Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Week Nov. 15-21 | Your News & Comments: Part 1
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
59 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."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Got a good Thanksgiving story idea, or advertising campaign?
ReplyDeleteThree football players shot in Hattiesburg. ESPN names the victims. But no one at The American left to cover the story.
ReplyDeleteI just looked at the American's website, and it's got a 1:54 p.m. story that identifies the players. Or am I missing something?
ReplyDeleteMight just need to be cleaned up. Both stories still there.
ReplyDeleteI saw the football players indentified by name in both the American and the Clarion Ledger last night. The Ledger had photos, and so does the American now. Get your facts straight, 2:31 AM.
ReplyDeleteBreaking: Gannett names Paul Saleh CFO.
ReplyDeleteSo where was My Boss on the new CFO? Must not be as connected as he/she wants us to believe.
ReplyDeleteWe've been told that on Wednesday, corporate will hold a webinar to give some details on the new Design Studios (that's what they're calling the five big pagination hubs). Sounds like they haven't decided on everything yet, but we're supposed to hear about the overall structure, the hiring process and the schedule for setting them up.
ReplyDeleteHere's a little pop quiz for you.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone else see the glaring style error in the CFO press release?
This error happens all the time in Gannett press releases, and you'd think someone would have clued Pence in by now.
From Wikipedia: "News style (also journalistic style or news writing style) is the prose style used for news reporting in media such as newspapers, radio and television. News style encompasses not only vocabulary and sentence structure, but also the way in which stories present the information in terms of relative importance, tone, and intended audience."
ReplyDeleteWith that as background, 1:25 p.m.: What error are we missing?
Nashville design hub to be operational by 3/1/11
ReplyDeleteJim, Was the last site-by-site spreadsheet keeping track of layoffs the final count? Any updates since?
ReplyDeleteYes, 4:06 p.m.; that spreadsheet includes all the data I've received so far. But I'll keep updating it with more figures if they come in.
ReplyDeleteThere are 19 papers uncounted. I've given up on Phoenix; somehow, that paper seems to have survived without any cuts. But what about Springfield, Mo.?
Head of Tucson Newspapers Resigns: http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/111510_jameson
ReplyDeleteMike Jameson, who headed up TNI, the joint operating agency of the Tucson Citizen (RIP - Gannett) and the Arizona Daily Star (Lee), is out.
Wow. I thought you'd stopped this blog to live on that weird little island. How sad that you're regressing.
ReplyDeleteRegressing is putting it mildly, 5:04. He still runs with unconfirmed rumors, and now his defense to everything is "You just don't want the information to get out!"
ReplyDeleteTo 5:04 and 6:06
ReplyDeleteThis blog is like TV ...
If you don't like the channel...change it !
So go away .......
You first, 6:12. Must be an especially tough day for the cranks who have been looking for work.
ReplyDeleteHey, the Gannett trolls are with us.
ReplyDeleteNJ was spared any cuts. And Cherry Hill doesn't count.
ReplyDeleteNo one will comment on the resignation of Mike Jameson from Tucson Newspapers, the joint venture between Gannett and Lee:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/111510_jameson
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteCan we all agree that Jim has consistently provided information we otherwise would not have been told? Can we also agree that not all information posted on this blog has been accurate? There are no absolutes. This medium has provided comfort and angst, truth and lies, wisdom and immaturity. Those who recognize its inherent value will continue reading and those who don't will either cease checking-in or they'll return time and again to make comments designed to discredit Jim and anyone else who finds it informative. What if we all decided to think for ourselves? Trolls or malcontents aside, might we then accept responsibility for sifting fact from fiction, like intelligent adults? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteMark Baldwin, a good man and manager who has done Gannett's bidding for almost a decade, was dismissed today by Gannett Wisconsin Media. He was the top editor of the four central Wisconsin papers, but got put in Stevens Point as general manager and editor to make room for then-publisher Mike Beck, who was downsized to editor/GM in Wausaw. Yet more proof that Gannett is merely going after top dollar salaries to prepare for the crushing price hike in newsprint next year. Talent or service or past work to improve shareholder value in past reductions matter not. The bell tolled for a good one today.
ReplyDelete8:35 -- Great post. I might add that in thinking for myself I've decided that anyone who refers to Ibiza as a "weird little island" isn't educated enough to take seriously.
ReplyDeleteSpringfield News Leader - 6 jobs total 3 open positions not being filled and 3 positions eliminated
ReplyDeleteTo 9:23pm - 8:35 here, thank you. As for your discerning approach to comments, me too.
