Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Burlington | Rochester's Fogler now Free Press pub
Corporate said this afternoon that it has promoted James Fogler to president and publisher of Vermont's Burlington Free Press. Fogler has been the vice president of marketing and communications for New York's Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. He succeeds Brad Robertson, who was named president of Gannett Local in May.
A short history of Big Al's feuds with USAT execs
Al Neuharth's current fight with Publisher Dave Hunke isn't the first time the USA Today founder has gone public with his unhappiness over the newspaper's management. Consider this April 2004 column he wrote for USAT, where he appeared to be undermining the top editor, Karen Jurgensen, over her role in the Jack Kelley scandal, engulfing the newspaper at the time.
Earlier: Neuharth, Arkansas, Jack Kelley and me
Earlier: Neuharth, Arkansas, Jack Kelley and me
Corporate politics makes strange bedfellows
"May I just say that I've just developed
a man crush on Al?"
a man crush on Al?"
-- Anonymous@7:14 p.m., commenting on USA Today Founder Al Neuharth's newly emerged letter to Dave Hunke, criticizing the publisher's controversial decision to publish a Jeep ad that covered the front page in July.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Neuharth: Jeep ad 'low point' of any decision made
Following is text of the sharply worded letter USA Today Founder Al Neuharth wrote to Publisher Dave Hunke about the paper's publishing a Jeep ad that obscured the entire front page last month. This text originally appeared in today's New York Times.
July 16, 2010
Dear Dave:
There’s room for argument over which have been USA TODAY’s best front pages in its 28 years history. There is no doubt which has been its worst!
Turning last Monday’s entire front page over to an ad for Jeep was the low point in any decision any USA TODAY publisher has ever made.
The comment by Advertising EVP Lee Jones that “The look and feel will be very close to the way the paper looks” is equally unbelievable.
I’ve never received as many sad comments from past or present USA TODAY or Gannett people as I have this one.
If I had been Editor John Hillkirk (who is not among those I’ve heard from) I would have led the entire news staff walking out in protest. If such a stupid decision is ever made again, I hope that will be the result.
That would leave those who apparently don’t understand what a newspaper is to try to put one out without a news staff.
Sadly,
Al Neuharth
cc: Craig Dubow, John Hillkirk, Lee Jones
July 16, 2010
Dear Dave:
There’s room for argument over which have been USA TODAY’s best front pages in its 28 years history. There is no doubt which has been its worst!
Turning last Monday’s entire front page over to an ad for Jeep was the low point in any decision any USA TODAY publisher has ever made.
The comment by Advertising EVP Lee Jones that “The look and feel will be very close to the way the paper looks” is equally unbelievable.
I’ve never received as many sad comments from past or present USA TODAY or Gannett people as I have this one.
If I had been Editor John Hillkirk (who is not among those I’ve heard from) I would have led the entire news staff walking out in protest. If such a stupid decision is ever made again, I hope that will be the result.
That would leave those who apparently don’t understand what a newspaper is to try to put one out without a news staff.
Sadly,
Al Neuharth
cc: Craig Dubow, John Hillkirk, Lee Jones
USAT | Big Al gives Dave Hunke the big finger
Word for word from a New York Times story about USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke's newly announced plans to reorganize the struggling daily:
The paper has experimented with ways to be more innovative about generating revenue, though not always in ways that hew to long-accepted practices in the newspaper business. In July it wrapped its front section in an advertisement for Jeep that obscured the entire front page. The ad stirred outrage in the newsroom and prompted the paper’s founder, Allen H. Neuharth, to complain in a letter to the publisher that if he were still there, “I would have led the entire news staff walking out in protest.”
Taking a shot at Mr. Hunke, Mr. Neuharth, 86, added: “If such a stupid decision is ever made again, I hope that will be the result. That would leave those who apparently don’t understand what a newspaper is to try to put one out without a news staff.”
The paper has experimented with ways to be more innovative about generating revenue, though not always in ways that hew to long-accepted practices in the newspaper business. In July it wrapped its front section in an advertisement for Jeep that obscured the entire front page. The ad stirred outrage in the newsroom and prompted the paper’s founder, Allen H. Neuharth, to complain in a letter to the publisher that if he were still there, “I would have led the entire news staff walking out in protest.”
Taking a shot at Mr. Hunke, Mr. Neuharth, 86, added: “If such a stupid decision is ever made again, I hope that will be the result. That would leave those who apparently don’t understand what a newspaper is to try to put one out without a news staff.”
Sunday, August 29, 2010
USAT | What's the right age to be an executive?
[Frank Gannett was young when he co-founded company]
Can someone be too young -- or too old -- to be an effective corporate leader? That's the subject of a fierce debate underway among Gannett Bloggers, following last week's appointment of Rudd Davis, 30, as a senior executive at USA Today. Davis is the founder of USAT subsidiary BNQT, a publisher of action sports news and information that he started when he was 24 years old.
Following are some well-known media companies; their founders, and their ages at the companies' launch.
- Apple. Steve Jobs (co-founder), 21
- Craigslist. Craig Newmark, 42
- Disney. Walt Disney (co-founder), 22
- Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg (co-founder), 20
- Gannett. Frank Gannett (co-founder), 30
- Google. Sergey Brin and Larry Page (co-founders), both 25
- Harpo Productions. Oprah Winfrey, 32
- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Martha Stewart, 56
- Microsoft. Bill Gates (co-founder), 20
- USAT. Al Neuharth, 58
Week of Aug. 23-29 | Your News & Comments
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.)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Memo: HighSchoolSports.net crashed last night; outage mars debut of site's expanded coverage
In the memo, Peter Lundquist, vice president and general manager of the sports network, told staffers: "Although HighSchoolSports.net was restored at about 8:30 p.m. ET Friday from earlier slowness and an outage, performance degenerated to the point that the site has been difficult to use at best."
His memo continued: "This was a terrible disappointment. I apologize that we let down all of you and our customers tonight. It was devastating to me personally and to the team that has worked nonstop to make this work."
The network still appeared to be on the fritz when I checked it moments ago: Some material on the homepage wasn't displaying correctly.
Gannett announced plans to expand the network less than two weeks ago, with an initial roll out this month for 38 newspaper and TV markets. All the 100-plus sites are to be in place by the end of the year.
GCI has held a controlling stake in HighSchoolSports.net since October 2007. It's part of the company's push into niche digital sites, such as Moms Like Me, meant to supplement traditional sources of newspaper revenue.
Following is the full text of Lundquist's memo:
All,
Although HighSchoolSports.net was restored at about 8:30 p.m. ET Friday from earlier slowness and and outage, performance degenerated to the point that the site has been difficult to use at best. The engineers were not comfortable making wholesale changes that might impact stability. Instead, our developers have continued to apply changes one at a time, specifically focused on improving load times.
Our tech team will continue to work parallel tracks Saturday, one to improve page-load performance on the rolled-back code base, and the other to diagnose the root cause of the initial problem. Once we have identified and corrected the root cause to the satisfaction of the hosting team, we will re-add the improvements from this week. There are several that were not part of the rolled-back code. We will provide estimated timelines as the diagnosis is made.
Our management team is meeting first thing, and we will be providing additional communications throughout the weekend.
This was a terrible disappointment. I apologize that we let down all of you and our customers tonight. It was devastating to me personally and to the team that has worked nonstop to make this work.
-- Peter
USAT | Questions for new business developer Davis
In a move that's drawing extra scrutiny, Rudd Davis has been promoted to an influential job running a new, high-profile department at USA Today as part of the struggling newspaper's just-announced reorganization.
Yesterday, Publisher Dave Hunke disclosed that Davis, 30, had been named vice president of business development. The department, Hunke said in a statement, will "develop and secure new business opportunities and partnerships including brand licensing, content syndication, acquisitions and joint ventures." Davis will also assume oversight of USA Today's retail, hotel and education-based partnerships.
Davis had been CEO of USAT subsidiary BNQT, a technology start-up he founded in 2004 that publishes news and information about surfing, skateboarding and other such action sports. USAT bought the company in early 2008.
Controversially, Davis will work closely with another USAT executive who also got promoted in the paper's reorganization: former Life section Managing Editor Susan Weiss, now executive editor, content.
The two will have a "collaborative relationship,'' according to a USAT document describing "a new way of doing business that aligns sales efforts with the content we produce." This suggests a weakening of the traditional Chinese Wall between the newsroom and business side, one designed to keep a paper's news and editorial content from being unduly influenced by its commercial interests. For example, the wall helps make sure advertisers aren't given special, favorable treatment over non-advertisers.
How will Davis mitigate this risk?
That's one of many questions I'm planning to ask him in the days ahead. I'd like your input, too. What would you like to know about Davis' past, his current role within USAT, and what the paper hopes to do in the future?
