Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Nov. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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24 comments:

  1. November revenue is way down.
    Huge filler ads and self promos everywhere.
    Duplicate ads is different sections,ads that are blown way up to fill space,etc. etc.
    Not good at all.
    Any other sites with same situation?

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  2. Don't let #'s fool you-
    that happened with ENRON,MADOFF--
    the bigwigs know what the REAL #'s are.
    Same day different shit.
    But it is always good to beleive.
    It's great to have a job, but sad in reality.
    I am ready to go.

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  3. Please lay me off. Please lay me off. Please lay me off.

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  4. I second that, PLEASE LAY ME OFF!!!

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  5. Are they starting to place pressmen out to different places from Florida Today?
    I heard someone say that, is that true?
    If so who is running the press?
    What about print?

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  6. I hate to say this for all who have departed but the press at Florida Today hasn't run this good in what seems to be decades. Minimal late starts and some problems keeping on running at times but overall they have been great. You, 2:43 are just trying to rock the boat.

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  7. "...ads that are blown way up to fill space,etc. etc."

    There is no way this is a true statement, at least for a paid ad, given ad rates are based on the size of the ad.

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  8. Is it true that the number of editors is going to be reduced?

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  9. 3:44 Blowing up the ad size would be a form of off-the-rate-card discounting.

    3:46 Number of editors at which site?

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  10. I repeated what was said.
    Thanks for the information.
    I guess when you don't have much to print
    there would be a little less hassle, but seriously, you can't rock a boat when it's sinking.
    Good luck to all the pressmen there.
    Must be a manager,pump up the volume.
    I actually never departed from that place!
    try again

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  11. 3:36 p.m., that would make sense. We've got the same number of editors as workers, which never made sense to me.

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  12. oops, I meant 3:46.

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  13. Are there going to be any more lay offs at FLORIDA TODAY?

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  14. Jim
    3:44
    Yes, way off the rate card discounting and it is happening.
    It is done regularly at this weekly.
    The rate card pricing is a thing of the past and it is sell for whatever you can get to produce revenue.It is not volume or contract discount advertisers either.

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  15. Jim- Did you ever release the circulation #'s?
    I don't know that I saw that info.

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  16. Circulation numbers through Sept 30 may be seen by accessing the following ABC website: http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newsform.asp

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  17. Looks like the Cincinnati Enquirer is using YouTube to promote at least two of their columnists:

    Krista Ramsey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=K49jqI7ELf4

    Laura Baverman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=VuQt8jSLhV0

    Not sure what the plan is for these, they've only gotten a hundred or so views since they were posted Nov. 11. I doubt we'll be seeing these on local TV ads.

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  18. Gracia's last OG meeting she asked everyone to submit "aggressive" Q1 cost reduction plans. To quote my GMC leader.."Gracia said everything must be put on the table!"

    Sounds like we are up a creek. Low sell through, major subscription losses, and increased benefit costs are tanking our margins.

    She also said the only this we "have to look forward to is Olympics and Elections for 2012".

    Well that's one strategy, I guess.

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  19. 5:39 No; I received some of the circulation numbers, but not all.

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  20. Oh the rate card! The days of the holy grail!

    If you wanted to go off it to pump up rev, attract new customers or launch a new section to increase rev it was torture.....forms, signatures, oversight that would make the federal govt. look streamlined.

    We had a community paper that valued their full-page ads at something like $900. We never sold any but they ran $900. I think they still have the same price almost 10 years removed....really, no joke.

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  21. Whatever happened to Ed Cassidy, the marekting director for USA Today. Someone should put him in charge of advertising. He would bring some life back to that dying/dead dinosaur.

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  22. Adding up common sense and logic here at Florida Today, it would be safe to assume that there are more layoffs in the pipe.
    Latest heroic announcement was that of the new comptroller. She is hated throughout the building and by her own department, sans a couple who are so far up her rear end, that all you can see of them are their feet. She managed to move up the ladder from clerk to this new level of incompetence by back stabbing and throwing people under the bus. She had on at least one occasion a very stern talking to by the HR Director in regards to some questionable management tactics in her department, and have caused quite a few employees to take their leave from the company.
    If she is the "new standard", we are then neck deep in fertilizer. Ad sales are down, revenue is down, circulation is down. Add it up folks and the result is decreased staffing at 1 Gannett Plaza in Melbourne.
    Everyone should have a current resume on hand, and I do mean everyone!
    I am currently working on plan B, and hope to carry it out before I am forced to activate it.
    Good luck to all and happy Holidays!

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  23. Sound advice, 10:09 and 8:26 raises a great point.

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  24. 5:02PM, Of course there are going to be more layoffs at Florida Today. Someone has to pay for all those new VPs corporate has hired!

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Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

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