Sunday, October 24, 2010
Week Oct. 18-24 | Your News & Comments: Part 2
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70 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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For Part 1 of this comment thread, go here.
ReplyDeleteFYI: The Blogger-brand software platform I use to publish this blog has tweaked its comment publishing tool. Now, Blogger provides a count of the number of comments published on this blog since I launched it publicly on Sept. 11, 2007. You are now reading comment No. 62,625.
ReplyDeleteJim, does blogger include a template that can be invoked when a mobile client is detected? Reading the standard layout on a phone is not all that pleasant.
ReplyDelete"Shouldn't newspapers be the one last place in corporate America where buzzwords are NOT used?"
ReplyDeleteI found the entire hour close to impenetrable, as did every seasoned journalist in that auditorium, and we're masters of deciphering bs. How Hunke and his VPs could convince themselves that they said anything remotely meaningful is beyond me.
My best guess is that the people in the so-called "leadership group" have been listening carefully to Hunke, identifying the salient words, rearranging them into new sentences and practicing them in front of a mirror with a hearty dose of fake optimism and phony enthusiasm.
Project Odyssey begins roll-out Nov 1
ReplyDeleteI agree with comments from 5:50.
ReplyDeleteI too suffered with Gannett for nearly 10 years.
The last 2 were very near unbearable with stress and pressure, and I lived for the challenges, but it was unbearable even for me.
Sure, when the site where I was manager was a
cash cow ,everything was just great,keep the
money machine printing and send the profits corporates'way and keep the amounts rising and the budgets growing and the ad rates increasing!Corporate loves you ! Then,oh no,the profits started shrinking and the money machine cranked out smaller and smaller amounts and profits were there ,but not enough to please Gannetts
huge appetite.Long time ,hard working people were laid off without a blink or a bad conscience.Newspapers that had published for 100 years shuttered with no remorse.People who trusted Gannett ,gave their soul to the work place and beleived Gannett would be there ...always ..for them,all the way to happy retirement,as they bled Gannett green and work was their everything!This happened suddenly,with little warning or notice.They were gone ....do you think Gannett management cared about the small town lives they ruined ?
No,they all continued on with only a small
act of feeling sorry .No one believed.
The staff of 50 is now about 12.In a small town
that is huge,yet the few there still toil away
as though nothing has happened and that Gannett
will be there for them all the way to happy retirement.
As part of USA TODAY's "transformation," there's been a morale-destroying staffing decision made in Life this week. Two veteran, highly regarded, well-liked staffers were passed over for a promotion for a job that they're more than qualified for in favor of a very inexperienced person from another section who few seem to know, and who fewer seem to like. It's generated a lot of anger among the staff, and has many wondering about what's driving the decision-making process. It's painfully obvious that the people calling the shots have absolutely no clue what the workers on the front lines actually do here every day.
ReplyDelete8:51 a.m.: Unfortunately, it does not.
ReplyDeleteI read this blog on my iPhone and, generally, don't have any trouble.
I'm aware that many other people read it on hand helds, so I've tried to address that by limiting the amount of art and reducing the number of items that appear on each page -- both, designed to reduce page load times.
Could you tell me please what problems you've been having?
9:08, You and all others in the Gannett workforce were victims of a massive Ponzi scheme. As long as the company could pass itself off as a successful business enterprise with a glowing future, it could attract investors, customers -- and workers. But just like Bernie Madoff, when the floor caved in, everyone realized that, all along, the enfranchised newspapers and TV stations were folded into the operation to funnel ever-increasing amounts of money to those living the high life.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMorale-shmorale. Lemme ask something REALLY important: has anyone seen The Prince of Pumpkin Island up in the owner's box at the New Yankee Stadium, or did he lose his box privileges when George Steinbrenner died?
ReplyDeleteStrange: The publisher of Gannett's papers in Clarksville and Murfreesboro, Tenn., is leaving, the Clarksville paper says today. But South Group President Carol Hudler doesn't say in the story whether he's being replaced.
