Wednesday, February 29, 2012

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

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54 comments:

  1. Signs Gannett may be having trouble finding Robin Pence's replacement:

    * Two weeks ago, Corporate re-posted a job opening for the company's top P.R. job, vice president/corporate communications -- the post Pence left in November for a newly created P.R. job.

    * Monday, Chief Marketing Officer Maryam Banikarim appealed to her 358 Twitter followers, hoping they'd know someone "excited to join the Corporate Communications Team."

    What do you think this job pays?

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  2. My best guess is in the $250K range, given what USAT veeps make.

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  3. Wait a minute. Pence is still on the payroll? Special projects? WTF?

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  4. I have noticed that "job posting boards," in general, are not very accurate. I have noticed that the posting dates, for jobs, change all of the time, and the jobs are still posted even when a position has been filled. It happens alot, and it's really frustrating when searching for employment, because often I find out that the position is actually closed. I think the job-boards my have auto-updates on the posting-dates, to attract folks that look at recently posted listings.

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  5. How long will it take for GANNETT to dump the non profitable Florida Today product?
    Overhead is way over budget!

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  6. This in an idea regarding overhead.
    IBM has decreased it's overhead, over the years, by creating environments where employees telecommute and conduct "virtual" meetings, via a computer network and webcams. When employees want to meet and collaborate in person, they "rent space," at facility. It has saved a considerable amount of overhead that was previously needed for "buildings." Could Florida Today conduct business via the network (remotely)... rent meeting spaces when face-to-face collaboration is necessary? And if so, could that savings secure the jobs of those remaining at Florida Today?

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  7. Jim,
    given the automation of Job-board postings, you may want to remove the 2:40 AM comment. The speculation is irrelevant in the automated Job-board environment.

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  8. Regardless of when it was posted, Pence left in November and Gannett has been without a head of PR since then.

    That's a long time to go without someone in that position.

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  9. Going a long time with empty positions is the gannett way. Saves money. The clarion-ledger has not had an editor since July! Brian Tolley starts march 12 , but in the time he accepted the job and when he'll actually start he might lose 11 from the newsroom to buyouts. Again, the Gannett way.

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  10. My guess is $175-$250K. Or more if it were the Freedom Forum!

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  11. Another useless journalism think tank article that dares not bring up the question of whether the company has cut itself too deeply and if anyone will pay for crap content. No ruffling of feathers, please.

    http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/02/from-salinas-to-burlington-can-an-army-of-paywalls-big-and-small-bouy-gannett/

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  12. Sorry, Jim...did not see that you already broke out that Nieman blog.

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  13. Folks: Those of you in the various non-CP properties have an inflated idea of what the CP folks make. Highly unlikely that Pence or Gersh have made the dreamy big bucks that others here have either stated overtly or alluded to. Beyond those at the very top, this is still Gannett folks.

    If Gersh were, for example, why would she be also running a consultancy? (Which is what her site seems to be advertising.)

    Do non-CP folks realize that there are MANY CP workers in positions that sound very respectable that have second jobs -- because they have to? It's a pretty expensive place to live and Gannett certainly never paid enough to keep up with it even in the good days, much less the layoff/furlough/pay freeze days.

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  14. can't afford lunch today, contact on of the exec's. they've all recieved their bonus for 2011. they've got lots of money to pay for lunch.

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  15. Reading the blog posting by Mrs. Jodi Gersh..

    She is a little out-of-touch with the needs of the company. First, on the deal with Gowalla... Gowalla was the one who “got the get,” so to speak, since we had paid for the Gowalla feature. Also, her preoccupation with pictorial journalism is unsettling. So, unsettling, that I have to make a post about it. Gersh names Intersect and Instagram, which are picture-based exchange forums, similar to Pinterest. Has Gersh ever heard of journalism, which requires actual content??? Mrs Gersh, your role is to help promote our journalism via social networks. However, the Intstagram, Intersect and Pinterest objectives, that you have boasted of, do not do any justice for the promotion of our product. Your “picture” story-telling objectives, and the way you have used Pinterest, has diminished the integrity of our product.

