Carolinas | More evidence of regional dailies?

In September, the five-newspaper Louisiana group hired a regional editor -- the latest sign, I wrote at the time, that Corporate may be leaning toward creating single regional newspapers in lieu of individual ones serving specific markets.

Awtry

Today, the two-paper Carolina group announced that Josh Awtry had been promoted to regional executive editor, overseeing the Asheville Citizen-Times in North Carolina and the The Greenville News in South Carolina. Awtry is currently the top editor of the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Coincidentally -- or not -- the president of the Louisiana group, Judi Terzotis, was promoted to that job after working as publisher at Fort Collins. Indeed, as of September, and even as she ran Louisiana, Terzotis was supposed to oversee Fort Collins as well.

Today's move leaves me wondering whether Terzotis is now helping Corporate export the regional editor concept to other Gannett markets. Of course, the Carolinas and Louisiana aren't the first to go this route. There are regional editors for three Central New York newspapers; six papers in New Jersey, and 10 small dailies in Ohio. Other areas ripe for regionalizing are the 10 Wisconsin papers.

Awtry will be based in Asheville. The paper's staff list currently doesn't list a top editor. Greenville's senior-most news executive, Managing Editor Chris Weston, announced last week that he was retiring after 37 years at the paper.

Asheville and Greenville are about an hour apart.

[Photo: News]

Louisiana | Memo hints at creating regional dailies

This morning, the president of the five-newspaper Louisiana group offered the latest sign Corporate may be leaning toward creating single regional newspapers in place of individual ones serving specific markets.

Terzotis

In a memo, Judi Terzotis announced she'd hired Cindy McCurry-Ross from Corporate's News Department for the new position of regional editor.

"Cindy will work directly with the editors at each site to strengthen the news operations in the individual markets as well as build out a regional news network for the state," Terzotis wrote. (Full memo text, below.)

Costs should be substantially lower in a regional approach, where current newsrooms could be treated more like slimmed-down community-based news bureaus with fewer layers of highly paid editors and executive editors. 

Fewer reporters, too. For example, a reporter could be encouraged to write back-to-school features that touch on all five Louisiana markets rather than just one. Overnight, one reporter is doing the work of five. Bye-bye, four features writers. 

McCurry-Ross

In less dramatic fashion, this has already started under regional editors at three Central New York newspapers, another six in New Jersey, and 10 small dailies in Ohio. There, however, individual papers are still published under their historic flags. Other areas ripe for regionalizing are the 10 Wisconsin papers.

Gannett's most high-profile and longest-running regional is The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. That experiment has been one of the company's messiest, however.

Westchester ranked No. 10 in weekday circulation losses among the company's 81 community dailies between 2005-2012. Sales fell 46% during the period, to barely 72,000 from 133,000.

Text of Terzotis memo
Good Morning,

I’m thrilled to announce the appointment of Cindy McCurry-Ross to Gannett Louisiana regional editor. Cindy will work directly with the editors at each site to strengthen the news operations in the individual markets as well as build out a regional news network for the state.

Cindy comes to us with a wealth of experience. For the past two years she has been on the corporate news staff working with Kate Marymont on key projects across USCP. Prior to her corporate stint, she was the assistant managing editor and senior managing editor in Fort Meyers. She’s a seasoned journalist that understands audiences and cares deeply about improving the communities we serve.

Cindy reports directly to me and will be based in Lafayette.

Please extend a warm Louisiana welcome to her! Please share this announcement with your staffs.

Judi

Judi Terzotis
President and publisher, The Times, The Daily Advertiser, The Daily World

Memo: Power outage shuts down La. sites

Yesterday's outage was at the building housing The Times of Shreveport, and affected (I believe) at least four other Louisiana sites. Power was restored after about an hour, according to one of my readers. Here's the memo:

To: All Gannett Louisiana users

DESCRIPTION
The Shreveport building has lost power and the generator the powers the data center during outages failed to start. We have determined that there is a battery issue with the generator and building services is working on it.

Meanwhile, the datacenter containing the editorial and classified systems for the state is now completely down. At this point we don’t have an ETA for when we will have either generator or main power restored.

We will keep everyone informed as we know more about the situation.

EFFECT AT YOUR LOCATION
All systems used by the entire GANLA region are currently not operational while we wait for power to be restored.

SUPPORT
Visit the Gannett Midwest IT Servicedesk home page or contact Gannett Midwest IT Helpdesk @ (XXX-XXX-XXXX) for questions. Use Service Desk Web Self Service to search for knowledge and manage your open support tickets.

Monroe | Print shifts to Shreveport; 27 jobs cut

Louisiana's Monroe News-Star said today that it would move its printing to The Times at Shreveport, effective Aug. 1. The switch will eliminate 12 full-time and 15 part-time jobs, the Times says in a story. The two cities are about 100 miles apart.

"New positions will be added in Shreveport with the consolidation," the story says, "and Monroe employees will be given first option for those positions."

