Even by Gannett standards, today's announcement about a new publisher for two Louisiana newspapers really sticks out.
Corporate named Judi Terzotis chief executive for both The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas. Terzotis will also continue as publisher of the troubled Times in Shreveport, La., as well as president of the overall five-paper Gannett Louisiana group -- jobs she got just four months ago.
And as if that wasn't enough, Corporate's press release says she'll continue to "oversee" the Fort Collins Coloraodan, where she was publisher before moving to Shreveport in May.
(At Fort Collins, Terzotis was replaced by business development director Kathy Jack-Romero. Reading between the lines, perhaps Corporate thinks Jack-Romero needs more time getting up to speed. In that case, Terzotis' role there may be short.)
In Shreveport in a story about her newest jobs, The Times was vague about where, exactly, Terzotis will live, saying only: "Terzotis will maintain offices in Lafayette and Shreveport and serve on both editorial boards. She also continues to oversee operations at the Fort Collins Coloradoan."
'A responsive team'
To be sure, Gannett has plenty of publishers who cover more than one site -- in some cases, dozens across multiple states. Just look at the publishers in Phoenix, Nashville, and Rochester, N.Y., who additionally run the three big regional newspaper groups that together encompass all 81 U.S. community dailies.
But in Terzotis' case, a quote attributed to her in today's press release must have left more than a few residents puzzled in Lafayette and Opelousas. "These communities," Terzotis says, "deserve a responsive team of people who can reflect the unique nature of south Louisiana."
Across Gannett markets, locals expect publishers to ride the rubber chicken circuit of Rotary lunches, car dealer promotions and chamber of commerce banquets. Nowhere is that more true than in small southern communities, where residents' legendary charm is leavened by wariness of executives parachuting in from multinational conglomerates based near Washington. I know, having spent six years working in Arkansas before and after Gannett bought the now-defunct Arkansas Gazette.
Lafayette and Opelousas residents pondering the notion of responsiveness will note Shreveport is about 200 miles north of their communities. And Fort Collins is fully 1,100 miles north of Shreveport. They'll note as well Terzotis is their fourth publisher in six years. (And that doesn't even count a fifth publisher who pulled out only a week after Corporate gave him the job. Nor does it include interim publisher David Petty.)
Publishers-a-go-go
Terzotis replaces Karen Lincoln, who was publisher at Lafayette and Opelousas for barely 17 months starting in March 2012. Lincoln, in turn replaced Ali Zoibi, who held the jobs only 14 months starting in December 2010.
And Zoibi had replaced Leslie Hurst, after she was promoted in 2010 to publisher of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
Hurst, who ran the two south Louisiana dailies for three years, also knows quite a bit about parachuting from one Gannett community to another. Including Jackson, she's been publisher of seven Gannett papers over the past 17 years.
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| Terzotis |
And as if that wasn't enough, Corporate's press release says she'll continue to "oversee" the Fort Collins Coloraodan, where she was publisher before moving to Shreveport in May.
(At Fort Collins, Terzotis was replaced by business development director Kathy Jack-Romero. Reading between the lines, perhaps Corporate thinks Jack-Romero needs more time getting up to speed. In that case, Terzotis' role there may be short.)
In Shreveport in a story about her newest jobs, The Times was vague about where, exactly, Terzotis will live, saying only: "Terzotis will maintain offices in Lafayette and Shreveport and serve on both editorial boards. She also continues to oversee operations at the Fort Collins Coloradoan."
'A responsive team'
To be sure, Gannett has plenty of publishers who cover more than one site -- in some cases, dozens across multiple states. Just look at the publishers in Phoenix, Nashville, and Rochester, N.Y., who additionally run the three big regional newspaper groups that together encompass all 81 U.S. community dailies.
But in Terzotis' case, a quote attributed to her in today's press release must have left more than a few residents puzzled in Lafayette and Opelousas. "These communities," Terzotis says, "deserve a responsive team of people who can reflect the unique nature of south Louisiana."
Lafayette and Opelousas residents pondering the notion of responsiveness will note Shreveport is about 200 miles north of their communities. And Fort Collins is fully 1,100 miles north of Shreveport. They'll note as well Terzotis is their fourth publisher in six years. (And that doesn't even count a fifth publisher who pulled out only a week after Corporate gave him the job. Nor does it include interim publisher David Petty.)
Publishers-a-go-go
Terzotis replaces Karen Lincoln, who was publisher at Lafayette and Opelousas for barely 17 months starting in March 2012. Lincoln, in turn replaced Ali Zoibi, who held the jobs only 14 months starting in December 2010.
