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Monday, January 31, 2011
49 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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This is comment No. 69,481 since I began publishing Gannett Blog in September 2007.
ReplyDeleteYou should hang it up, Jim. Seriously, what have you accomplished? You give people a place to bitch. That's it.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing here that any sensible company would ever listen to. You make next to nothing from this effort. This month, you have earned about $210 a week. That's a small amount, especially given where you claim to live.
I assume you have taken into account that you will never again be hired to work anywhere. Even if you had ever displayed some skill here, no employer would risk bringing you in.
Is it really worth it? I doubt you are more than a trivial annoyance and a laughingstock inside the Gannett walls.
I'm confident Jim's too smart to take 12:03's criticism seriously.
ReplyDeleteThis blog offers readers a counter-balance to the BS GCI pumps out each day. The blog has integrity and lets us get close to the truth about a company that cares little about what we, its employees, think or care about.
Laughingstock? How 'bout the people who are running a once dynamic company into the ground?
This blog has effectively spread the word on their failures. Thanks for that, Jim.
And here's the kicker: Truth-tellers like Jim derive intrinsic satisfaction from their work that the moneychangers in the Crystal Tower obviously can not comprehend. They are the ones who have stolen Gannett's journalistic soul in exchange for some quick, short-lived profits.
They need to learn that there are other good things in the world besides exorbitant profits.
Go, Jim, Go, I say.
Jimbo has accomplished more here than most ever will on so many levels. Anyone who doesn't have the insight to understand that, ain't worth a whole heck of a lot to anyone, let alone an employer.
ReplyDelete"How 'bout the people who are running a once dynamic company into the ground?"
ReplyDeleteThat would be you and the followers here. Not with your lies on the board, but with your poor work ethic and lack of ability.
"Truth-tellers like Jim derive intrinsic satisfaction from their work ..."
That's nice. I bet people who sell pencils on the street derive intrinsic satisfaction, too. They probably make as much as Jim does here, and they don't have to lie.
"Anyone who doesn't have the insight to understand that, ain't worth a whole heck of a lot to anyone, let alone an employer."
Anyone who doesn't have the insight to see when a bitter, aging, unemployable person is acting on a vendetta against a former employer isn't worth a whole lot.
"Go, Jim, Go, I say."
There, we agree. The destinations are different.
Marketwatch headline: Gannett 4th-quarter net up 30% on flat revenue
ReplyDeleteGood news for longs. But expect the stock to sell off on earnings as that's been the tendency in recent quarters. Egypt won't help either as entire market faces headwind.
12:03AM - You're up pretty late Craig - can't sleep? May I suggest 10 more pain pills and a couple more shots of of Macallan "Fine and Rare Collection" 1929 scotch whiskey? It's only $75,000 a bottle. With what your ripping off from Gannett you can afford it.
ReplyDeleteSleep tight.
Really, Craig, posting at 12:03 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.? Don't you have a quarterly report to concern yourself with? Or maybe that's why you're so obviously anxious ...
ReplyDeleteA note to Jim's critics:
ReplyDeleteThe last I knew it is still as of now anyway,
a free country.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't make a dime.
We come here for needed information and what
the hell makes you so righteous to post complaints. If you you don't like what is here
just go away. As any parent should do when a child is watching bad TV or computer,just turn the damn thing off.
So critics,don't complain ,just don't read or post, just turn it off.
Jim is forging ahead in new media.
ReplyDeleteGannett isn't.
This blog is talked about more at the Crystal Palace than the stock price. I know. I worked there.
The people posting these negatives also work there. It is considered blog control.
Guess what? Blog control is failing miserably.
Sour grapes, 12:03am. You sound like one miserable wretch working and hanging by a thread at Crystal Palace. If you don't like and can't support this site, stay away.
ReplyDelete"Jim is forging ahead in new media."
ReplyDeleteHe runs a prefab blog and makes $200 a week. If that's forging ahead, then the bar is set low.
ok...let's talk about what the budget says about our employment future...don't give the "Craig's" more fuel for their fire....
ReplyDeleteBack to the financials, please.
ReplyDelete"Revenue was little changed at $1.46 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.47 billion. Revenue for the year slid 1.3% to $5.44 billion, the fourth straight annual decline."
So if the revenue trend continues flat or down, will Gannett continue to consolidate, furlough, layoff and cut costs to prop up earnings and dividends? That's what concerns this worker bee. Anyone want to chime in?
10:25, Guess what? Gannett Blog isn't publicly traded. Jim doesn't have to pump up profits with hyped new "ventures." He doesn't have to ruin hundreds of people's lives if his quarterly revenue is too low. Please give up your bathroom stall and put your company Blackberry back in your pocket. Get back to work, you worthless toadie.
