production hubs, plus ContentOne. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteWhatever layoffs were first intended only weeks ago will be increased as the Q2 results will probably show a continuing widening between expectations and performance. If Gannett corporate doesn't have something to show Wall Street on the 15th everything will get worse. This way they can announce the sliding trend increased to which the responded in advance with plans for increased pay reductions, layoffs and furloughs. They will then thank Wall Street for their concern, cards and letters and say Craig's doing fine and he'd like to thank everybody for their concern.
ReplyDeleteWisconsin is already regionalized. Expect that regionalization will be taken to the next step and many functions performed at just one or two locations. The RTC is the model.
ReplyDeleteJim - regarding Michigan papers - I don't think there is any doubt. No newsflash, but Michigan's economy is horrid. How can they justify the expense of so many separate operations that are within a stone's throw of each other?
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking for months that they will fold up ops - like editorial, ads and production - into one big op in Detroit. Many of the smaller sites - LSJ Battle Creek, and PH I bet will go strictly online - or print reduction to a couple days a week. The Freep and News are the same paper as the LSJ most days, and are often picked up in preference to.
Interesting, I noticed your community paper link to the LSJ site is not listing it's publisher... things that make you go hmmmm....
12:45 Don't know if it true or not, but it certainly makes sense. Someone is going to have to take the blame for this debacle, and it is the turn of the managers at this point. I have two prime candidates I am praying are at the top of the list.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that the Indiana papers haven't consolidated. All the papers are within an hour or so of Indianpolis.
ReplyDeleteThe Jersey Today rumor -- one paper for the state -- existed months ago. Considering how few content producers are left at some of the NJ papers, anything is possible and I daresay probable, because Gannett's fair-haired brunet boy long ago ceded everything imaginable to the Star-Ledger.
ReplyDeleteTo 1:01 ... my suggestion is similar to what Jim said: Make sure you emphasize your skills, not your experience. Emphasize your ability to research in multiple ways (Internet, library). If you covered a specific beat, play up the knowledge you gained in that area.
Look at your strengths, look at the niches you can fill, and tell them why your skills make you able to fill them.
Jim wrote:
ReplyDelete"Right. Plus, the Queen of Mean and Financial Mismanagement is much more scary in the flesh -- or whatever that is covering the robot within. (Memo to self: Snap!)"
Again, Jim, I ain't no fan of them, but what happened to this note?
"Please try to be civil; I'd like to retire Gannett Blog July 10 on a less-contentious note."
Or is it OK as long as it's upper management?
If someone said something like this about you, you'd go apeshit and probably hire another bodyguard.
That Dubow e-mail was perhaps the most irresponsible, self-centered, thoughtless piece of ego-stroking P.R. crap Martore-Connell have churned out yet. Total waste of bandwith.
ReplyDeleteOne employee thought it was her layoff notice. There are exceptions to my civility rule. The Dubow note was and is outrageous.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note. Yes, it was irresponsible for me to let you know I was doing well Won't happen again.
Craig
1:31 pm.
ReplyDeleteIT/Production/Circulation is now called Director of Operations. They created that position when they decimated the IT department, Production and Circulation, and expect ONE PERSON to oversee all of the above. And believe me, this position exists. It exits in the West Division.
1:34, is it true there's a Senior VP in addition to VP's in Arizona?
ReplyDeleteWith regards to Gracia's Email to the masses...
ReplyDeleteHow can they be so deluded as to think that anybody working for Gannett right now really gives a S**t about how well Craig Dubow is recovering?
10:36 AM and 10:09 AM simply must be referring to the Courier News/Home News Tribune! However it was NOT a simple case of getting rid of the people who were overpaid and underproducing! It was pandering to the younger (in Silly Pants case, middle age) who sucked up consistently to Corporate and never gave a damn about news content. Cute pet pages rule...as do idiotic columns from Silly Pants and his affirmative action cohort. The next round of cuts will exclude them but demolish advertising-- which seems to have been a preconceived plan.
ReplyDeleteJim:
ReplyDeleteYes, I (a former (retired) systems type) have it from a reliable source that Ms. Saul is retiring.
2:27, the last i heard, the indiana papers' copy desks etc. can't be consolidated because indy runs on cci and other papers run on other systems.