The Times installed a Berliner press last year that produces a newspaper with an 18-inch depth. In addition, the Berliner press allows advertisers to place color advertising on every page, "which is important in today’s changing media environment,'' the paper says.

With this cost-saving step, Monroe becomes the latest paper to consolidate printing at a nearby sister site, or one owned by another publisher. As of December, the latest period available, 68% of Gannett's 82 U.S. papers had moved printing off-site.

Monroe's circulation weekdays is 29,245. Sunday's is 28,500.

Related: So far in the current quarter, GCI has eliminated an estimated 52 jobs at 10 sites, according to Gannett Blog reader reports. This spreadsheet gives a site-by-site count.

I gather this means the Monroe paper will become a Berliner? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

[Image: today's News Star, Newseum]

Memo: GPCs reorganize customer support Monday; four new 'pods' to control ad traffic for 24 dailies

Faced with what I'm told have been significant customer service problems, the two nascent Gannett Production Centers are reorganizing how they provide support to about two dozen newspapers that have already begun shipping artwork to the new advertising production centers, at Indianapolis and Des Moines.

The new organization, which divides customer service into four "pods,'' or three-person teams of traffic coordinators, goes into effect Monday, according to an internal memo distributed yesterday; I obtained a copy of the document from a reader.

The U.S. newspaper division, Gannett's largest, announced the GPCs last year as a cost-saving move. They are to be completely built out by January 2011, and are part of a broader effort to consolidate printing, editorial page design and editing, TV master control and graphics production, plus finance, photo toning and other functions -- all in a bid to boost productivity.

Dailies include Louisville, Brevard

Certainly, organizational problems are to be expected in any new venture. But the GPCs' success is crucial: Eventually, if advertising artwork isn't produced accurately and on time, advertisers will continue abandoning Gannett, costing it more revenue at a time when sales are already down, and advertisers have more choices than ever.

The new customer service organization is for dailies including some of the biggest -- The Indianapolis Star and The Des Moines Register, of course, plus The Courier-Journal at Louisville, Ky. Smaller papers include Tennessee's Jackson Sun and The News-Star at Monroe, La. Others include Florida Today at Brevard, The News Journal at Wilmington, Del., and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, according to the memo.

The memo's author is Toni Humphreys. At one point, and possibly still, Humphreys was director of the Regional Toning Centers, which also are based in Indianapolis and Des Moines. (I do not know this employee; can someone tell me more about her job responsibilities?)

Month-long 'pod' test
"We have been testing a 'pod' structure with a set of sites for nearly a month now,'' Humphreys writes. "We have divided our Support staff up to provide service to just a handful of sites to give more personalized service and to help our staff understand your operation better. The feedback from the test newspapers has been excellent."


Her note continues: "These teams will be designated to handle all of your sites needs including running reports looking for anomalies, touching base with your local ad traffickers to trouble shoot ads, addressing general inquires and handling the other work flow duties they cover today."

Humphreys does not allude to any problems with the current trafficking system -- problems described to me by a well-placed source, as well as in comments posted by Gannett Blog readers. Rather, she says: "The overall goal of these changes is to streamline communication with your site and allow us to be more proactive in identifying potential issues before they become a problem."

Jobs lost? Unclear
Much of the newly consolidated ad production, editing and other work is being concentrated at the two Gannett sites in Indianapolis and Des Moines, which are home to the Interstate and West regional newspaper groups run by the increasingly influential uber-publishers, Michael Kane and Laura Hollingsworth.

Newspaper division President Bob Dickey has never publicly said how many artwork and traffic jobs the GPCs in particular will eliminate. I've estimated that each newspaper will lose from five to 10, based on Gannett Blog reader comments. That would total between 400 and 800 jobs, assuming all 81 U.S. community papers are included. (The community papers group excludes USA Today and the Detroit Free Press.)

Gannett employed 35,000 workers in the U.S., Guam and the U.K. at the end of last year, down 16% from 2008. It remains one of the nation's largest private employers, however.

[Image: this morning's Today, Newseum]

Louisiana | Anyone hear about new editor moves?

There are rumblings that Gannett may have chosen a new top editor to replace the recently departed Denise Richter at The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La. That appointment could be one of two or more top-level editor changes in Louisiana. Anyone else heard this?

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Monroe | When a newspaper is like a Big Mac

A Gannett Blogger says the following memo was sent this afternoon to employees of the The News-Star of Monroe, La.

From: XXXX, XXXX
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 3:03 PM
To: XXX
Cc: XXX
Subject: Papers

It has been brought to my attention that we have some staff members taking papers out of the building at the end of the shift. This is strictly prohibited. No-one is to leave the building with a paper. We offer the paper at half price to all of The News Star employees. As Supervisors, you must insure this is not happening.

This would be the same as someone from McDonald's taking home a Big Mac at the end of the shift.

