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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
51 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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I happened to read the Newark (OH) Advocate on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThis was after I read the Columbus Dispatch. Very weak newspaper.
Big controversy in Gshkosh, WI, DA squabbling with judges, wants to pack his pistol in the courtroom. Judges say no. However, we are reading about it in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. You can put all 10 of the Wisconsin Gannett products together and they can't polish the shoes of the JS.
ReplyDeleteThe second quarter will end in less than 2 weeks.It appears that revenues will once again come at record low numbers.Has there been any under the table grumblings of layoffs.And how to get work done with even less people.
ReplyDeleteMaybe some sites will just close??
Well hire more veeps but then furlough and fire most experienced by higher paid reporters.
DeleteThe Gannett Way.
Actually second quarter is coming in stronger than expected.
DeleteSo why did we need a furlough??!!!
DeleteUSAT is still in the toilet
DeleteSpiritually and business-wise.
DeleteSo how do you properly cover this tragedy
ReplyDeletehttp://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120618/APC0101/306180043/Triathlon-death-came-despite-rescue-efforts?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
when the person who owns the company who put on the event is also a columnist for the sports section of the paper?
@10:03, I never go to a Gannett site in Wisconsin to read state news. That's what jsonline is for.
ReplyDeleteBut geesh, you think Oshkosh could cover such an important story right in their backyard. Anyone left in that building?
@1008 I can only hope this was a sidebar? It focuses first on the response to the drowning, which apparently was flawless....
ReplyDeleteIf this is the only story on this, I would advise the organizers to focus first on the loss of life. At least express some sorrow that somebody died. But in this story, the first things said are a CYA-type remark... buttressed by a list of staff on hand - paid lifeguards, etc.... Seems kind of cold. See for yourself:
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SHERWOOD — Organizers say every precaution was taken Saturday to ensure the safety of competitors at the High Cliff Triathlon, where a competitor lost his life.
Doug Witmer, 42, of La Grange, Ill., who was competing in the swim portion of the half iron triathlon at High Cliff State Park, drowned at 7:49 a.m.
It was the first death in the nine-year history of the event, according to Gloria West, executive director of Midwest Sports Events, the De Pere-based sponsor of the annual event.
“Our staff dealt with it very professionally,” she said.
As soon as Witmer went underwater, West said, “there was a tremendous amount of medical help with the safety patrol boat, rescue divers and other medical personnel, who brought Witmer to the shore.”
That’s where the Harrison First Responders, Calumet County Sheriff’s Department, High Cliff State Park Ranger, paid lifeguards staffing the event and Gold Cross Ambulance took over.
West does not know if Witmer was pronounced dead at the scene, or after he was transported to the hospital.
1203 again ... And, of course, you should mention the columnist's involvement. No question.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 12:03, that was the only story on the triathlon death. We learn nothing about the victim, just how professional the rescuers were who utterly failed to save the guy even though there were on hand and nearby when he went down.
ReplyDeleteWho is the columnist with ties to the triathlon? I don't read the Post Crescent much.
ReplyDelete1:05 The columnist is the sponsor owner, Gloria West, who has contributed some pieces from time to time. What the story also fails to point out is this is the third death this event sponsor has experienced in the past four years and is the target of a lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteSo which site has higher than expected revenues for the quarter?
ReplyDeleteIt must be one of the very few.
We're still at 30%, but that's not enough blood for the mother ship of fools.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Appleton reporter should have talked with witnesses about the drowning at the triathlon.
ReplyDeleteHere's a comment on the Chicago Tribune story.
Very, very sad. My condolences go out to his family and friends. I actually participated in the High Cliff Half Ironman on Saturday. It was a poorly run event and the swim should have been eliminated because of strong currents and waves. Unfortunately Midwest Sports (the company that puts on the event) takes great pride in the extreme conditions they force athletes to endure. I found that they had insufficient people in the water and could not carefully identify individuals having problems. Also, since they had no timing pad in the water for the start, they would never know if someone did not make it out of the swim. During the half marathon on Saturday, we experienced a torrential down pour (including thunder and lightning). At no point did anyone consider stopping the race because of these dangerous conditions. I was shocked that I had to jump over trees that lightning had caused to fall during the run. While Midwest bills themselves as a low cost triathlon provider ("best value"), the corners they cut were putting experienced athletes at extreme risk. I truly think this tragic loss could have been provided, which makes it so much worse.
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ReplyDeleteCannes Festival started yesterday. But no tweets from Maryam Banikarim and nothing to read from Laura Petrecca. Party on USA Today.
ReplyDeleteCannes Festival? As in Cannes Film Festival? That was last month.
ReplyDeleteAs in the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival...
Deletewww.canneslions.com
Moon and company signed the Cannes sponsorship deal. This year Gracia cut it way back. Very few attending. This will be the last year.
DeleteTo anyone who is interested in how ABM plans to make it cost effective for them and GPS/Gannett, this is how:
ReplyDeleteOut of 4 people at our facility who were in those positions eliminated by Gannett, one decided to retire, and rest all applied for a position with ABM. They will retain two and let the third one go.
So it would appear that ABM can make this a profitable venture by eliminating half the staff. Your miles may vary from site to site...
So what are the important meetings corporate is having Monday through Wednesday about? i know that the dinner just started: Hope the restaurant serves a good salmon dish: otherwise Mark will be cranky:):) sorry silverman
ReplyDeleteIm really happy to learn Usa Today is ending its Cannes deal. I could never figure out what we were getting out of it, except the boondoggle for those invited.
ReplyDeleteUSA Today has made itself irrelevant in the world of legitimate news.
ReplyDeleteIf you're an advertiser who wants to buy space in a well-edited, seasoned newspaper/website, look elsewhere.
