Sunday, October 30, 2011

Oct. 24-30 | 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.)

36 comments:

  1. 1. Many executives at Gannett are starting to question Maryam B's experience as she has not accomplished much since joining Gannett last year. Apparently, she was known as a job hopper until she landed her first real job at Univision through a friend of the firm. That person also took her to NBC Universalmfor her short and often checkered experience at the major media company.

    2. New concerns have arisen that there is too much crony hiring that is occurring in the executive ranks. Among them is David Payne's four recent hires all of whom have worked for him at his failed ShortTail Media or CNN. Maryam hired her "best friend" to replace Robin Pence.

    3. Josh Resnik has another month left and he is officially unemployed. Not many people are shedding a tear for Josh as he was a loyal Gracia disciple and a Jack Williams hire.

    4. It seems Robin Pence is officially gone, but there has been no announcement as she is still on payroll for the remainder of the year. I also do not believe that Gannett with want to screw with Robin as she and her partner are very connected to the Eashington, DC establishment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Unions exist for one reason, collect dues and line the pockets of their leadership."

    Keep thinking like this guy, and you're going to be handed your hat. Unions have been in decline since the 70's and are at their lowest point (8% of the workforce,) with no turn around on the horizon. What you're seeing now is corporations at their worst, squeezing every last cent out of a workforce because, quite frankly, they can. There is no one, or entity, there to stop them. Will jobs return to our shores one day? Are you willing to accept $2 a day as a wage? No benefits? Oh, you're saying that won't happen here. It's happening now, right under your noses. Everything you've worked for, everything you've expected is now under attack: Pensions, wages, benefits (medical), 401K, Social Security, Home equity. Corporations are built to maximize profit and low be the person that gets in their way. If you're expecting Congress to come to your aid, you're going to be waiting a while. Both parties pander to business interests. That's where the money is and that's where they go. Washington runs on $$$$$. If you've bought into Gannett as a benevolent company, you're probably not going to understand what's happening until you're handed your pink slip. You'll then be faced with the cold, hard reality that the jobs "out there" aren't paying very well if you can find one, and are probably not in your field of expertise. So much for the ol' sheepskin. So, you can damn "the unions" all you want over what's happening right now, however, they've been on the down-and-outs for quite some time. Corporations are keenly aware of this fact. What you're seeing now is all brought to you by Corporate America and their total, unchecked quest for the bottom-line.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I follow this blog as sort of like entertainment.
    I left 2 years ago on my own terms.It was apparrent that it was when, not if, my position was going to be one of the thousands of layoffs
    that Gannett instigated then and continues now 2 years later.
    Back then each day was hell,always wondering and worrying if this would be my last week.
    I decided I didn't want to live in that Gannett
    created hell. I didn't spend hours or days complaining that Gannett is so cruel ,so cold.
    After all,they are a business,they have to produce profit and as much as possible,just as any other company that wants to stay in business.
    Two years later.So very many people continue to live in the Gannett hell.If you are close to retirement,I understand you must wait it out. If not,you are like whores complaining about your pimp.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Not much from The BOSS.
    At least nothing new or important.Is it really the same original.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Speaking of Big Al and Florida Today. What do with Al's giant bust when Gannett puts the FLAT on the block.
    http://tinyurl.com/674bgwj

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well... I for one love it when My Boss comes around. (And I'd give my left one to know who it is.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Folks the My Boss post us a phony because the information is flat out wrong. No reason for you to believe me but the post is both unsophisticated and misinformed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My Boss says: "...too much crony hiring ..."
    LOL, that's all I ever saw!
    My former "newsletter" was plagued with head tyrants, who hired sycophants that were pulled from the cities where they had already cheapened journalism together.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What were Steve Jobs' final words? Read his sister's eulogy for him, all the way to the very end.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 1:33 They could send it out to him at the pumpkin center and let him enjoy his big head.
    I think he might find a piece of abc gum in his right nostrol.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My Boss is a phony. The true My Boss Said left the company months ago.

