Friday, June 01, 2012

May 28-June 3 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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55 comments:

  1. One of the most important measures of the U.S. economy, the monthly jobs report, comes out this morning at about 8:30.

    According to this MarketWatch story:

    Economist surveyed by MarketWatch project that the U.S. economy added a net 170,000 jobs last month after a rise in payrolls of 115,000 in April. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 8.1%.

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  2. 5/31/2012 3:30 PM Laura Del Greco has resigned as VP/Client Solutions one week ahead of the USAT sales meeting.

    Does this mean another rift with the Banikarim-Micek galpals? Prepare to insert the next galpal name into the slot.

    [Laura Del Greco] has been named to the newly created position of vice president of client solutions for USA TODAY. [Del Greco] will be based in New York City and report to Sandra Micek, senior vice president of marketing.

    “[Laura] is an accomplished media executive, known for her ability to work with clients to develop compelling marketing solutions across all platforms. She is strategic, creative and results oriented and we are thrilled to have her leading our client solutions team,” said Micek.

    “USA TODAY is an iconic brand,” said [Del Greco]. “This is an exciting opportunity to work in partnership with clients to engage their consumers across all USA TODAY’s powerful platforms. I’m looking forward to being part of this dynamic team committed to providing consumers with the best news and information anytime, anywhere.”

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  3. Did Gannett design its paywall pricing models to force subscribers to cut their print packages to Thurs thru Sunday only or has it yet to realize that’s what will likely result?

    At least that appears to be what’s going to occur in NY’s southern tier as a clear majority of informal conversations with revelers over the Memorial Day weekend indicates just that, that is if they keep subscribing at all, especially older subscribers.

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  4. Sure added jobs.
    Look at the real unemployment rate.
    If you count the number who have totally left the job market,totally quit looking for work,the real number is well over
    10% with an actual net loss of
    jobs.
    Check the Labor Dept numbers.
    Is it all smoke and mirrors and how you want to calculate the stats
    to get to number you want.

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  5. 8:04 I tend to discount reports of executives leaving until I see a memo or e-mail on it.

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  6. The Wall Street Journal has now moved a U.S. jobs story, using a lower forecast of net job growth in May -- 155,000 -- than the one I posted with the MarketWatch story above. Here's the top of the WSJ story:

    It’s the first Friday of the month, when for one ever-so-brief moment the interests of Wall Street, Washington and Main Street are all aligned on one thing: Jobs.

    A fresh update on the U.S. employment situation for May hits the wires at 8:30 a.m. New York time offering one of the most important snapshots on how the economy fared last month.

    Expectations are for 155,000 new jobs to be created — up from 115,000 jobs added in April — with the unemployment rate sticking at 8.1%.

    Stocks are already getting battered in pre-market trading. Gannett's shares were recently down 4.2%, at $12.51.

    But that price can change dramatically when regular trading resumes at 9:30 a.m. ET.

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  7. Unemployment rate comments beg an interesting question: Are we doing a disservice to readers by reporting solely that number?

    The answer is increasingly yes as today’s unemployment rates seem to be impacted more by people exiting the workforce (those who given up their search), than by actual job creation. Hence, presenting just that metric is a true disservice as when other credible metrics are added; declining labor force participation rates being one, a more accurate story of what exists is told. One far less rosy than what the changing unemployment rate has recently told.

    Moreover, isn’t accuracy key to Gannett’s mission?

    Expecting Gannett include more credible metrics in its reporting now seems more than reasonable as it and others readily accepted and reported one the Obama administration created on its own – “Jobs Saved”, a metric that had little basis in fact.

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  8. GMA reported today's jobs report as "very disturbing". Looks like they took a closer look at the numbers!

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  9. There is another number everyone seems to be missing. I was employed, then I became unemployed. Now I am employed again but at a $50,000 difference in salary. Yes I am off unemployement but I am still suffering a large loss of income. And to top it off, my biggest asset, my home, is worth much less. I also cashed out what little retirement I had. But Obama will count this as a success, I am off unemployment. Others are even less lucky, no job at all.