ReplyDeleteHere's a big problem no one here has raised. Hunke has hired all these SVPs and VPs. Well, simple law of averages suggests he's bound to be wrong on a few of them - maybe even half. If that's the case, USAT's fate is now in the hands of several people doomed to failure. And lead by a clueless Hunke, you might even be able to bet money on it.
ReplyDeleteBreaking new from Bethesda Medical:
ReplyDeleteDavid Hunke was treated today for a broken arm. Doctors report that Mr. Hunke suffered the injury while repeatedly patting himself on the back at yesterday's publisher update.
Sometimes I think the people complaining are just as bad as who they are complaining about.
ReplyDeleteTo post that someone is coming to a new job who few people "like" and that the right people got passed over is just immature, hurtful and pretty nasty to boot.
People don't always get the jobs they want. That doesn't mean the person who did get it should be demonized. I'm pulling for the person who got the job, because his success iwill e a success for everybody, even those who were disappointed. That is a far better attitude than ugly high school grousing.
You should be ashamed of yourself, whoever posted that.
To 8:58 I was there. You so called "seasoned" journalists sat on your hands, looking like a pack of petulant children every time the rest of the crowd reacted in a positive manner. I am personally sick of you sad sacks. If it's so bad quit and give your spot to someone who was laid off and wants their job. But you won't. You'll just continue to whine.
ReplyDelete7:50 pm: I earnestly want to hear from more people who, like you, are feeling optimistic about this reorganization. In particular, I'd appreciate learning how it's going to improve USAT's editorial and advertising content, while also boosting circulation and ad sales.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I still don't understand how this will turnaround the paper. And to the extent this blog shapes public perceptions of USAT's prospects, that is not a good thing.
Ms. Martore and Mr. Dubow have discussed removing David Hunke at several of their weekly "catch up" meetings that are held before the every-other-Tuesday Operating Group meetings.
ReplyDeleteApparently, she has been socializing the idea of removing Mr. Hunke and forcing him to "retire" and "go out quietly, like Mr. Moon."
The concern that Mr. Dubow has expressed is that without a CFO and a CDO, it would reflect poorly on Mr. Dubow and Ms. Martore if we do not have a President and Publisher of USAT.
Ms. Martore continues to complain to Robin Pence (Marketing VP) about "the blogger's reminder of the Job Vacancies" and has said she is "hamstrung" and cannot make any decisions to remove anyone until she fills some of these open jobs.
Several people noted that neither Mr. Dubow nor Ms. Martore had anything positive to say about Mr. Hunke during their earnings call. They heaped praise on Davidson, Lougee and Dickey.
Looks like the blog is having a big impact on how the executive management team makes decisions!
Jim, no specific problems in reading on an iPhone. It's just not optimized for a handheld the way some other sites are.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 7:43 PM about denigrating someone who's just received a promotion and hasn't had the opportunity to prove himself in the new role. I bet that the person who posted the negative comments doesn't have the spine to go say that stuff in person.
Sorry Brad Robinson...You ARE screwed!!!! Gannett Local is going down!!! Robin Pence, please send this to Gracia immediately and tell her about Google getting ready to eat Gannett's lunch!!! You are such a nice "pet" to Gracia. Now gone on girl...
ReplyDeleteGoogle (NSDQ: GOOG) VC arm Google Ventures has made an undisclosed investment in Signpost, a site that aggregates local deals in four major U.S. cities. Site users can post their own deals—like a discount at a restaurant—and rate those that have already been submitted. Signpost says it wants to call attention to the “hundreds of deals in your neighorhood that are better than anything you’ll find in a daily e-mail or chance flyer you happen to pick up.”
To the horribly unprofessional person bad-mouthing the new person in Life (and exaggerating the reaction by the staff) and to the person who complained that newsroom folks weren't "responding in a positive manner" (i.e. laughing on cue at Hunke's jokes): Wake the hell up. Both of you are victims of what is now going on at the paper.
