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Sunday, March 17, 2013
51 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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ReplyDeleteFinally Friday. Last day of the week at this dump!
DeleteWow, WTF, whatever else I can't think of sayiing! What does this mean? If you are going to salt to get things going at least say good morning or FU or something.
DeleteGeez!!
A long time,experienced, editor gets a new job and resigns.
ReplyDeleteThe help wanted for a replacement reads something like
a McDonalds help wanted.
Wanted: College student with intern experience in journalism.
Sounds like the benefits include minimum wage.
I have been at USA Today for fourteen years, and I have seen my share of good and bad people go. This latest round of RIFs made absolutely no sense. We have trying to load the network (deliver another company's products) with a staff of five people. When we asked upper management how are we going to get it done, their response was to hire back one of the people that was just RIF'd. I used to think that upper management had a clear vision for the future of this company. I am not sure what the vision is and how can you effectively do your job without knowing that. If it's just to make money, stop the awards or recognition requests and just tell the employees we are here to make as much money as possible. We will stop expecting anything more, so every two weeks we are even.
ReplyDeleteAt least a previous employee will be able to work again. It would have been a worse response if they would have told you to hire someone new. So, be thankful that it is basically a job saved or resurrected, so to speak.
Delete"...their response was to hire back one of the people that was just RIF'd." I'm not surprised, 821 AM. A few months back I had an "off the record" phone call from a mid-level guy "in case," in this regard. He's functioning on rumor fumes as well, so nothing much has changed. Which is why I said, "Thanks, but no way in hell."
ReplyDeleteAn email came across this afternoon to all USCP employees regarding the upcoming self appraisal process.
ReplyDeleteIt included time lines and and the line (and I quote)"We will be taking the same approach this year"(end quote), which I translate into filling out the self appraisal, turn it in, and that is the end of it.
Someone tell me, why I shouldn't refuse to fill out the form, until I get the one from last year back. I never heard a peep, good or bad, and didn't expect a raise, but for the love of God, if you instill a certain importance about this, common courtesy would dictate, that you have a manager do a performance review, or at least acknowledge that it was received.
I have plenty to do, without having to make myself look brilliant in an inflated snapshot, so please stop wasting my time.
On the face of it, a self eval is for me to tell my boss, just how wonderful I am, and why I deserve a generous raise. His or her eval of me is to counter my proposal for a raise, or to negotiate the size of it.
Have a nice weekend!
self appraisal??
DeleteDo what I did for eight years:
Go to the copy machine, make a copy of last year's self appraisal and change the date. Nothing has been said, and nobody reads them anyway.
They actually do read those appraisals. If you have any goals or ideas that would make your job more effective, that is the time to address them to your superior. I am sure they have noticed your lack of enthusiasm, but are too polite to say anything. This time when you are preparing your appraisal, invest a small amount of time into it. Let them know what some of your short term and long term goals are.
DeleteI have always been very proud of my work throughout the years, and I always had items of accomplishment for my annual review. It is something to remain positive about... Remind them of all of the work and goals you have accomplished. It will more than likely work in your favor and at the same time make you feel better about yourself. We all need a moment of reflection on our careers and job performances. If it doesn't immediate translate into a significant salary increase, maybe learn a little bit about what you want from your career in the future.
DeleteDue to restructuring I can't copy last years self eval, and this restructuring (South Group) has messed up the normal workflow to a point, where everybody don't know if they are coming or going.
DeleteMy self eval will at best be a fairy tale of things I do vs. things I am supposed to be doing.
This is of course, all depending on any feed back I get, or if it is like last year, where none was given. It is all academic, and I have a feeling, that the sense of urgency is to give the worker bee's the fake impression, that the powers that be actually give a damn.
Apparently not to ALL USCP employees. I sure didn't get it--unless it came to the blockage that is our HR partner, who always sends things out days after we get the same info from corporate.
DeleteI thought it was just where I work, but the self appraisal process is the biggest waste of time for any employee in this company. You will still get a commendable on your review and most certainly will not get any pay increase.
