Sunday, January 17, 2010
Week Jan. 11-17 | Your News & Comments
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50 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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So much for local coverage:
ReplyDeleteHead of Louisville's public library system gets named Librarian of the Year by Library Journal. Where would first learn about this? Not the Courier-Journal. Try the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Any new news on the ad consolidation? It has been weeks and we have heard nothing. News was this was to start to roll out in the spring — but all has been quiet. Any information would be appreciated.
ReplyDelete@10:44, you were consolidated already. The email from corporate telling you to leave probably ended up in your spam folder.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't notice any reduction in your work? That's because the list of things the GPC won't do is twice as long as the list of things the RTC won't do.
Couier Journal is printing much of the Lexington Herald now cuz the CJ sucks and they can,t give papers away even with Kroger gift cards
ReplyDeleteExcellent question. No news here, however, with the incredible silence about the ad hub in Des Moines there is an assumption that it is not going well. I would like to see some comments from Indianapolis or Des Moines production people to give us the inside scoop on what is taking place. Production workers all over this company are under incredible stress worrying about their future since we were all told we are probably getting the ax this year 'sometime'. But until then we are certainly kicking ass getting the job done locally. Personally, I can't see how it could possibly work. So...any info out there?
ReplyDeletere "ex courier-journal said..."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100111/NEWS01/1110362/1008/NEWS01/Louisville+s+Buthod+named+top+librarian+by+magazine
Nobody can give papers away anymore, for several reasons. Despite what the corporate flunkies and editors with big salaries they want to keep are telling you, our business model is wrecked. More and more people are getting their news online and in real time and don't care about reading old news the next day. No. 2, we haven't figured that out yet, to the point our web sites are a jumbled hodge-podge of crapola, difficult to navigate, hopelessly behind the times, devoid of any creativity or imagination and so woefully understaffed and mis-managed that it's laughable. And we're giving this "news" away for free! I talk to more and more people, young and old, who tell me they don't subscribe anymore because if they want to read our crappy product they can get it for free online. We now have too few people working on the out-dated dead tree version to make it relevant and too few working on our Web sites to make them worth a crap. The result: We have lost our relevancy and our audience. If not all, most Gannett newspapers, have become laughingstocks within their communities. The problem is, nobody at GCI seems to get this, understand it or wants to hear it. The suits and the publishers and OC members at the individual sites want to keep making their 6-figure salaries so they plow aimlessly forward, with no plan or innovative ideas, hoping to get to the next month, the next year, the next vacation, the next promotion, raise and bonus. One day, the few remaining advertisers will pull the plug, the lights won't turn on and we'll all be out of jobs. And that day is coming faster than any of the bigshots with their heads in the sand realize.
ReplyDeleteex c-j
ReplyDeleteRE: librarian
Better late than never. Not only did the Lexington paper have it first, but it was easier to find.
@9:10 AM. Apparently all the inside contacts have quit or were laid off, because neither site has any new information on the ad consolidation.
ReplyDeleteThey are certainly keeping this one under the radar. I am not in that department but have many friends who are, and I think it is cruel to keep these employees wondering if they will have a job or not.
Is this really back up?
ReplyDelete8:16 p.m.: Yes, so long as I can attract an average of 10,000 unique monthly visitors. I'm now at about 8,000.
ReplyDeleteI see at this point it appears to be in "Jim's fan club" mode. Don't care for discourse that is anit-Jim so you decide to review all posts before they go up. Can just imagine the reaction if a Gannett paper had that policy for comments below stories.
ReplyDelete8:31 p.m.: I publish plenty of comments critical of me -- and always will. (I published yours, for example.)
ReplyDeleteBut I AM moderating comments more aggressively now, and rejecting many that are off-topic, libelous, repetitive, etc. That's part of my goal to keep Gannett Blog more civil.
In response to Gannett moderating their blogs, oh, but they do. They remove stuff they don't want all the time. And yes, I am a current employee. There is censorship in my paper constantly. So don't get on Jim's tail about censorship. At least he tells the truth about Gannett, something THEY never do. I listened to part of the audio cast today, and as usual, they said a whole lot of nothing. They neither confirmed anything at all, or denied anything at all. Just a whole lot of BS.
ReplyDeleteReply to Anonymous @8:31 p.m. - I don't see it as Jim's fan club, just that there aren't as many Gannett folks around because they were laid off, myself included. I no longer have ties inside the company so I'm here reading to see what's going on from the outside.
ReplyDelete8:31 p.m. I wish Gannett would monitor story chat posts. Those hatefull comments about everyday people in our communities are doing more damage than anyone could have imagined.
ReplyDeleteOther papers have started to think about the impact the comments have to their communities (Pantagraph the most recent).
