I can't imagine Gannett toppling a government

[Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg vs. Egypt's Mubarak]

Yet, that's precisely what Facebook may have spurred, in helping organize protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. When New Media wields such power, how does Old Media compete?

A 'great fit' -- until Oklahoma tax breaks ran out?

"Oklahoma has a low cost of doing business, competitive incentives and an available workforce. . . . We know that Tulsa will be a great fit for our company."

-- Rob Althaus, vice president of circulation for Gannett's Newspaper Division, in an April 2007 statement on plans for a customer service center in Tulsa, Okla., employing up to 500 people. Reporting on the project, the Tulsa World noted that "state incentives also were a draw. Gannett plans to be part of the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program, which offers companies monetary incentives to locate in the state or expand their operations here if they meet certain criteria." Today, GCI disclosed that it's shuttering the center, transferring 131 jobs to existing centers in Greenville, S.C.; Phoenix, and Detroit.

Earlier: 300 CareerBuilder layoffs reported after tax break

[Image: Corporate welfare: All the rewards of capitalism with none of the risks, Left Wing Conspiracy]

Sponsors | I just got $5 from a New York donor

On the last day of the month, this latest contribution brings me to 25% of my quarterly goal. The breakdown so far:

• Reader donations: $260
• Advertising: $735

I'm trying to earn $4,000 quarterly, through donations of $5 per reader, plus advertising sales. Please use the PayPal "Donate" tool here, or in the green rail, upper right. Or mail cash/checks payable to: Jim Hopkins, 584 Castro St. #823, San Francisco, Calif., 94114-2594.

Earnings | Here's transcript of today's analyst call

SeekingAlpha has now published a blow-by-blow of this morning's conference call with Wall Street media analysts on the fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 financial results. Management's presentation is here. The especially illuminating Q&A session is here. The call's participants are here. Finally, listen to a replay of the call here.

Related: Corporate's statement on the financial report

Source: PointRoll CEO Tafler to leave March 15

In another blow to Gannett's crucial digital strategy, a source has just told me that PointRoll CEO Jason Tafler is leaving March 15. The news essentially confirms Gannett Blog reader reports in recent months about a high-level change at the advertising services subsidiary.

Tafler

Tafler has already given notice to Corporate, my source says. His exit appears in line with a final payment -- known as an earn-out -- to him and to other PointRoll top-level executives. Other senior employees also are on their way out, this source says. I've been given the name of one likely successor to Tafler, but I don't have that nailed down yet.

Tafler was named CEO in January 2008, replacing Chris Saridakis, who had been promoted to GCI chief digital officer. Saridakis, in turn, had been PointRoll's chief executive the previous three years.

GCI bought PointRoll in June 2005. Although GCI does not break out revenue figures for the company, my readers describe PointRoll as a cornerstone of GCI's overall digital portfolio. What's more, PointRoll's high-level management shakeup would follow the departure -- as yet unreported by GCI -- of the founder and CEO of consumer tracking software subsidiary Ripple6, Sang Kim.

These reports of executive changes also come as GCI failed to fill the chief digital officer spot, which Saridakis quit last spring to become CEO of the marketing subsidiary of e-commerce firm GSI Commerce.

Earlier: Post-Saridakis, pointed questions about PointRoll. Plus: In farewell, Saridakis attacks paywall strategy

Memo: Tulsa service center closing on March 31

Following is a memo today to select employees; I believe the Tulsa customer service operation once known as the Center of Excellence has 150 employees. The consolidation plan calls for adding 131 positions: 53 in Greenville, S.C.; 43 in Phoenix, and 35 in Detroit, according to a FAQ sent to employees. Text of Trubiano's memo:

Subject: Tulsa CSC Closure Communications Completed

FYI.

Manager meetings and announcements to all CSC staffers have been made regarding the closure of the Tulsa call center effective March 31, 2011. Staffers have been provided these two documents [see, below] post the announcement. Following the announcement several communications will be sent to various individuals as well as the newspapers served by all CSC's . We wanted to provide this to you so you are aware of what has transpired.

Related: Austin Ryan's memo to employees. Plus: a FAQ memo

Stock | GCI trades lower on Q4 financial report

[Updated at 4:34 p.m. ET.] Shares closed today at $14.74, down 45 cents, or 3%, after trading as low as $14.46 earlier this morning, as investors digest this morning's fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 financial results. For comparison, the S&P 500 index, a closely watched measure of broader market activity, is up less than 1%.

Bloomberg: GCI Q4 net jumps 30% on cost cutting

From a Bloomberg News story moved moments ago:

Gannett, the owner of 82 newspapers as well as television stations, reported fourth-quarter earnings that increased 30% on cost cutting and rising TV advertising revenue.

Net income advanced to $174.1 million, or 72 cents a share, from $133.6 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier, the McLean, Virginia-based company said today in a statement. Earnings, excluding some items, rose to 83 cents a share. Analysts projected 81 cents on average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Revenue was little changed at $1.46 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.47 billion. Revenue for the year slid 1.3% to $5.44 billion, the fourth straight annual decline.

In early reaction, investors tamped down the company's shares: GCI recently traded for $14.65, down 54 cents, or 3.5%.

Gannett, the first large newspaper publisher to report its results for the quarter, is watched by investors as an indicator of how the industry at large is faring. The company’s publishing revenue, including advertising and circulation, declined 4.7% in the fourth quarter to $1.1 billion, while digital revenue increased 5.2% to $165.8 million.

