Sunday, October 17, 2010
Week of Oct. 11-17 | Your News & Comments
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113 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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It's booked. Jerry Hill to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone that can describe what is happening with Circulation throughout the country i.e. the Minneapolis Market taking over the Kansas Market as of Thursday of last week?
ReplyDeleteGood comment we all know what that means.
ReplyDeleteGeez.
Does anyone have any info on the status of the community newspaper division? Are cuts likely if revenues fail to please? Are cuts viewed by management as a better answer than furloghs? Does management's next economizing move consider employee morale, or do the managers care?
ReplyDeleteI'd really like some information.
To 10:44
ReplyDeleteThe revenue numbers are probably going to be a
lot worse than Sales Managers had projected.
Furloughs were a good way to temporarily reduce
employee expenses.This means,unfortunately that
permanent layoffs will be needed as in the past
history of Gannett.Morale does not equate to bottom line as we all know,Gannett believes.
Local managers may or may not care,but regardless,they are given the word from the top
to cut,close or do whatever upper management says to do,and they must comply or their jobs are gone.This time, that may be the case anyway.
As the cuts need to be very drastic.I speak from management experience,so for what it's worth.
I don't see how they can make many more cuts/furloughs on the community level. Seems to me last weekends entry about closing some of the papers makes more sense. I wish we could more about these alleged plans: where, when, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt's natural to be anxious when a new quarter starts and an old one ends -- especially toward the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteI say that because I've been reading recent comments where posters appear worried again about possible layoffs. But I've heard nothing, and haven't read anything to suggest that's any more than seasonal speculation.
I'm now focused on this Friday's (Oct. 15) release of the third quarter financial report. So far, based on Friday's and today's rising Gannett stock price, it appears investors are expecting good news.
11:46 -- Remember that people have been writing posts here for years that say things like, "I don't see how they can make any more cuts." You have to think like a bean counter, not a journalist. There are many, many more areas that can be cut.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Gannett can look at further reducing the size of its papers. For instance, the company is hyping its supposed watchdog coverage now. So, perhaps it will get rid of Life sections and stick a few USAT pages in to placate people. It has been able to reduce the amount of people needed to produce sports and Nation/World coverage by doing this. Maybe it won't even worry about USAT pages, as that would further reduce the expense.
Second, and probably more likely, is the option of discontinuing entire print days. For instance, the paper could just stop printing on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays.
These moves could reduce expenses in two major areas. You can save a ton of money on printing because you won't use as much paper and ink and you can probably get rid of a handful of press people. Also, you can shrink your editorial and sales staffs because -- quite simply -- you don't have as much space to fill.
If these moves were made, there would be a lot of blathering about the powerful online presence, but the company wouldn't be the least bit concerned about driving that presence with a handful of inexperienced people. Online hits are often driven by things that require only minimal time to produce and very little in the way of journalistic expertise. For instance, photo galleries are huge and those produced by freelance photographers or reporters often rival those by the professional news photographers (in terms of traffic, not quality).
Also, Gannett's online journalists don't seem to be as journalistically savvy as the print reporters (as a whole), but that doesn't matter. At my property, there are busted headlines, poorly written updates and messy presentation all the time on the Web site. But managers don't seem to see that as problematic. They believe the Web is all about throwing a lot of shit onto the wall and doing it quickly. Who knows? Maybe they're right.
I hate to sound like a downer, but the fact of the matter is there's plenty of room to cut. It won't be good for the papers or the communities they serve. It won't be good for journalism. It won't be good for anything but Gannett's bottom line. But I don't think it's wise to sit around thinking there's nothing else that can be trimmed. It's just not true.
Jim -- The editor at our daily said, in a meeting, that he is not going to hire for two open positions and that he's not sure if that will be good enough to get us through. He didn't go as far as to say there would be layoffs, but he hinted that there could be layoffs or furloughs and that by keeping those positions open he's hoping to reduce or eliminate the hit. So, somebody is talking about something.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading some comments here about USA Weekend, I thought I'd take a look at it myself. God, what a waste of trees. It's 16 tiny pages long and must be 75 percent advertising. The cover story is the mind-boggling "Quick & Easy one-dish meals (Strapped for time? We've got delicious recipes that are perfect for you.)" I mean, we're talking Good Housekeeping, circa 1957. Written by a "contributing editor," no less. The ads smack of utter desperation: Dermajuv Eye Revolution Gel, Harbor Freight Tools, a wonder furnace endorsed by Bob Vila, a mattress store, the Dream Products Catalog, and a check printing store (for the 72 Americans who still write checks). If this is Gannett's showcase weekly magazine, it's time to pull the plug, fire everyone involved and send the operating costs back to the Gannett newspapers that have been subsidizing it all this time. There is no correlation whatsoever between the number and titles of the people in the USA Weekend masthead and the finished product. This is a no-brainer. Kill this cur.
ReplyDelete2:17 -- But does it make money? I'm not defending it mind you, as I read a USA Weekend story about twice a year and think that it's absolute crap.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it seems to me that a publication that's 75 percent advertising would be something Gannett would consider a raging success. Remember, this isn't a company that is concerned with quality journalism. It's a company that's concerned with maximizing profits. How do you lose money on a piece that runs not only in Gannett papers but outside the chain and contains 75 percent advertising?
