Sunday, December 05, 2010
Nov. 29-Dec. 5 | Your News & Comments: Part 3
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45 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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Left the company recently but still getting my fix of news here. "Ah caint quit ewe, Gannett Blawg!"
ReplyDeleteThe Jersey papers are doing something like groupons, started a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteSure would be nice if someone in corporate leaked us in Cincinnati some guidance as to who our next editor will be. The Washburn speculation makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't want to spend another winter in Iowa. Then again, Gannett could just make it official and add editor to Marge Buchanan's titles of president and publisher. She's been running our newsroom for a good five years now.
ReplyDeleteAnybody have an idea at what the pay scale for these new fangled design studios are? The application deadline in looming and well if the money is good enough perhaps i would think about it, but I don't even know what ballpark these guys are playing in.
ReplyDeleteoops that should have read "deadline is looming" apologies to the copy police
ReplyDeleteDoes Period 12 end Dec. 25th this year? I'm asking this because it looks to me as if the generally ad-rich post-Christmas last week of the year will not be included in this month's results. That could mean several operations are certainly not going to make their numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe longer the delay, the more one has to wonder if Cincinnati’s publisher’s reputation is making it more difficult to recruit a replacement as believe it or not, more money won’t influence everyone.
ReplyDeleteThat, or maybe Gannett is finally going to be bold and blow up Cincinnati’s traditional newsroom model; i.e. tear down the daily, non-daily, weekly and web content gathering silos to formally create one, content generating entity that isn’t so product centric.
Oops, I forgot, Gannett’s culture doesn’t really encourage or reward that type of change or risk-taking…exactly why it struggles now.
Period 12 ends Dec 26th
ReplyDeleteso, where is Carl Lovern these days? that question never was answered
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Ohio, does anyone know what became of Carl lovern who was rightfully banished from the courier post in new jersey to Ohio some years ago?
12/01/2010 4:49 PM
Anonymous said...
@4:49PM He was knocked down a few pegs. He is no longer VP of Marketing. Not sure what his new title is, but I know he had to take a major cut in salary
This is awesome news it appears we are all in the clear from layoffs this year. Stock is going up and nothing more is happening. Glad to see I made it one more year. I do not see more layoffs this year.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDecember is not over 8:03.
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath about nothing else
happening. Year end Projections will be due
to corporatate any day now.
When numbers start coming in and they
realize the percentages off budget and the lost
revenue compared to even a mediocre 2009,
heads could fly big time.
I remember in 08 and 09 our budgets were down
just 6 to 8 percent and layoffs happened in a big way.
This year I would bet budgets are down more
than that for sure.
What are you on 8:03. It must be damn good stuff! It's your last line that is troubling…"I do not see more layoffs this year". Are you that naive or are you just being sarcastic.
ReplyDeleteExpect 1st and 2nd quarter furloughs and 3rd quarter layoffs. Huge changes planned for 2011 and 2012. Small papers will only consists of reports/editors and Outside sales staff. Hold on tight.
ReplyDeleteCincinnati Enquirer's daily circ: 157,000
ReplyDeleteGroupon’s Cincinnati e-mail list: 186,000
(It gains 1,000 more each day.)
Cincinnati running a story
about how great Groupon is: PRICELESS.
(http://tinyurl.com/24xx7u8)
There are some things people need not buy; then there are stories like this that only reinforce more why people don’t need Gannett.
I don't want to feed the Groupon hype, but I can see this is going to be a HUGE issue for newspapers. If you were to start from the ground floor, you could build a newspaper easily from the Groupon concept, with revenues going towards content. This is a real assault on newspaper ad revenues, and I don't see the newspapers recognizing this, or prepared to respond. It's not that they don't recognize this aleady, it is that they are paralyzed over responding.
ReplyDeleteGannett is sly enough to know that it can trim payroll without the mass layoffs that draw unwanted negative publicity and ill will. It pushes an editor in retirement here, fires a VP there, and eliminates jobs in the name of consolidation. I can still think of quite a few Gannett career-types who should have been cut loose long ago, but for some reason Gannett doesn't get rid of the suckups and low-ability people. It goes after those mistakenly branded as dissenters simply because they question authority as they should.
ReplyDeleteSly has nothing to do with it. A publisher or GM is told they have to make x profit. If sales doesn't generate enough revenue, costs have to be cut to make that nut.
ReplyDeleteIt makes little sense to cut sales people who make more money than they cost. Likewise, at least some editorial is necessary to get the local local stuff covered. Not a lot, mind you. Maybe one real writer per 30,000 circ.
Everything else - from critic to cartoonist to janitor to secretary to M.E.'s, A.M.E.'s and publishers can be cut. Even advertising management and reps will be fired for performance issues.
Really, who cares about negative publicity anymore. The public is numb to more layoff news and they care even less about an industry which ITSELF tells them is irrelevant.
According to The Coloradoan, a Gannett newspaper, if you are a Jew, a Catholic, a Conservative, a Christian - don't bother, they don't want or need your business.