ReplyDeletefor once, upper-management incompetence actually is SAVING print jobs in indiana.
meanwhile, the indy guild is voting today on a heinous contract offer. the company's idea of negotiating is to ask us whether we want our throats slashed with a sharp knife or a dull, rusty one. here's hoping some of the s.o.b.s in management find out what life's like in the unemployment line.
jim, many thanks for keeping all of us updated on what big g is doing to us . . . we'll miss you.
I think it was great that there was a mass email about Craig's recovery. After all it just reminds me that there are still people in this world that can afford medical costs!
ReplyDeleteBecause so many of you have inquired about how Mr. Dubow is recovering ...
ReplyDeleteHA!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMay I also add---KRISTA MUELLER TO THE RESCUE ( Dumb Blondes for life!!!!!!! )oxialpie
ReplyDelete* Ad director and IT/circ/production director yesterday said they're leaving, possibly for Freedom Communications.
ReplyDeleteJudy and Bob Terzotis are leaving Jackson, MS. to take jobs with Freedom newspapers. Judy was the Ad Director and Bob was Production/Circulation director
If layoffs occur on the 8th (and some have already started as reported here) and the Q2 report is no better than Q1, Ms. Martore should be asked to resign. Within approximately two weeks of effecting the lives of thousands of employees and addressing losses of what will probably be millions she took the time to send the Dubow email.
ReplyDeleteSomebody please tell me what purpose the email serves given today's issues!
Were employees worried about their jobs supposed to be relieved? While employees are looking for help and guidance from corporate leadership they got this? I hope questions are asked in the very near future as this is so clearly an example of how corporate prioritizes business.
This reminds me of Ms. Connell's press release pertaining to herself, I think quoted herself and listed herself as the key contact if you have any questions about herself. I'll bet in their spare time, these people play hide and seek in a racquetball court.
Management at USAT needs to go. By management I mean a group of editors at the ME, DME and even lower levels. Not all. But a significant number. Some are do-nothings. Others are just dumb or extremely selfish. Most don't truly support their staffs but do a good job pretending to. They hire badly. They protect the wrong people. They have no sense of awareness and often get upset over hearing the truth. Some are too unaware of technology. Some are too immersed in it. Very little balance in these managers. Some have been around a long time, others are newly promoted. In all, I would say at least 20 editors need to leave and I hope these layoffs can finally begin to fix things once and for all. Something bold needs to occur here in July. Not just the changing of one or two editors.
ReplyDeleteI STILL cannot see how Gannett could have such a mass layoff without violating the WARN Act:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-warn.htm
The law says they need to give 60 days notice.
Tremendous job today, Jim.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have exposed Gannett for their lies and deceit and beat them at their own game – reporting.
All this week we have been told everything is peachy. VPs have gotten so good at their lies, they should run for political office.
I am praying that I am called for the job I applied for a few days ago. It will pay much less than what I am currently earning at Gannett, but it is worth it to get away from this company.
I have grown to dispise their practices and cannot stomach the cheerleader BS anymore.
Keep your fingers crossed that I can escape this insanity.
NEW GOOGLE NEWS ALERT!!!
ReplyDeleteBatavia NY looses USA printing contract. Will be printed in Rochester when contract expires.
Can anyone add to this?
I thought Jackson MS Ops Director was going to a privately owned (Anniston) paper as publisher? Seems like (maybe) a good move.
ReplyDeleteYes, Anne Saul has announced she's leaving July 31.
From Anne:
My very dear friends:
I have decided that it’s time to move on to the next phase of my life.
After nearly 40 years with Gannett, I am leaving July 31.
(I look at that statement and think – wow – you really did decide to do that!)
Yes, I did -- and it has been a very tough decision for many reasons, most of which relate to you and the many people on your staffs with whom I have been associated over the years. Some of us go farther back than we might want to remember – at least in terms of age – although certainly not in terms of the great experiences and good friendships we’ve developed. It has been a true privilege to work with you.
The depth of talent throughout Gannett has never ceased to impress me. When I am asked for help, I often say, “I don’t know the answer, but I know who does.” That person often is someone from one of your newspapers. I am just the reference center.
It’s important that you know, particularly in today’s world, that this decision is entirely my idea.
I am working with Kate on transitioning the various projects with which I am involved, and she and I will no doubt relay that to you in the next few weeks. (Plus, she has my home phone number – and I promised to answer – for awhile, at least 8- ).