Maybe someday all Gannett products will be like USA Weekend. Don't think they aren't trying to figure out a way to make that happen.
This economy still has some sickness that bothers me. There's a direct connection with the fortunes of GCI, and so with my newspaper and my prospects of future employment. I frankly don't see any more layoffs/furloughs this year. I don't see much new hiring for vacant positions, but from what I hear the company realizes layoffs/furloughs have done real damage.
ReplyDeleteBut I do see some troublesome things out there that could drag us back into a recession that could threaten our security again. Particularly worrying is this latest foreclosure problem, which has frozen all new loans while the banks figure out what is happening.
This is dangerous for us if it lasts a long time. That's not because it means fewer home sales ads, because those have already migrated to the Web and won't come back. But we can't have any recovery as long as housing remains a problem, and the way I see it is that means we have to live with the prospect of losing our jobs for the next couple of years.
It's not just USA Weekend, but look at the weak stores on USA Today. The weekend front-page enterprise piece was a study _ A STUDY _ that says it is safe for pregnant women to booze it up a little. Wow. Is that news. Pretty soon I bet we will see USA Today running stories on GAO reports.
ReplyDelete3:48 -- There are those who say the economy can't truly recover until the huge disparity in income between the nation's top earners and everyone else shrinks, and they make excellent points.
ReplyDeleteIf the income divide continues to grow, which it appears to be, there will be nobody left to buy products and help the economy recover. You are right to worry, but the housing crisis is only a part of many problems that have the U.S. economy teetering on the brink of collapse.
The post by 12:14 is uncommonly sensible and intelligent. If you skipped it, go back and read it.
ReplyDeleteAgree that 12:14 gave us reasoned thoughts on a number of issues affecting Gannett. Online content is poorly written but no one seems to care right now. I can't be the only one tired of reading web pablum and looking for something better so I'm inclined to think eventually those that provide intelligent content will survive and succeed. USCP and USA Today should act on this or they won't. And 12:14 is dead-on accurate about the option of publishing fewer week days. Production and distribution expenses are hefty so these line items will stay under scrutiny if revenues keep falling. I hope for the best, for smart leaders and positive change. I'm not naive. I also know we should prepare for futures with and without Gannett.
ReplyDelete"There is no correlation whatsoever between the number and titles of the people in the USA Weekend masthead and the finished product."
ReplyDeleteDon't pay attention to the masthead. Many of the names on there are USA TODAY employees who help put the magazine together because there are so few USA WEEKEND editorial employees left. They wanted to give credit to those USAT people (editors, copy editors, designers) who were working on it on a regular basis.
2:17, while you obviously don't like the product (and most journos on this board wouldn't anyway and frankly, I don't either at this point), you obviously display incredible ignorance about the business side. USAW made MANY times more the profit than USAT for many, many, many years. GCI newspapers "subsidizing it all this time"? Huh? USAW was the prize cash cow for GCI for years -- and most of its revenue came from the fact that 500 of 600 carrier newspapers were NOT GCI-owned.
ReplyDeleteToday, it's easy to take cheap shots at the product. It's soooo small, so slim and editorial is so desperate to fill space at this point due to lack of resources (and a lack of cooperation from USATers, who also generally loathe the magazine) that the editors will take what they can get to get through the week. And it no longer makes the kind of money it did (whether it's still profitable is also a good question). So, please, kicking it now is like beating up on a homeless guy in the street.
But there was a long time ending a couple years ago when the magazine did at it was supposed to do: Take Parade on head-to-head and give that dominant player a real run for the money (literally and figuratively). And, yeah, sorry, fluffy celeb profiles, recipe features and 'news you can use' was all part of that equation. So what? If you want the New Yorker, go buy the New Yorker. It's not like USAT is -- or ever was -- anywhere near the product that the WSJ and NYT are, right?
2:14 I disagree that spelling/grammar mistakes and busted headlines don't really matter in Web publication. Read this blog in the last week, and you will find complaints about spelling/grammar. If we get a reputation for posting crap, readers won't bother with us and it will rip down what is left of the reputations of the newspaper. There is a value to the newspaper brands, and it is quantified in the annual reports under the category of "goodwill."
ReplyDeleteWhat effect has this Depression/Recession had on communities, relating to deaths, suicides, assults, domestic calls by police to homes to break up fights, etc., aside from stories already published/broadcast about families struggling to Make Ends Meet.
ReplyDeleteI ask all you Editorial types, in seriousness. I am not a journalist, and can imagine why stories like this are not published ("Book thrown at the president was for him to 'Sign It' -Wink, Wink"), but I'm curious why this isn't published or covered?
Anyone know how a person could find out?
Thank you.
Yes, 12:14 is on target. Cutting could go further. At what cost, remains to be seen. It's sort of like steroids.
ReplyDeleteAt one CP paper, there's a long-open reporter job not being filled for months. It could be a "reduce the hit" strategy to reduce layoffs. It could be they just need to find a minority staffer. It coud be a hire flunked a drug test. We don't get much of an answer. Thats bad for morale, too. No good rumors from this site.
