Sunday, September 19, 2010
Week of Sept. 13-19 | Your News & Comments
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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 as we approach the fourth quarter, are there any rumblings about layoffs, buyouts, terminations, etc. at the community papers?
ReplyDeleteI've heard that Westchester may be hiring news staff, but I find that hard to believe given the continued economic downturn. And why would the company start taking on more expenses after last year's successful "reapply for your job" program?
And speaking of Westchester, any word on how long that top-heavy management tier is going to last? What the heck do they need a vp news, a senior managing editor and a managing editor for? Wouldn't just a managing editor suffice?
It must be a calm day before the storm in Gannettland.
ReplyDeleteWith all the news from last week,all the changes
must be slowly brewing and will be popped all at once.
Sort of like in 2008.....I would not want to be
a Gannetteer right now! Unless of course,I want
to collect the unemployment checks.
I just had a meeting with my Ad Director and wanted to share it with you. I actually taped it without him knowing. I won't divulge what property I'm at, but this is typical at all Gannett properties. I'm sure that you former and current Gannetoids will understand and appreciate it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVLAvix-dX0
Heads up: New publisher announced in Palm Springs. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mark-winkler-named-president-and-publisher-of-the-desert-sun-in-palm-springs-2010-09-13
ReplyDeleteToday's THV in Little Rock expands its morning news by a half-hour to start at 4:30 AM.
ReplyDelete(HT TVNewsCheck)
At USA TODAY, most think something big is coming this week. Meetings in Tysons to finalize things and then the shoe will drop. I only hope these guys no what the heck they are doing.
ReplyDeleteHow did the former Montgomery, Al. Sports Editor's lawsuit end up?
ReplyDeleteGeez Jim do you still run this blog? Is the update schedule ever 10 hours? Did you get a new job and not tell anyone?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAll-time classic. ... Journal News HS football preview ... designer put in the words "140 characters or less" as main hed to sub out with an actual headline later on local features page. Only an actual hed was never subbed out and "140 characters or less" was the main hed on the cover of the page!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete9:39 p.m.: As I noted before, my Web access will be spotty for the next several weeks. Plus, for some time now, I've been moderated comments in advance to ward off spam, etc. That sometimes results in delays in my posting them.
ReplyDeleteRumblings? There most certainly will be a significant expense cut pushed. People excited about new projects and hope in their worlds are about to have it doused by reality.
ReplyDeleteCherry Hill Courier-Post home delivery today: Newspaper came inside a 6 page advertising section.
ReplyDelete6 page ad section ("Let Champion TRIPLE YOUR TAX CREDIT on new windows and doors*") followed by 8 page A section.
It is curious that Palm Springs has replaced its publisher when the publisher at our location continues in her position. She was specifically brought in to boost advertising, yet our numbers continue to fall at a time when they should be leveling out. She works three days a week and has little connection to the community. She has very little oversight to the website or newspaper except for promoting her personal relationships. Wonder why Gannett isn't seeing any of this. Her salary could be used more effectively elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what is going on with the NJ papers?
ReplyDelete8:52 a.m.: Is that a first?
ReplyDeleteEveryone else: Has your paper wrapped itself in an advertising pre-print?
Dave Lougee doing an audio broadcast to all TV stations on future of broadcasting division at 1pm ET today.
ReplyDeleteTo 11:03:
ReplyDeleteThe TJN football section was a social media/facebook/twitter theme. The header is supposed to say "140 characters or less" on each team because of the social media style of posts in 140 characters or less.
I can remember one time, that the SPJ did so a couple years back. It was for the City's anniversary parade. The wrap was the front and rear pages for the A section, with the inside a full color 2 full page double truck Advertisement for the local brewery.
ReplyDeleteGranted, the wrap was only places around the issues that were handed out along the parade route. Not full circulation.
Been Out of touch!!!! Anyone out there, please, post some info on whatever happened with the entire Gannett finance dept. consolidation to the mid-west? Also, what dept's, if any, are left in the Neptune / Asbury office - what's all the talk about consolidation of the NJ papers - which ones would they be?