On a personal note, I am staying in Alexandria, Va., where I have lived for the past 20 years in a great neighborhood. Short-term, I am taking a true summer vacation – decompressing, as it were – digging in my veggie garden, going to the beach, planning a kitchen redesign, etc. as well as the “wish I’d had the time to work on these” home projects – and, of course, spending more time with my widely scattered family. I also have a couple of other irons in the fire for the future. I just bought a new Macbook Pro and I’m getting an iPhone, so the geek in me is looking forward to playing with the new toys.
Techie stuff aside, one daily ritual I plan to reinstate in my life is reading the newspaper with my morning coffee. That’s been a luxury reserved only for Sundays, at best, these past few years. I am looking forward to doing more than simply skimming the news. Plus, it will be a personal reminder of a business that I never, ever regretted joining. These are very tough and painful times, and you have my deepest admiration for your perseverance. This is important work, and so critical to the future of our world.
So, while this is the end of one phase of my life, it’s not the end of our relationship. Here’s my personal e-mail address: annesaul@comcast.net so stay in touch. (And yes, it’s OK if you message me to ask whom to call about something – at least for as long as I will know the answer!)
All the best,
Anne
Anyone in the know: Can you give us a sense of whether this will affect:
ReplyDelete- Higher ups, like DME level
- Secondary editors, like AME
- Rank and file
- Will higher paid reporters, like senior reporters, be more likely to go?
15% -20% is about the total amount expenses will need to be below last year for the final 6 months of the year. Both payroll and non-payroll savings count. Since most papers are running below last year anyway they don't have to reduce payroll by 15%-20%. I'll bet it's closer to 5%-10%.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow IS a Wednesday and the first day of July ... we know they like booting people on the first Wednesday in the month. Although, I can't imagine them doing it just before the holiday.
ReplyDeleteMultiple posting alert. But the post is that good!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2009/02/youve-just-lost-your-job-whats-next/
5:51 pm: I believe the WARN act is site-specific. If no single worksite lays off more than 49, then no warning is required -- even if the combined total across the company runs into the thousands.
ReplyDeleteBut check with a labor attorney; I'm not that expert.
I'd just like to point out that Jim's sources on this have turned out to be spot-on. Which leads me to this: Jim, you heard anything credible from anyone about whether they will be offering severance this time around?
ReplyDeleteWSJ Story is at:
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB124640099819376069.html?ru=yahoo#mod=yahoo_hs
I don't subscribe, so all I can see is the first sentence (what all newspapers should have done a decade ago, duh!) But if you do, please post!
What I've heard in regard to severance this time around is that GCI will deduct the number of unemployment weeks guaranteed you by the state from the number of weeks you've earned for years of service.
ReplyDeleteExample: If you've worked 10 years for Gannett, typically, in previous layoff packages, you would earn 10 weeks of severance, plus full unemployment benefits. This round, however, if your state guarantees six weeks of unemployment, you'll only receive 4 weeks severance 10-6 = 4 - and all of it up front.
That's what I've been told by those in the know. I do not have it confirmed by two sources, however.
For those folks that are still looking for a job and those looking to enact a "Plan B" I will echo some of the advice seen here off and on. Concentrate in promoting your skills, not the job tasks/description. If you have been a reporter, that means you take multiple sources of information, are diligent in fact finding and deal with multiple technicle platforms. For those that are AME or city desk, that means you manage a fast paced environment that values self starters, you work hands on with multiple technologies and are masters at implementation with short deadlines and high pressue. You get the drift...as sad as it is to say, concentrating too much on the "who" that has been employing you won't get you very far. Concentrate on the skills - most of them are not industry specific when you get down to it. We've just been taught or have bought in to the hype that the newspaper is the only place that we can use these skills in. Very untrue! I've transitioned in and out a couple of times and used the skills in agencies, direct mail and marketing. Best of luck to everyone...I'm launching "plan B" ASAP.
ReplyDeleteGannett will cut more than 1,000 jobs amid continuing revenue declines. The cuts will come from the community publishing division and won't affect the flagship publication, USA Today.
ReplyDeleteHere's the full brief now available on wsj.com ...
ReplyDeleteWall Street Journal puts the number at more than 1,000 jobs ...
