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Friday, September 30, 2011
Stock | It might be worse: You could own Kodak
Gannett and Kodak share a common heritage: They both trace their origins to Rochester, N.Y., where GCI was based for decades before moving its headquarters to Virginia, in 1986.
GCI is certainly challenged in its shift to digital. But Kodak, still based in Rochester, and struggling to make the same digital transition, is gasping for breath: Its stock plunged 54% today, closing at 78 cents, on fears the company may be running out of cash.
How much has Kodak shrunk over the past decade? A lot. It had 18,800 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2010. In 2000: 78,400.
Compare that to GCI, where global employment hit 32,600 at the end of last year vs. 53,400 in 2000.
How much has Kodak shrunk over the past decade? A lot. It had 18,800 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2010. In 2000: 78,400.
Compare that to GCI, where global employment hit 32,600 at the end of last year vs. 53,400 in 2000.
Sponsors | In last-minute contributions: $135
- Reader donations: $1,183
- Advertising: $2,566
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sept. 26-Oct. 2 | Your News & Comments: Part 4
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Urgent: GCI launches new print, distrib operation; Publishing Services to employ 10K of GCI's workers
The newly created Gannett Publishing Services will combine all production and distribution for the U.S. community newspaper division, USA Today, and Gannett Offset, Corporate just announced.
It is the latest effort to rein in expenses by consolidating jobs. The move will result in the immediate loss of fewer than 20 jobs, mostly at the management level, according to an FAQ distributed today to employees. Another approximately 100 jobs will be eliminated once the unit is up and running. Overall, Publishing Services will employ about 10,000 of GCI's approximately 33,000 employees.
"We will continue to look at efficiencies on an ongoing basis, which may lead to further job eliminations down the road,'' the FAQ says.
Evan Ray, a senior executive in the newspaper division, will run Publishing Services, according to the FAQ, as well as a letter distributed to employees. Ray has been senior vice president over finance and operations for the division since June 2008, when the division was reorganized under President Bob Dickey.
Interestingly and somewhat curiously, Ray will report to two people: Dickey, and USAT General Manager Susie Ellwood. Given the employee size of Publishing Services, Ellwood has become that much more influential across the entire company. She was promoted to her USAT job, the paper's No. 2 position, in June.
In part, the letter says: "Gannett Publishing Services will be responsible for managing Gannett's domestic network of printing operations, product distribution, consumer sales and service and contractual outsourcing of printing. The unit will also market its imaging, ad production, printing, packaging, distribution capability and consumer sales and service to third parties."
Ray's background
Prior to his promotion to SVP, Ray was chief financial officer of Phoenix Newspapers Inc. from 2000, and a group controller since 1991. Earlier, Ray was director of finance for the Reno Gazette-Journal from 1991; was vice president of finance for The Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock from 1984; and was controller for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1979. He graduated from Florida University with a B.S. in accounting.
I believe Ray and Ellwood worked at the Little Rock paper during the same late-1980s time period.
Related: Here's the FAQ, and here's the letter to employees.
It is the latest effort to rein in expenses by consolidating jobs. The move will result in the immediate loss of fewer than 20 jobs, mostly at the management level, according to an FAQ distributed today to employees. Another approximately 100 jobs will be eliminated once the unit is up and running. Overall, Publishing Services will employ about 10,000 of GCI's approximately 33,000 employees.
"We will continue to look at efficiencies on an ongoing basis, which may lead to further job eliminations down the road,'' the FAQ says.
Evan Ray, a senior executive in the newspaper division, will run Publishing Services, according to the FAQ, as well as a letter distributed to employees. Ray has been senior vice president over finance and operations for the division since June 2008, when the division was reorganized under President Bob Dickey.
Interestingly and somewhat curiously, Ray will report to two people: Dickey, and USAT General Manager Susie Ellwood. Given the employee size of Publishing Services, Ellwood has become that much more influential across the entire company. She was promoted to her USAT job, the paper's No. 2 position, in June.
In part, the letter says: "Gannett Publishing Services will be responsible for managing Gannett's domestic network of printing operations, product distribution, consumer sales and service and contractual outsourcing of printing. The unit will also market its imaging, ad production, printing, packaging, distribution capability and consumer sales and service to third parties."
Ray's background
Prior to his promotion to SVP, Ray was chief financial officer of Phoenix Newspapers Inc. from 2000, and a group controller since 1991. Earlier, Ray was director of finance for the Reno Gazette-Journal from 1991; was vice president of finance for The Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock from 1984; and was controller for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1979. He graduated from Florida University with a B.S. in accounting.
I believe Ray and Ellwood worked at the Little Rock paper during the same late-1980s time period.
Related: Here's the FAQ, and here's the letter to employees.
Driving new benefits survey: soaring medical costs
As Gannett considers potentially big changes in employee benefits, a new study underscores one of the company's biggest challenges: rising employee medical costs.
The average annual premium for family coverage jumped 9% this year, to $15,073, according to the annual Kaiser Family Foundation employer health benefits survey, released yesterday. That's a significantly bigger increase than the 3% last year, the survey found.
Of that annual family premium, employees paid an average $4,129 -- up 3.3% from 2010. Employers paid the rest, $10,944 -- up much more, nearly 12%.
For single coverage, the overall cost averaged $5,429, up 8% from a year ago.
Gannett, like many large employers, is self-insured. That means the company pays for all employee medical costs that aren't covered by employee contributions.
Faced with higher medical expenses, employers have been shifting more of the cost to workers, according to Kaiser. Workers' contributions for family coverage have soared 131% since 2001 vs. 113% for the portion employers pay.
Related: read the full 2011 Kaiser report.
Of that annual family premium, employees paid an average $4,129 -- up 3.3% from 2010. Employers paid the rest, $10,944 -- up much more, nearly 12%.
For single coverage, the overall cost averaged $5,429, up 8% from a year ago.
Gannett, like many large employers, is self-insured. That means the company pays for all employee medical costs that aren't covered by employee contributions.
Faced with higher medical expenses, employers have been shifting more of the cost to workers, according to Kaiser. Workers' contributions for family coverage have soared 131% since 2001 vs. 113% for the portion employers pay.
Related: read the full 2011 Kaiser report.
Sponsors | In new 11th-hour donations: $65
With advertising sales, I've now reached just 87% of my goal. But tomorrow is the end of the quarter, so there's only one day left! The breakdown so far:
- Reader donations: $1,073
- Advertising: $2,395
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Sept. 26-Oct. 2 | Your News & Comments: Part 3
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Memo: Government Media orders Q4 furloughs; 'conditions have worsened in the past month'
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
GGMC Staff,
The economic news facing our nation and our company is daunting, and market conditions are declining rapidly. We made it through the first half of the year with difficulty, but it seemed then that with belt-tightening and aggressive sales efforts, we would be able to pull through in the latter part of the year. Your efforts to curtail spending since early summer have certainly helped. But unfortunately, economic conditions have worsened in the past month and our own revenue projections have followed that trend.