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: yesterday's front page, Newseum]
Davis had been CEO of USAT subsidiary BNQT, a technology start-up he founded in 2004 that publishes news and information about surfing, skateboarding and other such action sports. USAT bought the company in early 2008.
Controversially, Davis will work closely with another USAT executive who also got promoted in the paper's reorganization: former Life section Managing Editor Susan Weiss, now executive editor, content.
The two will have a "collaborative relationship,'' according to a USAT document describing "a new way of doing business that aligns sales efforts with the content we produce." This suggests a weakening of the traditional Chinese Wall between the newsroom and business side, one designed to keep a paper's news and editorial content from being unduly influenced by its commercial interests. For example, the wall helps make sure advertisers aren't given special, favorable treatment over non-advertisers.
How will Davis mitigate this risk?
That's one of many questions I'm planning to ask him in the days ahead. I'd like your input, too. What would you like to know about Davis' past, his current role within USAT, and what the paper hopes to do in the future?
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: yesterday's front page, Newseum]
Sponsors | Thank you, to my newest supporter!
I'm trying to earn $4,000 quarterly, mostly through sponsorships of $5 per reader, plus limited ad sales. Please use the "Donate" tool in the green rail, upper right. Or mail cash/checks payable to: Jim Hopkins, 584 Castro St. #823, San Francisco, Calif., 94114-2594.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Welcome to your new vital, valuable media brand; USA Today's reorganization steps back to the past
In a major shift in strategy, a top Gannett executive has announced a sweeping restructuring of its newspaper publishing strategy, one designed to be a model for the newsroom of the future in a rapidly changing digital marketplace.
"It will fulfill today's needs for a more flexible, broader-based approach to the information gathering process," according to a company statement. "And it will be platform agnostic: News and information will be delivered to the right media -- be it newspapers, online, mobile, video or ones not yet invented -- at the right time. Our customers will decide which they prefer."
This, of course, wasn't USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke (left), speaking yesterday about his financially challenged daily. It was Gannett CEO Craig Dubow, way, w-a-a-a-y back in November 2006, in a memo about GCI's reorganization plans for its nearly 100 community dailies in the U.S. and the U.K. Even then, the company's strategy read like a late-to-the-party rearranging of the deck chairs.
Now, nearly four years later, it's Hunke's turn. "This significant restructuring reflects USA Today's evolution from a newspaper company to a multi-platform media company," he said in a statement about the paper's long-expected reorganization.
The makeover will require about 130 layoffs this fall, Hunke told the Associated Press. That's about 9% of USA Today's 1,500 employees, and follows more than 100 other job cuts over the past two years. Hunke didn't specify which departments would be hardest hit.
The big, unfortunate surprise, however, is that it took this long; includes so few key details or rationale, and relies on so many people with relatively little serious news-gathering experience.
Missing data -- and Martore
To be certain, the nation's top print title is badly in need of a reorganization. Circulation has fallen 14% from a year ago, knocking the paper down to the No. 2 position after The Wall Street Journal -- including its paid, online-only subscribers -- amid a growing rivalry with the other national daily, The New York Times.
Meanwhile, advertising revenue fell 11% in the first quarter from a year before, when the economy was at the depths of the Great Recession. We don't know the ad picture for the second quarter because, in a rare move, Gannett omitted the information from a regulatory report -- a perhaps ominous sign the trend hadn't improved, and maybe even got worse.
None of this could please Gracia Martore, Gannett's powerful operational and finance czarina since February. She has clearly been pulling USAT closer to Corporate's cost-cutting orbit, pressuring Hunke, the former Detroit newspapers CEO who became USAT publisher in April 2009.
But yesterday's reorganization -- in the works since at least mid-June, but almost certainly longer -- tells us virtually nothing about how the ad department's ongoing restructuring will boost revenue. Indeed, none of the "key appointments'' in management are in that hobbled department. Instead, we have a whole lot of newly appointed vice presidents in positions that buzz with the handiwork of expensive consultants.
I'll single out one in particular, because it's likely the most (as we say in the news biz) eyebrow raising. Word for word from Hunke's statement:
"Rudd Davis will join USA Today as Vice President of Business Development, heading a department which will develop and secure new business opportunities and partnerships including brand licensing, content syndication, acquisitions and joint ventures. Davis will also assume oversight of USA Today's retail, hotel and education-based partnerships. Davis was previously President and Founder of BNQT."
A 30-year-old exec
Now, I don't know Davis. A year from now, he may be hailed as the savior of USAT in particular, and newspapers in general. He's certainly youthful: Davis just turned 30, which means he was only 15 when the Internet showed its vast commercial potential in the 1995 initial public offering of Netscape Communications. [Updated at 1:04 a.m. Aug. 28: Initially, I had to guess at his age for this post, because Hunke's statement omitted a key Journalism 101 detail for all the exec appointments: their ages. In an e-mail, Davis later provided his correct age.] He's a 2003 graduate of Bard College. Plus, there's this undated photo, one of a kind that reflects the culture of younger consumers that newspapers so desperately seek.
Davis does not have anything close to a traditional journalism background, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing in a newspaper industry that's struggling to move past some of its hidebound, reader-losing strategies. He came to his new job via the USAT subsidiary BNQT, a publisher of surfing, snowboarding and other action sports content based in Los Angeles. USAT bought BNQT in early 2008 in a bid to attract more young male readers, a demographic coveted by advertisers.
It would be fascinating indeed to learn how Davis rock-climbed up USAT's ranks to enter Hunke's inner circle. I will leave it to my readers to crowdsource that backstory.
On the news-gathering side, one of the most notable appointments is Life (features) section Managing Editor Susan Weiss, now executive editor, content -- the No. 2 position under Editor John Hillkirk, who's had that job since Hunke was hired 16 months ago. She started at USAT in 1983 -- a year after the paper's launch -- as a copy editor in the Life section and later held positions as TV Editor and Deputy Managing Editor, Hunke's statement says. She previously held positions at McCall's magazine.
Here's the new 'news'
I will state this gently: That's not exactly a background that lends itself to the bare-knuckled task of gathering hard news. And no matter what you're told, hard, well-edited, exclusive news is all that matters in the bruising battle with the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Huffington Post and the myriad other online competitors duking it out for survival over the next very short years.
Maybe, though, Martore, Hunke and the other top dogs have given up on journalism. In his statement yesterday, Hunke said this shake-up "will continue our legacy as a vital, valuable media brand across print, digital and mobile platforms."
And that, apparently, is the news.
Related: Newsroom of Tomorrow, a 23-page presentation given to USAT staff yesterday
Earlier: text of Hunke's memo to employees
Then again, what do I know? I'm 53 years old and have never surfed! Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
"It will fulfill today's needs for a more flexible, broader-based approach to the information gathering process," according to a company statement. "And it will be platform agnostic: News and information will be delivered to the right media -- be it newspapers, online, mobile, video or ones not yet invented -- at the right time. Our customers will decide which they prefer."
Now, nearly four years later, it's Hunke's turn. "This significant restructuring reflects USA Today's evolution from a newspaper company to a multi-platform media company," he said in a statement about the paper's long-expected reorganization.
The makeover will require about 130 layoffs this fall, Hunke told the Associated Press. That's about 9% of USA Today's 1,500 employees, and follows more than 100 other job cuts over the past two years. Hunke didn't specify which departments would be hardest hit.
The big, unfortunate surprise, however, is that it took this long; includes so few key details or rationale, and relies on so many people with relatively little serious news-gathering experience.
Missing data -- and Martore
To be certain, the nation's top print title is badly in need of a reorganization. Circulation has fallen 14% from a year ago, knocking the paper down to the No. 2 position after The Wall Street Journal -- including its paid, online-only subscribers -- amid a growing rivalry with the other national daily, The New York Times.
Meanwhile, advertising revenue fell 11% in the first quarter from a year before, when the economy was at the depths of the Great Recession. We don't know the ad picture for the second quarter because, in a rare move, Gannett omitted the information from a regulatory report -- a perhaps ominous sign the trend hadn't improved, and maybe even got worse.
None of this could please Gracia Martore, Gannett's powerful operational and finance czarina since February. She has clearly been pulling USAT closer to Corporate's cost-cutting orbit, pressuring Hunke, the former Detroit newspapers CEO who became USAT publisher in April 2009.
But yesterday's reorganization -- in the works since at least mid-June, but almost certainly longer -- tells us virtually nothing about how the ad department's ongoing restructuring will boost revenue. Indeed, none of the "key appointments'' in management are in that hobbled department. Instead, we have a whole lot of newly appointed vice presidents in positions that buzz with the handiwork of expensive consultants.