By RUSSELL ADAMS
Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher by daily circulation, will cut more than 1,000 jobs in response to continuing revenue declines, according to a person familiar with the company's thinking.
The cuts will come from the U.S. Community Publishing division, which consists of Gannett's more than 80 local dailies, the person said. They won't affect the flagship publication, USA Today. It wasn't clear exactly how many jobs will be shed, although the person said it will be fewer than 2,000.
Gannett, which like most newspaper publishers is suffering from steep advertising declines, cut more than 10% of its 41,500-person work force last year and was expected to make additional cuts after a dismal first quarter.
Write to Russell Adams at russell.adams@wsj.com
Somehow, I don't believe many who work for corporate post on this blog, but what I am hearing is that the Crystal Towers is going to be really rocked this time by this layoff. Anyone confirm that?
ReplyDeleteNO CUTS AT THE CRYSTAL TOWERS?
ReplyDeleteWHAT AN 'EFFIN OUTRAGE!!!!!
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I think (no fact) they will announce layoffs tomorrow. The usual Dickey e-mail. They will give the employees two weeks and will layoff on July 15, the exact same day numbers will be released.
ReplyDeleteLooks like alot less than the 4500number that was floating around. Between 1000 to 2000. Why is USA Today spared again?
ReplyDeletePerrhaps tomorrow will be the day ... maybe they decided to speed it up since it has gotten around.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how they can drain more from the Community Papers without closing down some of them. Many are already running on shoestrings and putting out tiny papers. Nothing left to cut. Incredible, when you think these once were the big GCI money makers.
ReplyDeleteA link to the Wall St. Journal story that you don't have to pay for:
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB121873506239441307.html
I'm not sure that you can make this blanket statement about every property: "I don't see how they can drain more from the Community Papers without closing down some of them. Many are already running on shoestrings and putting out tiny papers. Nothing left to cut. "
ReplyDeleteFor example, the Lansing State Journal (about 50,000 circ) has an EE, an ME and an AME, on top of a metro editor and three assistants. That is top-heavy organization, considering it has fewer than eight news reporters. If you cut in the middle of that, I'm sure you can reach your budget redux goal pretty rapidly.
"Best of luck to everyone...I'm launching "plan B" ASAP."
ReplyDeleteGood for you. Should we cheer?
But you should have done this a long time ago.
I know that, 7:09, but do you think when it comes to putting together the layoff list that the EE, the ME, or the AME are going to put their names? Of course not. They will just take three of the eight remaining news reporters and keep their jobs.
ReplyDeleteMY BOSS SAID WHERE ARE YOU? Tell us if they start tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteA tip for people who are looking for jobs outside the industry:
ReplyDeleteIf you're comfortable with social networking, Web 2.0, etc., a lot of journalism skills will translate to positions in online community management.
This is a field that is small, but growing. More companies are looking for people to promote, organize and communicate to their customers.
When I left Gannett two years ago (woo-hoo!) I moved to a job managing the community for a videogame developer.
They were thrilled to find someone who could write well and communicate with a wide range of people, and I was equally thrilled to leave journalism for a raise and a move to sunny Cali.
Best career move I ever made. There's no way I'd go back to newspapers now.
Jim
ReplyDeleteWill we hear tomorrow? Or next week? You know they will be big
Is it still two weeks pay for each
ReplyDeleteyear ?.
There will be definitely be additional cuts at USA Today. Continuous small cuts have been made almost monthly at USA Today in advertising, circulation and marketing for the past seven months. You can see the constant revisions and reductions in their org charts posted on the intranet.
ReplyDeleteI really do hope that these so called managers get the boot this time around.They have escaped for so long due to their friendships with directors/friends and this is no secret. Specially at the CN/HNT. They threaten their staff with their jobs in order to drive them crazy and work until they are exhausted in order to take all the credit at the end of the day.The worst part is that HR (which is a joke in NJ) is aware of this behavior and defends it.
ReplyDeleteThis blog has been a great resource today. Constant updating, links, vibrant comments. I took a stroll over to Gannettoid and I can't help but say... what a dump.
ReplyDeleteNothing on the homepage about any of the news. Sparse, mostly irrelevant comments. Just completely inadequate.
We will be adrift twice when the layoffs are over and Gannett Blog is shuttered.
But we won't have to read Jim's hissyfits.
