Mail | Anyone know more about this memo?

Anonymous@11:15 a.m. has posted the following, and asks: "Any idea what this is about?"

Please join Gracia Martore, our division presidents and me on Friday, March 4 at 1 p.m. EST for a 30-minute, companywide videocast. We will preview with you an exciting, new initiative our company will launch next week to help further accelerate our transformation and growth efforts. Employees in McLean are welcome to join us in the auditorium on that day. Later this week, Corporate Communications will provide details for accessing the videocast. I look forward to seeing many of you then.

Best regards,

Craig

USAT | Life on front line of 'war to end all wars'

"I was a snappy soldier."

-- Frank Buckles, the last World War I Doughboy, in a 2007 interview with USA Today. Buckles died yesterday at his home in Charles Town, W. Va.; he was 110, The New York Times says today.

Guardian: Newsquest boss 'rakes in the money'

Roy Greenslade of The Guardian in London takes Newsquest boss Paul Davidson to task on his blog today, citing the latest round of executive bonuses at a time of layoffs at Gannett's U.K. newspaper division.

Earlier: Board hands more than one million options to top executives

After Honolulu, GCI union membership falls again

For the second consecutive year, union membership has fallen across Gannett's worldwide workforce, with the sale of The Honolulu Advertiser paving the way.

About 12% of GCI's 32,600 employees were represented by labor unions by the end of 2010, the new annual 10-K report to federal regulators says. That's down from 13% in 2009 and 14% in 2008, company documents show. In 1993, the oldest I can find, the membership rate was 20%.

The 2010 decline is due in part to the loss of 600 jobs at the largely unionized Advertiser. GCI sold that paper last spring to the owner of its cross-town rival, which merged the two papers and hired only some of the 600 former Advertiser workers.

GCI's union membership trend follows the nation's. Last year, the U.S. union membership rate was 11.9%, down from 12.3% in 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in January. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the rate was 20.1%.

Earlier: William Behan named GCI's new labor relations chief.

[Image: the April 30 Advertiser, one of the last editions, Newseum]

Feb. 28-March 6 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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Week Feb. 21-27 | Your News & Comments: Part 5

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Newsquest | U.K. papers seek voluntary layoffs

From an article yesterday by Oliver Luft in trade journal Press Gazette, concerning Gannett's U.K. newspaper subsidiary, Newsquest:

Regional publisher Newsquest has told staff working on its papers in London that it would accept requests for voluntary redundancy.

Roger Mills, managing director for Newsquest London, briefed staff yesterday that due to worsening trading conditions the company had opened a redundancy programme.

Employees have been given a relatively short window to register their interest as requests have to be with Newsquest London’s HR department by close of business on Monday.

The company announcement issued by Mills did not detail the terms being offered by Newsquest for those wishing to take up its offer of voluntary redundancy nor specify how many volunteers the company is seeking.

The opening of the voluntary redundancy programme has raised fears amongst staff about the long term future of a number of Newsquest’s titles in the capital.

A number of Newsquest weekly papers in South and West London have undergone pagination cuts in recent weeks with key editorial pages in some titles reduced by half.

Pagination has been reduced across Newsquest’s Guardian series of papers, the Surrey Comet and the Richmond & Twickenham Times in recent weeks.

Newsquest London declined to comment.

About Newsquest
Newsquest employs about one in seven of Gannett's 32,600 global employees -- a total of 4,800 -- at 17 dailies and hundreds of weeklies. Newsquest cut nearly 6% of its jobs last year, according to GCI's just-filed annual 10-K statement to U.S. regulators. GCI bought the U.K. operation in the summer of 1999 for about $1.5 billion.

Sponsors | I've just received $100 in donations

Those gifts came via snail mail from readers in Virginia ($20), Oregon ($25), Florida ($25), and Ohio ($30). But with fewer than five weeks left, I'm only at 54% of my quarterly goal. The breakdown:

• Reader donations: $736
• Advertising: $1,412

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

Stock | How GCI underperforms its own industry

In a match-up selected by the company itself, Gannett's stock has fared worse than shares of the overall newspaper industry for the third consecutive year, according to the just-released annual 10-K report to federal regulators.

Corporate compares the performance of the company's stock to a peer group index it created, one comprising GCI, plus A.H. Belo, E.W. Scripps, Journal Communications, Lee Enterprises, McClatchy Co., Media General, and the New York Times Co. Corporate also compares GCI's performance to the broader S&P 500 index.

Had you invested $100 on Dec. 25, 2005, in GCI; the peer group, and the S&P, here's what you would have had this past Dec. 26:

• GCI: $30.47
• Peer group: $37.50
• S&P: $111.99

Beyond the obvious, GCI's underperformance over this period is noteworthy because it covers the five years since Craig Dubow was made CEO, in July 2005.

Moreover, it shows GCI's tumble hasn't simply been a matter of the stock suffering along with the rest of the industry. Under this management team, in fact, GCI has done even worse. Despite that, however, the board of directors continues to reward the team, as the latest round of bonuses shows.

According to Corporate, this table reflects the value of that $100 investment at the end of each year since 2005 (see the bigger spreadsheet):

Related: Read the full discussion of GCI's stock performance on Page 28 of the 10-K.