But Gannett doesn't have a connection to local communities much less an interest in helping.
Most states have clear rules about free-lancers. no use of office space, etc. otherwise they are employees.
ReplyDeleteThe comments section adds nothing to the product. In fact, it hurts. But, like most things Gannett, the suits don't get it or don't care and at the local level, the over-paid publishers and OC members are so worried about keeping their 6-figure salaries that they are busy kissing corporate arse and not looking at the comments section of the Web site. I'd say half the OC members and publisher at our shop don't even read the paper or Web site.
ReplyDeleteThere was this Operations VP at the Journal News--name was Riley. He was responsible for ordering an entire new press--colored press--for Mags, as well as expensive shrink wrap machines---not too long ago. He then moved on. I wonder if he is still getting President Rings for this after the Journal News is moving to be printed at a Non-Gannett site--approximately an hour and a half away in Rockaway, New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteThere's a balance to moderating story comments and at our site we are more hands off. The consequence, imo, is uncivilized and unproductive discourse, but that's not what the comments area is for. It's there to attract as many eyes to the story as possible, ie traffic.
ReplyDeleteOf course, erring to the opposite extreme you could pull a Kurt Greenbaum and become the laughingstock of the Internet.
It always amazed me that Gannett made us do all those mainstreaming and diversity reports, but allowed racially charged comments to linger on those comment sites. Just doesn't follow logically to me.
ReplyDeleteJanuary's here, and that means it's time for the Bob Hope PGA tournament in Palm Springs. Let's see if Bob Dickey makes the pairings sheet again along with his golfing sidekick, Frank Vega.
ReplyDeleteI think Des Moines Register is sending lower-level Adv people to Palm Springs this year
ReplyDeleteI can already smell the freshly cut grass on the 18th hole -- and the wide-open bar at the 19th!
ReplyDeleteWhen Gannett deletes posts from its comments section, at least for a few minutes people get to see what is being deleted. Here, we have to take Jim's word that he is posting the legitimate things that people send in. Frankly, Jim's word isn't worth very much. I challenge him to allow open posting and delete those posts that are objectionable. Prove what you say is true
ReplyDeleteSeriously about flying all these talking head managers, directors and OC folks. When is Gannett going to leverage technology to SAVE money. These meet and greet functions with fellow gannetteers doesn't in any way, shape or form serve to boost revenue. Red Cross was able to raise more than $800,000.00 through text messaging. A $49 web cam, a computer vs. airline, food and lodging. Every financial person in Gannett should be ashamed.
ReplyDeleteSo, um, Anonymous 7:08, your word is more trustworthy than Jim's?
ReplyDeleteIt's Jim's blog, and some of it can be Jim's fan club if he wants it to be. If you think about it, how weird is it for someone to run a blog and publish a lot of personal attacks on himself, on his own blog?
ReplyDeleteSomebody else could start their own anti-Jim blog if they wanted to, I guess, but as for me, I think an anti-Gannett blog is a lot more interesting than an anti-Jim blog ever could be. Please, let's keep most of the comments focused on Gannett!
What did Dickey say in the conference call? are we getting big big raises this year? What about big bonuses like he and Dumbow and the others will get? any news worth repeating from the conference call?
ReplyDeleteI hope to God Bob plays the Hope. It would be a crime if corporate America goes its socialist ways and doesn't support the millions of important charities that benefit from participation in sporting events. You can argue that people should just give money and not get anything for it...write a check and don't participate. But if every school auction got 100 people with $100 checks they would make thousands less than a live auction with people there. The pro tours give millions to charity each year. If people don't participate, they won't be able too. Look at the big picture here. Please.
ReplyDeleteAny truth to USA Today shutting down six of its circulation offices today?
ReplyDeleteMarcia Bullard just resigned her publisher position with USA Weekend to pursue "other interests."
ReplyDeleteWhat are the responsibilities for these offices? Sales? Would this have anything to do with the 300k-plus circulation loss in the last ABC report?
ReplyDeleteJim, How about in your "Where do you work?" poll you add one more selection: Ex-Gannetoid, laid off.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteHave been out of town for several weeks, but happy you're back. You don't have to let this comment be shown though it is Gannett related. I dumped the rest of Gannett stock today in favor of ACAS.
It's up - It's down & OH! It's up again, must get off.
USA Today is not shutting down 6 circ offices. Rather, some operations are being moved around. I'm not privy to all the details, but as far as I know no market office is going away.
ReplyDeleteAnyone left in Hattiesburg to cover this?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/01/exclusive-tiger-woods-sex-rehab-mississippi
So, how does Singleton's Medianews' bankruptcy affect Gannett?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the tone here is civil and that Jim has taken a chill pill and is wisely moderating for inflammatory comments, including his own.