ReplyDelete"Jim doesn't have to pump up profits"
ReplyDeleteThat's good for him. You can't pump very much at $200 a week.
jeez...thank you 10:40 for TRYING to stay on track...if i want to see petty arguing, i can stop by the playground....
ReplyDeleteStrip out acquisitions like Careerbuilder from those "consolidated numbers" and REVENUE IS WORSE year over year. Very tricky accounting Gracia...Very tricky and sneaky.
ReplyDelete"$210 dollars a week"
ReplyDeleteOnly a wanker types the dollar sign and then adds the word dollars.
No one will hire Jim when he finally goes away. His theme song is "King of the Road."
As with many journalists, I've never been motivated solely by making money; that was true during my newspaper career, and it's certainly true in my blogging career.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my blog income is significantly higher than industry averages for part-timers such as myself. Indeed, only a small minority of bloggers make any money at all.
For example, Technorati's annual State of the Blogosphere report for 2010, published in November, found that, "overall, 18% of bloggers reported a non-salary income from their blog in 2010, and the mean income reported was $9,985. Even among full-time blogging Corporates, the mean income was well below $20,000, indicating that very few bloggers are making a living in the industry, but may instead view it as a slightly subsidized hobby. "
Within the category of part-time bloggers, where I fall, the average annual income was even lower: $6,333.
By comparison, last year, when I started seeking donations and advertising revenue only in late February, I made slightly more than $10,000.
TROLL ALERT!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSomething juicy is about to happen!
My Boss, where art thou????????
"As with many journalists, I've never been motivated solely by making money; that was true during my newspaper career, and it's certainly true in my blogging career."
ReplyDeleteAs with many journalists, you still bitch when others are making money.
If you're making a career out of blogging, maybe you need to think about a career change. You stink at this one.
Jim, I'm about to send my $5 quarterly contribution and encourage all site visitors to do the same. Like journalism itself, your site is a first impression on goings-on. Mistakes happen, rumors come and go and trolls throw rocks. But like you, much of the crowd tries to help clarify and get to the truth. And yes, constructive venting and info sharing helps people whose careers are being wrecked by greed. What you do is ground-breaking. Imagine if every Fortune 500 company had a watchdog. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletei'm with you 11:37! C'mon My Boss, we're patiently waiting for ya!
ReplyDelete"But like you, much of the crowd tries to help clarify and get to the truth."
ReplyDeleteYou really believe that? Most of what's here is rumor and innuendo.
Z-z-z-z-z-z.
ReplyDeleteCritics will continue coming to this site so long as it has an effect on Gannett's public relations and employee relations. Would they bother posting here if Gannett Blog had, say, 100 or even 1,000 monthly readers?
Nope. Today, the last day of January, this site has reported more than 15,000 unique visitors for the month, logging 102,000 visits, and 291,000 pageviews.
This is for a company with fewer than 35,000 employees.
The call center in Tulsa, OK will be closing 3-31, with the Phoenix call going back to Phoenix.
ReplyDeleteaccording to the WSJ online:
ReplyDelete"TV advertising for the November elections drove a 27% revenue increase at its broadcasting division, which includes 23 TV stations in 19 U.S. markets. Advertising revenue from its larger publishing division, however, slid 5.9%, while circulation revenue dropped 4.1% in a sign of continued erosion in the traditional newspaper business."
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110131-713164.html
Craig, your posts are conveying a high degree of desperation, even for you. The one thing that's not being mentioned here is that this isn't a full-time job for Jim. It's actually very grassroots in nature and, as Jim demonstrates, has built up a healthy and loyal user following. (As opposed to your products, Craig.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, aren't you a bit busy today with spinning the quarterly report to be spending so much time with these futile snipes?
12:23, most of what's here is a hell of a lot more than Gannett ever tells us! As someone once posted here, "We have to learn what is happening with our careers from anonymous sources on the Internet when we work for the biggest communications company on Earth! Just plain pathetic." Obvioulsy this dates from when Gannett still *was* the biggest communications company on Earth. Nothing else has changed with those clowns -- so until it does (ha!), Gannettblog provides at least input as a direct result of impersonal, detached, cold and isolated "leadership."
ReplyDeleteWhat? One of the centers of excellence is closing? Do those folks count toward payroll for Gannett or are they like 2adpro employees?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know the Centers of Excellence are part of the USCP group, so they would count towards Gannett payroll.
ReplyDeleteIs there a company-wide hiring freeze right now? Just wondering because of many open positions that the boss says will be filled.
ReplyDelete"this isn't a full-time job for Jim."
ReplyDeleteThat's a good thing for him. He's not doing well at it. Revenue: Tiny. Credibility: Tiny.
