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Tuesday, June 21, 2011
116 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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Can anyone provide Louisville names?
ReplyDeleteThe last time the DM Register axed a bunch of folks they chastised the State of Iowa in an Opinion piece the same day for cutting govt. jobs to balance the budget. Said it was "Bad for the economy".
ReplyDeleteI need to review today's OP/Ed page.
Someone mentioned "gutting newsrooms." Any way to get a headcount of newsrooms? I fear Gannett may have reached the point of no return in content creation.
ReplyDeleteCan someone provide the correct number of souls deleted from the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ and positions and/or names?
ReplyDeleteAre the Metromix sites going away, or just their related print pubs?
ReplyDelete@Jim or anyone: The Tallahassee Democrat tally is at 12, but that number has been there for weeks. Does the 700 number include those 12, or can we expect it to increase further?
ReplyDeleteOnly 4 in Wisconsin?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like all young reader publications are finished -- Velocity, Insider, etc. Are any left?
ReplyDeleteyoung reader publications should have been finished. they are reached via mobile.
ReplyDeleteI see the spreadsheet is only about half way to the 700. This is awful.
Who is gone in Phoenix?
ReplyDeleteLooking for reports from MNCO papers (small Ohio dailies).
ReplyDeleteIf Phoenix is lucky they got rid of the leader of GannettLocal.
ReplyDelete5:47 I believe those 12 are not included in the 700, but I can't be sure, as Gannett isn't releasing a site-by-site breakdown.
ReplyDeleteThis spreadsheet is meant to include ALL job cuts announced during the quarter, which runs from April 1 to June 30. For that reasons, in some cases the number will be higher than the figures posted by readers here today.
Having said all that, the figures here for most sites are substantially those that were disclosed today by publishers.
Isn't Spark, the Wilmington weekly, still breathing?
ReplyDelete@6:06 - Yes, Spark's still going. And a clerk recently was hired over to it as a reporter. But with one of the layoffs today, all the people who put it together are now gone. Surely it's on its way out the door, too. At last count, 12-13 today in Wilmington, many with lots of seniority.
ReplyDeleteMany features folks cut here in Phoenix, beyond the previously mentioned press.
ReplyDelete@6/21/2011 6:01 PM:
ReplyDeleteYeah, that would totally be poetic justice if the wicked witch was dumped. But I would never bet on it. Oh, the havoc that one has wrought.
If anyone is wondering about the future of "print" journalism (despite the carnage Gannett is doing today) just look at Jim's blog. Could a reporter have even started to put together this info in one day...from all the sites...with all the detail. What a reality check.
ReplyDeleteAgain, WHO in Phoenix got laid off, and how many?
ReplyDelete3:42 PM - I am so sorry this is happening to you.
ReplyDeleteAll - We have to remember there are hundreds of individuals going through hell right now and have a heart.
I went through it months ago. I am also in Phoenix. SUB pay is long gone. Here, we get $240 a week in unemployment BEFORE deductions. And they have discontinued extended benefits. When my initial allotment is gone next month, that is it. Who would have thought I could care about the $800 a month I'm clearing from that? Except now it is the only thing keeping a roof over my head. And that roof needs repair at my expense, unfortunately.
Savings will keep me going a little while. I applied at Walgreen last week in desperation; no callback. I've applied for everything. Things are particularly grim here.
Of course I'm in my 50s. I got embarrassing good reviews at Gannett for well over a decade. I know you are just thinking there must be something wrong with me and with 3:42 PM and all the rest. You'll think that until it happens to you.
Good luck with the age suit. No one will touch it I'm an old investigative reporter and have researched it. At best, it could be a tort thing (class action) where we'll get a couple hundred dollars awarded to each of us, but Gannett will be long gone before anyone collects a cent.
I always thought it was odd when posters saw importance in their verification code, but must share that mine is "parer" as in one who pares. That is who is making the bucks at Gannett now.