Broadcasting revenue rose 27% to $232.8 million.

Gannett, whose newspapers include USA Today, gained 16 cents to $15.19 on Jan. 28 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares were little changed this year before today.

Urgent: GCI reports Q4 and full-year 2010 results

From a statement Corporate issued this morning:

Gannett Co. reported today that earnings per diluted share from continuing operations, on a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis, for the fourth quarter of 2010 were $0.72 compared to $0.54 for the fourth quarter of 2009. Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations for the 2010 fiscal year were $2.35 compared to $1.49 for the 2009 fiscal year.

Results for both quarters and fiscal years included special items as noted below. Earnings per share excluding special items for the fourth quarter were $0.83 versus $0.70 last year on the same basis. Earnings per share excluding special items in 2010 were $2.44 compared to $1.85 in 2009 on the same basis.

Results for the fourth quarter of 2010 include $36.7 million of non-cash charges associated with facility consolidations and asset impairments ($24.4 million after-tax or $0.10 per share) and $3.6 million in costs due to workforce restructuring ($1.9 million after-tax or $0.01 per share). Results for the 2010 fiscal year include $59.7 million of non-cash charges associated with facility consolidations and asset impairments ($42.7 million after-tax or $0.18 per share), $11.7 million in costs due to workforce restructuring ($7.0 million after-tax or $0.03 per share), a $28.7 million ($0.12 per share) net tax benefit due primarily to the expiration of the statutes of limitations and the release of certain reserves related to the sale of a business in a prior year, and a $2.2 million ($0.01 per share) tax charge related to healthcare reform legislation.

Results for the fourth quarter of 2009 included $50.1 million of non-cash charges associated with facility consolidations and asset impairments ($36.3 million after-tax or $0.15 per share) and $3.4 million in costs due to workforce restructuring ($2.2 million after-tax or $0.01 per share). Results for the 2009 fiscal year include $170.2 million of non-cash charges associated with facility consolidations and asset impairments ($119.0 after-tax or $0.50 per share), $28.3 million in costs due to workforce restructuring ($17.9 million after-tax or $0.08 per share), a $42.7 million gain related to the company's debt exchange ($26.1 million after-tax or $0.11 per share) and a $39.8 million settlement gain related to one of the company's union pension plans ($24.7 million after-tax or $0.10 per share).

As previously reported, the company completed the sale of The Honolulu Advertiser and its related assets as well as a small directory publishing operation during the second quarter of 2010. Results for the fourth quarter and year-to-date periods exclude operating results from these former properties which have been reclassified to discontinued operations.

Tables 1 through 4 attached to this release reflect the company's results prepared in accordance with GAAP and include the effect of these special items. Tables 5 through 9 provide information regarding income statement and segment results excluding these special items.

"We are pleased with the positive results we delivered this year. Our performance was driven by the successful execution of strategic initiatives we implemented across the company. Given the rapidly shifting media landscape, we further accelerated our transformation to position Gannett to continue to adapt and operate successfully as our industry evolves. Throughout 2010, we enhanced service to our advertisers, created and customized attractive multiplatform content that our customers are demanding and improved our production and distribution functions. As a result of these actions, we improved the profitability of each business segment and generated operating cash flow of $1.3 billion this year despite the challenging operating environment," said Craig Dubow, chairman and chief executive officer.

"Broadcasting had an outstanding year in terms of ratings, revenue and profitability. Operating income in Broadcasting in 2010 grew over 50 percent and significantly exceeded 2008 results, which was a Presidential election year. Strong results in the Digital segment, particularly at CareerBuilder, also contributed to our earnings growth. In our Publishing segment, revenue comparisons finished the year better than they started. Reflecting the state of the U.S. economy, there were bright spots in auto and employment classified in our domestic publishing operations, although real estate continued to be soft. Without a doubt, Gannett today is a stronger company than it was at the beginning of 2010, and we are focused on continuing to create value for our shareholders in the year ahead," continued Dubow.

Jan. 31-Feb. 6 | 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.)

Earnings | Reminder about today's conference call

CEO Craig Dubow and COO Gracia Martore answer questions today from Wall Street stock analysts during a 10 a.m. ET conference call after the release of fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 financial results. The call will be webcast from Corporate's site, and is open to the public on a listen-only basis. Details here.

Earlier: What to watch for in Monday's report

Sioux Falls | What happened to the 'cleaner' look?

Here's a screenshot I just took of South Dakota's Argus Leader homepage, as the Sioux Falls paper promotes its new website as "cleaner, faster, better." That yellow-and-red South Dakota Furniture Mart wallpaper advertising challenges the cleaner claim, however. (Click on the image for a bigger view.)

Week Jan. 24-30 | Your News & Comments: Part 5

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Salisbury | How they say 17 jobs are getting cut

"The synergies available to us through The News Journal's production facility, combined with new business models being adopted by publishers, allow us this aggressive approach to further achieve our business performance goals."

-- Greg Bassett, general manager and executive editor, in a story today in The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md. Printing of the paper, plus affiliated weeklies, will be shifted to the News Journal of Wilmington, Del., over the next three weeks. The move will cost 17 of 21 jobs, the Times says -- nearly 12% of the total 143 employees.