ReplyDeleteThe only time it was two weeks pay for one year, was during voluntary buyouts almost a year ago. In December, it was one week per year, up to a max or 26 weeks, even if you had worked at the place longer than that.
ReplyDeleteRe: 6:46PM
ReplyDeleteThis might vary by state. Here in Arizona, you can't start collecting unemployment until your severance runs out. So if you get 10 weeks severance, you can't collect unemployment until week 11.
advertising at usatoday laid off seven three weeks ago, six in circulation and education, and marketing laid off two. cuts were across the board from middle managers to admins. usatoday digital fired sales head last week.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone heard what is going on with the Ohio papers? Everyone is walking on pins and needles trying to figure out the plans. Everyone knows something is going to happen. Also, the publisher was out of the office today....trip to corporate?
ReplyDeleteAny further reports on top editors/publishers being called to the Mothership?
ReplyDeleteUnless Gannett has huge confidence in Community Division top management, a logical next step would be to start shipping new top people to re-evaluate personnel -- managers not influenced by personal relationships developed over time.
The number of planned layoffs to which Gannett admits at this moment (more than 1000) does not include people who quit this quarter and were not replaced. I know of at least one such well paid employee here. The total reduction of workforce will not be equal to the layoffs.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteFor all you clowns who questioned the layoff rumor:
ReplyDeleteFUCK YOU.
Once again, the information was here before anywhere else. And while all we can do is wait to see who gets it this time, at least we had warning.
To 7:09 p.m.: Lansing actually one has one assistant to the metro editor; one was reassigned to a capitol reporting beat, the other position was not filled. Biz editor regularly fills in for the metro ed. But, point taken.
ReplyDelete6:12
ReplyDeleteBut it's Independence Day! and we are going to be gifted with our independence from Gannett!
Besides, they laid off people right before Christmas - not directly, but close to it -
I would like to thank Tara Connell for being utterly useless. Jim reported this impending layoff how many weeks ago, and she didn't respond to his questions. And when the NYT calls her, all she says is that the number is less than what was reported here.
ReplyDelete9:33 - Dec. 3 was the Wednesday after the Thanksgiving holiday. It would be nice if they'd wait until July 8 so people can enjoy their holiday (and get a paid holiday day for it).
ReplyDeleteThe post below contained some profanity, which I don't usually advocate, but I have to say in this case — how can we not feel this way.
ReplyDeleteOur managers and VPs flat out lied to our faces. I wanted to tell them that their nose appeared to be growing. How can you do that to people you have worked with for years. Either say no comment or nothing. Lies just create more lies.
I have found that all they really care about our themselves. Nothing more, nothing less.
Once again, the information was here before anywhere else. And while all we can do is wait to see who gets it this time, at least we had warning.
Nice work yet again, Jim.
ReplyDeleteDo what you need to do, as far as the Corporate Troll action goes. It's probably just a couple.
Post their IP addresses!
They just hate it when you get the scoop.
USA Today is not being touched? That has to be a mistake or bad joke! There is so much bloat at USA Today that it should be the heaviest hit. I don't want to see anyone get laid off because it most likely will mean the end of careers, but how can corporate ignore the fact that USA Today is a five-day paper with a fat 400-plus staffed newsroom, not to mention other expensive perks and toys?
ReplyDeleteI was a "loaner" at USA Today and have also visited the new campus there twice since my temporary assignment back in the old building. This place is a palace! People walk around there like they are on vacation. I've observed how little work is done and how much time and resources are wasted. Frankly, some USAT people probably aren't talented enough to work at smaller GCI properties, nor would they enjoy the common 12-hour workdays.
I can't believe Gannett isn't going to try to clean that place up, yet at the same time take away more people from six or seven-day papers with people working on 10-year-old computers and eating out of vending machines, some with newsrooms with fewer than a dozen people.
I am so sick of USAT draining this company. For what reason? It's not like USAT is the most profitable paper. It's not like they are winning Pulitzers. The web site is pedestrian at best and it seems to take at least three people to execute even the simplest of tasks.
The favoritism shown to USAT really sickens me. In tough times, USAT does not get dirty like the rest of us. They are a templated newspaper and web site. Just plugging holes. Why the star treatment from corporate?