We find ourselves today in the vortex of three dynamic forces:
- The ongoing migration of advertising from print to digital
- Global economic uncertainty affecting consumer manufacturers and suppliers, whose ad dollars are critical to our Military Times products
- And intensifying deficit reduction efforts which will seriously affect defense spending -- and advertising -- in the years ahead
Faced with this reality, I have no choice but to implement some very difficult contingency plans. These include:
- A one-week furlough for all employees in the fourth quarter, which runs from October through December. Under US labor law, non-exempt, or hourly, employees will be able to take furloughs in increments of a single day, but exempt employees will have to take their furloughs all at once. Your manager will work with you on scheduling your furlough and discuss with you how this will work.
- Further budget cuts for 2012.
I deeply regret having to make these decisions, which we understand will have a serious impact on your own personal economies. We hope that by making this decision now, you will have more time to plan for this hardship and bear with us, as you have in the past, in this difficult time. I remain bullish on the company's future and assure you I am working hard to identify new sources of revenue to offset these losses.
Related: The referenced attachments are a furlough Q&A, and a nine-page guide to furlough preparation.
Sponsors | With just two days left: another $25
The breakdown:
- Reader donations: $1,011
- Advertising: $2,337
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sept. 26-Oct. 2 | Your News & Comments: Part 2
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Monday, September 26, 2011
Sept. 26-Oct. 2 | Your News & Comments: Part 1
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Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sept. 19-25 | Your News & Comments: Part 6
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Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sept. 19-25 | Your News & Comments: Part 5
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Tech 101 | New signs of stress at Groupon, Patch
What was expected to be one of the hottest stock offerings of the year fell into deeper turmoil yesterday, as daily deals pioneer Groupon said it was cutting its reported revenue in half, and its No. 2 executive left the company, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Groupon said it will now report revenue excluding the money it pays out to merchants. The change came in an amendment to its IPO documents -- the third such amendment -- and was requested by officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Some felt the 'gross revenue' figure -- a term for what are actually gross billings -- was not reflective of Groupon’s true performance,'' reports AllThingsD's Kara Swisher.
The new formula reduces Groupon's stated revenue for 2010 to $312.9 million, down from the $713.4 million previously reported, the WSJ says.
Also yesterday, the company disclosed that COO Margo Georgiadis is returning to her former employer, Google, after just five months on the job at Groupon, Swisher says. Not the sort of thing you want when you're trying to sell your IPO to Wall Street.
Three-year-old Groupon's latest stumbles come amid an IPO that's brought intense speculation from investors over the company's business model. Gannett's DealChicken and scores of other newcomers crowd into a market where start-up costs are soaring.
In June, Groupon filed its IPO plan with federal regulators. I don't know whether there's a launch date. Founder Andrew Mason has been on the defensive over recent media reports about Groupon's slowing growth and other red flags.
Google, you'll recall, came close to buying Chicago-based Groupon for up to $6 billion back in December, before Groupon unexpectedly walked away.
(Note to USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke: If you want to see a truly superb web vertical at work, read AllThingsD, which is owned by the WSJ's parent company. Only this week, Swisher beat the pants off the competition on the Hewlett-Packard CEO shakeup story.)
Meanwhile, at AOL's Patch...
Arianna Huffington and the management team yesterday announced that freelance budgets have basically been slashed to the point of extinction, according to Business Insider, which cites a source it doesn't identity.
Gannett Blog's Anonymous@1:21 a.m. comments: "Patch cuts content budgets, and the two-year-old buzz around hyperlocal continues to die a slow death."
Launched in 2007, Patch news sites are now in more than 500 U.S. communities.
One self-described "riled" Patch editor from the East Coast tells Business Insider that, in addition to his or her normal job responsibilities, they've also been asked to start drumming up ad sales leads.
"Requiring journalists -- already run ragged by their normal duties -- to do this is so far beyond the pale it actually makes my stomach hurt," Business Insider quotes the editor saying.
Think you want to work for Patch? Read the full Business Insider post for the long, long list of duties assigned to site editors.
Still interested?! Here's a list of Patch job openings.
Groupon said it will now report revenue excluding the money it pays out to merchants. The change came in an amendment to its IPO documents -- the third such amendment -- and was requested by officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Some felt the 'gross revenue' figure -- a term for what are actually gross billings -- was not reflective of Groupon’s true performance,'' reports AllThingsD's Kara Swisher.
The new formula reduces Groupon's stated revenue for 2010 to $312.9 million, down from the $713.4 million previously reported, the WSJ says.
 |
| Georgiadis |
Three-year-old Groupon's latest stumbles come amid an IPO that's brought intense speculation from investors over the company's business model. Gannett's DealChicken and scores of other newcomers crowd into a market where start-up costs are soaring.
Google, you'll recall, came close to buying Chicago-based Groupon for up to $6 billion back in December, before Groupon unexpectedly walked away.
(Note to USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke: If you want to see a truly superb web vertical at work, read AllThingsD, which is owned by the WSJ's parent company. Only this week, Swisher beat the pants off the competition on the Hewlett-Packard CEO shakeup story.)
Meanwhile, at AOL's Patch...
Arianna Huffington and the management team yesterday announced that freelance budgets have basically been slashed to the point of extinction, according to Business Insider, which cites a source it doesn't identity.
Launched in 2007, Patch news sites are now in more than 500 U.S. communities.
One self-described "riled" Patch editor from the East Coast tells Business Insider that, in addition to his or her normal job responsibilities, they've also been asked to start drumming up ad sales leads.
"Requiring journalists -- already run ragged by their normal duties -- to do this is so far beyond the pale it actually makes my stomach hurt," Business Insider quotes the editor saying.
Think you want to work for Patch? Read the full Business Insider post for the long, long list of duties assigned to site editors.
Still interested?! Here's a list of Patch job openings.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Stock | In race to the bottom, publishers beat Dow
[Updated 3:53 p.m. ET Sept. 24 to correct biggest GCI weekly drop]
U.S. stocks edged higher today, trimming steep weekly losses that still amounted to the Dow Jones Industrial's worst week since October 2008, according to MarketWatch.
For the week, the blue-chip index lost 6.4% as investors sought cash on slashed expectations the Federal Reserve and European policy makers would quickly stabilize the global economy. The S&P 500 index also fell 6.4%.
Investors beat up shares of most newspaper publishers even more. Closing prices today, and their performance for the week:
U.S. stocks edged higher today, trimming steep weekly losses that still amounted to the Dow Jones Industrial's worst week since October 2008, according to MarketWatch.
For the week, the blue-chip index lost 6.4% as investors sought cash on slashed expectations the Federal Reserve and European policy makers would quickly stabilize the global economy. The S&P 500 index also fell 6.4%.
