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Friday, April 27, 2012
94 comments:
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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I'll bet Micek fired six people today so there would be enough salary for her new VPs.
ReplyDeleteUSAT people: If we all get called into a room and told we have to re-apply for our jobs, that's the time to get in our cars, go home, and let the VPs publish the paper themselves. Seriously. It's time to push back.
ReplyDelete6:35 everyone knows how bitter you are over not bring named a VP. Are you going to continue to create these posts and embarass yourself?
ReplyDeleteIt goes down Friday 5 Publishers will be let go, all mentioned on this bog this Monday..more to come
ReplyDelete.....And when your certain prediction of five publishers being let go doesn't come true....please go away!
ReplyDelete9:35, 10:07
ReplyDeleteShould you really be spending your time posting? Don't you have more boots to lick? Oh, wait. You are.
Last post directed at 9:43. My bad.
ReplyDeleteYeah,that's right....anyone who works for Gannett and isn't full of hate for the top brass or completely miserable is a boot licker.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete11:01
ReplyDeleteNo, not at all. Anyone who makes up negative stuff about posters is a boot licker. Like, say, imagining that someone wants to be a VP. Do you think being a lickspittle will save your job? That's just sad.
9:43, good thing you didn't embarrass yourself. Tell time much?
ReplyDeleteOh SNAP that hurt! The individual in question demanded to be a VP and when he/she didn't get it they left to go to another job where they are now,............. Wait for it...... A Director. That showed em! They come here and constantly complain about VPs.
DeleteDoes anyone like this new USA Today iPhone app? It surely must be sending mobile views on a steep decline. It is no fun to use. Way to go, Team Hunke.
ReplyDeleteDamn I love it. You must be doing something wrong
DeleteYeah, Wasting time on anything run by GCI mgmt dunderheads. Like you.
DeleteI am a big fan of this bog.
ReplyDelete11:01 everyone whoo knows anything about marketing in Tyson's knows who that poster is and why they post their venom. Not a boot licker but I am not afraid to tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteI'm not 6:43, I'm 7:07. I'm tired of the inaccurate predictions stated as certainties that don't materialize....especially when specific names or sites are listed.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the world of blogging
DeleteWhat is sad is that so many continue to work for Gannett.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Isn't 4 years of warning enough ?
At some point in time you will not be emplyoyed by Gannett and it will not be your choice.
You hangers on believe you still have a life long job at Gannett?
Or are you just staying and collecting a check? Either way...pathetic !!!!
To any of those who either took a buyout, were let go, or left of your own accord, how long did it take to receive your pension payout and/or 401K??.
ReplyDeleteAnd has anyone seen a fairly large difference in what was in your pension account when it was frozen and the last updated account info you received??...There's over a $20,000 difference in ours...Was the original figure an estimate of what they thought you'd have in it at retirement??...I was under the assumption that's what was in there when frozen...TIA
Usually it takes 1 to 3 months. The first pension number was an estimate
DeleteHR Guy
Love, love, love the corporate posts showing up here! And their naive belief that they are doing some sort of good for GCI.
ReplyDeleteOh Pampered Corporate Poster, have you ever worked on Christmas Day? Thanksgiving? Have you ever driven in 2 feet of snow to get into work to be sure the paper gets out? Most of us have, and did so without grousing or whining. It was part of the commitment to our readers, plain and simple... with a connecting thread to a sense of duty and public service... even defending our country's founding principles.
So, Pampered Corporate Poster, enjoy your Starbucks, your bloated paycheck and your smarmy attitude towards those who sacrificed so much so you could come here and attempt to sway us from the sickening truth that Gannett has forgotten how they grew from a few newspapers in upstate New York to a Fortune 500 company.
6am I not only worked on every holiday I went out in four feet of snow and found enough food to feed 450 people for two days when the entire state was shut down. Take your small mined stereo type home and dream what might have been if you had only tried.
DeleteSounds like Louisville. Just a guess.
DeleteI just can't tell you how disheartened I am about what is going on at USA TODAY. From sports to marketing, who are these people running the operations? All the changes made in the last 2 years have only made the company worse not better. Clearly the brain power at the top is not focused or collaborative. It's sad, it's the 30th anniversary and all that will be standing by the date will be the former employees of NBC (who did such a good job there that Gannett hired them). All I have to say is that if you are still at the company get out now! You are wasting your life if you stay.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately you deem "collaborative" as leaving you alone and allowing you to do the same work you've been allowed to do for 30 years. You have no self awareness of the need to change and certainly no desire to do so. You and not the newer hires, are your own worst enemy. The sports process is moving right along. Lots of experienced talented folks in new positions. It's exciting. But you, well you want 1995 back and anything else is driven by the Greakt Satan. Sad for you.
