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Friday, May 18, 2012
61 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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It is a slow nite/day for posters.
ReplyDeleteAnd looking at the stock trend
people must be seriously planning their exit strategy.
They should be,I am sure Gannett is planning it for them as well.
Regarding USA Today's wrong tweet yesterday on Donna Summer's death. We talked about that scenario yesterday at an ethics session. The speed of being first, or waiting to be sure you're posting accurate news.
ReplyDeleteI can guarantee you we were first on the reporting of Diana Ross' death. I'm sure even she was surprised. LOL! This media company is a joke!
ReplyDelete9:46 - some media organizations can actually do both.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone who deals with the Nashville design hub please give me their take on how well/poorly it is performing. I've heard it's the worst of the five. Unorganized, behind schedule, staffed with many newbies right out of school who have never worked at a paper and are fairly clueless. We are transitioning soon. Feel like we are about to plunge into a dark hole from which we won't escape. Is it that bad? Are they on schedule w/ transitions?are they coming close to making deadlines?
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ReplyDeletenewsgate sounds like it needs some quick keys made so that you don't have to click 10 times to do this or what ever, your IT will help set it up or a co worker. There are short cuts that can be set up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look around The Times building in Shreveport, I can't believe how many people have left or been forced out in the last three months. I don't know how we are going to continue getting a paper out. Things are pretty dire around here.
ReplyDeleteJoin the crowd Shreveport.
ReplyDeleteWe are a third of the size we were just a few years ago
8:21, Jim had to restrict comments because he and the anti-Gannett people were getting creamed.
ReplyDeleteLots of rumors, lots of mistakes -- all of it was getting called out.
I expect this to continue -- quite a few slow learners here.
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ReplyDelete12:13: All I can say is that when things are reported wrong on this blog, it's not usually for all the world to see so who really cares other than you? However, when a supposedly reputable paper reports that Diana Ross is dead, how do you explain that incredibly inexcusable error to the world, not to mention Diana Ross? With all of the egregious furloughs, cuts, layoffs, RIFs, EROPS, there is no disputing the fact that Gannett is no longer a viable news organization because we no longer have the resources to check our stories before they are published to the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 12:40 PM. I will complain until Corporate fixes the mess they've created.
ReplyDeleteIt’s more than comical that posters like 12:13 PM seek to hold a blog to the same standards Gannett newspapers increasingly fail to achieve themselves.
ReplyDeleteI guess they and their cohorts will try this latest of tactics to discredit and chase Jim’s audience away, but doing so only shows how little they understand what this blog provides. Then again, that’s understandable as they’re likely part of the same cast of characters who value employees little all while continuing to make the same tired, misguided decisions that drive this company further into the ground.
Ah, if only they’d put their energies into making Gannett a better company they wouldn’t have to spend so much time attacking and telling people here what Gannett clearly is not – which is well run.
So, here’s a new tactic 12:13 et al should try, one that’s quite simple: lead with accomplishments Gannett is making, as elusive as they may be.
Do a simple comparison of the size of your newsroom from 4 years ago (just before the bottom fell) and now. Then list the local and corporate efforts to work on the quality of work and the digital pushes. Now, list the ones you are getting now. It is Groundhog Day without the resources.
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ReplyDeleteI've got a novel idea: How about we have a talk with whoever didn't know the difference between Ross and Summer? Although, as a writer, the "every mistake I make is my boss's fault" defense is great if you can get away with it.
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ReplyDeleteTo answer 10:28 ... don't know much about Nashville hub, but when my site went to the Asbury design sweatshop, it was BAD. The design hub folks in Asbury were not easy to work with, and their designs weren't very good. And they're clearly understaffed. Overall, it was a bad move. I would expect the same deal with the Nashville production hub.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment on Gannett in the third graf in this piece from Romenesko.
ReplyDeletehttp://jimromenesko.com/2012/05/17/ex-editor-speaks-frankly-about-the-state-of-newspapers/
@2:42 – You’re obviously familiar with how a great defense begins with a great offense, yet you and your lot never once go with the latter; i.e. give specific pro or con examples, even now. Why?