Investors beat up shares of most newspaper publishers even more. Closing prices today, and their performance for the week:
- Gannett: $9.09, down 9.7%
- Lee: 84 cents, down 0.4%
- Media General: $1.88, down 10%
- McClatchy: $1.33, down 8.3%
- New York Times Co.: $5.79, down 20%
- E.W. Scripps: $7.03, down 10%
GCI's worst week?
Over the past three years, it came Friday, March 6, 2009,July 10, 2009, when shares closed at $2.20 $3.19, down 32.1% 33.3% from the prior week, according to Google Finance data. (Spreadsheet shows weekly percentage price change since Sept. 26, 2008.)
Related: Investor relations' historical stock price lookup tool.
Over the past three years, it came Friday, March 6, 2009,
Related: Investor relations' historical stock price lookup tool.
Find employee benefits confusing? Join the crowd; even Gannett's HR reps don't always get them right
"People at this site just do not understand how benefits work. We saw this with health insurance and COBRA, when people tried to claim COBRA was no different from having no insurance. We saw this with retirement funds, when people had no idea how to transfer their money. And now we see it with mileage. Do any of you ever research anything, or do you just post your beliefs and hope they're right?"
To be sure, they've got a tough job dealing with complex, constantly shifting federal and state regulations. Throw in last year's HR reorganization and staff cuts, plus Corporate's outsourcing of benefits management to ill-equipped outside companies, and no wonder you've got a mess. A few examples:
Indy, post-layoff
In June, an HR representative gave Indianapolis Star employees incorrect information about when their medical coverage would end, and when COBRA would kick in. The result: a lot more stress at an already stressful time.
Indeed, that's not the first time this has happened at the Star. In August 2008 a Gannett Blog reader wrote:
"I took a buyout from the Indy Star and here's the reality: The terms were great, two weeks pay and healthcare for every year worked. However, when we started asking questions, they either didn't know the answers, gave us false information or ignored us. HR did very little to help us out, and now, a colleague whose health insurance ran out last month is STILL trying to get new insurance in place. HR says we can't go to them, we have to go to Corporate. Corporate jacks us around, says they'll get back to you, etc."
A failure to communicate
I had my own bad experience over COBRA. In January 2009, I got a letter from my health insurance provider -- Kaiser Permanente -- telling me my coverage had ended, after the fact, and four months before it was due to run out. After many phone calls, I found out what happened: Corporate had canceled its contract with Kaiser, but failed to notify me. Eventually, I was able to arrange for a new policy, but not before two nerve-wracking weeks without coverage.
Outsourcers can't keep up
Good luck getting timely answers and accurate information: Corporate long ago outsourced benefits management to companies that seem understaffed to deal with the large number of GCI workers getting laid off or retiring. That's why many employees turn to this site for answers. Pensions appear to be a particular problem.
For years now, we've been hearing about delays in pension paperwork; too-slow delivery of pension payouts, and incorrect estimates of account values. This has been more than a simple inconvenience for out-of-work employees who've needed to tap their accounts to make mortgage payments and cover other critical expenses.
Horning's apology
Perhaps the worst episode of benefits misinformation came on the watch of Corporate's HR chief herself, Roxanne Horning. Heading into a mass layoff after it froze the pension plan, Corporate sent retirement account statements to 26,000 employees. An untold number of those contained an error, Horning later admitted in a June letter to employees.
 |
| Horning |
Earlier: Sampling the new benefits survey.
Related: GCI benefits at a glance.
What's your HR benefits story? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
[Image: Kwik-E-Mart?]
USAT | Lawmakers pump up their own pensions
A good read from USA Today this morning:
More than 4,100 legislators in 33 states are positioned to benefit from special retirement laws that they and their predecessors have enacted to boost their pensions by up to $100,000 a year, a USA Today investigation found. Even as legislators cut basic state services and slash benefits for police, teachers and other workers, they have preserved pension laws that grant themselves perks unavailable to voters they serve or workers they direct.
More than 4,100 legislators in 33 states are positioned to benefit from special retirement laws that they and their predecessors have enacted to boost their pensions by up to $100,000 a year, a USA Today investigation found. Even as legislators cut basic state services and slash benefits for police, teachers and other workers, they have preserved pension laws that grant themselves perks unavailable to voters they serve or workers they direct.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Sept. 19-25 | Your News & Comments: Part 4
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Urgent: GCI closes at $8.55, falling another 4.5%
[Updated at 4:36 p.m. ET.]
That's according to final prices, minutes after stock markets closed during a roller-coaster day that saw the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fall about 500 points, before clawing its way back. Gannett's stock traded as low as $8.28 a share, a new 52-week low.
The Dow ended the day down 391 points, or 3.5%, at 10,734. The broader S&P-500 index plunged 3.2%.
Newspaper publishers' shares closed down virtually across the board.
GCI is now at a level last seen in September 2009, Google Finance data say. (Spreadsheet shows closing prices since Sept. 1, 2009.)
The Big Board
Closing prices of major publishers:
That's according to final prices, minutes after stock markets closed during a roller-coaster day that saw the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fall about 500 points, before clawing its way back. Gannett's stock traded as low as $8.28 a share, a new 52-week low.
The Dow ended the day down 391 points, or 3.5%, at 10,734. The broader S&P-500 index plunged 3.2%.
Newspaper publishers' shares closed down virtually across the board.
GCI is now at a level last seen in September 2009, Google Finance data say. (Spreadsheet shows closing prices since Sept. 1, 2009.)
The Big Board
Closing prices of major publishers:
- Gannett: $8.55, down 4.5%
- Lee: 74 cents, down 9.8%
- Media General: $1.79, down 8.7%
- McClatchy: $1.35, unchanged
- New York Times Co.: $5.76, down 6.8%
- E.W. Scripps: $6.79, down 3.8%
By the numbers | GCI vs. Hewlett-Packard boards
[Craig Dubow, Meg Whitman]
As Hewlett-Packard directors cement their reputation as worst corporate board ever, attention turns to their just-announced choice for new CEO: fellow director (and former eBay chief) Meg Whitman.
Key numbers about directors, executive pay, and stock performance:
[Data: regulatory filings, Google Finance]
Mail | Totaled car on company time; now what?!
In an e-mail, a reader tells an alarming story about what they say was a Gannett worksite's response after they got in a car accident last spring while driving their own car on company business. The writer is now working for another employer. Here's an edited version:
Is there a uniform policy within Gannett when an employee is on the job and gets involved in an accident that deems the vehicle a total loss?
This actually happened to me back in March, when I was on a company business trip and my newspaper site, Florida Today, told me that there was nothing they could do . . . including pay for my deductible.
A few of my colleagues just shrugged their shoulders; others were surprised and fearful that they would be in the same situation, and others simply said that there was a policy in place, but they couldn't remember it. We pored through the handbook, and there is no policy at all regarding use of cars for business purposes, and we were shocked, since we all at the community newspaper sites use our cars extensively for business.