DeleteThis comment is directed at 9:48 from the previous thread who wrote: "Why do we stay? What else is out there? And I'm not some loser."
ReplyDeleteSeriously, have you thought about your skill set and tried to apply it to a different type of job? If you work in sales, you have a skill set that is highly transferable to another industry. It is a very scary thing to think about leaving your comfort zone and jumping ship to start something new, but trust me, you will find it is much easier to find another job than you think.
I worked for Gannett for more than two decades and was terrified by the thought of looking outside of my comfort zone and getting out of newspapers altogether. I didn't think I'd find anything that would match my salary. When I thought about my skills and how they would apply to another industry, I decided to write my resume and concentrate on my strengths and leave newspapers out of the equation. To my surprise, it only took me one month to find another job and I couldn't be happier.
Do yourself a favor if you haven't already....get your resume out and get the hell away from this toxic company. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find out there. Good luck to you and everyone else out there in Gannettland.
As Cramer has said before about GCI stock, Sell, Sell, Sell!
ReplyDeleteSandra and Merrium are smart and intelligent people. I like working for them
ReplyDeleteTell me what they have done for Gannett's bottom line. especially MB. Think hard. very hard.
Delete9:54, you're right on. Anyone here posting who says, 'there's nothing out there,' isn't really thinking this through.
ReplyDelete11:44, could you clarify for us what is the distinction between "smart" and "intelligent"? Perhaps your evaluation of their intellectual assets is highly influenced by the comparative equation here.
Smart applies to navigating the business. Intelligent applies to one's ability to learn, grow and contribute.
DeleteI like Maryam and Sandra, too. The attacks they are subjected to here are absurd.
ReplyDeleteStrong smart leaders actually taking the brand into new ways of thinking. Nothing wrong with that.
People here probably have no idea what they are doing so they assume nothing.
DeleteWow. The corporate noisemakers are almost outnumbering the real blog readers. Sounds like concern is running high in the crystal palace. Must be something great coming up!
ReplyDelete- Formerly Deluded Resident of the Crystal Palace
(who is long gone and thrilled about it. YES, there are good jobs out here.)
The toadies all post on company time. just shows how busy they really are.sell some frigging ads.
DeleteNot really 11:19 but it's time to make this blog more than a one sided digital soapbox. Some of us are frustrated but not full of hate.
ReplyDelete1:08 pm and 6 am. I came to work in snow so deep you couldn't measure it; planted a field of winter wheta; baked bread and fed thousands and gave them seconds too.
ReplyDeleteCome one. be realistic. As the stories get more absurd it's obvious what's happening.
Remeber what they said about Gannett. People wanted two things, more money and out. Guess it hasn't changed.
To 8:24, Just staying and collecting at nice big fat check, I could give a shit about the company, they could give a shit about me, you and everyone else..so screw them, I do as little as possible any more..no incentive, they are all gone.
ReplyDeleteRiding it out while I apply for other jobs, soon hope to leave
, but in the time im still with the company, I don't give a shit PERIOD
Exactly!
Delete8:46, my pension lost two-thirds of its value between the time it was "frozen" and the time it was made available to me after my layoff. Taking what's left and putting it an an IRA before the rest disappears.
ReplyDeleteexcited 'bout dinner at the White House tomorrow! Mark and Kelly should be fun company ;)
ReplyDeleteMicek gave a presentation at a meeting recently and I swear there were not more than 3 people in the room who knew what the hell she was talking about. More useless, warmed-over drivel.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising. They all operate from the nonsensical corporatespeak playbook. more to come from Beusse
Deleteand Friends.
Of course maybe the people in the room are too ignorant to understand what she said. Just because you didn't get it doesn't make her the useless one. Just saying
DeleteSo......Have the five publishers been let go as predicted?
ReplyDeleteHey haters, shifting the paradime toward didgital first is what wee needs. MB is exactly whats necessary for the future. other wise it's more bloodletting.
ReplyDeleteShould be fun this weekend at correspndent dinner!
3:43-same feeling as you. In fact, I often leave the office while others think I am working and work another job that pays more. Collecting 2 paychecks is awesome-all because I don't give a shit anymore. I'm riding the gravy train as far as I can.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. Stick it to 'em cause they'll get you when vonvenient for them.
