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Thursday, November 01, 2012
42 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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USA TODAY's website got HUGE numbers the last two days for the hurricane. The old dog ain't dead yet!
ReplyDeleteAs some said yesterday, the news coverage has been round the clock impressive. Finally something to be proud of. At least its a start.
ReplyDeletecoleman out in phx due to health reasons !
ReplyDeleteUSA Today down 4% and AzRep down 6%
ReplyDeleteand that most likely is the trend across all of Gannett print products.Some probably much steeper declines.That,along with the deep dives in print revenue
numbers can,t bode well for the worker bees of Gannett.
Prepare for a December surprise once again.
Jim, what might draw more contributions --
ReplyDeleteLocate daily page counts and publish them. There's a key to the future.
Some papers looking awfully thin. We're going into Xmas, then the awful post-Xmas months.
Not good, IMHO.
2:52...Just shows what I've been argueing all along. Find relevant, hard news and cover it the way it's supposed to be covered. Print still does it but unfortunately only when they want to. Sales have been real good the last couple of days so if print is dead, why does it do better when newspapers go back and do their job right?
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way...ask how many New Jersey folks and New Your City people could rely on their digital toys to keep them up on the storm. From what I heard, not many if at all cells, tablets, laptops, were of any use at cricial moments. But I bet you if their single copy people at least are as diligent as ours is here in FL., papers were at the stores the minute they were open!
It took the storm of a lifetime to briefly revive the "old dog." What USAT does day in and day out is what matters. And from where I sit, USAT is failing in its quest to be a must-read for anyone looking for credible news that is balanced, well-edited and designed, etc. This is not a legitimate news product for anyone serious about subscribing to a general news publication. Heck, it's not even a product most journalists want to work for anymore, which explains some of the awful content.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that this paper's wounds are mostly self-inflicted. Can't blame the recession for Gannett ruining the flagship, breaking the trust and bond with its employees. The core of the place is rotten. No new logos or one big day of web traffic following a huge news event is going to save USAT.
Interesting rant. Btw, Gannett revenue grew last quarter. Bitterness is hard to temper sometimes. But have to say, USAT is better since Kramer arrived and is as good as its been im the last 5 years or longer.
DeleteHoward Stern commented today there will always be a need for newspapers,"dogs don't shit on laptops"
ReplyDeleteThe entire Sandy experience should be a fairly obvious lesson between assumptions and reality: don't put all your eggs into one basket (i.e., faith in cell phones (oopsie!), e.g., faith in digital). I still believe the correct media business model should be, just like an investment portfolio, spread out so that one does does not supplant the other especially in cases where either side of the technology (and the assumptions) fails.
ReplyDeleteGannett revenue grew due to 23 broadcast stations having a good quarter.Print revenue down ,I believe it was 7%.Get the facts;
ReplyDeletePhoenix news: KPNX-TV Channel 12 sportscaster Bruce Cooper hospitalized:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/10/31/channel-12-sportscaster-bruce-cooper.html?ana=yfcpc
Story does not give any details.
Notice The Arizona Republic's Sunday number. About 480,000 total.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, 49,000 of that is "branded". Likely the YES distribution, which is a bunch of Sunday ads, sometimes with coupons, delivered FREE to "desirable" zip codes.
The Rep's digital number (according to ABC) is still under 1,000. Gotta wonder when that expands, given most papers the size of The Rep claim hundreds of thousands of digital in addition to print.
Can anyone confirm or deny the rumor that Florida Today's daily price will soon be going to $1.25? I heard that the other day and almost choked on my spit. Hope this isn't true. The biggest reason for print's demise around here is the cost for a now inferior product. Not to mention a quarter of it is USA Today based which people do not want.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete11:18 — In fairness, the "other papers" you mention have had years to gather digital subscribers. The Republic went to the paywall about a month before the end of the audit period. But why bother with facts?
ReplyDelete@1:42 . . . it was a question, not a criticism, about The Republic's small digital number. That number has been constant since digital started being counted over a year ago.
ReplyDeleteAs you note, The Rep paywall (aka "If you subscribe to print, we're now charging another 25% so you can read it on a digital platform") only took effect recently. So where did those several hundred digitals that have been counted for over a year now by ABC come from? Employees?
Also, perhaps someone can explain the true digital count to me. Is that ANY digital sub? Or is it a digital-only sub? Since The Rep compelled every print sub to take (or at least pay for) digital access, will their subs (print+digital) essentially double in the next ABC count?
Dull copy from small minds -- small profits.
ReplyDeleteIt is that simple, that's why Big Al had "The Last Supper."
If the economy slips again -- LOOK OUT BELOW!!!
