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Thursday, August 18, 2011
54 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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Other entry says Dubow told the good folks in Montgomery that he deserved his bonus because he's doing a good job of running the company. kudos to whoever asked the question. In Jackson, we were all too scared to ask anything like that. A few of the reporters asked about APs and paywalls and the design hubs, but the rest of us just listened. Dubow, Martore and Dickey gave the expected answers -- short on information and long on corporate buzzwords. Said they're still testing paywalls and testing consumers to see what's the best way to introduce an AP for local papers. They said to give Roger Payne time because he's brilliant and has a great plan. I say it's way past time. It's obvious they're pushing the printed product aside, yet they're not putting any resources into the digital side for community newspapers like The Clarion-Ledger. And they continue to cut staff and budgets. But when Dubow was asked about reduced staffing he was quick to point out that that's a "local" issue that he doesn't have anything to do with. What bullshit! All layoffs come from corporate.
ReplyDelete3:35 AM: Don't you mean David Payne?
ReplyDeletePrevious thread asked if Dubow's bonus talk in Montgomery yesterday was the result of a question. Yes it was - one of the reporters asked "Do you anticipate any more layoffs this year, and if so, would you forgo your bonus to avoid them?" Dubow first praised the reporter for asking the question (although it didn't look like he meant it), then went on to basically explain their reasoning for the layoffs earlier in the year, and not saying if there were more to come. Then he said as far as the question about would he give up his bonus, "no I wouldn't." And he "explained" why not, which was just a bunch a blather about how much the company has going on. He mentioned that he's "turned back" $200,000 of salary a year to the company, and that Gracia has turned back $50,000 a year. Then he thanked the reporter for the question again and moved on. No other questions were as controversial, and Dubow ended the Q&A after two or three more questions.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's a local issue. The captain of the Titanic points at the publisher in the lifeboat and tells him to throw either his wife or kid overboard, the lifeboat is sinking. Hey, you lost yer ma, kid? Blame your local control.
ReplyDeleteNever mind that guy driving the Titanic was the one who added coal to the fire (bought back debt), punched more holes in the bottom (bought second tier businesses that never panned out) and then told the band to play louder to make it all better (It's All Within Reach with Maryam).
It's a pipe dream, but can you imagine a leader who would say 'Hey people, I know it's been hard, here's 50 bucks from me to you' and turn back a million or two to the folks that are really doing the work that drives stockholder value? Symbolic, but symbols mean things too.
I've motivated myself enough for today. Time to go in and make sure my lifeboat captain doesn't throw me overboard. I barely know his wife, after all.
Give me almost $10 million for doing absolutely nothing and I will happily "turn back" a lot more than $200K. Hell, I'll even pay for my own health insurance, security system and scholarship donations.
ReplyDeleteWhat a d-bag this guy is.
7:59 ...very good morning humor.
ReplyDeleteYou are right the 3 publishers at this site,
(all now gone and replaced by finance manager now called Gen Manager) did the very same thing when it came to layoffs and claimed it all came from corporate.
8:24
ReplyDeleteSame thing here at this weekly.3 publishers all formerly part of the ownership group, were forced to retire during and soon after they layed off many and were then replaced by Finance Manager.This person, a numbers person only,and knows nothing about the newspaper business.These Publishers,during layoff periods would only say that it is a corporate decision and he would not be making this choice if up to him.Now Corporate says it is a Local decision....Damn nobody wants to admit responsibility for ruining people's lives.
At this site it,once a thriving business environment with enthused employees hustling to make deadlines,hustling to make goals,pressmen hustling to get all print jobs finished,mailroom employees hustling to make shipments and post office times,now this building,this paper, is a shadow of it's former life.The presses sold,the mailroom closed,most editors gone,photographer gone, the designers who were good went to other jobs,and there are just a minimum number of employees left,and of those,nobody gives a damn about the paper what-so-ever,and are just waiting for closing and unemployment eligible.This is a paper in a small town where it's building,the people,the paper was once the center of attention for the whole area. Now the familiar faces of 25 year employees are all gone and those left are the new hires from last three years or so before the hiring freeze.You could march these people down main street and no one would know who they are. And oh yes, the finance manager, now the General Manager is still there...very sad.
It's hard to take seriously any criticism that can't be bothered to get an executive's name right. Greg Dubow would be proud of your journalistic integrity.
ReplyDelete(Sarcasm, for the unenlightened, before anybody accuses me of the same. I shouldn't have to say it, but.. you know... lemming trolls, etc.)
Please, for the love of the news god, use line breaks in your comments.
ReplyDeleteThat means you should press "enter" twice, not once, between your paragraphs. I know it's hard to understand this "digital age" but it's the least you can do.
Today was interesting. On the opinion's page, there was no "Our Views". Instead there were "Other Views", and they came from either ends of the state...Gannett papers of course. Not that people agree with this paper's views but they really don't care what other papers are saying/thinking.