Delete4:29 has no company time. Like many here, he does not work and has not worked since 2008. He will likely never work again.
ReplyDelete4:37, the original list had more than 5 publishers. So even if 5 publishers are let go, the original rumor will still be wrong.
Executive move on the TV side of Gannett: Jerome Parra becomes news director of KXTV in Sacramento, where he began his career in 1990. He transfers from KPNX in Phoenix where he was assistant news director.
ReplyDelete4:49 has no job and no gravy train. But he does have his hand clenched and his pants down.
ReplyDeleteParra's departure from the Arizona Republic/KPNX newsroom puts another big hole in the reorganization plan announced last fall. Earlier, Laura Trujillo left for Cincinnati, then there were nearly two dozen buyouts. Parra was supposed to be in charge of breaking news for the paper, TV station and website. Trujillo was supposed to be in charge of features and business. Talk about a reorganization plan that never got off the ground ...
ReplyDeleteCCI Newsgate strikes again!!! A colleague just lost copy when his computer froze!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHave heard nothing but bad things about the local paper since GPS laid off all the single copy drivers and replaced them with a distributor.
ReplyDelete1:22 -- Is it fun making stuff up? Does it make the boots taste any better when you lick them?
ReplyDeleteHarry Houdini stopped by Wisconsin today.
ReplyDelete4:15 - If only they were as excited about being with you.....
ReplyDelete6:16 This is a communications company. If you're an exec and can't get your point across in a presentation, the problem isn't the audience. It's you.
ReplyDeleteNot really. If your audience is composed of petulant, resistant folks, well I blame the audience. Of course maybe it's just you.
DeleteThat is very true, 6:22.
ReplyDelete6:22, especially when one can't trust a single thing the execs say in the first place. Ever.
ReplyDeleteThere is criticism of this blog for some of the posts being nonsense -- but that's a much, much better track record than Gannett itself has ever had.
At least the careful reader can parse reality on this blog; it's al there in all its raging glory: fact, rumor, truths, lies.
That's what this profession is supposed to be about, isn't it? Considering all sources and getting through the muck?
Well, good luck trying to do that with reading anything coming out of GCI.
I remember coming back from meetings where we wondered, K, what the hell was that -- aside from everyone having to scramble even more to make up for the time lost at the Gannett-speak presentation. They always seemed to hold 'em in the afternoon. Sweet.
Yes, 6:53, but you're a corporate toad. You haven't a shred of independent thought, and you think that you're being innovative by being a lackey. I pity whoever works for you.
ReplyDeleteNice speech 4:07 but one doesn't have to be a "corporate toad" to speak truth. Funny how guys with no game always resort to name calling.
DeleteMemo to Gci management and their lackeys posting here: Learn to spell paradigm if you are going to berate workers for not changing with yours.
ReplyDeleteWas beginning to think I was only one caught that, & I'm just a lowly pressman. Even though I mostly daydreamed my way through English classes 40 years ago, I do try to get mine right. It does mean something to a lot of folks.
DeleteDid I miss the big announcement? I didn't see anything about Publishers being let go today. It was today, right?
ReplyDeleteOh where oh where have my pages gone? Oh where oh where can they be?
ReplyDeleteSorry, but no musical notes on my keyboard
4:49.. That is awesome, double dipping and not giving a shit. I like it..Fuck Gannett
ReplyDeleteI planted the Publishers layoffs to get a rise out of some of the trolls on this site, and I got what I expected, some of you are so gullible it hilarious. News flash, 5 papers to shut down and cease all operations next week..stayed tuned
ReplyDelete5:28 - What you did says more about you than anyone else. It isn't funny, it's mean. Real people, good people, may have thought their jobs were in jeopardy for no reason other than your twisted need for attention. You did nothing more than damage the value of this forum, which was probably your intent. You'll probably pee in the pool next and snicker all the way home.
DeleteHow proud you must be!
GCI should shut down USAT, its a money pit with 20 VPS, the paper is a piece of crap, no one reads it, so close it down and invest in local news operations. I can hear the over paid writers blogging now, how good we are are, it all managements fault..bullshit..its a rag, shutter it Gracia
ReplyDeleteGPS employees, head this warning from a veteran no longer with the company. Raising the subscription price will cause people to cancel their subscriptions.....meaning less papers to print and deliver. Which means the staffing levels at print shops will be looked at and cut, saving wages and benefits. Circulation went from employees delivering the paper many moons ago to contractors. With the drop in delivery volumes, route sizes and number of routes will drop. Why not have a third party contract those contractors and eliminate the delivery managers. You are working to eliminate your job everyday.......how does no one else see this?