My car was paid for, and if I hadn't decided to buy a clunker for cash, I would have been stuck with another five years of car payments.
Related: A list of GCI's current employee benefits.
Is there really no policy on personal car use for company business? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
This actually happened to me back in March, when I was on a company business trip and my newspaper site, Florida Today, told me that there was nothing they could do . . . including pay for my deductible.
A few of my colleagues just shrugged their shoulders; others were surprised and fearful that they would be in the same situation, and others simply said that there was a policy in place, but they couldn't remember it. We pored through the handbook, and there is no policy at all regarding use of cars for business purposes, and we were shocked, since we all at the community newspaper sites use our cars extensively for business.
My car was paid for, and if I hadn't decided to buy a clunker for cash, I would have been stuck with another five years of car payments.
Related: A list of GCI's current employee benefits.
Is there really no policy on personal car use for company business? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Urgent: As foreign stocks plunge, watch GCI today; company's shares now at lowest close in two years
[Updated at 9:07 a.m. ET.]
With less than 30 minutes before Wall Street opens, futures trading suggest another 250-point decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the opening bell, MarketWatch is now reporting.
In pre-market trading, Gannett's stock is down 31 cents, or 3.5%, at $8.64 a share.
Earlier: A day after GCI closed at its lowest point in two years, stocks across Europe and Asia fell sharply in early trading this morning, as investors responded to the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest move to block another recession. That points to another bad day on Wall Street.
Extending opening losses, the Stoxx Europe 600 index sank 3% to 218.76, after closing down 1.7% yesterday, according to MarketWatch.
Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended down 2.1%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.9% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index shed 2.6%, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 4.9%, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.8%. In afternoon trade, India's Sensex was down 4.1%.
This morning's trading came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index plunged in the final hour yesterday. Investors reacted to the Fed's warning of sharper risks to the economic outlook. The Dow dropped 284 points, or 2.5%, to 11,125. The S&P fell 2.9%, to 1,167.
Reaction among newspaper investors was mixed. But the New York Times Co. and GCI were hit hardest. NYT fell 7%, to $6.18 a share.
GCI tumbled 6%, to $8.95 a share. That was its lowest closing price since Sept. 14, 2009, when the economy was still deep into the Great Recession, according to Google Finance data. (Spreadsheet shows daily closing prices since Sept. 1, 2009.)
With less than 30 minutes before Wall Street opens, futures trading suggest another 250-point decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the opening bell, MarketWatch is now reporting.
In pre-market trading, Gannett's stock is down 31 cents, or 3.5%, at $8.64 a share.
Earlier: A day after GCI closed at its lowest point in two years, stocks across Europe and Asia fell sharply in early trading this morning, as investors responded to the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest move to block another recession. That points to another bad day on Wall Street.
Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended down 2.1%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.9% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index shed 2.6%, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 4.9%, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.8%. In afternoon trade, India's Sensex was down 4.1%.
This morning's trading came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index plunged in the final hour yesterday. Investors reacted to the Fed's warning of sharper risks to the economic outlook. The Dow dropped 284 points, or 2.5%, to 11,125. The S&P fell 2.9%, to 1,167.
Reaction among newspaper investors was mixed. But the New York Times Co. and GCI were hit hardest. NYT fell 7%, to $6.18 a share.
GCI tumbled 6%, to $8.95 a share. That was its lowest closing price since Sept. 14, 2009, when the economy was still deep into the Great Recession, according to Google Finance data. (Spreadsheet shows daily closing prices since Sept. 1, 2009.)
Advertising giant Google steps up competition
In an e-mail I received yesterday, Google's AdSense unit disclosed a change in its service that may ratchet up competition with rivals including, in a limited fashion, PointRoll. AdSense serves advertisements that you see on Gannett Blog and millions of other websites worldwide. Here's an excerpt:
In the next month, we'll introduce the +1 button and personal recommendations to display ads. The +1 button will begin to appear on AdSense for Content and AdSense for Mobile Content display ad formats -- image, animated gif, and Flash. +1s will be one additional signal to help determine an ad's relevance and we'll continue to show the ads that will generate the most revenue for you.
We previously launched the +1 button on Google search and for publisher sites to make it easier for people to share and discover content across the web. Soon, your users will be able to endorse specific ads and make the ads more likely to appear to their social connections.
We previously launched the +1 button on Google search and for publisher sites to make it easier for people to share and discover content across the web. Soon, your users will be able to endorse specific ads and make the ads more likely to appear to their social connections.
Reader: How do you deal with gossip and rumor?
Anonymous@11:40 last night asked me an important question: "Is there some point at which you stop counting unsubstantiated claims, throw your hands up, and just run it?"
Short answer: No.
Here's the longer answer.
I've devoted more energy to comments in the past month than ever before in the nearly four-year history of this site. Some of you will groan about another discussion about comment moderation here.
But it's worth returning to the subject, because comments are far and away the most-read posts on Gannett Blog. Plus, Gannett is now experimenting with a new policy at two of its newspapers: The Des Moines Register, and The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla. Early evidence points to a dramatic decline in reader participation.
I'm constantly moderating, as I look for a balance between a more civil tone, and respecting the fact there are few places where employees can share information.
Starting with this post last month, I began editing comments much more aggressively. The response has been mixed. Some readers welcomed the change; others objected, saying I was being too aggressive.
To be sure, I could let readers post whatever they want. That's actually easiest for me, because it requires no time-consuming editing at all. This was very nearly the approach when I launched Gannett Blog.
But starting with its relaunch nearly two years ago (yes; it's already been that long), I've sought -- sometimes in vain -- more civility. I join threads more frequently to, as the CEO of Topix said recently, keep "the conversation on the rails." (Topix is the social media site owned jointly by GCI, Tribune Co. and McClatchy Co.)
I fail too often. Yet, I try to never throw my hands up.
Better for business?
And I know I'm not alone. If I could poll GCI's newspaper publishers, I suspect a majority would eliminate reader comments entirely, so long as Corporate didn't require them to make up any lost revenue.
After all, largely unfettered comments are better for business, Topix CEO Chris Tolles told the New York Times. His remarks were revealing for their candor on the subject.
"He defended it on free-speech grounds," the NYT reported. "He said the comments are funny to read, make private gossip public, provide a platform for 'people who have negative things to say' and are better for business."
At the risk of stating the obvious, I welcome your feedback. Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Short answer: No.
Here's the longer answer.
I'm constantly moderating, as I look for a balance between a more civil tone, and respecting the fact there are few places where employees can share information.
Starting with this post last month, I began editing comments much more aggressively. The response has been mixed. Some readers welcomed the change; others objected, saying I was being too aggressive.
To be sure, I could let readers post whatever they want. That's actually easiest for me, because it requires no time-consuming editing at all. This was very nearly the approach when I launched Gannett Blog.
