Friday, September 20, 2013

Sept. 16-22 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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72 comments:

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  2. Butterfly coming to Indy on Oct. 6.

    Indianapolis Star announces plan to boost local, national content in partnership with USA Today

    http://www.indystar.com/viewart/20130919/BUSINESS/309190020/Indianapolis-Star-announces-plan-boost-local-national-content-partnership-USA-Today

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  3. ...Louisville Courier-Journal's redesign. Local news (metro) moves to A-3. Editorial limited to one page twice a week, among other things. Seems like the news-hole has been cut dramatically. Certainly saves money and helps the shrinking staff continue to put out a paper... But the publisher worked it hard for the best spin:

    http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130919/BUSINESS/309190031/Amid-Courier-Journal-s-evolution-dedication-same?nclick_check=1

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    1. Publisher Wesley Jackson writes several things that are either flat-out untrue, or so carefully worded as to be misleading. Among them:

      1. The subhed of his letter says: "C-J will continue being region's primary go-to source of information through different platforms."

      This is language many Gannett publishers and GMs use. While the paper may continue to be the biggest source, that doesn't mean it hasn't been substantially diminished over the years with the loss of reporting staff and news hole.

      2. "Our emphasis on public service has never wavered, and it never will."

      Absolutely not true. When I was at the paper in 1996-2000, the C-J had an investigative team of four full-time reporters and a full-time editor. That was in addition to at least one full-time investigative reporter on the Metro desk.

      As well, the paper had a statewide network of news bureaus, including one at Hazard, Ky., in a part of the state with a particular history of government corruption, environmental degradation and workplace dangers in coal-mining, and generations of poverty.

      Most, if not all of those resources, were eliminated in multiple rounds of cost-cutting over the past decade.

      Plus, I can only guess how much smaller the editorial writing and editing ranks have become as well as the overall number of journalists in the various news departments.

      3. "Our aim is to give print readers more of the in-depth, community-focused news, features and sports content they consistently tell us they want. "

      I guess he can say "more" by appending the phrase "in-depth, community-focused."

      Whenever publishers cut back on editorial, they say: Now, we're going to really focus on what readers want. In that convoluted logic, less will be more of a better thing -- and less of a formerly bad thing. Got that?

      My response: Last time, you also said we were going to really focus on what readers wanted -- and you said the same thing before that and before that.

      If we're now really, really, really focusing on it, why didn't we just do that several cutbacks ago? What's wrong with how we're evaluating our product?

      4. "We’re also tightening our Business coverage to focus on information of local impact."

      Translation: We're reducing space for business news. Plus, see No. 3.

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    2. About No. 4 -- one page of Business news a day instead of two. All the national business news eliminated. The page is supposed to be purely locally focused -- interesting to see how long that lasts.

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  4. Jim, you write things that are untrue. Someone else already brought up one -- the Dubow payout. You also took someone else's argument and twisted in the same fashion you criticize here.

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    1. Yes, but the guy was wrong about the Dubow payout, and Jim was right.

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    6. Thanks for providing that second link. From there, you can go to the proxy report. Within that report, you will see numerous mentions of the following sentence:

      "There can be no assurance that the amounts shown in the table will ever be realized by an executive officer." Are those the footnotes you mentioned earlier? If so, you just destroyed your own argument.

      Also, it's a laugh to think that you -- not being able to read and interpret one sentence -- or others here would be able to figure out the math. That one sentence lays it all out for you, yet several months later, you still haven't figured it out.

      The bottom line is the same: Jim is and was wrong.

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    7. Sure, dude. We'll all believe some chimp on a photo blog -- and you, who cites nothing. I at least can read, and do math. You? Not so much.

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    12. Good thinking, 10:26. By the way, here's something:

      "There can be no assurance that the amounts shown in the table will ever be realized by an executive officer."

      Straight from the SEC proxy report.

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    13. 10:42, how dumb can you be? This has been explained again and again. There is no guarantee those stock prices will be reached. That is what that sentence is saying. True, it could also include the stupid shit you mentioned. But the primary purpose is what was described.\

      You. Lose. You are making yourself look really, really dumb by continuing to resist.

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    15. I feel bad for you guys. Jim has played you for fools. He knew you were too dumb to find the information in the proxy report, and even if you did, you would be too dumb to understand it.

      The proof has been right there, all these months, and you continued to buy into Jim's B.S. There were even other sources that pointed this out, and you kept falling for it.

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    16. 10:52 #1, good try. But it's obvious you know you have failed.

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    17. My bad! I meant "your head."

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    19. No, you just repeat lies. Tell Dubow you have done your best. He'll beat you, but he'll secretly be proud.

      But honestly: You really know nothing about executive comp, or how the numbers are reported. Pathetic, really.

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    20. What's a lie? The proxy report? You really should quit while you're only this far behind.