We had two words typo'd in web link headlines this past Sunday, and the comments were 80% ripping on the "idiots who couldn't spell stimulos" vs 20% the usual hotheads arguing politics with each other.
ReplyDeleteReaders care, web editors care - but the choice of quantity vs. quality has been made by others.
Hey, journalists reading this blog: Read what 9:27 writes. He/she is right. I know editors are calling the shots about what is reported these days, but with federal unemployment checks running out for many after two years, there has to be a lot of unreported misery.
ReplyDeleteWSJ had big front page add. When will it end, when will it end.
ReplyDeleteIn truth, it is the other way around -- USA Weekend has been "subsidizing" the rest of the company for decades. USAW makes tens of millions of dollars in profit, or at least did.
ReplyDeleteThe bitterness here is understandable, but at least shoot at the right targets.
On areas to cut: I have to wonder if upper management will be affected at some point, with publishers either managing multiple papers or moving to the general manager model. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteYep, publishing fewer days seems to be what the future holds. The print industry is so heavily burdened by production costs that it makes sense focus on reducing/eliminating those expenses.
ReplyDeleteLimited print/always online is what's coming down the pike for the community papers et al. The only question is when will this happen.
Newspapers will be joining much of the existing economy and will rely more on part-timers and contract workers.
For those who haven't been in the job market lately, part-timers and contract people (no benefits, no paid days off) are what hospitals, publishing houses, not-for-profits, marketing companies, supermarket chains, on-line news producers, and even some school districts are using these days.
Believing that model will fade away when the economy improves is magical thinking. It's not going to happen.
Big layoff occurring next week in Gannett Digital....Stay tuned
ReplyDeleteProfitable or not, USA Weekend is a poor product. But one of the "dirty little secrets" of USA Weekend is that it is carried in many, many, non-Gannett newspapers and newspaper groups all around the country.
ReplyDeleteThat is where Gannett makes additional money on this product.
As an ex-Gannetteer, I have been working very hard to get my newspaper to drop USA Weekend and hopefully they will soon.
It is just one more expense we don't need either, and readers never mention a word about the product. Period.
Gannett digital didn't meet its expectations, and there is going to be hell of pay. We will see the numbers Friday, and I bet corporate ducks its responsibility for this debacle. Since the departure of Saridakis and the other spectacular defections, digital has been left bereft of leadership and direction. Gracia needs to take the blame for this because of her dithering over appointing a new Saridakis. But I know she won't.
ReplyDeleteHere's the question: If the company shifted community papers to fewer publishing days would it continue to cut staff?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think we all know the answer.
This company can't see beyond the next quarter.
Yep, they can cut, even when we wonder how it would be possible. But the cuts they've made have already damaged the product. Right now, we can barely get done what we need to, and more and more stuff goes onto the back burner. The back burner stuff still has to get done, but it gets done in a rush at deadline. Quality has slipped drastically because there's no time or people for quality control. We've heard from higher ups that quality does not matter any longer, so apparently they've got a grasp on what the cuts have meant. They can still cut, yes, but the damage will get exponentially greater.
ReplyDelete"In truth, it is the other way around -- USA Weekend has been "subsidizing" the rest of the company for decades. USAW makes tens of millions of dollars in profit, or at least did."
ReplyDeleteDead right. So -- regardless of how little folks here hold the product in esteem -- when are the Big Thought Thinkers going to be held accountable for taking a hugely profitable product and screwing it up (from a business perspective)?
Please folks, enough with the cheap shots at the content. We get it. USAW has always been about fluff. But that fluff sure sold the ads -- before Big Thought Thinkers got their hands on it and forcefed the USAT takeover. So now the product doesn't even work as a mega-profit maker anymore. Nice work, Big Thought Thinkers. Unfortunately, you'll never be held accountable for inept business management by losing your jobs. Even though you ensured that so many good people underneath you lost or will lose theirs.
Does the Gannett Code of Ethics still exist? The Courrier Post runs story after story using unamed sources? What up?
ReplyDeleteI call bull**** on 11:41
ReplyDeleteIs this the same guy that said Odyssey cost millions and was canceled in June?
How can you have a big layoff at Gannett Digital if they're just starting the Odyssey rollout? That's definitely a bogus comment.
ReplyDeleteI have come to the reluctant conclusion that it is time to end the dead-tree production of USA Today, or gradually curtail its publication on paper. The future for USA Today is the Web, and it looks to me as if the transition is underway and speeding up. The more agile CP's have more time to consider what they want to do, and I see a printed local paper continuing for the future in most communities.
ReplyDeleteBut the national USA Today is much too costly to produce as both a Web and print product, and the quality will continue to decline if it tries to do both with a reduced staff. The solution is to make the jump now.
anon 11:41a. I heard the same thing. Seems like Gracia is doing a review of Digital and some senior level people there will be really exposed. Also, I heard Andy Jacobson, the head of Gannett Digital Sales is leaving too.
