Publisher John Zidich just distributed the following memo to Phoenix employees, including those at The Arizona Republic. Phoenix is the largest of Gannett's worksites after McLean, Va., home to Corporate and USA Today. GCI no longer discloses employment by site. I'd ballpark the Republic's workforce at around 1,500. Just before the first of a series of mass layoffs, starting in August 2008, Corporate said the paper employed about 2,600.
From: "Zidich, John"
Date: Tue, 10 May 2011 12:00:19 -0700
To: Everyone at PNI
Conversation: Announcement
Subject: Announcement
This morning I shared with the management team that we would implement a furlough. This decision was extremely difficult but made necessary by a challenging second quarter. In April, a limited furlough was put in place. Today's action would be for the remainder of the organization. This, quite frankly, was an option I had hoped to avoid but top line revenues remain short of where they were a year ago. While the longer term prospects for the Arizona economy appear to be improving the short term environment remains difficult. It's important to know that this is not an issue of declining Republic Media market share. There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market.
The furlough period will run through Saturday, July 30th. All non-union employees will be furloughed for five business days. Exempt, salaried employees must take one full payroll week. Outside sales people will take five days that can be completed at any pre-approved time during the furlough period. Non-exempt, hourly employees will also take five days at any pre-approved time. The attached FAQ should answer other questions you may have. We will be communicating separately with union representatives to discuss the treatment of bargaining unit employees.
In my career I have never been more proud of the great journalism and services you all provide to this community each and everyday. This organization has accomplished much and will so in the future. I know furloughs are very hard on you and your family. I'm sorry for that and very much appreciate your commitment and great work.
JZ
Related: spreadsheet shows estimated GCI-wide site-by-site job cuts so far in this quarter. Plus: this spreadsheet lists wage freezes. And: annual 2010 pay to GCI's six highest-paid executives.
Earlier: Zidich is named GCI's publisher of the year for 2010.
From: "Zidich, John"
Date: Tue, 10 May 2011 12:00:19 -0700
To: Everyone at PNI
Subject: Announcement
This morning I shared with the management team that we would implement a furlough. This decision was extremely difficult but made necessary by a challenging second quarter. In April, a limited furlough was put in place. Today's action would be for the remainder of the organization. This, quite frankly, was an option I had hoped to avoid but top line revenues remain short of where they were a year ago. While the longer term prospects for the Arizona economy appear to be improving the short term environment remains difficult. It's important to know that this is not an issue of declining Republic Media market share. There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market.
 |
| Zidich |
In my career I have never been more proud of the great journalism and services you all provide to this community each and everyday. This organization has accomplished much and will so in the future. I know furloughs are very hard on you and your family. I'm sorry for that and very much appreciate your commitment and great work.
JZ
Related: spreadsheet shows estimated GCI-wide site-by-site job cuts so far in this quarter. Plus: this spreadsheet lists wage freezes. And: annual 2010 pay to GCI's six highest-paid executives.
Earlier: Zidich is named GCI's publisher of the year for 2010.
"While the longer term prospects for the Arizona economy appear to be improving the short term environment remains difficult. It's important to know that this is not an issue of declining Republic Media market share. There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market."
ReplyDeleteWow, Zidich has been playing that swan song for 5 years now, he's the perfect Gannett executive keep blaming everything and everybody except yourself and heaven forbid it's not Republic Media loosing market share..... ah ya - you can bet it is.. what a total bafoon.
"In my career I have never been more proud of the great journalism and services you all provide to this community each and everyday. "
ReplyDeleteAND WHAT JOHN ZIDICH REALLY MEANS.....
"Yup, good thing those journalists redirected that bomb away from me with the Fiesta Bowl, if not I would of had to clear house in the newsroom. Definitely not giving up this cushy publisher job with my 2 flat screen TVs in my office."
Sooooo, weren't there some azcentral braggies positing recently that they had indeed dodged this bullet?
ReplyDeleteKarma.
I can think of other states/markets where economies also are sucking wind, including Michigan; Florida; Palm Springs, Calif., and Reno, Nev. Employees in those areas: What are you hearing?
ReplyDeleteDidn't the Appleton Post-Crescent in Wisconsin impose a wage freeze, since they're union and can't do furloughs? Or are they still on a wage freeze from last year, or the year before?
ReplyDelete5:35 Exactly. If Arizona is struggling, the rest of us must be in truly horrible shape.
ReplyDeleteWhoa: Note Zidich is talking about difficulties in the current quarter, not previous quarters: "This decision was extremely difficult but made necessary by a challenging second quarter," he writes. We are barely halfway through that April-June quarter now.
ReplyDeleteHe can't manage his own misbehavior, let alone a company. Just the beginning.
ReplyDeleteThe timing is curious. In late March, Zidich thought conditions required only limited furloughs. Now, six weeks later, he extends them company-wide. Did the local economy get that much worse, or has Corporate upped its cost-cutting demands?
ReplyDelete6:11 If you believe My Boss from yesterday, then it is corporate upping its cost-cutting demands. (BTW: yet another score for My Boss).
ReplyDelete6:11 ... plus the economy is supposed to be improving. So, yes, very curious timing.