ReplyDeleteThe problem, 8:35, is there are too few intelligent adults here who can separate fact from fiction.
ReplyDeleteJim I'm not one that reads your blog much. I have never written a word. I found something funny that happened on your blog and our papers online website. A guy that worked at our local paper two years ago in 2008 still comments on our local website story chat under the name the windy one. Last week the publisher announced he was leaving. This guy posted on the readers chat area that the publisher should not let the door hit him in the butt on the way out. This caused an internal stir at our paper. In meetings he had everyone talking about him. In fact the comments got removed after a manager pict62 he posted who he was on our papers chat area. Not sure how this individual got this information but it was surely something found from the newsroom. He had this location so fired up that comments flew all morning on your blog and on our website. Off of this past employee's one post. I saw him this weekend and he laughed when I asked him about it. He said see I can still control the emotions of those at our paper and they know why I do. I find it really funny that after two years this person still posts with the same name and doesn't care what anyone says. He said that he didn't read the comments after he posted. He said he did not know his information was posted on the chat section. He said it just shows that nothing is confidential as is stated to the readers and he said it was fine as he owes nobody anything. He also stated that obviously he got the last laugh again. This guy was a good worker but spoke up a lot and was not liked for it. He did have some issues in his life that really took a toll on his life. He came from a family with a lot of money so when he was let go it really didn't have any impact on him. Amazing this guy can still get the managers and publisher going after two years and they stoop to the level of telling other readers who he was on the website. I think he is the one getting the last laugh also. Think about it he got gannett employees to spend the morning in our town on your blog and on the papers comments section. Like he told me the other night just think what Gannett paid those employees to comment about my post during work time. His comment was not a real good investment if you ask me. Anyway hope this makes your day as it did mine.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the Freep will win their next pulitzer for this article...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freep.com/article/20101115/FEATURES13/101115052/1320/Walmart-Black-Friday-ad-features-laptops
Oy. I hate these stories about black-friday-ads getting leaked. Tell me the retailers don't leak them on purpose!
ReplyDeleteThey don't leak them on purpose.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that the layoffs are not finished
ReplyDeleteuntil the fat lady sings.
And Gannett does not have enough blood on their hands and miserable ex-workers on the dole for the holidays.In the past,
the Holidays and near end of year have been prime time for large slashings.
Let me just chime in with 8:35 pm 11/15:
ReplyDeleteIt's very easy to get caught up in your own area and not see the bigger picture. Gannett certainly isn't sharing this stuff. I read this blog because it makes me feel like part of the larger Gannett community, trolls notwithstanding.
My thanks to all the posters who share their tidbits of information and to Jim for pulling it all together.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/nov/15/useconomy-you-fix-the-deficit
ReplyDeleteYou tell me reading about black Friday ads will make the US better informed voters than something like this!
Jim, any confirmation of 3:21's comment 11/15 that Nashville design hub will be operational by 3/1/11?
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is the newsprint exposure for next year - How much is it going up and why? Oil's not that high.
ReplyDelete11:29: Several posters have said newsprint is expected to rise 20-24%. But that higher cost will be mitigated by using less newsprint via smaller papers.
ReplyDelete11:04: I believe Nashville was always scheduled to be the first. Other than that, though, I don't know whether that date is correct. Yesterday, a commenter said Corporate had scheduled a webinar -- I guess that's a web-based seminar -- for tomorrow, to talk about the hubs.
Newsprint prices are increasing because the owners of so many papers have reduced their pages.
ReplyDeletePaper mills then closed in tandem with the reduced demand.
Mill owners are now getting their money back by charging higher prices.
I believe we will all see the consequences of the newsprint savings program after the Xmas ad season ends next month. There are going to be some very, very thin newspapers with not much inside.
ReplyDeleteHope this story doesn't give corporate any ideas:
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703670004575617083483970398.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTSecondStories
Last thing I'd click on is the daily 1,440 photos in a gallery this idiot will produce!
The Post earlier this week slamming USA Today for having five journalists covering congress and 27 covering entertainment is really beneath you. Deceptive bordering on dishonest.
ReplyDeleteThe document you link to lists 20 or 21 federal reporters and editors, five more covering defense, 10 investigative or database staffers who often cover federal issues.
So yeah, federal Washington has 25 or 26 journalists plus reinforcement from the nation team, the investigative reporters and the four who exclusively cover aviation and entertainment has 27.
I am all for beating on the man especially when he does foolish stuff, but twisting the facts just to get an extra slam in is lame.
