Wednesday, May 16, 2012

May 14-20 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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59 comments:

  1. Jim:

    Not one to try to defend you or your work, but as a reader of this blog for several years, I am certain that people are paid by Gannett to post on this blog.

    If Gannett wanted to change the tone, or the tenor of this effort, it would have started its own blog. How hard would that have been?

    The heavy news week (it's only Wednesday) portends more change for the company, and a ripe time for MB to put the resources forth to steal time from Gannettblog and create a forum for people to discuss what matters to them.

    There are a lot of people who have poured their lives into this company, and a simple effort to give them a place to go for ideas or suggestions just seems so obvious. Why not now?

    Done right, Gannettblog would cease to exist, and I believe that you know this.

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  2. Evan Ray, head of GPS is stepping down effective today, I suppose it is because the great job the ghost man has been doing

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    1. So here you go Hopkins. An out and out lie and here it will sit all day stinking like a dead fish lying in the sun on a hit beach. How proud you must be.

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  3. sounds like a rumor to me. he is too ruthless to be out

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  4. To the person interested in a job in Des Moines (from the previous string): I worked there. It was a wonderful experience.

    Until about 2007. Then it spiraled. I was at many Gannett papers, and at corporate too. It's now not the company it once was. Devotion to the first amendment or ethics or community - or to anything not about Wall Street - is over.

    The top management that is left at each hub (Des Moines is a hub) is indeed brutal; that's who they have kept, and who can stand to stay. People don't matter anymore. It's survival of the meanest.

    This isn't a vindictive post, just a sad one. I get called often about posted jobs in Gannett; people want to know if they should apply.

    What I say is: The pay is a fraction of what it was for much more work, but more importantly, exponentially more pressure and blame. My advice: Run. It would just be that many years - or months - off your life.

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  5. 1:13 has only conspiracy theories to offer. No defenses against the valid criticism, backed with evidence.

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  6. 6:10 you have no more proof than the poster you accuse. So why attack the medium rather than proving the message wrong?

    The truth is ours to sort out, its not "Jim's job." Jim is giving us a platform, an aggregation point, with a bit of sweeping to keep spammers and the most malicious personal attacks under control.

    Who gives a rats ass if Evan Ray stepped down or not? Let those people who care figure out the truth.

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  7. 6:10AM, The damn post was at 1:19AM!

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  8. NEWSGATE, at least a six month delay in Indy.
    Information center folks relocated to the bowels of the Star building. Leaving most of the 2nd floor open for new office for the publisher.

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  9. 6:10 I've heard nothing about Ray stepping down -- today or any day soon.

    So, like all such posts, I treat it as rumor.

    Now, suppose someone had posted a comment on Sunday saying: Paul Saleh is stepping down as CFO, and his exit will be announced Monday morning.

    Would you have had me remove that comment?

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  10. Gannett would be dumb to have a blog. It would just be source material for this blog. Why make it easy by offering things to criticize?

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  11. 1:13 I've always welcomed competition. If someone can create a better site than this one, readers will vote with their feet.

    I've noted this before, and will do so again:

    Corporate registered the domain www.gannettblog.com in April 2006, and it still holds the right to that address, although it's never been used.

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  12. This is an interesting and purposeful blog. I am no longer at Gannett. Yes, I was able to find another job and you will too. I make less money but have so much more time and peace of mind. I don't miss the buzz words, endless meetings and posturing. I do miss some great people including some of the "Gannett" people.

    While I was in the company, I heard rumors and some were true and some were false. Just like the rumors on this blog.
    Now that I am in another company I can see the key faults with Gannett. As people move up they get too wrapped up in kissing ass, image, and the next rung.

    I love where I work now as it is about the employees, the product, the reader, the advertiser and serving the community- the money comes in from following that mantra.

    Gannett does not foster teamwork, it pits manager against manager, and employee against employee. They believe employees are out to screw the company and therefore must be micromanaged. They hire managers that operate this way or twist good people into this horrible style. Sometimes, I think they attract people who had no power as children and love now getting to be the bullies. When I was at Gannett, the daily conversations were about who in the company was doing what with or to someone in the company.

