Monday, April 02, 2012

WKYC | Memo: Amid wage freeze, a Tahiti trip

[Today's forecast: high of 86 and scattered showers]

Stung by two years without pay raises, the labor group representing some employees at Cleveland's WKYC is slamming what it calls a Corporate-sponsored trip this week to Tahiti for the NBC affiliate's general manager and other Gannett employees.

The NABET-CWA describes the trip in a memo dated Thursday:

"In yet another demonstration of the arrogance and corporate greed of Gannett and WKYC-TV, General Manager Brooke Spectorsky, his wife and several employees of the sales staff, have joined many other Gannett general managers, sales staff and some clients in a corporate junket to Tahiti this week. This is being billed as a Corporate Event. Apparently, there is no shame at WKYC-TV or Gannett."

The memo doesn't say which GCI division employees are participating. But I suspect they work for the 23-station broadcasting unit, and are probably taking the trip as a bonus for reaching certain sales target.

Any such trip comes as GCI's struggling U.S. newspaper division completes another round of job reductions through hundreds of buyouts being completed in the days and weeks ahead.

42 comments:

  1. Absolutely unbelievable. The arrogance, the outright brazen sense of entitlement, and the likely huge cost. And wow, talk about shitty timing...!

    If Gannett wants to reward sales people with cash and those people buy a trip to Tahiti, fine. But to do Tahiti on a GCI expense report, well, that's another matter.

    This trip has all the hallmarks of what GCI management has created -- an unfair, over-entitled set of rewards for those who are in the clique... while similarly hard-working staffers get to watch the plane fly off into the distance.

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  2. I too use to get upset when advertising department would have these trips, until I found out how they worked. In most cases, the clients sign up saying they will spend x more dollars over a certain timeframe. This is in the 50 to 100% more than the previous year. Oh, and the clients are not the 1000 to 5000 per month spenders, but more like 20k+. So for a 5k trip expense, the paper gets 25k plus profit. At my site, for the sales rep to go, they had to have 6 clients complete the contract. So don't bitch, they're bringing in incremental revenue.

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    1. You dont get it, do you? Inappropriate and excessive. give them a bonus if deserved, but dont rub this in others' faces. besides, these trips cost far more than $5000.

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    2. The questiin is which Gannett executives went along for the ride to lead the drunken debauchery? Not our CMO, I hope.

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  3. If true, morale at this company will sink further. How can this leadership team be so callous and tone deaf?

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  4. Just wait until Maryam Banikarim takes her little giggly clique on yet another on the road trip to Cannes on our dime. I'm sure she'll make sure they hustle up more worthless self promoting "interviews" fir her majesty.

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  5. In France, Maryim is regarded as a genius, much the way Jerry Lewis is. look for her exclusive interview in Le Monde.

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  6. This is no different than what the newspaper advertising departments did last year. The sales people who sold at least five $25,000 ads in a certain timeframe all went to Atlantis in the Bahamas, along with the advertisers, on Gannett's dime. Hollingsworth even brought her kids and the employees had to babysit. I personally would have preferred the money over the vacation with people I didn't want to be around.

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  7. Nobody cares at all Pointroll a Gannett company pulls the same crap and holds "meetings" in Vegas and Jamaica, whatver.

    Hollingsworth is like Ripmaster sucking this company dry.

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  8. The Union is having a wear a Hawaiian shirt day to make those who went know that we know. Meanwhile more people are fed up and are leaving the station, last week Asst. News Director Howard Fencl left, weekend anchor Eric Mansfield will leave after may book and IT guru Bill McKinney put in his 2 week notice. Bad working conditions and no pay raises, while a select few get tahitian vacations. Unbelievable! Anyone with any skill will also jump ship.

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  9. 7:00 - is hollie going to wear a hula skirt?

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  10. I'd like to think all my furlough weeks and recent layoff helped pay for this fabulous trip.

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  12. Horrible management and a morale that is in the basement. You can treat people like shit for so long and they will a.)Leave -wasting all that corporate training time and money. b.) Only do the minimum c.) Assist the competition because they are so disgruntled.

    None of the choices will lead to any sort of success in the long run. Watch the numbers continue to drop.