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  16. what's this:

    Feb 29, 2012, 11:59 am EST | By Jonathan Berr, InvestorPlace Contributor


    Gannett, for instance, generated $1.1 billion in digital revenue in 2011, an increase of 10.1%. from a year earlier. While those figures are impressive, they accounted for only 21% of total operating revenue. Overall, Gannett’s revenue fell 5.1%, to $1.39 billion, in the quarter as the company’s print business faltered. Gannett recently announced plans to lay off 2,000 workers.

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  17. Lots of talk about Jodi's WordPress generated blog. Folks, if you want to create your own blog, go here, to get started:
    http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/

    http://wordpress.org/hosting/

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  18. Looks like you let in a Wordpress marketing person in, Jim. Not that it isn't a very good service. But may not be what you're looking to encourage here.

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  19. It seems like the digital push here is fundamentally and substantively different from the old journalism world. I guess it looks like this really has very little to do with taking the existing paper and digitizing it. Is it a new focus on say blogs, real time updates, video/pictures, tweets and social media that essentially says the journalism is not worth in investing in? It looks more like entertainment, maybe with some shades of what Fox has done to local news. Does Gannett do brand awareness and valuation studies and how does that correlate with this new focus?

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  20. 12:12 The cost of living in the Washington area, which includes McLean, Va., is very high.

    When I started at USA Today in 2000, more than a few reporters were paid $100,000 and higher. That was 12 years ago, and they weren't even managers.


    12:29 That 2,000-job layoff figure is flat-out wrong.

    The last time Gannett announced a layoff was in June, when it eliminated 700 jobs.

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  21. 1:09 That digital push is supposed to be paired with an emphasis in print on longer-form, more analytical pieces.

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  22. 1:01 has a great point "Does Gannett do brand awareness and valuation studies and how does that correlate with this new focus?"

    I think Gannett's Pinterest account in comparison to other publications (Time, WSJ, NYT, etc) is lacking in brand awareness. Our quality (on Pinterest) is in stark contrast to the others. Also there is a misuse of the technology were someone in GD is following others, as if it's a social-playtime-event, instead of promoting our brand.

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  23. Gannett Blog gets results! Last weekend I posted a link from the Des Moines Register, pointing out that there was a major mistake in a story and the Register's website had no comment form to report the mistake. This morning I go back to the story to print it out and found the mistake had been corrected.

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  24. This is all to telling of "what people are doing with company time, when they are not traveling on the company dime."

    http://pinterest.com/gannett/

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  25. As USAToday embarks on its 30 year anniversary, this article from the American Journalism Review is worth a read. It gives insight into the history of USAToday and how recruiting great journalists was once a mandate.

    If you are new to USAT or new to to journalism, this is a must-read. if you are a veteran, this will bring back memories but also make you a little sad for how far USAToday has fallen.

    http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=3617

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  26. All the comments in the past 5 or so General Comments threads trying to make a big deal out of Gannett's use of Pinterest and other social media channels do nothing but demonstrate the posters' lack of knowledge about how social media works. Further, I don't understand the obsession by some posters over it. Social media is much different than traditional marketing, and the breathless calls for Ms. Gersh's head over her methodology is perplexing, to say the least.

    No, I don't work for Gannett (anymore), so stop even before you start calling me a shill.

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  27. 2:11, great news that you no longer work for the company, with YOUR ill-formed knowledge on social media... on the following vs followers.


    The origional question, which is being dodged, is who is misusing this account for social-playtime, instead of using it as a tool to promote our product.

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  28. 2:08 I just re-read that American Journalism Review story about USA Today, which was originally published in the April/May 2004 issue.

    What's most striking is how the author barely mentions the Internet generally, or the paper's own website in particular.

    Eight years later, how times have changed.

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  29. Is Gannett worth twice what its stock is trading for, particularly if the paywalls and print subscription hikes work?

    http://247wallst.com/2012/02/29/can-gannett-shares-double-gci/

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  30. It's an honest question.
    Who is responsible for this: http://pinterest.com/gannett/

    ???????

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  31. Jim, do you have any count of early retirement buyouts from the corporate staff? Rumor has it that one of our VPs is eligible for it.

