Monday, August 13, 2012

Aug. 13-19 | 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.)

43 comments:

  1. Good luck Peter Gray- Wait a minute......I thought Milsap and Zanmiller was the problem with Shreveport revenue?????When people like Milsap, Za
    Nmiller, Nobles, and a few good managers , the facts speak for themselves. These were good people with proven successes and cared about their product, company,and yes THEIR EMPLOYEES!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yet another WF VP has been hired. Gannett is continuing to lead the way in Diversity!

    http://www.gannett.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/PRESSRELEASES19/120807001/USA-WEEKEND-names-Lori-Altman-Vice-President-National-Advertising-Sales

    ReplyDelete
  3. It will be interesting to see how well the paywall works in Phoenix. Relatively speaking, the AZ Republic has managed to do ok the last few years largely because of the very large senior population in the Phoenix metro area. That group, while still very likely to buy the newspaper, is just as unlikely to purchase a digital (or "full access") subscription. The one saving grace for them is that even though Phoenix is the 6th largest city in the country, there is no other 7 day paper.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 7:54...Considering revenue is down by more than half of where it was a year ago, I'm thinking Shreveport's problems are unfixable. I can't wait to see how Hollingsworth and Greiwe try to fix the mess they've created. I don't plan on sticking around to find out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Journal News never covered Romney's selection of Paul Ryan for VP. I looked all weekend...never saw a word on Lohud. That's dereliction of duty.

    ReplyDelete
  6. New EE in Green Bay is Mike Knuth, who had been EE of smaller Wisconsin papers in Sheboygan and Manitowoc. He succeeds John Dye, who retired in April.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Grapevine has it that Gannett will be investing 25 plus million in Deer Valley Production facility. At least 2 three around folders plus new conveyor and platemaking equipment. The reasoning behind this is fewer press crews and platemaking equipment that can move images as needed. Up and coming contract talks with Pressroom should be a trip down memory lane.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How bad were Olympic ad sales for Beusse & Company? What a disaster.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 8:20,
    Altman is not new. She has been at USAW for many years.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's over (the Olympics)????...................................NO, Gannett's future.............BAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAH

    ReplyDelete
  11. 10:34am - Not a word of Ryan's selection for VP on Tallahassee.com either, but then what do you expect from the pageviews-starved "Democrat"?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Now we know why Carolyn Washburn didn't comment in the Ron Liebau obit. She was too busying writing her column about all the top investigative work the Enquirer is doing. Holy cow. She makes the newspaper sound like the Washington Post in the Ben Bradlee days when she talks about her two reporters covering the presidential candidates when they are in Ohio and holding their feet to the fire. Please, give us a break. Horstman is a terrific reporter, but no on else on the staff measures up, including the four other folks mentioned in her column.
    Have to agree with one poster for yesterday. Why isn't corporate looking into morale at Enquirer and Washburn and Buchanan's behavior? Neither one should be running anything bigger than the Idaho Statesman.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey Jim, Romenesko has just broken the story I told you about last week:
    http://jimromenesko.com/2012/08/13/reporter-resigns-after-posting-chick-fil-a-rant-on-facebook/

    Good luck Krzos in your new PR job, working with another former colleague of the News-Depressed!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nothing like having a northeast Wisconsin small-business owner (under 50 employees) tell you that your newspaper because of it's increasing subscription rates and decreasing size is a rag. Nope. She didn't know that I worked for Gannett when she said that.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gannett will rue the day it decided to do a $24/month paywall for digital/paper in Phoenix. Those are New York Times prices for a decidedly inferior product that can't even tell you what is going on in the Phoenix metro area, much less the rest of the state. Welcome to Pandora's Box, Zidich and Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  16. 11:58 Thank you. I had also received a second tip that he had left under different circumstances.

    But on stuff like this, I'd rather be safe than sorry. And i don't regret that.

    ReplyDelete
  17. CFO Victoria Harker has joined the board of Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls. She was just named CFO at Gannett on July 23rd. What if anything does this say about her dedication and long term plans with Gannett? The last CFO didn't stay very long.

    ReplyDelete
  18. "The smallest training camp crowd of the summer watched Sunday’s practice, which at one hour and 45 minutes tied for the second-shortest practice." - GB Press-Gazette

    Only in Green Bay would the Packer beat writers run a stopwatch on how long practice lasts.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I guess with Gannett buying Blink for 90 million dollars puts an end to the posting of Gannett folding in 42 days.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh no! I see the consultants are back at USA TODAY. Guess the "leadership" ran out of ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 7:54 Gannett did this to themselves...you CANNOT have two publishers working at the same site at the same time. You gave us Bailey but we already had Zanmiller. Why would we trade a people person who knew the employees and community (Zanmiller) for someone that wants to be the "BIG" man in charge (Bailey). Why would we trade someone we could communicate with (Zanmiller) for someone that only want to make himself look good (Bailey).

    Bailey is a mistake for this Gannett site. Revenue will not move forward until Gannett admit they made a mistake with placing him here. The community speaks through loss ad revenue and it is only gong to get worse. Reality speaks for itself!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I don't get it. Why is Lori Altman at USAW reporting to Murcko and not to publisher Heather Frank? And where did Chuck Gabrielson get kicked off to?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 3:39 Frank is the Editor. Murcko is responsible for National Advertising.

      Delete
  23. To 11:53 AM:

    Dubow sent someone into the Enquirer a number of years ago due to complaints, yet despite allegedly validating many that would have easily resulted in Buchanan’s dismissal at more employee-focused companies she was allowed to straighten herself up.

    The internal buzz and effect soon after was she’d just be discrete so people were watching their backs even more as most knew people with her low emotional intelligence rarely, if ever changed.