But starting with its relaunch nearly two years ago (yes; it's already been that long), I've sought -- sometimes in vain -- more civility. I join threads more frequently to, as the CEO of Topix said recently, keep "the conversation on the rails." (Topix is the social media site owned jointly by GCI, Tribune Co. and McClatchy Co.)
I fail too often. Yet, I try to never throw my hands up.
Better for business?
And I know I'm not alone. If I could poll GCI's newspaper publishers, I suspect a majority would eliminate reader comments entirely, so long as Corporate didn't require them to make up any lost revenue.
After all, largely unfettered comments are better for business, Topix CEO Chris Tolles told the New York Times. His remarks were revealing for their candor on the subject.
"He defended it on free-speech grounds," the NYT reported. "He said the comments are funny to read, make private gossip public, provide a platform for 'people who have negative things to say' and are better for business."
At the risk of stating the obvious, I welcome your feedback. Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sept. 19-25 | Your News & Comments: Part 3
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
Stock | GCI's shares just closed at $8.95, down 6%
[Updated at 5:38 p.m. ET with more closing prices.]
It was a terrible final minutes on Wall Steet overall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 284 points, or 2.5%, to 11,125. The S&P 500 index tumbled 2.9%.
Earlier today, Gannett's stock traded at a new 52-week low: $8.94 a share, Google Finance says.
Other newspaper publishers' shares were mixed. Closing prices of major publishers:
It was a terrible final minutes on Wall Steet overall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 284 points, or 2.5%, to 11,125. The S&P 500 index tumbled 2.9%.
Earlier today, Gannett's stock traded at a new 52-week low: $8.94 a share, Google Finance says.
Other newspaper publishers' shares were mixed. Closing prices of major publishers:
- Gannett: $8.95, down 5.9%
- Lee: 82 cents, up 0.6%
- Media General: $1.96, up 2.1%
- McClatchy: $1.35, down 1.5%
- New York Times Co.: $6.18, down 6.9%
- E.W. Scripps: $7.06, down 5.6%
The NYT's closing price also was a record 52-week low, Google Finance says.
Des Moines | Former Cincy exec to ad sales chief
 |
| Wurzer |
Wurzer was also vice president of advertising and marketing for The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2001-2004; vice president of advertising for the Rocky Mountain News/Denver Newspaper Agency; and director of advertising for the Los Angeles Times.
Sponsors | In new reader donations, $140
With advertising sales, these contributions bring me to just 79% of my goal. But with only nine days left in the quarter, I'm nearly certain I'll miss my target amount of $4,000. :-(
The breakdown:
- Reader donations: $983
- Advertising: $2,158
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sept. 19-25 | Your News & Comments: Part 2
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
Topix | Online, small-town gossip turns vicious
From a New York Times story about social media site Topix. Gannett owns about 34% of the company, which is based in Silicon Valley's Palo Alto, through a partnership including McClatchy Co. and Tribune Co. The NYT's A.G. Sulzberger writes:
In Hyden, Ky. (population 365), the local Topix forum had 107 visitors at the same time one afternoon this month. They encountered posts about the school system, a new restaurant and local arrests, as well as the news articles and political questions posted by Topix.
But more typical were the unsubstantiated posts that identified by name an employee at a dentist’s office as a home wrecker with herpes, accused a gas station attendant of being a drug dealer, and said a 13-year-old girl was “preggo by her mommy’s man.” Many allegations were followed with promises of retribution to whoever started the post.
Topix CEO Chris Tolles acknowledged the biggest problem at the site is “keeping the conversation on the rails.” But he defended it on free-speech grounds. He said the comments are funny to read, make private gossip public, provide a platform for “people who have negative things to say” and are better for business.
At one point, he said, the company tried to remove all negative posts, but it stopped after discovering that commenters had stopped visiting the site. “This is small-town America,” he said. “The voices these guys are hearing are of their friends and neighbors.”
[Updated at 1:49 p.m. ET Sept. 21.] In a post on The Rural Blog, former Courier-Journal reporter Al Cross writes:
"That's about enough, Mr. Tolles. You and your newspaper paymasters (Gannett Co., the McClatchy Co. and Tribune Co.) are hereby invited to take your foul product out of rural America. And perhaps newspapers in towns where Topix draws many readers should ask themselves if that's partly because they don't turn over enough rocks and/or run vigorous editorial pages that inspire responsible debate."
Earlier: Under new comments policy, Gannett readers clam up.
But more typical were the unsubstantiated posts that identified by name an employee at a dentist’s office as a home wrecker with herpes, accused a gas station attendant of being a drug dealer, and said a 13-year-old girl was “preggo by her mommy’s man.” Many allegations were followed with promises of retribution to whoever started the post.
Topix CEO Chris Tolles acknowledged the biggest problem at the site is “keeping the conversation on the rails.” But he defended it on free-speech grounds. He said the comments are funny to read, make private gossip public, provide a platform for “people who have negative things to say” and are better for business.
At one point, he said, the company tried to remove all negative posts, but it stopped after discovering that commenters had stopped visiting the site. “This is small-town America,” he said. “The voices these guys are hearing are of their friends and neighbors.”
[Updated at 1:49 p.m. ET Sept. 21.] In a post on The Rural Blog, former Courier-Journal reporter Al Cross writes:
"That's about enough, Mr. Tolles. You and your newspaper paymasters (Gannett Co., the McClatchy Co. and Tribune Co.) are hereby invited to take your foul product out of rural America. And perhaps newspapers in towns where Topix draws many readers should ask themselves if that's partly because they don't turn over enough rocks and/or run vigorous editorial pages that inspire responsible debate."
Earlier: Under new comments policy, Gannett readers clam up.
Marin | This is your 21st-century newspaper office
Gannett owned California's Marin Independent Journal from 1980 to 2000, when it was sold to the California Newspapers Partnership, co-owned by MediaNews Group. GCI owns 20% of the partnership, which just announced huge layoffs. Former IJ reporter Beth Ashley revisits the paper in her column today:
On the third floor of a huge building at 4000 Civic Center Drive, down a long corridor past unrelated business offices, sits a regimented roomful of small gray cubicles, each with a desk, chair, telephone and computer. One for each reporter. One for each editor. One for each ad salesman. Hardly your typical newspaper office. Hardly your typical newsroom. The carpet smells fresh and brand-new.
US Presswire photo meetings said for this week
In an e-mail, a reader writes: "I hear there are meetings scheduled this week at certain sites regarding the US Presswire purchase. It would be interesting to know which sites."
Can any photographers bring us to up speed? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Can any photographers bring us to up speed? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sept. 19-25 | Your News & Comments: Part 1
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
News to abuse: History, and a man named Peanut
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| Screenshot from video celebrating Overby's retirement. |
James Duff succeeded Charles "Peanut" Overby, 64, who retains the crucial chairmanship of the two trustee groups governing the foundation and its best-known project, the Newseum, a costly museum about news history in Washington.