Rochester: names? positions?
ReplyDeleteJim: Your reporting (both from you and your community) is failing to note or ask about some sites told that pay of the "survivors" will be reduced by 5 percent across the board and, at some sites, OC members will be asked to take a third week of furlough. Woo-hoo! More fun ahead!
ReplyDeleteLouisville newsroom names: John Liu, Betty Baye, Tiffany Meredith, Sherly Edelen, Melssia Poore, Tamara Ikenberg, Paula Burba, Velocity staff, etc. 24 TOTAL in the newsroom. 50 in the building.
ReplyDelete@6:09: Did MS at Spark get the axe today? Terrible news if he did.
ReplyDeleteSports in Lansing gutted, I've read.
ReplyDeleteThe Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's young reader publication, insider, is now defunct. A designer and reporter from the pub lost their jobs, plus five others in the newsroom.
ReplyDeleteCome, NJ Group, details. Did the C-N finally get whacked or does it remain the golden child among the DR and THNT?
ReplyDelete6:26, who are you hearing that got laid off in LSJ sports? Know people there. Or a link to what you read?
ReplyDelete6:30: Neil Koepke, Bill McLeod and possibly Mark Meyer -- differing info on the latter.
ReplyDeleteAlso lost one IT guy and two from marketing, I think.
Oh, and we got news last week that Noise, the young adult weekly, is going online only. Should have been killed ages ago, back when they laid off the entire staff for it!
@6:26- Yes Matty was still there at EOB today. And not looking particularly pleased. He can hold on to the fact that Spark is still considered one of the best Young Reader pubs in USCP.
ReplyDeleteWilmington at last count:17
Word on on the street number:20
Looks like we might have a few more to go.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110621/BUSINESS01/306210060/Gannett-Co-lays-off-700-including-14-Tennessean-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
ReplyDeleteTennessean says 14 non-newsroom and 20 in the newsroom in a coming "refocusing" of newsroom operations.
Just posted on the Springfield (Mo.) website:
ReplyDeleteAt the Springfield News-Leader Media Group, which is owned by Gannett, 18 jobs were eliminated, 12 open positions won’t be filled and two employees’ jobs were changed, according to President and Publisher Linda Ramey-Greiwe.
The layoffs included Sports Editor Pam Clark and Everett Kennell, a local-news editor. Both wrote regular columns.
The News-Leader’s Moms Like Me publication will become an entirely online product.
Metromix also got canned in Springfield (lone Metromix staffer Brett Jacques was the third "live person" layoff in the newsroom). An open photog position and the recently-created but vacant "social media editor" job were the others nixed.
ReplyDeleteAny word on Asbury Park?
ReplyDeleteAnybody know who got cut in Fort Collins, Colorado?
ReplyDeleteAny word on who was let go in Fort Myers?
ReplyDeleteWhat about paper in MS?
ReplyDeleteMs papers?
ReplyDeleteHeard 30 from Westchester. How many from editorial and how many were reporters, editors and in what departments?
ReplyDeleteThe Tally dozen does not include anyone there that lost their job today.
ReplyDeleteMajor media attention for this round. Clearly, Jim has developed a larger following since the 2009 assault on employees. I'm curious if Wall Street reacted more positively to the news in 2009 than it did today -- 40 cent bump.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery lost more than four today.
ReplyDeleteThree people were sacked in the newsroom alone, which is a huge hit. We only have a staff of 30 or so. Make that 27 or so.
Newsroom cut two copy editors and one sports reporter. Two of the three employees had at least 10 years of experience at this newspaper.
This is sad news indeed. For the Corporate Apologists out there who come to this blog and say all is well and that Jim and his supporters are doomsayers who only want to badmouth Gannett, you have been exposed for the liars, toadies and miscreants you are.
ReplyDeleteTo My Boss and Jim's other sources I say "Thank You." Once again this blog has shown its value to those of us who toil miserably in Gannett Land.