I'll single out one in particular, because it's likely the most (as we say in the news biz) eyebrow raising. Word for word from Hunke's statement:
"Rudd Davis will join USA Today as Vice President of Business Development, heading a department which will develop and secure new business opportunities and partnerships including brand licensing, content syndication, acquisitions and joint ventures. Davis will also assume oversight of USA Today's retail, hotel and education-based partnerships. Davis was previously President and Founder of BNQT."
A 30-year-old exec
Now, I don't know Davis. A year from now, he may be hailed as the savior of USAT in particular, and newspapers in general. He's certainly youthful: Davis just turned 30, which means he was only 15 when the Internet showed its vast commercial potential in the 1995 initial public offering of Netscape Communications. [Updated at 1:04 a.m. Aug. 28: Initially, I had to guess at his age for this post, because Hunke's statement omitted a key Journalism 101 detail for all the exec appointments: their ages. In an e-mail, Davis later provided his correct age.] He's a 2003 graduate of Bard College. Plus, there's this undated photo, one of a kind that reflects the culture of younger consumers that newspapers so desperately seek.
Davis does not have anything close to a traditional journalism background, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing in a newspaper industry that's struggling to move past some of its hidebound, reader-losing strategies. He came to his new job via the USAT subsidiary BNQT, a publisher of surfing, snowboarding and other action sports content based in Los Angeles. USAT bought BNQT in early 2008 in a bid to attract more young male readers, a demographic coveted by advertisers.
It would be fascinating indeed to learn how Davis rock-climbed up USAT's ranks to enter Hunke's inner circle. I will leave it to my readers to crowdsource that backstory.
On the news-gathering side, one of the most notable appointments is Life (features) section Managing Editor Susan Weiss, now executive editor, content -- the No. 2 position under Editor John Hillkirk, who's had that job since Hunke was hired 16 months ago. She started at USAT in 1983 -- a year after the paper's launch -- as a copy editor in the Life section and later held positions as TV Editor and Deputy Managing Editor, Hunke's statement says. She previously held positions at McCall's magazine.
Here's the new 'news'
I will state this gently: That's not exactly a background that lends itself to the bare-knuckled task of gathering hard news. And no matter what you're told, hard, well-edited, exclusive news is all that matters in the bruising battle with the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Huffington Post and the myriad other online competitors duking it out for survival over the next very short years.
Maybe, though, Martore, Hunke and the other top dogs have given up on journalism. In his statement yesterday, Hunke said this shake-up "will continue our legacy as a vital, valuable media brand across print, digital and mobile platforms."
And that, apparently, is the news.
Related: Newsroom of Tomorrow, a 23-page presentation given to USAT staff yesterday
Earlier: text of Hunke's memo to employees
Then again, what do I know? I'm 53 years old and have never surfed! Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Here's text of Publisher Hunke's memo to staff
Following is a memo USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke distributed to employees yesterday.
8/26/2010
TO: USA TODAY staff
FROM: Dave Hunke
President and Publisher, USA TODAY
USA TODAY ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING
I am pleased to announce today an executive management team that will be in charge of transforming USA TODAY into a multi-media company. We are excited by the appointment of key executives as well as the creation of new departments that will lead this evolution.
Rudd Davis will join USA TODAY as Vice President of Business Development, heading a new department which will develop and secure new business opportunities and partnerships including brand licensing, content syndication, acquisitions and joint ventures. Davis will also assume oversight of USA TODAY’s retail, hotel and education-based partnerships.
Jeff Dionise has been appointed Vice President of Product Development and Design, a new department which will focus on research and development of new USA TODAY products across the brand. Dionise will also be responsible for refinements and enhancements to current USA TODAY products.
Heather Frank has been named Vice President of Vertical Development, overseeing the department dedicated to the creation and implementation of new as well as existing vertical content areas. Frank was previously general manager of USA TODAY’s “Your Life” health and lifestyle vertical, which will launch in September.
Brad Jones has been named Senior Vice President of Circulation charged with growing print circulation and working collaboratively with Business Development and Sales and Marketing to build and deliver client-based solutions that maximize customer relationships and revenue opportunities.
Steve Kurtz has been named Vice President of Digital Development, with a new department which will focus on developing and maintaining technology and systems to support USA TODAY’s existing dotcom, mobile, iPhone and iPad platforms. Kurtz will also oversee the development as well as acquisition of digital and emerging platform space.
Ross Schaufelberger has been named Vice President and General Manager of the new USA TODAY Sports, which will be distinguished as a national brand and provide a sports platform for USA TODAY sports content as well as multiple media content assets and products from Gannett-wide properties.
Myron Maslowsky, USA TODAY’s Vice President of Finance since 2002, has been appointed to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Group Finance and Administration. In addition to USA TODAY Finance, Maslowsky will now also oversee USA TODAY’s Information Technology and Human Resources departments.
Also announced in USA TODAY Group Finance and Administration was the naming of Susan Motiff to the newly created position of Vice President, Strategic Planning, Analysis and Support. Motiff will oversee financial analysis and modeling for USA TODAY brands, including planning for and analysis of business and development opportunities.
John Hillkirk, Editor, also announced two new appointments in USA TODAY news. Susan Weiss, has been named Executive Editor, Content and Chet Czarniak has been announced as Executive Editor, Content Distribution and Programming for USA TODAY’s print, dotcom and mobile/apps news and information platforms.
These key executive appointments will join the current USA TODAY leadership team, which includes Lee Jones, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing; Ken Kirkhart, Vice President, Production; and John Palmisano, Vice President of Information Technology.
Please join me in congratulating all those joining the new leadership team of USA TODAY.
Over the next day, managers will meet with their staffs to give fuller details and to answer any questions you may have. Details will also be posted to the Tracking the Transformation page on the USA TODAY intranet by Friday afternoon.
8/26/2010
TO: USA TODAY staff
FROM: Dave Hunke
President and Publisher, USA TODAY
USA TODAY ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING
I am pleased to announce today an executive management team that will be in charge of transforming USA TODAY into a multi-media company. We are excited by the appointment of key executives as well as the creation of new departments that will lead this evolution.
Rudd Davis will join USA TODAY as Vice President of Business Development, heading a new department which will develop and secure new business opportunities and partnerships including brand licensing, content syndication, acquisitions and joint ventures. Davis will also assume oversight of USA TODAY’s retail, hotel and education-based partnerships.
Jeff Dionise has been appointed Vice President of Product Development and Design, a new department which will focus on research and development of new USA TODAY products across the brand. Dionise will also be responsible for refinements and enhancements to current USA TODAY products.
Heather Frank has been named Vice President of Vertical Development, overseeing the department dedicated to the creation and implementation of new as well as existing vertical content areas. Frank was previously general manager of USA TODAY’s “Your Life” health and lifestyle vertical, which will launch in September.
Brad Jones has been named Senior Vice President of Circulation charged with growing print circulation and working collaboratively with Business Development and Sales and Marketing to build and deliver client-based solutions that maximize customer relationships and revenue opportunities.
Steve Kurtz has been named Vice President of Digital Development, with a new department which will focus on developing and maintaining technology and systems to support USA TODAY’s existing dotcom, mobile, iPhone and iPad platforms. Kurtz will also oversee the development as well as acquisition of digital and emerging platform space.
Ross Schaufelberger has been named Vice President and General Manager of the new USA TODAY Sports, which will be distinguished as a national brand and provide a sports platform for USA TODAY sports content as well as multiple media content assets and products from Gannett-wide properties.
Myron Maslowsky, USA TODAY’s Vice President of Finance since 2002, has been appointed to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Group Finance and Administration. In addition to USA TODAY Finance, Maslowsky will now also oversee USA TODAY’s Information Technology and Human Resources departments.
Also announced in USA TODAY Group Finance and Administration was the naming of Susan Motiff to the newly created position of Vice President, Strategic Planning, Analysis and Support. Motiff will oversee financial analysis and modeling for USA TODAY brands, including planning for and analysis of business and development opportunities.
John Hillkirk, Editor, also announced two new appointments in USA TODAY news. Susan Weiss, has been named Executive Editor, Content and Chet Czarniak has been announced as Executive Editor, Content Distribution and Programming for USA TODAY’s print, dotcom and mobile/apps news and information platforms.
These key executive appointments will join the current USA TODAY leadership team, which includes Lee Jones, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing; Ken Kirkhart, Vice President, Production; and John Palmisano, Vice President of Information Technology.
Please join me in congratulating all those joining the new leadership team of USA TODAY.
Over the next day, managers will meet with their staffs to give fuller details and to answer any questions you may have. Details will also be posted to the Tracking the Transformation page on the USA TODAY intranet by Friday afternoon.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
USA Today reorganization details out later today
That's according to several Gannett Blog readers. I'm monitoring the situation via iPhone, because my Web access is limited. More later.
[Updated at 11:25 a.m. ET.] Following is a schedule of employee meetings this afternoon, according to a memo distributed yesterday by top editor John Hillkirk; all times are Eastern.