What a furlough week really costs the top brass; document shows their hit is much less than yours

Regarding the new round of mandatory one-week furloughs, Anonymous@12:24 p.m. today asks: "Just out of curiosity, what does it mean in real people dollars if CEO Craig Dubow and COO Gracia Martore take a 'reduction in salary equal to a week's furlough?' Maybe I missed this, but it would help provide a snapshot that might be jaw-dropping when placed in context with what the peons make, especially when balanced against what Martore and Dubow take home each year in salary and bonuses."

The answer is a little complicated. First, it'll be another year before we know how much they got paid in 2011. Indeed, we don't know yet what they got paid last year; Gannett won't disclose those figures until March.

For those reasons, I must assume data for 2009, except in the case of Chief Operating Officer Martore; the company disclosed her base salary for 2010 when she got promoted early in the year. (Table shows pay for company's top five executives in 2009.)

Most important, the loss of a week -- an effective 1.9% wage cut -- only applies to executives' base salaries. Much of their pay is bonuses, stock awards and pension value increases, which aren't subject to the furlough loss. So, as a percentage of total pay, the furlough week will hurt them far less than it will the average employee. That is because, in the examples below, the executives' total pay was effectively cut only 0.5% to 0.6% -- much less than the 1.9% for you. After all, their bonuses are based partly on successfully cutting your pay.

Here, then, is the snapshot reader 12:24 requested:

Craig Dubow, chief executive

• Minimum base salary: $1.2 million. (Beginning Nov. 1, 2008 and continuing through 2009, he voluntarily reduced his base to $1 million.) The loss of one week would cut his 2011 salary $19,000
• In 2009, however, he got an additional $3.8 million in stock awards and pension value not subject to a furlough-related loss

Gracia Martore, chief operating officer

• Minimum base salary: $950,000. (This is her 2010 base, after she was promoted to COO. We also know she voluntarily reduced it to $900,000.) The loss of a week would cut her 2011 salary $18,050
• Her total 2009 pay (before she was promoted to COO): $4.02 million

Bob Dickey, U.S. newspaper division president

• Base salary: $588,942. This would be cut $11,190 in 2011
• Total 2009 pay: $1.94 million

Dave Hunke, USA Today publisher

• Base salary $463,141. This would be cut $8,799 in 2011, if he were furloughed. (The furloughs apply only to the U.S. newspaper division, plus Dubow and Martore. USAT isn't part of the division, however. I'm including Hunke for the benefit of USAT employees furloughed in the past.)
• His total 2009 pay: $1.85 million

Earlier: Dickey's memo on the current quarter's furloughs

How much do you get paid annually? Provide your job title, and number of years worked for Gannett. 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.

USAT | Comment post forms now more uniform

[Detail of comment thread; click image for bigger view]

USA Today appears to have just introduced a new Pluck software-powered comment posting form at the bottom of each story. It's very similar to the comment form on the new template for U.S. community newspapers -- bringing greater uniformity to Gannett's papers.

I like the new format, although one USAT reader (circled comment, above) has a very different opinion. "What's with this new posting format?" harrumphs our_commie_prez. "It bites!"

Earnings | What to watch for in Monday's report

Gannett reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 financial results before stock markets open Monday morning. As always, some of the most interesting details also will emerge in the question-and-answer session during the conference call with Wall Street media analysts scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.

Beyond the usual suspects -- revenue and net income trends -- here's what I'll be watching for:

Martore

Severance expenses. You'll recall Chief Operating Officer Gracia Martore told analysts during the Oct. 22 call that she wasn't expecting significant severance costs during the final three months of the year. Only two weeks later, of course, the U.S. newspapers started a series of job reductions that ultimately claimed an estimated 253 jobs at 63 papers, many through layoffs. Several papers also announced wage cuts. (Corporate's transcript of the third-quarter call.)

Paywalls. Gannett now has results from six months of experiments with paywalls it erected at newspapers in Tallahassee, Fla.; Greenville, S.C., and St. George, Utah. So far, the company has been vague about the impact on revenue and traffic. In the last update, during the UBS media conference in December, CEO Craig Dubow said only:

"We now have a couple of months of data as a result of these tests and, while it is still early, we are seeing some very interesting results and important takeaways."

Consolidations. The current status of the five Design Studios to build pages for nearly all the 81 U.S. community dailies; this project has now entered its third quarter since being announced. The effort follows the establishment of two Gannett Production Centers, the hubs at Indianapolis and Des Moines that were to be fully up and running by early 2011 to design and build advertising artwork.

Dickey

Analyst forecasts
Gannett has already hinted that advertising revenue continues to fall; that was a reason newspaper division chief Bob Dickey cited Jan. 4 in announcing another round of mandatory one-week furloughs during the current quarter.

For the fourth quarter, analysts on average are expecting GCI to report net income of 80 cents a share, up from 72 cents in the last three months of 2009. They're forecasting $1.47 billion in revenue vs. $1.49 billion the year before.

GCI stock rose 19.9% during the fourth quarter, closing on Dec. 31 at $15.09 vs. $12.59 on Oct. 1. During the same period, the S&P 500 index, a broad measure of overall market activity, rose a much smaller 9.8%. (Historical GCI prices during the quarter.)

Today, shares recently traded for $14.87, down 1%.