I know a lot of people would like to know who has been laid off. But this is not an easy time for those folks. If they want to come here and tell us who they are, that's fine but please don't post the names of the laid off.
Any word on the bonuses Martore and Dubow will get for kicking 700 more people to the curb?
I got the axe today in Lansing. The HR director told me there were 19 of us in total at our site. I'll be OK. It creates a lot of problems, to be sure. It also solves quite a few. It's just getting over the fear that will be the hard part. But I will be OK.
ReplyDeleteAlright - details. As mentioned above, sports is gutted here. So is business, folded into the umbrella of metro. What's left of sports is being merged with the copy desk, so who knows what that'll lead to. At least one editor was shifted to an asst. editor position and saw a pay cut. Laid out like that, it's a relief to be free of it all.
Good luck to the rest of you. I'd call you "survivors," but we all have been survivors to make it this far.
To those of you who were laid off today, my deepest sympathies.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the feeling of loss many of you have right now, but if you hustle right from the get-go, you WILL find a job. It won't happen tomorrow or next week, but it will happen.
So, wallow in your grief and anger tonight, and tomorrow, get busy. It may sound trite and overdone, but truly "Today IS the first day of the rest of your life."
Is there any news from MNCO? I heard that the two legal clerks in Newark were laid off. Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteSeeing reports in Jackson, Miss., of 10 layoffs with four from newsroom so far.
ReplyDeleteIn Louisville..Bettye Baye, Tamara Ikenberg, Mark Hillberry (IT). In circulation Brian Ritchie, Sandy Winn, Amber Robb, Lavetta Moore, CJ Meyer.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the word from Wisconsin group? Anyone from Oshkosh or Appleton?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know who was cut in Greenville?
ReplyDeletewestchester lost 47...how can there be world class sales organization when there is no one left support the big idea...don't just worry about news - but all the rest of the people that lost their jobs today not to mention all the survivors - very sad day today
ReplyDeleteNJ Group is too quiet. Come on, give with the details. Did JJC finally get the boot?
ReplyDeleteJust posted to the Courier-Journal web site:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/3cj3f58
The Courier-Journal lays off 50 as revenue slumps
The Courier-Journal laid off 50 employees Tuesday — about 10 percent of its staff — in response to declining advertising revenue.
In Louisville, 24 were laid off from the newsroom. The job cuts were part of 700 eliminated across Gannett, the parent company of the Courier.
With the reduction, the weekly publication Velocity will be integrated into the main newspaper.
...
You're right 8:36. Maybe there is no one left at the new jersey papers to report here. who got the axe at the courierpost?
ReplyDeleteFort Myers had 14 layoffs. No department was safe. They let go a few from advertising, a few from IC, a few from production, etc.
ReplyDeleteNoticeably absent during this difficult time: The publisher who I hear shared a message with some that she was on a 2 week trip to Spain. The Sr. VP/ Sales & Marketing was also not around. We've heard she is on a 4 month assignment with corporate and will return in October.
8:05...I was at a weekly as an editor. Had seniority over others, but it worked only in that I was an editor less than all the others, even though I was at Gannett far longer. Oh well.
ReplyDelete8:51: Who is the senior vp of sales & marketing?
ReplyDeleteHattiesburg, Miss. American gave up two vacant jobs, but no "live-person" layoffs. This on top of a pay cut earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteBesides the layoffs at Florida Today, management announced a reorganization of the newsroom, with some jobs eliminated and some new ones created, and an indication that people will have to reapply for jobs. Reorg to be done by Labor Day.
Besides the demise of the young adult pubs, the larger metros seem to be pulling back from weekly/niche pub/suburban coverage.
In Phoenix, Features was hit hard. YES (Your Essential Style) and Mommies Like Me are reportedly gone along with some very experienced features' writers. Sad day.