    Along the way to making the money, the mission was lost- hence no ethics -no vision. They have no passion so how can they ever have passion topics. They are always thrashing around trying to grab someone else's success because they have no ability to create anything. Go there to work if you must, but you will not find the career that gives you deep satisfaction.

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  13. What's happened to the annual manager of the year/unsung heroes/newspaper presidents ring awards?

    Did I miss them? Have they been eliminated?

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  14. Jim - the money that funded those awards was shifted to the Cannes budget where it will be well-spent.

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  15. Jim asks: What's happened to the annual manager of the year/unsung heroes/newspaper presidents ring awards?

    Somebody probably forgot which foxhole Kate Marymont is hiding in and couldn't remind her.

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  16. Jim, hoping you feature this outrage on your blog today: http://jimromenesko.com/2012/05/15/usa-today-staff-photographers-wont-be-at-london-olympics/

    We have staffs of ridiculously talented photographers and we're using US Presswire for the Olympics?

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  17. 10:56 AM-anyone price flights, room costs, and meals during the Olympics? If you can get it done thousands cheaper, why not?

    Olympics coverage is overrated in USA Today anyway, there is no increased circulation at all during the games.

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  18. 10:08: Excellent summary of the failings of the Gannett management credos, especially the part about pitting employee against employee. This extends throughout departments, local companies all the way up to pitting site against site (and editor against editor) through the use of "contests." This is the way Gannett thinks it is fostering innovation and keeping standards high. But it's really just a mechanism for editors to whip out their InfoWeiners to see who's biggest. It is reinforcing the fractured nature of a company that has no DNA for sharing knowledge or working toward a single goal. (And OMG ... the time and energy these editors waste on their contest obsession.)

    It's part of why NewsGate and Design Studios are a failure so far. Newsgate project management is created primarily by IT folks from USA Today (Stacey notwithstanding), who have never respected the efforts of the many community publishing sites they now impose their system upon, and have no deep understanding of digital publishing. A project like that requires some framework for information centers working together, yet Gannett still spends lots of time and energy making sure everyone still competes against each other. It's corporate schizophrenia.

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  20. And SI will crush us once again! Looks like SMG is getting Gannettized like everyone else. Screw quality....it's about ammortizing costs.

    I'm sure the spreadsheet will look nice. The pictures....not so sure.

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  21. Lots of discussion of the USPW/USAT Olympics brouhaha at: http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=40073

    Even a second thread has been started:
    http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=40084

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  22. CFO is OUT ! after a year walks away with millions. need more layoffs to cover that one !!

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  23. Just found out Shreveport's publisher DB out again this week. It has been pleasant in his absence. Does anyone know if he is looking for out?

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  24. As a Gannett employee - this blog is very helpful in passing along useful information that normally would not be available from the corporate machine. Thanks to Jim for putting it together, and patiently putting up with all the junk. We all need to cut some slack for each other....

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  25. 2:22, we should cut you some slack. Most of what's here is rumor-mongering and attacks.

    If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong. There is valid criticism, backed with evidence. If you disagree, then you just don't get it.

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  26. 3:28,
    You might be right, so here's your chance. Please share with us the 5things the USAT senior management team has accomplished in the last 2-3 years. Not rumors....facts. Just 5 of them. We're waiting....

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  27. 2:22 should seriously think about getting a life.
    If these postings are so offensive to you that you must daily critisize them ,just don't come to this blog to read them.
    Geez ,this is not a rocket scientist concept.

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  28. Actually the 3:53 post was about 3:28 and the lambasting of 2:22.

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  29. I've noticed 3:28's posts over the past few days. It's definitely a new approach - continuously posting the same thing in an attempt to hijack any conversation about the company. It's unclear if he/she is being told to post these things. Certainly if he/she is not being directed to do so it says a great deal about what kind of person he/she is.

    The best approach is to simply ignore this person (and all of his/her variations) and to continue to use this blog as intended. Don't give this poster (and his/her corporate superiors, if they are involved) the satisfaction of thinking they can dictate the conversation here.