ReplyDeleteSt Cloud MN has gotten rid of staff in the area of design and now it appears more are going away in the area of the quarter folding. Not much on here from St Cloud we need to be hush hush. The layoffs have already started. In fact I would guess that over the last year the St Cloud Times has been the biggest layoff employer in the market. My guess is it will not stop as the the rumor is more changes coming soon in circulation, trucking and sales.
ReplyDeleteI find this blog interesting how can Gannett not get access to the Anonymous poster on this website. Could they not just come in an take Jim's computer with a warrant from a court? Is this not liable to the company.
ReplyDeleteUSATers "loath" Weekend because the editors treat staffers as if they were elementary school children and show no appreciation for what the newspaper's reporters and editors do for them. Freelancers are paid flat rates for what they produce. USAT staffers arent. They mostly have to double up on what they are assigned to do for the paper. The editing process is laborious, the editing style is capricious. Story ideas? What a laugh. Think of the most idiotic concept and its breathlessly assigned as if its the most important story you'll ever do. I will say one thing, it does make lots of $$$.
ReplyDelete9:53 -- What are you talking about? Gannett has no claim to the blog administrator's computer or anything else that he produces. And, no, open criticism of a corporation is not libel. I'm sure corporate America would love to see that day, but thankfully we haven't reached it yet.
ReplyDeleteFood for thought. All of USAT's illustrators and office administrators (essentially secretarial types) as well as several other rank and filers are going through the sham process of having to interview for their jobs. Why didn't ME's, DMEs and AE's have to re-interview for their jobs Weren't there jobs eliminated, too? If you are shrinking staff, why go for the low hanging fruit instead of the melon heads?
ReplyDeleteI could see them cut Gannett Digital staffing even though the Odyssey project is still going on.
ReplyDeleteFrom a systems standpoint, once the templates are created, it is a matter of copying them over to each of the sites. Because most of the sites are hosted by GMTI, this would be an easy thing to do.
Why do you think corporate will not let sites host their own websites? It is because they want to control look, feel and content. One standard platform is much easier to control. Why do you think the Indy Star is on Publicus? Quality of software, I think not.
I would not be surprised to see them gut Gannett Digital
Those posters calling b.s. on 11:41 need to recheck their sources. There are strong rumors of something about to happen at Gannett digital.
ReplyDeleteJim, anyway to get more info on what 4:34 said about some USATers having to reapply for their jobs? Seems like a Gannett trick that I have heard before, just can't remember when or where. Wondering about the following:
ReplyDelete1. What happens if the interview/reapplication doesn't go well. Will these people be fired or reassigned? Is this part of the reorg we've been reading about with the goal of thinning the print herd?
2. Is this nothing more than a legal smoke screen to get rid of some people they already have targeted? Perhaps a way to get rid of older employees? Gives the legal appearance of being "fair" but in reality there is nothing fair about it.
Seems like an usually cruel process that can leave some long-term bitter feelings among those who survive. Must be strange working in a place where you don't know when the next knife to the back is coming from.
Why does Gannett, including the flagship, keep going after the content producers (writers and such), front-line editors and other hands-on employees who are essential to operations and quality control?
USAT is infamous for being top heavy. It appears they still have a building full of people who probably do nothing more than attend meetings and try to appear important. In this economic climate, companies can't afford people unable to roll up their sleeves or work past 5 p.m. Yet, those are the people who seem to be protected in every round of layoffs at most Gannett properties.
I sure hope this reapplying crap doesn't spread. It's demeaning, especially for people who have two or three decades of accomplishments and loyalty.
Dear Weekend defender: OK, enough. You have repeatedly and strenuously implied that the editorial quality of the magazine has gone off a cliff since The Catastrophe. So how about you dry your eyes and tamp down your impotent rage against Gannett long enough to explain how exactly USA Weekend has suffered EDITORIALLY since Life stepped up? Because, frankly, I don't see it.
ReplyDelete"Why didn't ME's, DMEs and AE's have to re-interview for their jobs?"
ReplyDeleteBecause if most of them were asked any hard questions about the actual hands-on process of putting out the newspaper and publishing to the Web, they wouldn't get rehired.
What the company is putting the office administrators and illustrators through is shameful. Those four jobs that are being eliminated equal Hunke's annual bonus.
I, too, have wondered why Gannett bothers to write ethics codes if they're not followed.
ReplyDeleteYou have a point, 4:34 a.m.....The folks in charge don't have to "interview" because they're in charge and protect one another rather than expose themselves to back-biting discontented colleagues.
ReplyDeleteThe Westchester "interview" process undertaken a year ago, for example, was such a sham it bordered on the idiotic. The so-called "managers" seemed to be at a loss about the basic mechanics of the process, and had to refer to corporate to get answers to the simplest questions.
They exposed themselves as nothing more than puppets for the Crystal Palace, and phonies as well when they insisted, right down to the wire, that they were uncertain what they were going to do until the interviews concluded.
These "managers" thought the peons were so gullible they would swallow that the decision to eliminate the entire business news desk, for example, was a brainstorm striking during the interviews.
And yes, these same managers remain, getting paid more to manage fewer people who are cranking out fewer pages.
As other postings have suggested, isn't it time to cut Westchester's VP news and senior managing editor positions? And when will Westchester and Poughkeepsie share a publisher?