ReplyDeleteProject Odyssey pilots start today @ Indy Star and Newark Advocate
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteIs there a new sale/partnership on the horizon with MediaNews?
ReplyDeleteWhy is Fort Collins not mentioned in the list of sites reporting to Mark Winkler in Palm Springs? They used to report to Palm Springs. Who is Fort Collins reporting to now?
ReplyDeleteTo 11:53 AM: If the theme was really social media, then it was one of the most poorly conceived and executed theme "sections" I've ever seen. I put "sections" in quotes because it was a four page wrap - not an actual "section." There is nothing to indicate it is what you said. It's clear it was indeed a huge gaffe.
ReplyDeleteSo there was a fire drill here today. Is it wrong that my first thought was "I wonder if this is how they're going to do it. Not all of us are getting back in there."??
ReplyDeleteAny word on west group consolidations in the coming quarter?
ReplyDeleteThe Chase bank Website has been down since at least early Tuesday morning. I searched Lohud.com., The Journal News site, looking for info about it and came up empty.
ReplyDeleteDid any Gannett paper care about an issue impacting 16 million bank customers?
Word was given in Poughkeepsie that ad operations will have layoffs as some work is sent to the central site. Everybody gets to apply for the six jobs that stay.
ReplyDeleteRegarding 11:12 p.m....How nice that the workers will get to fight for the remaining scraps!
ReplyDeleteHow about having the Poughkeepsie and Westchester publishers have a face-off? And what about finally coming to grips that Westchester no more needs a vp news than it needs any of the other vps that were dumped.
Chase's website was indeed down -- had to pay $15 for the privilege of paying my car note on the phone. Their website is bad even when it works, though.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know is Gannett is going to participate in Apple's rumored subscription plan for the iPad? San Jose Merc News is reporting that Apple wants a 30% cut. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_16076241?source=most_viewed&nclick_check=1
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the brave new world where Gannett is becoming a vendor for Apple and other providers. Those apps don't come free. Apple is planning on taking a 30 percent cut of all subscriptions sold through the App Store. According to an article posted on Romenesko today, Apple also will take as much as 40 percent of the advertising revenue from publications' apps, says Roger Fidler, head of digital publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute.
ReplyDeleteThis is a direct result of the failure of the newspaper industry to come up with its own IPad or Kindle during more than a decade of development. I bet there is angst and hand-wringing in the Crystal Towers ove this one. I would prefer to see a guillotine installed for the execs who led us down this path, and towards a road that makes a proud independent newspaper company into a vendor for others.
30% ... Nothing ... Do you know what the take that Amazon gets for the Kindle platform? Be happy if it's only 30 ...
ReplyDeleteHello all - have we transformed yet? Just checking. I mean, I'm ready to be transformed, don't get me wrong. I just don't know what I'm transforming in to.
ReplyDeleteHalfway through the month and still not a peep about 130 pending layoffs at USAT. Wonder what it's like working in that environment? Not only are there deadlines and non-specific transformations to deal with, but the anxiety over one in nine people being gone soon must be pretty intense.
ReplyDeleteComments on 5:43
ReplyDeleteYou know ,the situation must be the same at
a large number of Gannett properties, knowing that the change,layoffs and closings are coming and hoping it's not your location, and to heck with your co-workers so long as it's not you.
It must be a hell of a stressful situation to work in day after day ,week after week.
How can you actually care about your quality
of work,or your dedication to put out the best possible product when you know you might not be
employed next week or next month. Wow ,I wouldn't want to be in that situation for anything.
The environment at USAT is terrible. Work quality is slipping; people are at each other's throats; some are working themselves to exhaustion, trying desperately to remain employed; others checked out mentally as soon as they saw that the "plan" was one in name only.
ReplyDeleteBut you won't find any of the decision makers actually acting as though they give a shit about their colleagues. The transformation has taken the whole summer already, with nothing to show. What do they care about dragging it out another month or two?