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  30. big changes are coming along with organized RIFs very soon. doubtful that TPP will be offered. mark it was said here first. have boxes will pink slip. HH

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  31. I have heard the same as 4:49 .
    Layoff lists being compiled to be implemented before or early in 3rd quarter.

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  32. 9:17 a.m. why the six month delay for Newsgate at Indy? I haven't heard that any other sites have been delayed; in fact, they moved our launch forward a month. And it's not going well.

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  33. Last week someone posted that a Last week a poster a Gawker.com article that said a May 9 article in the Wall Street journal confirmed its rumor that thousands of Gannett layoffs were coming soon.

    The story was on the website, but the pay wall blocked it after first two grafs. Was not in the printed copy of the paper.

    Jim, can we get that story posted on this blog ASAP?

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  34. 4:03, let us know what the blog intends. Rumors? Personal attacks? Three-plus years of venting?

    The continued attempts to advance conspiracy theories or pro-corporate agendas used to be entertaining. Now they are just tiresome.

    Either present a defense, or admit you have none.

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  35. 5:13, why don't YOU get that story? You and the others here constantly have to be spoon-fed.

    Do your own work. Get your own details. It's pathetic to see people in here begging every day.

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  36. Speaking of tiresome, you could just go away.

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  37. I just got my gold folder!
    I am outa here!!!!
    Laid off @ last!!!

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  38. http://gawker.com/5305120/massive-layoffs-at-gannett-confirmed

    This is the infamous Gawker story people speak of...

    It is from 2009.

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  39. My passion topic is:
    "Tumbling web readership numbers at paywall sites"

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  40. Thanks to Jim for insights, analysis, updates, articles, addressing rumors and allowing us to vent.

    No place at all provides this within Gannett.

    Thank you Jim.

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  41. What's new at Florida Today? Has the paywall been such a success at this test site that there ready to implement it at other sites? How is the management side of GPS doing?

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  42. Just for the record, I am one of those critics who routinely tries to bring a bit of balance and common sense to this blog. And yes, I am a corporate type.

    But the thought that I or anyone else is being PAID to post anti-Jim posts or anything here at the blog is absurd.

    Just needed to say that. There is such a thing as honest debate and honest disagreement without making accusations that just confuse things.

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  43. Not even Rupert Murdoch can save this company now.
    Imagine if he'd actually bought USAT for a billion when he offered it:
    http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/84329/j-prof-sees-murdoch-trying-once-again-to-acquire-usa-today/

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  44. "This is the infamous Gawker story people speak of...

    It is from 2009."

    Hahaha! If you hadn't posted that, people here would still be trying to get it.

    Speaking of not getting it ...

    "Thanks to Jim for insights, analysis, updates, articles, addressing rumors and allowing us to vent."

    He doesn't address rumors, though. He creates them. And if you still need a place to vent after more than three years, then you must not have much to offer.

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  46. 6:01pm, price increase has killed single copy sales.

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  47. Jim - I'm guessing ring awards are gone because with RIF's, position eliminations and combining/collapsing of jobs and other title trickery, there aren't enough people for each category. Very few Circulation Directors, if any, left. Very few HR Directors, etc. I guess there could be GPS rings, CSS rings, News rings and Advertising.

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  48. "Jim - I'm guessing ..."

    Another informed Gannett Blog post!

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  53. Interesting but repetitive response, 1:56.

    It'll be more interesting to see if Jim moderates your comment. He claims to have a policy prohibiting those types of comments.

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  55. TO ALL JIM BASHERS:

    Still waiting for that Top 10 list of great accomplishments by Gannett/USAT senior management. I'll stop by later to read.

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  56. 1. Building a greater sense of mistrust.
    2, ruining an already tarnished rep on Wall Street.
    3. Flooding the Palace with all sorts of high priced jesters.
    4. Creating more nebulous vice president posts than General Electric.
    5. Making Maryam Banikarim a media star.
    6. Spending much capital and goodwill on failed concepts (heather Frank's verticals).
    7. Firing 20,000 employees.
    8. Creating a hostile work environment for most who remain.
    9. Craig Dubow. Enough said.

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  57. FYI, all: I've been removing a spate of off-topic/repetitive posts over the past 24 hours.

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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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