Week Feb. 21-27 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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Des Moines | Hollingsworth discloses 10 layoffs

The entirety of a three-paragraph story today:

Hollingsworth

The Des Moines Register announced an advertising restructuring and other changes that will result in about 10 employee layoffs.

The company said new positions would be added but gave no details.

"Our number one goal is to provide result-driven, multimedia solutions to our business clients, and with this restructure we are better able to deliver on that commitment," said Register Publisher Laura Hollingsworth. "I understand these changes impact our employees and their families and truly appreciate their hard work and commitment."

Total cuts now exceed 200
Including these 10 layoffs, Gannett Bloggers have now reported an estimated 203 jobs eliminated at 24 sites in recent weeks. We're tracking these cuts on this spreadsheet; please see if your site is included, then post your latest figures in the comments section, below.

A reminder: We're counting all jobs in all divisions -- not just the U.S. newspaper division.

Related: this spreadsheet counts the 255 jobs cut at 63 worksites in November.

Urgent: In second wave of 2010 executive bonuses, board hands out 1M-plus shares of Gannett options

Gannett just disclosed that the board of directors gave more than one million options on the company's stock to a dozen senior executives this week -- a trove potentially worth millions of dollars, at a time when the company has been slashing thousands of jobs and reducing wages through mandatory furloughs.

The options are part of the executives' annual pay last year. They give executives the right to buy shares at a pre-set price over several years, no matter how much more the stock is worth on the open market. For many companies, options are a significant part of annual pay.

Corporate disclosed details of these options in a series of documents filed late this afternoon with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The documents show that most of the executives received fewer options than they did a year ago. The options' ultimate value will depend on the direction of GCI's stock, however.

The options carry a so-called strike price of $16.23 a share. They vest, or become the executive's property, in four equal annual installments starting Feb. 23, 2012.

Dubow

For example, CEO Craig Dubow got 235,000 options. A year from now, if GCI stock is trading for, say, $20 a share, Dubow could claim 59,000 of those options at $16.23 each, then sell them immediately for $20. That would net him a profit of $222,430.

Of course, if GCI trades for less than $16.23, the options would be worthless. Shares closed today at $16.34.

Dubow got about half as many options as he did for 2009. COO Gracia Martore got 184,000, or 39% less.

Saleh

Of the 12 executives, two are relative newcomers: Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh and labor relations chief William Behan; both were appointed last year. Saleh, for one, got 125,000 options this week.

These are the second set of stock awards given to executives as part of their 2010 pay. In mid-December, the board gave Dubow and other top managers hundreds of thousands of shares of restricted stock, known as RSUs.

The executives' total pay for 2010, including any cash bonuses, will be disclosed next month, when Corporate files the annual shareholders' proxy report. (What five highest-paid executives got paid in 2009.)

Earlier: A year ago, option awards show big increases for Martore, but not Dubow

How is this explosive growth in 'uniques' possible?

In the just-filed annual 10-K report to federal regulators, Gannett claims its network of websites last year reached 52 million unique users monthly -- nearly double the number in 2009. Yet, GCI reported virtually no growth in 2008-2009.

A doubling in growth seems nearly impossible. Did overall web traffic increase last year by anything like this amount? Wouldn't Corporate have been shouting about this from the rooftops by now?

Word for word, following are the key passages from the 10-K reports filed in February of each of the following years:

2009. Gannett’s total Online U.S. Internet Audience in January 2009 was 27.1 million unique visitors, reaching about 16.1% of the Internet audience, as measured by Nielsen//NetRatings.

2010. Gannett’s total Online U.S. Internet Audience in January 2010 was 27.3 million unique visitors, reaching about 13% of the Internet audience, as measured by comScore Media Metrix.

2011. Gannett is an Internet leader with hundreds of newspaper and TV web sites and several national web sites, reaching 52 million unique users monthly, or about 24% of the Internet audience, as measured by comScore Media Metrix.

Mail | Hidden costs in Gannett Production Centers

The new 10-K annual report Gannett filed Wednesday with government regulators says the following about the Gannett Production Centers in Des Moines and Indianapolis, which create advertising artwork for the U.S. community dailies:

"The objective is to maintain high quality and service for advertisers while improving efficiency. At the end of 2010, ad production work was being completed for 54 sites, producing nearly 20,500 ads weekly. The remaining sites will transition to the centers by mid-year 2011."

Now, comes Anonymous@7:27 a.m., writing of the GPCs:

What was either unrecognized or ignored was that at many sites, the designers had a much longer working relationship with accounts than the sales people did.

Because of historic relative turnover rates, a 20-year designer would often work with a six-month sales person. And it worked, because the skills complemented and we could get the advertiser what they wanted in a timely manner. We bitched about each other in both directions, but the customer was served and ads were sold.

Now, that six-month rep has to learn a hundred products from online and print, deal with an atrociously slow ordering system, learn how to design ads, babysit the proofing process, etc. -- and when something does run, the lack of a local finance department means they also have to follow up with late payers or investigating credits for bad ads.

