Monday, July 08, 2013

July 8-14 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

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34 comments:

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

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  2. Shreveport eliminating features sections on Monday and Tuesday to save money because revenue is in the basement. Advice, comics, etc. will be part of A section on those days. Apparently part of a building-wide cost-cutting effort. So far, no cuts in jobs to improve the bottom line.

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    1. Failed leadership does have its Price.

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    2. This will probably roll out to more Gannett sites before too long. Some sites' features sections already are abysmally small on certain days, or rolled into another section. Makes the paper even less engaging and less relevant.

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  3. Buyouts in Phoenix. Were the qualifications 55/15 or 55/20? Across all departments? Offered to everyone who qualified?

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    1. 55/20. Unfortunately, I'm 10 years short each way. Many applied. Can't say whether all were accepted or not.

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    1. thank you for the answer but is it 15 years or 20?

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  5. Shreveport probably is managing the decline as well as anyone. The front page announcement has honesty in what isn't said directly: We are cutting a whole section over two days. We admit we can't support Mon and Tues like we tried. We will preserve the stuff that causes people to cancel in daily to offset. We will not cut our weekend product and try to make it better. We've done stuff like this before and you didn't mind. We just thought the new press would help us more than it did, so we are having to reorganize the paper again against budget pressure and the new boss. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20130707/OPINION0110/307070025/Changes-coming-paper
    Hang in there Shreveport

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    1. We're looking at the future of Gannett newspapers in Shreveport. The print version won't go away all at once; it will disappear a section at a time, starting Mondays and Tuesdays -- when in many cases there's less advertising than any other week.

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    2. Charles Everett7/08/2013 9:31 AM

      Sounds like it's back to the future. When I moved to New Jersey in the mid-70's, the Courier News was a 2-section paper on Monday and Tuesday. News/lifestyle in A section; local/sports/classified in B section.

      Of course that was when Gannett emphasized local control.

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    3. The problem I've noticed with Gannett's print decline is that they're not making up the loss in content online. There's very little more to see on the websites. It's as if the amount of newshole in the print editions dictates the amount of content they put online. The websites are just as devoid of content as the print editions in many cases.

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  6. "My readers don't pay me enough to do that kind of work."ba very disappointing statement Jim. Are you telling us that this is all about money for you and not real journalism? Since when are journalists in it for the money?

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  7. From NYTimes.com. See Gannett in the third graf. Link to full story below.

    With Political Ad Profits, Swing-State TV Stations Are Hot Properties
    By BRIAN STELTER
    Published: July 7, 2013

    When Allbritton, the media company that owns Politico, put its seven television stations up for sale this spring, analysts quickly singled out one as the most attractive: WJLA, the company’s ABC-affiliated station in Washington. It is the biggest of the bunch, the best known and, perhaps most important, a magnet for political spending.

    WJLA banked $33 million in election-related advertising last year. Only three stations in the United States earned more, and two of those were also in Washington. That’s because the stations’ signals reach citizens in a crucial battleground state, Virginia, as well as the political power brokers in the nation’s capital. If Allbritton were to sell WJLA by itself, it could fetch $300 million.

    That math helps explain why Gannett paid $1.5 billion for 20 stations last month, why the Tribune Company agreed last week to pay $2.7 billion for 19 stations — and why more consolidation in the marketplace is forecast for later this year.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/business/media/with-political-ad-profits-swing-state-tv-stations-are-hot-properties.html?hp

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    1. Yes, but things change. Just like routine advertising and quality entertainment content are moving away from traditional networks and local stations, political advertising will, too, as campaigns seek to more directly and effectively reach target audiences. Another couple of election cycles and local TV stations aren't going to be the cash cows they have been. Smart TV execs know this; that's why they are unloading stations on newspaper groups that are stuck in the past. I don't like it, but that's the reality.