Subject: Transformation briefings
To everyone in the newsroom and in IT:
Please join us tomorrow for one of the departmental meetings below to discuss USA TODAY's company-wide transformation and what's happening in the newsroom:
-- John (Hillkirk)
[Updated at 11:25 a.m. ET.] Following is a schedule of employee meetings this afternoon, according to a memo distributed yesterday by top editor John Hillkirk; all times are Eastern.
Subject: Transformation briefings
To everyone in the newsroom and in IT:
Please join us tomorrow for one of the departmental meetings below to discuss USA TODAY's company-wide transformation and what's happening in the newsroom:
- 3:30-4:15 – News/Page 1, Money, Enterprise and Network (Chet's group)
- 4:30-5:15 – Design and IT
- 5:30-6:15 – Life, Your Life, Travel, Edit Page
- 6:30-7:15 – Sports
-- John (Hillkirk)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Has your site just frozen OT or cut other costs?
A long-time Gannett Blog reader at a mid-sized Gannett newspaper says their boss has recently frozen overtime and slashed the budget for contract work. From another reader, I know this daily's revenues have fallen more than expected, and that its group president is none too happy about the paper's performance.
Still, maybe this is part of a broader trend. Has the budget been cut during recent weeks at your Gannett site? What types of cuts were made, and what explanation was given?
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Still, maybe this is part of a broader trend. Has the budget been cut during recent weeks at your Gannett site? What types of cuts were made, and what explanation was given?
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Gannett confirms HR benefits manager switch
In a memo yesterday, Senior Vice President Roxanne Horning did not explain why Corporate has chosen the Xerox subsidiary, Affiliated Computer Services, as the new manager for 401(k), medical and life insurance plan administration, effective Oct 4.
Under the subject heading of "enhanced employee benefits platform," Horning says only: "We think you’ll like the new 401(k) and health/life Web sites under ACS. They are easy to navigate and provide a number of new services."
Horning's memo confirmed an earlier report on this blog.
ACS is replacing Hewitt Associates, which has managed many of Gannett's HR services for as long as I can remember. The switch comes as Corporate reorganizes its entire HR management structure, with further details coming around the same time ACS assumes benefits management.
Horning's letter references an attached brochure. A number of Gannett Blog readers, in a bit of gallows humor, noted that the brochure includes prominent references to ways "inactive'' employees can contact the new benefits center.
Starting Oct. 4, ACS replaces Hewitt Associates, which has been manager for as long as I can remember.
How would you like ACS to deliver services vs. Hewitt Associates? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Under the subject heading of "enhanced employee benefits platform," Horning says only: "We think you’ll like the new 401(k) and health/life Web sites under ACS. They are easy to navigate and provide a number of new services."
Horning's memo confirmed an earlier report on this blog.
ACS is replacing Hewitt Associates, which has managed many of Gannett's HR services for as long as I can remember. The switch comes as Corporate reorganizes its entire HR management structure, with further details coming around the same time ACS assumes benefits management.
Horning's letter references an attached brochure. A number of Gannett Blog readers, in a bit of gallows humor, noted that the brochure includes prominent references to ways "inactive'' employees can contact the new benefits center.
Starting Oct. 4, ACS replaces Hewitt Associates, which has been manager for as long as I can remember.
How would you like ACS to deliver services vs. Hewitt Associates? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
GCI is said to be dropping Hewitt for new manager
The new company may be Affiliated Computer Services, or ACS, which is part of Xerox Co., according to my reader. Xerox, better known for its photo-copying equipment, bought ACS in February, pushing the company into HR benefits management and other business-to-business services.
I don't know why Gannett is making the swap. It comes, however, as Corporate is reorganizing the company's overall HR management. The switch also comes after years of complaints from Gannett Blog readers over Hewitt's slow response during layoffs that required many employees to seek new health-care coverage, and spurred others to move retirement savings to other companies.
Just last month, Hewitt disclosed that it is merging with insurance giant Aon in a deal worth about $5 billion.
In 2008, the most recent year I've found, Gannett paid Hewitt $16.1 million in consulting fees, according to GCI's annual report to the U.S. Labor Department for its medical care and group life insurance programs. That was more than any other consultant, the document shows.
Honolulu | Ex-staffers form entertainment site
Pacific Business News reports the following story:
A team of former Honolulu Advertiser employees who produced Metromix Honolulu for the Gannett newspaper’s site has created a website that covers food, events and nightlife on Oahu.
Nonstop Honolulu launched yesterday with photo galleries, restaurant reviews, party pictures, event listings and blogs. The website is patterned after Metromix Honolulu, which was co-owned by Gannett.
Gannett sold the Advertiser in May to the owner of the paper's competitor, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hundreds of GCI employees got laid off in the process. Since then, the papers have been merged under a new flag, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
A team of former Honolulu Advertiser employees who produced Metromix Honolulu for the Gannett newspaper’s site has created a website that covers food, events and nightlife on Oahu.
Nonstop Honolulu launched yesterday with photo galleries, restaurant reviews, party pictures, event listings and blogs. The website is patterned after Metromix Honolulu, which was co-owned by Gannett.
Gannett sold the Advertiser in May to the owner of the paper's competitor, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hundreds of GCI employees got laid off in the process. Since then, the papers have been merged under a new flag, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Why The Marion Star has tweaked its crime reports
The Ohio paper is no longer routinely identifying people accused of misdemeanors in its police reports, Managing Editor Tom Graser says in a new column. "In short," he writes, "it's a matter of fairness. Not everybody accused of a misdemeanor is guilty. Lots of people get accused of misdemeanors. Following each case to report on its conclusion is difficult at best and impossible at worst."
Starting today, he says, "we will take a step in the right direction by publishing court reports. These are conclusions. It will list names, final charges and sentences."
The paper had earlier disabled comments on its online police beat column, Graser says, because readers were constantly violating the Star's terms of service, in making unfounded accusations, name-calling and personal attacks.
Starting today, he says, "we will take a step in the right direction by publishing court reports. These are conclusions. It will list names, final charges and sentences."
The paper had earlier disabled comments on its online police beat column, Graser says, because readers were constantly violating the Star's terms of service, in making unfounded accusations, name-calling and personal attacks.
After housing bust, forecasts said reset for good
The days of big annual increases in home values are likely over for good, many real estate experts now say, according to a story today in The New York Times. That's unwelcome news for Gannett markets in Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona that were hit especially hard in the real estate bust.
"There is no iron law that real estate must appreciate," Stan Humphries, chief economist for the real estate site Zillow, told the newspaper. "It’s entirely likely that markets like Arizona will not recover even in the 15- to 20-year time frame. The demand doesn’t exist."
If the long term is grim, the short term is grimmer, the NYT says. Housing experts are bracing themselves for tomorrow, when the sales figures for July will be released. The data is expected to show a drop of as much as 20% from last year.
"There is no iron law that real estate must appreciate," Stan Humphries, chief economist for the real estate site Zillow, told the newspaper. "It’s entirely likely that markets like Arizona will not recover even in the 15- to 20-year time frame. The demand doesn’t exist."
If the long term is grim, the short term is grimmer, the NYT says. Housing experts are bracing themselves for tomorrow, when the sales figures for July will be released. The data is expected to show a drop of as much as 20% from last year.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Week of Aug. 16-22 | Your News & Comments
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.)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Is that a fin in the water, or is Corporate in town?
"These piecemeal cuts are like
a bad version of Jaws."
a bad version of Jaws."
-- Anonymous@4:04 a.m., commenting on Gannett's latest committee-driven reorganization -- this time, of human relations.
Your 21st century HR function, now 'a business partner and consultant to our senior leaders'
Gannett Bloggers have long noted that the old personnel department, which served as something of an employee advocate, has since morphed into the multi-headed Hydra known today as, yes, human resources.
"HR used to be something of a buffer between the management and the rank-and-filer,'' Anonymous@8:44 a.m. wrote yesterday. "It's now basically management's process server."
And so we arrive at a memo sent Tuesday by Senior Vice President Roxanne Horning (left), and addressed, fittingly, to "operating unit heads and HR community."
It reveals a broad reorganization of Gannett's domestic HR departments, one uniting them under a single umbrella, rather than divided among newspaper, TV and other divisions. A reader provided a copy last night after I wrote about it briefly earlier in the day. (Read the entire four-page document.)