    Everyone "in the know" knows that Robin is gone. His use of "it seems" is quite telling.

    Shows again how vulnerable this blog is to nonsense.

    ReplyDelete
  15. GANNETT like ENRON-- fuzzy math, bogus reports. watch out! The debt is mighty.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jim - Thank you for sharing the eulogy for Steve Jobs with us. It was absolutely beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Jim, thank you for the link to the eulogy.

    @ MyBoss: NOW they are concerned about cronyism? They are a sort of late to the party on that one.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yes, Jim, thank you so much for connecting us to this wonderful eulogy!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Jim, if the rumors are true about Florida Today being in such bad financial shape, do you think corporate would force Stover and his cronies out or sell the paper? Is there precedence for this?

    ReplyDelete
  20. My Boss is 100 percent correct on all counts. I'm now a believer that My Boss is the real deal after seeing this posting.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 8:45 me thinks you are My Boss. Sorry but the post is bogus.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Maryam not accomplishing much? That's an understatement.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have no opinion of Maryam, but the head of marketing historically is a support role. Those asking what she has or hasn't accomplished could ask the same of market VPs in the past.

    The success or failure of Gannett is not up to marketing and those taking potshots obviously have no idea what is involved.

    ReplyDelete
  24. 8:47 let me guess? you are with the new PR firm Maryam hired. So obvious.
    The past few weeks there have been so many posts that are not usual here. Welcome to the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  25. 8:47 I am not My Boss. But I am in the know and My Boss gets it right tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  26. 10:42 geeezus what a stupid comment. She is the CMO...she is totally responsible for marketing. Wake up.

    ReplyDelete
  27. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  28. CMO sounds important but in truth it is just a PR gig. 10:42 has it right; she is a minor (if highly paid!), player.

    ReplyDelete
  29. 6:50 AM - Concerning the cronies being hired, let's take a look at all the publishers that Dickey has placed. Most are from Arizona or somehow affiliated. The publishers in the regional sites are following suit by hiring their friends. There is no one overly qualified working for this company anymore. Hence what I consider the biggest problem in Gannett. Time to see who is effective and who is not and start cleaning house. Start by talking to the individual sites to see what works personnel wise and what doesn't. Then again, they don't care. All that matters is that Wall Street is happy, not our staff and customers.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Jim- this just in, My Boss Said publisher and editor of Gannett Blog will be asked to take furlough?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Flood Book 2011 on sale now!!
    http://www.pedimentbooks.com/store/product/flood-2011-binghamton-southern-tier-ny-flood-flooding-book/

    Get your copy today.

    ReplyDelete
  32. 11:04. It's all twisted and true re: Silverman, who has wrecked people on a professional and personal level his entire professional life. How Meg Downey put up with him is beyond anyone who knows of her reputation as a good journalist. Hope she gets to go home to Poughkeepsie. She should have never left to take that "promotion" to Nashville.

    ReplyDelete
  33. USA Today was built on marketing and circulation...not on edit.
    Look at every street corner, every train station, every store, every airport, this is where USAToday dominates. Marketing and circulation. Including the hotel deals. This was a strategy put in place 30 years ago.

    Gannett has always been a marketing company.
    Those posting otherwise know not what they speak.

    ReplyDelete
  34. While I believe My Boss is accurate, it doesn't take anyone well-connected with this company to realize our new CMO has done next to nothing. The only thing I see that she does is send e-mails to on products/events she had no part in creating in the hopes that the mere association will make her look good.

    ReplyDelete
  35. 11:18,
    I agree with you. The problem is we haven't had anyone bold and innovative in marketing in a long, long time. And I don't see that changing with this new crop of people.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thanks Hunke, for emailing and letting me know this morning that you hired some guy from Yahoo Sports to work on USA Today. Not sure I give a damn, but thanks for thinking of me.

    In return, free advice: From what I heard, when someone is hired in Virginia they bring everyone that they've ever worked with along with them.

    Please tell the new guy to leave Chris Chase and his insipid writing behind - Yahoo deserves him much more than us.

    ReplyDelete

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."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.