The publishers/ad directors see reps sitting at their desks working on paperwork -- so low-wage assistants are hired. They might have office skills, but no sales or design experience. We add in a layer which increases chances for miscommunication and delays -- and the rep then has to manage that workflow, too.

No wonder we have reps leaving for web, radio, TV and outdoor. It's easier to sell a product with a tiny audience instead of the huge audience many of our properties still have.

USAT | Report: Kucinich daughter to cover politics

From a MediaBistro report today:

After nearly seven years, Jackie Kucinich is leaving her beat on Capitol Hill for USA Today. Currently a Senate reporter for Roll Call, she's making a major leap to join the daily as a national political writer. At USAT, she’ll focus on the GOP presidential field, covering the Republican primaries and general election.

Kucinich is the daughter of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.

Her move follows Kathy Kiely's exit last September as the paper's congressional and national politics correspondent. Kiely quit for a job at National Journal amid USAT's reorganization and staff reduction.

The household chore director Shalala likes least

"Making my bed. Fortunately someone comes around and makes it for me."

-- Donna Shalala, retiring from the board of directors this spring, in a 2006 interview with The New York Times about her 9,000-square-foot home in Coral Gables, Fla. Shalala, 70, president of the University of Miami, was fighting efforts by "low-wage janitors at her campus to win a living wage,'' political blog Wonkette reported at the time. In 2009, Gannett paid Shalala $92,607 in director fees. Her total haul since joining the board in 2001: $758,749, company documents show.

Earlier: Shalala says everyone has a right to good health insurance

Westchester | Publisher Fisch is out, readers say

Three anonymous Gannett Blog readers say Michael Fisch is no longer publisher of The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. -- effective today, it seems. Asbury Park Press Publisher Tom Donovan is interim publisher, according to Anonymous@5:57 p.m.

Fisch was named publisher in August 2007, the same time Donovan was promoted to his position at Asbury Park.

Earlier: Last year, at least 19 papers saw top executives turn over

In 95 words, how Corporate says it laid you off

Fourth in a series of posts highlighting passages from the annual 10-K report, which Gannett filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following is from management's list of accomplishments last year, one in which Corporate eliminated 2,400 jobs:

"Maximized the use and deployment of resources throughout the company. In 2010, the company continued its commitment to transforming its business activities, including more consolidation and centralization of functions that do not require a physical presence in each of the company’s markets. In this regard, the company has consolidated numerous production facilities and established centralized accounting, credit and collection functions which now serve nearly all domestic business operations. These efforts have achieved cost efficiencies and permitted improved local focus on content and revenue-producing activities and these efforts will continue to be aggressively pursued in 2011."

Work faster!
To be sure, Gannett isn't the only company with a history of speeding up assembly lines:

Chief digital officer? What chief digital officer?!

Third in a series of posts highlighting passages from the annual 10-K report, which Gannett filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Saridakis

Over the past three years, Corporate led its list of accomplishments with digital. Perhaps unsurprisingly, last year's list did not include the resignation of Chief Digital Officer Chris Saridakis. His post has now been vacant 326 days.

Following are the relevant sections from 10-K reports for the past three years:

2008
Drive innovation through the company to create new digital offerings that either complement our news and information businesses, or that take us into new markets with new audiences. This effort was bolstered by important executive appointments made in January 2008, with Chris D. Saridakis named as Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer. Saridakis is responsible for expanding and enriching the company’s global digital operations. Saridakis was named CEO of PointRoll in 2005 after serving two years as the company’s chief operating officer. Prior to PointRoll, Saridakis was senior vice president and general manager of the Global TechSolutions division for DoubleClick Inc.

2009
Drive innovation through the company to create new digital offerings that either complement the company’s news and information businesses, or that take it into new markets with new audiences.

2010
Drive innovation throughout the company to create new digital offerings that either complement the company’s news and information businesses, or that take it into new markets with new audiences. Digital revenue companywide in 2010, including the Digital segment and all digital revenues generated by the other business segments, was approximately $1 billion. This represents 18% of total operating revenues, an increase of 8% from 2009.

Earlier: In farewell letter to staff, Saridakis attacks paywall strategy

USAT | How they'll justify Hunke's seven-figure pay

Second in a series of posts highlighting passages from the annual 10-K report, which Gannett filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Many USA Today employees can be forgiven if they don't understand where Publisher Dave Hunke is taking the 28-year-old daily, which is GCI's most visible brand. This is from Corporate's list of things it accomplished last year:

Hunke

"Reorganized USA Today to transform it from a newspaper brand to a media company focusing on efficient, compelling delivery of news and information across multiple platforms, and aligning all business activities in ways that fulfill the needs of consumers and marketers in unique and progressive ways. Content verticals were launched in the areas of Travel, Your Life, Personal Finance and Diversions to create deep, relevant information presented in a vibrant style in the heritage of the USA Today brand. Early results have shown significant growth in audience in these content areas. The USA Today Sports Media Group was also created and designed to oversee and coordinate business strategy for national sports initiatives across all of Gannett, including USA Today, as well as Gannett’s community of newspaper properties, television stations, HighSchoolSports.net and BNQT.com."