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  8. Regarding 11:22's post - column in today's Times shares with readers how wonderful it will be to move games, puzzles, advice, etc. to the A section. Now those people who buy the paper for that content will get to their games, etc. quicker and those of us who would like news - national, world and local - not about Lafayette or Monroe - are screwed .... again. Have been observing over the course of a couple of months that these aren't the only changes. There used to be more than one inside story promoted at the top of page one - Now just one and hell, is that all they're offering to the readers that's worth promoting? The paper also looks different. It was given a new look when they got a new press, and though it took getting used to, it was nice. Now there's weird white space between stories where there used to be rules and black rules between stories. The layout is sloppy, poorly done ... I guess to match the sloppy stories - look at page 14A - If you miss the first San Francisco dateline, there's a second that might catch your eye! Now, not only do we have an entire page devoted to society pictures, there still is an entire page of pictures of people not in the society circles. Lord, please, can we have some stories with information we can use ... and not the type that took an entire 1A on the importance of drinking plenty of water when it's hot. Can we say - really? We all learned that as children. No damn wonder we are losing the features section several days a week. It probably will be gone completely in short order. No body is going to read print or online with the crap y'all are dishing out. And now, it's not even delivered in a half-pretty package.

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    1. The worst part is trying to get a live person on the phone in Shreveport - I have even driven up there and no one at the front desk. WTH?

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  9. GPS is still a failure. GPS business model doesn't work to bring in more revenue. They should return distribution and circulation at the papers to the way they were before GPS took over.

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    1. Oh, sure, going back to dozens of redundant fiefdoms will be soooooo much better...

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    2. 2;07 that statement makes no since. How many redundent fiefdoms do you think local Newspapers had?

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  10. http://nacla.org/blog/2013/7/4/revisiting-cincinnati-enquirer-vs-chiquita

    Revisiting the Cincinnati Enquirer vs. Chiquita
    Kevin Edmonds
    The Other Side of Paradise
    July 4, 2013


    Given the ongoing debate surrounding Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning—and whether or not they committed a crime or acted in the public good—it is fitting to revisit a case that showed how the “illegitimate” gathering of evidence was considered a more serious crime than that of engaging in widespread murder, bribery, arms trafficking, and knowingly poisoning the environment of communities throughout Latin America. It is the story of the Cincinnati Enquirer vs. Chiquita Banana.

    ... The courts deemed that the crime committed by Gallagher, McWhirter, and Ventura was more serious than the multitude of crimes committed by Chiquita.

    Eventually, in July of 2012, Gallagher had his record expunged by the courts, but not after having his career destroyed and his courageous work silenced.


    http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120723/NEWS010701/307230064/Fired-reporter-has-his-criminal-record-erased?odyssey=nav|head&nclick_check=1

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  11. They have hired approximately five people to fill positions at our site that seem meaningless and redundant. Some of these positions are similar, and there is confusion about job responsibilities. Meanwhile, reporters are dropping like flies again, and there appears to be more support staff than writers and photographers.

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    1. The Gannett Way. Even Usa Today not immune. Kramer & Co. Get to hire friends and pets while the ship continues to founder. Callaway cluelessly keeping the wrong managers and staff on their hamster wheels (i mean hubs).

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  12. The Newseum's top brass continue money grab as funds dry up:
    http://news.yahoo.com/newseum-dc-makes-changes-funding-falls-short-081826683.html

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  13. GCI stock briefly traded today at levels ($26.32)not seen since June 2008.

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    1. That's not quite right. As I post this, GCI's 52-week high remains $26.75 a share. That's the highest it's traded since crashing below $2 in spring 2009.

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    2. That's not exactly right. As I post this, GCI's 52-week high remains $26.75. That's the highest its traded since crashing below $2 in spring 2009.

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  15. A new Gallup poll reports that 55% of the people polled said that television is their primary source for news compared to 21% for the internet and only 9% for newspapers. So it looks like it makes perfect sense that Gannett is moving big time into the broadcast business.

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    1. That leaves 15 percent is that from radio? Also television news includes CNN FOX NEWS MSNBC CNBC, Bloomberg, PBS, FBN. That is where people are getting much of their news. Gannett doesn't own any cable news channels.

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    2. Gannett's purchase of the broadcast properties has nothing to do with news production. They don't give a shit about news. It will provide a new revenue stream for advertising and make them less dependent on print advertising, so in that sense it is a wise move. But don't get the idea this has anything to do with producing new news products.

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  16. The other 15% get it from the Gannett Blog.

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    1. They are severely undernourished.

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  17. Hello, Jim. This is the Gannett Blog Liberation Team. You might know us as GBLT for short.

    We were glad to see the slowdown in posts during the last few days. As always, our efforts spurred you into action.

    We control this blog. When it gets out of hand, we institute measures to restore the balance.

    You're welcome.

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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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