Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Week Oct. 18-24 | Your News & Comments: Part 1
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Reminder: CEO Craig Dubow will host an employee audiocast at 1 p.m. ET on Monday. He'll be talking about the third-quarter earnings report, and other company news. Gannett Blog readers are adding questions they'd like him to answer, in the post, below.
ReplyDeleteDo you plan to listen in?
This is the entertainment highlight of my week.
ReplyDeleteMinutes until he says something indecipherable: 2.
Number of times he offers effusive praise to managers: 4.
Amount of time he'll spend touting the promise of the digital future: 3
Softball questions he fields from the troops:
100%.
How he'll answer 1 question regarding possible furloughs next year: he won't rule it out, but won't have the decency to say either way.
How you'll feel after listening in: depressed, uninspired, frustrated.
Question you'll ask yourself after it's over: How the heck did this guy become CEO?
I'm looking more forward to Hunke's transformational pep talk to the troops Tuesday. We'll finally learn what all the hoopla has been about all summer. We will hear what editors will be doing. What reporters will be doing. How the shiny and new veeps will be driving operations from now on. I feel like the little pig who squealed all the way home. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete1. Executive team is contemplating furloughs again for next year (Q1). Too late to do them this year. Although a pay freeze will be put in place across the board.
ReplyDelete2. Craig Dubow is announcing his retirement at year end.
3. Roxanne is debating with the executive team how much Gannett should raise health benefits on employees. Apparently, all GMC members get free health insurance and it is being contemplated that now the GMC members start to pay a "small" amount back to the company.
4. There are some big changes in Digital that will be announced shortly that will impact the entire senior management team within Gannett Digital and Digital sales.
5. Careerbuilder is sucking some serious wind.
6. My Boss is deciding whether or not to retire next year.
Working for Gannett the last few years is sucking the life out of me. I am scheduled to have my job eliminated in early 2011 and at this point, I can't wait. The sooner the better! Even if escape my job elimination this time, what about future layoffs in June of 2011, or September or perhaps December or beyond. One can only go "down with the ship" so long before the water reaches your neck! The only comfort I have is knowing there is an Excel spreadsheet somewhere in Gannett with my bosses layoff date already scheduled.
ReplyDelete~ Gannett's lowest paid employee
Prediction: Hunke's presentation on Tuesday will be short on details...again. By details, I mean the specific plans of how things will function, what roles people will have, schedules, backup, workflows, etc. At least one USAT veep is famous for laying out grand visions that include zero details. To get ahead at USAT you don't need to provide answers or how to's. You just need to sound like a person with a plan. It's very frustrating to the other 95% of people who actually have to do the work. We have to become masters of reverse engineering because the details weren't worked out up front. In many cases, we have to fix what these veeps and other "leaders" broke. It becomes a huge waste of time and limited resources and is why USAT is a mess.
ReplyDeleteWith the surge of interest in local news by Politico, HuffPost and AOL (Patch), now would be a good time for Gannett to solicit offers for its newspapers. Gauging the interest is the least they should do, if not selling until the economy rebounds (which carries no assurances of an ad rebound, given advertisers' options today). The rollup model died a decade ago, yet Gannett still thinks it make sense to centralize a geographically scattered bunch of uniquely local papers, as if they were Subway or Starbuck's or any other cloned businesses. Has the board even considered a breakup? I know directors want to keep collecting a fat stipend for rubber-stamping Dumbow, but their fiduciary duty is to shareholders, not management or themselves.
ReplyDeleteUBS warns clients of downside risk of GCI:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mysmartrend.com/news-briefs/news-watch/ubs-sees-downside-risks-gannett-maintains-neutral-rating-gci
Trouble with selling papers is 1. only an idiot would buy a newspaper these days and 2. even idiots need a press, but many GCI papers are sharing presses now, some 60, 80 maybe 100 miles apart, so you'd have to buy at least a couple at a time. And why buy a Gannett property? With some exceptions, they're managed by people who don't know how to manage (such as seeing that people get training to be competent), so any new owners would have to start from scratch with a beaten-down, thinned work force. Not a good situation.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I really, really hope I'm laid off. I can't just walk away from a job, but with even minimal severance, I'd have a chance at going back to school to train for work in an industry with a future.
This isn’t goodbye, just catch ya later
ReplyDeletePosted by cludwig October 15th, 2010, 3:12 pm Tweet
I’d like to take a moment and thank the Gannett Company, Inc., The Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati.com — particularly my boss, Nick Hurm — for giving me this great opportunity.