ABSOLUTE. WORST. MANAGEMENT. EVER.
please post how the transition to the GCP from local production centers has gone. turnaround time, quality, cooperation? any information on performance would be welcome.
ReplyDeleteKate Marymount met with tie-wearing editors of NJ papers today, then with copy editors, designers and paginators at the Asbury Park Press. Although still corporately fuzzy on many of the details, she cleared up some things about the new "hubs" -- now called design centers or design studios -- they haven't made up their minds about the name.
ReplyDeleteMarymount said that, last week, editor-types, managers and tech squads met in D.C. to talk about the hubs, and that this week, designers were meeting and ...
that there were two models atwhich Gannett was looking for each of the five hubs. One would have a chief operating officer/manager/head honcho from the editorial/management/production side, and immediately under this person would be the creative director. The other model would have the creative editor on top, with the managing editor underneath.
The hub itself would be divided into groups, corresponding to a newspaper or group of newspapers or a group of tasks. Each group would have a head person, followed in descending order by designers and paginators.
Except for high-end glossy magazines -- she said there were about 10 nationwide in Gannett -- niche publications such as associated weeklies and special sections would be handled by the hubs in the same way as the dailies. (Only 78 papers are included in the hubs -- Detroit, USAT and Guam are excluded).
Employees will have to apply for jobs in the hubs. Depending on how it is handled locally, copy editors may face the same issue. Regarding the hubs, Marymount was asked whether Gannett employees would be given precedence in the hiring procedures. Her answer: "Not necessarily."
She said that the hubs would be part of Gannett, but not part of their host newspapers.
She said that it was expected that equipment would begin installation at Asbury by the beginning of 2011, with rollout of hub operations in the spring, starting with Asbury, East Brunswick, Somerville and Parsippany.
She was a bit more hazy on when the recruitment (her word), interviewing and hiring of the hub leaders would take place, although she said she was currently involved in writing job descriptions.
That's all I remember. Sorry if my memory isn't as complete as it should be or if I have misunderstood anything Marymount said. Feel free, colleagues, to pitch in and have at it.
PointRoll defections coming at year end. the CEO, SVP of Sales, Head of Product Marketing and Head of Business Development will all be leaving. Not confirmed where they are going, but apparently, it will be a mass exodus from the senior team.
ReplyDeleteHey Robin....How do you like your job now????? Are you enjoying reading this blog and reporting to Gracia everything that you read?
ReplyDeleteMust be a great job as the VP of Marketing and COmmunication. Maybe you should spend time working on our corporate website (www.gannett.com) instead of here.
WUSA9 is using its location in D.C. to produce programs for Beltway-centered industries. The latest premieres this Sunday.
ReplyDeleteFort Collins reports to Reno.
ReplyDelete7:34 p.m.: Thank you, very, very much. That's an excellent, detailed report.
ReplyDeleteThe Gannett high level management are the
ReplyDeletevery worst Management Team ever,especially when it deals with people.Common sense and good manners tells us to treat people with diginity and respect.
Why announce this huge, across the board transition,and then wait months to instigate the plan.The loyal and dedicated employees of
Gannett are then forced to wait,week after week
to wait, and not know how they are going to be effected.The very employees who made Gannett the media giant that it is, and who's hard work
made the Gannett stock at one to time sell for $45.00 and made millionaires out of many,
are now so very unimportant that they are forced to wait and wait for someone to announce their future.Will they be thrown out,like so much trash,or will they remain employed and
do the work load of two or three employees.
What a way to treat PEOPLE. Terrible ,just a terrible way to treat good people.
I concur. USAT's management team, from top to bottom, lacks almost every quality you'd want in leaders. Look at who is promoted and who is driven out. That will tell you everything you need to know about these insecure, ass-kissing morons who dig us a deeper and deeper hole each year. Every place has some bad bosses, but it's an epidemic in Tysons. One minute they are trying to be all sincere and best buddies with you, the next they are plotting to get rid of you. They lie so often that they can't even distinguish the truth from fiction anymore. Watching this thing snowball is bring all but the most naive type down.