Corporate will disclose Hunke's total 2010 pay in the annual shareholders' proxy report, expected next month. In 2009, he got paid $1.9 million, which included a $355,000 cash bonus.

Phrases only a highly-paid consultant could love

First in a series of posts highlighting passages from the annual 10-K report, which Gannett filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

1. "While the focus is on customer centricity, Information Center initiatives also fulfill the company’s responsibilities under the First Amendment."

2. "At the same time, the company continues its focus on creating a customer-centric world class sales organization in its local community publishing markets."

3. "Employed a customer-centric approach to developing and selling integrated marketing campaigns through a newly created national, cross-divisional sales organization called CustomerOne Solutions."

4. "Recent trends include the shift towards audience-centric, exchange-based media buying, entry of dynamic ad generation specialists, the move towards automated creative design tools, and the shift of video content online with associated in-stream advertising opportunities."

5. "The company’s goal is to be the leading source of news and information in the markets it serves, and be customer centric by delivering quality products and results for readers, viewers, advertisers and other customers. Gannett believes that well-managed newspapers, television stations, electronic media including Internet and mobile products and services, magazine/specialty publications and programming efforts will maximize profits for the company’s shareholders as will our customer-centric solutions approach to advertising."

Blog: 'Rolls Royce health-care lives on at Gannett'

From a post today on Footnoted, the website started by former Poughkeepsie Journal reporter Michelle Leder:

Gannett is closing its Supplemental Executive Medical Plan to top executives hired after Dec. 31, according to the new 10-K filing made yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For those grandfathered in, it's a sweet deal -- especially at a time when thousands of employees are losing their jobs, and the health insurance coverage they once had. Footnoted describes the executive plan this way:

"Participants get all the usual health-care benefits Gannett offers, naturally, but they also get as much as another $750,000 a year to cover whatever the regular plans don’t. Of course, that sum also has to cover dependents,  a group that 'will include parents and parents-in-law if they are legal dependents for Internal Revenue Service purposes. . . .' Presumably the plan was a nice comfort for CEO Craig Dubow when he was out in June 2009 for back surgery."

Week Feb. 21-27 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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Layoffs | Estimated job cuts climb to nearly 190

[Updated at 11:52 p.m. ET with latest jobs data.]

Gannett Bloggers have counted as many as 189 jobs eliminated at 24 U.S. newspapers in recent weeks, all part of an unannounced series of job reductions across the company. To date, the single-biggest layoff came last week at The Cincinnati Enquirer: 20 people.

We're keeping track of these cuts on this spreadsheet. Please see whether your site is represented, then post current figures in the comments section, below. And a reminder: We're counting all jobs in all divisions -- not just the U.S. newspaper division.

Related: this spreadsheet counts the 255 jobs cut at 63 worksites in November.

Document: GCI's global workforce fell 7% in 2010; U.S. newspapers once more led way in cutting jobs

[Table shows company-wide employment at year's end]

Gannett's worldwide employment fell again in 2010, but at a slower rate than in the two previous years, according to a new filing the company made today with government regulators. Indeed, two of GCI's major divisions showed an increase in workers from 2009.

The company had 32,600 employees as of Dec. 31, down 7% from 35,000 at the end of 2009, according to the annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (See table, above.) That decline was considerably less than the 16% plunge in 2008-2009, and reflected the company's more stable financial position as the world's economy emerged from a deep recession.

U.S. Community Publishing -- the company's biggest division, with 81 small and midsize newspapers -- once more shed the most workers: 2,300, or about 9%. The U.K. newspaper subsidiary, Newsquest, eliminated nearly 6% of its jobs. The two divisions gaining jobs were employment site CareerBuilder and the broadcasting division, which includes 23 U.S. TV stations.

Although the company owns barely 51% of CareerBuilder, it counts all 1,700 employees as though they worked entirely for GCI. (Tribune, McClatchy and Microsoft own the rest of CareerBuilder.) GCI bought control in 2008. So, the employment figures in the table, above, prior to 2008 don't reflect CareerBuilder's workforce.

Dubow

Today's SEC filing shows that under Craig Dubow, who became CEO in 2005, the company has now eliminated 20,000 jobs -- more than one in every three.

Next month, GCI will disclose Dubow's 2010 pay in the annual proxy report to shareholders. In 2009, he got $4.7 million, which included a $1.45 million cash bonus, based in part on his success in saving money through layoffs and furloughs.

Following is a breakdown of employment by major division:

U.S. Community Publishing
2008: 29,200 employees
2009: 24,700
2010: 22,400
Change 2009-2010: down 9.3%

Newsquest
2008: 6,600
2009: 5,100
2010: 4,800
Change: down 5.9%

Broadcasting
2008: 2,700
2009: 2,500
2010: 2,550
Change: up 2%

CareerBuilder
2008: 2,000
2009: 1,600
2010: 1,700
Change: up 6.3%

One year from now, will you still be a Gannett employee? 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: Shalala, Williams leaving board of directors

In a new filing with federal regulators, Corporate just announced that directors Donna Shalala and Karen Hastie Williams -- the board's longest-serving members -- are retiring, effective at the company's annual shareholders' meeting this spring.

