Monday, May 21, 2012

May 21-27 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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62 comments:

  1. EROP folks - Received the info on 401K rollover but nothing yet on the pension. How about you?

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  2. Jim still has no improvement plan for the blog.

    All he has are weak excuses.

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  4. Brevard readers also loved it when Nashville put in the Sports page that had run the previous week. Nothing like having 7 day old sports stats on a Monday morning

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  6. Called Gannett about the pension info and was told that it takes about 30-60 days, from your last day of employment to get info. I was told my pension kit was in the process of being made up.

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  7. 2:14 yes, everyone who disagrees with you is a paid corporate apologist. How pathetic. Must be sad to live in such a confined space.

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  9. 8:08 I haven't whined once. But you sure are defensive. I'm not here to defend corporate. I don't work there. I only defended the good work being done by journalists across the country. Enjoy the rest of your day. I have to go to work now.

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    1. 8:08 if that was a shot at the unemployed then shame on you. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

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  11. To the person who doesn't like the way Jim runs his blog but spends massive amounts of time making comments, here's a suggestion: Why don't you get busy reading Morris Berman's book "Why America Failed" and then come back here with that information for perspective. You just might be a little bit more tolerant of others' views then. Hope so.

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    1. Oh better yet, just stay away

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  12. I received the paperwork on my pension payout about two weeks ago, filed the paperwork and it has been received. I am scheduled for a payout within the next 10 days.

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  14. Please post all under the radar layoffs or mysterious firings.
    They have been happening,and if not reported here,on this information gathering blog,then how will we know how many and how widespread.
    That is the reason for this blog,a clearinghouse of Gannett happenings.
    Not a Pulitzer prize winning journalistic accomplishment everyday.

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    1. The Arizona Republic is laying off people as we speak. No messages were sent out regarding these layoffs but I suspect they'll been finished by Friday.

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  16. 8:08 wrote: "I only defended the good work being done by journalists across the country."

    Buddy, you're barking up the wrong tree here. Gannett doesn't care about journalists - they've fired most of them. If you want to be a champion for good journalism, you really should pick another corporate flag to rally under. Posting negative comments about this blog or the people who comment on it won't do a thing to change Gannett's position, nor will it have any effect on the industry as a whole.

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  17. I'm with 9:11 on this. There were under the radar "stealth" layoffs in the Arizona Republic Information Center last week and they may be continuing this week. They apparently closed one of their magazines and the positions connected to the magazine have been eliminated. What we don't know is how many people are being laid off and what departments they're from.

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    1. All I've heard was a still photographer, Deirdre Hamill, from editorial

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    2. One photographer from editorial was laid off after working there for 15 years.

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  18. Starting today, I'm going to remove all comments that accuse people of getting paid by Corporate to post here.

    There's no proof Corporate is doing this in a formal fashion. (If someone can supply it, I'll reconsider.) Plus, it's boring to read these comments over and over.

    And, of course, I'm going to continue removing other repetitive comments, too, because they're also boring to read over and over.

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  19. Can we get back to posting about Gannett now and move on from all the garbage that's been littering these pages over the past two weeks? All the talk about no advancement in discussions here has done nothing to advance the discussions here.

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  21. Becoming a subscriber to the new Courier News format includes receiving the "To 5" stories in a separate e-mail. So today three of the five were old news. Of the two for today, one "top news" item was about the winner of a spelling bee and I forget the other one.

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  22. This just in from Martore. Methinks she needs a copy editor. I believe the word "committees" in the first sentence should be "communities."

    Dear colleagues,

    Voting is now open for the Greater Good Awards which will recognize the three individual Gannett employees and one operating unit that best represent and live our company’s shared purpose which is to serve the greater good in the nation and committees we serve each day. This is the unique driving force that aligns our actions and inspires and motivates every one of us. The Greater Good Award nominees were selected by a panel of Gannett’s Purpose Champions from across the company for the work they are doing to actively support the people and businesses in our communities.

    I encourage you to take a moment to recognize your fellow colleagues who are helping our communities grow and thrive by casting your vote here through Thursday, May 24 at 4 p.m. (ET). We will reveal the honorees during the Gannett Employee Awards webcast on Wednesday, June 6 where I hope you will join us as we pay tribute to the outstanding work being done by so many across Gannett.
    Thank you.

    Best regards,

    Gracia Martore
    President and Chief Executive Officer

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  23. EROP folks -- My last day was April 13 and I got my postcard Saturday with the pension instructions. It tells us to log on to the Gannett Pension Center for details, but I haven't the foggiest idea what my log-on is -- my old Gannett log-ons were connected to the intranet and/or work email address and don't work. And it won't let me log on as a new user. Nothing's ever easy with Gannett! I'll set aside a few hours to call today .... The postcard is large and looks like junk mail. Keep an eye out for it.

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  24. GM: "where I hope you will..."

    That's so unfortunate.

    I mean, come on.

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  25. 12:12 EROP update: I was indeed able to log on as a new user to the Gannett pension website. I suspect it locked me out yesterday after I'd tried my previous Gannett passwords. I'm not real smart. Used to be a Gannett manager... :-)

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  26. The Gannett Pension Center, which a purpose now entirely separate from the Gannett Benefits Center, is actually a fairly good operation.