Both have shut their presses and print at the same N.J. plant, Poughkeepsie has sold its building and Westchester is looking to sell its corporate park, Pougkeepsie uses Westchester's copy desk, and both are to soon be laid out in Asbury Park.
Are there potential savings here?
For all the GCI stock holders out there, take a look at the stock market today. The banker JP Morgan reported its 3 quarter profits were up 23 percent, and computer chip maker Intel easily beat market estimates on its profits. But both stocks were hit and down in post-report trading, although the market was up.
ReplyDeleteWhat this means for GCI is that even if somehow it comes up with a great report, it's likely to be hit hard. I'm among those doubting it will be a great report, so draw your conclusions of where it goes from here. It is a very poor market for underperforming stocks.
9:53 - gee what a great idea. Let's have a company that uses free speech and freedom of the press as the basis for their existence and have them subvert both. I can only hope you are not on the transformation committee.
ReplyDelete7:03, if they were to do so, they had better be prepared to invest heavily in creating content. This means more reporters and designers. If they were to jump straight to digital and continue running lots of wire stories, then there is nothing to distinguish USAT from any other online news operation. The print product right now, while costly, sets USAT apart from Yahoo and Google News and tons of other websites. That's kind of the damning choice right now. You're hurting badly with your flagship product, one that made you a big player but now is a money drain. But if you cut that product off, you're sunk.
ReplyDeleteThis email was sent USAT-wide at 12:21 PM Wednesday, Oct. 13th
ReplyDeleteTo: USA TODAY Employees
Fr: Dave Hunke, President and Publisher
On Tuesday, October 19th at 2:00 pm, we will hold a Publisher’s Update in the Auditorium (for those in the field, the webcast and dial-in information will be posted on the intranet prior to Update). We are very excited to present a comprehensive update on our progress as we undertake the very bold and revolutionary transformation of the USA TODAY begun late this spring. As you know, an extensive amount of work and research has been done over the past six months to develop this new strategy and business model. To date, all departments have begun the transformation process and we look forward to sharing this with you.
I look forward to seeing and hearing from you at the Publisher’s Update on Tuesday, October 19th.
Responding to:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
Does the Gannett Code of Ethics still exist? The Courrier Post runs story after story using unamed sources? What up?
The COE has an out.... if the executive editor approves the use of unnamed sources.
Seems to be far too common at the C-P under the newest EE. Especially in the hatchet job (rightly or wrongly) against Medford's police chief.
11:07 you clearly know nothing about trading stock. Haha go read a book before you open your mouth. Or at least turn on CNBC and learn why JPM was down. Maybe JPM is down due to missed forecast on trading volume on the bond and commodities?? Just an idea
ReplyDelete8:55 Reapplying for your job reminds me of the old game of musical chairs. There are fewer chairs than there are players and the music started last week. It stops next week, after which time we will know who is left standing and who not. Just like the game, those who are left standing are out.
ReplyDeleteYour post indicates you think this is an unusually cruel process. Well, welcome to the club.
Once again, The Journal News in Westchester gets their butts kicked by News 12, Patch.com, and the NYC tabs on the fatal shooting involving a Pelham Manor police officer. It happened at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday night, so what excuse will they use this time? When you cover mostly 2nd grade kickball games it must be hard to brush off the cobwebs and cover real news when it breaks.
ReplyDeleteGeez the stock is up more than a buck and change and the whiners can't wait to shout gloom and doom. Rather than getting cut folks have an opportunity to fight for their job and the whiners cry louder. Ok we get it you hate Gannett and anyone who dared to become a manager. The Blog used to inform now it's degenerated into a virtual hate filled pit. Before the head shiner says it....I out of here. 30
ReplyDeleteThe Journal News gets its butt kicked because Publisher Fisch is a lousy publisher. He doesn't get much and that certainly includes news.
ReplyDeleteand the yahoo alliance??? not one comment about that? what's the deal - read it online today. is gannett finally giving up on their own websites?
ReplyDeleteYahoo alliance lives. Here is the lead of an Oct. 13 press release:
ReplyDeleteAPPLETON AND SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — Gannett Wisconsin Media today launched a local advertising relationship with Yahoo! that brings together Gannett Wisconsin Media's brands, media sales expertise and leading website audiences with Yahoo!'s scale, online audience targeting capabilities, and display advertising expertise.
7:07 -- The stock is about a quarter of what it was when Dumbow took over. But you're right we should all have faith in management, and FIGHT for our precious jobs ... even if it means screwing customers and our co-workers in the process.
ReplyDeleteAny hate that populates this blog was bred by the people in charge, and it's a genuine reflection of the morale in most newsrooms. Show me a Gannett employee who actually cares about the future of this company, and I'll show you one who isn't paying attention.
Gannett has been trying to sell USA Weekend for years but just no takers. That has been confirmed by Myron Maslowsky with USA Today and Gannett. When USA Today advertising vp Brett Wilson quit to take over Parade then USA Today knew it had real problems trying to compete any more. So the only solution? Fire most of the staff and dump the work on us to keep this fluff printing every Sunday. Next and final step is to phase it out. Parade is already doing their victory dance.