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  32. 3:42 -- that sounds so much like various "leaders" I worked with/for over the years at Gannett.
    "Here's all the things we'll be doing to increase revenues. Nothing could possibly topple this house of cards!" (followed by said leaders holding their fingers in their ears and humming so they can't hear all the problems with their plans)
    If you're selling cigarettes, then you can assume a higher price won't make any difference in how much product is sold. Sadly, readers are anything but addicted to Gannett. Higher prices will result in lower sales, so the revenue will be nothing close to what they're predicting.

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  33. 3:44 I have not received any numbers of Corporate staff getting buyout offers. All my data are at the operating site level in this spreadsheet.

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  34. The truth of paywalls is that very little new revenue will be gained. Print losses need to be offset and that may happen with paywalls but its not a growth strategy.

    It's a "stop the bleeding" strategy.


    Print Losses. Paywall gains. Net zero.

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  35. I don't know when this first appeared, but here it is:

    Banikarim's February edition of her monthly On the Road newsletter.

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  36. I enjoy seeing what efforts are happening in other markets. I don't like the fact that Banikarim puts her face on it and makes it about her.

    Make it about Gannett.

    The woman's ego knows no bounds.

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  37. Is there any word on the weeklies that are struggling?
    A co-worker overheard some things that make it sound like some may be on the verge of closing.

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  38. 2:25, the more you post about how much you think you know about social media, the bigger of a fool you show yourself to be.

    But hey, continue on your crusade against the Gannett Pinterest account. Right the injustice of how they are using a free social media network so incorrectly. Be sure to provide hard facts on what kind of ROI they should be expecting.

    Who needs paywalls? Bring down Pinterest and save Gannett!

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  39. 5:16,
    2:25 is correct in questioning the Pinterest account, and the condition that it's in.

    There are a couple things wrong with it's current condition:

    - It lacks a corporate identity and branding.

    - It is not driving traffic to our sites.

    - It has become a bulletin board of what "someone" in Gannett Digital likes. When it should be branding, showcasing stories & driving traffic.

    I'm well aware of it's potential as a free social media source. And many other publishing/media companies have taken advantage of it, and used it in a professional way. However, instead of creating a marketing & traffic tool, we have a bulletin board of Jodi Gersh's followings, pins and likes. ... What a waste of company time! You can see how much time she has invested in creating her own "self-expression" site. Aside from the Gannett Digital Logo, on the left.... It doesn't resonate with our companies objectives.
    Who is going to clean up this mess!!! Who ever is responsible for the Gannett Digital's Pinterest account should be called the fool.

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  40. The sad thing is, this woman is volunteering for public speaking events while our social-media properties look horrendous.
    I honestly thinks she likes to travel, pin photos (any photos) and follow people on social media.
    -- WTF !!

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  41. 5:16 - You're not getting it. I feel very sorry for you, as it must be difficult for you in the business world.

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  42. This "social media" concept is really getting way out in front of the money. It seems almost bubblish, if I can coin a word. Some companies are going to make a lot of money on this as a platform leveraging user content across vast economies of scale. Essentially they are making money off of people wasting their own time. The content is free though and they are getting incredible leverage. These are streamlined shops with a narrow focus that scales. Then there is everyone else that thinks they need to "get it". If google wanted a "pinterest" would they buy ours? They would build their own. It would have 1000 times the users, cost a tenth of what it costs us, and be 100 times better. We aren't a social media platform. We generate content. If we generate low quality content, we compete with Facebook users wasting their time (or their employers') Think about reality tv and what it has done to cable. If we generate high quality content, we compete more with the NYTimes, 60 minutes, and maybe books (remember those crazy things). When I hear we have to get into social media, I hear echoes of just look at the revenues and don't worry about net income. I am not saying it does not have a place, just that when this whole thing shakes out there projects are going to just get done because they are social media and we need to get it.

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  43. Just the facts, that's all I post. No bull. I have been on he money over 10 times regarding production operations, and job movements. I Can read GPS like a book..any move's ahead of time..give it a few more days and we will see what shakes out next. If you doubt me read earlier posts and predictions that have come to fruition.