ReplyDeleteThe positive let's-pull-together-and-get-this-done-and-done-right attitude evaporated overnight. That's what happens when there is a lack of true vision (pretty circles do not a vision make) and a lack of true leadership (calling yourself a leadership group doesn't make leaders out of people who show little ability to lead.) It is now every man for himself. And it's going to get worse.
All Hunke did up there for an hour was make a case for his next bonus. And rest assured, he won't quit until he gets it.
"It's painfully obvious that the people calling the shots have absolutely no clue what the workers on the front lines actually do here every day ..."
ReplyDeleteHa! The USAT managers who laid me off had no idea what I LOOKED like, much less what I did. They made sure they kept the greenest of greenhorns instead of me though, since it allowed them to save, oh, I dunno, a few thousand dollars.
In fact, those managers may have been 7:43 and 7:50. Thanks for checking in, folks. Sorry that your glassy-eyed cheerleading won't salvage the absolute unsellable garbage that are the properties you've run into the ground with your shortsightedness, lack of vision and absence of any leadership capability whatsoever.
When USAT was founded, it was founded to fill a niche, the business traveler who wanted information quickly and easily. Today, that same traveler has many, many options to get the same information without having to pick up a print product, particularly one that is now so poorly written and edited that even a moron sees the poor quality. Instead, that travler will check out his Blackberry or iPad for the latest news. I think, based on what I've read, that USAT finally recognizes this, and is going to focus on going after that market.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the community newspapers, USAT has outlived its usefulness as a print product. Returning to its original focus, just utilizing new media, is a good idea, and long overdue. Whether they can make money selling apps is another story, and I doubt they'll generate enough revenue on digital ads, so it will be interesting to see how it survives.
On the flip side, the print product is not dead in the communities despite Gannett's best efforts to kill it. The journalism has gotten weak, the focus on digital too pronounced. While 80 percent of the revenue still comes from print, because of paper costs the print product is being de-emphasized, and customers are being turned off by the poor service and quality. You can't treat a community paper like you treat USAT, yet Gannett is trying to shoehorn everything into one size fits all. So while the USAT changes could turn out to be visionary (albeit late), the UCSP changes are short-sighted and will cost even more heavily in the long run as subscribers run to WSJ or NYT and watch local news. Long live NPR.
Jim, I'm curious. If you are screening all comments before posting them, why are some comments removed by the blog administrator? Seems if they violate some policy they'd never get posted anyway.
ReplyDeleteUSA Today "transformation" makes Poynter...see today's column
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=123&aid=193076
Good question, 10:01 a.m. This is a work-around I've developed to show the number of comments I'm removing. With Blogger's software, I must first post the comment, then remove it, in order to show it ever existed.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the time between posting and removal is generally just a few seconds.
Geez, what happened? Did a meeting end at noon and the result was to sell shares?
ReplyDeleteI continue to try them, but so far: I'm not too keen on the New York Times' or USA Today's iPad apps. They frustrate me because:
ReplyDelete1. You only get a sampling of what's available on the papers' bigger websites.
2. The stories don't include hyperlinks; in order to read more, you've got to leave the app, and then go to Safari.
What am I missing?
That Poynter column posted on USA's transition makes a point that had not sunk in with me before: we are going after the AARP audience, and discounting youth.
ReplyDeleteI find this terribly risky. Youthful readers are our future. They have the money to spend, and the curiosity/interests to try new things. The elderly are much more set in their ways, and are not about to run out to the store to buy USA Today.
If we are going after the elderly audience, it means expanded coverage of cancer and arthritis cures, lots of Medicare reimbursement stories, and investigative projects into medical fraud.
I also find this reorganization inordinantly dependent on meaningless jargon. What the hell is a vertical? Copy traditionally moves from a reporter to an editor, and from editor to the printing press. Isn't that a vertical movement, and has it not always been vertical? So what is new and exciting about verticals?