ReplyDeleteThe Regional Toning Centers are lying on their own site(gannettrtc.com/howwedoit.html)
ReplyDelete"Your images don't go to a sweatshop, and we don't just push them through automated software while pocketing your money. Every image you get back is inspected, evaluated, and processed for optimum quality by our trained Imaging Specialists in the United States."
Every black and white photo is sent through automated software. What a fraud!!
The stock's up a buck! I'll be impressed if it stays up there after the quarterly earnings report. But not enough to invest in Gannett or any other newspaper stock.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about what happened with the paywall experiment. Did the papers involved note a big dropoff in readership as I expected. I hear it didn't go well, but don't know that for sure.
ReplyDeleteIn what way did The Journal News get its butt kicked on the Pelham shooting? The story was up on lohud.com Tuesday night and was the lede in Wednesday's paper. The night editors also sent out text alerts to subscribers on Tuesday night. At least get your facts straight.
ReplyDeleteAnd today there's a story on www.marketwatch.com about how AOL and some other folks are looking to acquire Yahoo. Must be because of the new alliance with Gannett.
ReplyDeleteCircling back to something I should have caught earlier, Anonymous@9:53 p.m. on Oct. 12 wrote:
ReplyDelete"I find this blog interesting how can Gannett not get access to the Anonymous poster on this website. Could they not just come in an take Jim's computer with a warrant from a court? Is this not liable to the company."
1. I do not know the identity of anonymous posters. That information isn't on my computer's hard drive, or any other place online or offline that I can access.
2. Even more important: I do not want to know the identity of anonymous posters. I never have. And I never will.
I realize I am nitpicking here, Jim. But your "never have, never will" comment is the same type of BS you slam the Hunkes of the world. You "don't want to know" for legal purposes. But you are a journalist. And we ALL know that you look at the juiciest comments and wonder who they are, want to know who they are, so you can evaluate the worth of the info. So don't try to kid anyone.
ReplyDeleteYou are only partly correct, in this regard: I certainly read all comments, and post the most interesting ones. But my decisions are always based on content.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to know the identity of anonymous posters because pursuing that information would destroy the trust I've built up with readers over the past three years. If readers don't think they can remain anonymous, they'll stop visiting and posting. And then we'll all lose out.
You tell 'em, Jim. Obviously GCI Brass would love to get the IDs of the nameless posters. Hey Big Brass, how about if you focus on salvaging the unsellable garbage that you've turned GCI products into, as opposed to trying to play "comment cop" to screw up employees' lives even more than you already have?
ReplyDeleteSomething new coming to Fort Myers.
ReplyDeleteGannett plans to create a centralized online advertising operations department. This will create 35 full-time jobs with salaries in excess of 109 percent of the Lee County average wage.
USA Today hoping to get developers to provide new aps for the newspaper? I don't think this will go anywhere.
ReplyDeleteMCLEAN, Va., Oct. 14USA TODAY has launched the USA TODAY Developer Network. "With the launch of the USA TODAY Developer Network we invite developers to experience exciting new ways to tap into some of the great content that is unique to USA TODAY," said Steve Kurtz, vice president of digital development for USA TODAY.
11:19 a.m. Are you serious, The Journal News sent out a very vague text alert and had a small lede with few details and you think that is coverage? You have no photos and The Daily News had a photo of the dead guy and News 12 had great video from the scene and they both had better written stories with more details. Maybe you should look at what other mdia outlets are doing and then get your facts straight.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete6:29 AM: That doesn't surprise me at all. As soon as they slashed the edit staff, I figured that's where it was headed. It's just too bad that the company has to continue the charade of putting out the magazine -- straining a lot of people in the process -- instead of just saying, "You know what? We've hated this product for years, and we'll just have to figure out a way to get by financially without it."
ReplyDeleteYellow journalism in Cherry Hill.
ReplyDeleteSo much for code of ethics
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20101014/NEWS01/10140338/Medford-leaders-ignore-reality
Any news on this 3rd quarter report day !!!!
ReplyDeleteI would be curious to know if the St Cloud Times in St Cloud MN has ever heard of the SARBANES-OXLEY ACT. They sure do get away with a lot of questionable things.
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible to figure out whether today's quarterly report was good or bad news. Even the market reaction could be based on many factors.
ReplyDeleteJim is trying, but his spreadsheets only add to the confusion.
So here's my take:
I think what Wall Street wants to hear is something more than the latest spin on the latest numbers, but a concrete plan on what is coming next for Gannett.
When they hear of no initiatives - no exciting new platforms, no partnerships, no new deals, no new delivery systems, no description of a future - but only more financial mumbo jumbo as the leadership of Gannett stumbles panic-stricken from quarterly report to the next quarterly report, heck, I'd sell the stock, too.
A company is more than profit, more than income, more than even its people. It needs to stand for something. I'm not sure anyone knows what Gannett stands for except trying to keep the fiscal shell game going until a cop on the corner comes over and asks the scam artists to "move along."
It is really a shame.
Spreadsheets = confusion = :(
ReplyDeleteJim said...
ReplyDeleteSpreadsheets = confusion = :(
10/15/2010 10:47 PM
Not an elegant management strategy.