Deleteself appraisal should include the following:
ReplyDelete"I work very hard ! I love working here, its wonderful, my boss is the greatest leader in the world. i would like to do more work please ! i don't need a raise, i make way too much now, i'd rather the company keep it to help the budget"
signed, Your Gracious Slave !!
A self appraisal tells an employer a great deal about what "type" of worker you are. A worker that explains what he has accomplised, has a far better career outlook than those with obviously don't care about their performance.
DeleteA self appraisal is conducted so the manager can actually know and understand what the hell you do and have accomplished in the last year. Because left on their own, the manager would have no idea. It helps the manager fill out the employees's review.
DeleteThere's a lot to what you say, 9:54. I always made sure I got my review in on time -- early, if possible. As much as possible, I structured it as a blueprint for what I wanted my reviewing supervisor to write.
DeleteAnd I always, always wrote it with the thought that it might be read by their supervisor, and their supervisor -- all the way up to the publisher. Indeed, at The Idaho Statesman in Boise, we were told that one of our publishers did, in fact, read every review.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/30/jim-hopkins-gannett-business-media-gannett.html
ReplyDeleteThe paranoia Jim expresses in the interview is amazing. Also, what happened to that prediction of failure within 2 years? Maybe he was referring to his own revenue stream! Hahaha!
I made no such prediction. From that July 2009 Forbes story:
DeleteForbes: What's the biggest threat Gannett faces in the near term?
Hopkins: It faces two problems: a crushing debt load and a leadership crisis. In two years Gannett faces a series of repayment obligations under various loans which will be difficult to meet, given the trends in revenue. The only way they've been able to sustain profits is by cutting and cutting. At some point their newspapers wont be able to keep delivering content that gives it value, either for the print or web editions. Plus, Chief Executive Craig Dubow is out on medical leave. He had another round of back surgery in June, then announced he would be out for another four months.
You said the loans would be "difficult to meet," and you implied this "crushing debt load" would be a near term problem.
DeleteAlmost 4 years have passed.
You were wrong. Own it. Don't be a chicken and try to run from what you said.
I see you are hiding from the paranoia claim the OP presented. I assume that means you have no defense.
DeleteWithout a doubt, Gannett has recovered hugely since I spoke to Forbes. Long-term debt has been slashed to $1.4 billion and analysts are now wondering whether the company is under-leveraged. The quarterly dividend has been boosted to 20 cents from 4 cents back then. Corporate is buying back stock. And shares closed yesterday at $21.76.
DeleteBut, as always, hindsight is 20/20. Here was the landscape back then:
Indeed, the loans were difficult to meet. Why else did Corporate cut the dividend 90% that spring in 2009, and hold it that low more than two years? Reducing debt also required reducing companywide employment by 11,000 positions, or 26%, through the end of last year.
Back then, Gannett had $3.5 billion in debt, with more than $700 million maturing in two years. More worrisome, analysts were openly questioning whether the company was at risk of falling out of compliance with credit lines. And they were pressing management for assurances the company had sufficient assets to to sell to raise cash.
Meanwhile, excluding special items, earnings per share had plunged 68% during the most recent quarter after overall revenue fell 18% on a 34% decline in print advertising revenue. Gannett's stock was at $6.65 a share.
Finally, as a side note, keep in mind that slightly more than half of Gannett's debt in spring 2009 was due to stock buybacks totaling $1.8 billion at an average cost of $64 a share -- a decision that hardly instilled confidence in management's future stewardship of the company.
Two members of my family deliver for usa today and we have several boxes that are out of order.Our manager said she could not repair them because she had a limit on miles she can drive in a week. Is she telling the truth and if she is isn't my contract being broken ? One more question can we stop delivery without notice
ReplyDeleteIt would be impossible to answer you without a copy of the contract. Most contracts read that you can leane immediatley IF USAT violated the contract.
DeleteAre you renting the racks?
Is there langauge stating they will repair or replace the rack within a given time frame?
Can you repair the rack, most rack repairs are pretty simple.