Related: Corporate's statement on the third-quarter results. Plus: the third quarter 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Mail | Profit 'expected, required and rewarded'

[A Gannett stock certificate. GCI closed today at $15.04]

Regarding the disposition of money saved during the current round of furloughs, Anonymous@1:55 p.m. writes today about Gannett's history as a publicly traded company. (Note: GCI was founded in 1906. It went public in 1967, when its second CEO, Paul Miller, was in charge. GCI's more than 237 million outstanding shares of common stock are held by about 8,800 shareholders in all 50 states and several foreign countries.) Here's 1:55's comment:

The root of all evil, so to speak, came years ago when we agreed to be a publicly held company. When we did this, the stockholders, and returning maximum value to stockholders, became our No. 1 focus.

When times were good and margins large, we could serve the shareholders and still do good journalism, public service, rich content and the like. As margins dropped, and with our No. 1 focus (and, truly, our duty) being to maintain and grew shareholder value to the best of our ability, we had to cut the quality.

I have sat around the table with a group president and heard this executive say, to paraphrase, "Stop talking about readers and audience and quality. I really don't care about that. Start talking about how we can move our numbers." Now, it was said with a smile and intended to be sarcastic. But, sadly, in this setting, it was more truth than humor. Content is often seen as an expense, rather than the element of what we do that makes us special. Of course, if we can manage to do good content with reduced resources, we will give lip-service to its value and worth. But little more.

Our chairman/CEO, our president, our division president and, most important, our board of directors are first and foremost charged and required to do everything in their power to maximize shareholder value. Everything else is secondary. So, while a private company might be willing to say, "Let's settle with an XX-percent margin because I know first-hand the good we are doing for our communities," our corporate, publicly held structure renders such notions as quaint, nostalgic and, frankly, irresponsible to our shareholders who want a return from their investment right now, not a few years down the road.

We're not a non-profit. We're not a not-for-profit. We're not owned by a benevolent billionaire who sees us a public resource. We are a profit organization.

More profit, or at least the most profit we can get, is expected, required and rewarded.

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.

Week Jan. 24-30 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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.)

Tallahassee | Your're going to love this ad . . .

That was the subject line today of the e-mail I got from a reader who included a screenshot of the Tallahassee Democrat's homepage. Get it? (As I post this, the banner ad is still up on the site.)

Furloughs | In a cartoon, connecting the dots

Rob Tornoe, the former Daily Record cartoonist in Parsippany, N.J., offers his view on Gannett's new round of furloughs in the February issue of Editor & Publisher. "Don't worry,'' it says, "we're keeping your unpaid furlough money in this chest for safe keeping." That chest, of course, is labeled "executive bonuses."

Earlier: How furloughs helped spur $3.5 million in executive bonuses. Plus: Tornoe's previous take on furloughs

Amid Demand Media's IPO, a too-hot travel tip?

USA Today's travel tips supplier, the content farm Demand Media, is skipping down Wall Street this afternoon, as its initial public offering soars on its first day's trading: Shares recently changed hands for $23, up 36%. This has given the jaded and jealous journalism community a chance to revisit all those lists of dumbest how-to content from the company, based in Santa Monica, Calif.

But, what's this?! I just checked, and USAT's database of Demand Media tips no longer includes my favorite example: How to get high in Holland. Here's the screenshot I captured last July when I ran across the item the first time:

But never fear! There's still USAT's advice available on buying magic mushrooms, which I found included way, w-a-a-y down in this Amsterdam Travel Guide overview.

Also under review: voluntary unpaid overtime!

"'Voluntary unpaid vacation' is this year's mystery meat. Next year, I hear they are looking at 'Involuntary Sick Days.'"

-- Anonymous@11:30 a.m., commenting on a report that Missouri's Springfield News-Leader asked employees yesterday to consider taking five unpaid "vacation days" beyond the mandatory five furlough days already announced for this quarter.

Week Jan. 24-30 | 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.)

Google plans to boost employment 25% this year

Moving deeper into fields once dominated by Gannett, such as local advertising, the search engine giant disclosed today that it plans to hire at least 6,000 additional workers this year on top of the 24,400 it already employs.

The hiring pace should make 2011 the biggest year for employee growth in Google history, Alan Eustace, senior vice president of engineering and research, said in a blog post. Founded in 1998, Google hired more than 4,500 last year, making that year second only to 2007, when the company added more than 6,000, according to Bloomberg News.

Google's disclosure follows a published report that GCI cut as many as 8,000 jobs in its U.S. newspaper division alone last year. If true, that would have reduced GCI's overall employment to about 27,000 across all divisions. As recently as 2005, GCI employed 52,600 worldwide.

GCI typically discloses employment figures by major division only once a year, in a so-called 10-K report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Those reports are filed toward the end of February. Here's the 10-K filed in February 2010.

Earlier: GCI's year-by-year annual employment, 1994-2009

Current employees: Do you expect to be working for GCI by the end of 2011? Post 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.

GCI, NYTCo., others in today's Ongo reader launch

Ongo is the brainchild of Alex Kazim, a former eBay executive who ran Skype and headed up marketing and business operations for PayPal, writes Jeff Bercovici for Forbes. Last September, Kazim secured $12 million in funding from Gannett, the New York Times Co., and the Washington Post Co.

Subscribers pay $6.99 a month for access to the top 20 stories in The New York Times and all content from USA Today and The Washington Post, plus one other paper of their choosing. Other participating GCI papers include The Des Moines Register, The Cincinnati Enquirier, The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Detroit Free Press, The Indianapolis Star, and The Tennessean at Nashville.