      Other reports say Dubow could collect "as much as $37 million." They don't say he's getting the whole thing, only that the $37 million amount is the max he could get.

      How are you and so many other people tripping so badly over that concept? The collective stupidity here is what's pathetic.

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    21. This argument is hilarious. An official document has been quoted, proving the stupid people wrong, and yet at least one of them is still trying to fight.

      I have said this for a while: People at Gannett Blog simply do not grasp anything with numbers or anything about benefits. They just cannot figure it out. This discussion proves it again.

      Saying that, I know Jim will delete the post, so on to a new point:

      Jim, what the fuck? How dumb are you? Did a lot of people at Gannett discover how dumb you were? There has to be something gnawing at you significantly for you to continue dishing out so many layers of stupid on a daily basis?

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    22. An official document has been quoted, proving stupid people don't know how to read official documents. It must because Jim is biased!

      God. Just stop.

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  5. He is right about this one....

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    3. 2:43 The word "clingers" now joins "trolls" and "lemmings" in a growing list of name-calling words that get comments removed.

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    4. And I'm sure you'll do such a great job of enforcing that rule, too, just as you seem to allow "corporate trolls" to get through.

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    6. If, 4:41, you can find comments with the word "trolls" that I haven't removed, I would appreciate your pointing them out.

      Otherwise, I'll assume you're just making that up.

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    9. It is simply amazing that Craig Dubow would have any defenders on this blog. One of the worst CEOs ever. Gannett lost about 90% of its market value under his watch. He made countless bad appointments and promotions of those at corporate and Usa Today who had/have no business in the positions they're in. His mistakes and incompetence is still felt throughout the organization. Despite the millions wasted on him when he was on the job, he was such a sleaze that he used foundation money to make charitable gifts that came off as is own.


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    10. I don't think they're necessarily Dubow defenders as much as critics of mine who, for some reason, are obsessed with my reporting information from Gannett's regulatory filings.

      Their same arguments could be made against reporting executive compensation for any executive in or out of Gannett.

      But for whatever reason, they've fixated on Dubow's exit payout. It's almost as though it's his CPA or tax attorney, bracing for an IRS audit.

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    11. It's about reporting accurate details, Jim. You seem to have a problem with that.

      Your associates don't seem to handle logic well. Now the claim is that people support Dubow. Show me where anyone said that. Learn to read.

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  6. Another big change for the C-J:New editor... That was fast.

    http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130919/BUSINESS/309190106/Digital-news-leader-Neil-Budde-named-executive-editor-Courier-Journal-Media

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    1. I love watching this video. Look at the beleaguered and dispirited staff in the background. They look like they're in a hell they can't escape.

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    2. Oh, I dunno. Print journalists are the basset hounds of the news industry in good times and bad.

      If you want ear-to-ear grins . . . well, look to broadcasting."

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  7. Jim, you're right on the C-J's investigative staff being gutted. There is not even a dedicated investigative reporter on the City Hall/Metro beat since Dan Klepal left eight months ago.

    Locally, WDRB is determined to bury the Courier - Wes Jackson rants about what a joke they are at every quarterly employee meeting - then watches his employees walk out the door to work at that "joke".

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  8. http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/flexicontent/item/59823-a-spark-is-lost-for-covering-delaware-news

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  10. Saw a copy of the Appleton paper yesterday when I stopped for breakfast and laughed when I saw a headline on A-2 referring to Gov. Scott Walker as "Walter." Someone said a day earlier they had referred to U.S. 10, a major highway through the area, as "county road 10." Guess the combination of youngsters and a lack of any editors or copy editors reading copy or proofing pages is coming home to roost. Little goofs like this erode their credibility, but the editors apparently don't care.

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    1. The editors probably do care, but the company has tied their hands by eliminating most copy editors and the systems of checks and balances that ensured some quality.

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  11. So how does this memo in Appleton compare to what the other employees involved in the Butterfly test?

    Today at our all-employee meeting we announced we will offer more news content in The Post-Crescent. Beginning Sunday, October 6th, our print edition will include more than 48 additional pages of content per week – more of what our readers want. That will be more local content, more national content, more sports, more things to do, and more relevant stories for Fox Cities Families, Hometown Helpers and others.

    Our industry has gone through a radical transformation in the past few years and The Post-Crescent has been on the forefront. We continue to innovate, re-imagine our products and enhance the consumer experience.

    We’ve gone mobile, we’ve significantly increased video and digital offerings and we’ve enhanced our storytelling by diving deeper into areas that matter to our market. And now, we are making yet another move forward. The Post-Crescent will offer our consumers MORE very soon.

    Beginning October 6, an edition of USA TODAY will now be available inside The Post-Crescent that will provide expanded national news, business, sports, lifestyle and entertainment content. Leveraging resources and editorial content we have with USA TODAY will allow our information center to focus more on the local coverage that our readers have said they wanted.