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  10. How's the paywall and Single copy increase going in Louisville?

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  11. While she caused many of her own problems, Del Greco just got completely frustrated and burnt out by this place. She also didn't want to be associated with a weak and uninspired marketing department. One that she couldn't turn around. And I'm sure the heavy hand of Banikarim played a role.

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  12. USA Today is an iconic brand, yes. But it's living off of the reputation built a long time ago and has nothing to do with the madness of the last 4-5 years.

    That iconic brand is in trouble because USAT threw out the baby with the bath water by dismantling everything that was right about the place. BTW, there was a lot wrong too, but many of those things were never addressed.

    I am not one of these people who thinks everything was grand 10 years ago. But there were a lot of key people in strategic positions who worked hard to create a product that readers eventually deemed credible. Then, overnight, those people were forced out in a variety of ruthless ways because someone got the idea that credibility in print is somehow different than credibility online. Plus, there were a lot of personal vendettas being rendered.

    I suspect the iconic brand will not be so iconic 10 years from now. Like many things that get too big, USAT has become a fragmented place to work. That is reflected in the print and online editions. The mistakes, the lack of urgency, the new and not-so-improved work ethics will sink the flagship unless someone with some serious journalistic chops comes in and restores some order and honesty.

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  13. Reuters today on a report from Moodys about the News Paper Industry In the Report it talks about Digital revenue and cuts not being enough to off set revenue loss in print. At the end from the report states that it is way to early to cut out print completely. Companies like Gannett have been foolish to drastically cut their print business.As I have been saying commenting on here they need to focus on revenue and stop making premature cuts.

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  14. Very negative report on Gannett from Moodys. Gannett should re-think their strategy at GPS.

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  15. Detroit New and Free Press have a guy taking surveys at a local Meijer store. You sign up to win $100 in groceries if you answer this question: Do read either daily paper? If not, why not? My answer: No, they're no longer daily papers and by that decision, their decision-makers have broken the daily-newspaper reading habit for many former subscribers I know.

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    Replies
    1. What are you smoking? We print both pubs every day. This is the kind of bs this blog has all the time.

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  16. 11:11, so it's Obama's fault you're now making less $?

    Nope, your fault

    You either stayed at the Titanic company too long?

    Or worked for the Capt Smith (Capt of Titanic) for too long.

    Or failed to keep your skills relevant by remaining in an outdated situation as the role or industry involved.

    but much easier to blame others (Obama, etc.) than you I guess.

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  17. Wisconsin sites look like they are next on the paywall/price hike list. Clerk at the gas station said a carrier told her it would happen this month. Any official word from Gannett?

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  18. Del Greco will not be missed. neither will Hunke, Ellwood, Banikarim, Heather Frank and their overpaid teams of cronies and wannabees.

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  19. USAT showed its lack of values by running a full page ad today ripping the Catholic church. I guess whatever brings in a buck is fair game. I have been placing ad buys for over 20 years and have never seen anything quite like this. Maybe someone should explain to them they can actually turn an ad away and at times there is a moral obligation and a reader obligation to do so. And by the way no I am not Catholic.

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  20. 1:18 and 1:54 You clearly didn't understand the report and you just embarrass yourselves (although I'd bet you're both the same person). Also, if you're going to post about the News Paper business, at least know that newspaper is one word. This blog is just getting pathetic.

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  21. Des Moines Register introduces readers to the new subscription model. Check out the reader response in the chat. It's epic.

    http://www.desmoinesregister.com/interactive/article/20120531/OPINION01/305310040/Rick-Green-Look-more-from-us-print-digitally

    One of the things that jumps out from this is what a dumb idea it is that Gannett is selling this essentially as, “buying our new deluxe multi-platform digital package.”



    Reader after reader is screaming “I only want the paper,” “My Mom is 80 and doesn’t use the Internet,” etc. They have a comment from the statewide AARP on there about it!



    If they’d been more truthful and said something like, “Rising costs, the continued movement of readers to the web and the difficulty in making that profitable are forcing us to go to this new subscription model. It costs quite a bit more, but hopefully that will allow us to stick around and keep serving you.” Instead of the car salesman pitch about how much more wonderful everything is going to be with half the staff of a decade ago -- readers are seeing through that in a nanosecond.