Tara Connell was a friend. I thought she was the one of the more honorable editors when she worked in the newsroom. Feisty and courageous to stand up for her beliefs. But she has turned her back on so many people that I've now reached the conclusion that I was wrong about her. There was no honor. She went to bat for me and others because there was something in it for her. As soon as we couldn't be of use to her, she forgot about us. She continues to disappoint and to distance herself from the truth. She defines "sellout."
ReplyDeleteI've just heard of a managing editor at one of the bigger metros who has announced his retirement. It seems clearly tied to these layoffs.
ReplyDeleteI can't say which one right now, because I don't think the full staff has been told.
I would expect more of these in the days ahead.
Ok, I'm trying to put a tiny bit of humor in this horrific event that is about to happen. As an official going away present to this blog and an incredible advertising tool to show corporate our official finger to them, how about each person who is laid off, has their photo taken with a funny hat (like Jim's collection) and Jim posts a final page on the blog when it ends. Yes, I know, we won't be able to pay our mortgage or anything else, but what about one last hooray to this blog. It will truly show how many people were laid off and will attract media attention. We post our site and position, age and number of years. It will be an incredible marketing tool to show Gannett we will ALWAYS have the upper hand. We all our years of talent, let make this a big one! What do ya say.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Just heard on the local news that Gannett is laying off thousands. It is now official.
Unless I'm mistaken, Tara Connell will emerge from this with more authority over the editorial side of the entire company than any one person has had before.
ReplyDeleteContentOne is already in her portfolio. That fits nicely with the production hubs. She clearly has the support of Gracia Martore, and -- it appears -- the ailing CEO. In a weird sort of way, I admire what she's accomplished.
I'm reminded of the final scene from Lillian Hellman's 1939 play (later, a movie, starring Bette Davis).
In "The Little Foxes," Southern aristocrat Regina Giddens outsmarts her crafty brothers for control of a lucrative cotton mill. With her daughter Alexandra at her side, Regina's older brother Benjamin offers, grudgingly, his admiration. But, Wikipedia points out, "The price she ultimately pays for her evil is the loss of Alexandra's love and respect."
Great movie. Cautionary tale. Be careful what you wish for.
To the former USAT loaner who has visited us once or twice and thinks we at USAT are bloated and draining the company:
ReplyDeleteI was a loaner once -- one of the last ones. As you know, that program went out a while ago. I agree that in those days USAT was quite different from other Gannett properties. Wonderfully so. There were actually enough people around to get quality journalism done! Staff had the niceties that competitors at the WashPost and NYT have long enjoyed -- librarians to help fact-check stories or help with research, for example. As I am sure you know, that era is dead.
I worked at a small Gannett paper before coming to USAT, and though I enjoyed some great perks during the 1990s and early part of this century at USAT, I can assure you that it's been over for a while. We are treated just like everyone else in this company.
By the way -- why do we need 400 people? Because a lot of the stories you rip from the wire are things we actually cover first hand. Where do you get your news about Obama and Congress and the Supreme Court? We don't use The AP as our primary source for that content -- we cover those beats. Where do you get your news about the Fed? Or downed airliners? Or Iraq? We cover those stories first-hand, you idiot.
We don't cover 15,000-people "cities" where the biggest story is whether the city council wants to hire a new dog-catcher. We cover the entire friggin' country, every sport imaginable, the movie and music and book industries, Wall Street and the economy. And we beat your sorry butts when it comes to quality.
I've read your community newspapers. Aside from a couple -- Indy, Rochester, Westchester, Louisville and some others -- they show themselves to be little more than amateur hour at best. The paper I left when I came to USAT is now a joke.
We earn our salaries (and live in one of the nation's most expensive communities) because, like it or not, we are one of the nation's biggest and most successful media outlets. So shut up about your all-too-brief loanership and what you see on your little visits to USAT, because unless I see you getting stories worthy of our page 1A you really have nothing credible to say.
8:38 p.m. - With any justice, those small Ohio papers that are mostly overstaffed based on their falling circulation, will see a lot of firings.
ReplyDeleteAnd if your publisher was gone today ... what is different than any other day of the week? If you work at one those papers, feel lucky he is gone.
The corporate douche bags finally conceded their deceit, with that "ok you guys got us bullshit."
ReplyDeleteUp yours corporate and up yours everyone who doubted this blog's info.
And Gracia that Dubow update isn't even worthy of being scratched into a truck-stop toilet stall wall.