Technically, would it even be possible to narrow a search to identify an anon post? If I'm on a wireless unsecured network, you could find my IP? But you'd have a bit of homework to do and it assumes each comment stores the IP.
ReplyDeleteWould it be prudent to remove old comments as an additional protection to anon posts? Or would that be useless because blogspot stores all? In other words, is it possible to be an average Joe and place an anon comment or should I always fear I may get called I to the office.
10:42 -- You make some really good points. A lot of investors invest on perceived potential. That's why you'll see some tech companies -- like Google -- go through the roof even though much of their earnings potential is just that ... potential. When you look at what they have in the way of real goods, it's not a lot since they're giving everything away.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, you've got a company like Gannett that continues to show double digit profits even in bad times but it's looked at unfavorably because people expect it to make less money in the future. Put simply, investors don't see much room for growth.
Dumbow might be able to change that but he needs to learn that putting adjectives like inventive and transformative in front of old ideas don't mean anything to investors who know what they're doing.
It's unfortunate that Gannett is unable to innovate, and instead tries to buy its way into the future.
ReplyDeleteThat's a product of a long-standing ass-kissing, yes-man/yes-woman corporate culture that simply cannot compete with the digital world where innovation is a way of life.
This lack of innovation and creativity will continue as long as bean counters rule the Crystal Palace. Are you listening, Board of Directors, and do you care?
Dubow and Martore can't see beyond the next quarter. That was apparent from their comments concerning the third quarter results.
Dubow came across as a master BS artist, and Martore was petty, defensive, and elusive. Not exactly great corporate leadership, yet both rose up the ranks of the Gannett schools of management.
It was a sorry performance for the shareholders and employees.
All the pessimism porn posted on this blog overlooks the fact that we are working for one of the most innovative companies in the U.S. newspaper industry.
ReplyDeleteAll this guff about the lack of innovation at corporate overlooks this very interesting job posting at USA Today. While laying off staff, USAT wants to attract interns who will work for free while going to college. I am not kidding. Here is the ad:
ReplyDeleteUSA TODAY’s Special Projects team is seeking interns to assist with creation of glossy publications (magazines) and other products. Design interns must be proficient in InDesign and Photoshop and have layout experience. The USA TODAY Special Projects team was recently established to produce glossy publications for newsstand sale. We work on other products on an as-needed basis. We offer interns the chance to work as an integral part of small team in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Please note that this is an unpaid, for-credit internship. You must be a currently-enrolled student in an accredited college or university, and you will be asked to provide documentation from your school showing that you will receive school credit for successful completion of the internship. We provide a small transportation stipend to help defray your commuting costs. We recognize and appreciate the benefits of diversity in the workplace.
Federal regulators including the Labor Department have stepped up investigations into unpaid jobs disguised as internships. Among many requirements, I believe interns are not allowed to do work that ordinarily would be performed by a regular staffer. Also, doesn't the employer have to offer something akin to training classes?
ReplyDeleteYeah, unpaid internships, now that's innovation. And while we're at it, the Westchester corner of the Gannett empire introduced the newspaper industry to the unpaid furlough concept in the 1980s under Publisher Gary Sherlock.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not forget the innovative comp time program introduced by managers sensitive to bottom-line considerations. This was also embraced in Westchester until the fed Dept of Labor stepped in.
I don't know from where poster 7:28 p.m. hales in Gannettland, but I've seen little innovation.
To be fair, Gannett certainly is innovative in saving money and shipping the savings to corporate. Gannett's expert at squeezing a buck out its front-line employees at every turn.
Unpaid internships have also been the way in Westchester for a couple of years. They get routine assigments that might or might not have gone to a regular staffer.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of any training classes.
Struck me as a way to fill the pages during summer vacation months. And do it the best way possible: for free!
7:28 -- I think you mean "profitable" not "innovative." Name one innovative thing that Gannett has done in the past 10 years. By innovative I mean something that Gannett introduced before any other company, revolutionizing the industry in the process.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the USAT special projects team?
ReplyDeleteAnd please, 7:28 p.m., that doesn't mean the color graphics and weather page introduced by USA Today. That's a long time ago. Lets try for something more recent.
ReplyDeleteAbout those unpaid internships: I would think the Labor Department would have an open and shut case that unpaid interns are doing the work of paid staffers in the wake of the layoffs coming Tuesday. Letting go of 150 people while running an ad like this is very poor timing, IMO.
ReplyDeleteInnovations:
ReplyDelete-- USAT's hotel strategy, which was a brilliant move to go after an audience (business travelers) that was previously ignored.
-- Purchase of Ripple6 and Career Builder.
-- Experiments with Moms Like Me and local party sites in hopes of attracting the 18-35 demographic. Maybe they didn't work, but at least Gannett tried.
USAT is looking incredibly weak. The Web site today picks up a Wilmington story on the Justice Deparatment investigating whether black students in one county were discriminated against. I don't even find it on the front page of the Wilmington paper. One county in Delaware doesn't warrant front page display for a national paper.