ReplyDeleteI certainly can think of plenty of positives Jim and bloggers here have exposed: multi layoff and furlough announcements, how top execs used Gannett foundation funds for their own ego building, questionable travel by this companies managers, managers using staff time for personal errands, sales results for print, online, redesign of both print and websites, system failures, Banikarim’s personal brand building at the expense of Gannett, shareholder voting, less than professional treatment of employees by some of Gannett’s well known leaders, circulation data, pay info, etc., etc.
All have had great, substantive discussion around most of it while your lot has offered zero substantive contributions and all well know why.
One hopes you do more in your day job at Gannett.
3:32, actually there has been plenty of evidence here about how you and your crowd have failed to advance a reasonable dialogue in three years.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, you are still venting. Most of what's here is gossip, rumors, or attack posts.
You must have missed this during the last few days. That's too bad. Jim is deleting anything that's not anti-Gannett now, but we had a chance to advance the discussion, albeit briefly.
Also, the conspiracy theories aren't amusing any more. So you should take a break from blaming everything on corporate. It makes you sound ignorant.
I can certainly blame everything on Corporate Gannett. In all businesses the buck stops at the top. If papers are failing around the country, Corporate has to step up and take responsibility, don't they?
ReplyDelete"I can certainly blame everything on Corporate Gannett."
ReplyDeleteSo when the design hub puts profanity into an article, that's corporate's fault? Riiiiiiiight.
Thanks for making my point.
3:45, 3:53 - zzzzzzzzzz
ReplyDeleteYou are boring. Almost as bad as the guy who posts incessantly about layoffs. The only difference between the two of you is that you have better typing skills.
Looking forward to your comments being deleted (again).
In addition to the Lafayette paper in Indiana being shut down, The printing plant will continue to operate under GPS. Rumors have it USA Today will start trying the new Berliner format next month, and if it exceeds, many other USAT print site will go to the new 3 around system as is the The Cincy Enquirer,
ReplyDeletemore details as they unfold
E. Ray Gps VP
How soon will this Lafayette rumor be proved wrong? Or will this be an open-ended claim, where the person just keeps saying "Next month is the month!"
ReplyDeleteGannett Blog: Where rumors go to thrive.
That's a good one, 4:18. How about
ReplyDelete"Gannett Blog: Why didn't we think of it first?"
As I noted a week ago:
ReplyDeleteMore often than not, I moderate comments in advance on weekends, because invective often runs especially high during those periods.
A small number of my readers tend to go overboard when they're posting on their home computers. These are folks who apparently are afraid to post from their work computers.
USA Today is not testing a Berliner format (tabloid size), anywhere. It has been discussed for years, but not happening.
ReplyDeleteJust setting the record straight as this blog continues to be one of the least reliable sites anywhere on the Web,
Those Berliner rumors may stem from the fact that USAT has been undergoing a (possibly) major redesign of the print product.
ReplyDeleteIt's unclear what will happen to that redesign, however, now that Larry Kramer is coming on board as publisher.
It's likely he'll be reviewing all major initiatives before they go through.
Setting the record straight on a site that is one of the least reliable, geez. So says Anonymous, and so it must be true.
ReplyDeleteConsider us informed, but not reliably informed. hee hee
@3:45 – If you’ve found nothing of value here for THREE years, then why do you keep coming back?
ReplyDeleteFrankly, that, your failure to yet again share anything positive about Gannett (alleging Jim is sacking it is amusing), or even what you’ve done to help the company (other than pursue the tactic you are now) speaks volumes about your motivations.
Regarding what this blog exposed, I can tell you from the publisher/OC view that despite the noise many bring from both sides, many of us have been impressed by how spot on its been since its inception.
It’s also amusing how you name call all while defending corporate without any data because ultimately, if they can’t be held responsible for the state of this company today, then who should?