ReplyDelete" It's important to know that this is not an issue of declining Republic Media market share. There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market."
ReplyDeleteYeah, right...we have posters here who noted they were sales reps in Phoenix and noted they go shopping, take long lunches, go home, etc. because their jobs were so easy. If they dedicated at least 90% of their time to sales, maybe the furloughs could be prevented.
6:11 If you believe My Boss from yesterday, then it is corporate upping its cost-cutting demands. (BTW: yet another score for My Boss).
ReplyDelete5/10/2011 6:13 PM
It's that and the fact, that as usual revenue keeps declining. They seem to be constantly surprised by that fact and just shows how incompetent the whole organization is..... revenue will continue to decline forever. Forget about the glass being 1/2 full that sucker is 1/2 empty. LOL
" It's important to know that this is not an issue of declining Republic Media market share. There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market."
ReplyDeleteYeah, right...we have posters here who noted they were sales reps in Phoenix and noted they go shopping, take long lunches, go home, etc. because their jobs were so easy. If they dedicated at least 90% of their time to sales, maybe the furloughs could be prevented.
5/10/2011 7:44 PM
It's because everyone (including me) has signed off on this business, we are so past the point of caring (the corporate bosses stopped too, so no reason to get mad) that I just collect my check and make my goals and go home. Speak of what you know and not of what you think to be true. The best sales reps in the world couldn't save this company now, mostly because what we sell is a complete joke.
My Boss is correct again!!!
ReplyDeletexxx There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market xxx
ReplyDeleteSo if everyone is sharing the same piece of this advertising pie, where did the these other media dollars go? There's been no dramatic increase in taxes or anything else that would explain this abrupt migration.
xxx There simply is not as much media dollars available in the market xxx
ReplyDeleteSo if everyone is sharing the same piece of this advertising pie, where did the these other media dollars go? There's been no dramatic increase in taxes or anything else that would explain this abrupt migration.
5/10/2011 9:32 PM
Exactly it's just the quickest BS that Zidich could think up quickly and pass off as the truth.
Come on people, we have to pay for Dubow's multi-million-dollar bonus some how!?
ReplyDeleteGannett math:
ReplyDelete1,500 az republic employees X $700 average employee pay/week = $1,050,000 additional bonus for Craig dubow this year
Now that's what you call incremental revenue!
Couldnt zilch just hock some presidents rings and cover the furloughs?
ReplyDeleteMust be the week to pick on AZ. Big board meeting in Tucson tomorrow with Bob Dickey & Mary Junck. Rumors of big changes. Again.
ReplyDeleteMajor cost cutting efforts are under way at our site. We were given our monthly allotment of toilet paper and they cut us back by 10 square each. Bastards.
ReplyDeleteKidding aside, our tight newsholes in our most profitable weeklies are getting even tighter.
What's the vibe on this sales rally thing we are doing next week?
I spent 35 years as a Gannett marketing director and the one thing I can tell you for sure is that they have no idea how many marketing dollars there are in the market. Any newspaper market share numbers I ever analyzed had a significant dose of hocus pocus. The worse the revenue number the more magic power that was sprinkled on market share calculation.
ReplyDeleteRemember John knows his memo is going to get posted for the world to see so he's got to put the spin on the bad number by blaming the market and not a media who's revenues continues to shrink.
Exactly... he must know that his memo would find its way to the blog. In that light, he has to find a way to put pn the best spin possible.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to communicate bad news to that many people is through email. And the only way that everyone else knows about it is through a medium that Jim created. Ironic.
One word for JZ -
ReplyDeleteHe got PWND.
Jim, I am one of those in the minority who still likes Gannett but I also respect the work you do. This is clear evidence that the suits are making decisions based on what may appear on your blog. They knew the second quarter numbers were going to miss expectations before they made the limited furlough announcement. But no way they wanted to announce furloughs so close to the giving of big bonuses. So they are planning other cuts instead. Furloughs in Phoenix are being done to avoid layoffs. Everyone else better run for cover.
ReplyDeleteArizona State economists have been reporting their state's economy is recovering -- including at a session last week -- so this Zidich memo is a mystery to me. I guess the newspaper industry has become detached from the rest of the economy if we are still sucking wind. Is this a temporary phenomenon or permanent?
ReplyDeleteCome on Maryam: we need that new image soonest.
ReplyDeleteThe economy can't be that bad because Scripps is accumulating so much cash it is buying back its shares.
ReplyDeleteThis makes what Dubow and Gracia did in accepting more money when they were giving everyone else less money even more heartless and immoral.
ReplyDeleteYes, Scripps didn't give their execs staggering pay increases while laying off and cutting the salaries of underlings.
ReplyDeleteThis is sickening, and is a change in company philosophy. I cannot believe that they are mandating furloughs after one poor performing month. I feel for gannettoids, because this is the wave of the future.
ReplyDeleteNotice that nowhere in Zidich's note does he say that the AZRepublic is losing money. That's the important thing to remember: In a business model marked by declining revenue, Gannett manipulates one big variable -- our hard-earned compensation -- to maintain its fat profit-margins and, ergo, to maintain the inflation on its stock price. A compassionate business owner absorbs much of the pain and protects his workers. Gannett lays off workers and sucks the blood out of those remaining so it use the cash for "balance sheet improvement" of all coldly corporate things.