Shalala

Shalala's retirement from the 10-member governing body had been expected. But Williams' decision to leave is a surprise. What's more, she is an especially powerful board member, as she holds the position of presiding director -- in effect, the company's deputy chairman, alongside Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow.

In her place, the board said Director Duncan McFarland has been named presiding director and Marjorie Magner would become chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Executive Committee, effective immediately.

Williams

Also in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the board disclosed that it had elected John Cody to the board, effective immediately. Cody is a former executive of Broadcast Music Inc. Cody presumably would fill one of the seats to be vacated by Shalala or Williams. However, the SEC filing doesn't say how the second vacant seat may be filled -- assuming it's not eliminated.

Shalala, Williams and McFarland were the last of the directors on the board in 2005 that promoted Dubow to CEO and then elected him chairman.

Text of announcement
McLEAN, VA – Gannett announced today that Donna E. Shalala and Karen Hastie Williams plan to retire from the company’s Board of Directors this year. The company also announced that John E. Cody, former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadcast Music, Inc., has been elected to the Board, effective immediately.

Ms. Shalala has reached retirement age for directors. Ms. Williams intends to devote more time to her personal and other professional interests. Both will serve as directors through the 2011 Annual Meeting but will not stand for re-election to the Board.

“Donna Shalala and Karen Williams have served our Board with distinction. We are grateful for their long-time dedication to Gannett and its shareholders,” said Craig A. Dubow, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “At the same time, we are pleased to welcome John Cody to our Board. John is well respected in the music broadcast industry, so we are delighted he chose to join Gannett’s Board after his successful career at BMI.”

Ms. Shalala, 70, joined the Gannett Board in 2001. She has served as President of the University of Miami since 2001. She was Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services from 1993 to 2001.

Ms. Williams, 66, joined the Gannett Board in 1997. She is a retired partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Crowell and Moring LLP. She has served as the Presiding Director since 2004 and as chair of the Audit Committee since 1999.

Mr. Cody, 64, served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadcast Music, Inc. from November 2006 to November 2010. Previously, he served as BMI’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1999 to 2006. Before joining BMI, he served as Vice President/Controller of the Hearst Book Group and Vice President/Finance and Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. headquarters of LM Ericsson. Mr. Cody has broad business, music broadcast and publishing industry experience and financial expertise from the various senior management roles he held with BMI, Hearst and Ericsson. He is also Chairman of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

In addition, the company announced that Duncan M. McFarland would become Presiding Director and Marjorie Magner would become Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Executive Committee, effective immediately.

Week Feb. 21-27 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

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Detroit | Q.: When is a newspaper like a pizza?

A.: When it's a struggling daily in Detroit.

From today's Detroit News:

The Gannett-controlled Detroit Media Partnership is offering $5,000 to an individual or group of nonemployees with the winning idea for helping the News and the GCI-owned Detroit Free Press increase their audiences or better serve the community. [Updated at 6:07 p.m. ET: Here's the Freep's story on the contest.]

The contest called IdeaQuest also will give another $5,000 for a winning employee idea. The entries -- due by March 31 -- will be winnowed down to five finalists through an online vote.

Contestants can submit ideas that would help the company improve news coverage either in print or digitally, help others in the community, save time and money for customers or do business more effectively.

Ellwood

The public will vote on the best employee and nonemployee ideas from April 1 to April 14 at the IdeaQuest 2011 website.

The top five vote-getters in each category will each give a presentation to a panel of three judges: Domino's Pizza CEO Patrick Doyle, DMP CEO Susie Ellwood and Myron Maslowsky, senior vice president of group finance and administration for USA Today.

[Images: Domino's, Newseum, DMP]

Phoenix | Republic reporter Creno, 59, found dead

Longtime Arizona Republic reporter Glen Creno was found facedown Saturday night in a small pond by his ex-wife, Cathryn Creno, also a Republic reporter, in the backyard of the Phoenix home they shared.

Creno

Phoenix police said they did not know the cause of death, the newspaper reported over the weekend.

Creno covered a range of topics, including spot and business news. He started his career in Phoenix in 1981 as a reporter for The Phoenix Gazette. When the papers merged in 1995, he joined the Republic, covering retail and real estate.

When Cathryn Creno returned home Saturday from a day visiting a cousin in California, she found the house in disarray, but Phoenix police said there were no signs of forced entry and no evidence of a suspect. Creno had no obvious injuries that would cause his death, Sgt. Trent Crump told the newspaper.

When she arrived home, she was surprised to find the house dark. She found Glen's body in the backyard. He had a history of epileptic seizures, apparently caused by college-football injuries.

[Photo: Republic]

Week Feb. 21-27 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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Week Feb. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 6

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Cincy | For Buchanan, lessons from her own paper

Following is from a Cincinnati Enquirer project published in June about 2010's Top Workplaces in Cincinnati. On Friday, the newspaper confirmed that it had laid off 20 employees, about 2.5% of its workforce; I can't find any story on the Enquirer's website that reports this downsizing. The paper, one of Gannett's biggest, is led by Publisher Margaret Buchanan. A project excerpt:

Buchanan

As with companies and agencies all over the country, the best workplaces in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have had to cut salaries, hours and, in some cases, jobs as the Great Recession hung on.

