One poster said about 40 positions were to be cut starting Thursday; it's unclear how many of those were already vacant. Whatever the breakdown, they would be among the overall 130 jobs that were due to be eliminated under the new organizational structure.
Publisher Dave Hunke appears to be addressing that via a consolidation of work. Thursday, Anonymous@12:50 p.m. wrote: "Expect circulation markets to roll up by region instead of market, with some questionable leadership."
But we'd all like more details. Anonymous@8:21 p.m. wrote yesterday: "Unreal that USA Today circulation goes through a major overhaul on Thursday and Jim has nothing to report. No crowd sourcing, no updates, no new threads, nothing. What is Jim doing?"
Earlier: in new reorganization, 35 editorial jobs cut
A Circulation 101 question: How will these changes in the department bolster sales of the paper? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Changes announced Thursday. 15 market offices down to 10. 5 General Manager positions were eliminated. The new lineup: 1) SF/Seattle 2) LA/Phoenix 3) Minneapolis/Denver 4) St Louis/KC/Dallas 5) Florida 6) Carolinas 7) Atlanta 8) NY/Phila/DC 9) Chicago/Cincinnati/Detroit 10) Buffalo/Boston/Pittsburgh. No changes in distribution, just new mega markets headed up by 3 VP's.....Tom Kelly in the West, John McGee in the Northeast, Doris Kasold in the Southeast. McGee added Chicago and DC to his region. 50 people were laid off in Circ, with another 30 "open" jobs eliminated as well. Don't expect any circulation losses. In fact, ABC figures in March will show a slight increase. Now that the Marriott losses have cycled through, expect plus circulation through 2012, at least. Local papers being in the multi product distribution business, has allowed USAT circulation to cover the same footprint for a fraction of the cost. Circulation ships are sinking elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to watch the extremes USAT has gone through over the years. First, it was fat with employees. Way too much specialization. The editing process on a simple story or info graphic was a complex maze, layered with editors chiming in with their two cents at every turn. Pre-press production was a joke. One person to turn on the computer, another to move the mouse. OK, that's an exaggeration. But you get my drift. With the gym filled and extended breaks, not to mention kicking back to watch TV, USAT was a country club...a very inefficient one. Now it's a mess. But in a different, understaffed way that has ruined the product, broken the spirit of many, and put people out of work in circulation, editorial, etc. These people will have a hard time finding new jobs because of the industry they worked in. It's awful.
ReplyDeleteOne area USAT remains a country club: the editing ranks. They may have taken titles away, but every DME remains employed, Every assignment editor and senior assignment editor, save one or two at most, still has a job. How is that going to improve boosting content were supposed to deliver to mobile and the web? Still too many chiefs, not enough indians. And Vertical continues its empire expansion, hiring people who are sitting around doing nothing all day. If the work load doesn't kill reporter morale, the hypocracy surely will.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else sick of the whining about the "bloated" editing ranks at USAT? In my experience there -- yes, I was a editor -- it's these folks being raked over the coals who made most of the stories readable. USAT has a fine reporting staff, but many of the writers can't write worth a damn. Without the editors that 1:59 and others bash so eagerly, a lot of stories would be incomprehensible. Don't believe me? Look at the early versions posted on the web before an editor translates them into English.
ReplyDeleteIf these writers can't "write worth a damn," what the heck are they doing there?
ReplyDeleteThose editors who actually edit the copy turned in by the reporters are doing God's work. :) It's the level of editors whose jobs are mostly administrative that needs culling. It's also the level least likely to be trimmed.
ReplyDelete8:31 is correct, and from other comments here reflects the view from many of us that USAT accepts substandard employees. As we go to the Web, writing is much more important because reporters will be posting stories on the Web site before they are fully edited. Perhaps before they are even partialy edited. People who don't have the skills to work in the new technologies need to find employment elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIf these writers truly can't write "worth a damn", then the editors should be fired for substandard hiring. That will thin out their ranks rather quickly.
ReplyDeleteSince when did any senior editor at USAT start justifying their existence by handling lousy copy? What a joke. The only time they get their hands dirty is from the paper shuffling they do at useless meetings? How anyone with a straight face can say that even 10% of their time is devoted to editing is beyond me. The point is, the reorganization left virtually all senior editors with jobs with even more dubious job titles and responsbilities than they had before. And I'll concur with previous posters. If the writers suck that badly, they have no business at the paper.
ReplyDeleteI was a victim of the latest round of layoffs at USA Today. TK personally came to do the honors and smiled while the GM broke the bad news to me and other co-workers in the office that also lost their jobs. He enjoyed it.
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