She's possibly right about her miles. Your paper should also have someone who is responsible for fixing racks other than a DM. In any case it's either a dead battery if your mech is like ours here or coins jammed in it. Maybe you could get her to give you replacement mechs and you can switch them out yourself.
DeleteI left Gannett some years ago, but try to follow developments within the corporate structure and at my former newspaper. I recently visited a city that need not be named in which the lone newspaper was a Gannett property. I picked up a copy of same on a Monday morning and this is what I found:
ReplyDeleteIn a 20-page newspaper (two sections, 12/8 pp.), the first section had not a single local news story, though the edit and op-ed pages had some locally produced material. The second section had a bylined column by the sports editor and three short sports stories that were all bylined "Staff Reports."
Is this what Gannett newspapers have come to, generally speaking?
Sadly, it is. Yet you watch Maryam's video and she spews local, local, local. This is where I say you can say it all you want, but it doesn't make it so. I was at a dinner the other night and a gentleman came up to me knowing I used to be in the newspaper business and told me how smart I was to get out when I did. He said picking up the local paper now is like reading USA Today. There is not much to read and there is nothing local inside anymore. Nobody is being fooled but Gannett.
DeleteGannett finance all over banikarim to show ROI on the over-priced and underwhelming Gannett Upfront event. Cost is said to top Cannes by 5x.
ReplyDeleteInteresting you should make that comment. When I watched the painful video clip, I was wondering, first of all, what it was, and whether there was anybody in the audience because there was very little clapping, laughter, or response to anything that was said. It all seemed very staged and the guy interviewing Banikarim seemed uncomfortable with everything he said. If it was supposed to be well attended, it was obvious to this non-Gannett person that there was no one there.
DeleteBS. Cost of doing business.
DeleteThey've already booked $2.3 million dollars from the event!
Delete5:02,
DeleteSeveral sturdy, well-placed bridges connecting Manhattan to the outer boroughs are available if you actually believe that one.
First sentence of a tease on today's SportsonEarth cover:
ReplyDelete"British boxer Curtis Woodhouse showed up at the apartement [sic] of someone who harrased [sic] him on Twitter."
Another top-notch Gannett product!
Isn't Sports on Earth supposed to showcase brilliant sports writing? Perhaps they should start with just getting the headlines right.
DeleteHow much was spent on the upfront event? How much did we pay the comedian and the singer?
ReplyDeleteThere's no need for copy editors when you have big-money star power like Joe Posnanski.
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DeleteThere's no need for horseshit when we have Jim. And you.
DeletePosnanski took the money and ran already...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe company would do well to do more self promotion. Money on upfront, cannes, south by southwest and spectrum is money that pays off down the road time and time again.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteTop headline on Cincinnati Enquirer sports front today: SEEDS WILL BE SEWN. I can't tell if they mean "sown" or "seen," but either way it had me in stitches.
ReplyDeleteI read it as a pun, as in seeds will be sewn up today. I rather liked it.
DeleteNice spin, 4:24. Unfortunately, most people will read the headline and think......amateur and/or laziness.
Delete2:36 didn't like it. But he is one of the few here who spend their ample amounts of free time bashing the Enquirer. They like to appear as if they are many.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, and you would be the all-seeing mind reader who repeatedly insists that, as if it were relevant even if true.
DeleteThere are several reasons to believe it is true. First, the protests of you and others. Second, the commonalities of the posts -- errors in fact, similar writing (usually bad), the desire to blame someone other than the person who created the mistakes. Third, Jim's efforts to "police" comments pointing out these beliefs, which means this one will probably fade.
DeleteHow would it not be relevant "if" it were true? Many of the criticisms are not exactly smoking guns. This one is a prime example. I don't think much of the headline, but it's not really a mistake as much as it is just a bad idea.
@4:41 PM – A high of what, 1,200 FTE’s at the Enquirer and hundreds of firings since says more than a few connected to it frequent and comment on this site. And, even when only a few do, all can be sure that what they post resonates with a larger group not only at the Enquirer, but well into Gannett’s other properties, especially in regard to poor management practices.
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