Sunday, July 10, 2011

July 4-10 | Your News & Comments: Part 7

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26 comments:

  1. Jim: I've been having problems posting for the last two days. Is this something you can fix, or is it a Blogger problem? Yes, I know this is a funky program but there have been unusual problems in the last two days and I suspect you are missing posts. I get Error 503 if that means anything.

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  2. Any more rumors of layoffs this week?

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  3. As I enjoy reading my Sunday NY Times and its close coverage of the Republican contenders' campaigns and the convulsions in state legislatures, I can't help wonder why Gannett -- which is surely the largest news gathering organization in the world -- chooses not to be in the game. More and more, I'm getting my coverage of national politics, national issues, the federal government and Congress, and state news from the Times, the Washington Post, Wall St. Journal, Bloomberg, Politico, Huffington Post, National Journal, Reuters and other online sites. Once every six months, I'll follow a link to something in USA Today. But by and large, Gannett outlets don't factor into the national discourse. It's pretty bad that Gannett doesn't leverage its many eyes and ears in many states into a must-read roundup of some sort. It had a chance to become more of a player, but with all the alternative news sources out there humming away, any effort on Gannett's part, including that silly branding campaign, strikes me as too little too late.

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  4. Could it be that this new and clever corporate troll is an IT expert who knows about hacking? If so, look at what is happening in England with the News of the World scandal, and how the police investigations are about to blow up Cameron's government.

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  5. Jim:

    I agree that the Green Bay coverage of the final shuttle launch was masterly.

    Alas, they followed it up with this brain teaser at the bottom of the page:

    GOP plans tweaks of political boundaries.

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  6. 1:53 Yes, the British papers are referring to the Murdoch scandal as England's Wataergate, I'm getting real tired of the 'gates.

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  7. 1:53 If there's anything to your suspicions, it can't be anyone in Payne's shop because he's a lawyer and former prosecutor who understands privacy and the Internet. Maybe Robin's operation? Outside contractor?

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  8. To 7/09 9:16am I believe

    Yes. It is Florida Today raising prices and the word is USA printing will go to Orlando in August.

    Makes most of us sick. Losing USA from here is bad enough. Asking these people to pay a buck for 20-30 pages of mostly ads, USA and AP stories is almost laughable if it wasn't so sad.

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  9. 1:53, you're stupid. Keep the conspiracy theories to yourself.

    We know what is causing the error messages. Jim is starting to flake out again, just like he did two years ago. He is trying to mess with the program, but he doesn't know what he is doing.

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  10. Suspicions confirmed.

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  11. 4:20 Yep that Pointroll advertising campaign coming out of the same operation that gave us all within reach.

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  12. Now here's a branding campaign that works. Never even heard of this company before seeing the ad on CNBC in the mornings where GCI's branding campaign still working:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McjNX8nIcMU&feature=related
    That's so funny it took me a couple of times to catch the name of the investment firm. There's another series of ads I can't find but I wonder how USA Today's editorial page would like this one:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cBsa73jjA

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  13. And here's a branding campaign that didn't work. The TV companies refused to run it:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHxwTs4Fm3U&NR=1

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  14. Another branding campaign that works:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLGEa6ZgQGw&feature=related

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  15. And finally a selection of good -- and very bad -- from around the globe:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XyoxfjD5V4&NR=1

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  16. So do we now want to talk about Robin's branding campaigns?

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  17. Another new PointRoll ad campaign slogan coming out "You want Rich?, we'll be your bitch...PointRoll rich media defined."

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  18. @4:37 pm- Loved the second one- especially the part about "the cities of New York, Los Angeles and Texaco" @5:24 pm- THAT is a MIUST-SEE. As point roll says- Tap That Ad! Love it! Very Clever.

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  19. www.gannett.com/eventspace

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  20. They drew the line at Weddings.... Wonder if they would allow a sweet 16th.

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  21. This article can be applied to Gannett and its assorted bean counters and non-product-related business management.

    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2081930,00.html

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  22. Eureka, it hit me just this morning: Craig is zoned out on pain-killers and Gracia is preoccupied with the latest trash novel, and no one is minding the store. If things in this company worked they would be scrubbed as they worked up and down the chain. But that isn't happening, and so we have a bunch of know-nothing free agents in relatively low executive positions running around doing what they want to. It won't change until the board of directors steps in and either says something, or cleans house and gets a new top office which, like Gen. Petreaus, is determined to clean up the mess he or she sees.

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  23. ...And at least two of the execs have a very fragile grip on reality.

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  24. 3:55PM, that's it, we might as well close up shop. No one will pay $1 for, as you say, ads and canned copy from AP & USA Today.

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  25. 3:44: To change the top execs the board would have to have passion for this company. That passion seems to be lacking everywhere these days. It's easier to just go with the flow than it is to put yourself out there and demand a change. Gannett will continue to suffer because of it.

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  26. 9:42 Maybe someone in the second tier from the top who is really passionate will take a gamble and realize it's all within reach.

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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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