@2:22: eff off
ReplyDelete2:22 pm, What has Jim said that is not credible? It's the posters to the site that are making the statements that you find incredible. What is Jim's part in this?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, with Tulsa closing, what happens to the sites they were handling? I haven't heard anything, and we're one of the sites.
"What has Jim said that is not credible?"
ReplyDeleteYou can't be serious.
3:05
ReplyDeleteJust keep on loving Gannett.
It would seem that all or most of the Jim
detractors are pro-Gannett and all of their
policies.
Trying to take credibility from this site
takes the focus off of the Gannett terrible leadership and the ruthlessness in which they
treat employees as though they are disposable
pieces of equipment that is no longer needed.
Seriously, COE in Tulsa closing? That's 500 jobs, right? That has to be a bad rumor.
ReplyDeleteRe: Transitional Pay. I saw on a 2009 post information on this topic and wondered if it still is accurate for current round of layoffs. Info stated that employees (I should say former) must call weekly to ensure receiving TP? Also, some longtime workers (let's say employed for 40 years) noted that previous item indicated up to 36 weeks of TP (our most recent NJ info was that 26 weeks was the cap). Does anyone know any particulars? Who knows when HR plans on informing us.
ReplyDeleteYes, you must call weekly to the TP folks. Don't worry. They're very nice.
ReplyDeleteYou must qualify for state unemployment bennies. The moment you stop qualifying (y'know, due to the fact that you have initiative/drive/energy and actually have the ability to go out and get contract work) is the moment you lose absolutely 100 percent of all remaining severance due to you. Y'know, the severance you earned for serving at the behest of greedy GCI senior execs. Yeah, that severance.
Which means that if you actually go for the 20, 30 or however many weeks of severance you're due, and you seek 100 percent of it, you're doing your career a disservice. How employable are you if you literally haven't worked in five months? Heck, if I were an employer, I'd be wondering about an employee who remained 'checked out' for much more than a month. Which means four weeks is about as much as you want to take it before getting yourself back 'into the game.'
Which is exactly what GCI wants, unfortunately, to further feed the executive greed machine.
Charlotte Observer lays off 20, including 5 in newsroom. Cites continuing weak economy and lower revenue:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/4ohpodt
Re 3:54 p.m....Yeah, you do have to contact the benefit's contractor used by Gannett on a weekly basis. It can be by phone or online. Just be sure to check the info packets you get and follow the directions to the "t." It's really easy.
ReplyDeleteAs for the number of weeks capping at 26 when the 2009 cap was 36, perhaps you don't have anyone with more than 26 years with the company.
Or maybe it's because the payout has been reduced.
I took the buyout offer in 2009 because the cash on the table had been declining with each offer. I figured I'd take what I could grab while it was still there.
Remember that Gannett doesn't owe you anything. They don't have to give you a dime.
In a normal economy I'd say that being a long-term unemployed - a year or more - would be a negative.
ReplyDeleteThat's not necessarily true today, especially because a lot of companies haven't been hiring, or have been going only with part-timers.
If you're an older worker, let's say 60 or so, with more than 25 years with the company and you take Gannett's TPP, it may pay to go for the full amount and stay on unemployment.
The reason for that is that you're extremely unlikely to find a job matching your former pay, and your age will work against you.
Make no bones about it: age discrimination isn't unusual in the workplace.
If you're 60 plus and out of work, you many never find a full-time job again. SO YOU WANT TO STAY ON THE GANNETT MEDICAL PLAN FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. DON'T THROW THAT AWAY!
3:05 To cite only one recent example of credible information here, see the memos, above, concerning the closing of the customer service center in Tulsa.
ReplyDeletePhoenix goes to Phoenix, Detroit goes to Detroit and the balance of the papers go to Greenville.
ReplyDeleteDear Trolls:
ReplyDeleteAs a beleaguered employee, you're posts give me pause to laugh my butt off. Think of who you're posting for, look around you at the now slashed staff at the NJ papers, the soon to be closed Center of Excellence in Tulsa. What do you think you are, Superman? When your usefulness is over to Gannett you will be gone in a heart beat. And besides everyone who reads and gets real info from Jim and the blog, the only people who will be laughing harder at your fate will be your former employer. Because you were a tool. On the cheap.
correction: I meant to say "your" instead of you're. It's hard to type when you're laughing at troll posts. Keep up the GOOD work Jim. The remaining employees at Gannett depend on you for the truth.
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain to me why Gannett's top executives get paid bonuses whenever workers are laid off and furloughed? I mean, not only is that just bad humanity, but it's not even good capitalism. A bonus for laying off people?
ReplyDeleteAny schmuck with a bad toupee can turn to a veteran reporter who subscribers respect and love to read and say, "You're furloughed!" Why do you need to give out a bonus for that?
This company is being looted from the top. Where are the shareholders? Why aren't the workers standing up for themselves? There is nobody to turn to.