Friday, January 11, 2013

Jan. 7-13 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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44 comments:

  1. In re this comment from an earlier thread: Just curious, is there a law about performance reviews being given on time?

    I was a manager for years and never heard that. I was required to attend regular sessions on personnel laws, like harassment and overtime, but never one on a "law" of reviews. What I did hear repeatedly was there a policy that there would be no raise without an up-to-date reviews. But if nobody (only the privileged few?) is getting raises, it's a moot point.

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    1. Point well said. All reviews are done at the same time now at our paper. There are no raises...however, employees with less than 6 months experience are being promoted with mediocre job skills, while top producing employees are being passed over!

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    2. There is no law requiring reviews for anyone. It's a policy in Gannett that everyone receive an annual review, but from experience, it's like pulling teeth. I had to report overdue reviews in my monthly report to the publisher. It was worse in the years with no raises. It was suppose to be part of the OC's bonus metrics, but I'm not sure how that was enforced. My current company does it annually all at one time. Corporate is offset from the rest of the company since we're on a different bonus/commission plan. It's nice to work in a real company.

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    3. As always, people here don't understand how benefits or personnel matters work.

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  2. Tonight on Fox News, in a segment with Jeanine Pirro of Fox News' "Justice with Judge Jeanine," Bill O'Reilly predicted The Journal News would soon go out of business as a result of the gun map fallout and advertising boycott. Pirro agreed, saying she knows for a fact advertisers have pulled out.

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    1. You mean former Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro? There's a reason she's working for Fox News now and not in an elected office. You might want to look her up before you cite her as an authority.

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    2. From the story below she kind of reminds me of a Gannett executive.

      From the AP...
      After standing by her man as he served a federal prison sentence, admitted fathering a child with another woman and embarrassed her political campaign by telling the press she wasn't giving him enough attention, Jeanine Pirro is finally separating from her husband, a family spokesman said Saturday.
      The split comes a year after Pirro lost her bid to become state attorney general, a campaign that was hounded by personal concerns as the couple's marriage troubles made headlines and Pirro acknowledged that she was under federal investigation for plotting to record her husband to catch him at a suspected affair.

      Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/jeanine-pirro-husband-tumultuous-marriage-article-1.258620#ixzz2Hfs3pHMZ

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    3. First of all, the words "Fox" and "News" create something of an oxymoron when used to describe a news reporting organization. Unless you are a conservative right-winger only interested in hearing others support what you already believe.

      Bill O'Reilly is an entertainer, not a journalist. For that matter, Fox "News" is mearly entertainment for the conservative born again religious fanatic fearful of everything.

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    4. And that's different how from CNN or MSNBC? On the other side of the line of course.

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  3. When advertisers leave, the newspaper will shut down.
    Gannett does not publish out of the goodness of their heart. It's all about revenue, and everyone here should know that.It does matter who says it.

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    1. Gannett is doing just fine. I heard there is talk they want to buy out Lee newspapers

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    2. They'll have to go through Buffett to get to Lee . . . unless of course Buffett takes a stake in Gannett.

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  4. does NOT matter who says it.

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  5. Gannett New Jersey sues borough over failure to release salary records and borough (wrongly) fights back.

    "Legal fees for the newspapers — Asbury Park Press, Courier News, Daily Record and Home News Tribune — total more than $459,500 as of October, when Gannett filed a motion in Superior Court to seek reimbursement from the borough."

    Fair enough.

    Then ...

    "In addition to the $459,500, Gannett attorneys are seeking a 50 percent 'enhancement,' citing 'significant public interests' presented in the case."

    So Gannett NJ wants another quarter-million dollars -- OF TAXPAYER MONEY -- and suggests its taking the step in the public's interest? That's some quality doublespeak.

    Public-records suit could cost Raritan Borough more than $750G

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    1. OPRA states that a public official, officer, employee, or custodian who knowingly and willfully violates the Act and is found to have unreasonably denied access under the totality of the circumstances shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for an initial violation, $2,500 for a second violation, and $5,000 for a third violation that occurs within 10 years of an initial violation.
      Since these fines are a slap on the wrist, I'd opine that GNJ wants to send a message to insular little towns that they should think long and hard before denying a legitimate OPRA request. Taxpayers can blame the idiot public officials and their attorneys who could have settled this case at anytime before it snow balled out of control. Blame them.

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    2. Suggesting that the public should pay when a politician does wrong sends a message, all right ... that Gannett NJ needs money, and it doesn't care what it has to do to get it.

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  6. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Green Bay tv stations have story of two-year-old abused and put in a dog cage by father. This took place in Appleton area. No story in Post-Crescent but they do have a feature on girl scout cookies and an on-line widget to vote for your favorite cookie.

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    1. Just another example of why Gannett's presence in Wisconsin is irrelevant.

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    2. Self-created "news" is they way of the future for Gannett's pathetic online content. Hard news (wrecks, fires, crimes, etc.) takes real reporters.

      Why bother with an analysis on the fiscal crisis when you can fill the holiday space easier with "12 Days of Cookies?"