Hey 10:29, as an editor in small town America, I've had the pleasure of reading, re-reading and rewriting many of those "friggin" quality stories you and yours have privileged us with over the wire. Your byline was no doubt one of them, given your limited command of the English language. Not to besmirch your fine journalistic endeavors, but I always smirk when I see the editor's note at the top of many USAT wire stories - "Edited by USA Today." I've always wondered if that is meant to be a warning.
ReplyDeleteStill, I do admire the USAT writers. It must be nice to not have to cover the bullshit assignments local readers depend on. You know, things like property taxes going up, up, up, school and church parish mergers, cutting of funding to local organizations, etc. I envy you. Local news is a dirty, underpaid and. for the most part, unrecognized job. But we do it, day in and day fucking out.
Let me boil this down for you in an easy-to-understand, USA Today, lowest common denominator quick hit: You are a douchebag.
Good luck, dude.
10:29
ReplyDeletethe Ego has landed.
I've never paid for a copy of USAT.
Never will. Reminds me of a comic book these days.
To 10:29, the elitist USAT asshole:
ReplyDeleteYou take an assload of bandwidth to make a simple point. Everyone on here says USAT sucks and full of overbloated windbags like yourself.
If all you do is take time to discredit the other party and bore us further with a Gannett loaner program history lesson implies your full of shit.
The blade of the Gannett gillotine is blind and your name may be on its block.
Can I get a hell yeah to confirm this guy is a dipshit? Jim?
11:12 is my hell yeah!
ReplyDeleteOk, all you laid off reporters – news flash! You can take over Jim's spot on this blog! Jim said you can make $$$ if you do it full-time. I can't believe there isn't one of you out there that would love to do this full-time. Well, now is your chance. For a limited time, you can be the host of this blog and provide editorial content each and every day. Who is willing to take the abuse yet the fame of this blog. I know you are out there, just waiting for this opportunity to show Gannett there was a reason you shouldn't of been let go. Showcase your editorial content now!
ReplyDeleteYou too, can handle this blog, without Gannett, from anywhere USA. Now taking applications – go for it!
Now is your chance to shine! We need you!
9:50, sorry for the expletive. I have watched this blog get trashed for so long, and it seems like the bashers had clouded the reality, which is the crowd sourcing proved once again the value of this blog.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I am grateful to Jim for the forum he has provided to so many of us, I am that much more grateful to those who had the stones to provided tips and confirmed tips and given this blog legs. Jim and those of you with balls the size of watermelons have provided a service the value of which can't be quantified. I have a friend who was recently blindsided by getting laid off in another industry, and after seeing what he's been through, I'll gladly take the rumors. At least that gives you something to think about and some warning. It's up to you what you choose to do with the information. I have chosen to make plans to deal with it.
10:29 has to be a troll.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to believe that someone like this actually exists within our ranks (or that if they're real, he or she hasn't been promoted to management yet.)
Ah, 10:29, you should really be working for the NYT Company. No, not that you're that good. I have no idea who you are, although I can tell what you are. It's the pomposity that comes shining through, the disregard for what is important to readers in favor of the "we have the big stories" mentality. Guess what -- Those days are over. The little community papers will be here long after you are consigned to sitting on your D.C. barstool, regaling the bartenders with your stories about how important you and your comic-book newspaper were. I'm with one of those little papers now -- I have done the metro thing in another company and left of my own volition -- and I routinely choose the AP versions over the USA Today versions because, well, they are simply better. Better researched, better focused, better written and better edited. And they show up in a timely fashion. Face it, you guys are the McDonald's of the newspaper business -- successful as a business, sought out by people without imagination or intellectual curiosity, and populated by bottom-liners who think they are really something special.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Jim -- Great job with the blog. No one can blame you for hangin' it up. Once again your blog has been the one place to turn to for information, even if it meant wading neck deep through the rising tide of crap to get it. It will be missed.
I've got to confess that USA Today never seemed like a real newspaper to me.
ReplyDeleteToo shallow, I guess. No meat, no depth, just rather bland.
And not nearly as good as many of Gannett's smaller newspapers.
I've never understood how it survived, to be quite honest!
10:29 -- I've always respected USAT and ignored the resentment the small paper folks show here. But comments like yours are out of line.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that many of the smaller GCI papers are crap these days, but that's not because there are no quality people there. We've been forced to focus on small-time news by corporate, and the management is so poor that most stories are assigned with zero thought. In my community we miss some big stories because the reporters are being forced to write about things that aren't even news.