    I had a problem with my pension and expected the worst.

    (I know... an operation affiliated with Gannett... why would I expect the worst, right?)

    Well, forget the Web and log-ins; it sometimes takes a few tries even with a valid a log-in while one receives these very unsettling "invalid login" messages.

    But the pension center? All it took in my case was a phone call. The rep knew her stuff. Problem noted, corrected and off the phone in five minutes. Wasn't even put on hold.

    855-442-4236.

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  27. Incorrect word and grammar usage from our CEO. Excellent.

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  28. Some of you really need to try to get your lifes back in order. You take the early retirement when it was offered to you and weeks later your on the blog trying to figure out the details of what has been offered to you. You should have taken care of your bussiness before your last day. And we wonder how these lists get put together.

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  29. 12:44. Sorry to hear about AZ Republic layoffs. I guess that means more free labor from Cronkite School students.

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  30. I called the pension people several times. When they didn't know the answer, they took my phone number and called back on the day they said they would.

    Use the phone number 1:45 p.m. posted, which is 855-442-4236, or go online at gannett.ehr.com. You have to create a new user name and password. I had trouble doing that, but the pension folks walked me through it.

    This is the kind of info I come to the blog for: news I can use, not the vitriol.

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  31. Big meeting tomorrow w/ corporate stooges and services depts across the country.It seems that ABM,a property mgmt company will be taking over-over 30 people at risk in phoenix..Mgmt will do anything for extra pieces of silver for their pockets.

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  32. 12:44, who else was given a pink slip at The Arizona Republic? So sad to hear the paper lost a talented photographer.

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  33. 2:29 In no way a shot at the unemployed, only at the intolerant. Sorry if it came across that way. I was simply making the point that I couldn't engage in the banter any longer.

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  34. What happened to Mike Ryan (OC Member and decent guy) at the Arizona Republic? Retirement of layoff?

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  36. Heard a rumor today that advertising sales staff will be given quarter commission plans instead of monthly. Miss your quarter goal - no commission. Just a rumor or fact? Anyone care to comment?

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  38. 5:31, Mike Ryan took a buyout.

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  39. Kramer sounds like an Editor, not a Publisher in the Kurtz interview.

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    1. Well that didn't take long.

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  40. Hey, 5:20. Yours is an appreciated clarification! I'm not involved in the discussion but as another guy or gal noted also, I do admit it struck me too as dismissive. Lots of raw emotion here and that is the thing about the blog: sometimes people just type really fast. Nobody's writting "War and Peace." Unemployed myself, and not liking it, and looking and looking, it's nice you took the time to clarify. Thanks very much.

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  41. got my pension info online today. After 32 years of service, I can expect $701 a month -- if I wait seven years until I am 65 to collect. Or I can just swallow hard and take $100k in a lump sum.

    I had been making $75k a year until I pounced on the latest buyout offer. This is a far cry from the pension in the $35,000-per-year
    range I was told to expect at my 15-year benefits meeting in 1998 if I stuck with Gannett for 30 years.

    Our years between 20-30 years of service were promised to be super charged!

    We aren't the only ones getting screwed by corporate America but it still hurts. Just wish there were more reporters left to bring these travesties to light.

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  42. Anyone care to comment about the state of Deal Chicken? Not hearing promising things from the sales staff. I heard they received an email today about crummy deals across the system and how they have to work extra hours to get better deals or the hammer drops in the next few months.

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  43. There was at least one layoff in Wisconsin, the position was in advertising.

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  44. The Deal Chicken product is doing very well. We are in a better position than our competitors in the online-deal market. And, Deal Chicken is bringing in a considerable amount of money.

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    1. Who are you kidding? This is a bomb.

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  45. Well, 8:55 PM, the company froze the pension several years ago; that has something to do with it. Take the 100K and roll it into an IRA.

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  46. Deal Chicken down to one local offer every five to seven days at my site.

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  47. DealChicken is a new media advertising product that addresses a large and growing digital audience. It has been a welcome and needed source of additional revenue, in a precarious economy.

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  48. I work within Deal Chicken, and I don't know of any layoffs.

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  49. I know there wasn't a layoff in Central Wisconsin's Deal Chicken, because they are kicking ass and bring in the cash.

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  50. 9:57 PM,
    It sounds like the layoff that occurred, in Wisonsin, was in print advertising.

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  51. 10:01,
    ? ... The posting above yours was referring to print newspaper layoffs. If you follow the complete thread, you can see the connection to the previous comments about print newspaper layoffs. It has been a very long and painful journey, with plenty of casualties and politics.

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  52. Too many casualties and politics

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  53. 3:50 - You don't know what you are talking about. In spite of multiple attempts to get specific amounts included in the EROP. None were provided. In fact, amount of severance was decreased the day the final decision was due. The new pension website is excellent but when decisions were needing to made the pension folks indicated "no estimates would be given". Corporate HR was terrible to deal with and made this a difficult process. This blog provides practical ways to navigate the process and make it a bit easier.

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  54. Deal Chicken had better bring in new revenue. Corporate will be expecting it to bring in more than print revenue by next year and if it doesn't. You'll all get RIF'd too.

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  55. To 5/21 12:10 p.m. Gracia could use a copy editor to proof her communications, but they have all bee laid off or re-purposed.

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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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