    It’s an unfortunate decision as her tenure has ultimately cost the Enquirer millions in untold profits and in the loss of very capable people who would have easily made that entity far better than where if finds itself today under her, and now her rumored “mini-me” in editorial.

    ReplyDelete
  24. 12:52: I've been hearing rag and worse lately...like it's not even good enough to line a bird cage with. I hear it more now in a month than I used to in 5 years, and it's getting hard to disagree.
    With the way things are going, we'd better get used to it.

    ReplyDelete
  25. While they are making changes at The Production Center in Phoenix, they should do the same in Indy. They are over paid and over staffed and changes need to be made. The layers of managers in the pressroom is a joke. How do you pay a Press manger in Indy 125k and a night manger 90k? That is why GPS is losing money

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speaking of Indy, former gm jekel is wielding the scalpel at gatehouse in Ohio now. 20,000 circ operation formerly had 12 reporters now down to less than 5. Coverage suffers and employees have hawk watching over from above now.

      Delete
  26. In Jacksonville, Gannett-owned First Coast News (WTLV/WJXX) has a new general manager. Eric Land is a longtime TV executive and former chief operating officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

    ReplyDelete
  27. REALITY

    " .. Why isn't corporate looking into morale at Enquirer .."

    "E" don't hit numbers -- s--t hits the fan. Have seen a lot of losers get tossed for that, or get "a new assignment."

    Why do you think so many are being 'retired" at "E?" Panic is an ugly thing, isn't it?

    Cinci is probably the next Detroit. Look out below, y'all.

    ReplyDelete
  28. 7:54: The problem with Shreveport's revenue is Laura Hollingsworth and Linda Greiwe. They are the problem with our site's revenue, too. Bad managers equal bad business. It's just that simple.

    ReplyDelete
  29. ((( A busy lady. Now, USA Today can only write NICE things about the Navy's nuclear subs - see last graf)))

    Gannett CFO elected to Huntington Ingalls Industries board of directors
    August 13, 2012 11:52 AM


    Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Monday that Victoria D. Harker has been elected to its board of directors.

    Harker is currently the CFO for Gannett, an international media and marketing solutions company. She joined the company on July 23 after previously serving as CFO and president of global business services for AES Corp., a multinational power company. Before joining AES, she was the acting CFO and treasurer of MCI and prior to that she was the CFO of MCI Group, a unit of World Com Inc.

    She currently serves on the board of directors of Xylem, Inc., which was a spin off from ITT Corp. in 2011, and Darden Restaurants, Inc. Harker also was recently appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to serve on U. Va.‘s board of visitors.

    Huntington Ingalls Industries designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe.

    ReplyDelete
  30. 7:54 - Zanmiller left Gannett. He is one of the smartest people I ever worked for. We will never get him back. He was the only publisher I worked for that cared and knew about our product, the employees, and the community. He talked to everyone that worked here and knew us all by name. When Zanmiller left Gannett for another job in a different industry it was obvious to the community and the employees that this paper wasn't worth shit anymore. It is past time to go. My prediction is that Shreveport won't recover. I don't care who they bring in.

    ReplyDelete
  31. It is poor to suggest one site has a revenue problem that is bigger than all others without the context of how the others are doing. Which newspapers are the top 10, 20 or 50 properties to budget or YOY.
    Perspective is needed.
    If one property is down, in this cycle, you have to know if they are down more or less than other papers to comparable markets. Which is down the least? Is anyone actually performing counter to the trend?
    Gannett lost a lot of good people by breathing down necks about revenue declines that were trending. Jackson MS is an example. Instead of listening, remaining calm and relaying compassion and recognition, good people were axed and good people left - several times.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Shreveport will collapse when it's pay wall goes up. One of the worse web sites in the company. Heard they will not even raise prices there for the pay wall!

    ReplyDelete
  33. @4:30 pm
    I agree, serious attention should be paid regarding the production end of the Indy Star. Packaging (mailroom) is an incredible joke full of drugs and alcohol and don't-give-a-crap attitudes.
    There are a few of us who would like to see the end of ink come with some grace and professionalism.
    Wake up, you lazy jerks. Have some pride in what you do.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Press mangers earn every cent. Yea right..what a joke. This is the reason pressman get let go, so theses guys can sit and stare at their computer all day doing nothing

    ReplyDelete
  35. You have to check out the Deal Chicken app, it's awesome.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcflWmGtnHY

    ReplyDelete
  36. Pete Zanmiller was good at what he did, how ever he is not bigger than any paper. Their are Production people out their who could do a fine job and replace Pete. No one is bigger than the game

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 8:37 Pete leaving is not the reason for Shreveport not recovering, but it was another nail in the coffin. There were problems before he ever got there but he was a better person, man, and publisher than the one before or the one after him. Funny I haven't heard anything about the one who set the course for Shreveport 's downward spiral .......lkw

      Delete
  37. My husband works in the mailroom ( not Indy) @ another Gannett paper, has no addiction problems, and does take pride in doing his job well, thank-you...That said, he's ready to go if Gannett would offer a similar buyout to those 55 and older production workers as they've been offering to other non-union employee's...Moral isn't good where he is.

    ReplyDelete
  38. 8/13/2012 10:26 PM I checked out the awesome Deal Chicken app review!!! Amazing, I was the 144 person in 8 days to check this out. Those are fricking world wide numbers and I am sure Jim only sent 75% of then. Social media is sooo coool and we are all awesome.

    With all this traffic, we need to work on the actual deals, they kinda suck. I mean, they really look like they only work for Home Shopping Network drop outs that can't afford cable anymore. Tomorrow's task, yea!

    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.