Press release. Other news coverage. Video explains how it works:



Related: Gannett Digital President Jack Williams is on Ongo's six-member board of directors

Week Jan. 24-30 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

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USAT | What's the break-even number on death?

Five of the eight special editions USA Today is now hawking in its online store are about dead people -- including the latest, a hagiographic tribute to the very dead Ronald Reagan.

I mean, how many copies could USAT have sold of Passages, a roundup of dead celebrities "who left us" last year? (Is Tom Bosley's fan base really that big?)

Most of these retail for $4.95, excluding shipping and sales tax. How many must the paper sell just to break even on production costs?

Earlier: Gannett's marquee daily gets a minor makeover

Sponsors | I just got $5 from a mysterious donor

Mysterious, because it came via snail mail in an envelope with no return address. The postmark says it was sent from somewhere in Michigan. Thank you, whoever you are!

To hit my quarterly goal, I try to earn a little more than $1,300 a month. With just a week before the end of January, here's the breakdown of the $805 I've received so far:

• Reader donations: $221
• Advertising: $584

I'm trying to earn $4,000 quarterly, through donations of $5 per reader, plus advertising sales. Please use the PayPal "Donate" tool here, or in the green rail, upper right. Or mail cash/checks payable to: Jim Hopkins, 584 Castro St. #823, San Francisco, Calif., 94114-2594.

Des Moines | As retail consolidates, Penney shrinks

The home of The Des Moines Register is on JCPenney's just-announced hit list today. "Company officials,'' the paper says, "could not immediately be reached for comment to confirm the address of the Des Moines closure. The chain operates stores at Southridge Mall in Des Moines and Valley West Mall in West Des Moines, as well as a JCPenney Home Store in Clive."

Stock | No. 1 GCI investor JPMorgan trims stake

In a new regulatory filing, JP Morgan Chase disclosed today that it sold nearly 2 million of its Gannett shares in recent months, reducing the size of its overall stake in the company to 8.9% from 9.6% last fall, and 10.2% in April.

The banking giant owned 21.4 million shares as of Dec. 31 vs. 23 million at Sept. 30, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Morgan emerged as GCI's biggest shareholder in May, when it notified the SEC that it had boosted its holdings by at least 17 million shares.

Today's filing doesn't say how much Morgan received for the shares it sold. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, GCI traded between $11.76 and $15.78 a share, according to Google Finance. Today, GCI recently traded for $14.86, up about 1%.

Prior to today's filing, GCI's No. 2 shareholder was mutual fund giant Vanguard Group, at 13.7 million shares, or 5.7% of all, investment site MSN MoneyCentral says. No. 3 was money manager Ariel Investments, at 13.5 million, or 5.7%. That data is at Sept. 30.

Compared to three months ago, are your GCI holdings higher? Lower? The same? Post 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.

USAT | GCI's marquee daily debuts new look

This morning's new tweaks, including a larger logo . . .

. . . vs. this earlier weekend edition cover from October . . .

. . . vs. issue No. 1 on Sept. 15, 1982, when the original logo started out bigger to begin with:

This large .pdf of today's front shows a below-the-fold note to readers saying: "Starting today, you may notice a few changes in USA Today. We've expanded the size of the newspaper's logo on Page 1, added white space and improved organization, among other changes. We hope this creates an easier-to-read, more engaging newspaper. We welcome your comments at letters@usatoday.com."

Got a Gannett front page to recommend? Find it in the Newseum's page one database, then post a link in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

[Images top, middle: Newseum; bottom, Charles Apple]

Week Jan. 24-30 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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Nashville | Cleaner, easier-to-navigate site debuts

Silverman

The Tennessean is the latest of the U.S. dailies to adopt the new website template s-l-o-w-l-y rolling out across Gannett. In a column today, Editor Mark Silverman says the paper's digital staff "worked with our colleagues at Gannett Digital and a design firm that has helped sites such as CNN shape their approaches. They simplified the site's look, organization and navigation in ways that respond to much of the feedback you have provided during the past year."

Other recent adopters: The Desert Sun at Palm Springs, Calif., and The Des Moines Register.

Has your site launched the new template? 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.

Week Jan. 17-23 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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AOL CEO's bold promise to be No. 1 in local news

From "You've Got News,'' media writer Ken Auletta's profile of AOL CEO Tim Armstrong in the Jan. 24 issue of the New Yorker magazine, now on newsstands:

There are now 700 Patch sites operating in 19 states and the District of Columbia. AOL chooses new locations based on an algorithm that examines 59 factors, including potential advertising revenue, income, voter turnout, and retail spending.

Each Patch site is run by a journalist, who earns between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. There are no offices; reporters live in the area they cover. Because there are no newsprint or shipping costs, AOL publishes news, Armstrong says, at approximately 4% of what it costs a traditional local newspaper to do so. Still, the sites are not making money yet.

"We will be the largest publisher of local news in the U.S. this year," Armstrong predicts.

They might not, however, be the best. The sites aspire to break news, and occasionally they do. The Darien Patch, for example, reported that a First Selectman candidate had a criminal record.

But often the sites are like digital Yellow Pages, promotional bulletin boards accompanied by news about all the fun things going on nearby. Quality varies widely, and one senses a tension between journalism, which often conveys uncomfortable news, and boosterism, which makes everyone feel good about the hometown.