ReplyDeleteRead this crap. Could this blog be any stupider?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Jim. Please raise the level here or give it up. Right now it reads like a joke.
If this is the level of intelligence at Gannett, then the company really is in trouble.
Speaking of publishers being let go-may be some truth to it. DB was not on site today and he was not missed. Operation ran like a charm. What they send him down here for? Maybe he went away with EE? Would be best for a better atmosphere!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone think the shareholders will ask questions about "content" at the meeting next week?
ReplyDelete9:43 Or, you could simply stop visiting this site.
ReplyDelete9:45, where does the animosity for the EE come from? Must be new to Gannett and have no clue that corporate dictates when you are out of the office ... and if they have you on the fast track, you are almost never there. I would venture to say EE would much prefer to be in the newsroom, helping what's left of it make a positive mark on the community instead of fielding calls about the joke the paper has become - holes in stories, so many typos that folks now count to see how many they can find in a given story. We all know that's what the community thinks of us - we even joke about it ourselves. So really, before being so entirely critical of the EE, spellcheck that story one more time before hitting send and make sure you're doing the best you can before throwing stones.
ReplyDeleteJim, that's a total abrogation of responsibility. Its one thing to let things go however they go, but the result is a travesty.
ReplyDeleteTake charge, remove the idiotic stuff and you might be amazed how rational and actually useful this part of the site could be.
Because the way it is now is beyond idiotic and makes your efforts even harder.
Or you could moderate and screen out some of the dumb stuff.
ReplyDeleteGet with it, Jim.
10:34 Guys who say "no game" got nothin'.
ReplyDelete20,000 down and many more to go.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't imagine running a site as a publisher and being so disliked by my whole staff. How do publishers with this reputation look in the mirror and feel good about what they're doing, and themselves? Anybody?
ReplyDeleteI think there's a whole lotta drinking and "typing" going on here tonight.
ReplyDeleteYou're supposed to be sober and cogent at work; why not try it here?
11:15 and 11:31 It's not an abrogation of responsibility; it's a conscious decision to err on the side of allowing the fullest, unfettered conversation on the only site Gannett employees have to discuss issues.
ReplyDelete11:31 says I allow too many "dumb" comments. Yet, what constitutes dumb is a subjective decision. For every person like you who wants me to moderate more aggressively, there are people who want me to moderate less.
This debate -- whether I moderate too much/too little -- has been going on since I started Gannett Blog more than four years ago.
In the end, I defer to my judgement and experience as this site's publisher for many years -- and to more objective standards, such as traffic. And traffic suggests my approach is working.
In 2011, total visits rose 55% vs. 2010; unique visitors jumped 48% and pageviews soared 64%, according to Google Analytics. What's more, comments totaled nearly 28,000 last year -- a record.
Jim, there's nothing subjective about saying you should screen out rumors like the publisher firings. That's just basic journalism know-how.
ReplyDeleteYour inability to grasp that has me wondering about the true circumstances behind your departure from Gannett.
Jim, Leave it the way it is, called freedom of speech, while the pubs(you) has the last say. I enjoy the banter/facts and rumors. It makes for a very interesting read. Thank you for your time and effort running it
ReplyDeleteOnly Jim Hopkins would respond to justifiable criticism of weak comments by saying, "But I get a lot of comments!"
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, Jim. Way to miss the point.
So when did anonymous comments on a message board, moderated or not, ever come close to being called journalism?
ReplyDeleteIt's like you're given a free go-kart and you're complaining it doesn't fly because other modes of transportation can.
Gannettblog is what it is. If that is beyond your understanding or wishes, Blogger allows any user to amaze the world with their own paradigm. For free.
Go to it.
Well said, 2:35. My take as well -- as well as many, many others'.
ReplyDelete2:35, the difference is Jim, you, and others claim this site provides valuable information.
ReplyDeleteThat claim is weakened severely when someone says 8-9 publishers will be fired.
I know that you can't, won't, or don't understand this, but that is not something I plan to worry about. It is a valid point, though, and one that is far more valid than yours -- which seems to be anything should happen, and those who don't like it should simply close their eyes -- or Jim's, which seems to be any comment is a good comment.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete6:36, for a publisher, you aren't very right. But then, when a guy like Hunkeis the cream of the crop...
ReplyDelete