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| Hurst |
Hurst, who ran the two south Louisiana dailies for three years, also knows quite a bit about parachuting from one Gannett community to another. Including Jackson, she's been publisher of seven Gannett papers over the past 17 years.
Judi's going to do an amazing job for those towns. The people in South Louisiana are going to be lucky to have her!!
ReplyDeleteI am still waiting to hear about all the amazing things Judi did in Shreveport while she was here. Crickets chirping. Now she is spread so thin there won't be an impact anywhere.
ReplyDeleteShe didn't do anything for Jackson, MS when she was there. She helped them go down the tubes and doesn't include her stint there in her resume
ReplyDeleteHope they sell Prada in Lafayette :)
ReplyDeleteGannett publishers are robo-managers, drones in suits who do whatever it takes to please their handlers in corporate in order to ensure the biggest possible bonus and most lucrative career path. It can be a comfy life for these mediocrities. Rocking the boat or rebelling against corporate initiatives is not part of the job description. I love reading their pledges of "commitment to the community" and promises to "continue" pursuing "watchdog journalism" when their true prime directive is sucking up sufficiently enough to secure their place at the executive feeding trough.
ReplyDeleteWhen is Judi moving to Lafayette?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 12:26 am must be "somebody" to have a copy of her resume. If I worked in MS I wouldn't claim it either!
ReplyDeletePrada. Really? Two things. (1) Publishers don't make enough to buy Prada. (2) How is style (or lack of it) an indicator of success? Here is what we do know. If you spent less time on the Blog you could (a) do your job so your newspaper is more profitable (b) invest time looking for a job outside Gannett so you wouldn't have to bitch on this site every day! (c) spend time volunteering to help others in need and thus feel better about yourself. That is all!
ReplyDeleteNow K-J-R is a problem in Fort Collins? You people have no idea do you? She is kicking a$$ in her new role and Gannett is damn lucky to have her there. Be careful, one day she will be regional publisher over a few newspapers and you will talk about her eating at the executive feeding trough too. Oh, and she's pretty stylish in her own right!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has worked for Judi Terzotis only a few months, she is energizing and supportive of creative ideas. She encourages us to find routes around the multiple obstacles that our own company has placed before us. I've worked for far worse, and I appreciate and like her. I abhor the fashion comments. Obviously, Gannett HR has failed in its diversity training. When we start talking about what the guys are wearing, I'll chime in.
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ReplyDeleteTry and tear her down all you want, but Terzotis is the best person in or out of Gannett to take Lafayette to the top, and she has plenty of credibility to prove it. If you're one of those people who are bad at your job and scared of change (typical of most of the readers of this blog), be worried.
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt she's on a roll, based on how quickly she's been promoted.
DeleteTerzotis returned to Gannett in March 2011 at Fort Collins after working as an associate publisher at Freedom Communications in Colorado Springs. Before Freedom, she'd worked in a series of Gannett jobs in 1998-2007.
But during the less than three years she's been back in Gannett, she's advanced rapidly to her current job, where she now oversees five Louisiana papers plus Fort Collins
I worked with Judi early in my career and she is one of the few publishers in Gannett who gets it. She knows how to find the balance of corporate, customers and employees which is a rare gift this day in age. No doubt, she will get it done. And as far as the comment on Prada...seriously? Its about time some executives in Gannett had a sense of fashion when being a leader in the community. You go girl.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with style. I think she has substance, too, but sadly Shreveport won't get to see as much of it now that she's taking over Lafayette. In her short time in Shreveport she's worked to address employee concerns and morale over physical issues (air conditioning, the infamous visitor parking lot entrance). She's shared more information with the entire staff than any previous publisher during monthly meetings. I'm sure she has flaws, but so far her enthusiasm has been refreshing.
ReplyDeleteShreveport has been seriously messed up for some time. That she would turn over day-to-day operations to a new editor -- albeit, one returning to Gannett -- says as much about what she thinks needs doing in Lafayette as it does about what's improved in Shreveport in the four months she's been there.
DeleteJim, what has improved in four months? The paper is not getting out to our customers on time, if at all, errors are too many to count, our numbers are still in the crapper, and advertisers are running out the door. How is Gannett measuring success these days if you're a woman you're successful?
DeleteTake a look at the personnel moves being made. Certainly not by accident. Rome wasn't rebuilt overnight.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at all the personnel moves that have been made company wide. Nothing is improving. Numbers still suck, people are still being laid off. You can replace everyone in this company. There are no innovative ideas coming from corporate and the sites have been depleted. Time will tell if Judi can work miracles. Everyone was expecting miracles from BBB, look where we are with her.
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