    P.S. Almost sure "Josh" in that chat is a DMR/Gannett plant.

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  22. 4:56 Oh yeah that report from Moodys was just Rosie. You are probably the same poster who posted how much he loves his job at Gannett and is looking forward to a bright future. That is pathetic.

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  23. Unless you enjoy watching an increasingly lame horse being worked/beaten to death, get out of the news business.

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  25. 2:34 PM The 1:11 comment was dead on and you don't know what you are talking about. That person, myself and others I know who were laid off from the newspaper business (not just Gannett) may have found jobs but nearly always they are for less and sometimes quite a bit less than previously. No, 1:11 did not say that it was Obama's fault but rather that Obama's team would count his/her experience as a success story since he/she is no longer unemployed. Maybe he/she was like myself and loyal to a company to a fault. Shame on us for being loyal to a company that we thought we would eventually retire from. Shame on us for being 50+ (or at least I am). No, I was not a dinosaur (kept up and embraced today's technology). But I made more money than Gannett wanted to pay when they could get others with a lot less experience for a lot less money. And most companies in today's economy aren't paying higher salaries either -- they would rather get by with sub-par performance at lower wages. That is the reality. And you might discover that for yourself too, someday soon unfortunately. So don't be so quick to judge others.

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  26. the paywall goal is to decrease print products. mark my words, GPS is on the selling block ! won't be long !

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  27. as ABM takes over who is going to carry the cases of wine delivered to the pub's office in phx to his car ? he'll need a work order processed two days early, instead of a phone call 10 mins before he leave for the day !

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  28. I used to like, actually appreciated being employed with Gannett. But the confusion, lies, desperation, lies,, mistreatment, lies, back-stabbing, lies, favoritism, lies, workloads, lies and the obvious mismanagement have finally gotten to me. I have got to get out and far away from Gannett and fast.

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  29. The good old days, when newspapers were making money hand over fist, are long gone. Back in the day it made a lot of sense to gather as many publications under one umbrella (Gannett et al), because the money was there to fund said corporate headquarter and the occasional struggling local newspaper. Back then Gannett scooped up every publication it could get its greedy hands on, and profitability wasn't part of the equation.
    Fast forward to 2009 and the picture is vastly different. Long gone are the days of wealth, and the money to pay the corporate cronies isn't there, so a treasure hunt ensued. With decreasing ad revenue and declining readership the money had to be found elsewhere. Instead of trimming the corporate payroll, the choice fell on the worker bees at the community papers. It is beyond twisted to think, that slimming down the printed product by RIF and weeding out an experienced workforce will entice more readers to pay for our product, and thereby making a platform for more valuable advertising.
    It is my belief, that most of the community papers can stand on their own and actually turn a profit, even without all the carnage that layoffs, early retirement and consolidation. Even USA TODAY can stand on its own feet and turn a profit.
    Until Gannett start to liquidate their assets and sell off the community papers nothing will change, and when they do, all the local papers will but a shell of their former self.
    Gannett as a corporation is top heavy, and there aren't enough funds to keep the ship right side up.
    Just in case someone from the top is reading this, I beg you to do the right thing and cut the cord. Give us who are left a chance to put out a product we can be proud of, and in the process keep our jobs. Do the decent thing, I beg you...

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  30. 6:18 I think you forgot the pettiness, and lies.

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  31. 6:18 I know you don't care to hear this but they actually think it is funny that those things bother you.

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  32. The local papers seem to have forgotten the goal of treating employees with respect for a job well done. Their new goal is to replace workers who do a good job with workers who won't do as well but are cheaper.

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    1. Most Gannett papers have never treated employees with any respect. That is, was and will always be the culture.

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  33. The Daily Advertiser, a Gannett-owned paper serving central Louisiana, is standing by its decision to run an advertisement today in which a far-right extremist group suggests that President Obama and Democrats are conspiring to murder Catholics and Christians.