Last night was the deadline for the final RWF's for each newspaper. Schedule layoffs are slated for wk 1 or 2 of Dec! There will be many!
ReplyDelete1:44
ReplyDeleteI think you're guilty of making the same assumptions as Gannett and many other companies. While we used to be able to predict the habits and behaviors of the "Elderly" and "young," that's not the case anymore. Sorry, but it just doesn't work in marketing or much of anything anymore because of (drum roll), the baby boomers. That generation is far more heterogeneous than anything we've ever seen before. This generation is massive in numbers. We've challenged and changed every system since 1946.
So it follows that you (and Gannett) are making a huge mistake by trying to fit the boomers into a neat tidy category with the stereotypes.
I say this: give people news they can use and that will be successful across generations.
Amen, 3:12 p.m.!
ReplyDeleteOld does not equate to "elderly."
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'
3:12 Unfortunately, the baby boomers are following the same dreary path of their predecessors. People develop brand loyalty in their youth that continues through life. If you don't believe me, tell me what brand of detergent do you use, and what brand of soft drink do you prefer?
ReplyDeleteMost people report they have been using these brands since they were in their 20's. That is why the interest in getting the 18-35 age bracket, because brand loyalty established among young people continues through life. That's why advertisers want to target these groups, and why editors have been trying to devise ways of reaching out to them. BTW, Tide and Coca Cola are the most frequent answers to my question.
what is a RWF? and why do people lose jobs because of it?
ReplyDelete8:16 PM
ReplyDeleteMaybe you're correct for past generations, but not for now. Again, boomers are anything but a homogeneous lot----and it's the biggest bubble that's rolled through the life stages----and into "old" age, ever. This is a first. My gut tells me that targeting ANY group, especially one as big and powerful as boomers, will backfire big time. What attracts one person offends another. Plus, writing to an audience, ANY audience, is phony and boomers see right through phoniness.
What's wrong with just reporting the news honestly and presenting it across as many platforms as possible? IMHO, Gannett has been alll hung up on this digital/print thingy way too long. Just hire competent people to report the news, present it palatably everywhere possible and be done with it. Advertising, I believe, follows quality. That miserable company is making this way too difficult.
1:44 PM said: That Poynter column posted on USA's transition makes a point that had not sunk in with me before: we are going after the AARP audience.
ReplyDeleteWell they better increase the font size of the print because the number one complaint from that tough AARP crowd as it pertains to news print is:
They can't read and/or see the newsprint because the PRINT IS TOO SMALL!!!! So - good luck with that!
3:12
ReplyDeleteI laugh at that brand loyalty stuff.
Detergent---I use whatever is on sale, even though I was raised on Tide and used it when the kids were young. I, like many others, changed brands out of necessity-----lost job and less money. Sometimes I make my own detergent. Doubt if I'll ever go back to Tide. Might try Cheer though when I get a job. Might continue to make my own, time permitting.
About soda brands, I was raised on Coke, switched to Dr. Pepper in college----and now I don't drink sugary drinks at all.
I'm a risk-taking, free thinking boomer who deliberately buys things that aren't advertised because corporations advertise and I don't like corporations one bit. Working for Gannett soured me.
Brand loyalty my ass. That's so old school. Give me some news and don't waste your time patronizing (reaching out) to me. That makes me doubt your credibility. Just give me the news.
Re 8:16 p.m.....I'm a boomer, and I have NO brand loyalty. I've bought Ford, Pontiac, Toyota, Dodge, Plymouth, and Chevy.
ReplyDeleteI drink a mix of sodas, and use different ketchup (catup to some) mustard, mayo, etc.
Laundry detergent? I stock up on whatever's on sale. Ditto for coffee, clothing, sporting goods, hardware, you name it.
As for newspapers, I read the local, non-Gannett daily and alternate between the NYT and the WSJ.