[Note: I can't link to Auletta's article, because it's behind the New Yorker's paywall. Here's the abstract.]

Earlier: In a Patch interview, Asbury Park Press Publisher Tom Donovan also wants to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge

USAT | In rare switch, logo gets tweaked Monday

Current logo

Newspapers don't change their logos very often, even when it involves the smallest of details. So, it's noteworthy when one of the nation's best-known newspaper brands, USA Today, rolls out visual changes to its front page and other sections. The following memo, sent today, alerted print sites to a changed USAT look, effective Monday.

From: XXXXX

Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 5:11 PM

To: XXXXX

Cc: XXXXX

Subject: USA TODAY Redesign 1/24 Edition -- Note to the Print Sites

You will see many changes with the new design of the paper starting with Monday’s USA TODAY domestic edition (1/24). Below are a few of the changes.



1A (News) Changes:



The USA TODAY logo, the "SCORES INSIDE," "THE NATION'S NEWSPAPER," and the "$1.00" will have a new color break:  100C, 10M, 0Y and 10K (10% magenta was added).

The words "SPORTS" and "LATE" (SPORTS SCORES INSIDE AND LATE SCORES INSIDE) are now 50% gray type.

Inside Section Fronts (Money, Sports, Life) Changes:

The section fronts’ mastheads for Money, Sports and Life will add a 10% black tint. An example: the Sports color break will be 0Y, 100M, 100Y and 10K.



Folios:



The page folios will be larger and will have information on each side of the page. On the inside of the pages will be the USA TODAY/Date (9.5 pt. type) and on the outside will be the page number (14 pt. type). We will have special cases where the folio will be smaller (all type will be 9.5 pt. type). Examples are the weather page and when advertising is placed at the top of the page.

Mail | In hiring, Green 'lifted a wounded soldier'

Regarding Reno Gazette-Journal Publisher Ted Power's just-announced move to chief of the Design Studio at The Des Moines Register, Anonymous@7:52 p.m. writes:

I'm happy for Ted and more respectful than ever of his new boss, Executive Editor Rick Green.

It's apparent that Rick walked onto the battlefield, lifted a wounded soldier from the ground and carried him to safety. So it is that a dedicated warrior gets to fight on.

My bet is that Ted will respond with first-class work, soon putting his embarrassing mistake behind him.

Gannett will likely benefit from this re-allocation of talent. It's a touch of class from a company sorely in need of an image upgrade. It's a tiny step toward creating a supportive company culture that is both demanding as hell and understanding of human frailities. Even among those in its top ranks.

Big picture, strategic thinking, I say.

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.

Hubs | Say hello to your new, uniform typeface

You're going to see a whole lot of it, I've been told, when virtually all Gannett's U.S. community newspapers adopt the serif face early this year for body copy text in the rollout of the five Design Studio page production hubs.

Typographer Matthew Carter created Olympian in 1970. The Linotype company says: "After the Second World War, the Ionic style replaced Modern Face as the favored typeface for newsprint. A couple decades later, it was in turn replaced by the next generation of newspaper fonts, a mix of Old Face, Transitional and Modern Face forms. Olympian font itself tends toward the Old Face style but is nevertheless an example of this new generation, a result of a time of change and experimentation."

The san-serif Frutiger face, meanwhile, will make frequent appearances in bylines, jump lines, and other secondary roles. Frutiger, according to Wikipedia, "is a sans-serif typeface by the Swiss type designer Adrian Frutiger. It was commissioned in 1968 by the newly built Charles De Gaulle International Airport at Roissy, France, which needed a new directional sign system. Instead of using one of his previously designed typefaces like Univers, Frutiger chose to design a new one. The new typeface, originally called Roissy, was completed in 1975 and installed at the airport the same year."

Reno | Publisher Ted Power leaving for Des Moines

The Reno Gazette-Journal chief executive will be running the new Design Studio based at The Des Moines Register, one of five newspaper page production hubs now in the works, according to a memo I've just obtained. Power recently made headlines after a DUI arrest and subsequent sentencing. Short iPhone post; more to come.

[Updated at 5:15 p.m. ET with text of memo, below.]

From: Green, Rick (Des Moines)
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 3:10 PM
To: DES-NEWSROOM
Cc: Hollingsworth, Laura; Legler, Phil; Harvey, Julie A.; Castro, Greg; Johnson, Kevin (DSM); Hall, Kevin; Klootwyk, Dotti; Clark, Ann
Subject: Hiring of our Design Studio Director

Friends:
I am happy to announce that Ted Power, a longtime journalist, general manager and president/publisher in Gannett, is joining The Des Moines Register family as our Design Studio Director. He will report to me and will oversee all operations related to our studio, which launches later this year. Ted will meet with the other studio directors next week in McLean, but won’t be permanently on-site in Des Moines until early March.

I can’t tell you how excited I am that Ted will join our team. He is a battle-tested journalist, innovative manager and talented leader whose career stretches from Tennessee to Louisiana to Nevada. He’s a Virginia native who spent 23 years at our sister newspaper, The Tennessean, in Nashville tackling sports, the copydesk and a variety of other positions, including ME/Sports.