That power shift last week was an occasion for the University of Mississippi's journalism school to organize a testimonial dinner that featured a breathtakingly hagiographic video, Charles Overby -- A Journey of Courage. (You've been warned.)
 |
| Duff |
Where did Freedom Forum get that money in the first place?
That's also barely explained. In a roundabout way, it came from a $650 million fortune drained from dozens of GCI newspapers and TV stations over many decades. In a tragic irony, many are now so thinly staffed, they barely meet their First Amendment responsibilities. (The video dispatches all that in just seven seconds: "In 1989, Charles became president of the Gannett Foundation, which later became the Freedom Forum.")
But wait, there's more
And it's all right here.
Banikarim: USAT readers not focused on elitism
In a Q&A interview published today, Adweek lobs a few hardballs at Chief Marketing Officer Maryam Banikarim about USA Today. She also disputes the trade publication's suggestion that local coverage will suffer with consolidation of U.S. community newspaper design. An excerpt:
Adweek: Another way to look at USA Today is that it’s the news, dumbed down.
Banikarim: The notion of "dumbing down" is such a New York and L.A.-centric elitist idea. They were called McPapers for a long time, which is a badge we now wear with honor. USA Today at its origins was actually focused on trying to create editorial that was relevant to the consumer. What is the impact of the story to you? They were never trying to compete with The New York Times or Wall Street Journal. This is a newspaper that is almost like a morning show. The person who reads USA Today is quite successful and affluent, but they’re not focused on being elitist.
Q: But being informed and intellectually curious doesn’t necessarily make you an elitist.
A: I think what’s interesting is that there is a very wide group of people who actually want to be informed and they want to be informed in a way that’s relevant to them. So much of the media is so focused on what they think people should know rather than what consumers want to know.
What's elite -- and what ain't?
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition:
proletarians, proletariat
. . . and near antonyms:
commoners, the crowd, the masses, peasantry, the people, plebeians, the public, rank and file, bourgeoisie, middle class, working class, dregs, the herd, the mob, rank and file, rabble, hoi-polloi, riffraff, scum, trash, unwashed.
 |
| Banikarim |
Banikarim: The notion of "dumbing down" is such a New York and L.A.-centric elitist idea. They were called McPapers for a long time, which is a badge we now wear with honor. USA Today at its origins was actually focused on trying to create editorial that was relevant to the consumer. What is the impact of the story to you? They were never trying to compete with The New York Times or Wall Street Journal. This is a newspaper that is almost like a morning show. The person who reads USA Today is quite successful and affluent, but they’re not focused on being elitist.
Q: But being informed and intellectually curious doesn’t necessarily make you an elitist.
A: I think what’s interesting is that there is a very wide group of people who actually want to be informed and they want to be informed in a way that’s relevant to them. So much of the media is so focused on what they think people should know rather than what consumers want to know.
What's elite -- and what ain't?
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition:
- the choice part.
- the best of a class.
- the socially superior part of society.
- a group of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence.
- a member of the elite.
proletarians, proletariat
. . . and near antonyms:
commoners, the crowd, the masses, peasantry, the people, plebeians, the public, rank and file, bourgeoisie, middle class, working class, dregs, the herd, the mob, rank and file, rabble, hoi-polloi, riffraff, scum, trash, unwashed.
Post-layoff, GCI now has hundreds of job openings
[Updated at 9 a.m. ET to clarify maximum number of openings.]
Three months after Gannett laid off 700 U.S. newspaper workers, the company is advertising hundreds of job openings across 40 categories on its careers webpage -- a figure that could total close to 1,000. The actual number is difficult to gauge, however, because in several spot checks, I found some jobs were listed under more than one category.
GCI had 32,600 workers worldwide on Dec. 31 -- 7% fewer than in 2009, according to the most recent published data.
Following are the top 10 categories in terms of maximum number of openings. (Spreadsheet lists all categories and openings.)
Note: This is the first time I've counted openings. I plan to update these figures periodically.
Three months after Gannett laid off 700 U.S. newspaper workers, the company is advertising hundreds of job openings across 40 categories on its careers webpage -- a figure that could total close to 1,000. The actual number is difficult to gauge, however, because in several spot checks, I found some jobs were listed under more than one category.
Following are the top 10 categories in terms of maximum number of openings. (Spreadsheet lists all categories and openings.)
DealChicken | For newcomers, startup costs mount
Some key numbers about development costs, hiring, and consumer interest in deal sites, according to the WSJ, GCI documents, and other sources:
- No. 1 deals site Groupon spent about $7.99 to acquire each subscriber who actually redeemed a daily deal in the first quarter of 2010. By the second quarter of 2011, that figure had nearly tripled to $23.46.
- Groupon has 990 sales employees in North America, up from 201 a year earlier. LivingSocial, the No. 2 player in the space, has beefed up its sales force to 700 employees from 191 a year ago.
- Nearly one-third of all daily-deal sites nationwide -- or 170 of 530 -- have shut down or been sold so far this year, according to daily-deal-site aggregator Yipit.com.
- 15,000 DealChicken subscribers is the minimum number for a site to launch.
- 20 GCI social commerce jobs are now listed in the careers section on Corporate's website. Most are sales jobs, but there are also openings for a copy editor and a graphic designer.
- DealChicken plans to be in more than 50 U.S. markets by the end of the year. It launched nationwide with 10 sites in late July. The first opened in Phoenix a year ago this month.
- Phoenix's DealChicken site has 5,025 fans on Facebook right now. On April 15: 3,500. In September 2010: 2,268. Number of Phoenix Twitter followers today: 922. On April 15: 630.
- Zero references to DealChicken in GCI's most recent financial report to federal regulators, for the second quarter.
- Zero analyst questions about DealChicken during the second-quarter conference call.
- 24 posts now tagged DealChicken on Gannett Blog.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sept. 12-18 | Your News & Comments: Part 6
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Sponsors | New donations from four states: $65
But with less than two weeks to go, I'm virtually certain to miss my quarterly goal. With advertising sales, I've reached just 72%. Yikes! The breakdown:
- Reader donations: $833
- Advertising: $2,061
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Here's 2000-2010 circulation for nearly all dailies
I've just uploaded a spreadsheet showing weekday circulation figures for 77 of Gannett's 81 U.S. community dailies for every year from 2000 through 2010. It's based on data published by the company in annual reports to shareholders, and expands on earlier circulation posts here, here, and here. (Download all the annual reports.)
The list includes every paper the company owned in 2000 that it still owned at the end of 2010. (So, for example, the spreadsheet doesn't include the Detroit Free Press or the Tallahassee Democrat, which GCI didn't buy until 2005.)
And these are only the U.S. community dailies; USA Today and Newsquest titles aren't included. (But Newsquest is coming next.)
It's interesting reading for circulation junkies, or anyone who wants to track the steady print decline of GCI's U.S. newspaper portfolio.