ReplyDeleteThen the guy who, I'm guessing here, "edged" out the ex opinions page editor, goes on local radio spouting the corporate monologue. Defifitely showed why our paper is floundering...pushing the "digital" age while turning their back on the print people. Almost made me vomit so I had to turn it off.
Really sad.
Corporate America is on a different planet than everyone else. Dubow embodies the problem in business today. For years we've been conditioned to believe that to get the best CEO, money and perks and benefits have to flow freely. Happened to watch "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" the other day. Employees, share holders, even stock analysts, thought the above right up to the end, as Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and Andrew Fastow were cashing out their company stock.
ReplyDeleteSo, CEO Dubow says he wouldn't nix his bonus... Smartest guy in the room.
Gannett stock doing the limbo today. How low can it go?
ReplyDeleteWe have the Proof reader geeks back,oh boy. Let's just criticize form here,in this informal conversational blog ! damn go away.
ReplyDelete10:17, I don't care about typos. I just want to read the comments without getting a headache. Giant walls of text are visually difficult to parse.
ReplyDeleteTL:DR
ReplyDeleteToo long, didn't read.
Put the damn returns in there, for crying out loud. Even in an informal conversation, you don't say 85 words without pausing for a breath.
It's not like we're slamming you for unnecessary capitalization (Proof), splitting a word that shouldn't be (Proof reader), missing spaces after commas (back,oh & here,in), unnecessary space (blog !), missing capitalization (damn) or a missing comma (damn, go).
Geeks rule.
Maybe if our fearless leaders had a vision or related to their employees on a personal level, we would know their names and how to spell them.
ReplyDeleteWe don't exist to them, so it is hard to know them by name. No one forgets a great leader's name. But do we have great leaders?
This blog should be recommended reading for anyone considering the purchase of Gannett stock - part of the brochure.
I call shenanigans!
ReplyDeleteAt the local level, at least at the site I work at, we're told when there are layoffs that corporate has ordered them. One executive editor told us point blank in 2009 that corporate ordered layoffs to help pay down corporate debt.
There might be an element of local control in layoffs, like determining how they're handled, but the decision to make layoffs and the actual number of people laid off is made at the corporate level.
Once again Dubow lies to us.
Dubow is on White Light/White Heat !
ReplyDeleteGeeks are proof readers that
ReplyDeleteare
no longer
NEEDED LOL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Whitelightwhiteheat.jpg
ReplyDeleteDoes any one know if editorial page layout consolidation will affect local pagination departments that layout the advertisements, page count and set up the publications to the press prior to going to editorial for their layout work?
ReplyDeleteHey, the stupids are back!
ReplyDeleteThat post at 9:08 is like diarrhea. Just flush it and move on.
Later today, we'll have our daily example of how today's reporters are lazy and dumb. I'm sure it won't take long to find it, whether it's an unsourced story where the writer decided to spew suppositions (recent example: Indiana State Fair article on the wire), or just a poorly written ball of slop that found its way online or into print. Yahoo and MSN are the masters of the slop, especially with their flawed attempts at "compare and contrast" that are almost laughable.
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ReplyDeleteDavid payne.
ReplyDeleteThe point is, dubow said he is brilliant and has a great plan and we must remain patient. So we wait and wait and wait. When will community papers get apps for smart phones or tablets?
Hunke once told us that his bonus, essentially, was on expectations of future performance. That was a new one on me. Look for dubow go rationalize his bonus on the board of directors' decision to award him one. And the board the board rationalizes this, sayying it needs to reward the best and the brightest, otherwise they will be in demand elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteRe: 9:08. Walls of text don't intimidate me. I actually like to read. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteSecond, it looks like 9:08's was very possibly written in a word processor app and, depending on which format one uses, the paste will strip off the formatting.
Line returns would have been preferable, but I don't see the big deal. It may be poor form, but I'm more interested in the sentiment.
Kudos to the staffer in montgomery with the courage to ask the question. Folks there should keep this blog apprised if there are any repercussions on that person.
ReplyDeleteThe staffer in Montgomery is a dead man walking. That's the Gannett way. Either tow the line and spew the corporate bullshit or you are gone. Anyone doubt that?
ReplyDeleteTo 7/17 10:32 a.m.: You will never, ever work for corporate. You will never be a vice president. You will never be a director. You will never be an executive editor. Stop sympathizing with the company that is going to sign your severance.
ReplyDeleteWhat will lead to more Gannett layoffs?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-europe-may-be-close-to-recession-analysts-2011-08-18?dist=countdown
Which will lead to reduced advertising and with less coming in, Gannett will want to spend less on employees. Paycuts, furloughs, layoffs...take your pick. It's been nice (sort of).
