Monday, June 25, 2012

June 25-July 1 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

30 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks like the Sports Media Group still has some things to work out. The College World Series, which features Arizona and South Carolina, is being covered by a USA Today sports writer. The Greenville News also has a writer in Omaha. But the Arizona Republic is using AP for its coverage, and the Tucson Citizen just had a blog post, apparently written from Tucson. Surely, Gannett can do better.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good thing someone's working in AZ today, since the Supreme Court overturned most of the immigration law! In all the "related coverage" listed with the main story, I didn't find a mention of the protest. That's shoddy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would have expected more online comments about the paywall.

    http://www.postcrescent.com/comments/article/20120624/APC0101/306240097/New-P-C-subscription-model-provides-full-access

    Or maybe the folks are just being very selective about how they burn up their 10 free reads.

    ReplyDelete
  6. FYI-ABM offered the housekeepers at The Arizona Republic, many who have worked there for 15+ years, an hourly pay reduction down to $8 an hour w/ NO vacation. Haven't heard how the other departments have fared, but if this is any indication we will long for the days of a friendly and professional Services Dept taking care of all our needs,regardless of how trivial some of them might have been. Good luck to all of you who have decided to leave and even more well wishes to those who have decided to ride the storm out.At least the bozos in Virginia will get nice bonuses off the backs of the affected workers-The song remains the same!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. For anyone who wants to see exactly what is wrong with Gannett, drive by the corporate headquarters/USA Today building in Virginia. The so-called Crystal Palace was not built by real newspaper or media people or even good business people. It was an expression of unchecked egos of talentless empty suits.

    We all paid the price for the lavishness of that campus -- some more than others, obviously. If Gannett and USAT would have put the product and it employees first, that building would not have been constructed there, in one of the priciest real estate markets in the country, constructed with the finest materials available from around the world.

    Gannett could have saved some jobs, spruced up a few of its most horrible properties and maybe provided some better tools for working journalists, ad sales people, press operators, etc. Instead, it built the Crystal Palace, with apparently no concern whatsoever about the potential for economic downturns, business issues ... just no realistic vision from the leaders of this company. From what I hear, the place is now half empty! Yup, laying off people will do that.

    Arrogance continues to plagued this company. It's seen in how disposable we all are. It's seen broken promises and the lack of quality control (the public will buy anything if it's marketed enough!) The simplistic thinking, that you can solve everything by layoffs, has proven to be nothing more than a Band-Aid. And when that Band-Aid eventually falls off, the unhealed wound that will be exposed will be quite ugly.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 12:30 — I though the same thing. Here in central Wisconsin there are 0 comments on the Marshfield NH column by the regional GM about the paywall, 2 on the Daily Tribune's, 10 on both Wausau and Stevens Point.
    My guess? Nothing but pure apathy.
    BTW: I did enjoy reading the same column published in all four papers and websites with a few sentences changed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh 12:54, give us all a break. Yeah, the building is too big and even extravagant, but your equation is nonsense. Not building it would not have led to fewer layoffs.

    And it is a smart investment in a growing area and will pay a continuing benefit through leases and more in years to come.

    Is it too big for Gannett? Yes. Was it the wrong thing to do? Sorry, but no.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 12:54 Tom Curley was responsible for the headquarters building. His brother was the CEO. Sorry but those are two pretty good newspaper people. You are simply wrong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then CEO Doug McCorkindale was responsible for the Palace. he wanted to be closer to Middleburg horse country.

      Stupid move.

      Delete
  11. 12:54 how many people have been laid off in Anerica in the last five years. Are you living in a bubble? And what specific broken promises.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gracia and her jokes and grand standing and rehash of the same old same old didn't do the trick. Stock is tumbling 2% and Top Stocks Analysts report: Gannett remains committed to streamline its cost structure, strengthen its balance sheet and rebalance its portfolio. However, we remain apprehensive about risks that the company faces due to its high dependence on advertising revenues.

    Currently, we have a long-term Neutral recommendation on Gannett. However, the company holds a Zacks #4 Rank, which translates into a short-term Sell rating.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 1:22 Not sure but I commented on here a while back about lack of comments by readers on any article on Gannett websites. Comments have dropped since having to sign in using facebook account only.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The mistake has been telling readers they're paying more BECAUSE of all the "digital offerings." We should have simply told them the cost of putting out a paper has gone up and rates are increasing. Separately, we should have explained that you (our paid subscribers) are paying to support this operation, while those online read everything for free and that isn't fair.
    That message feels more honest and would have resonated with -- rather than angered -- readers in my state. Especially older readers don't want to pay for something (digital offerings) they aren't going to use. And that isn't what they're paying for anyway.
    I hope as other papers send letters to subscribers announcing subscription increases, they think about this.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I don't think any company can avoid angering customers while imposing a 25%-30% price increase -- without significantly adding more to the product.