In my youth I read the NY Daily News, and the late, great Herald Tribune.
I think a lot of boomers are like me. We're willing to try new things, to experiment. We don't buy the Madison Avenue BS, maybe because we grew up with lies about body counts and bombing raids.
And the ones I know want news. They're not against celebrity stuff and other features - I love the foodie stories - but don't short them on the important matters of the day.
8:24. RWF (sometimes RIF) means reduction in workforce. In plain English: layoff.
ReplyDelete2:13 p.m., can you provide any details? Will this affect the entire community publishing division? And is your source reliable?
ReplyDeleteJust curious, but you might think Hunke would outline this vision he shared with Poynter this week with his own staff. He had a great opportunity to do this at that well-attended meeting, but all all we got was a mouth full of platitudes and meaningless jargon. This is a communications company that doesn't communicate.
ReplyDeleteThe bad news keeps rolling in. Now Moody's downgrades all newspaper stocks from stable to negative.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=137856&nid=119960
Ditto, 10:10 -- is it across the board RIFs or site by site?
ReplyDelete9:24 Yes, there is little good news for us on the stock markets. Harbinger, a big venture fund, dumped almost half of its NYT stock. Hello, corporate, are you paying attention? Your stock options won't hit their strike price. Fools.
ReplyDeleteAre you all receiving your lovely benefits re-enrollment packages today? No big surprise, but it says most of us will see an average of 5% increase in premiums for 2011.
ReplyDeleteGreat. Those of us still employed with Gannett are getting poorer every year -- wage freezes, furloughs, health care up 5% in one year? I can't remember the last time I got a 5% raise.
Thanks Roxanne, Gracia, Craig, Bob and the ol' gang!
Note: The Moody's downgrade was on Monday.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, it sounds like layoffs may now be coming. I do not know how many there might be. I believe any would be determined on a site-by-site basis among the U.S. newspapers. And they would take place sometime in November and December.
ReplyDeleteThe company certainly will have to further reduce overhead soon. They have to protect the bottom line. That's their M. O.
ReplyDeleteJim, on your 5:02: I'm confused about whatever happened with the 10 percent reduction at USAT. Did this happen already? Are those workers already gone? Or is your 5:02 speaking to that RIF? Or is your 5:02 speaking to an addition RIF on top of the USAT 10 percent?
ReplyDeleteUSAT, as far as I know, completed its reduction, and it was 9% of its approximately 1,500 jobs. Many of the jobs were already vacant, although the paper never said exactly how many.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is the current layoff discussions involve the CP, and not USAT. Am I correct? Or don't we know?
ReplyDeleteThat is correct: the U.S. community papers, and not USAT.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteNo reductions in television? Why not?
ReplyDeleteCause Broadcast is one of the few bright spots for GCI. Political ad time buys are exceptional and will buoy the 4th quarter numbers. We're hitting our targets, Print is not.
ReplyDelete10:45 p.m.: Ditto.
ReplyDeleteJim's been wrong before. I think he'll be wrong again. No layoffs for the rest of 2010, except for a few isolated cases.
ReplyDeleteHey! New Jersey's hiring!! Anyone who was let go may now reapply - of course for far less than they were getting before getting let go. But with the job market out there, who knows? Still can't believe they picked NJ as a hub.
ReplyDeleteHow come USA Today employees received a severance package, yet people at my paper who were laid off in the past didn't? Can anyone help me with this?
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened with the "big meeting" this week in Digital? It was mentioned in comments but no follow-up. Any details?
ReplyDelete12:10, perhaps you misread my comment: To repeat the part relevant to your response: "I do not know how many there might be. I believe any would be determined on a site-by-site basis."
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm hearing about may, indeed, be isolated cases. As to timing, I was told some job cuts were scheduled at one paper during the first week of November, but have since been delayed.
8:32, I believe everyone now gets the same Dickensian severance package throughout GCI. Jim, correct me if I'm wrong: one week for every year served. That's not just a USAT-thing right?