Here's the top of the memo, in all its inglorious corporate-speak:
I am pleased to announce the formation of a new leadership team for the Human Resources function at Gannett. These appointments are the first step in a company-wide reorganization of the Human Resources function that will be completed over the next several months. This reorganization is the product of the BOLD HR workout process begun in 2009 in support of the company's strategic plan. The BOLD sponsors to whom the workout team reported are Gracia Martore, Bob Dickey, Dave Hunke and Dave Lougee. The purpose of the reorganization is to realign the company-wide HR function into a unified one across all divisions to support Gannett’s strategic plan, serve as a business partner and consultant to our senior leaders and managers in such critical areas as organizational effectiveness, talent management, recruiting and employee development and retention. Our goal is to combine and leverage our best HR talent and resources that in the past have been limited by a divisional and/or regional structure and to build on all of the HR best practices that have come out of our divisions and operating units. The reorganization will also enable us to deliver enhanced services to our employees in an effective and efficient manner, supported by new employee and manager technology platforms.
Ooph! Do you love memos as much as I do? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
"HR used to be something of a buffer between the management and the rank-and-filer,'' Anonymous@8:44 a.m. wrote yesterday. "It's now basically management's process server."
It reveals a broad reorganization of Gannett's domestic HR departments, one uniting them under a single umbrella, rather than divided among newspaper, TV and other divisions. A reader provided a copy last night after I wrote about it briefly earlier in the day. (Read the entire four-page document.)
Here's the top of the memo, in all its inglorious corporate-speak:
I am pleased to announce the formation of a new leadership team for the Human Resources function at Gannett. These appointments are the first step in a company-wide reorganization of the Human Resources function that will be completed over the next several months. This reorganization is the product of the BOLD HR workout process begun in 2009 in support of the company's strategic plan. The BOLD sponsors to whom the workout team reported are Gracia Martore, Bob Dickey, Dave Hunke and Dave Lougee. The purpose of the reorganization is to realign the company-wide HR function into a unified one across all divisions to support Gannett’s strategic plan, serve as a business partner and consultant to our senior leaders and managers in such critical areas as organizational effectiveness, talent management, recruiting and employee development and retention. Our goal is to combine and leverage our best HR talent and resources that in the past have been limited by a divisional and/or regional structure and to build on all of the HR best practices that have come out of our divisions and operating units. The reorganization will also enable us to deliver enhanced services to our employees in an effective and efficient manner, supported by new employee and manager technology platforms.
Ooph! Do you love memos as much as I do? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
KUSA | Corporate now visiting Denver, too
Add KUSA-TV of Denver and staff from the Fort Collins Coloradoan to the growing list of sites scheduled for a visit by a platoon of Corporate executives, a reader tells me, adding that this look-see will be in Denver: "On Sept. 10, in the a.m., there will be a closed-door, bosses-only meeting. At 3 p.m., there will be a big meeting in the secondary studio." (Spreadsheet lists all site visits.)
By the numbers | High-profile job vacancies
200
(has been Gracia Martore)
135
(was Chris Saridakis)
133
(was Andy Ellenthal)
Got one that I missed? Post replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Various Inc. | How not to write a farewell memo
USA Today's advertising sales chief, Senior Vice President Gordon Lee Jones III, sent the following memo to employees yesterday.
From: Kupeski, Stacy On Behalf Of Jones, Lee
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 5:48 PM
To: USAT AD Virginia Staff; USAT AD Field Staff
Subject: Bruce Dewar
Good Afternoon,
In connection with the Advertising reorganization, Bruce Dewar's position, Vice President Advertising Operations and Administration for USA TODAY, has been eliminated effective Friday, August 20. Bruce joined USA TODAY in 1993, after having worked at various Gannett facilities, and over the years contributed to various projects and teams within Advertising and the company. During his tenure, Bruce also brought a positive customer focus to the department.
Join me in thanking Bruce for all of his efforts on behalf of USA TODAY and wishing Bruce well in his future endeavors.
Until future notice Bruce's direct reports will report directly to me. If you have any questions regarding finance, quota or commissions please refer them to David Johnson. Inquiries for production & positioning should be directed to Patrick Burke. All pricing and negotiations should go through Lori Erdos and Tony Hill for their respective territories.
I am aware that this is a very unsettling time for all, but we need to remain focused on our customers and the great brand we represent.
Sincerely,
Lee
From: Kupeski, Stacy On Behalf Of Jones, Lee
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 5:48 PM
To: USAT AD Virginia Staff; USAT AD Field Staff
Subject: Bruce Dewar
Good Afternoon,
In connection with the Advertising reorganization, Bruce Dewar's position, Vice President Advertising Operations and Administration for USA TODAY, has been eliminated effective Friday, August 20. Bruce joined USA TODAY in 1993, after having worked at various Gannett facilities, and over the years contributed to various projects and teams within Advertising and the company. During his tenure, Bruce also brought a positive customer focus to the department.
Join me in thanking Bruce for all of his efforts on behalf of USA TODAY and wishing Bruce well in his future endeavors.
Until future notice Bruce's direct reports will report directly to me. If you have any questions regarding finance, quota or commissions please refer them to David Johnson. Inquiries for production & positioning should be directed to Patrick Burke. All pricing and negotiations should go through Lori Erdos and Tony Hill for their respective territories.
I am aware that this is a very unsettling time for all, but we need to remain focused on our customers and the great brand we represent.
Sincerely,
Lee
USAT | More cuts now confirmed in reorganization
[Updated at 4:13 p.m. Aug. 19: Add another confirmed name to the list first reported to me last week by a tipster: Jeff Webber, publisher of USA Today's website, is to retire Nov. 1, the newspaper disclosed yesterday, according to this Associated Press story]
Anonymous@7:47 a.m. posted a comment last week, listing names of 10 senior USA Today managers expected to be let go in a round of layoffs at Gannett's struggling marquee title.
I've now confirmed that one of the individuals listed in the original comment -- an advertising executive -- was laid off yesterday, suggesting the poster has inside information, and that a planned reorganization appears to be underway.
Following is the edited version of the original comment; I'm withholding some of the names pending more information.
"As was predicted earlier and announced by Hunke that USA Today would be a much smaller company, expect a major management shake up at USA Today next week with Davis and Motiff overseeing eliminations in usatoday.com (Webber), advertising (XXXXX, Dewar), marketing (Lavington, XXXXX, XXXXX) and circulation (XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, and Lindquist is already retiring). Editorial layoffs will take place in next two weeks with Davis, Motiff and Hillkirk announcing consolidations."
What's up? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Anonymous@7:47 a.m. posted a comment last week, listing names of 10 senior USA Today managers expected to be let go in a round of layoffs at Gannett's struggling marquee title.
I've now confirmed that one of the individuals listed in the original comment -- an advertising executive -- was laid off yesterday, suggesting the poster has inside information, and that a planned reorganization appears to be underway.Following is the edited version of the original comment; I'm withholding some of the names pending more information.
"As was predicted earlier and announced by Hunke that USA Today would be a much smaller company, expect a major management shake up at USA Today next week with Davis and Motiff overseeing eliminations in usatoday.com (Webber), advertising (XXXXX, Dewar), marketing (Lavington, XXXXX, XXXXX) and circulation (XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX, and Lindquist is already retiring). Editorial layoffs will take place in next two weeks with Davis, Motiff and Hillkirk announcing consolidations."
What's up? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Palm Springs | Corporate's to visit on Sept. 9
The list of locations scheduled to receive a visit this year from the pooh-bahs continues to grow. I'm a tad tardy in posting the following memo sent to employees by Publisher Richard Ramhoff of The Desert Sun. (Spreadsheet lists all sites in this series.)
Folks,
I’m very pleased to announce that The Desert Sun will host some special visitors from our corporate headquarters. Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow and President and COO Gracia Martore will visit Palm Springs the morning of Sept. 9. U.S. Community Publishing President Bob Dickey also will be here. They will host an employee meeting to talk about Gannett’s strategy and answer your questions. That meeting is tentatively scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Community Room.
Craig and Gracia have been visiting many sites this year to talk with employees and hear highlights of the efforts in each market. We are fortunate to have them and to share the good work we have done. Your department directors will have more information as we get closer to the date, but I wanted to let you know so you can plan for this special visit.
Richard A. Ramhoff
President & Publisher, The Desert Sun
750 N. Gene Autry Trail
Palm Springs CA 92262
Earlier: Here's a roundup of upcoming Corporate fly-bys
Corporate coming to your town? Please post your dates in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Folks,
I’m very pleased to announce that The Desert Sun will host some special visitors from our corporate headquarters. Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow and President and COO Gracia Martore will visit Palm Springs the morning of Sept. 9. U.S. Community Publishing President Bob Dickey also will be here. They will host an employee meeting to talk about Gannett’s strategy and answer your questions. That meeting is tentatively scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Community Room.
Craig and Gracia have been visiting many sites this year to talk with employees and hear highlights of the efforts in each market. We are fortunate to have them and to share the good work we have done. Your department directors will have more information as we get closer to the date, but I wanted to let you know so you can plan for this special visit.