But one thing may have set them apart: A willingness to be upfront with employees about the economic challenges, explain the options and listen to feedback.

In responses to the survey that backed this project, at least six companies said they had to cut staff, benefits or salaries in 2009, but that top executives repeatedly met with workers to explain their actions, give updates as warranted and describe their vision of the future.

At downtown-based consumer marketing research firm Directions Research Inc., for example, president Randy Brooks addressed the company at a meeting and outlined further austerity measures that were being taken following the layoff of eight workers.

Note: The Enquirer's circulation is 157,574 Monday-Friday; 156,244 Saturday, and 255,037 Sunday, according to the Sept. 30 ABC report.

Earlier: Buchanan reportedly told staff she was unaware of plans for furloughs.

Related: this spreadsheet shows GCI has now eliminated an estimated 164 jobs at 21 worksites in recent weeks. Is your site included?

Cincy | Attn.: laid-off employees. Ironic, indeed

"The irony of the recession is that while manufacturing employment is picking up, a lot of the old jobs aren't. Employers are demanding new skills from those they hire."

-- Ross Meyer, executive director of the non-profit Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network, in an interview with The Cincinnati Enquirer for a story today about a rise in manufacturing employment. The story is part of a jobs series running across Gannett newspaper and broadcast sites, and driven by Corporate to promote GCI's CareerBuilder subsidiary. Here's another irony: Two days after the Enquirer laid off 20 employees, the paper apparently still hasn't reported the downsizing to its own readers.

Layoffs | Cincy reportedly whacks 20 employees; estimated GCI-wide cuts now total 164 at 21 sites

[Updated at 4:48 p.m. ET with latest figures.]

The Cincinnati Enquirer has laid off 20 employees -- about 2.5% of the daily's workforce -- according to this story in Cincinnati's Business Courier, which quotes Mark Woodruff, vice president of market development. Meanwhile, The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., just reported that it laid off 11 workers in five departments.

The cuts are part of an overall job reduction campaign across the U.S. newspaper division.

In Louisville, Publisher Arnie Garson blamed the economy for the cuts, telling the C-J: “There’s a lot of good things that are happening in our business and our industry and we’re optimistic about the future. . . . But the economy remains fragile, and it’s necessary for us to continue implementing efficiencies that make good business sense -- and that’s what this is all about.”

Gannett Bloggers have now reported as many as 164 jobs lost at 21 worksites in an unannounced cost-cutting campaign during recent weeks. Please check this spreadsheet to see if your site is included. And remember: We're counting jobs at all divisions, not just among newspapers.

Earlier: what top executives would earn for every job cut in November. Plus: Cincinnati Publisher Buchanan said unaware of first-quarter furlough plans.

Sponsors | Whoo-hoo, Midwest donors!

Via snail-mail, I've just received $20 from an Ohio reader and, by PayPal, $25 from a reader in Indiana. They've taken me to 45% of my quarterly goal. The breakdown:

• Reader donations: $626
• Advertising: $1,176

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

USAT | A closer look at today's Page One AT&T ad

I'm accustomed to seeing a six-column advertisement stripped across the bottom of the page -- not the one that AT&T bought on the lower right-hand corner today. (Bigger view.)

Earlier: A close look at a Chrysler advertisement on Page One.

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.

[Image: Newseum]

Week Feb. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 5

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Layoffs | Estimated job cuts have surpassed 140

[Updated at 9:50 p.m. ET with fresh numbers.]

Gannett has now eliminated an estimated 145 jobs in recent weeks at 20 sites across the U.S. newspaper division, all part of an unannounced round of layoffs and other cost-cutting, according to Gannett Blog readers. About a third of those jobs were at four N.J. dailies. And as many as 12 were at The Cincinnati Enquirer.

We're tracking these reductions in this online spreadsheet. Please check whether your site is listed, then post updated figures in the comments section, below.

Note: We're counting jobs at all divisions -- not just among newspapers. In November, Gannett eliminated an estimated 255 jobs at 63 newspaper sites.

Earlier: Dozens of other recent layoff reports and comments in this post, and in this one.

Related: GCI replaced traditional severance benefits with so-called transition pay during the mass July 2009 layoff. This three-page FAQ explains how it works.

[Image: today's Enquirer, Newseum]

KARE | Former advertising staffer to be sentenced

In a messy bankruptcy case involving her heavily indebted boyfriend, former KARE-TV employee Christi Rowan is to be sentenced to federal prison on Feb. 25, the Minneapolis Star Tribune says today. At one point, Rowan was accused of posing as a Gannett attorney making nearly $190,000 a year.

Week Feb. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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Indy | She'll be missed by her bookie -- and by Elvis

Word-for-word, following is an obituary from yesterday's Indianapolis Star. In an e-mail, a Gannett Blogger told me: "It is precious reading, proof enough that the writing of obits should be left to the professionals."

