tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post7534574655388025661..comments2023-11-05T06:26:51.316-05:00Comments on Gannett Blog: Motown, Project Griffon -- and that secret PM codeJim Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712746705871119746noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-45746655129321227632008-12-12T18:38:00.000-05:002008-12-12T18:38:00.000-05:00Not a newspaper person here, just a visitor via At...Not a newspaper person here, just a visitor via Atrios and the WSJ. In fact, I don't care much about newspapers one way or the other, considering how irresponsible most of them have been over the last ten years or so. But this much is obvious -- giving up physical newspapers is the end of the line for a long tradition going back to Addison, Ben Franklin, and the rest. Even the addled industry I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-80971204416876409702008-12-12T15:54:00.000-05:002008-12-12T15:54:00.000-05:00Wall Street Journal is out with an online story co...Wall Street Journal is out with an online story confirming the rumors. Says announcement will be next week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-83366158406024925212008-12-12T14:14:00.000-05:002008-12-12T14:14:00.000-05:00Oh please, 11:54 a.m. Are you talking about Carole...Oh please, 11:54 a.m. Are you talking about Carole Leigh Hutton's aborted attempt in 2005 to re-invent the Free Press? Didn't that attempt include devoting much of the front page one day to what turned out to be an incorrect story about Eminem's "retirement"? And isn't this same Hutton, the person who led this "reinvention," the one who whitewashed Mitch Albom's decision to put false sentences inAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-92173577686466590302008-12-11T11:54:00.000-05:002008-12-11T11:54:00.000-05:00Yep, 11:16. I remember the Freep staff committees ...Yep, 11:16. I remember the Freep staff committees to re-invent the paper in summer, 2005 -- before Gannett came in and threw all the work out.<BR/><BR/>Printing the paper once or twice a week, with digital-only editions the rest of the week, was discussed quite a bit in the committee I was on. We never got to present those recommendations to Gannett, though. They just weren't interested.<BR/><BR/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-27350955150405705182008-12-11T11:16:00.000-05:002008-12-11T11:16:00.000-05:00Too bad Gannett laid off some of its best and most...Too bad Gannett laid off some of its best and most motivated outside-the-box thinkers.<BR/><BR/>It's suspicious to me that the corporation hires -- at phenom expense -- other companies to innovate and to manage functions in some of the exact ways staffers were trying to persuade publishers to innovate. Gannett lays off its own idea people to pay a company to take the credit and muck it up (as weAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-56031145113980056242008-12-11T10:42:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:42:00.000-05:00Jim - the memo was mass distributedJim - the memo was mass distributedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-63046196879623973602008-12-11T10:38:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:38:00.000-05:00Yep. seems everyone at the News and Freep received...Yep. seems everyone at the News and Freep received Hunke's e-mail at 10:10 a.m. <BR/><BR/>The funny thing is the first e-mail came at 8:25 a.m. from Janet Hasson, senior vp of Audience Development & Strategy (???) of the DMP simply telling employees that all media inquires should be directed to Susie Ellwood at (313) 222-2149.<BR/><BR/>Hope this new super secret project is better Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-1450409136164211452008-12-11T10:31:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:31:00.000-05:00"Griffon" is worse than "Griffin"! Better to be fo..."Griffon" is worse than "Griffin"! <BR/><BR/>Better to be focusing your business re-creation project on some mutant animal instead of a boat that sunk because of poor decision making by people desperate to make a profit.<BR/><BR/>Oh, um. Never mind. Carry on!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-61884281302957386772008-12-11T10:21:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:21:00.000-05:00Has anyone else gotten the Hunke memo that 10:18 j...Has anyone else gotten the Hunke memo that 10:18 just posted?Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16651269559205765985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-59762613156827401102008-12-11T10:18:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:18:00.000-05:00Message from Dave Hunke:In the past 24 hours you h...Message from Dave Hunke:<BR/><BR/>In the past 24 hours you have no doubt heard a lot of rumors and several news reports about significant changes at the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. Clearly, over the past months we have been exploring various scenarios to reposition the companies for growth and to ensure two strong newspaper voices in the community. <BR/><BR/>We plan to share Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-1804039529211016242008-12-11T10:13:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:13:00.000-05:00The Dec. 16 meeting is still true, and still going...The Dec. 16 meeting is still true, and still going to happen. Someone obviously couldn't wait to leak more information on a plan that still isn't 100% ironed out yet, good job! <BR/><BR/>Yes Griffon is real, kind of ironic that Griffon was a Great Lakes transport ship back in the 1670's, guess what, it sunk and took everyone down with the ship. Look it up. <BR/><BR/>Yes it is a plan reworking theAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-74573898688522995282008-12-11T10:05:00.000-05:002008-12-11T10:05:00.000-05:00I'm a non-Gannett reader of your blog (what goes o...I'm a non-Gannett reader of your blog (what goes on at Gannett goes on at all the other chains...). You just do a better, saner job of blogging on it.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that being said, the old copy editor in me hopes you change "staunch" to "stanch."<BR/><BR/>Otherwise, great job. Keep it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-40934102297351727842008-12-11T09:55:00.000-05:002008-12-11T09:55:00.000-05:00If the concept be even partially true, it would be...If the concept be even partially true, it would be a truly innovative approach -- and that's something the industry needs desperately. Go for it. Beats the heck out of dying from a thousand cuts. Kudos to the people with smarts who, instead of wandering around in a dumb daze, may actually forge ahead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-5034315006232942922008-12-11T09:29:00.000-05:002008-12-11T09:29:00.000-05:00I wouldn't read too much into that "PM" offer -- i...I wouldn't read too much into that "PM" offer -- it's pretty standard practice to sell various 2-3 day combos, and by offering free access to the digital edition the rest of the week, they can count this as a 7-day subscription under the ABC rules.<BR/><BR/>But certainly a money-losing metro should be considering a conversion to digital-first publication combined with printing just 1-3 days per Martin Langeveldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05745134335677178737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-5647991229473281562008-12-11T09:27:00.000-05:002008-12-11T09:27:00.000-05:00Yes, you are on to something here. It has been put...Yes, you are on to something here. It has been put on hold by the efforts in Congress to come up with a bailout for Detroit. But as that effort is stalling, it is gaining new life. My belief is that if there is a bailout, plan appears next year. If no bailout, it appears this month. With a dismal Christmas ad season over (and it has been truly bad, according to ad salesmen I know), the attitude Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-28323877281982751022008-12-11T09:22:00.000-05:002008-12-11T09:22:00.000-05:00Come on Jim - get your facts straight - the spelli...Come on Jim - get your facts straight - the spelling is Griffon...8) fgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-56004879915532910962008-12-11T04:05:00.000-05:002008-12-11T04:05:00.000-05:00CLARIFICATION: It's Project Merv Griffin and all o...CLARIFICATION: It's Project <I>Merv</I> Griffin and all of us are in <B>Jeopardy</B> as we spin the <B>Wheel of Fortune</B>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-78730173189454817432008-12-11T04:00:00.000-05:002008-12-11T04:00:00.000-05:00A design firm is behind the changes? Oh good lord,...A design firm is behind the changes? Oh good lord, your troll is going to be incredibly obnoxious, Jim.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099437767970534324.post-31270892886375080642008-12-11T03:58:00.000-05:002008-12-11T03:58:00.000-05:00Seeing as how the layoffs decimated Battle Creek, ...Seeing as how the layoffs decimated Battle Creek, and Lansing, Livonia, Livingston and Port Huron didn't fare so well either, seems a 'bold initiative' would be to create MichiganTODAY and bureau-tize all our sites in the state at once.<BR/><BR/>You build one edition for the 94-96 corridor and print it both in Detroit and Lansing, and you change two pages for a state edition and push that out of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com