Richard A. Ramhoff
President & Publisher, The Desert Sun
750 N. Gene Autry Trail
Palm Springs CA 92262
Earlier: Here's a roundup of upcoming Corporate fly-bys
Corporate coming to your town? Please post your dates in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Corporate announces a company-wide HR reorg
According to my tipster, Randi Austin is now responsible for the Indianapolis-based Central Group of papers, and Julie Lusk got the South Group, based in Nashville, Tenn. My tipster wasn't sure about their counterparts for the East Group in Wilmington, Del., and the West Group in Des Moines.
"What the e-mail didn't explain was where us peons fit into the scheme of things,'' my tipster says; Horning told recipients only that "we'd know more by October."
Did these promotions come at the expense of other people's jobs? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Urgent: GCI to launch 100-plus sports microsites
The network is built on the back of its High School Sports subsidiary, the company says in a statement. "Leveraging the depth and breadth of Gannett's sports content for consumers and advertisers, the HighSchoolSports.net microsites are expected to collectively reach approximately 9.4 million unique monthly visitors,'' Corporate says.
The network debuts this month in 38 Gannett markets, including Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Denver. Rollout to the company's remaining local media sites is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the company says.
Gannett's flirtation with Narrative Science, a start-up business near Chicago, was first disclosed by former GCI Chief Digital Officer Chris Saridakis in late April. In a farewell note to his staff, Saridakis wrote: "Their technology application requires no human authoring or editing, and can be used to generate narratives about any event that produces significant quantitative data (think sports, financial, health, community data)."
Corporate's interest in Narrative Science grew in mid-July, when it scheduled a briefing about the start-up for senior editors and other executives.
Gannett's relationship with High School Sports (HSS) extends much farther back -- to October 2007, when it bought a controlling stake in its corporate parent, Schedule Star LLC for an amount it did not disclose. HSS targets coaches, students and their families -- providing game schedules, scores and related information.
Narrative Science stake?
Only last week, a Gannett Blog reader told me in an e-mail that Narrative Science is currently working with HSS to provide reporting on the upcoming HSS football season.
"Apparently," my reader says, "Corporate had a big meeting with the company and has demanded that Narrative Science give Gannett an opportunity to invest in the company before GCI will use it across its sites. The founder of Narrative Science told them to screw off, and has refused to allow Gannett to use the technology. Gannett has a plan to invest millions of dollars in this start-up," effectively allowing the company to cut an untold number of reporting jobs.
Sports editors and reporters: What's your recent experience been with HighSchoolSports? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Recap | USA Today posts you may have missed
[Today's front page via Newseum; bigger view]
- Murdoch now circling paper even closer
- Puzzling spotlight on random executives
- Former Editor Paulson out as Freedom Forum president
- More secrecy around financial health
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Week of Aug. 9-15 | Your News & Comments
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.)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
How GCI uses salaried workers to limit OT costs; fired sports editor's lawsuit illustrates technique
One way Gannett limits overtime pay expenses is by shifting work to salaried managers -- who don't get OT -- from hourly workers, who ordinarily do receive it. Indeed, a frequent complaint among Gannett Blog readers: Gannett promotes hourly workers to such exempt-from-OT positions, with little change in responsibilities, so the company can get more work from them, without increasing payroll costs.
"The people I feel sorry for,'' Anonymous@11:03 a.m. wrote today, "are the so-called 'exempt' employees who put in a ton more time than they get compensated for."
A federal court lawsuit against a Gannett newspaper in Alabama illustrates this issue. Former Sports Editor David "L.C." Johnson sued The Montgomery Advertiser last October, complaining he was fired for warning Executive Editor Wanda Lloyd that his reporters weren't being paid OT they had earned -- a violation of federal law.
Gannett denies the allegations, and says Johnson was fired for poor performance.
Editor claims 80-hour weeks
Johnson claims he sometimes worked as many as 80 hours a week after his department lost at least two assistant sports editor positions when the newsroom was restructured in 2007. This came with the adoption of the Local Information Center business model.
In her 119-page sworn deposition, Lloyd was questioned on this point by Johnson's attorney, Heather Leonard of Birmingham, Ala. Following is a key passage from Page 59:
Leonard: The sports editor is salaried, correct?
Lloyd: Yes.
Q: So sometimes the sports editor can do a lot of the work that a reporter would do in order to manage time and hours?
A: Yes.
Q: Is it possible that some of the time that Mr. Johnson was working he was actually doing jobs of reporters to help manage that 40 hours?
A: He was doing his job if he was doing that.
Q: But he might be doing duties that could have been assigned to a reporter?
A: That's possible.
Exempt from overtime pay? Please post your experiences in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
"The people I feel sorry for,'' Anonymous@11:03 a.m. wrote today, "are the so-called 'exempt' employees who put in a ton more time than they get compensated for."
A federal court lawsuit against a Gannett newspaper in Alabama illustrates this issue. Former Sports Editor David "L.C." Johnson sued The Montgomery Advertiser last October, complaining he was fired for warning Executive Editor Wanda Lloyd that his reporters weren't being paid OT they had earned -- a violation of federal law.
Gannett denies the allegations, and says Johnson was fired for poor performance.
Editor claims 80-hour weeks
Johnson claims he sometimes worked as many as 80 hours a week after his department lost at least two assistant sports editor positions when the newsroom was restructured in 2007. This came with the adoption of the Local Information Center business model.
In her 119-page sworn deposition, Lloyd was questioned on this point by Johnson's attorney, Heather Leonard of Birmingham, Ala. Following is a key passage from Page 59:
Leonard: The sports editor is salaried, correct?
Lloyd: Yes.
Q: So sometimes the sports editor can do a lot of the work that a reporter would do in order to manage time and hours?
A: Yes.
Q: Is it possible that some of the time that Mr. Johnson was working he was actually doing jobs of reporters to help manage that 40 hours?
A: He was doing his job if he was doing that.
Q: But he might be doing duties that could have been assigned to a reporter?
A: That's possible.
Exempt from overtime pay? Please post your experiences in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Paywalls | How many digital subscriptions sold?
Gannett started testing its new digital strategy on July 1, when it erected paywalls at three newspapers: The Tallahassee Democrat in Florida, The Greenville News in South Carolina, and The Spectrum in St. George, Utah.
Since then, how many $9.95-per-month digital subscriptions has Gannett sold in total, across all three sites? A well-connected source gave me the answer, and it's one of the following:
Since then, how many $9.95-per-month digital subscriptions has Gannett sold in total, across all three sites? A well-connected source gave me the answer, and it's one of the following:
- Fewer than 100
- 100 to 300
- More than 300
Freedom Forum tax docs now easier to download
Want more information about salaries, bonuses and other expenses at Freedom Forum and its Newseum project? The spotlight has swung back to these Washington, D.C., institutions with extensive Gannett ties, following this week's unexpected management shake-up.
You'll find details in their annual IRS tax returns for 2008, the most recent year available under federal open-records law. I've now made them easier to access by adding them to a Google Documents site, where you can read and download them for free. Here's Freedom Forum's 83-page return. And here's the Newseum's 64-page return.
Here's a tip: The $1.4 million in bonuses paid to top executives for 2008 are detailed starting on Page 37 of the Newseum's filing.
You'll find details in their annual IRS tax returns for 2008, the most recent year available under federal open-records law. I've now made them easier to access by adding them to a Google Documents site, where you can read and download them for free. Here's Freedom Forum's 83-page return. And here's the Newseum's 64-page return.
Here's a tip: The $1.4 million in bonuses paid to top executives for 2008 are detailed starting on Page 37 of the Newseum's filing.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Recommended weekend reading for Dubow & Co.
"I loved reporting; I hated the law breaking.''
-- Hilary Funk, a reporter for Alabama's Montgomery Advertiser from August 2007 until she was laid off in December 2008.
Her remarks appear in a sworn deposition she gave in a federal court lawsuit filed against the paper last October by a former sports editor, David "L.C." Johnson, who claims he was fired after complaining that Advertiser employees weren't getting paid OT.
Gannett denies Johnson's allegations, and says he was fired for poor performance.
Funk's deposition numbers 64 pages, but is well worth reading -- every single word. She paints a vivid and often sympathetic portrait of employees and local management, squeezed by Corporate's shifting demands during the upheaval that followed Gannett's reorganization of newsrooms and advertising sales departments in 2007.
Funk learned about Johnson's lawsuit on Gannett Blog, then e-mailed his attorney to describe her own experience at the Advertiser.
"I feel for all the people at that paper," she wrote, "whenever I remember the hours, the lack of compensation, and the constantly changing Corporate line that upper management would be expected to fulfill in days, even if it were a 180-degree turn in direction."
Reading guide
A deposition is a type of sworn testimony, given by potential witnesses to attorneys gathering information outside of court.
In Funk's 64-page deposition, she references several other Advertiser employees. Two of the most important ones to keep in mind are Executive Editor Wanda Lloyd, and former Managing Editor Mel Gray.
