Sunday, May 20, 2012

Martore describes Gannett's corporate culture


"It is a true meritocracy."

-- Gracia Martore, describing the culture within Gannett, when asked whether she experienced gender bias during her rise to the executive suite. She was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal for a story about how women got to the top of Fortune 500 companies.

Earlier: GCI's Fortune 500 ranking plunges again.

26 comments:

  1. To be clear, Martore's statement is patently untrue.

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  2. I spit my coffee out my nose when I saw that whopper this morning. Jim you should warn us when you post a corporate joke that is that badly executed. Gannett a meritocracy? That's clearly delusional thinking.

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  4. Maybe she meant to say, "It's truly mediocracy"?

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  5. I think I'm going to vomit. The talented get mined for their ideas and the suck ups steal said ideas and climb the ladder. If you don't self promote and squash those who are more talented than you you don't stand a chance. I've never met a more empty bunch of suits in all my life, which is why this company is dying. Those that are talented either leave or keep quiet for fear of losing their jobs while the folks in Virginia continue to rape the company for undeserved rewards. I hope they enjoy their lives because what they do in life surely will echo for eternity.

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  6. I don't know about corporate but, at my site all those who have or show merit are typically shown the door. This is a joke!!!

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  9. No, I think G A N N E T T adheres more closely to the Peter Principle.

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  10. Anon 12:25 PM said:
    "the suck ups steal said ideas and climb the ladder. If you don't self promote and squash those who are more talented than you you don't stand a chance"

    Sounds like the Gannett NJ Culture!

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  11. @12:26 PM

    Exactly what happened at some NJ papers. Got to a point where some people even stopped going to the company's little pow-wows.

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  12. …you have to be ready, willing and able to step outside your comfort zone. That's the best way to learn… Matore

    Funny, but had Gannett’s top management stepped out of its comfort zone of micro-management and dictatorial edicts and actually took the time to engage, listen to and learn from its rank and file employees (even OC managers at some sites) it likely wouldn’t be in the unfortunate state it finds itself in now.

    Recent comments like Matore’s suggest little cultural change on that front and that’s too bad as Gannett still has a wealth of talented employees, even entrepreneurs within its ranks that it has yet to truly unleash, though their ranks are shrinking as they seek employment with companies who will.

    Gannett’s recent survey was a decent start, but if it was truly serious about learning and growing it would also survey and/or talk to top rated employees who voluntarily left as what many would share would be very enlightening.

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  13. Yes, bias hurts in a company as you said. Then why are so biased to fall to your knees and kiss Banikarim's ass when she delivers nothing. Ever.

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  14. There is no end to how detached these folks at the tippy-top seem to be.

    Saddest of all is I'm sure Ms. Matore is utterly sincere in her belief.

    Yet that belief is certifiable and not in a good way: just repeating good things makes them real, or maybe one fewer ambutal or nightcap.

    Here's the deal: in my lengthy "eager beaver" time with Gannett, I kept waiting (and waiting, and waiting any "meritocracy" on-site locally, let alone from corporate.

    Just as now, they really didn't a flying. And we wonder why -- Oh, Why? -- are people so bitter!

    Easy answer to that mystery: two eyes and a brain.

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  15. Why are the people who wormed their way into top jobs at USA today so threatened by talented reporters and junior level editors? It's not just the founders. There is a whole tier of managers who think this way.

    Where has the insular, second rate team gotten us on the last decade?

    Can Kramer even begin to fathom how across the board dysfunctional editorial has become?

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  16. It's a dollartocracy. If you more than anyone else with the same job title, you get RIFfed and the others get to do your work. That's what happened to me.

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  17. Under What meritocracy did Banikarim and her minions achieve their lofty status? Heather Frank? Hunke? Hillkirk? Rudd Davis? Beusse? And what about Martore?

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  18. True mediocrity.

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  19. yes, through hard work, and working above and beyond your job description, you can add all of these job functions to your resume, and jump ship to a company that will actually PAY you for the other 3 peoples' jobs you do.

    Meritocracy indeed.......

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  20. "Meritocracy"? There were plenty of people who busted their humps and did great work who deserved raises and promotions.

    Instead, they got sent to the unemployment line.

    "Meritocracy" my !@#

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  21. If you know Kate Marymont, you know that isn't how she got to where she is.

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  22. Good one Gracia. Needed a laugh.

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  23. Ahhhhh, shoot. Maybe, that's why I was hired away at twice the salary...

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  24. Just lost my appetite for dinner tonight. How this woman can sleep at night, after all the jobs she's destroyed, is beyond me. She is nothing this company can be proud of.

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  25. I agree with all the previous postings.
    At the Gannett paper in New Jersey where I had worked, I had never witnessed such management incompetency in my entire life.
    Problem is Gannett overall - led mostly by editors - lack any real management theory knowledge and training.

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  26. Jim Put warning please before this kind of News hehe

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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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