I have known and worked with him on various projects for more than 15 years, dating back to his tenure as GM and editor of two successful suburban initiatives in Nashville. He was a remote adviser when I was launching a suburban initiative in counties north of Cincinnati when I was at The Enquirer. And we reconnected in the past 15 months, tackling several Corporate ventures while I was in Palm Springs.

In 2003, Ted became president and publisher at Gannett newspapers in Louisiana before becoming a group vice president. He moved to Reno in 2007 where he has been president/publisher of the Gazette-Journal.

As the Design Studio initiative was taking shape, Ted -- eager to return to a newsroom setting -- raised his hand. He recognized the opportunity to build something special from the ground up, and we began discussing the opportunity here in Des Moines shortly after I accepted the editor’s position. He’s a true pro -- someone with a wealth of experience who embraces collaboration and shares our collective passion for excellence.

Ted also has strong family ties to Iowa. His wife, Kathy Kirby Power, is a Des Moines native. She graduated from St. Anthony’s School, Dowling High School and the University of Iowa. Her mother, brothers, sister and other relatives still call Des Moines home.

You may see him here for a brief visit in early February. Please, join me in welcoming him.

I am continuing the interview process for the No. 2 spot inside the Studio -- the creative director -- and hope to make a decision shortly about that position. Ted will be assisting me in that search, starting next week. Stay tuned for more announcements.

If you have questions, please, don’t hesitate to find me.

Thank you, RAG

Week Jan. 17-23 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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Hubs | Memo is said to detail typography rules

Regarding the rollout of five Design Studios to produce pages for most of the 81 U.S. community newspapers, Anonymous@8:56 said last night: "Even after telling us that we would still look unique and retain our 'look' using Monotype fonts, a user's guide to Gannett Typography with a memo was sent out Jan. 17." In their comment, 8:56 posted what they say is the memo's text, as follows:

Gannett's U.S. Community Publishing group will move to a common Monotype typography in early 2011. Most sites will introduce this change before they move to the CCI NewsGate 3.2 system. A number of strategic reasons drive this move. A common typography will maximize our ability to share content. A common typography will streamline the work done in the Design Studio initiative. A common typography will provide our designers with a typography structure that will support their design work.

Our typography standards underpin strong visual design. And strong visual design starts with strong content. As we transition to the Design Studios, it is essential that we focus on the best possible content to create the best possible publications.

We turned to the four members of the Design Studio design team to help us define these standards. And they have outlined the guides for a wide range of uses.

Our typography standards include very specific instructions for many uses and flexibility to maintain and enhance the individual personality of each newspaper. As with most designs, the pecking order to achieve a newspaper's individual personality starts with page flags, moves to headlines, then to "everything else." To accomplish all that we need to do strategically, we will have uniformity in the "everything else" area.

This guide provides specific instructions on all type that is less than 12 points. In a few cases, a site can make choices based on the newspaper's overall design. For example, bylines can be centered or flush-left; subheads can be centered or flush-left. What's critical is that the type specs and spacing be uniform.

This guide also will provide direction in using the headline typography available to you. Finally, it includes examples of the specialty type available to you for developing page flags, with some examples of flags designed with the type.

Most Information Centers will be putting these specs into place before we begin using the new CCI system that we all will share. Making the transition beforehand will ensure that the system change will be visually transparent as possible to our readers. And it will simplify the process of setting up each of our products for the new system.

Our design team has developed and tested these typography standards. We thank them for their tremendous commitment to this project.

A project in flux?
From News Department Vice President Kate Marymont's original July 13 FAQ, discussing the new hubs:

Q. Will all of our newspapers begin to look alike?
A. No. Flatly, no. That is not the intent at all. The individuality of a newspaper is important. We will preserve that.

From her July 26 Q&A with the Society for News Design:

Q. Will the publications served by the Centers go through redesigns to align typography? Image area?
A. Our goal is to preserve the individuality of newspapers. Gannett has long stressed the importance of a newspaper reflecting the personality of the community it serves. A newspaper for Palm Springs, Calif., should be very different from a newspaper for Salem, Ore., or Rochester, N.Y.

We will examine efficiencies that won’t hurt that individuality. For example, can cutline styles be standardized? Can sports agate be produced in a single font? We will study things like this.

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.

[Images: today's Desert Sun of Palm Springs, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Newseum]

I'm offline through early Thursday morning

I'll have little or no Internet access from late-afternoon today through early Thursday morning ET. I'll post your comments whenever I get a chance. As always, I appreciate your patience.

MediaNews | Singleton is out; merger up next?

The founder and CEO of Gannett business partner MediaNews Group, William Dean Singleton, plans to relinquish day-to-day leadership of the Denver-based company after a replacement for him and the outgoing president is found, Denver Business Journal says. The management shakeup came yesterday after international hedge fund Alden Global Capital bought a significant stake in the company, the Journal says.

Singleton

The Wall Street Journal reported late yesterday that MediaNews is "eyeing a merger with Freedom Communications and possibly several other newspaper companies." It cited an unnamed "person familiar with the matter," notes Denver Business Journal.

MediaNews Group is the minority partner in the GCI-controlled Detroit Media Partnership joint operating agency that publishes GCI's Detroit Free Press and MediaNews' Detroit News. The two companies also are partners in companies publishing newspapers in Northern California, Texas and Pennsylvania.

Green Bay | Chicaco defeats Dewey and Truman

Following is Monday's front page of Wisconsin's Green Bay Press-Gazette, circulation 43,678; this hed bust made it all the way through final edition, a reader tells me.