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    3. Here's why Gannett will continue to fail miserably in Wisconsin: They got rid of dozens (maybe hundreds) of hard-working individuals. Many of these individuals have deep roots in the communities where they live and used to work. Word of mouth from these individuals continues to hurt the reputations of so many Gannett properties. I don't see how they will ever recover readers or build online subscriptions. Gannett would be better off selling the businesses to Journal Communications or Madison Newspapers. No one in Wisconsin likes sending money to the fat cats in McLean, Virginia!

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    4. Which cookie is winning?

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    5. Thanks-A-Lot: A shortbread cookie with fudge on the bottom

      (This sounds like a cookie based on my last Gannett manager!)

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    6. If cops or someone didn't send a fax on the dog cage boy Appleton's staff of newbies wouldn't have it. I know a lot of their reporters who left, with 30 and 40 years experience, and the drop in coverage and quality has been shocking. My subscription expired in fall and I won't renew at $24 a month, but it still shows up on my doorstep everyday. I'd like to see their circulation numbers.

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    7. Interesting post, 9:37, but ultimately wrong. The story ran on the P-C Web site on Jan. 8 and in print on Jan. 9. Then, TV ripped it off, put it on the air and AP gave them credit. Maybe before you post something, you could make at least a token effort to check it out first. The followup comments are a hoot as well. Too bad they're as wildly inaccurate and ignorant as yours. Is that the best you've got?

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    8. ANNNNND 9:37 and others get exposed! Again!

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    9. But did the AP pick up on the cookie story?

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    10. 10:52, you may be correct with your timeline. But there's no denying the fact that most people in Wisconsin heard about this story from TV stations (and their FREE websites) rather than the P-C website or print edition. So the "hard working" reporters at the P-C get nothing while the "lazy" newscasters at the TV stations reap all the benefits. I love it!

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  7. Survey: Streaming video viewers lose patience after 2 seconds
    http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2013/01/10/study-streaming-video-viewers-lose-patience-after-2-seconds/

    Wonder how much their patience is tested when the video finally loads and it's crap?

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  8. Any word from Detroit on going to hub?

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    1. Everything is chaotic at that paper I'm hearing from a friend of mine that works there. She said they have lost a number of people and that management has been in a lot of time-consuming meetings trying to figure out what to do. They might be going to a universal desk, but as for hubs she said there has been little talk of that. I know they just lost a designer and I think a sports editor.

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  9. The Statesman Journal in Salem makes this story the local news centerpiece. THIS is what they want subscribers to pay for. It so sounds like BS:
    http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130110/NEWS/301100034/Dogs-recovering-after-harrowing-day?nclick_check=1

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  10. More about the current quality of Gannett "product" after cutting so many producers. From the alt weekly in Cincy ~

    "In the Good Old Days, the Enquirer would fill local pages with “evergreen” stories written before holiday slow news days. If these timeless trivia weren’t used, they could be spiked or recycled for future fallow news days. Today, evergreens apparently have been tossed on the editorial pyre while this metropolitan daily’s diminished staff is filling its shrunken news hole with staff and reader pet photos.

    • God help the Enquirer photographer who brings in a horizontal (“landscape format”) photo for page A1. It won’t fit. Formulaic layout has ads and promos bannered across the top and bottom, a deep multi-column vertical photo or graphic on the left and a little bit of news beside and beneath that photo or illustration. It seems to be the same every day, regardless of events. It hardly qualifies as design. Cover pages on the Local section fare no better. My guess? The format saves thinking every day about how best to present the news (“content” or “product”) for remaining page editors at some central Midwest location."

    (This column also talks about the gun controversy at the Journal News, under heading "What Were They Thinking?")

    http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-4304-curmudgeon_notes_1092013.html

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    1. Serious question:
      Who's done more to undermine the spirit of Americans, Gannett or al Quaeda?
      If you think about it, while 9/11 destroyed and changed the lives of tens of thousands, Gannett's slow but just as sure destruction of America's Fourth Estate has affected tens of millions directly. Not just the hard-working journalists they put out to pasture in seeking bigger profits, but also those who rely on getting the facts before making decisions - like who to vote on for president.

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    2. Serious answer: You have too much time on your hands to come up with such deep and utterly pointless posts.

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    3. Less serious answer - yo mama undermined our spirit when she finally stopped selling it at the corner of Main and Oak.

      That affected tens of millions too.

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  11. Is Indy about to hire a new sports editor?

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  12. yes...they already have someone in mind. It will be billed as a game changer

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  13. Indy is also recruiting now for a Marketing Director.

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    1. What happened to the guy from Lilly? Did he quit already?

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  14. I heard they were talking to Brent mussberger.

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    1. Here's something you didn't know about Brent (maybe the ONLY thing). But it does explain his comments during the game. And let's be honest - YOU would have drooled at her, too.

      Brent Musberger's middle name is . . . Woody! Trojan-MAN!

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  15. Ramos isn't a game changer. Smooth talker, yes.

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  16. wait, Indy might hire ronnie ramos as sports editor? That can't be true, can it? What a joke.

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  17. The number two guy in indy sports better get ready to see his workload double. He'll be doing his own and carrying Ramos too.

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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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