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  13. I don't hesitate to tell anyone what a shit hole Gannett is. I talk about the furloughs, the layoffs, the buyouts, the paywalls, the executive bonuses, the lack of raises over the last three years, the reorganizations, how people are told their jobs are going away and they're forced to reapply for whatever jobs are left for half the pay, and now I can add the vacations to Tahiti to the list. Did I forget anything? You should see some of the advertiser's faces by the time I'm through with them. With a list like this, it's no wonder people stay with Gannett.

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  14. At the end of last year all sites were told to plan for substantial advertising spifs (rewards)for the first quarter at roughly the same time we were trying to schedule furloughs.

    You'd like to believe the furloughs didn't help cover the cost of the trips, just as you'd like to believe that furloughs didn't help pay for the epidemic of VP's.

    Just a few more days til the Easter Bunny hops in again.

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  16. WKYC runs it like WKRP, shennigans and utter bunk and folly surround that station.

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  17. I heard than Ron Burgundy is for hire the way he anchored in San Diego back in the 70's. He made Sinatra look like a hobo. Stay Classy Gannett.

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  18. It's a "trip incentive" where advertisers commit to incremental spending, year over year- total profit for the company. It's amazing as to how little editorial knows about how the BUSINESS side of the media BUSINESS works (yes, I'm assuming it's editorial- no advertising or circ/distribution folks would be this clueless on such a subject). No question about it- it's an incentive program- so stop speculating that management/sales is taking some type of vacation on the company dime just for the sake of doing so. They use these trips also to increase their relationships which is valuable. Do some research before passing judgment- be journalists. Sales is continuing to work to keep revenue, even at a slight y/y loss, while the economy has basically failed and the perceived quality of editorial and programming for most properties is being challenged as top quality, etc (unfairly so I might add). It's extremely challenging. How does it feel from the cheap seats, folks? Sincerely, a "fundraiser" who's working to keep the company afloat, and your salaries paid...

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  19. 10 people plus spouses sent from my East Coast TV station. Airfare alone to Tahiti runs about $9500 per couple from here. Plus what was spent on the cruise everyone went on. Seems like a nice Vegas or Bahamas trip would be a little less offensive to the rest of the company.

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  20. 10:45am, then send the advertisers only.

    But, rewarding some reps who only covered the shortfalls of others... just to maintain your "slight y/y loss"... can't be justified.

    The excessive rewards should have been tied to total revenue. It's the only way it makes sense.

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  21. 12:34 - I have to agree. We had very little to do with the advertisers in Atlantis so the whole trip seemed like a waste of money to me.

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  22. @ 10:45

    So the question is, do they work as hard as they do because of the incentive? It's funny how people in editorial regularly work just as hard all the while being told not only that there will be no raises, but also that their jobs might be going away.

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  23. 10:45, so these people need to be incentivized just to perform the jobs they were hired for? pardon my ignorance, but I fail to grasp that kind of logic. But then look at all the bonuses management gets just for doing their jobs. In Lake Wobegon Gannett, everyone is special. At least the Chosen ones. In the executive suites and advertising.

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  24. The costs of this boondoggle are completely over the top. Another brilliantly ill conceived plan to polarize the haves and have nots.

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  25. 11:52, there weren't 10 people from any station, not even close. 10:45 had it exactly right. This was for big additional spending from big local advertisers. Learn a little bit about the business side. This is how your bills get paid by taking additional money out of advertising markets that aren't exactly on fire. And 11:52, these are successful business owners that can go to Vegas or the Bahamas anytime they want and aren't exactly incentivized by that. These are the clients who you want to have best in class treatment...by your account team. That way they fund your editorial efforts more than the other guys next year as well.

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  26. So we essentially need to bribe both employees and clients now? At the least, highly innappropriate. Mbrader question, for you 3:28, given all the storm and drag this coming has foisted on its employees over the past years, does a company paid trip to Tahiti make much common sense at this juncture?

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  27. 9:00 pm...better to drink, sleep, blog....rather than drink, blog, sleep...what the f___ did I write? No?