ReplyDeleteGannett stock has taken a major hit in recent years - more than seventy percent of its value is gone - and the CEO can't understand why.
3:52 -- How is the paper rejecting business based on those characteristics?
ReplyDeleteVery big week next week. Board meets Monday. Hmmmm..............
ReplyDeleteThat's odd. They met only six weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, they're meeting next week. Will Dubow retire? Probably. What about Riddle's replacement? We'll learn about it next week.
ReplyDeleteSomething's up.
ReplyDeleteGuess we'll see if the limos pull up in front of the crystal palace Monday.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the vanquished Westchester EE will still be allowed to fill up his company paid car at the gas tank on the premises until he is officially shown the door at month's end?
ReplyDeleteNew CFO, now Gracia will assume CEO position and Dubow retiring. Will be announced next week.
ReplyDeleteSo in effect Gannett is saying to execs like Dubow and Freeman, "Thanks for running us into the ground. Here are lucrative early retirement packages." Unreal.
ReplyDeleteThis is very sad
ReplyDeleteRGJ publisher booked on suspicion of DUI
Staff Report • December 4, 2010
Reno Gazette-Journal Publisher Ted Power was arrested Friday night in southwest Reno on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20101204/NEWS01/101204026
Ah, yes, the stress. During one of these layoff bouts, I ended up with an American Express bill of almost $500 from sitting in bars after work and going over what the company was doing to us.
ReplyDelete10:52 - Freeman in Westchester may not have had a clue as to how to run a newsroom, but maybe he was on to something with the Diet Coke regime?
ReplyDelete10:31 it could happen to anyone at the wrong time, on the wrong day. He will be ok. This isn't the first time something has happened to a Gannett executive. He will address it properly.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete@11:08
ReplyDeleteI can't help but think the local police were stalking him. Maybe not. But this comes on the heels of RGJ reporting a local police Officer being given preferential treatment (not being arrested) for being behind the wheel while being almost twice the legal driving limit.
And an embarrassing series of reports of the County system letting DUI people drive again, after killing or maiming someone.
Reno has a borrible 'ole boy network...
Or, he just could have been arrested like any other person breaking the law.
Who knows.
Jim thought people were stalking him. But he was just crazy. He took a long summer break to recover from that delusion.
ReplyDeleteHas any other papers classified sections been hurt by Careerbuilder? Because of the requirement that local employers MUST pay additional money to have their ad on Careerbuilders, out employment ads have dropped to a point that some days there are ZERO help wanted ads. Yet there is marquee signs all over town for "HELP WANTED" and the local radio station has a link to the state employment office which lists dozens of jobs. While I understand the committment to Careerbuilder, it does not make any sense for a local employer to have to purchase a ad on Careerbuilder for a job that pays minimum wage or slightly above. Plus we lose out the added individual copy newspaper sales because if your looking for job the LAST PLACE you would look is our papers classifieds. Forcing employers to advertise on Careerbuilder just doen't make "cents".
ReplyDeleteA key tucsoncitizen.com staffer writes about his departure on his blog, and the post was promptly removed: http://tucsoncitizen.com/rynski/2010/12/04/rynski-moving-on-ski-tucson-writer-original-gannett-staffer-leaving-tucsoncitizen-com-website/
ReplyDeleteIt's now here: http://rynskiblogski.com/
Our employment section is more robust than our real estate section today.
ReplyDeleteGranted, that now means two pages of jobs versus one page of real estate, but even back in the day we'd run two sections of employment vs. one section of homes.
Ahh, the good old days. 2005.
I feel for the guy's problems as a person. But as the guy who rote-like facilitated my job gone, now one instance of protest for decency? His career is done; mine is not. Yet this is the character of people promoted to the tippy top on the backs of people who need to stay sober.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe recently announced leadership changes at Wilmington and Vineland -- maybe an earlier post about Hollis Townes at the APP becoming a regional boss for NJ and Delaware papers is true?? If so, GCI is cutting some huge salaries way at the top of the food change.
ReplyDeleteIt's food "chain," ok? Hollis is a good person and if this is what's happening, sincere congrats to him. He's far, far from a cookie-cutter 'toid.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though lots of layoffs or reductions are being made under the radar ,so to speak .
ReplyDeleteI would venture to guess that this will be happening at all sites across the country and will not be announced as a corporate wide layoff.
The layoffs in November made almost no newspaper or TV coverage.If not for this site ,not many would even know except for those directly effected.
Gannett does not want any more negative publicity that layoffs generate.
So laying off ten here,ten there times a hundred,shutting down a paper here ,a paper there
times ten, will not gather national or regional
attention,it will seem like just normal local,business adjustments.
Do remember that we who tune in here are regular posters,not all sites have people that contribute here,not even close to the full report shows up here.
As a manager I expect to see lots of cost cutting ,and most non-employee expense cuts have been made already .
@11:54:
ReplyDeleteCalling Rynski a "key" part of the shambling wreckage of the Tucson Citizen is rich.
Well, maybe she is key, to its slide into complete irrelevance and triviality. Gannett needs to put the damn thing out of its misery.