But more than anything else, I’d like to thank my loyal readers for allowing me to be your semi-guilty pleasure. It’s been a blast, a fun ride, a gas-gas-gas.
The practice laps I took in a Camaro Z-28 Pace Car at the Indianapolis 500 some years ago were exciting, but they were nothing like the thrills, chills and spills I’ve experienced “Typing Away” the past calendar year.
Following my Oct. 1, 2009, retirement from the Dayton Daily News, I reached agreement on a one-year contract to join the Cincinnati.Com Blog Network.
The deal was struck on a weekday morning over breakfast — an Egg McMuffin, hash browns and coffee — at the Middletown McDonald’s.
Enquirer copy editor and close friend Suzette Winner shipped me a four-word E-mail: “Let the belligerence begin.”
Well, folks, it’s like this:
The awesomeness, intensity and belligerence that marked “Typing Away With Chick Ludwig” has come to an end.
I often use the term “knifed” when a Cincinnati Bengals player gets terminated, released or waived. Now the time has come for “The Chickster” to get knifed.
My contract is up, and I haven’t been renewed. The economy has claimed yet another victim. So this is my final entry for the Cincinnati.com Blog Network.
I’d like to think my specialty is the written and spoken word. And all I ever wanted to do was offer opinion, insight and analysis on the Cincinnati Bengals, and bring a little levity to your day. Hopefully, 397 blog entries and 1.4 million page views are signs I made a dent, if not a smidgen of difference, in your daily life.
My immediate plan: Fire up a Hav-A-Tampa sweet jewel, sip a glass of Rolling Rock, take a nap and prep for my Sunday, Oct. 17, speech at the Maketewah Country Club Caddie Banquet (cocktails 5:30, dinner 6:30).
Come Monday morning, I’ll lace up my “Chucks” — my Chuck Taylor Converse All Star sneaks — and start pounding the pavement.
I will remain a substitute teacher, Bengals correspondent for Sporting News, writer for PressProsMagazine.com, OHSAA-certified volleyball referee, ASA registered fast-pitch softball umpire, assistant caddy master at The Moraine Country Club, Cincinnati Bengals historian and motivational speaker (Psst! Rates Reasonable!).
I’d cry, but I don’t have time. And I don’t feel like dying. Like the outlaw Josey Wales said, “Dyin’ ain’t much of a living, boy.”
And so, until next time, this is The Chickster saying: “Make love, not war; give peace a chance; and strawberry fields forever.”
(Contact Chick Ludwig at chickludwig@yahoo.com)
I want to know more about the impending changes regarding digital ... haven't heard many rumors about that one.
ReplyDelete10/18/2010 8:11 AM ...Lee Jones just announced that there will be no furloughs for USA Today next year and that Hunke will confirm that tomorrow. Some good news out there for those of us remaining from the cuts today.
ReplyDeleteDid he say no furloughs whatsoever? Or no furloughs "planned" or "expected?"
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I don't see how USAT's advertising director can see that far into the future, and state something with such certainty. 2011 is a long, long time.
2:45, were there more USAT cuts today?
ReplyDelete3:21pm: I know of a one made at a USAT advertising office in the South; employee with 10 years experience...
ReplyDeleteAlso, a poster last week indicated on this blog that today was the day several USAT artist/illustrator positions would be eliminated (they each had to re-apply for their jobs).
USATODAY: An economy of information, a wealth of managers.
Jim, I believe a USAT "founder" was let go today, as well as another staffer over-50 staffer. Both from the newsroom. Not sure of the age of the ad person mentioned by 4:08. Seems that more often than not, USAT layoff victims are 50 or older. Just an observation that might be worth looking into as the flagship seems to be trying to get younger by dumping staffers who provided years of quality service. What a pity.
ReplyDeleteUSAT quietly appeared today in the shrunken broadsheet format the rest of the company has seen over the past few years. Anybody notice?
ReplyDeleteI thought USAT already shrunk in width, or maybe it just appeared that way since all the cutbacks. Regardless, USAT seems to operate in secrecy lately, so it wouldn't surprise me if it reduced the format again, hoping readers wouldn't notice.
ReplyDeleteI read something on this blog recently where a USAT spokesman wouldn't even say how many people work in the newsroom, I guess fearing that the public's perception of a reduced newsroom might lead to a further circulation decline. What a joke that paper has become.
USAT newsroom already announced their layoffs two weeks ago. Don't you read AP? Even USAT pr hack Ed Cassidy couldn't (tail)spin his way out of that one with the national media. Jones announced 8 or 9 layoffs today across the country along with three new vice presidents Lori Erdas, Tony Hill and Chris Wilcox. It's the usual USAT way of more and more chiefs and less and less indians. I think Hunke now has an operating committee of 20 or so. Advertising also announced a new CMO in marketing to replace Susan Lavington.
