Thursday, August 08, 2013

Aug. 5-11 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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61 comments:

  1. There was a a question recently about layoffs in Rochester. Not sure it was answered without going back in comments section. The word here in the Flower City is this: No layoffs until after the PGA is over -- so next week.The PGA Championship is at Oak Hill this week and Mr. Kane apparently has a reprieve.

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  2. Mr. Kane should be the FIRST to get the boot out of the door. Rude, arrogant, insensitive, personal agendas, suck up to corporate, steals ideas to make his own. Then again, certainly cut in the mold of all Gannett leadership.

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  3. Jim, why were you fired from Gannett and what were the reasons and your severance package? Is this blog just your endless vendetta being carried out against Gannett?

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    1. Jim took a buyout, along with plenty of other USAT journalists, you buffoon.

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    2. No. Jim was fired. He has been banned from all Gannett properties ever since his infamous appearance at the shareholders meeting.

      His refusal to provide the performance reviews he promised is the proof. Also, if he received a buyout, he should have asked for a letter outlining that.

      If he weren't afraid of the answers to the questions about his dismissal, he would answer the questions with solid proof.

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    3. Updating one thing: It looks like Jim finally grew a pair (suck it, bitches!) and posted that letter. He had resisted doing this for YEARS in a total chickenshit move. Of course, Jim has the computer ability of a below-average squirrel, so it's still hard to read the letter, even after magnifying it.

      This all would have been simpler if Jim hadn't been such a baby and had just posted it back in 2009. If you're going to run a blog and let people throw around all sorts of baseless accusations, you had better be as clean as a whistle.

      Also, someone else posted a brief detail about the reason for Jim's vendetta. I had heard something similar. I urge this person to be more specific.

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    4. So, Jim, why didn't you just post that letter back in 2009 when people here were asking for the proof?

      Also, can you find a lower-quality version to post? The one now is way too readable. [/sarcasm]

      Delete
  4. This is not intended as a criticism but instead as a recommended clarification. It would be more accurate to call this blog the "Gannett Print" or "Gannett Newspaper" blog. The Company's focus has changed but the blog's has not. That makes its content irrelevant to anyone looking for an understanding of where the Company is trying to go and how it intends to get there. I respect the sadness so many feel for the passing of their era but if this is a Gannett-wide Blog, then it needs to attract comments from those who are either directly involved in Gannett's future, or are savvy in the ways of online, broadcast and marketing and can critique the whole of Gannett from their vantage point.

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    1. This is not a blog for butt kissers who still believe they have a life time career with Gannett. The Believers who think that Gannett is this wonderful corporate employer should probably find a different blog or else not criticize this one. Most everyone that posts here is not a fan of Gannett and only stays with Gannett because they need to feed their family, pay mortgages and have no other alternative occupation. Most would leave in a heartbeat if the opportunity that made it feasible. Most could care less about the future of Gannett and it's super rich leaders.Good luck to all of those good employees that Gannett disposed of, like so much trash, and for the sake of just a little more profit.

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    2. I assume you are illustrating my point.

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    3. Excuse my error. The comment was intended as a response to anonymous 9:00

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    4. "should probably find a different blog or else not criticize this one"

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    5. Funny - those who criticize don't want to be criticized.

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    6. Savvy in the ways of online? Have you seen our websites lately?

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    7. Maybe if Gannett had a viable future people who could see what that is would contribute.

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    8. Umm, Gannett's "digital transformation" is clearly bull. They've cut online jobs along with print jobs. The digital team leader was cut in Asbury Park, NJ, and the Digital Editor/Weekend and Breaking News was eliminated in Westchester. Those are just 2 that I know about. No doubt more digital jobs were cut. If that's really where the company wants to go, why would those positions have been cut?

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  5. 8:50, you are hilarious and about as accurate as the nut jobs at FOX News. You used savvy and Gannett in the same thought. There is nothing savvy about anything Gannett is doing in any areas, especially in print or digital. Cheap? Yep. Half-ass? Sure. Please give me examples of savvy Gannett changes, projects or breakthroughs.