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  28. Anyone who uses company funds for vacations, should be fired regardless what their rank is. Low-rankers such as Gersh or those of higher ranks, should be punished for self-indulgence during this time of extreme financial struggles. As a stock-holder, I would like to view all corporate travel expenses, and have an independent audit outside the blind-eyes of Gannett. Anyone who has scheduled family vacations on Gannett expense accounts is financially responsible for compensating the Gannett Corporation.

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  29. I think an independent financial firm should audit the travel expense accounts, for all Gannett Travel from the onset of furloughs. How dare anyone in the corporation play the role of corporate-parasite, when so many are struggling to get by on severe reductions. Not only have we all suffered through furloughs, but also pay-freezes and lay-offs. What type of disconnection from a fellow-man is necessary to schedule a luxury vacation (on Gannett's dime), when so many employees have been "casualties" of an economic & industrial battle.
    Tahiti??? Who approved this trip? Do they have any idea that people have taken loans, during the furloughs, in order to pay their bills. The loss of weeks-pay, due to furloughs or lay-offs, can have a profound affect on individuals. I'm sure that many employees have missed mortgage payments, and even lost their homes because Gannett instilled furloughs, or temporary layoffs. Yet, in this convoluted corporate world, nobody is monitoring/ auditing the actions of employees. It has become a free-for-all for those with inflated egos, who feel so superior that they rather impose their own expenses on the shoulders of others. Where is the discipline & review committees??? How does this happen, in a time like this. It reminds me of Imelda Marcos and her excessive spending, as her people were dying on the streets.

    Some one needs to look into these Hawaiian Trips, and people need to be fired for these actions.

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  30. Jim, is there a way for the stockholders to demand an audit of travel spending by Gannett employees? I understand how the advertising incentives work, but is it really necessary to send the ad reps who sold the 6 ads plus the publishers and their spouses on Gannett's dime? Wouldn't one representative from each paper suffice? We would all like to know if Hollingsworth paid for her children to go to Atlantis or if they were paid for by the company, including their meals. I'm sure the babysitting services by the employees were free. It was pretty pathetic to watch.

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  31. 3:28... You don't know what you are talking about. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

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  32. Would Jesus go to Tahit?

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  33. 11:45 Shareholders could try to pass a binding resolution at their annual meeting. Otherwise, no.

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  34. I think its funny how anyone should be talking about a "trip" to Tahiti. Big picture here is that business is failing and we are not doing better than last year and the year before that. I think you should all worry about your jobs as more layoffs are on the horizon. Tick tock stay off the blog and get back to work.

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  35. I was there, we ate like kings and queens and were pampered all expenses paid. Bar tabs were outrageous, we also were provided spa packages. Hollingsworth had 2 "helpers" with her at all times. The trip was great and there is already talks about next year being in St. Barth's!!!!

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  36. Totally inappropriate in the big scheme of what's happening to Gannett and most of its workers these days. Question is, who signed off on this? Banikarim?

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  37. How sad is this when so many of our co-workers face the unemployment line, bankruptcy and worse.

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  38. You think it bad here? You should see the stuff going on at Pointroll.... Strip clubs, "spas", table-dancing by an executive.... 3k a night suite in Vegas for the Superbowl, trip to Jamaica.... All on the company dime approved and signed off by Gatto and Ripmaster. They find the time for this poppycock while they are not even close to making their numbers.

    Blog is just a forum that nobody responds and takes action, oh well guess I will sit at my desk and surf the web nobody cares.

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    1. Anyone want to take a trip to Tahiti? Tee hee.

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  39. I've been gone from Gannett for six weeks now, and I feel like a new woman. I finally understand all the posts by the "formers." It's like a Twilight Zone episode where your boss is reasonable, wages are livable, benefits are not run by United Healthcare and your after-hours time is actually your own.

    I didn't realize how screwed up Gannett was while I was inside the beast. Now, with hindsight, I think of working for Gannett like being in an abusive relationship - you "love" the other person, but wonder why they treat you like shit and punch you in the face for no reason, and think that it must be your fault somehow.

    I'm out of the journalism business and in PR for a local nonprofit agency. It took a good long while to find it, but I did. You can, too. Be free!

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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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