ReplyDeleteMaybe those left in the misery of the NJ group are sick of having outsiders pick at our carcass for their voyeuristic enjoyment
ReplyDelete@6:43: So why was Spark spared? Or is it about to be axed? It sounds like, after today, its the only young reader publication left.
ReplyDeleteAnyone, who and how many in Lansing????
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you all!
9:03. The only picking at your carcass is by the jerkoffs at gannett.
ReplyDeleteSo the Fort Myers publisher is in Spain for 2 weeks? Heck of a way to spend a "furlough" week.
ReplyDeleteDon't count on Wall Street to react to these layoffs. You see it went up today, but the smartest investors are looking at the earnings per share, which at the end of this quarter are currently estimated to be $0.58 per share, a decrease of 20.34% over the prior year second quarter results. This is according to Schwab's research service, and clearly shows losses are increasing. Now ask yourself if these cuts in community papers are going to produce lower revenue. I personally think they will because there are fewer people selling, fewer out there getting original stories, and fewer resolving complaints from subscribers and advertisers. The bottom line is we are royally pissing off the people we need.
ReplyDeleteRemember that 0.58 cent EPS figure next month when Gracia and Craig unveil the actual quarterly reports. I don't think they can hit it, but I'm no stock analyst. If they miss it, it is really bad news for Gracia and Craig.
Eventually, Corporate has to wake up to the old saw that you can't cut your way to profitability. Cutting veterans from the payrolls eliminates the workhorses that make these newspapers work. It is suicidal for Gannett to continue down this path.
@9:11 I think Juice from the DM Register is still alive. Haven't heard anything about it today.
ReplyDeleteGannett layoffs made second biz story on WCBS-AM radio this evening. Draw your own conclusions. At least five newsroom lay-offs at APP, but there have been at least three reporter positions vacated in the last few months which went unfilled, obviously sparing the few left. No formal announcement, just a meeting with Tom Donovan next week. Oh goody
ReplyDeleteYou will not see any corporate numbers because they are too valuable to be laid off.
ReplyDelete@9:14 - 19 in Lansing, sports and business are pretty much reorganized. I know of one layoff in marketing and one in IT.
ReplyDelete9:43 - too high and mighty is more like it. The higher the floor, the worse.
ReplyDeletewisconsin only had 4?
ReplyDeleteAnyone know names or what sites were hit?
Westchester really lost 47. Wow. Where did they all come from? Who were some of those let go?
ReplyDeleteWhen do we get the aggregated list, Jim. We keep coming back because you do the collecting and curating. Please?
ReplyDeleteI believe 8 layoffs @ Clarion-Ledger; Jackson, MS. An additional 4 vacant positions were eliminated
ReplyDeleteJim, I think the Courier-Journal deserves their own update like the Indy Star...50 employees gone, 24 from the newsroom. FB updates described it as a bloodbath.
ReplyDelete@6:09: Did MS at Spark get the axe today? Terrible news if he did.
ReplyDeleteNo, he didn't get the axe, at least not as of 5 p.m.
The artist for Spark was laid off but no one else was touched, which I find odd, especially since most of them are no where to be found on a Friday. Know they were favorites of Curtis Riddle but seems to me they need to step up to the plate and actually work for a living. The one person they laid off was the only one who actually did anything. No reason for this staff to exist. Let Ashbury Park or News take it over.
What about the broadcast side? How about names from Phoenix?
ReplyDeleteFor the poster asking earlier, Nancy Solliday is the SRVP Sales & Marketing in Fort Myers. If they're lucky she'll never come back from that corporate gig.
ReplyDeleteEven though the publisher may be enjoying a "furcation" in Spain, I'm sure the troops must be encouraged that Matt Petro is firmly in charge during these difficult times.
Did they really let MacGregor go?