Funk is initially questioned by Johnson's attorney, Heather Leonard of Birmingham, Ala. Then, starting on the very bottom of Page 19, Gannett's attorney -- Lynlee Palmer, also of Birmingham -- takes her turn. It goes back and forth from there.
[Image: today's paper, Newseum]
Murdoch's now circling USA Today even closer; his new national digital paper is for iPad, other devices
From the top of a Los Angeles Times story today:
News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as Apple's iPad and mobile phones.
The initiative, which would directly compete with The New York Times, USA Today and other national publications, is the latest attempt by a major media organization to harness sexy new devices to reach readers who increasingly consume their news on the go. The development underscores how the iPad is transforming the reading habits of consumers much like the iPod changed how people listen to music.
News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as Apple's iPad and mobile phones.
The initiative, which would directly compete with The New York Times, USA Today and other national publications, is the latest attempt by a major media organization to harness sexy new devices to reach readers who increasingly consume their news on the go. The development underscores how the iPad is transforming the reading habits of consumers much like the iPod changed how people listen to music.
What happens when consultants are in charge
A Gannett Blog reader recommends today's Friday the 13th (!) installment of Dilbert; click on image for much bigger view.
USAT | Puzzling spotlight on random executives
Part of an extremely sporadic, very occasional-at-best series about Gannett executives who might be in the news. Or not.
Rudd Davis
Title: Founder and CEO, BNQT Media Group of Los Angeles
About: Launched in 2004, this USA Today subsidiary "is a publishing platform that gives action sports enthusiasts, professional or otherwise, the tools to create their own multimedia website,'' according to Davis' LinkedIn profile. USAT bought BNQT in January 2008
His educational background: Bard College, 1999-2003
Susan Motiff
Title: USA Today group controller since January 2009; she first joined Gannett in 1994
About: a controller supervises the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization
Her educational background: James Madison University College of Business, 1990-1994
Earlier: New feature! Puzzling spotlight on random exec
Know a Gannett executive kinda-sorta worth knowing? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Rudd Davis
Title: Founder and CEO, BNQT Media Group of Los Angeles
About: Launched in 2004, this USA Today subsidiary "is a publishing platform that gives action sports enthusiasts, professional or otherwise, the tools to create their own multimedia website,'' according to Davis' LinkedIn profile. USAT bought BNQT in January 2008
His educational background: Bard College, 1999-2003
Susan Motiff
Title: USA Today group controller since January 2009; she first joined Gannett in 1994
About: a controller supervises the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization
Her educational background: James Madison University College of Business, 1990-1994
Earlier: New feature! Puzzling spotlight on random exec
Know a Gannett executive kinda-sorta worth knowing? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Documents: Pub revealed paper's finances to staff; deposition hints at why Montgomery's Brown quit
When Scott Brown resigned as publisher of The Montgomery Advertiser in the summer of 2008, Gannett gave no details explaining his sudden departure.
Now, newly emerged court documents hint at one possible explanation. They open a rare window on the internal operations of a Gannett daily on the verge of joining scores of others in laying off thousands of workers, while Corporate pleaded hard times during the industry's meltdown.
One document is a sworn deposition by former Sports Editor David "L.C." Johnson, who is suing the small Alabama paper in federal court over his dismissal in November 2009. Johnson claims he was fired after complaining to management that his staff wasn't being paid overtime, in violation of federal law.
Gannett denies Johnson's allegations, and says he was fired for poor performance.
Profit margin said 28.8%
Under questioning by an attorney for Gannett, Lynlee Palmer of Birmingham, Ala., Johnson claims Brown had taken a highly unusual step not long before he was forced from his job.
Brown called the Advertiser's staff together for an all-hands meeting, then revealed what ordinarily would be confidential information, Johnson says: more than a dozen pages of company documents disclosing the Advertiser's profit margin -- the amount of money it earned as a percentage of its revenue. That figure was 28.8%, or $11.8 million, Johnson told Palmer.
Those figures align with information I received in separate internal documents from a reader in November 2008.
'More belt tightening'
Brown's presentation painted a gloomy outlook, the deposition shows, and was apparently designed to prepare the staff for rough times ahead: "Basically, we're going to have to do more belt tightening,'' Johnson testified. This was when supplies as basic as notebooks were already scarce, he said.
Johnson initially claims the meeting occured perhaps in 2007, but later says it came just as Brown was shown the door. That was about June 12, 2008, when Gannett announced a new publisher in a press release saying only that Brown had resigned. Two months later, Gannett launched the first of three mass layoffs nationwide.
Johnson brought his suit in U.S. District Court in October 2009. I recently obtained hundreds of pages of case depositions and related documents, some of them filed about six weeks ago. (Here's a deposition explainer.)
Publisher: 'I resigned'
Brown also gave a deposition in the Johnson suit. He said he could not reveal details surrounding his departure because they were part of a confidential agreement with Gannett that prevented him from speaking publicly, his deposition shows.
"The company and I came to a mutual agreement, and I resigned,'' he told Johnson's attorney, Heather Leonard, also of Birmingham.
Although Brown doesn't provide a reason, Johnson's assertion about the release of sensitive financial documents -- if true -- would likely anger Corporate, once that became known.
Gannett laid off 600 newspaper employees, and cut 400 other jobs, in August 2008. That was followed by another layoff of more than 2,200 in December 2008, the month after Johnson was dismissed. A third layoff, involving more than 1,400 workers, took place in July 2009.
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: today's Advertiser, Newseum]
Now, newly emerged court documents hint at one possible explanation. They open a rare window on the internal operations of a Gannett daily on the verge of joining scores of others in laying off thousands of workers, while Corporate pleaded hard times during the industry's meltdown.
Gannett denies Johnson's allegations, and says he was fired for poor performance.
Profit margin said 28.8%
Under questioning by an attorney for Gannett, Lynlee Palmer of Birmingham, Ala., Johnson claims Brown had taken a highly unusual step not long before he was forced from his job.
Brown called the Advertiser's staff together for an all-hands meeting, then revealed what ordinarily would be confidential information, Johnson says: more than a dozen pages of company documents disclosing the Advertiser's profit margin -- the amount of money it earned as a percentage of its revenue. That figure was 28.8%, or $11.8 million, Johnson told Palmer.
Those figures align with information I received in separate internal documents from a reader in November 2008.
'More belt tightening'
Brown's presentation painted a gloomy outlook, the deposition shows, and was apparently designed to prepare the staff for rough times ahead: "Basically, we're going to have to do more belt tightening,'' Johnson testified. This was when supplies as basic as notebooks were already scarce, he said.
Johnson initially claims the meeting occured perhaps in 2007, but later says it came just as Brown was shown the door. That was about June 12, 2008, when Gannett announced a new publisher in a press release saying only that Brown had resigned. Two months later, Gannett launched the first of three mass layoffs nationwide.
Johnson brought his suit in U.S. District Court in October 2009. I recently obtained hundreds of pages of case depositions and related documents, some of them filed about six weeks ago. (Here's a deposition explainer.)
Publisher: 'I resigned'
Brown also gave a deposition in the Johnson suit. He said he could not reveal details surrounding his departure because they were part of a confidential agreement with Gannett that prevented him from speaking publicly, his deposition shows.
"The company and I came to a mutual agreement, and I resigned,'' he told Johnson's attorney, Heather Leonard, also of Birmingham.
Although Brown doesn't provide a reason, Johnson's assertion about the release of sensitive financial documents -- if true -- would likely anger Corporate, once that became known.
Gannett laid off 600 newspaper employees, and cut 400 other jobs, in August 2008. That was followed by another layoff of more than 2,200 in December 2008, the month after Johnson was dismissed. A third layoff, involving more than 1,400 workers, took place in July 2009.
Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: today's Advertiser, Newseum]
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Freedom Forum discloses management shake-up; Ken Paulson is out as president and chief operator
All signs now point to former USA Today Editor Ken Paulson (left) leaving the No. 2 job at Freedom Forum, the high-profile but financially challenged journalism foundation he joined as president and chief operating officer in December 2008.
A Freedom Forum statement issued late this afternoon has Chairman and CEO Charles Overby announcing "organizational changes." Among them: "Kenneth A. Paulson, former president of the Freedom Forum and Newseum, was named president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he previously served as executive director."
Former president?
Meanwhile, on the non-profit group's website, we have within the list of officers no change in his title: "Ken Paulson is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum, Newseum and Diversity Institute." Ditto for the list of governing trustees. [Updated at 11:41 a.m. ET on Aug. 12: Freedom Forum has now changed Paulson's title on its website to reflect his new job.]