ReplyDeleteSix layoffs in advertising. Erdos and Hill have been VPs for several years now. Thirteen total layoffs in news and sports.
ReplyDeleteMore VPs at USAT? Are you kidding me? And what's with the additional layoffs? Seems we need an update as apparently USAT made some news today - none of it good - before tomorrow's dog and pony show.
ReplyDeleteHey, Jim, re: 5:33 message:
ReplyDeleteany idea of an age discrimination class action suit??
With all these vice president appointments, USAT is beginning to resemble a bank - at least the fatcat banks that failed badly in the last economic crisis. Have any of these vice presidents proven themselves in any measurable way at this organization, or are promotions and titles made merely because it sounds good? Can anyone in management offer any concrete evidence or measurable gauge as to why any of these VEEPS deserve to be promoted.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that's more shrunken at USA Today is the brainpower.
ReplyDeleteAge discrimination is not easy to prove and contingency lawyers have easier cases lying around in this foreclosure debacle. I thought there would be some suits during last year's layoffs, which hit hard at elderly workers. But nothing happened. USA Today has set up this round a little differently, requiring reporters and editors to reapply for their jobs in a reorganized newsroom. Corporate can always argue workers are not qualified for the new jobs, or else that they are over-qualified and have skills that don't fit in. If you are over 50, it is almost impossible to find another job in this business today.
ReplyDeleteVeeps at USAT, whether Tara C. or newly appointed ones, lack character, plain and simple. Character is sometimes hard for people to define or judge. To me, character means being good at the little things, like getting back to people when they contact you with an important inquiry. Character means not plotting behind people's backs as you smile and make chit-chat with them on the elevator. Character means being able to lead with or without a title. The talent level of these veeps might vary, but the one thing they have in common is a lack of character. But in a way, you can't blame them for accepting promotions. You have to blame the people who don't have the skills to distinguish frauds from honorable leaders - the people who promote them. Yes, USAT is top heavy, maybe more so than ever. But even worse, it is top heavy with people who have little integrity.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/Larcker_lying_8_10.html
ReplyDeleteIs That CEO Telling the Truth?
How do you tell if CEOs are not being truthful during quarterly earnings conference calls? Stanford Graduate School of Business researchers have developed a model to analyze the words and phrases used during these calls and found some specific speech patterns that give clues.
August 2010
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS—How do you tell if CEOs are not being truthful during quarterly earnings conference calls? Stanford Graduate School of Business researchers have developed a model to analyze the words and phrases used during these calls and found some specific speech patterns that give clues.
After studying Q&A sections of transcripts of hundreds of calls with CEOs and CFOs, the researchers then looked to see whether financial statements being discussed were substantially restated at some point after the call. If they were restated, Professor David Larcker and Anastasia Zakolyukina, a PhD student at the school, reasoned that the executive had been less than candid in describing their firm’s quarterly figures.
Larcker, the James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting and senior faculty of the Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance, and Zakolyukina developed a model to analyze words and phrases used based on prior deception detection research conducted by psychologists and linguists. CEOs who were hiding information were less likely to say "I" and more likely to use impersonal pronouns and references to general knowledge such as "you know." They also expressed more extreme positive emotions ("fantastic" as opposed to "good"), used fewer extreme negative emotions, and fewer certainty and hesitation words. They were less likely to refer to shareholders value.
Results from their model are 4% to 6% better than a random guess. Yet the authors offered some cautions about their work. "First, we are not completely certain that the CEO and/or CFO know about the manipulation when they answer questions during the conference call," they wrote. They also cautioned the words they studied might not be "completely appropriate for capturing business communication." But they said, the results were strong enough to warrant additional research.
Changes coming at the top for the Chicago Tribune...
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.vocalo.org/blog/feder
9:25 -- You just described the top managers at my paper. Perhaps Gannett loves and nurtures managers who lack integrity. Having people like that certainly makes it easier to be bottom-line oriented.
ReplyDeleteAn editor or publisher with real integrity might fight for his/her staff and the quality of his/her product, forcing corporate management to fire him/her or deal with headaches. When you put a bunch of backstabbing yes men in positions of power, you know they'll act like the puppets they are.
Remember...everything flows from the top down...
ReplyDeleteThe USAT/Hunke meeting should be ending soon. Hoping to read about it on Gannett Blog this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteUSAT just named a new senior vice president over marketing, including public relations: Jeffrey Wilks.