An ex-SnoozePresser
My sympathies to all those suffering. I spent more than 20 years with Gannett at various sites. It began with great opportunities, ended with a thud. In 1992 a visionary who I enthusiastically supported presented what eventually became USA Today online to the brass. At the time they dismissed outright as a worthless idea. Said visionary left and last I heard was an executive with Amazon. The company leadership (above managing editor level at least) remains a solid 10-15 years behind consumer desires. Good luck to all.
ReplyDelete9:14 how's it different in business?
ReplyDeleteok, we just had layoffs after that mockery of a World Class Sales Rally (ies) No one gets the big picture.
ReplyDeleteTotal layoff count across MNCO was 81, i believe. 19 were positions left unfilled, 62 real, live people. Not sure how many were from news. Seems like an awfully big share for an operation of that size.
ReplyDelete@10:19, I should have specified I meant the business section of news rather than the business office. One writer gone, editor sent to metro desk. Business as its own subdivision is basically gone. I'm not sure what happened in the business office, if that's what you're asking.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what the NJ Group does in marketing now that AT has been let go. She ran the show.
ReplyDeleteYes MacGregor is gone. Haven't had much interaction with Matt Petro but he seems to be a good one to be in charge.
ReplyDelete10:19 thanks (I was let go today too)
ReplyDeleteWhich writer, or can't you say?
What 8 positions in Jackson, Ms were layed off. Names? What dept
ReplyDelete@ 10:26 - :hug: I'm the writer, matter of fact, but I'd just as soon not have it out in the open and spare what's left of my bruised pride today. It'll be obvious soon enough.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMe too (Christie).
ReplyDeleteHow about the folks that have been laid off today, any that were receiving accommodations for medical conditions?
ReplyDeleteYes MacGregor is gone. Haven't had much interaction with Matt Petro but he seems to be a good one to be in charge.
ReplyDelete6/21/2011 10:26 PM
Too bad, Doug was a good guy and when I was there did a lot of stuff in the community. Probably one of the last cartoonists left in a paper the size of Fort Myers, not to mention Gannett as a whole.
As for MP, a standard Gannett bean counter but he does have the seniority thing going for him.
Checking the N-P website, they used to list all the non-VP directors on the contact us page. A few names are missing now. Were they part of the purge?
10:45 give us a break. Gannett doesn't give a crap about employees, sick or not. I was ill with a serious condition. All I got from these assholes were threats because I was on disability. If you dropped dead today they wouldn't care and don't.
ReplyDeleteArticle from KCCI in Des Moines. Has some names of the 13 laid off in DM.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kcci.com/money/28309963/detail.html
Phx Artists were nervous today but not much happened. Has Iowa City gone to GPC yet?
ReplyDeleteA family member lost her job at the Arizona Republic in the last big round of cuts (2009). Turned out to be a blessing, she's much happier, and making a better income now, so keep your heads up!
ReplyDeleteI actually hadn't read the Arizona Republic for a couple years, until last Sunday. Nothing but reformatted press releases from legislative assistants, and the odd bit of actual reporting on the fires and local sports. Sad, my Mom and Dad both worked at the paper when it was a vibrant force in the Phoenix community.
I actually pointed out to my breakfast companions that the Rep wasn't really a viable business endeavor going forward.
I'm 10:45. I thought accommodations for medical conditions provided some protections. From your experience (10:52), I guess I was mistaken. Anyone else have experience or observations in this area?
ReplyDeleteHey Jim, Courier-Journal number was 50, not 36. Among the bodies -- the incredibly talented Thomas Nord and neighbors maven Sheryl Edelen. Both ridiculous big losses.
ReplyDeleteMy Cincinnati Enquirer exit was the result of a trumped-up, personal vendetta executed by a hatchet man seeking to save his own thin, incompetent skin. Recent ousters are impersonal and bottom-line driven. I don't know which is more painful or devaluing. Either, from a human viewpoint, is demeaning. Mine was not painful financially as I was able to move on relatively painlessly; I pray that those recently demised souls find a better life and better careers.