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    1. You are accurate about Gannett but leave much room for criticism otherwise.
      Fox news is the only impartial and truthful news organization on the planet and by far.

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

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    3. I agree 9:00am. 8:50am must work for BBB or someone on her flack squad to post something that stupid. There is absolutely NOTHING that's savvy, innovative, new, fresh, interesting, upscale, updated, or in the least visionary about how that company thinks, and more importantly, how it behaves.

      Perhaps this person hasn't been reading this blog. All Gannett issues, departments, business units, etc. are covered on this blog. It just so happens that newspapers get talked a lot because - uhhh DUH - that's how Gannett still keeps the lights on.

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  6. A buyout package was offered to USA TODAY staffers in 2007. A number of people took it, including Jim. So, he wasn't fired and it wasn't a severance package. I know. I was offered the same package and know who took it. As far as the blog is concerned, which I have followed since Jim started it, Jim has done a great job keeping people informed about what's happening at Gannett. The latest round of layoffs shows that. So, it's no vendetta. However, getting in the way is the constant yammering from the sidelines by a few people who just like to make noise. And I'm sure 8:39 a.m. will try to come back with an attempt at some snarky riposte. Sad.

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    1. Thanks. And I've already posted the buyout letter to prove it.

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    2. EC once told a group if us why Jim hates Gannett so much. It's personal and as of today he has never public ally shared the reason. You would all be sad and disappointed at the same time

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

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

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  8. 12 comments:

    Anonymous8/08/2013 7:32 AM
    There was a a question recently about layoffs in Rochester. Not sure it was answered without going back in comments section. The word here in the Flower City is this: No layoffs until after the PGA is over -- so next week.The PGA Championship is at Oak Hill this week and Mr. Kane apparently has a reprieve.

    ReplyDelete

    Anonymous8/08/2013 8:38 AM
    Mr. Kane should be the FIRST to get the boot out of the door. Rude, arrogant, insensitive, personal agendas, suck up to corporate, steals ideas to make his own. Then again, certainly cut in the mold of all Gannett leadership.

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    Anonymous8/08/2013 8:39 AM
    Jim, why were you fired from Gannett and what were the reasons and your severance package? Is this blog just your endless vendetta being carried out against Gannett?

    ReplyDelete

    Anonymous8/08/2013 8:50 AM
    This is not intended as a criticism but instead as a recommended clarification. It would be more accurate to call this blog the "Gannett Print" or "Gannett Newspaper" blog. The Company's focus has changed but the blog's has not. That makes its content irrelevant to anyone looking for an understanding of where the Company is trying to go and how it intends to get there. I respect the sadness so many feel for the passing of their era but if this is a Gannett-wide Blog, then it needs to attract comments from those who are either directly involved in Gannett's future, or are savvy in the ways of online, broadcast and marketing and can critique the whole of Gannett from their vantage point.

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  9. 8:50 Gannet's moving away from print. But in Q2, print was still 65% of all revenue.

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    1. I'm not sure how that speaks to the long term. If the blog is Companywide as its name implies, then it is already missing comment from the 35% and, as you imply, that number will be growing. Again, I am not suggesting more positive comments about Gannett as some might believe. I'm simply suggesting we need more comments, pro & con, related to the Company's broadened focus.

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    2. Ok 9:56am, contact all of your digital and broacast friends and tell them to starting posting! This blog has covered everything over the years. You've obviously only been reading it for 10mins.

      And, how about you get us started with the pros and cons related to the company's broadened focus. Please...we'd love to hear what you think about what the company is doing, strategic plans for the future across all of it's business units. Please....if you have information, do share it.

      If you would take the time and peruse the archives, you'll see that the content you're suggesting for this blog has been here since day one.

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    3. Thanks. I will peruse the archives. I'm hoping you're right and I'll find a wealth of information about digital and broadcast rather than simply broadbased complaints.

      I once worked for Gannett but many years ago, so I have an interest, but I don't have any digital and broadcast friends there. I'm not in a position to educate but instead I am interested in learning.

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  10. I agree -- especially about broadcast.