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ReplyDeleteHave I missed something, or have things seemingly settled down at USA Today? By "things" I mean mass layoffs, furloughs and force outs. Just a curious media observer and occasional Gannett Blog reader.
ReplyDeleteThere is one person (yes only one) who keeps posting degrading comments about reporters. Obviously, he wanted to be one and failed along the way.
ReplyDeleteIt's getting really annoying that he keeps cluttering up the blog with his rantings.
I'm not a reporter. I'm in marketing. But even I am annoyed. It's clear it's a single poster over and over again with the same rant.
4:56 Agreed.
ReplyDeleteActually, 4:56, the issue is that people here post similar criticisms of editors and proofreaders day after day.
ReplyDeleteNot surprisingly, Jim allows those but now has taken action against the writer criticism. But then, Jim is the typical bitter, obsolete, burned-out, mediocre, failed writer, so it's no surprise he takes action now.
Wow - I saw my first example of the branding initiative today - the Regional Toning Center logo has been replaced with the G A N N E T T logo!! So glad to know where the money is going!!
ReplyDelete6:15 go away already.
ReplyDeleteDon't you have work to do?
If you have beef with reporters at your site, take it up in your newsroom.
We have real issues to discuss here.
And to defend Jim, he already spent enough time doing archival search for you.
Move on.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe posts at 8:56 and 9:02 show what this place is about. Jim is a piece of crap for allowing them.
ReplyDelete7:44, if you're talking about the archive search Jim attempted a week ago, I think someone else had to find the thread. Jim failed at that, too.
And as soon as the daily attacks on the other staffers stop, then I'll stop pointing out how terrible the writers are. Until then, there will be daily examples of their ineptitude.
4:07. Most of us are just too tired to complain about the odd goings on at usa today. Or in the process of joining the many who are departing. While there is optimism in people like tom buesse and the impressive digital plans of payne, there is still entrenched, uninspired leadership in editorial and stalled ventures like the verticals. The competent journalists and business siders will find ways to leave. Their ideas arent sought, opinions not valued and abilities unappreciated.
ReplyDeleteWell stock closed at $9.99 .Not good, as millions more net worth lost.
ReplyDeleteThis should be very worrisome to all Gannetteers, as if there might have been layoffs already in the plan,this will certainly hasten the process and increase the numbers.
Instead of critizing the writing capabilities of those who post here and worrying about form,spelling, other trivia, and inteligence of the posters here,more time should be spent thinking about entire future of Gannett.
Furthermore, to comment on the critizing of Jim here on his Blog.
You are not being forced to come here, read here,to post here,so if you disagree with how he runs HIS BLOG....Do us all a favor ,
STAY THE HELL AWAY!
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ReplyDeleteIf gannett's stock price was a concern, management would have been ousted a long time ago. Layoffs and furloughs wont bring the stock back. Just unload it when it comes in to your 401k.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteFree speech Gannett A** Kissers.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the good comes the bad. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion of Gannett and its executives that continue to lie to its own workforce. My opinion is how can executives continue to slash positions for the sake of profit yet continue to line their own pockets with bonuses coming from the increased profit. The corporate world has not shame. Sooner or later it will all come back to haunt them.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I do not see anything wrong with making fun of individuals. You just have to take it and ignore their ignorance.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteJim could block all posts about Crotchfelt if he wanted to. He chooses not to do it.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the Discredit Jim for Everything Imaginable Troll is pulling a shift, with a backup from Lemming Troll Troll and Name-Calling Troll.
ReplyDeleteJim, why not have a trusted deputy or two delete the posts that we all know you would delete if you were online?
It's entirely possible the the Disgusting Pun on a Woman's Name Troll is working in tandem with Discredit Jim Troll.
It's also entirely possible that they are one and the same. Proceed accordingly.
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ReplyDelete6:17 I cannot allow anyone else to have administrative access to this blog, because it could jeopardize my readers' privacy.
ReplyDelete2:22 The Blogger software platform I use doesn't allow me to build an exceptions list, which would block comments that include certain words. And even if that option were available, I'm not going to block all posts that include her last name; that would eliminate legitimate ones.
1:45 I will do my best to remove any inappropriate comment as quickly as possible. These include making fun of people's appearance and -- in the case of The Indianapolis Star's publisher -- their last name. Sometimes, however, there are lags between when comments are posted, and when I'm back online to take them down; I can't be online 24/7. Other times, I miss inappropriate comments entirely. The same thing happens at every Gannett website -- including, ironically in this case, at the Indianapolis Star itself.
Again, for example: On Dec. 22, the Star reported news of the paper's just-appointed publisher. Among the comments readers posted were these two:
"The name makes me think of TSA screening at the airport."
"There's a name you don't want to Google Image Search without turning on the Safe Search feature."
I checked that story just moments ago, and those comments are still there -- eight months after they were posted, and five days after I first pointed to them in a comment of my own on another thread on this subject.)
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ReplyDelete