Mary N. Childers 76 years old passed away at home with friends at her bedside. Born in Booneville, Mississippi, to Ruby and Olga (Barns) Ricks. Mary was preceded in death by Stanley Childers and her son, Jimmy. Mary worked at Cardinal Mailing, Holly Oak Club, Dungeon, Hilltop Tavern, Butches Tavern, Trouble Shooters for the AW, Ritter Inn, was Den Mother for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and the Owner and CEO of the F@#$ing Fudge Factory and Cannery. She was an avid bowler and gardener, treasurer and secretary of the South Bradley Crime Watch, and the Godmother of the South Bradley Women's Mob. She will be missed by her bookie the only bookie who made house calls, keeping her neighborhood in line and always clean as she headed up the neighborhood clean up. She is survived by her wife, June Stahl of 28 years. After Elvis left the building he moved to her basement and was holding court. Visitation will be held Tuesday, February 15, 2011 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Shirley Brothers Irving Hill Chapel, 5377 E. Washington St. with funeral services to be held on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Mary loved and honored all who entered her life. She was able to let people know what was expected and to help all to be successful.

Sponsors | This just in: $40 in contributions

Via snail mail, I just got $20 from a reader in Arizona, and by PayPal, another $20 from a Minnesota reader. That puts me at 41% of my quarterly goal, as follows:

• Reader donations: $572
• Advertising: $1,081

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

Urgent: PointRoll CEO Tafler is out, and Gatto is in

Confirming recent Gannett Blog speculation, Gannett just announced that CEO Jason Tafler has left digital advertising services subsidiary PointRoll, and is being replaced by Rob Gatto, who's been senior vice president over sales.

Gatto

Tafler has stepped down from the company to move closer to family in his native Canada, GCI says.

In a statement, Gatto says: "PointRoll is in a very strong position, coming off of its most successful year ever with an even stronger 2011 predicted. We're uniquely qualified to deliver the next generation of display ad technology, delivery and engagement. Jason has done an amazing job getting PointRoll to this position, and he will be missed."

Tafler

Tafler's departure confirms a report yesterday by reader My Boss that an announcement was due today, as well as a tip I received earlier. Although unconfirmed, My Boss says GCI Chief Operating Officer Gracia Martore had agreed to very large compensation packages to retain Gatto and other senior executives.

In the statement, Martore says: "Rob has the expertise, institutional knowledge and proven leadership necessary to help PointRoll define the future of display advertising, while enabling brands and their agencies to deliver relevant and more engaging ad experiences. He is a natural fit and will enable a smooth transition. We are fortunate to have Rob lead PointRoll and its vision to drive advertising effectiveness for brands, publishers and end users."

Tafler's exit had been expected as multimillion-dollar payments known as earn-outs were paid to him and to other executives as part of their employment contracts.

The statement continues: Gatto will be succeeded in his role as senior vice president of sales at PointRoll by Sarah Ripmaster. Ripmaster was most recently vice president of major accounts at PointRoll leading sales efforts for top advertisers and their agencies, including automotive sales and strategy working with leading OEMs and automotive agencies for both foreign and domestic brands.

"Gatto is supported by the rest of PointRoll's executive team, which remains consistent,'' the statement says. "Sandy Dondici as chief operating officer of PointRoll leading operations and technology teams, Catherine Spurway-Hepler as senior vice president of strategy and marketing, continuing to lead strategic business and marketing objectives, and Max Mead will continue to develop partnership strategies as vice president of business development."

Who cares?
PointRoll is a cornerstone of GCI's Digital Segment portfolio. Corporate doesn't break out its contribution to overall revenue and profits, but Gannett Bloggers have speculated that PointRoll contributes an outsized share of both. For that reason, any management change could have broad consequences for GCI's overall health.

PointRoll is based in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken. GCI bought it in June 2005.

Earlier: the Digital Segment accounted for $166 million of GCI's overall $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter revenue

Layoffs | Cincinnati said on verge of more job cuts

[Updated at 11:21 a.m. ET with latest jobs data.]

Amid reports of more layoffs and other job reductions across the U.S. newspaper division, The Cincinnati Enquirer is about to cut loose some of its employees, according to a former business reporter there.

James Pilcher, who left the Enquirer two weeks ago, told his 1,644 Twitter followers yesterday: "Just found out my former employer is going to be laying people off -- less than 2 weeks after I left. Interesting timing . . . "

Pilcher's note comes as Gannett Blog readers report as many as 117 jobs have been eliminated in recent weeks at 16 worksites, many through layoffs. About half those jobs were at four N.J. newspapers. To date, Corporate has not commented publicly on whether any layoffs are underway.

Dickey

The recent layoffs are taking place as upwards of 20,000 newspaper workers are taking mandatory one-week, unpaid furloughs.

In a Jan. 4 FAQ about the furloughs, U.S. newspaper division President Bob Dickey said: "We want to avoid future layoffs and hope that we can do so by taking steps now to control expenses and focus on top line growth."

The current round of layoffs follows one in November that claimed an estimated 255 jobs at 63 worksites. Those included seven five in Cincinnati.

I'm tracking these fresh job eliminations on this spreadsheet. Please see whether your site is listed correctly, and then provide new figures in the comments section, below.

Earlier: dozens of reader comments and layoff reports

Week Feb. 14-20 | 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.)