Nevertheless, I work with people who have been the first to report stories that went national. I've seen USAT take a perfectly good story from GNS and re-report it for no good reason. I daresay I could step into the USAT newsroom tomorrow and compete with most of the reporters there.
That's not saying they're bad reporters, it's saying that quality employees are everywhere. Gannett just does a piss poor job of recruiting and retention.
Now -- with the industry on the line -- they should be grabbing the best and brightest and moving them to large properties or promoting them within their own. Instead, they're targeting some of the most talented and experienced people in cost-reduction programs.
It's a sad time and ground-level Gannett reporters certainly don't need to be running each other down.
10:29...a typical, arrogant USA Today jerk. Oh, wow, you cover the country, you must be the greatest. Are you kidding me?
ReplyDeleteYou write six-inch stories. You publish some of the most parochial graphics in the business and have apparently given up on design. You have people on staff who would have trouble writing a complete sentence and others who abuse every privilege there is. It takes a small army to put out page 1. You also use wire copy and photos, so don't pretend everything is generated by your staffers.
You cover politics like the rest of the Washington media herd. You're obsessed with TV and celebrity news. You have had scandals involving some "imaginative" reporters and fired people for touching a piece of art in the hallway. Yeah, that's so much better than how others operate out in the boondocks.
Your online branch consists of many people who couldn't hack it in print so they went to the country club life of the web, only to get absorbed again into the collective.
I have no major problems with the front line people there. The copy editors and staffers who make an effort. But I do have a problem with anyone who tries to portray working at USAT as some unbelievable accomplishment that proves they are better than someone working at a 50,000-circulation paper. How many Pulitzer Prizes have you all won? None the last I checked. Your the biggest circulation paper. Whoopie. Do you realize that that has more to do with the marketing machine and innovative circulation departments than your efforts in the newsroom? Can you step back and understand others help sell the paper more than you?
Sorry you live in a high-cost area, but that's your choice. And it's the choice of Gannett to build that ridiculous place in such an expensive area.
I was never a loaner. I was a fulltime employee there in the glory days. So I know what I am talking about. Problems existed even then, but have gotten far worse. I know there are way too many pompous creeps who can't stand when the truth about that place leaks out. You are apparently one of them.
USAT survived and thrived by forcing itself down people's throats. It is a marketing success more than an editorial wonder.
ReplyDeleteI've always viewed USAT as a rag that people pick up in airports during a layover... there is just no real content IMHO. I haven't seen anyone that I know, or anyone in general to be honest, reading a USAT paper in years.
ReplyDeleteword verification: cured
ha, go figure.
Man, are there more people at USA Today like 10:29? This person actually thinks it's some sort of glorious accomplishment to land a job there and trashes some of the great reporting and journalism going on at a grassroots level. This person takes disrespect to new levels.
ReplyDeleteFor such a big paper, the quality of journalism there leaves a lot to be desired in my humble opinion. USA Today never did catch up to the NYT in the credibility race and is losing ground again. Seems to be a paper with some people in the newsroom who actually believe they are No. 1 because of things they're are doing. Fact is, we all know the paper's success mostly comes from some pretty sharp selling tactics, not from great journalism. At best, it's an easy read. At worst, it is filled with errors and doesn't seem to fess up to many of them with corrections. It appears to me to be in decline and is stuck in a 1980s design and mindset. Far more innovation going on at smaller papers. Far more accountability, too. When we make errors, we publish corrections because our readers are far more invested in their local papers.
Layoffs are a horrible thing, but when I see people at the smaller Gannett papers getting dismissed while pompous employees at USA Today survive, it really is quite disturbing. Not saying everyone at USAT is like 10:29, but there does seem to be a disproportionate number of dopes in the D.C. burbs.
Yeah even more dopes since November in DC, hmmmm wonder y? Real big one over on PA Ave.
ReplyDeleteMcLean Sucks! Stay Local.
6:40 PM wrote: "I'd just like to point out that Jim's sources on this have turned out to be spot-on."
ReplyDeleteBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! Sorry, but thanks for playing.
The numbers Jim has been touting for weeks have turned out to be very inflated. Lost a little faith now?