    THE Happy Pressman

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  44. 4:05 To be clear, Gannett uses Pinterest; it's not the owner.

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  45. Jim,
    I really like this journal project, of yours. It gives people an outlet, platform and record of transitional-events for posterity. It's interesting, because it's about the people (all people) and it explores their insights and feelings.

    - Thank you for the online journal.

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  46. You are kidding with the "Management working two jobs" posts right? At the CP, the advertising managers arrive a minute before starting time and leave a minute before ending time and according to the mandated furlough not long ago make well over 90K a piece. You really think people on this blog and at the local papers believe they work two jobs?

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  47. http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckForum&plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3ac465a418-e5ac-4734-b866-ad2ca76c20bfForum%3afef545b4-76f3-4565-803d-5bf39dce4c87Discussion%3a3f608354-f36f-43cd-aa8b-5a9e54259187&plckCurrentPage=1
    ----

    We are encountering odd behavior by PNJ Staff, as they are out to ban any supposedly fake Face Book names. Several have already been banned. The News Journal has a FB FAQ that outline the "rules" but they are some unspoken rules being applied, like if you have a FB acct name of your business/group, The PNJ will ban you from posting! When Exec editor (Schneider) first went public re using FB, all that was said was one only needed to have a FB acct to post comments. Pensacola recently built a Maritime Park that has a local minor league park ball, at the tune of $40 million dollars. Its a hot issue here with many in opposition of wasting 40 mill to benefit a certain local individual that owns the base ball team. One of the first to be banned, was a FB group called "Boycott the Wahoo's".

    Groups or business FB users are not allowed to post comments at the Gannett News Journal & I find this behavior odd, as really, who cares as to who should be allowed to post or not post comments? If you read the above link, you'll read about one of our locals that were banned from posting FB comments & the Gannett moderator employee responding with his BS opinions. If you go to the next page, The moderator would like to see a drivers License proving the identity of the individual! What kind of bull shit is going on here? Is this local paper BS or from Gannett Corp?

    Does anyone know of any other Gannett employees displaying such odd behavior? Thanks.

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  48. Some of these posts make it sound as though Gannett employees believe they have a lifetime job again,a career position that will last.You know that is not the Gannett intention.If you all just get over trying to solve the unsolvable problems,life would be easier and less stressful for you.
    Gannett doesn't care what you think and you are dispensible numbers on the expense side of the ledger.

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  49. Oh my gosh this graph is vivid.

    Print ad revenue fell from 60 Billion in late 1990s to 20 Billion today.

    From The Atlantic Monthly:

    http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/the-collapse-of-print-advertising-in-1-graph/253736/

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  50. That fourth paragraph really reminds me of the power of a distribution channel. When you sell papers, there are only a few to choose from on most of the newsstands. You can price against the others, but pretty much sell whatever you want in the bundle. On the Internet, you don't own the distribution channel. Your product gets lots of comparison shopping.

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  51. USA today has long had a two tier pay system. One for the long time Gannetoids who were abused at other Gannett papers, one for the so called stars hired to provide the paper some alleged gravitas. the range was from the mid 50s all the way past $200k. Most fall in a tighter range now, more toward the middle. In its effort to stay cheap, many new hires are low cost recent grads or hires with a few years experience making mid $40s to high $50s.

    You get what you pay for.

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  52. Gannett will drag this out as long as Maryam feels its necessary to find the appropriate, semi connected type who can advance her career.

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  53. With all the social media experts at Gannett, there should be no problem with the Pinterest account. Maybe the problem is that most of them are spending so much time posting here.

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  54. Is the rest of The GPS sites in WERE PLAYING IT BY EAR AS OFF RIGHT NOW. I HAVE HEARD MANY Sites ARE GETTING NEW production Directors, and some are not and the Head guy in that region will over see every thing. It just keeps getting better and better. So layoff, continue to add VPs and make the average guy do more for less(furlough) This company sucks, and resumes are flying out the door were I work

    Happy strikes again, congrats Bolger, your social life as you new it is over, hope you got a nice pay raise

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

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