Sorry, but attempting to move blame as you have, to borrow your own words, “makes you sound ignorant.”
It’s not surprising to see some suggesting USAT is testing new sizes given what other Gannett papers have done, but theirs is a greater challenge as all their print sites would need to be able to uniformly accommodate the same size, which won’t be easy. That is unless they have a few versions, which if not that too far off in size, may make it worthy of pursuit if newsprint savings result.
ReplyDeleteRegarding what’s been speculated here, various sizes would have to be pursued as at last check, the Berliner format is not widely available in the U.S. and going to the “new 3 around system” that Cincy is going to, is just that, new.
Martore are you watching that stock falling and falling? Do you or any of your brilliant SVPs and CMOs and Directors have any other great ideas or transforming hires up your sleeve?
ReplyDeleteWorst week of the year for the Dow and this guy thinks its just Gannett. Take a business course please!!!!!!
DeleteUSA Today tweets Diana Ross is dead at 63. First again. And wrong again. As usual.
ReplyDeleteI'll never understand why Corporate wants to standardize anything. People are sick of "one size fits all" vanilla crap. Gannett's properties (including USAT)used to be unique at each site. That was the value of the organization, its retaining of the differences in local identity, indeed its marketing value. Today its seems a quaint notion in the hands of these automatons.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what our own colleagues don't know about how a for profit business is run. No offense 7:26 but your post clearly demonstrates you have never run a business. The reason for standardizing sites is simple.
Delete6:13, it would be tough for me to give you what you want, considering that I have not been part of Gannett for quite a while. So I would not be able to lay claim to benefiting or hurting the company.
ReplyDeleteGood try, though. I know your only response -- over and over -- is to spout conspiracy theory.
The 3 a round format is much more similar to the berliner style than anything out their. The cost savings on newsprint would be int he millions. Cincy is a test for it. that's a fact. Dont rule it out. Pressline services can convert any press to this format. Big changes coming, just ask mark Wymans who is VP of the former Gannett offset division, i believe he is heading up this project along with Dave priessier from Cincinnati,
ReplyDeleteTypical blog rhythm. Someone flat out lies that a Berliner format is being tested for USA Today. Then someone denies it, which is true, it is not being tested.
ReplyDeleteThen someone else says they are not surprised Berliner is in the works, Jim chimes in about the 'rumor' even though it is not a rumor. Someone just plain made it up.
Then someone else complains that all Gannett papers are going to look the same.
If I was just reading all thus I'd believe a Berliner is in the works.
But it isn't. There is no Berliner being considered fir USA Today.
But who wants the truth? And the blog rolls on. Crazy that a journalism company now relies on something that is the opposite of what they do.
Just amazes me that people post the same crap day after day. Get over it. By the sound of your posts, you might have been employed at gannett longer than I would have kept you.
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ReplyDeleteI will ask this in the most civil way possible and realize I won't get a response, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteWhat has the company done in the past 2-3 years to improve the workplace, improve the reader experience and provide content that makes readers want to purchase the product?
What plan is there to improve content once paywalls are put into place that will help the reader experience and make readers want to buy the product?
Please provide specific examples of any of these things?
What is a 3-around format? Regarding size of Shreveport newsroom - they ARE use to it. Like most Gannett papers it has been gutted beyond belief. I'm sure that is what post was about. Question remains: Will editorial page editor, features editor and photo editor be replaced? Doubtful. And design hubs=joke. And regarding the Diana Ross death tweet by USA Today - there is something to be said for institutional knowledge ... Or lack thereof.
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ReplyDeleteActually, yes, 3:53, it is Corporate's fault that profanity was put in a story. They let go of too many people who would have caught the error just so they could hire more VPs and give their execs bigger bonuses.
ReplyDelete12:11's comment apparently is directed at 6:51, who wrote:
ReplyDelete"Martore are you watching that stock falling and falling? Do you or any of your brilliant SVPs and CMOs and Directors have any other great ideas or transforming hires up your sleeve?"