ReplyDeleteThe early reviews are in and we're in a lot of trouble!
ReplyDeleteNext time you are in a supermarket, take a look at the newstand. I did when I went to the Safeway today, and USA looks tiny on the stand compared to the NYT, Financial Times and Washington Post, which were on the other shelves.
ReplyDeleteSo the meeting. Hunke sounded sincere when he declared that advertising will not dictate content, but that remains to be seen. These verticals -- three more were mentioned -- seem driven by such arrangements.
ReplyDeleteSupposedly circulation is up 10 percent from last year but that doesn't even begin to cover our losses.
The layoffs are done. For now.
There probably won't be furloughs next year. But who knows.
As for raises, apparently some people got them this year but that sounds up in the air as well.
And apparently servicing electronic gadgets such as iPads and iPhones will take precedence not only over the print edition but also the Web site. How will we make money doing so was not discussed.
And how will we produce all this new content when we have far fewer people. Again not addressed.
At least an attempt was made to boost morale, but it still sounds like too little, too late.
No details on the big reorg meeting today at USAT? Boy, info coming out of the Crystal Palace seems to be at a trickle these days. Must be lots of threats to staffers about keeping quiet. Either that, or Jim's sources have dried up.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete4:22pm: ... and if you read all those papers and USA Today, and then compare them, USA Today is not just tiny, but TEENY-Tiny!
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice all of the David L. Hunke talking head VPs were on display trying to read their scripts with one BIG exception Ruddman Davis. Sat in back of the auditorium texting the entire meeting and yawning. Biggest surprise to all was Hunke's secretary Angela Philips annointed head of something called "employee engagement." Seems more like employee spy for Hunke. Why isn't HR posting all these cushion jobs so I can apply.
ReplyDelete5:23 - the Ruddster said about as much as the other veeps. The only difference? His mouth wasn't moving.
ReplyDeleteJim - what is your relationship if any with Gannettoid http://www.gannettoid.com/
ReplyDeleteManagement's actions in the last three years tells us all we need to know. USAT is broken and now beyond repair. Too many crimes against too many good people. Too many lies from leaders who don't know how to lead. No meeting or new titles (yes, "employee engagement" does essentially mean spy) will change how the vast majority of troops feel about management. Trust and respect are essentially gone. Oh, we may smile at a suit passing by in the hallway or kiss our supervisor's ass in our self appraisals, but it won't be genuine or true. It will just be empty gestures to try to survive another year or however long it takes to find a new job. I have watched too many valued friends and colleagues being treated with no respect while total incompetents continue on. I have seen management inflict way more pain on people than was necessary, even in this terrible economy. I finally understand how ruthless USAT and Gannett are and, like others, plan to get out of here asap. If you are on the outside and reading this blog, do yourself a favor and please think twice about applying to this rotten company. They will tempt you with their marble floors and high-priced campus, but I would advise you to take your talents elsewhere. This is no longer a place where you will be able to work for any extended period of time. Nor will you be able to enjoy that basic sense of decency that once existed here but is long gone.
ReplyDeleteIt's cordial. I link to it from my homepage, in the green sidebar on the right.
ReplyDeleteWTF? Hunke says some are getting raises? I get a perfect review and my reward is more work. I don't even get a Vice President stripe and now see I am the only one working at USAT who is NOT a VP. Just exactly who is getting the raises? Who is deciding? My director says he knew nothing that some staff could get raises.
ReplyDeleteLike I thought this sums up the Hunke update: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! But we all know layoffs are not over in the newsroom.
ReplyDeleteAssigned to the new USAT investigative team: Alison Young, Brad Heath, Peter Eisler and Tom Frank.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with Gannettoid is that his web site used an old-fashioned system that reminded me of my early days with a TRS-80 from Radio Shack connecting via the family phone to Compuserve. I doubt many know what I am talking about, but the bottom line is this software is much easier to use.
ReplyDeleteEmployee Engagement = Wedding Planner
ReplyDeleteI gotta say: The buzzwords rolling out of USAT's executive suite are something.
ReplyDeleteTransformation. Content rings. Curating content. And, now, employee engagement.
Can someone explain why USAT ran a story about Iowa egg producers instead of having a datelined story out of Iowa where Gannett has one of its larger newspapers. In addition, the Register is the LARGEST newspaper in Iowa. They can't produce stories of national interest? WTF Carolyn? I'm sure someone notices this besides a punk like me. GPC, RTC, but who cares about news.