ReplyDelete9:03 -- Great post. But I will say that if any "loyal and dedicated employees of Gannett" still exist, they must be clueless.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone who has watched what this company has become remain loyal to it.
I'm still an employee. I'll show up everyday and continue to do a great job because I have some pride in my own work. But I am in no way loyal. If I get a better offer tomorrow (unlikely in this economy) I'll leave immediately. If I have some sort of family emergency or problem, that comes before any work I do for Gannett.
I am, quite simply, an employee, with no more ties to this company than the check that it writes me every week. I'm sure there will be some folks who say I'm dragging us down or whatever. But to them I say: That is the way the company wants it.
Gannett has cut many employees who were loyal over the past few years, often with no examination of their work ethic or skill set. Gannett continues to downsize rapidly. Gannett management has made it clear that employees are nothing but numbers to be shifted around.
That's fine. It's a corporation, and it is a number to me. It is the company that's paying me today and may continue to do so for the next few months. When that arrangement is over, I'll move onto something new. Looking at the situation in any other way (and I did that for years) is simply unhealthy.
In a memo today, Miami Herald Publisher David Landsberg announced plans to eliminate 49 jobs through layoffs and other means. He also disclosed plans at the McClatchy Co.-owned daily for a second unpaid furlough, beginning in the fourth quarter. Notably, he wrote: "While the 2010 first-half trends gave us reason to be optimistic about improving operations, the uncertainty of the past few months created a negative impact we could not overcome."
ReplyDeleteNot a Gannett story, but one of interest in Michigan:
ReplyDeleteAn assistant attorney general has been harrassing openly gay college student who is the president of the University of Michigan student assembly:
TV coverage:
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/asst.-attorney-general-engaging-in-cyber-bullying%2C-targeting-an-openly-gay-college-student
Michigan Daily coverage:
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/man-opposing-armstrong-speaks-out-msa-meeting
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe Miami Herald move is very troubling, coming on top of the Deseret News cutbacks. I have been wondering how GCI is faring under the return to the recession, and think executives are waiting until the quarter ends in two weeks before deciding where to go from here. I have long believed that further layoffs are in the cards at most newspapers, including us. However I should note MNI is a little different because they have already come within a whisper of default and are in dire need of revenues.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't waiting. They have already started planning cuts.
ReplyDelete11:45; A mostly spot-on assessment of upper managers at USA Today. The problem isn't just with existing senior management, but the newly annointed and promoted managers now charged with leading the paper out of the doldrums. Lots of talk, lots of buzzwords. No proven track record. Added layers at the upper end. How many veeps does it take to screw in a light bulb? Are they even qualified? Who reports to whom? What's the staffing plan? After months of hand-wringing, the only plan proffered was to protect and promote, then drag things out even further. Job cuts? Not anyone of any importance. A dysfunctional mess of epic proportions is brewing.
ReplyDeleteHey Robin Pence....still enjoying your job writing Craig and Gracia's speeches and pretending to actually be a communications executive when you are just a puppet for a bunch of weak and selfish executives.
ReplyDeleteThat website makeover looks great! I am sure one of your 12 people will be reading this note as you have them all read and write to this blog.
Why no inside news on the coming cutbacks layoffs consolidations sales reorganizations furloughs hour cuts work week modifications or whatever they are going to do? We all know somehting is in the works for fourth quarter I thought this blog was the place to leak this sort of information I guess there is nobody left who knows anything about anything including the newspaper business
ReplyDeleteLoyal and dedicated? Dedicated to doing the best job I can under the conditions of chronic dismay that we live in, yes. Loyal? There's little basis left for that. The corporate leaders are not loyal to us, having forced the sudden escorted-out-the-door terminations so many have suffered. Loyalty is a two-way street but Gannett's got a Do Not Enter sign on their end and an Exit sign for you.
ReplyDeleteWho are we kidding? You can't be loyal to a company anyway. It's not a person. It's a legal fiction of a person controlled by real people who don't know you. The ones who do are pawns that are driven from above.
