Sunday, July 11, 2010
Week July 5-11 | Your News & Comments: Part 2
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40 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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For Part 1 of this thread, go here.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteKeep on deleting the jerks, Jim.
ReplyDeleteFair, even harsh criticism should be allowed to stand (I'm one of this blog's critics at times), but these idiots who merely call you names or mock the blog add nothing of worth to the experience.
Then other people responds with attacks on ''corporate trolls'' and it just wastes everyone's time.
You have been exceedingly fair in allowing people to keep shouting at you, but there comes a point where it just debases things for everyone.
So delete delete delete, as annoying as it must become. We'll all be better for it.
Thank you. I've been using a new system for managing comments during the past week, and it seems to be working better.
ReplyDeleteAmong other things, it shows all the comments posted (excluding commercial spam) -- including those that I remove. This way, readers get a more clear picture of how many comments are posted overall.
And the lawyers shall get richer...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100708/APC0101/7080577/Gannett-Co-Inc-appeals-ruling-on-WIAA-playoffs-Web-livestreaming
Word from our News folks is that the new Editorial front-end system will be a consolidated system that everyone will migrate to, being run from corporate.
ReplyDeleteIs that Editorial front-end system going to be run by ContentOne? Yet one more knife in the back of local newspaper autonomy?
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, this is the CCI NewsGate system that cost $15 million during the first quarter, no?
ReplyDeleteGreat, just what we need, an attorney to run digital. Weren't there any actual creative or innovative people available, or did they all pass up the chance to join Gannett just when its digital vibrancy is peaking?
ReplyDeleteAnother attorney who prospered: Former USA Today Editor Ken Paulson, now No. 2 at Freedom Forum and Newseum -- a likely big six-figure job.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Ken was ever a practicing attorney...does have a law degree though. An outstanding journalist, by the way, whatever you think of his style.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a snide question, 2:24 pm; I'm genuinely interested in learning more about Paulson. What made/makes him an outstanding journalist?
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to all the big news and changes that were suppose to happen at USA Today?
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing all kinds of USAT rumors circulating among editorial staffers, but few facts -- and nothing from non-editorial departments.
ReplyDeleteIn response to 8:58 a.m. who wrote "And the lawyers shall get richer..." in regards to the joint lawsuit by Gannett and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, let's be fair and give credit where it's due. Gannett is fighting the good fight here. Are they doing it for primarily a commercial rather than a First Amendment motive? Probably. People who donate big bucks to universities like to see their names on buildings, too, but it doesn't detract from their generosity. Let's give GCI credit where it's due. I'm pretty sure Jim would agree with this, since he's been known to give the company credit from time to time.
ReplyDeleteJim you seem to be quite a fan of Josh. It might lead one to believe you've had some correspondence with him.
ReplyDeleteYou are SO barking up the wrong tree, 8:56 pm. We've never e-mailed, IM'd, Skyped, snail-mailed, talked on the phone, ASLed, nor sent smoke signals. Nada. Nope. No.
ReplyDeleteOnce the editorial system consolidation project is completed they can move on to consolidating classified systems, if there is any classified business left a couple of years down the road. At that point they can eliminate a lot of the local IT support staff because they won't be needed any longer.
ReplyDeleteLocal IT departments will evolve into nothing more than a handful of help desk staff that will be used to install and move PC's and do some local troubleshooting. Corporate is already working on consolidating the network infrastructure into gear from a single manufacturer so it's just a matter of time before your favorite tech is tossed out.
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ReplyDeleteGannett should hurry up and consolidate everything. Then each of their papers will essentially be a USAT clone and nobody will have any use for any of them.
ReplyDeleteSince we're going down the road to ruin, we might as well expedite the process. Then some locals can start small papers that actually have a commitment to the community. They may not prosper, but I bet they could survive.
On another topic...
ReplyDeleteI guess we need to move beyond CPM models for selling online advertising. Never liked that model anyway. People should be advertising to reach unique visitors rather than page view volumes. Less of a shotgun approach might deliver more results for advertisers and thus more spending from advertisers.
Anniversary of last year's layoffs today.