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  11. When will Gannett purchase another broadcast group?
    Soon, I would bet.
    Look for that to be the next indicator of more print layoffs.

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  12. With all that has happened with layoffs and cut backs of every nature, I am curious, are there still Gannett print employees that believe they still have long-term employment?
    Are there still people who are not seriously seeking other means of earning income?
    Do you still hang on to hopes of: there can be no more layoffs,we are down to the bone and couldn't function with less people?
    Just curious.

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  13. someone posted up last night that there were more layoffs at Asbury? any truth in this? initials, if so? wow, that would really be a kick in the teeth, to survive last thursday only to get his less than a week later.

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  14. @10:33 AM -- Don't be so condescending. Some print employees are hanging on because they are too old to be hired by another company and too young to collect social security and get medicare. Others are already ages 66 and above but need to work so will stay as long as the job exists. Your sarcasm isn't necessary. We don't need to be led by the nose or have you enlighten us. I happen to be very tech savvy, and have worked as a designer since the first macs hit the world. So, you can guess that I am (oh no!) one of the 'older(st)' employees at this very unkind company. I haven't worked here long enough to have qualified for any of the buyouts, but would have taken one had it been offered. I've not been fooled by Gannett and its philosphy, in fact I hate it sometimes to distraction. So, just to help you understand -- some people keep at their job because they like to (a) eat; (b) pay their bills; (c) etc.

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    1. No offense but if you haven't been here long enough to qualify why did you accept a job with the awful company? You "knew" it's reputation but somehow you took the job. Why?

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    2. "it's"?

      Tells me all I need to know about you and your comments.

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  15. Thank you, 11:37 a.m., for your mature and reasoned response to the juvenile blathering in the extremely condescending post at 10:33 a.m. The poster wasn't really curious, just intent on inflicting mean-spirited venom toward fellow employees. There is no good explanation for that lack of basic humanity.

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  16. Can anyone give me Gannett Wisconsin specifics? All I've heard is the cartoonist in Green Bay.

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  17. Contact info for at least two of the fired LoHud reporters still up on the website. Send us your news tips!

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  18. Here's the thing about leaving Gannett (or any job/company)... It's always a risk. Yes, you have to eat, pay bills, send kids to college, etc. Staying is almost always perceived to be the safer choice, particularly in the short-term. But you also have to sleep well and follow your moral compass. You have to think about long-term goals and the odds of you being able to stay at Gannett until retirement. You owe it to yourself to not get lulled into thinking that Gannett will keep you on beyond 50 or 55 years old, when finding a new job will be even more difficult. Thousands in that age group have been laid off in the last five years. Don't ignore that fact when considering when would be a good time to leave.

    I don't want to gloat. I know too many people on here make it sound too easy to leave. I know they tend to sound obnoxious bragging about the grass being greener since they made the jump into new jobs or professions. But I will say this. If you find that you are having nightmares, anxiety attacks, have to be on Prozac, or are simply reading Gannett Blog too often, it's time to think seriously about changing your life, making adjustments in your budget, and getting out of Gannett of the newspaper biz entirely. If you are the kind of high-character person and employee who has difficulties working for a company that you are reasonably sure doesn't share your values and loyalties, leave GCI because staying will only send you into a very dark place.

    Like many have said, there is a better work situation out there for you. Your newspaper skills are needed in many other professions, but you're going to have to market yourself a bit. And you're going to have to be patient. But once you've succeeded, you will realize that the bills will get paid. You will have a better work-life balance. And if you're lucky enough, you will work for a company that values and protects its employees far better than Gannett. You won't get dumped at the worst possible time because of a ripple in the economy or a shaky bottom line. You will feel that despite the risks, you made the right moral choice in leaving Gannett behind. In your own small way, you will send a message to Gannett that it's not OK to kick out good people or threaten others.

