(Updated 10:31 a.m. ET July 15 with details from an FAQ.)
Between 75 and 100 positions in management, newspaper layout and page design will be added at The Courier-Journal as early as next year as Gannett consolidates design production for 78 papers at Louisville, Ky., and four other new hubs nationwide, the paper is now reporting on its website.
The C-J was among the first to disclose publicly the number of jobs it will get under the new arrangement. It did not reveal how many positions will be eliminated at the 21 newspapers for which it will do daily design and page production. They include The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Indianapolis Star. The Louisville paper now employs about 185 in its newsroom.
'Streamlined' work
In their staffing stories, two other newspapers also didn't disclose the number of jobs to be cut elsewhere. Gannett itself hasn't posted any overall figures.
Although the project is clearly designed to slash labor costs, Corporate says only that the centers are meant to identify work that can be "streamlined or enhanced through consolidation,'' according to an FAQ given to employees. That document barely hinted at the possibility some people will be out of work as the hubs are phased in over two years starting in 2011.
The Des Moines Register expects to add 35 to 60 jobs, the paper says in a story of its own. The hub will design news pages for 21 papers, including the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and other locations in South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.
At a third hub, The Tennessean, up to 70 people will be added to build pages for 12 newspapers in Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia, that paper is reporting.
The Asbury Park Press, home to the fourth hub, has published a story, too, but it doesn't say how many jobs the paper will gain. Asbury's site, at Neptune, N.J., will handle 15 dailies, including New York's Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
The Arizona Republic is the fifth hub, but a recent search of its site didn't turn up a story. It is Gannett's second biggest paper by circulation, and possibly its largest by revenue, after USA Today.
Related: spreadsheet lists 78 papers and their assigned hubs
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18 comments:
I take it the Greenville News in South Carolina will be produced in Tennessee?
With all of the negative posts from NJ, can you imagine all the NJ papers produced in one hub? All of the negativism will just feed and fester!
They are reporting how many jobs are going to be added to the Hub locations.
I'll bet they are not reporting how many jobs will be LOST across the Gannett empire.
I believe the net loss of jobs will be huge
in comparison.
What types of jobs and how does this affect last year's layoffs?
I think the GN will be produced in Louisville
GN has been produced in Louisville and is scheduled to continue -- as is Asheville, the two papers that have been part of the Louisville test.
And no IT.
Jim: A poster on the Louisville story asks if Stimulus Money was used to create these jobs. I think that's unlikely, but if it is true, that would be a major story. Because that would be a perversion of the intent of the program. "Stimulus money used to cut over 50% of jobs" would be a bombshell.
Word verification: persons, hah!
On the other hand, Gannett got state tax breaks for creating accounting and other finance jobs to Indianapolis.
Dos anyone know the nuts and bolts of how this works? Will papers, say Roch D&C, ship stories photos graphics etc to Asbury Park and then receive a completed page? Not sure I'm grasping this.
The Arizona Republic historically has had a reputation as a lapdog of local business interests, and it has especially closes ties to Gannett's U.S. newspaper division president, Bob Dickey.
Having said that, I still can't find a story on its website about the Republic's role in the production hubs. Can anyone point me to one?
I'm confused. Between three hubs the chain is adding a minimum of 200 people. If you spread that many people across the chain, wouldn't that be enough to retain local design and editing - presumably at costs cheaper than locating those same people in urban centers?
Another day, another dollar -- and another boost in the stock price, perhaps? With the Gannettoids, it has ALWAYS been about the stock value and not the personal costs involved.
1:09, They haven't done very well with the stock price either.
i work at the az republic but so far nobody has even mentioned the production hub. and I'm confused, is it just page layout or is it advertising production (building ads)
These new centers are solely to design and build pages. The Gannett Production Centers, in Des Moines and Indianapolis, create and build the advertising artwork.
Yet another site on career???? Naahh! The only site that will give you the complete lowdown on career. You need look no further for information and resources.
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