How about pension? Shut off and no longer intended to keep people staying with the company, so there's no more money to be gained by staying. Has the brain trust figured out the costs of increased turnover? Young people tend to move on quickly unless they find a reason to stay, that's the Gen x or y philosophy, and more power to them. Mid career becoming the same. Late career used to hang for pensions, but no reason to now.
Experience gets costly but what happens when you lose a lot of it?
Following is an edited version of a comment posted by Anonymous@3:08 p.m.:
ReplyDelete12:22,
I think you nailed it for many of us. Any enthusiasm and excitement we put into our jobs is becuase we take pride in our work and want to help our customers do well. The notion that those efforts are helping Gannett is completely meaningless. As a poster said earlier....
WORST. MANAGEMENT. EVER.
I'm just grateful they finally woke up and got rid of inept execs like [XXXXX] and [XXXXX]. I also think the reason this "transformation" has ground to a halt is they don't have a clue what to do.....and that's a very scary thought. I don't think they have any idea how to transform this company.
This is something we do at our site and it baffles me:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wxyz.com/dp/news/local_news/investigations/asst.-attorney-general-engaging-in-cyber-bullying%2C-targeting-an-openly-gay-college-student
The URL should point to the story, it shouldn't include the whole damn story!
My goodness people, you want to drive traffic, #1 - make it easy for readers to forward links. You put that in an email, it'll line break and the link may not work.
#2 - why would anyone follow the link? Oh, AAG pestering gay student, got it. Doesn't pay to follow the link, I know the story.
At least the TV people can do refers well... "Is there arsenic in our water??! JOIN US AT 11."
The CEO and Founder of Ripple6 quit. Another Gannett Digital defection.
ReplyDeleteWhen did Kim quit?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteApparently Sang Kim walked and and said that this is the most "fcu#ked up" company with the worst leadership and then walked away from a big pay day.
ReplyDeleteCrazy dude and smart.
With few exceptions the world of companies has changed. My Dad retired after 34 years with one company. But in reality loyalty existed because his company made money. Many years after he retired his company laid off 2700 people. Same company, but the economic world changed. My point, if one defines loyalty as lifetime employment those days are over at the majority of companies. I work hard and they pay me. That is the world in which I live. I liked the old world but it simply doesn't exist anymore.
ReplyDelete5:04 -- I think you're right. I wonder if upper management realizes that the more they talk, the more they roll out initiatives just to recall them six months later, the more they send out memos talking about transformation, the more they force staff to spin wheels on worthless projects, the more obvious it becomes that they have no clue how to salvage this company.
ReplyDeleteWhat they do know how to do is wring profits from the dying beast, and they seem more than happy to do that.
We've stripped things so far at this point that -- if they were planning a long-term strategy -- they would stop cutting and start building for the future.
Instead it's more cuts, a strategy that works great if you're an executive trying to pad your bankroll before you exit the company. It's just too bad for those of us who make a living working for them.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a tired note but I just ran a bunch of newspapers through Jim's link to the ABC and was shocked at the drops: http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newsform.asp
ReplyDeleteRun some Gannett and non-Gannett newspapers in same size cities and see what you get by city. Shocking. If you know the history of a place like Jackson, it is amazing at how much is gone.
That can't be spun into route cutbacks at that rate.
Inserts and nationals ad $$s start to go bye bye at some levels.
As an old song goes:
ReplyDelete"I woke up this morning with an attitude.
Looked at the headlines - put me in a real bad mood.
Sitting here in limbo, trying to stay sane, between the end of the summer and the coming of the blessed rains.
I feel dirty, all the way down.
I feel dirty baby, like this dirty town.
I gave you everything on a silver tray.
Could have been a fool forever, but I'm not made that way."