ReplyDeleteI am confident they have the talents to succeed. God speed to all ousted Gannetters.
I could never have predicted this when I was wined, dined, loved and appreciated in 1973. The company was my life for 20 years ... this seems to be a sad ending to what so many of us worked so hard to achieve.
RIP to GCI, a world of saddened, talented and stilled voices. I hope GLW, GFS and CWR remember those who helped them be where they are today. My memories are fond, resentments few, regrets, many.
To John C. Quinn, Jerry Sass and Mary Kay Blake, love and respect for opportunities provided. Peace to all, then and now ... onward and upward!
at last count 35 in Cincy- incl me,
ReplyDeleteThe executive compensation packages are no longer justified under ANY scenario. it's just ruthless greed. Period.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way Westchester lost 47 OR 30 people...maybe 10-12
ReplyDelete@10:55
ReplyDeleteMy understanding from a friend who works there is that they were training on the new system today. I'm not sure when it's planned to go into operation, however.
Lafayette, IN is actually 6 not 5.
ReplyDelete11:54 - Westchester is actually 49 not 47.
ReplyDeleteNo plans for the new AZ print site for USA TODAY? Incredible planning for sure.
ReplyDeleteStar Media lays off 62 workers, eliminates 19 unfilled jobs
ReplyDeleteBy IndyStar on June 21, 2011
Star Media, which publishes The Indianapolis Star, laid off 62 employees today and eliminated another 19 unfilled positions.
The job cuts were part of parent company Gannett’s reduction this week of about 700 employees at its 82 U.S. newspapers, representing 2 percent of Gannett’s overall workforce.
Gannett’s revenue, which comes mostly from advertising, has declined for four years in a row.
At Star Media, President and Publisher Karen Crotchfelt attributed the cutbacks primarily to a decline in ad purchases by national corporate accounts.
“The reality is we need to have a smaller organization we can support with local ad revenues,” she said.
Since all of this is sickening, perhaps all newsroom employees should considering calling in sick on Wednesday, and maybe Thursday and Friday too. Take your benefits while you can!
ReplyDeleteRegarding Jackson, MS four in the newsroom were let go, including the presentation editor, the Metromix editor, a sports copy editor and an online person.
ReplyDeleteThere were also one in circulation, two in finance and one in prepress. There have been mixed reports that there may have been one in IT as well.
Well, those of us who had extended stays with Gannett (35-plus years in my case and now retired) predicted this would happen when Curly-Q, a news person, handed the top job off to a lawyer (The Cork), who handed them to whatever you want to call the current management team. But all this is a small sideshow to one important fact -- it won't stop the slide of daily print journalism. Sorry, but that is a fact. Now, if they can keep that retirement check coming...
ReplyDeleteSeven hundred people have lost their jobs to ensure that a few will millionaires get their bonuses.
ReplyDelete10:22 here, I had those MNCO numbers wrong, switched with Indy. Not sure what the Ohio total was.
ReplyDelete11:53, are you saying 35 this round? or are you including the February layoffs? How many of those 35 were unfilled positions?
ReplyDeleteand then today the metro newspapers are gathering for more b.s. from corporate on how to be a world class organization with fewer and fewer dedicated smart people - spending money and partying at the bar on corporate while many suffer trying to pick up the pieces. anyone wonder how sales teams continue to sell advertising with circulation dropping like a boulder? Remember when Westchester was over double what the current circ number is ---really?
ReplyDelete7:48: Glad to hear that. I was thinking you were off on that. It seems MNCO wasn't hit too hard, but I don't have exact numbers. No layoffs in the several newsrooms I've heard from.
ReplyDeleteLast night, in Louisville Ky, a local news station, WHAS, quoted from this blog about the bonus' given to higher ups for laying off the employees in Gannett. I was SOOOO glad to hear this,letting the public know what is going on "behind the scenes".
ReplyDelete