Thursday, September 20, 2012

Sept. 17-23 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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36 comments:

  1. check out the logo here:
    http://www.mnn.com/

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  2. This "balls" embarrassment is getting worse as we have become nothing more than a joke across the country. Every day seems to burying usat more and more.

    What is worse is the culture we now work within here.

    This is an indictment on Maryam Banikarim, who thinks it is "silly" and any publicity is beneficial (as long as it mentions her name).

    This is an indictment on Sandra Micek, who continues her usual duck and hide.

    This is an indictment on Susie Ellwood, who states this ongoing episode is "not a big deal."

    This is an indictment on Gracia Martore, who could care less about the abhorent behavior of her subordinates or what the professional culture of Gannett has been reduced to.

    Shameful, disappointing, outrageous, painful, ridiculous and damaging to all of us.

    AND STOP PRETENDING THIS IS EVER GOING AWAY.

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  3. Only 5 minutes into his show, and Glenn Beck rips USAT for being stale with their news choices for 1A by running the "Romney 47%" story for the third day in a row, lol.

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  4. What news from Wilmington?

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

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

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  7. The Maryam memo has already blown over if no one in Gannett files a complaint. As Maryam might say, "grow a pair."

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  8. Ok, I think we've all bee-yotched enough about the blue balls.

    Corporate made their decision. We're stuck with it.

    As long as you get a paycheck every couple of weeks from these folks, does anything else matter?

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  9. 'BLUE' FAILURE ALMOST INEVITABLE

    Big Al did many prototypes, had a clear field to run down.

    Gannettoids had to deal with the past, as well as suck their thumbs at same time.

    Not everyone is Steve Jobs (RIP). Especially Gannettoids.

    Well, there was $50,000,000, out the friggin' door.

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  10. There seems to be a gigantic orange failure as well. The creator of Deal Chicken left?

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  11. 11:13 I'd still like to see a memo/e-mail officially confirming that.

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  12. I work for Gannett, 30 years. I also hate working for them, I have been looking and as soon as that door opens, im gone. On another point..I like the new USAT. The layout is refreshing, but the type face sucks. That is my only thought about this company today.

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  13. To be clear, 11:13 is talking about DealChicken's Michelle Savoy, whose LinkedIn profile hasn't changed.

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  14. So why is this chronic dog setting multiple 52 week highs? Takeover?

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  15. A guess: The 23 TV stations are taking in even more advertising revenue than previously forecast because of the presidential and congressional races.

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  16. Jim, can you post the Poynter article : interview with the Design Firm who did the USA Today website?

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  17. About those stock prices, 12:25:

    From a story Jim hasn't posted on, possibly because it shows the tentative success of paywalls:

    "The New York Times isn't the only newspaper company that's been heating up recently. Shares of Gannett (NYS: GCI) , the largest newspaper chain in the country and the owner of the USA Today, have climbed to near post-recession highs recently. On Wednesday, the stock popped another 4.3% after UBS analyst John Janedis said that pay walls at 70 of its 80 regional newspapers were performing better than expected. "

    http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/20/are-newspapers-making-a-comeback/

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  18. Or it could be higher valuation on the hard assets (real estate) Gannett owns.

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

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  20. Wall street loves companies that cut cost by layoffs. The layoffs and buyouts were not necessary. The paywalls could have been put in place years ago.

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  21. I remove comments that include the phrase "lamestream media."

    That's politically partisan baiting. This is a blog about the Gannett company and the news industry.

    There are plenty of other blogs out there that cover politics.

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  22. WARREN BUFFETT

    " .. Or it could be higher valuation on the hard assets (real estate) Gannett owns .."

    If GCI had decent real estate, W.B. would have already swept in.

    To have (1) the worst economy in 75 years with (2) a wrenching tech-change has been a nerve-jangling death-spiral.

    W.B. has enough cash to buy GCI in two seconds. That W.B. has not (yet), means he wants to see better performance.

    A good summary from Zack's -

    http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-09/gannett-maintained-at-neutral-analyst-blog.aspx?storyid=174845

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  23. USAT has been repainted, reprimed, reduced, reinflated and restaged for a sale. We all know it. So does Wall Street.

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  24. 5:01 --- Do you EVER have a good day?

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  25. Usa Today is not for sale. stop spreading that stale rumor.

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  26. Truth be told, as bad as the operating systems we have been given to work with are (there were several shouting matches tonight out of frustratyion with something called "Presto,"), most people at USA TODAY are remaining upbeat about the redesign and the future.

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  27. I am a former employee and Graphic Designer. I just checked out the redesign... It looks fantastic. They did a wonderful job. It's a modern, fresh, clean, and organized presentation of the newspaper product. The people responsible should receive kudos for a wonderful job.

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  28. Love ball design elements for USAT. Great fun watching how they can use them with the daily news items.

    I do have to say that I don't like the font types, though.

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  29. Jim,

    Lamestream media is freedom of expression. Get over it. I've sent you info on Des Moines in the past. But if you're that sensitive then I'll stop visiting and contributing.

    You sound like MSNBC.....

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  30. 10:21, so you have no issue with body type that is almost unreadable, or the silly illustrations that add nothing to the state briefs?

    You must have been a graphic designer. You have no concept of what people actually want in a newspaper.

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  31. Font is very difficult to read which is a big problem for a product that requires reading.

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  32. Anybody know what the point size is on the body type on the redesigned print paper? It is hard to read for non-young eyes, and seems like it should be one or two points bigger.

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  33. 10:42 The phrase "lamestream media" is politically loaded jargon, and only incites off-topic posts here.

    For the same reason, I would remove any post that refers to Rupert Murdoch's cable channel as Faux News.

    The "freedom of expression" you cite apparently refers to the Bill of Right's First Amendment. There's nothing in the amendment that requires newspapers, bloggers, etc., to publish anything.

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  34. Amen to that. Freedom of speech doesn't mean you can say whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, either. This isn't a public forum (i.e. not supported by public money) so Jim is free to control the conversation as he sees fit.

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  35. Blue balls by Maryam Banikarim ladies and gentlemen. What an innovative idea for a rebrand. Was everyone at Gannett on a sugar high from the free chocolate her pal and former Mars company executive handed out? I'm sure she invited Michelle Kessler for a Gannett version of "Innovation Speaker Series" like she did in previous jobs to have her bore people to death with lectures, excuse me, "insights and strategies that have led to outstanding growth." Same formula at every job. She'll be on to the next company leaving a trail of collateral damage in her wake.

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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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