ReplyDeleteAnniversary of the blog's closure tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if they put any thought into the editorial consolidation. Given there track record with other consolidations they will not put much time into planning and create yet another cluster.
ReplyDelete7:54 AM -- CPM, or Cost Per Thousand, is a standard audience calculation, ideally using unique visitors when selling online. Page views ARE less meaningful -- they're a bastardized audience figure, kind of like counting the number of times a reader turns pages in their newspaper. But they do give sales staffs bigger numbers to hype than unique visitors. On a website, PVs can be run up by tricks like breaking articles into multiple pages, or inserting hundreds of photos that each UV has to scroll through.....one PV at a time.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the NJ papers have not yet consolidated is a clear indication of the poor leadership at the Asbury Park Press, otherwise known as the Mother Ship. The state is so small and the move would be so easy to do, almost seamless. Each small rag is printed on the press at the Asbury Park Press' Freehold plant. Could rename it News Jersey's Press (not a typo). This would put them in a more marketable position to compete with the state's main paper, The Star Ledger. What a bunch of incompetent Gannett flunkies!
ReplyDelete6:57: Yeah, you are so smart and Gannett is so dumb. ... Oh, wait a moment. What possible advertising model would work for your plan? Does some small advertiser in Plainfield really want to pay to have his ad being read by a reader in Morristown or Deptford?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Morristown, I was driving by the old Daily Record Building a couple of days ago and it looks as though someone was trying to steal from the landscaping - a couple of Pine Trees to be exact! They look like someone was trying to pull them up out of the ground until they realized that the roots were much deeper than they thought, thus harder to pull out of the ground. So now both trees appear to be sick, leaning over and dying from all the trauma! Even though that building is empty, they need to hire security for the grounds!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Hollis Towns is the exec editor in Asbury Park makes the APP the logical point paper for a NJ consolidation. He is the epitome of intelligence, news judgment, open-minded leadership and journalistic ethics and is a roll-up-the-sleeves kind of editor, not one who just talks the talk and takes junkets every month. The company should put him in charge of a NJ-wide newsgathering operation and let his deep knowledge of the Garden State show the way.
ReplyDeletexxx ...He is the epitome of intelligence, news judgment, open-minded leadership and journalistic ethics and is a roll-up-the-sleeves kind of editor, not one who just talks the talk and takes junkets every month...xxx
ReplyDeleteThat certainly disqualifies him from any leadership post in this company. Does he like golf?
4:01: I appreciate the sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteHey stoop at 10:23AM - no one said that the ads and the news would be distributed to that extent, EVER HEAR OF ZONING?! The Star Ledger uses the first couple of sections for national and state news, sports, travel, etc. Then, depending on what county or counties said paper is zoned for, comes local news and advertising. Get a grip!
ReplyDeleteTOM DONOVAN is the President & Publisher of the Asbury Park Press/NJ Newspaper Group and has done absolutely nothing to expedite this long-awaited merger. Wonder what HIS salary is!
ReplyDeleteAny more information on the up and coming Client Solutions Groups? Hear one will roll out in or near September on the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteGood question. All I've heard about are the groups based in Des Moines and Indianapolis. East Group, based in Wilmington, Del., has been very quiet.
ReplyDeleteAny idea when they will consolidate pagination for all papers?
ReplyDeleteHeard it's not going to be Wilmington.
ReplyDeleteMore likely APP.
When will Gannett consolidate Lansing and Detroit? They could easily be serviced by the Free Press entirely, and you could take some of that staff (knowing this company they wouldn't) and have more of a Lansing "bureau" than 3 people.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gannett.com/leadershipanddiversity/10talentparticipants.htm
ReplyDeleteJim, you had asked about Ken Paulson's journalism chops. I disagree with 2:24's assessment. Paulson was a great public face for USA Today, but it was on his watch that the improvements and class that Dave Mazzarella brought to the paper were officially dismantled and USA Today became another crappy Gannett property. Instead of investing in journalism, Paulson looked for cheap ways to fill space. Got to give Ken credit, though, for getting out before the stuff really hit the fan.
ReplyDelete