A $665,927 job
Overby's statement lists promotions for a number of other employees, but never clarifies the status of Paulson's (former?) position. If Paulson's gone, has the powerful post -- and its six-figure salary -- been eliminated? Paulson's predecessor, another top USAT editor, Peter Prichard, got paid $665,927 in 2008, the most recent year available. That included a special $225,000 bonus.
Longtime Gannett Blog readers know retired Gannett Chairman and CEO Al Neuharth launched Freedom Forum in 1991, with a $650 million endowment from the old Gannett Foundation, the company's charitable arm. Overby and many of the other officers have long ties to Gannett as well.
Based in Washington, D.C., the group is one of the largest charitable foundations devoted to supporting journalism. But its endowment has been sinking -- and its mortgage debt load rising -- amid the broader decline in stock markets.
Its signature project is the Newseum, a Washington museum about news that has had a series of layoffs in recent years. The Newseum opened in spring 2008, three years late, and $200 million over initial cost projections, foundation documents show.
Read their tax returns
Salaries, bonuses and other expenses for Freedom Forum and the Newseum are disclosed in their annual IRS tax returns for 2008, the most recent year available under federal open-records law. I've now added them to a Google Documents site, where you can read and download them for free. Here's Freedom Forum's 83-page return. And here's the Newseum's 64-page return.
Earlier: As Freedom Forum stumbles on big Newseum bet, documents reveal spending often veered far afield
Can anyone clear up this mystery? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
What's good for the goose is good for Gannett
"Did we miss the editorial pronouncement that some consider Gannett's executive bonuses 'sinful' and that 'returning the bonuses would provide some atonement?'"
-- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's public affairs director, Thomas W. Rubino, in a letter to the editor published today in The Daily Journal, criticizing the paper's Sunday story about how much the insurer paid its CEO. Rubino asked why the story did not include the amount Gannett paid CEO Craig Dubow last year. He also noted another detail absent from the story: that Gannett laid off 1,400 employees in July 2009, including 120 at the Journal and five other N.J. Gannett dailies.
Related: Dubow got paid $4.7 million last year, including a $1.45 million cash bonus. (Total pay to Dubow and four other top officers.)
Photographer captures moment of gun discovery
The Clarion-Ledger's Barbara Gauntt was on the scene to capture the watery recovery of a gun thought to be the weapon in Friday's shooting death of Jackson, Miss., police Officer Glenn Agee. Here's today's front page, with Gauntt's picture displayed across six columns. (Bigger view of photo.)
Cutlines Only showcases Gannett artwork. Got something to recommend? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: Newseum]
[Image: Newseum]
GCI, other stocks clobbered in broad swoon
Gannett's stock recently traded for $12.72 a share, down 57 cents, or 4.3% -- lowest since Dec. 11, 2009, when it traded for an intraday low of $12.71, according to Google Finance.
Newspaper stocks are following the overall market lower on renewed concerns about the U.S. economy's health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently off 223 points, or 2.1%, to 10,421.
GCI's stock is 64% higher than a year ago, when it was around $8 a share, vs. a far smaller 8.1% for the S&P 500 index, a broad measure of stock activity, Google Finance data show.
But that ratio continues to narrow as Gannett shares fall, and face year-before comparable prices that are more difficult to match. On April 30, for example, when Gannett was trading near $18, shares were more than 400% higher than a year before, when they stood at only $3.50.
Newspaper stocks are following the overall market lower on renewed concerns about the U.S. economy's health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently off 223 points, or 2.1%, to 10,421.
GCI's stock is 64% higher than a year ago, when it was around $8 a share, vs. a far smaller 8.1% for the S&P 500 index, a broad measure of stock activity, Google Finance data show.
But that ratio continues to narrow as Gannett shares fall, and face year-before comparable prices that are more difficult to match. On April 30, for example, when Gannett was trading near $18, shares were more than 400% higher than a year before, when they stood at only $3.50.
USCP names chief of local digital sales, Yahoo pact
Travis Fore will head up U.S. Community Publishing's local digital sales, including the recently announced local advertising partnership between Gannett and Yahoo, according to a GCI statement today.
Fore (left) was senior vice president of sales and service at Network Solutions, which helps small businesses register website names and use the web for marketing.
GCI's statement does not say whether Fore is occupying a new position, or filling an existing one. (And, as with all of Corporate's communications, the statement omits an essential biographical detail: his age.)
Fore will report to Michelle Krans, senior vice president of strategy and development for USCP, which comprises Gannett's U.S. community newspapers, the company's single-biggest and most financially challenged division.
Of note, Gannett's statement says Fore "will be supported by a start-up team, including field sales managers as well as key managers responsible for retention, marketing and strategy." It's unclear how many of those team employees will be new hires, however.
His appointment follows reader speculation on Gannett Blog about 40 or so Corporate positions that are being created for ad fulfillment, according to Anonymous@6:18 a.m. on Aug. 6. Later that day, another anonymous post, possibly by the same reader, said: "Fort Myers is moving offices and creating room for 40 people who are not now working in the building. Rumor has it that these are for Yahoo people."
Earlier: GCI names mobile advertising sales executive
What do you know about staffing for the new Gannett-Yahoo ad sales partnership? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
GCI's statement does not say whether Fore is occupying a new position, or filling an existing one. (And, as with all of Corporate's communications, the statement omits an essential biographical detail: his age.)
Fore will report to Michelle Krans, senior vice president of strategy and development for USCP, which comprises Gannett's U.S. community newspapers, the company's single-biggest and most financially challenged division.
Of note, Gannett's statement says Fore "will be supported by a start-up team, including field sales managers as well as key managers responsible for retention, marketing and strategy." It's unclear how many of those team employees will be new hires, however.
His appointment follows reader speculation on Gannett Blog about 40 or so Corporate positions that are being created for ad fulfillment, according to Anonymous@6:18 a.m. on Aug. 6. Later that day, another anonymous post, possibly by the same reader, said: "Fort Myers is moving offices and creating room for 40 people who are not now working in the building. Rumor has it that these are for Yahoo people."
Earlier: GCI names mobile advertising sales executive
What do you know about staffing for the new Gannett-Yahoo ad sales partnership? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Survey | How often does your boss discuss OT?
I'm gathering background information for a post about a former employee's lawsuit against Gannett that focuses on the company's overtime pay policy. Here's a question I'd like my readers to answer:
How many times PER YEAR does your boss discuss -- in person, during staff meetings, or by e-mail -- Gannett's policy on paying for overtime? (For example, statements such as: "We pay employees for all the time they work.")
How many times PER YEAR does your boss discuss -- in person, during staff meetings, or by e-mail -- Gannett's policy on paying for overtime? (For example, statements such as: "We pay employees for all the time they work.")
- 1-3 times
- 4-5
- 6-10
- More than 10
Sponsors | Thank you, to my newest Texas donor!
I'm trying to earn $4,000 quarterly, mostly through sponsorships of $5 per reader, plus limited ad sales. Please use the "Donate" tool in the green rail, upper right. Or mail cash/checks payable to: Jim Hopkins, 584 Castro St. #823, San Francisco, Calif., 94114-2594.
Wisc. ad production moving; 37 jobs to be cut
Green Bay Press-Gazette Publisher Kevin Corrado says the move to the Gannett Production Center at Des Moines will be effective Oct. 18, according to a story in the paper yesterday, and a Gannett Blog reader. The change affects Gannett's 10 Wisconsin newspapers. In a remark that defies recent experience at other worksites, Corrado says the switch "will be seamless for customers and readers."
FAQs About Me | My schedule, and a lawsuit
Part of an occasional series about yours truly.
Q. Has Jim vanished? No posts today?
A. Indeed, I'm around. But it's been a slow-news period. These are the dog days of August, after all, and many of you are on vacation. That's a good time for me to take a little break, too. Before we know it, it'll be Labor Day, and then things will pick up again.
Still, I've been doing some very interesting late-night reading: Hundreds of pages of court documents related to a lawsuit against one of the U.S. Community Publishing newspapers. This involves a complaint brought by an editor who claims he was fired for reporting unpaid overtime wages owed to other employees. Among many mysteries it unwinds: What happens when a publisher resigns unexpectedly. I've still got much more to read, though, before I can post anything.
Got a question for FAQs About Me? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Q. Has Jim vanished? No posts today?
A. Indeed, I'm around. But it's been a slow-news period. These are the dog days of August, after all, and many of you are on vacation. That's a good time for me to take a little break, too. Before we know it, it'll be Labor Day, and then things will pick up again.
Still, I've been doing some very interesting late-night reading: Hundreds of pages of court documents related to a lawsuit against one of the U.S. Community Publishing newspapers. This involves a complaint brought by an editor who claims he was fired for reporting unpaid overtime wages owed to other employees. Among many mysteries it unwinds: What happens when a publisher resigns unexpectedly. I've still got much more to read, though, before I can post anything.
Got a question for FAQs About Me? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
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