    Like all newspaper publishers, Gannett gave away its content online for years. Now, it's playing catch-up big time by forcing through a big price increase for "new" digital offerings that readers already got for free.

    To be 100% candid, publishers would need to tell readers they'd made a terrible mistake and now had to recover millions of dollars in lost revenue.

    But that's an impossible sell.

    Instead, we get folks like the general manager of the Fond du Lac paper in Wisconsin, telling readers this weekend that he's "excited to announce a new 'Full Access' subscription model."

    Excited, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yeah, they are "excited to announce" the total access and big rate hikes. With their content, I'll be interested in seeing the next circulation figures. When they say online income is increasing to 30% to 40%, can't they realize much of that is because print revenue has tanked?
    No 40% subscription increase for me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. As far as the vast majority of employees and ex-employees are concerned, 12:54's comment is on the mark. The entire Gannett command post is superfluous -- the building, the people, all the travel, golf outings, company cars, jets, etc. It adds NOTHING to the operation and economic well-being of the captive newspapers and stations. That is, nothing but interference. The individual media properties have been paying homage to the royal court for so long that they no longer have the ability to stand on their own. The quality of leadership is manifested all the way down the chain to the out-of-date web pages, the never-ending boobfests and the ghost-town look and feel of the sites. The Crystal Palace is truly a testament to the egos of Gannett's Assad-like rulers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 5:23 this is a silly, self serving, misinformed post. You truly have no clue what you are talking about.

      Delete
  18. Does anyone know how circulation statistics are being compiled since the introduction of the digital subscription model?

    I ask, because it defies logic to think that the numbers of subscriptions are going up under this model (I know too many people who are cancelling their service all together). The only way that increased subscription numbers make sense to me is if current subscribers are being counted twice... once for their paper subscription and once if they enroll in the digital subscription service. I could be off base, but I'm just curious to know if anyone can either refute or substantiate my suspicion about how subscribers are now counted.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gannett's cheerful rip-off in Fond du Lac has made Romenesko.

    Readers called out the FdL Reporter for (1) costing more than the Milwaukee daily and (2) not disclosing the new prices.

    ReplyDelete
  20. What was said about DealChicken now that it was actually brought up this time?

    ReplyDelete
  21. 5:23's complaints about the lack of quality at local papers is misguided.

    For all the directives and intiatives from Gannett, the day to day quality and content of local sites is the result of decisions and talent at those sites. If a local website sucks, it is hardly Mother Gannett's fault.

    Yes, job cuts are brutal and hurt the product across Gannett, but to blame local woes on the company, and not ourselves, is misguided and shows people in denial.

    ReplyDelete
  22. They hired ANOTHER FUCKING VICE PRESIDENT today. Of planning and procing. I just dont fucking get it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. So the Tallahassee Democrat has a headline about Red Cross shelter openings in the area due to TS Debby so I click on the link. I get that message telling me how many more free articles I can view. To make sure I wasn't mistaken I refreshed the page, free article count goes down by one. I thought some articles would be open access to the public, particularly those concerning natural disasters? Apparently not.

    ReplyDelete
  24. @5:44 . . . click the ABC circ link at right (related links) to see print and digital. In my opinion, ABC has lost its credibility as a "watchdog", because it equally weights print dollar CPM counts with digital dollar CPM counts. ABC obfuscates the data as well as any government document dump. "Here's the data - you figure it out."

    For an idea of digital CPM vs print, check what your local paper charges for an ad, then scroll down to the very bottom of this blog, where you'll find a very enticing CPM.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Can some tell me what the digital sales reps are flying all over the damn country? Haven't they heard of teleconferencing? We are a digital company right?

    ReplyDelete
  26. The poster who blamed problems at small sites ON the small sites cannot work at one. Maintaining quality is not possible when there are not enough people to do the work, there is no way to reduce the work, and customer service and quality control are taken out of local hands. The latter refers to such great ideas as centralizing design, circ calls, business offices. All of that is the result of this company's refusal to accept open discussion if that discussion includes questioning one of the corporate directives. No doubt people have raised questions about all of the above - but any question is seen as being negative, and God knows we want only positive, cheery people around. Makes it so much better when a stupid decision is made to have a bunch of people clapping and shouting "Yes! You've saved us!"

    ReplyDelete
  27. I have to point this out: The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, Tenn., has a business story with the byline "Written by The Daily News Journal."

    http://www.dnj.com/article/20120626/NEWS/306260020

    It is word for word the text of the bank's news release:

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pinnacle-announces-intent-convert-state-211500319.html

    Business Wire is never credited. There is no "written by." There should be a "copied by". And yet it counts against your monthly free story limit. This is really cheesy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. 9:14 - his job will be to properly price all the stuff that we can't sell anyway. So we may not generate any additional revenue, but at least it will be priced appropriately. Which is nice.

    ReplyDelete

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."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.