12:20 We are just a disposable workforce today, just like the Mexican immigrants who cross the border looking for work. The days of staying with one company for life are long gone, as is old-fashioned loyalty. You have to take care of yourself in this brave new world. It is a workplace that doesn't offer a pension anymore, and I believe you will pick up more of health care insurance costs. If you have any excess money, save it in a rainy day fund, or put it aside for a pension. There is not going to be any generous Social Security when you retire, and you will need money to pay medical bills when Medicare is cutback. Expect to retire at 69, when federal benefits will kick in after Congress reforms the current system. The old-fashioned pension plans have gone, as have company matches for 401K plans.
ReplyDeleteWe are creating a new dog-eat-dog society, and when you get old, you'll need either money or a bullet. If you are in your 40's, now is the time to move along, because companies are cutting the older and higher-paid workforce in favor of cheaper younger labor. They really don't care about the product, only the money it produces. I am afraid that many of our subscribers get the newspaper as a status symbol. Look to see if the newspaper is read when you visit your neighbors, and you will see what I mean.
Expect to retire at age 69?! If only I could find a job now in my mid-forties. I'll worry about retiring when I have a job to retire from!
ReplyDelete2 creditors file Chapter 11 plan in Tribune case
ReplyDelete2 creditors file reorganization plan in Tribune Co.'s bankruptcy case ahead of negotiations
The examiner's report suggested creditors might be able to get more money by suing Tribune Chairman Sam Zell, the real estate mogul who orchestrated the deal, as well as other members of the board and some of the company's financial advisers
Tribune, which owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other newspapers along with broadcast stations, is scheduled to meet with creditors next week under the supervision of a court-appointed mediator to try developing a plan both sides can live with.
The third quarter ends in budget terms, for most Gannett properties at the end of this week,
ReplyDeleteSept.24th.
Has anyone heard what 4th quarter plans are ?
There has to be a lot of bad news across the
Gannett empire ,with revenue losses at a very
high level.I would expect very few properties
to come anywhere near projected budget numbers.
I just went online to see what the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester had about the seven- person fatality on the NYS Thruway.
ReplyDeleteThe site - that familiar generic Gannett format - had a brief AP report. That struck me as odd considering that the Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News were both likely to be covering the story.
Not that that makes a heck of a lot of sense either if one considers deployment of reduced resources (personnel).
Just wondering if Poughkeepsie and The Journal News were both doing their own reportage and if the D&C was sticking with the wire.
I'd expect The Journal News to give this big coverage considering that those in the accident were members and leaders of a Port Chester church.
regarding previous post....the journal news story was used in poughkeepsie, too. don't know about the D&C.
ReplyDeleteHas monitoring comments on Gannett paper websites been outsourced? I'm asking because on the Journal News high school football blog there are numerous comments accusing a specific local team and local players - by name - of taking steroids. Can you say lawsuit?
ReplyDelete1. Craig Moon buying into a major market newspaper with a group of other high net worth individuals.
ReplyDelete2. Sang Kin, CEO of Ripple 6 apparently walked out over two months ago.
3. Search for CDO not going as planned, so Ms. Martore is now thinking about splitting up the role between Jack Williams and Michael Maness.
4. Craig Dubow has taken on the role of "Chief Strategist" and has removed himself from teh bi-weekly operating group meetings. Craig will be announcing his retirement by the end of 2010.
9:20 p.m.: This summer, Gannett started outsourcing moderation of comments flagged by readers as potentially abusive.
ReplyDeleteMyBoss: Regarding Moon, do you know which market?
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to speculation that Josh Resnik was set to get the chief digital officer's job?
Also, that's interesting news about both Moon and Dubow. As I recall, Dubow said he would focus more on strategy when Martore got promoted to president and COO. I had not heard that he had removed himself from those meetings, however.
Moon's looking at the Inquirer/Daily News.
ReplyDeleteWho are Moon's co-investors?
ReplyDeleteIt's worth noting that when then-USA Today Publisher Craig Moon left the company in March 2009, he was quoted in a Gannett statement, saying the following:
ReplyDelete“While the challenging media environment has been difficult for this industry and its people, it also has created new opportunities which I plan to explore with partners."