ReplyDeleteHopefully he'll stick around so that next time we'll get a proper heads-up about layoffs and shakeups and we won't get blindsided again like we did at USA Today in December.
You are really out of touch. There are things going on and you are completely unaware. You've been given hints and tips but haven't agressively followed up.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, you've done absolutely zero research (at least none you've shared) to follow up on the Media News situation. Seems like that would be a good one for you. Instead, you're obviously waiting and hoping your "crowdsourcing" will provide the answers. Looks like they aren't. And the previous posters hopes he/she will not be blindsided like last December? That won't happen the way you are running this blog now.
I guess your only purpose is to gain enough hits to keep your own barely alive advertising model afloat. That makes you just like GCI.
But, I doubt you'll post this because it isn't complimentary of you.
They didn't tell us before the August massacre at TJN however now they HAD to tell the NYS Dept. of Labor:
ReplyDeletehttp://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:5AmcWAucGuQJ:www.labor.state.ny.us/app/warn/details.asp%3Fid%3D2505+%22one+gannett+drive%22&cd=35&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Jim you going to the stockholders meeting this year?
ReplyDeleteRmichem@11:40: That's unlikely. But I haven't seen the agenda yet.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous@10:19 a.m. uses a term -- crowdsourcing -- that may be unfamiliar to some readers. It's a method of gathering information, but on a mass scale. In traditional reporting, a reporter might interview three or four people. But in crowdsourcing, a journalist can interview a large group of people for information by publishing questions or documents online, then asking for feedback.
ReplyDeleteDay 455 of big layoff: Survivor's log
ReplyDeleteGasping for breath these days. No time for lunch. Not time to piss.
No time to check e-mails.
It's churn, churn, churn out that copy (crack goes the chief content editor's whip when we poke our heads up for some air.)
Cheap pens leak all over our hands. No time to wash them.
The now empty halls are darkened to save on electricity. eerie and dangerous.
Computers barely work. 30 minutes to crank up, and they freeze in the middle of interviews.
Crashes two to three times a day. Copy lost. Hours lost. No pity from EE, ME or CCE.
No excuses. Churn, churn, churn out that copy.
Must keep notebooks handy to finish interview.
EE harps on why we can't write like Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Crack goes the whip. OUCH!
Furloughs again, but CCE finds ways to squeeze more hours out of us than we're putting on the clock. "What? You can't write six dailies, a weekly enterprise, a weekly column, contribute to the weekly zines, blog every day, do daily online updates, craft that Sunday profile, and work on the investigative piece in 40 hours? You need to work on your time-management skills. (You can betcha that'll be in your eval.) Get back to your desk and prove you deserve to be here!" Crack goes the whip!
Another one bites the dust for displaying a bad attitude.
Must remember to smile. Smile. Smile. Pass the Zanax.
Where's the notebooks? What? We must write on our hands, now?
What we're lucky we have jobs?
Will report back as soon as the ink dries on my hands.
Anonymous@2:14 p.m. wrote the following comment; I'm publishing an edited version of it to remove information that might identify an individual. (Referring to someone by their initials is nearly the same as identifying them by name.) Here it is:
ReplyDeleteAre you looking into this scandal at TJN in Westchester? The XXX, a former XXX cast off, has been outed for trying to get the systems people to delete an insulting and derogatory e-mail sent to Craig Dubow by one of this person's "Favorites" (i.e, one of his hires). It's all over Gannettoid.com.
To: 1/17/2010 3:11 PM
ReplyDeleteAnd you have time to piss away on this blog? Must not be as bad as you make it out to be.
Crowdsourcing: verb, to rely on the good graces of others to provide the new you are too lazy to gather yourself.
I think Gannett (and McClatchy) stock are going to crash on Tuesday, following the bankruptcy announcment by Medianews. These companies are all seeing identical declines in ad revenue, and all carry large long term debt. The recent rise in stock prices of newspaper companies was based on a hope that like the other sectors of the economy the old journalism model will return to life again. That won't happen, as everyone agrees, and Tuesday's stock market opening is going to cause new pain for everyone who held on to their shares during this roller coaster. oh boy!
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that Gannett stock has climbed (a rally?) strictly because they have cut the shit out of payroll and all other expenses making things look artificially good. Ad revenue still stinks and will continue to decline. Only area where they haven't cut the hell out of everything is in the area of the outrageous salaries being paid to the suits in Virginia. The place is bloated and loaded with people who don't have a clue and don't do much at all. The beat goes on, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteIf newsprint goes up $80 per ton this year, look for more cuts to the news hole and more cuts to classified, and more cuts, and so on, and so on, and so on...
ReplyDelete