The top weekday percentage circulation loser between 2000 and 2010? Once more, it's the Courier News in Bridgewater, N.J., which ended last year with 18,437 in circulation, down 55% from 41,354 in 2000.
The Spectrum in Utah's St. George recorded the smallest decline: just 12%, falling to 18,875.
The list is sorted alphabetically by state. The paper that lost the most circulation volume across the period, not surprisingly, is the biggest community daily, The Arizona Republic. It fell by 137,235 copies -- or 29% -- to 332,577 the end of last year.
GCI's bigger tumble
Across the nation, weekday circulation fell 18% between 2000-2009, according to the Newspaper Association of America trade group. (The data on its website only goes through 2009.)
Yet, combined circulation for the 77 GCI papers fell 27% in that period.
The gap between the NAA and GCI declines is all the more striking when you consider their very different mix of newspapers:
A big thank you
For this spreadsheet, I'm indebted to a Gannett Blogger who keyed in the data entirely on his own initiative. "I'm an ex-Gannetteer," he wrote, "and had a little time to kill, so I thought I'd expand on your circulation analysis." Having examined his own work, he concluded: "Those are some pretty ugly numbers."
And these are only the U.S. community dailies; USA Today and Newsquest titles aren't included. (But Newsquest is coming next.)
It's interesting reading for circulation junkies, or anyone who wants to track the steady print decline of GCI's U.S. newspaper portfolio.
The top weekday percentage circulation loser between 2000 and 2010? Once more, it's the Courier News in Bridgewater, N.J., which ended last year with 18,437 in circulation, down 55% from 41,354 in 2000.
The Spectrum in Utah's St. George recorded the smallest decline: just 12%, falling to 18,875.
The list is sorted alphabetically by state. The paper that lost the most circulation volume across the period, not surprisingly, is the biggest community daily, The Arizona Republic. It fell by 137,235 copies -- or 29% -- to 332,577 the end of last year.
GCI's bigger tumble
Across the nation, weekday circulation fell 18% between 2000-2009, according to the Newspaper Association of America trade group. (The data on its website only goes through 2009.)
Yet, combined circulation for the 77 GCI papers fell 27% in that period.
The gap between the NAA and GCI declines is all the more striking when you consider their very different mix of newspapers:
- The NAA counted 1,387 weekday papers in 2009; 38% of them were weaker afternoon editions, which suffered far greater losses than morning editions.
- Only 17% of GCI's 77 papers were afternoon editions in 2009, however.
A big thank you
For this spreadsheet, I'm indebted to a Gannett Blogger who keyed in the data entirely on his own initiative. "I'm an ex-Gannetteer," he wrote, "and had a little time to kill, so I thought I'd expand on your circulation analysis." Having examined his own work, he concluded: "Those are some pretty ugly numbers."
Friday, September 16, 2011
Sept. 12-18 | Your News & Comments: Part 5
Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)
Mail | The future 'no media executive will admit'
Anonymous@5:24 wrote the following this evening:
I am in management at another media company and I think posters here, in their complaints against Gannett management, often fail to see the big picture.
Newspapers are being phased out and Gannett, because of its size, will likely be in the forefront of this strategy. The future of information delivery is the Internet and mobile and the future of content generation is freelance, reader feedback and outsourcing.
The old model of hiring professional, fulltime photographers and reporters is dead. The photographers are already being phased out at some companies, with art provided by freelancers, services and readers who seek no pay.
Each site in the future will employ a handful of editors to organize and edit reader/freelance/service and, yes, robotic content. Traditional newspaper-type information of this sort will be a small part of any site with other information products and services providing major revenue streams.
Old-fashioned investigative journalism and watchdog reporting will be left to non-profit websites. A good example is what will be happening at the Carnegie-Knight News21 program at Arizona State, which is foundation supported.
While no media executive will admit it (bad for morale), this is the blueprint for the future. I will be very surprised if Gannett operates any print products except USA Today (a vanity product) in 10 years.
Earlier: Why would a non-Gannettoid read this blog? Because it's like the Perils of Pauline.
As always, other views are welcome. Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
I am in management at another media company and I think posters here, in their complaints against Gannett management, often fail to see the big picture.
The old model of hiring professional, fulltime photographers and reporters is dead. The photographers are already being phased out at some companies, with art provided by freelancers, services and readers who seek no pay.
Each site in the future will employ a handful of editors to organize and edit reader/freelance/service and, yes, robotic content. Traditional newspaper-type information of this sort will be a small part of any site with other information products and services providing major revenue streams.
Old-fashioned investigative journalism and watchdog reporting will be left to non-profit websites. A good example is what will be happening at the Carnegie-Knight News21 program at Arizona State, which is foundation supported.
While no media executive will admit it (bad for morale), this is the blueprint for the future. I will be very surprised if Gannett operates any print products except USA Today (a vanity product) in 10 years.
Earlier: Why would a non-Gannettoid read this blog? Because it's like the Perils of Pauline.
As always, other views are welcome. Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
What Dubow gets if disability forces him out: $37M; payout much bigger than in traditional retirement
Gannett would pay Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow $37.1 million in disability benefits, stock awards, pension and other payments if his new health problems force him from his job permanently, according to company documents filed with federal regulators.
Dubow, 56, is entitled to the payout under terms of his employment contract and the disability policy for senior executives, according to the annual proxy report to shareholders, which Gannett filed in March with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The payments are considerably more than what he would get, $22.5 million, if he retired voluntarily, the report says.
Dubow also would get limited use of the Corporate jet and access to a country club, the cost of which he would pay -- but at substantially lower, company-subsidized rates, the proxy report says.
The $37.1 million disability payout is outlined on Pages 45-47 of the report.
GCI announced early last night that Dubow is taking a second medical leave to deal with back and hip problems that sidelined him for four months starting in June 2009. COO Gracia Martore, who became principal executive during Dubow's last leave, will assume that job again. Martore, 60, is his likely successor when he leaves his job permanently -- although her age could become an issue.
In its statement, the company quoted lead board of directors member Duncan McFarland: "We wish Craig well during this difficult personal time. The board has confidence in Gracia and our very capable management team to run the day to day operations of the company, and we believe Gannett won't miss a beat at this important juncture."
The announcement came after stock markets closed. This morning, GCI recently traded for $10.12 a share, up 4 cents.
Length of leave unclear
Dubow has been chief executive since July 2005, and was made chairman of the board of directors a year later. Martore was promoted in February 2010 to GCI's No. 2 executive, president and chief operating officer. She had been chief financial officer since 2003, and first joined the company in 1985.
The company's announcement did not say when Dubow's medical leave would start, and did not estimate how long he might be out. It also did not say when Dubow and the board of directors first discussed this leave, leaving unanswered questions about the urgency of his medical situation.