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  34. And as the stock plunges and revenues continue coming in under budget, in Cincinnati you have a six-figure office refurbishment taking place for CW and new carpet for the whole newsroom. Wooo Whoo!!! That will help. Perhaps that money could have been spent on keeping a couple a folks on the payroll instead. What an asbolute waste of money.

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  35. 6:04- That was too funny and spot on.I'm not sure that ABM will wash and wax the Infinity and make sure that it is topped off with premium gas either.I think that a lot of people, ABM included,will be in for big surprises in the future as I smell a massive clusterfuck coming around the bend.

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  37. Class act you’re not 8:14 PM, then again not too surprising given how you’ve yet to realize that employees across Gannett are tired of maintaining the personal services too many publishers and corporate staff have become accustomed to all while they’re being cut and asked to do increasingly more for less.

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  38. My site keeps telling us economy rosy...go get dollars. Hmmmmmm.

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  39. Penny wise, pound foolish.

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  40. Get this brillance from Des Moines Register Editor Rick Green: “I’m blessed to have a dedicated news team that cares about this corner of the country and the people who call it home. Be assured, that as you raise the bar, we’ll clear it — and then some. Thanks, as always, for reading The Des Moines Register — on every platform.” First of all Iowa is not in the corner of the country. It's exactly in the middle of the country. Secondly, most Iowans don't think of reading the Des Moines Register on "every platform" as Rick Green says. He stuffed his column with every possible corporate buzz word he could possibly find. This stuff is poetic, you've got to read his column. It's jaw dropping in its amateur quality. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/interactive/article/20120531/OPINION01/305310040/Rick-Green-Look-more-from-us-print-digitally?nclick_check=1

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    1. Rick Green cares more about his team than any executive I've met inside or outside of Ganbett. So when you take a shot at him you've lost any credibility. You are just an u happy soul.

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  41. Hmm... Note to self re usage: The expression "corner of the country" may only refer to a region that includes one of the four points that define a quadrilateral coinciding with the territory of said country.

    [Self: What if said country does not have a four-cornered shape, and in fact includes non-contiguous regions separated by oceans and even other countries — e.g., the USA?] Then, my child, ye shall spend thy lonely Friday evenings maintaining the strictest vigilance against any illicit usage of the the vile phrase "corner of the country"! It shall be anathema!

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  42. Picked up a copy of the Journal News in Yonkers yesterday. First time in seven years. The paper is awful, what happened here ?

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  43. USAT print is disappearing week by week and digital is getting lousier and less relevant by the minute. And this is supposed to be the piece ofvshit model we're supposed to aspire to?

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  44. I don't think an hour goes by when someone in the cracked crystal palace doesnt ask me if I've seen the blog. Power to you Jim!

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  45. RE:Des Moines Reg
    There are huge numbers of rural lifestyle residents in Iowa and in lots of these areas the internet is not easily accissible.
    Many older folks don't have computers,many famers don't have computers .I know,my in-laws are retired farmers and do not own a computer.So to sell them and thousands of others on a multimedia program is not real bright.The Des Moines Register/ Gannett just doesn't know it's customer base.

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  46. Don't you people get it? The new subscription model is nothing but an old fashioned increase in the price of getting the newspaper. If they allowed all the old people to opt out of paying for digital, there goes all the incremental revenue.

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  47. Johan Santana pitched the first no hitter in Mets' history last night - a span of some 8,000 games - and the Journal News was reduced to running wire copy even though the game was at Shea Stadium, about 25 miles from the Journal News headquarters.

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  48. 10:42 and that made a huge difference to the reader. I'm sure hundreds and hundreds noticed that a Journal News reporter didn't write the story. Time to wake up, Rumplestiltskin. It's a new era.

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  49. 10:42 must be one of those ever-fumbling sportswriters who claims to know what every paper should do.

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  50. 10:42 oops I meant Rip Van Winkle. Got my fairy tales confused.

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

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  52. 12:54 - Is this so? Then why does the Journal News staff every Yankee home game but no Met games? Now, that's fair and balanced coverage.

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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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