If you're a reader in search of a serious, balanced report that is relevant and provides context, try the NYT.
It should be apparent to anyone who has watched this brand closely over the last couple of decades that USAT made a good run at being a credible publication, but when push came to shove, it abandoned its quest to appeal to a well-educated, mature audience. It made questionable hire after hire and cleared out the people who actually were responsible for improving McPaper's reputation. Apparently they made too much money or just pissed off the wrong people at the wrong time.
USAT has gone full circle, from joke newspaper, to a fairly decent read, to ridiculous newspaper/website put out by way too many inexperienced people or folks with agendas that do not include putting the product and readers above everything else.
While many products became diluted during the recession for reasons beyond the control of companies or employees, most of USAT's decline was because of greed and personal vendettas. USAT leaders -- past and present -- ruined careers, destroyed a product that was improving up until about 2005, and created such bad karma that no serious or talented journalist should ever want to work there.
The paper was already going downhill, but the period marks the Paulson/Hillkirk era when some were inexplicably placed in power positions they were unskilled to hold. things got much worse under Hunke, who elavated a whole host of incompetents to leadership posts. Dubow was clueless to stop it.
DeleteNow? Things are as bad as they've ever been. Leadership voids. Lazy staffers. Unskilled newbies.
Heather Frank, Matt Greenberg and crew
Deletethat says it all right there. Complete failures on much ballihood verticals. they all survive in new high paying make work jobs. Only at Gannett folks. Only at Gannett.
IP company receives favorable ruling against Gannett (and other infringers):
ReplyDeletehttp://seekingalpha.com/article/668141-vringo-receives-positive-overall-rulings?source=yahoo
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ReplyDeleteWhere's Kramer?
ReplyDeleteAn award-winning Reno Gazette-Journal photographer, Tim Dunn, was allegedly roughed up by police last night while covering a fire.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe photographer in Reno, Tim Dunn, is highly professional, very personable and a superb talent. I can pick out his pictures without even reading the credit. If Dunn was indeed "roughed up" by the police, though, it wouldn't be surprising. The cops in this city are a sad mish-mash of professionals who do their job and total jerks who abuse their office. Guess which there is more of.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jun/19/nv-reno-brush-fires-photographer-cited/ Here's the story about Tim Dunn getting roughed up.
ReplyDeleteThe story behind the creation of the TV Show "Reno 911", if I recall correctly, has to do with a run in between one of the shows creators and a Reno police officer. I guess after years of being spoofed by the TV show the Reno police have yet to learn their lesson.
ReplyDeleteEver since 9/11 every US police agency believes they have the power to muzzle the media. So does the Pensacola Fire Department, angry at the Gannett daily there because the firemen didn't get the thrust of an editorial cartoon last weekend.
ReplyDeleteKeep your heads down, folks. Keep them low. Martore and Banikarim are going to start swinging the ax again after these Q2 numbers.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteRe the Reno photog, Tim Dunn: let's see if the Gazette-Journal pursues its legal options and backs him up.
ReplyDeleteMy bet is that it won't, even with Dunn's longtime stature working with law officials.
The execs have their careers to think about: no boats are allowed to be rocked in Gannett culture when you're a "marketing solutions" company — not a news organization per se.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope things will change. Then I also hope the world can be taught to sing in perfect harmony.
Dunn is an execptional photographer, an Old School Real Live Photojournalist — not a snapshot-taker.
Dunn's work really stands out, and he has often risked his personal safety to get "that" shot, whatever it is. Over and over again, he gets that shot.
Now, evidently, Dunn — not some spring chicken, sorry, yet fully credentialed — gets thrown to the ground by a some Johnnie Law with a a bad sense or reality.
And the Sheriff's Office remains mute. That deputy is still on the public payroll. As if this is not America but Russia, where "the press" just goes along for the ride with furtive glances.
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ReplyDeleteMy former manager used to beg me to stay.I stayed partially as a favor to him. A year later I was let go as part of next step in GPS strategy. It's not worth it to show any loyalty, or care about anyone else working for Gannett.
ReplyDeleteToo much, far too much to do
ReplyDeleteWondering why Gannett seems to have missed the very basic idea that newspapers and, by proxy, news, has transitioned in the American mind from a "need" to a "want."
ReplyDeleteJust 15 years ago, America was locked in on network news, newspapers, and news magazines. Now, news is so ubiquitous and thinly spread that people don't need to seek news... it comes to them.
And no doubt, the amount of Gannett news that comes in the huge flood of news available is very, very sparse. Check out Google News for a week. Top stories from around the country's top media outlets... and see how many Gannett credits you find. Maybe 1, maybe 2. In a week!
Clearly, Gannett is a has-been organization that gave up virtue and ethics for cash and stock options long, long ago. If you are still working there, flee, or plan to acquire the disease of the host.
The deputy was moonlighting from his main job - on Reno911!
ReplyDeleteHe should be arrested for assault, flase imprisonment, violation of civil rights and probably a few other charges covered under Nevada statutes.
9:34 everyone is disposable, you were just in the same mix that is going on now. work hard and be loyal as much as you want doesn't matter! you are just an employee number. And this goes out to all employees. you are not better than the best employee or the worst employee. Hr sees you as a number. Your boss sees you as a tool- to use and use when they want! your getting paid until they decide to cut back and that can happen to anyone of you. Get real!
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ReplyDelete10:01 What executives may be doing in the private lives is off limits unless it bears negatively on the company. And I need proof (e-mails, etc.).
ReplyDeleteYou have an executive one company consorting with a high ranking manager at a competitor. how can this not be a conflict of interest, Jim?
ReplyDeleteA highly visible executive who espouses corporate values and purposeful lives. what a hypocrite. even for Gannett.
ReplyDelete