ReplyDeleteSoul-less people running a soul-less company.
ReplyDeleteThis is all about certain high placed Gannett power-brokers maintaining their standard of living by fleecing the company and it's employees.
When the bonus figures come out, remember this day Arizona Republic employees.
This sucks for the people on extremely tight budgets but I personally hope it extends to my workplace. The less time I have to spend in that hell hole the better. I know a lot of colleagues feel the same.
ReplyDeleteThat's what Gannett has come to. Many people will gladly trade a paycheck or two just to get out.
With Gannett's penal workplace environment, these furloughs are starting to make me equate them with "good behavior" furloughs for workers/inmates who stay out of trouble. Of course, the week out doesn't go toward "time served," but they allow for conjugal visits with loved ones. Next up: electronic ankle bracelets!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really small window to squeeze those furloughs through.
ReplyDeleteArizona, lead the way: Every single furloughed employee needs to write a symbolic check (a graphic designer could do a mock-up in two minutes) drawn on The Bank of No Shame for the amount this fulough is costing them.
ReplyDeleteMake it payable to Craig Dubow, put "Your Bonus" in the memo field, sign it "Gannett Employee #1" on up and mail it to 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean VA 22107.
It's time to send a message to Mr. Dubow and Co.
Unusual to see furloughs straddle two quarters: these are mandated through July 30. Implications?
ReplyDeleteAs reporter for past 25 years who lives in Phoenix (but never worked for Republic), I can tell you the Phoenix economy is worse than almost anywhere, including California & Florida, and showing few signs of turning around.
ReplyDeleteFallout from SB1070 has compounded recession's effect on tourism, the state's No. 1 "industry." Largest employers are Wal-Mart & McDonald's. Many who are lucky to have jobs are working for minimum wage or close to it.
Thanks to draconian budget cuts just passed by Legislature, the worst is still to some. I'm not surprised about the furloughs at Republic, which was become paper-thin on many days of week. No one is buying products, so businesses aren't buying ads.
1:18 The implications are that the economic drought facing GCI is accelerating, not abating. I can't recall this company responding in mid-quarter, as Zidich's memo indicate they have. Usually they wait until the quarter is over to figure out where they are because that's the only way to get a good feeling for the company's response to the economic downturn. Someone must have bet the farm on there being one hell of an Easter celebration, and it just didn't show up at all last month. Heads should roll over that one.
ReplyDeleteI think turmoil in McLean is also contributing, as the salaries for all these new vice presidents, senior vice presidents, general managers at USA Today verticals, AOL hires, etc., has to be paid by someone. I have never before heard of a company larding up like this in the middle of a recession, unless they were expecting the downturn was over.
Surely they could see ads were not returning and circulation was troubled. Those observations have been made and discussed here on this board several times in recent weeks.
My guess on the layoffs through July 30 is they are expecting this to be the last, because August back-to-school ads and then seasonal ads will carry the papers through to the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteThis is what he's been saying for over 5 years! There's still been no plan other than how to make certain Republic people look good on the backs of the employee population. What plan is in place? Limited media dollars? Isn't that why Gannett diversified into Republic Media?
ReplyDeleteVP Circulation gets a ring, Marketing Business whatever she does gets a ring, Publisher of the year... The Arizona Republic wins a few top-level awards and this is the best they can come up with? How does an award winning Publisher have such limited scope? Limited media dollars? Your Marketing Business Development person won a ring in the 6th largest city for the largest daily Gannett paper- Go get the dollars you idiots!
ReplyDelete1:48: It ain't what you know, it's who you know. Check out the people at corporate and compare them to the ring winners. It's not rocket science. The ring winners aren't really the best of the best. Never have been. It's always been political.
ReplyDeleteVP Circulation gets a ring, Marketing Business whatever she does gets a ring, Publisher of the year... The Arizona Republic wins a few top-level awards and this is the best they can come up with? How does an award winning Publisher have such limited scope? Limited media dollars? Your Marketing Business Development person won a ring in the 6th largest city for the largest daily Gannett paper- Go get the dollars you idiots!
ReplyDelete5/12/2011 1:48 AM
It's all smoke and mirrors....the rings and promotions have nothing to do with what you actually bring to the table it is how well you get along with the upper upper management and that you don't rock the boat. Better to support the publisher that has failure after failure than come up with an idea or doing something that generates revenue that he didn't think of. If you did it on your own and were not part of the collective unit... you have guaranteed your short longevity. Look no further than Brooke Christopherson and Karen Crotchfelt, they bring/brought nothing to the table in fact their ideas lost hundreds of thousands if not a few million over time, but since they are in the the publisher's inner circle John Zidich they are protected.
Forget all the BS about we fill your pain!!! Do they take furloughs? YES!! Do the recoup the losses in BONUSES? DAM STRAIGHT THEY DO!!! What needs to happen is BONUSES eliminated and cut wages fron the top down not the bottom up!!
ReplyDelete