ReplyDeleteAnd if you're 'lucky' enough to get this 'generous' package, don't you dare not qualify for state unemployment for even one week if you want to collect everything you earned. The minute you don't qualify for state unemployment is the minute that you will be cut off from all severance due to you -- all of it.
That's GCI for you -- always happy to demonstrate how classy it is. I earned well over 10 years worth of severance. I only collected literally one third of what I was due because I got my own motor started and couldn't keep collecting unemployment checks. So thanks GCI. Hope the economy turns around real soon. Because when it does, there won't be anyone left in the CP except the shortsighted, visionless, knee-jerk senior managers who destroyed the company. No professional in editorial, marketing, ad sales, etc. -- at least not any professional who's worth anything in a free market under normal economic times -- would even consider working for GCI now after what it's done to its human assets.
That's correct. The current severance package is called transitional pay, because it pays the difference between your weekly wage and unemployment benefit earnings.
ReplyDeleteFor example, if Gannett paid you $600 a week, and you qualify for $350 a week in unemployment benefits, GCI will pay you $250 a week. I believe that's capped at a maximum of 26 weeks.
Also, you are made eligible for COBRA health benefits immediately, rather than getting company-subsidized (and so cheaper) medical coverage.
Traditional severance at GCI and most companies was two weeks' pay for every year of service, often with no cap -- plus medical coverage at company rates. Those were the terms of the voluntary layoff I received in December 2007.
The lesson is to take the offer because the next one is almost guaranteed to be less.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the interim, polish your resume, take night classes and plot your path to a life away from the Gannett Evil Empire.
This is a company that used to boast about its employee benefits. But there's hardly any left, now they have frozen the fixed pension benefits and reduced severance and layoff benefits.
ReplyDeleteThe other side of it is that we will be seeing dramatic increases in health care insurance, as the health companies pass through the costs of picking up those with pre-existing conditions and the uninsurable. This is going to be incredibly costly because these are people with high medical needs, and it won't be rolled back even if the Tea Party is succesful in overturning health care.
Our standards of living are declining fast.
Yep, right on Jim. Post your buyout, GCI discovered an easier way to screw employees who were technically already screwed (since they were losing their jobs), and, naturally, leaped forward with the twisted and morally bankrupt current severance plan. GCI has played every single card it can play when it comes to alienating its professional workforce: greed, arrogance, visionless buzzwords from "leaders" instead of substance and real direction, furloughs, over-the-top layoffs, forced exodus of the most experienced, best talent, the worst of severance packages, pay freezes, reduced benefits, frozen pensions, etc. What's pathetic is that those who are hurting the company the most will end up with the most to gain, and then they'll walk away rich. Pathetic. If there were a real board of directors, they'd possibly be able to possibly save this company. Instead, they're just a board of Dubow enablers.
ReplyDeleteFunny, ain't it, that it is the baby boomers who are now leading GCI and its newspapers, are leading the company down this abyss. This was the generation that led the revolt against authoritarian leadership who have now become even more authoritarian, greedy and dictatorial than the elders they once mocked. Look at the selfish, I've-got-mine grab for cash, and the way the boomers protect one another's job as they dump older reporters on the unemployment lines without a word of regret. They have cut pensions and benefits to make it even more difficult for these once-cherished employees to make it on the jobless lines. What goes around, comes around. I hope I am here to see these executives get their much due comeuppance.
ReplyDeleteBoomers dumping boomers. Nothing really new. Same old, same old. I'll tell ya, though, I bet 'ol Craig would gladly shed a few of those millions for a new back.
ReplyDeleteI don't have as much money, but I've got it over him in soooooo many ways!
And don't you all fret. None of the guys and gals calling the shots these days have shred of conscience. Everything's about them. They don't know you. They can't see you. You're a number, not a human.
Fort Collins Layoffs in Period 11
ReplyDelete