    We will offer MORE by supplementing our local coverage with USA TODAY’s and changing local content to answer reader’s wants. We are taking the strengths of two newspapers to truly give our audiences more of what they want. This change will increase our value to consumers and local businesses. Local news control remains here, where it has been for more than 150 years.

    This step is an extension of so much of the work we have accomplished as a team. All Access has shown the value of our content. Families turn to Family First and our information to be fit, frugal and fun. When area residents are looking for things to do, Fox Cities Hub and Weekend head them in the right direction. Yard MD has become a go-to source for local homeowners. And, our readers trust us to be the Watchdog for them across our communities.

    More content will create more consumer engagement, which will also add value to our advertisers. According to our research, local advertisers value engagement and results above all else and believe the addition of USA TODAY will help drive or maintain consumer engagement. This evolution gives us the opportunity to renew efforts to enhance our deep-rooted relationships with businesses by providing best in class integrated marketing solutions. As a consultative partner we deliver results based on our local market expertise, connecting advertisers to their ideal customers. From print and online display ads to search engine marketing, social media, and other digital marketing services, Post-Crescent Media provides the best marketing solutions to reach our advertisers’ target audiences.

    I wanted to share this news with you first, but we will be sharing this exciting news publicly soon. Want to know MORE? Included with this message is a Q&A so that you can start to get up to speed and answer questions with key stakeholders as we make this change.

    As always, you are free to ask me any questions you have about this exciting news.

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  12. It reads substantially the same. I'll be especially interested in what the published story to the public says. When is that scheduled?

    (On the memo, though, it has an added bonus: one of Corporate's favorite phrases, "best in class.")

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  13. Have not seen when that story is going to run but I'm guessing this Sunday in the venerable PC.

    Quite surprised they are doing this experiment with The GB Press-Gazette since Gannett considers that to be their Wisconsin flagship paper.

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    1. Press-Gazette: Flagship, maybe. But merely a ghost of its former self.

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    2. The Gannett Wisconsin publisher and EE are based in Appleton, and our editors' noses are browner than Green Bay's.

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  14. BIG price increase of 60% in Rochester Oct 1st... Have they lost their minds in New York? must be lots of $$$ upstate!

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    1. That tracks with what I wrote yesterday:

      The addition of local news in the Star -- and the possibility the same could happen at other Gannett dailies with a full Butterfly roll out -- comes after a published report this summer saying the community papers were in line for another round of subscription price increases.

      In July, Des Moines TV station KCCI said The Des Moines Register had started notifying 80,000 subscribers of a rate hike as high as 40%. The paper's marketing chief, Kurt Allen, told the station the increase is a "Corporate initiative, across all Gannett properties."

      Restoring local news reduced during cost-cutting since 2008 could be used to sell readers on any subscription increases.

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    2. How can they restore when they cut all the experience and now operate with 30% of the staff?

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    3. Either they hire more staff, or use more free reader-generated content.

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    4. Hiring won't happen. It will be free reader-generated, and the lack of quality will show.

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  15. What would you do if you were laid off from Gannett, but then saw job openings with the company?

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    1. I'd feel sorry for the ones they hire.

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    2. You'd bitch here for years.

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    3. Ask yourself what a grownup would do. A grownup would apply for one of the posted positions, if he or she were qualified for it and had no better prospects.

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    4. You could apply. But if you were let go as an older highly paid employee, it's unlikely you'd be rehired into a lower paying job.

      That's why workers in their 50s and older who get laid off are screwed.

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  16. I'd move on with life

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  17. http://www.argusleader.com/article/20130920/UPDATES/130920019/Argus-Leader-Media-Publisher-Randell-Beck-announces-his-retirement?nclick_check=1

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  18. Major changes coming to Gannett health insurance in 2014. Get anything you need to have done health wise before January 2014.

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  19. So Mr. Kane publishes his chess-matches-with-dad analogy, along with some major changes to the Rochester paper on Friday...on the editorial page! So what's wrong with page 1A...on Sunday...with 50,000 more sales? Give me strength! Does anyone in this #%&!ing company know how to run a newspaper? Or are we hiding something from the readers? We need an investigative team...now! Oh, that's part of the new plan: More investigative pieces. How about just providing your readers with more local news! Nope that takes reporters and they cost money.

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  20. People bitch bitch bitch about Gannett..... leave if you don't like it....I get paid big bucks to be on call 24/7 ..... and most of the time oversee... I have also saved them bundles.... Get real folks...

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    1. They treat their employees like s***.

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    2. Wait til you see what they do to your health insurance next year. I don't think your outlook on Gannett will be so rosy.

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    3. If Gannett goes the most extreme route, it wouldn't be the only company to give employees a stipend -- and then tell them to buy a policy on their own from one of the exchanges.

      Employers don't want to be in the health insurance business.

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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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