Week Feb. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

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Sponsors | Thank you, to my newest supporters

Via PayPal, I just got a $7 contribution from a reader in Ohio. And by snail mail, I've received $50 from a reader in Wisconsin; your postcard is on the way! Every dollar counts, as I'm now at 40% of my quarterly goal. The breakdown:

• Reader donations: $553
• Advertising: $1,058

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

Mail | 'Ride till the landing, or parachute now'

Regarding Gannett's future, Anonymous@2:12 p.m. writes today:

The behavior of the company's management suggests nothing less than a drive to maintain profits all the way toward the ultimate dissolution of the company. There is no real growth plan and no real innovation. They will aim to satisfy shareholders until they can land the plane without blowing a few tires.

There is no turning around of print; there's only the discovery of where it will settle, which niche it will occupy. For digital, the winners are the companies that are not news companies -- the Googles, Twitters, Foursquares and so on. Journalism will survive in non-profits and academia and McDonald's-like Patch sites and books and niche products. But the general-interest newspaper and news site are done, a ghost. The Gannetteers who proudly served that product -- Phil Currie, John Quinn, Gary Watson, et al, those legends of Rochester and Rosslyn -- are through, and their era is over.

Ride till the landing or parachute now; either choice depends on your individual circumstances. But the end of this company is coming. I give it till 2015 max.

Earlier: Stripped to a "flying gas can," we start the final leg

Stock | Top investor Ariel tweaks GCI stake again

The Chicago-based money manager said it had added about 100,000 Gannett shares to its trove, raising its stake to 14.9 million from 14.8 million a year ago, according to a regulatory filing today. Ariel Investments' share of GCI remained virtually unchanged: 6.2%, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document says.

Ariel's notice follows similar filings by some of GCI's other big investors, including BlackRock, which recently emerged in the No. 2 position, with 15.2 million. AllianceBernstein also filed notice recently.

GCI's stock closed today at $17.19, up 13 cents, or less than 1%.

Week Feb. 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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In new layoff round, 116 jobs reported at 15 sites

[Updated at 12:49 p.m. ET on Feb. 13.]

For several days, readers have been posting reports of more job reductions, following the November round that claimed an estimated 253 jobs at 63 worksites. One report came Friday from Anonymous@2:24 p.m., who wrote: "Some real news: Two veteran employees (40 years-plus) and possibly several others were 'retired' or led out the door today at the Democrat and Chronicle."

There appear to be enough of these to warrant building another list. But I need your help. I've created a spreadsheet that now includes an estimated 116 jobs eliminated at 15 worksites. Even if you've already reported a recent layoff, please do so again, in the comment section, below. As you do, I'll update the spreadsheet.

This isn't limited to the U.S. newspapers; I'm counting all jobs at all divisions, including broadcasting. Please don't let these layoffs go unreported.

Related: November's site-by-site list of cuts

Week Feb. 7-13 | Your News & Comments: Part 5

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Long-time Gannett executive Bottorf dies at 76

Richard M. Bottorf, who began his newspaper career at Gannett in Rochester, N.Y., worked for four years as vice president of operations at Corporate in Virginia. He served as circulation director at Rochester, before being appointed publisher of Vermont's Burlington Free Press. He retired in 1994 as publisher of Connecticut's Norwich Bulletin.

Bottorf died Wednesday at Thompson Hospital in Victor, N.Y., the Freep reported today. He was 76.

A sidebar
GCI sold the Bulletin, plus Illinois' Rockford Register Star; New York's Observer-Dispatch in Utica, and The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, West Va., to GateHouse Media in May 2007 for $410 million.

Updated: MediaNews denies consolidation report

[Updated at 8:56 p.m. ET with the following statement by MediaNews Group CEO William Dean Singleton, denying a report earlier today by the Newspaper Guild.]

The Newspaper Guild on Friday issued a press release referring to a casual phone conversation I had with Bernie Lunser, president of the Guild, concerning the future of the newspaper industry and how newspapers can better serve their readers in print, online and on mobile products.

Contrary to the assertions made in the release, there are no plans for "national consolidation" of MNG's editing processes.

While we constantly assess better ways to serve our readers in this changing and uncertain world, including the Guild in these considerations are not a part of those assessments.

The irresponsible Guild press release is a perfect example of why we don't.

There is no future for any of us if we continue to live in the past. Someone should tell that to the Guild.

-- Dean

MediaNews is one of Gannett's business partners. It controls 54 newspapers, including The Detroit News, plus dailies in Northern California, Texas and Pennsylvania that it owns in partnership with GCI.

A.P. study: Many U.S. papers cutting back on video

The Associated Press' U.S. broadcast news director says papers are cutting back primarily for financial reasons -- even though video could be a cornerstone of social media and new publishing devices, notably tablets. Kevin Roach didn't share specific findings of the study, which comprised 100 U.S. newspapers.

Gannett, like many publishers, began pushing video four years ago amid the reorganization of newsrooms into Local Information Centers. Video was meant to keep papers competitive with new digital ventures while also attracting more lucrative advertising in the form of web-style commercials.

Compared to a year ago, is your paper producing more video? Less? The same? What's the impact on ad revenue? 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.