ReplyDeleteMetromix is fresh and innovative. Yes, it's soft features, not hard news, but the public likes soft features, celebrity doings, etc... I think the days of people reading about the doings of their their town council or school board at the breakfast table are long gone, though many posters here seem to be urging a return to that sort of news model.
ReplyDeleteUnpaid internships can be used, I know, I was one. I received college credit and there were guidelines surrounding the entire internship.
ReplyDeleteNo one should think that news regarding local school boards and government councils is passe. If there's news there and it's costing the taxpayers (readers) as buck, they want to know about it.
ReplyDeleteYep, there will be those who only read the comics. And hey, that's OK if they subscribe to print or on-line....Speaking of which, has anyone seen an online newspaper site with the funnies? Maybe I've missed it.
In any event, hard news will always sell.
Re 12:17 a.m....How long ago was the "hotel strategy?" Twenty years ago?
ReplyDeleteSince when is buying up an existing property an example of innovation? That's a key part of the issue here: Gannett needs to invent, not simply buy what another developed.
Mom's Like Me? Give it a rest! I put that in the same sleazy basket as Metromix. I'm surprised the braintrust didn't follow it up with Dads Like Me.
11:53 a.m. is right: California residents were outraged to read the Los Angeles Times' amazing series this summer about the six-figure paychecks that city government employees were getting in the small community of Bell, Calif., near Los Angeles.
ReplyDelete12:06 Well, I was told I couldn't use the weather map as an example of innovations. But it was. Ditto the hotel strategy. Innovations take a while to work, and there were a lot of glitches in the program that had to be worked out. It really started working about a decade ago, but is in trouble now.
ReplyDeleteGive Moms and Metromix a chance. It's an experiment and there will be screwups. Who knows, maybe they will discover something like what Hugh Hefner did with Playboy and it will pay for your retirement.
Look around and see what innovative companies do by buying other companies. Oracle just bought Java and is positioning itself to be the Web operating system of the future. Microsoft grew to the size it is today through purchases of other companies. Rockefeller and Carnegie got rich buying other companies, and we bought Ripple6, which according to corporate, coined cash for us in the last quarter.
12:42 The LAT did a hell of a job with that Bell story. Bet it wins a Pulitzer.
ReplyDelete2:29 p.m.: Tribune Co. -- specifically, the Chicago Tribune -- started Metromix. Gannett simply bought into it via a newly established partnership in the fall of 2007.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the USAT weather map and identifying the business traveling market were innovations -- but that was 28 years ago, when USAT first launched.
Also, I'm fairly certain that moms-oriented consumer sites were already in place when The Indianapolis Star started the MomsLikeMe network rolling.
12:17 -- To echo what others have said ...
ReplyDelete* The hotel initiative and weather maps were innovative (as was the very idea to start USAT) but that's really old news. If you're going to hold these things up as examples of Gannett's innovation, you need to qualify your statement. We "used to" work for an innovative company.
* Purchasing other companies is not innovative. There are situations where it's smart, but it is certainly not innovative. And it's yet to be seen whether we paid the right price for these companies. Could we sell Career Builder and Ripple 6 for more now than we paid. If the answer is, "Yes," these were smart business decisions (but still not innovative). If the answer is, "No," then they weren't even smart business decisions.
* Failed experimentations are not innovations. Beyond that, the ideas for Metromix and Moms Like Me were stolen from other bloggers and Web entrepreneurs who came up with the concept of hyper-focused sites. Yes, Gannett decided to role these ideas out on a national level, but the idea came from bloggers and people outside of Gannett. What's more, as Jim pointed out, we bought into Metromix, so we can't even claim it was our idea to take this concept national.
Again, I ask you, please give me an example of something innovative that Gannett has done. That doesn't mean something experimental. They throw shit at the wall constantly. One of the problems with Gannett is that most of the shit is so stupid and outdated that it doesn't even attempt to stick.
There's no doubt that this company has money and that it throws that money around in hopes of buying up truly innovative companies on the cheap. But the company itself does not innovate and that's one of its major problems.
Google and Apple are innovative companies and they have done things that change the way people live their lives and many other companies doe business.
Gannett's legacy is homogenized, dumbed-down newspapers that look the same on the east coast as the west -- a business model that it borrowed from retailers and radio broadcasters. I don't see that as innovation, but I suppose you could count that.
The Bold Italic is an innovative new product.. Check it out lemmings!
ReplyDelete6:40 -- Does it make money? Is it really any different than any number of other online ventures that other companies have started? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteAgain, innovation does not mean copying someone else's idea or buying a good idea from someone else. It means coming up with an idea that's, duh, innovative.
Ironic that you would celebrate a lemming-like move by Gannett and then insult the company's detractors for being the same.
9:04 it does make money. You obviously don't have a clue. A lemming by any other name is still a lemming. Sorry if you can't handle the truth. I think thou is a troll for the dark side'
ReplyDeleteOh 9:04 it is very different from anything I've seen. We live in the Bay area and love it. Have an open mind and check it out.
ReplyDeleteFor Part 2 of this comment thread, go here.
ReplyDeleteNo more circ sales in SC. Oct. 15 saw that department disappear, manager moved off OC to an open position elsewhere.
ReplyDelete