When you do that, you hurt the good folks still there trying to do a good job of which I know many.
Hear, hear, David. Besides, the entertainment team is composed of serious book reviewers and writers, a theater reporter and writer as well as those who cover TV, music and film. And, yes, also those who write about celebrities. Plus editors. Compare that to a paper of equal size such as The New York Times or Wall Street Journal, and it is not a very big lineup at all.
ReplyDeleteThe GPC sucks! What are they hiring? 10 year olds with A.D.D.? How in the hell can you misspell 10 words in an ad which I supplied the text in a word document, spelled correctly? And could you at least try to match the typeface and size of the other 10 items in the ad? I'm out busting my ass trying to sell ads and these idiots screw everything up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a flipping joke!
David:
ReplyDeleteWe are fighting two wars, and both are looking like losers. Terrorists continue probing at our weak spots. Iran and North Korea may have nukes. The U.S. economy remains in shambles, with Euro Zone threats raising the possibility of a double-dip recession. Congress has just gone through another upheaval. The U.S. Supreme Court has emboldened corporations to further corrupt the electoral process. And, of course, there's global warming.
Bottom line, according to your arithmetic, USAT puts all of the above on equal footing with entertainment.
Is that better?
You didn't say they were equal, though. You said Congress had 5, and entertainment had 27. He called you on your mistake, and as usual, you are making excuses.
ReplyDelete5:43, I feel your pain brother.
ReplyDeleteJim's post @7:04PM serves as a summary of just exactly why I choose The Guardian for my news. I still have hope that we'll be able to keep our democracy. But a democracy can only work with an educated public. We're losing ground.
ReplyDeleteI said Congress has five reporters and entertainment has 27 because, well, the document says Congress has five reporters and entertainment has 27.
ReplyDeleteDavid's point, which is 100% correct, is that those five reporters are among a larger group of about 30 covering all of the federal government.
5:43 and 4:48 -- You make some good points, but I'm a professional entertainment writer and I'm astonished that USAT would have as many people covering entertainment as they do government. You don't think the balance is off?
ReplyDeleteGannett is beefing up its TV operations at the expense of its newspapers.
ReplyDeleteIn St. Louis, Gannett-owned KSDK will produce newscasts for crosstown competitor KDNL-TV beginning January 3. KSDK posted job openings last week.
11/15/2010 10:50 Wow that is scary they used the posters information in their post. How can gannett papers tell readers they will not post names or likeness and they do it anyway. That paper should be taking action against that poster for making this past employee stand out on their website. I wish you would have left the papers name so others know not to post on it as they do not keep it confidential. If you come back post it.
ReplyDeleteMy editor exposed the identity of a poster one time. She never gained my respect after that.
ReplyDelete10:50 on 11/15: Which newspaper is this?
ReplyDeleteSo Wisconsin has a heart and waits until a Central ME is back from a family funeral to cut him, and the EE cut in Manitowoc is 62 and has a wife fighting cancer. Sure hope the jerks who make these decisions enjoy their year-end bonuses and the friggin' holidays.
ReplyDeleteBoy, Jim, you just don't get it. Fine -- the document said what you said it did.
ReplyDeleteThe point, though, is it doesn't make sense to make that comparison. The previous poster already covered the reasons why and cited examples. That one post, made with a name, is far better than just about anything this blog has produced in some time.
I hear the Bob's are back in Phoenix this week (aka, the consultants in Phoenix). Where's my stapler? They better not take my stapler. LOL.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how you count it, USA Today does not have a large number of Washington reporters for its circulation.
ReplyDeletePolitico, a Web site based solely on covering Washington politics, has 20 reporters covering Congress, and has just hired another 40 for a new Web site Politico has launched covering federal agencies. In addition to a Web site, it publishes a newspaper that has a circulation of 30,000 on Capitol Hill and in Washington lobbying offices.
The proliferation of reporters covering Congress has been incredible, as you probably see from C-Span coverage of congressional press conferences. In addition to Politico, organizations with large staffs of reporters devoted to covering Congress are Congressional Quarterly and the National Journal, formerly owned by the L.A. Times. The Journal just hired Kathy Kiely from USAT to head up its political operations.
Even after the bankruptcy, the L.A. Times has a staff of about 30 covering Washington politics and federal agencies, and the Chicago Tribune has 12. Easily the largest presence is the New York Times, which has a bureau in Washington of about 50, about the same size as the Wall Street Journal.
For Part 2 of this comment thread, please go here.
ReplyDelete