Editor and Publisher's handy list of how the 2012 presidential editorial endorsements are faring so far is at ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.editorandpublisher.com/election/
Not seeing too many Gannett papers (Detroit is exception) endorsing Obama. Big surprise.
GPS gets a service contract:
ReplyDeletehttp://finance.yahoo.com/news/gannett-publishing-services-enters-agreement-140000879.html
E&P's list is far from complete, no Wisconsin Gannett papers listed at all.
ReplyDeleteThere is some regionalism on the list though - red state papers endorse red, mostly - and blues go blue. Where the editor lives seems to be more important than who owns the paper.
Gannett pact with World Co. first announced by the Kansas paper Oct. 3 and covered by News & Tech. Guess it took Gannett a bit of time to get its own release issued.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone actually read some of the drivel in the Money section? Flabby reporting and writing, awful story selection, major stories missed or buried day in, day out. This section has been bad for some time, but it has gotten far worse as its attempted to do more news. Kramer, you have a business background, can you get off your throne and get some people who actually know how to edit and write business stories?
ReplyDeleteI cant find a fuckingthing on the new website. WTF?
ReplyDelete11:54-Orlando is already at 1.25, it would not surprise anyone.
ReplyDeleteIf USAToday had any balls, like its sister publication the Federal Time's did a month ago (http://tinyurl.com/a5naxhc), it would have already written about how the White House has in essence, offered up taxpayer monies to avoid the WARN act notices hitting millions of defense employees prior to election due to sequestration.
ReplyDeletePathetic.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/defense-contractors-back-off-layoff-notice-plans/2012/10/05/824b8008-0c00-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html
No doubt, so is the absense of this story....all taxpayers to provide personal health ID information in 2014 when they file their taxes as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
And yet some wonder why newspapers and other media outlets are being dropped by consumers.
Hint: It’s about content; i.e. the lack of it.
4:22 - Gannett would never allow an article on such things. We probably wouldn't get the exclusive off-the-record interviews with the president if we did!
ReplyDelete3:00 PM - What can't you find? I'm not having any problems. Sorry, but I actually enjoy the new site.
ReplyDeleteI cant find actual news stories. Lots of video, and videos about pets, though. Who runs gigitsl, Captain Kangaroo? Dont think any of the digital kids actually know who that is.
ReplyDeleteSo 7:12.........I'm still confused?? Gannett did or didn't grow total revenue for the quarter? Last I checked they did.
ReplyDeleteYes, print advertising is still struggling, but digital revenue is growing. Company is closer to being right sized and is diversifying its business portfolio so they are able to mitigate against the continued slide in print ads. I'm happy to talk facts with you anytime. However, I would prefer that they are indeed facts and not made up.
Ooops......Previous post actually directed at 7:23
ReplyDeleteHey, Jim, check this out, about another former USATer --
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailydot.com/opinion/coming-out-online-politically/
"I recently came out online. It was scary and frightening and I worried about rejection. I know that most of my friends already know who I am, but what about everyone else? Would they talk to me anymore? Would they unfriend me? Would my sources reject me?
" .. I’m a liberal. There, I said it. Again."
Now, this is content that is engaging, to a wide audience, because it is witty.
Got that, Ms. Gracia? You're welcome, madam.
8:15 You are correct; third quarter revenue grew 3.4%. Newspaper and other publishing advertising was down 6.6%.
ReplyDeleteBut the 23 TV stations and the rest of broadcasting had a huge 36% increase, mostly because of Olympics and political advertising.
Jim........Any idea how the TV stations performed during 2nd quarter? Was curious to see how much more it contributed to 3rd quarter results.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete8:59 In the second quarter, TV and other broadcasting revenue rose 11.4% to $205 million -- more than any of the other four main revenue sources.
ReplyDeleteOverall revenue that quarter fell 2.1% to $1.3 billion.
12:37 has great points. The talent is long gone, what little is left is beaten down and cast aside. Bells and whistles os all that matters these days.
ReplyDeleteI love the USAT new site. It's easy to navigate, easy to find what I am looking for, and entertaining.
ReplyDelete9:42, 99% unoriginal material in USAT.
ReplyDeleteNo one needs to read USAT.
It is NOT easy to navigate. IT is NOT EASY to distinguish between articles and video. Ads are WAY TOO INTRUSIVE. We are going to be losing lots of readers.
ReplyDeleteDULL, DULL, DULL STORIES!!
ReplyDeleteF THE G.D. 'BALLS'
A "content" company with 15,000+ employees, and Ms. Gracia's crew CANNOT find one story daily like WSJ does that makes you want to read it?
ReplyDeletePathetic, sick, and inane.