Stock prices can be crunched in an infinite number of ways to get whatever result you want.
Some of my critics will say I choose numbers solely to make Martore & Co. look bad. So, to avoid that, I will instead rely on Corporate's own assessment of GCI's stock performance over a long period.
Here's what I posted in February; it was based on Corporate's annual 10-K report to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
Gannett's shares underperformed their industry peers last year -- the fifth consecutive year GCI has lagged based on two yardsticks chosen by Corporate, according to the new annual 10-K report to U.S. securities regulators.
The report shows that $100 invested in GCI in 2006 would be worth just $27.03 at the end of 2011.
In contrast, that same $100 invested in a group of 13 other companies in newspaper publishing and digital media would have been worth $71.35, according to the report.
The recent buyouts do not equal "forced out". There are some who were forced out who are disgruntled, but they may have been that way for a while. This goes for any property. This blog has legitimate info, but it also has repositories for people ranting about real and perceived bad hires and strategy.
ReplyDeleteWhat we don't know is some of the people we read about here have had a bad attitude for years. When their day comes, we forget that their bad attitude may have had something to do with it. That person may not have been able to leave on their own, but the negativity is poison to everything we are trying to do. Can't turn negativity on this blog because anonymous comments are an outlet for ranting. They just are. We should make the best of our opportunity and work towards keeping a job and helping. If we are inside working against the initiative, we can be causing sabotage.
9:46, no one would have caught the error. The designer at the hub put it in right before the page was sent.
ReplyDeleteIt's not really even an error. It's someone screwing with the process, probably because one of his works of art was rejected. Of course, Gannett won't tell you that part, so you might be able to blame the reaction on Corporate.
But if you are seriously going to say Corporate should be blamed because some screw-up at a hub got mad and vented, then we'd have to stretch that chain of blame back to the invention of the press.
Try to keep the theories close to the plausible range.
To the person who asked how Newsgate is going: It's been a nightmare for us. It's down more than it's up. It's clunky. too many steps. When it's down our stories and notes can get locked into the system making it difficult to continue working. We have a mandate to only work inside the system and not transfer copy from outside the system into the Newsgate because it's causing lots of problems. Newsgate gurus have been trying to find ways to allow us to write in Word or notes and copy and paste, but so far none of the so-called remedies are working. Meanwhile, the stress level in the "information" center is boiling over. It seems a system with lots of bugs to work out was rolled out to us to figure out. When I say figure out.. reporters and editors on a daily basis are spending valuable time either waiting for the system to come back up or troubleshooting issues. Right now I give it a solid F-. There are some elements that can make our jobs easier, but the overall system problems far outweigh the few elements that are good about Newsgate. All I can say is good luck and pass the Xanax!
ReplyDeleteNewsway is shit right know, it crashes and burns nightly and we have been late 9 out of 10 nights. I hope tonight the system crashes and we cant get one damm paper out company wide..let these female yuppie no it alls fix this fing mess. They done screwed everything else up, may as well crash and burn this system as well.
ReplyDelete2 words for Gracia and her staff, gay marriage
I watched a reporter lose most of a story in deadline the other day, thanks to Newsgate. Not the first time it's happened. Systems people were helpless to do anything.
ReplyDeleteSo I save like mad and make sure I stash a copy someplace every time I do something now.this is a system that screws up at the most inappropriate time. It would be easy to blame Stacey Martin. The emails have a tone of desperation to them. But I just shake ,y head now. The wheels have come completely off the bus. Bad management decisions. Bad technology. Bad times at Ridgemont High.
10:27 has an excuse for everything, nothing is corporate's fault. Take your own advice, son, and advance the conversation on this blog. Stop insulting everyone, stop talking down to everyone.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, stop sounding and acting like a member of Gannett management.
Our IT guy has been warning us for a year about NewsGate and the high chance of nightly disasters that soon await us. The cuts have made our jobs nearly unbearable. NewsGate sounds like just what we need for a complete meltfdown.
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