    There are no guarantees that everything will be a bowl of cherries once you're out. Just like a battered woman may face many challenges after leaving her husband, you really have to determine whether the risk of leaving is worthy the bruises and anxiety of staying. There is a way out. You might not be thrilled with everything about your new job and life, but you will breathe easier knowing you aren't a part of the machinery that is lining the pockets of Gannett bosses on the backs of the 95 percent of workers just like you. Sometimes you just have to stand up for what is right. The universe will adjust accordingly if you do, and your bills will get paid, but it will take courage, hard work and imagination to fully succeed.

    I am absolutely certain that staying at Gannett for anyone who with a profound sense of right and wrong is a death sentence. It's a deal with the devil. You know it. You feel it. That's why you're here on this blog.

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    1. 10:33 here.
      My comment has certainly made me to seem to be a terrible person. I should have clarified and to those,that fall into certain categories,I apologize.
      Obviously, if you are near retirement,or have other tangible reasons to stay employed by Gannett that would make leaving impossible,I understand that.And everyone has bills to pay.
      I am talking about those who stay thinking that Gannett will always be there for them and they can roll the dice and will not be effected by the next round of layoffs and so forth.The layoff process began 5 years ago and the handwriting has been on the wall and Gannett's business plan has been so obvious since then. Five years is a very long time to realize that they will keep cutting and cutting to reduce expenses as revenue has done nothing but slide each quarter.I don't understand how you stay, with all the stress related to not knowing for 5 years is constant.

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    2. Thank you 10:33 for being a big enough person to reflect on what you said and to clarify what you meant. Thank you.

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  19. Advertising and Newsroom Secretaries were laid off today at The News-Press.

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  20. Where is that?

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    1. Fort Myers

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    2. I just looked it up. It's in Fort Myers Florida

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    3. Where is that? Between the "a" and the "t".

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    4. There were 10 positions eliminated in Fort Myers, 3 were unfilled positions though - so 7 actual people laid off. The paper was a mess, production-wise, that evening - everyone was so thrown off by what had happened!

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  21. Why do we stay with Gannet and our local community paper?
    For some it is the fear of the unknown, and uncertain that there really is a life after Gannett.
    Others believe that they are making a difference, and that putting in a solid 40+ hours a week, guarantee that they will be employed for a long time to come.
    Then there is the group to which I belong. The over 50, but not yet financially set for retirement. We are not very desirable to employ, due to preconceived notions of "set in our ways", or being a physical liability (I know both types). If I had been among those who qualified for the buyout last year, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.
    Until I can afford to retire, or until another buyout comes along about 6-7 years from now, I'll keep plugging along, doing the best job I can, but without harboring any grand illusions of job security.

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    1. Happy, just out of curiosity, have you tried to find another job or are you buying into the whole notion that people believe you're "set in your ways", or that you're over 50 so no one will consider hiring you?

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    2. I have tried and tried, and tried, but so far no bite. My resume is quite impressive (if I am allowed to brag here), but that doesn't seem to help.
      I am a minority here, meaning I do not write for a living, so looking for a writing gig or PR job in another type of media doesn't apply.
      If I can survive just a few more years, I will be set and doesn't need to work.

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  22. Same boat like u. We r kindred souls.

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  23. The News-Press is in Fort Myers FL. It was more than the 2 Administrative Assistants that were lost. The one is advertising is a wonderful person, huge heart - terrible loss for The News-Press.

    I understand it was quite a few between attrition and layoffs.

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  24. I'm staying with Gannett until I sell my house or let go...which ever comes first.

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  25. Honestly, I don't think any of us have another 6-7 years left. The destruction of properties by management is coming quickly.

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  26. Agreed 12:21. I stayed with my site because I have bills and I still enjoy what I do -- but I'm starting to plan an exit strategy now. Because I've been in the business (though not with Gannett) 25 years, I'm considered a dinosaur--although I have a better grasp of the technology, a greaters sense of post-it-now urgency and higher productivity than some of the younger, less experienced staff at my site. All those skills will transfer to something else. I just have to find it.

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    1. Good luck 9:15. There are jobs out there that align with your skill set. Think outside of newspapers and picture yourself doing something else and it will all fall into place.

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  27. Cash in, drop out.
    "Blow up your TV, throw away your paper
    Go to the country, build you a home
    Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches..."

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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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