ReplyDeleteBuzzwords are part of the attempt to mask the managerial incompetency at USAT. They are part of the culture of this decaying flagship. Seems it's working with those over in corporate who have destroyed the paper but are sure impressed by USAT editors without backbone and publishers who cut jobs like they actually enjoy it. Shouldn't newspapers be the one last place in corporate America where buzzwords are NOT used? Is there any journalistic integrity left in this place?
ReplyDeleteHeck, it doesn't matter anymore. The spirit of so many USAT staffers is shot to hell. Many of the people who were the backbone of the operation are gone. The print product is a joke and the website is bordering on moronic, and seemingly proud of it.
Hey Jim -
ReplyDeleteDoes the word "sell" ever roll out of the executive suite?
Hell, it's just another four-letter word.
But it's the difference between life & death, as far as USAT is concerned.
"Content rings", my ass.
Gath
5:50 if things are sooooo bad then why are you still here? You aren't going anywhere. A year from now you will be hiding in the weeds posting you are getting out. Who on earth would want to hire a sad sack like you. It's so easy to post your bullshit on the blog and then go back to your desk. You work for one of the largest papers in the country. If you could films another job you'd be gone already. People just lost their jobs. Good people. Yet ungrateful jerks like you are still here. Get out already.
ReplyDeleteUSAT is incredibly short-staffed and short on space for stories, and yet we now have a five-person investigative team (don't forget editor Blake Morrison)??? WTF???? Just what we need.
ReplyDeleteA strong, focused, investigative team could produce stories that would set USAT apart from the pack at a time when a lot of what the paper is producing borders on commodity news.
ReplyDeleteTo counterbalance the loss of the four reporters, however, USAT's got to give up some of what it's been covering. Trying to do more work with fewer bodies is a recipe for failure.
If 10:35 is such a cheerleader for USAT, one has to wonder why he/she commented anonymously. Frankly, I thought 5:50 (who 10:35 attacked) was right on target with their appraisal of USAT. Not sure why you would call them a jerk, but it appears apparent that that is what a small segment of USAT managers do when they feel exposed on this blog. They resort to name calling and tell peeps with serious concerns to go work elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that there are more USAT folks with legit concerns than not, so maybe it's you that needs to go work elsewhere if you don't want to acknowledge the rather obvious failures of this paper recently.
I don't think anyone at USAT knows the meaning of the words "strong" or "focused."
ReplyDeleteTrying to do more with fewer bodies is a way of life in the community division, except of course if you're an upper crust editor!
ReplyDeleteYeah interesting Hunke meeting yesterday, all carefully coordinated like a bad Disney production. Dumb and fake as Hunke was with his lame "customer testimonials videos with plunking Cialis commercial guitar backgrounds," the worst all was the broken animatron robots USAT calls VP's.
ReplyDeleteSusan Weiss's "content message" was overwhelmed with her obvious nervousness and an unclear statement of change. Jeff Dionese spoke in circles about content and "the consumer" and used tons of buzzwords at random. Actually he said nothing at all. Steve Kurtz had a few good moments, but the first time in front of the company he decides to bust out his best lounge comedian stuff and all of it fell flat... something about neck surgery, group therapy, and he knows half of us, and zzzzz. Another awesomely bad comediane was Heather Frank, who tried to lighten the room with some snarky comments about "her team" and what she always says to them. (For Chrissakes, how us the money, Heather.) Oh-kay.
Surprise of the meeting was the rousing applause when the new circ VP announced that print was going to be up 10% according to the ABC. WTF? We thought USAT was trying to kill print. Whodathunkit?
Lee "Flash" Gordon showed us exactly why advertising remains down at USAT. Dull, boring and way past his working prime, he introduced some dude (VP) not one person has ever heard of, nor was this VP's "appointment" officially announced. Susan Moteef was the best robot, speaking in a carefully rehearsed voice-over manner much like the rides at Disney, saying a lot of nice lil' baby words about dashboards, with not one bit of substance to back them up. Nothing at all.
So, there it is, your very transformed USA TODAY. The dysfunction will cost them the franchise.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHunke's presentation was absolutely awful. He wasted 30 minutes of our lives by telling us how hard they've been working the last 6 months and how great they are. Who the hell cares. And someone please remind this crew that it's the results that matter, not 6 months of paper shuffling, conference calls, and committee meetings.
ReplyDeleteAnd the parade of new VPs was embarrassing for all of us. Other than Lee Jones, this group was completely unimpressive. Although I do give them credit for studying the Corporate Jargon Handbook before the meeting. I think we heard them all. Rudd Davis had the right idea - stay in the back, text your friends, and shut the heck up.