"And yes," says page designer and Des Moines Register alum Charles Apple, "that’s a front page that you’ll see time and time again, whenever page-one errors are talked about. This is up there with 'Dewey defeats Truman.'"

The paper apologized to readers in a Page-One note yesterday.

Apple, it's worth noting, has cautioned against centralizing copy editing amid the development of the five Design Studio hubs now being rolled out.

Earlier: What are your latest press deadlines?

[Image: Apple]

Calendar | GCI to release Q4 financials Jan. 31

From a statement Corporate issued moments ago:

Gannett said today that its fourth-quarter 2010 earnings conference call with financial analysts will be held on Monday, Jan. 31, at 10:00 a.m. ET. The call will be accessible live to the media and general public via webcast and through a limited number of listen-only, dial-in conference lines.

The company's earnings announcement will be released to news outlets and wire services before the market opens that day. Materials related to the call will be available at that time through the Investor Relations section of Corporate's website.

To access the conference call, dial 1-888-516-2447 at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled 10:00 a.m. start of the call. International callers should dial 719-325-2172. The confirmation code for the conference call is 4086987. A replay of the conference call will be available about two hours after the live call until Feb. 14. To access the replay, dial 1-888-203-1112. International callers should use the number 719-457-0820. The confirmation code for the replay is 4086987.

Week Jan. 17-23 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

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Advice for journalism students: 2011 vs. 2008

The current Xtranormal version . . .



. . . vs. the Craig Dubow version from 2008:

I can't wait to feature Dubow in 'Monk-e-Maker'

Gannett's CareerBuilder is reaching back six years to its series of TV commercials about chimpanzees raising office havoc to promote itself during next month's Super Bowl, the company said today. The campaign includes a new feature that may have given Dubow & Co. pause: Monk-e-Maker. (More on that later.)

During previous campaigns, the ads included monkeys interviewing for jobs (example, above), misreading a sales trend chart, and drinking booze in the office -- all to humorously illustrate working conditions that would send ordinary employees on a job search. (More examples on YouTube.)

"The chimpanzees," the company said in today's statement, "are back at work at Yeknom Industries (monkey spelled backwards), creating chaos and high jinks for the only human employee in the firm. From a business trip gone awry to an unorthodox fire safety meeting to a 'car sandwich' in the company parking lot, the chimpanzees are all about monkey business."

The commercials are scheduled to appear as GCI continues a major promotional effort of the No. 1 jobs site through a rare editorial series pushed by Corporate across the company's community newspapers and TV websites. CareerBuilder could use the lift; like many jobs sites, it's suffered in the weak labor market. Moreover, the site is a significant part of GCI's overall digital revenue stream.

GCI owns a slim majority of Chicago-based CareerBuilder in a partnership with Tribune Co., McClatchy Co. and Microsoft.

The Super Bowl is a high-profile platform for launching major marketing efforts because of the event's extraordinary viewership. Companies pay as much as $2.6 million to air a 30-second commercial during the game, which this year is Feb. 6 outside Dallas. CareerBuilder says it has seen a significant rise in business following previous Super Bowl ads.

The chimps first appeared in a CareerBuilder ad in 2005, then returned the following year. This will be their first appearance since then. This year's campaign will include three other online elements, including Monk-e-Mail, which lets users send messages featuring talking monkeys.

Another element is Monk-e-Maker, which today's statement describes as follows: "For anyone who's ever felt like they work with a bunch of monkeys, CareerBuilder and Oddcast are also launching a new viral program that enables users to upload pictures and see what their boss, their co-workers, their social network friends and others would look like as a monkey."

Oh, boy.

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.

KARE | Video part of Gannett-wide jobs series

The 11-week job-hiring project Corporate launched Jan. 9 to promote CareerBuilder includes video supplied by some of the company's television stations. The following KARE-TV KTHV segment from the Minneapolis NBC affiliate appears in the video player on the right side of the ContentOne-managed topics pages on websites of TV stations (here's KTHV's) and community newspapers. The featured guest here is a Robert Half International employee who's interviewed for more than four minutes about cover letters, resumes and interviewing.

Week Jan. 17-23 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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Hubs | Here are launch dates for Design Studios

These are when the five page production and design hubs known as Design Studios go live, two readers tell me. The hubs won't start production for the nearly 80 U.S. newspapers all at once; instead, individual papers will move to their assigned studios on a staggered basis. I don't have those paper-specific dates, however.

[Updated at 7:42 p.m. ET. Courtesy of a Gannett Blogger, here's a .pdf document showing newspaper-specific dates when many are they're scheduled to shift production.]

• Nashville: March 14
• Asbury Park, N.J.: March 28
• Louisville, Ky.: May 23
• Des Moines: June 13
• Phoenix: Aug. 2

Related: News Department Vice President Kate Marymont's memo about the hubs

Survey | What are your latest press deadlines?

As the Design Studio hubs get rolled out amid more press consolidations, some Gannett Bloggers worry press deadlines will be moved up even earlier. This prompts three questions:

1. What time is your last scheduled press deadline?

2. What is the absolute latest time you can send a final chase page?

3. What news events have you failed to get in print because your press deadlines have been moved up in recent years?

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.

[Photo: The famously inaccurate Chicago Tribune banner headline Nov. 3, 1948, the day after incumbent President Truman beat Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey in the presidential election.]