Published reports last night quoted a GCI spokeswoman saying only that Dubow's problems stemmed from back and hip problems. He has received surgery at least twice in the past.
Since his return to work in October 2009 from his last leave, Dubow has often been seen in a wheelchair and using crutches during frequent visits to GCI worksites. He has been reported on these visits as recently as the past month.
Breakdown of $37.1M
Similar disability payouts, although in very different amounts, also are due to Martore and four other executives, the proxy says.
Here's a breakdown of the estimated payouts to Dubow:
 |
| Dubow |
Dubow also would get limited use of the Corporate jet and access to a country club, the cost of which he would pay -- but at substantially lower, company-subsidized rates, the proxy report says.
The $37.1 million disability payout is outlined on Pages 45-47 of the report.
 |
| Martore |
In its statement, the company quoted lead board of directors member Duncan McFarland: "We wish Craig well during this difficult personal time. The board has confidence in Gracia and our very capable management team to run the day to day operations of the company, and we believe Gannett won't miss a beat at this important juncture."
The announcement came after stock markets closed. This morning, GCI recently traded for $10.12 a share, up 4 cents.
Length of leave unclear
Dubow has been chief executive since July 2005, and was made chairman of the board of directors a year later. Martore was promoted in February 2010 to GCI's No. 2 executive, president and chief operating officer. She had been chief financial officer since 2003, and first joined the company in 1985.
The company's announcement did not say when Dubow's medical leave would start, and did not estimate how long he might be out. It also did not say when Dubow and the board of directors first discussed this leave, leaving unanswered questions about the urgency of his medical situation.
Since his return to work in October 2009 from his last leave, Dubow has often been seen in a wheelchair and using crutches during frequent visits to GCI worksites. He has been reported on these visits as recently as the past month.
Breakdown of $37.1M
Similar disability payouts, although in very different amounts, also are due to Martore and four other executives, the proxy says.
Here's a breakdown of the estimated payouts to Dubow:
- Pension: $12.9 million
- Stock options: $6 million
- Restricted stock units: $5.3 million
- Disability benefits: $6.9 million
- Final salary, bonus payment: $5.9 million
The proxy report does not detail the specific circumstances, nor timing, under which these benefits would be triggered for Dubow and the other five senior managers known as "named executive officers." It says only that the payments are due "if the employment of a NEO is terminated upon the executive's disability."
Board empowered to remove him
However, under the terms of Dubow's employment contract, the board of directors is empowered to remove him under circumstances where he is no longer able to perform his duties or has otherwise violated the terms of the contract.
If Dubow were to retire voluntarily, rather than via disability, he would get the much smaller $22.5 million as follows, according to Page 43 of the proxy report.
"Pursuant to their employment contracts, upon a termination of employment as a result of disability, Dubow and Martore would be entitled to a lump sum payment in an amount equal to two times the sum of (a) the executive’s base salary as of the date of termination (but no less than the minimum contractually provided for base salaries for Dubow and Martore, and ignoring any voluntary reduction of their salaries) and (b) the greater of (i) the amount of the executive’s annual bonus earned with respect to the year ended prior to the year of termination, or (ii) the average of the executive’s three most recent annual bonuses as of the date of termination."
In 2010, Dubow's base salary was $1.2 million, an amount he voluntarily reduced to $1 million beginning Nov. 1, 2008. His cash bonus was $1.75 million. That is the highest of his three most recent bonuses. In 2009 and 2008, his bonuses were $1.45 million and $875,000. (Table lists salary and bonus payments for all six NEOs last year.)
GCI is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher by circulation. It has nearly 100 dailies in the U.S., including USA Today, and the U.K. It also owns 23 U.S. TV stations, plus hundreds of other media businesses, employing more than 30,000 workers.
The proxy report's Page 46 details potential disability payments to Martore and the other four officers: Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh, U.S. newspapers division President Bob Dickey, USAT President Dave Hunke, and broadcasting division President Dave Lougee.
Other non-cash disability benefits
In addition to the $37.1 million in payments, Dubow also is entitled to the same other benefits promised him if he left via a conventional retirement, the report says, in footnotes on Page 44 and 47. They include:
Board empowered to remove him
However, under the terms of Dubow's employment contract, the board of directors is empowered to remove him under circumstances where he is no longer able to perform his duties or has otherwise violated the terms of the contract.
If Dubow were to retire voluntarily, rather than via disability, he would get the much smaller $22.5 million as follows, according to Page 43 of the proxy report.
- Pension: $11.1 million
- Stock options: $6 million
- Restricted stock units: $5.3 million
"Pursuant to their employment contracts, upon a termination of employment as a result of disability, Dubow and Martore would be entitled to a lump sum payment in an amount equal to two times the sum of (a) the executive’s base salary as of the date of termination (but no less than the minimum contractually provided for base salaries for Dubow and Martore, and ignoring any voluntary reduction of their salaries) and (b) the greater of (i) the amount of the executive’s annual bonus earned with respect to the year ended prior to the year of termination, or (ii) the average of the executive’s three most recent annual bonuses as of the date of termination."
In 2010, Dubow's base salary was $1.2 million, an amount he voluntarily reduced to $1 million beginning Nov. 1, 2008. His cash bonus was $1.75 million. That is the highest of his three most recent bonuses. In 2009 and 2008, his bonuses were $1.45 million and $875,000. (Table lists salary and bonus payments for all six NEOs last year.)
GCI is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher by circulation. It has nearly 100 dailies in the U.S., including USA Today, and the U.K. It also owns 23 U.S. TV stations, plus hundreds of other media businesses, employing more than 30,000 workers.
The proxy report's Page 46 details potential disability payments to Martore and the other four officers: Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh, U.S. newspapers division President Bob Dickey, USAT President Dave Hunke, and broadcasting division President Dave Lougee.
Other non-cash disability benefits
In addition to the $37.1 million in payments, Dubow also is entitled to the same other benefits promised him if he left via a conventional retirement, the report says, in footnotes on Page 44 and 47. They include:
- Supplemental medical insurance coverage that extends to his family, plus a Medicare supplement and reimbursement for the cost of Medicare Part B coverage, beginning at age 65 and continuing for life.
- Legal and financial counseling services on the same basis as available to an active executive at the time his employment terminates, for three years after his employment terminates, at an estimated incremental cost to the company of approximately $25,000 annually.
- Use of company aircraft "for three years after his employment terminates, at times not inconveniencing the company, the cost of which would be reimbursed by Mr. Dubow at the company’s then-effective incremental hourly rate."
- Ownership of existing home office equipment would be transferred to him.
- Home computer assistance, for three years after his employment terminates.
- Use of an office, secretarial assistance and access to company facilities at no charge for three years after his employment terminates.
- Access, for three years after his employment terminates, to "one country club selected by Mr. Dubow of which the company is a member at the time of his retirement and to which Mr. Dubow had access during the time of his employment, the usage cost of which would be paid by Mr. Dubow."
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