Someone from Lowe's taking home a hammer.

Someone from Belk taking home a piece of Jewelry.

Someone from Cracker Barrel taking home a pack of smokes.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.

Earlier: In St. George, Utah, new cost saver -- delivered to employees

Hubs | Could Shreveport be the Louisiana hub?

A tipster says a regional page production desk for the five Louisiana newspapers is moving forward, and could be based at The Times of Shreveport. I've asked Publisher Pete Zanmiller for comment.

Club rules: A view on exclusive Dubow scholarships

The clubhouse at Trillium in Cashiers, N.C., where Jackson County public documents show CEO Craig Dubow owns a $1.5 million country estate. Dubow excluded employee children in nearby Buncombe County from his college scholarship fund.

Regarding questions about whether Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow has been funneling Gannett Foundation money to the Craig and Denise Dubow Scholarship Fund at a North Carolina university, a reader says in a comment:

"If Dubow directs foundation monies to Western Carolina and they recognize him directly for it, and not Gannett, isn't that a little more than sleazy? And, isn't part of the value of any donation the recognition it brings on the foundation; i.e. Gannett for its acts? Dubow may be its president, but he's hardly earned the right to treat its monies as his own. And, let's not forget that a great deal of this industry's value lies in its credibility. Acts like Dubow's greatly damages it and it no doubt encourages others within Gannett to "push" the ethical boundaries equally as well."

Asheville kids not welcome
The Dubow fund's eligibility rules effectively exclude children of many Gannett employees, because scholars must be from North Carolina's Macon, Transylvania, and Jackson counties. Gannett's Asheville Citizen-Times is in nearby Buncombe County. (Inset, map of counties.)

Through a trust, the Dubows own a $995,550 home on a $500,000 two-acre lot in Jackson County's private Trillium golf course development, according to public documents that include a deed dated Sept. 27, 2006.

Related: The News-Star in Monroe, La., yesterday reported four Gannett Foundation grants given to local non-profits. The paper dutifully noted that the foundation's mission is to "invest in the future of the communities in which Gannett does business."

Please post your thoughts in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.

[Photo: Trillium]

Weakened storm Gustav lands west of New Orleans; hundreds of employees publish live news coverage

[Army National Guard members patrol the 5th District today after Gustav skirted New Orleans, in this USA Today photo]

Updated at 4:25 p.m. ET. Gannett employees from Louisiana and Mississippi, fortified by teams from Florida, Des Moines, USA Today and elsewhere, are covering Hurricane Gustav's landfall today, publishing videos and other news reports live and real-time. As millions fled inland, The Times in Shreveport, La., and other sites streamed live storm video.

Watching the story unfold, Gannett Blog readers cheered: "GREAT JOB SHREVEPORT!!!!!!!! The best paper in Louisiana, and the best operating committee and publisher in our company,'' one said in a comment, below. "You guys are doing a great job covering the storm."

[Storm updates: The Times' homepage, moments ago]

Do you know co-workers there? Wish them well! Please post your notes in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.

Earlier: Gustav revives the overtime-pay debate

[Photo: Rob Curtis, USA Today]

Sixteen years later, Little Rock mafia rises in GCI

Updated on Oct. 4. With the promotion of Kate Marymont (left) to a top News Department job in April, the number of former Arkansas Gazette employees in influential Gannett positions has grown even more. That's ironic, of course, because many suits at Corporate would just as soon forget that bitter Little Rock chapter. About 700 employees lost their jobs in 1991, when GCI pulled the plug on the paper -- likely the single-biggest job loss in Gannett's 102-year history. (Yes, Virginia: newspapers really do fail.)

CEO Al Neuharth bought the Pulitzer Prize-winning daily in 1986 at a deep discount, during his victory lap as he was leaving Gannett. Five years later, in October 1991, GCI closed the Gazette when its annual losses approached $30 million in a bruising newspaper war with the crosstown Arkansas Democrat. The Gazette's assets were sold to what is now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. (Only three months ago, Editor & Publisher named the Democrat's Walter E. Hussman Jr. as the trade publication's Publisher of the Year.)

Marymont was the Gazette's metro editor. Other Little Rock survivors still tied to Gannett include former finance vice president Evan Ray, just promoted to senior vice president/finance and operations amid last month's Friday Afternoon Massacre; USA Today Publisher Craig Moon, who was the Gazette's publisher; Susie Ellwood, then marketing director, and now general manager of the joint operating agency publishing the Detroit Free Press; former production director Austin Ryan, now vice president/production in the newspaper division; former Managing Editor David Petty, now publisher of The News-Star in Monroe, La.; the advertising department's Larry Whitaker, now publisher of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., and the finance department's Joe Williams, now the Clarion-Ledger's finance director; former state editor Bob Stover, now executive editor at Florida Today; and former copy desk chief Jill Fredel, now assistant managing editor at The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. (And me: I was the Gazette's business news editor, before leaving for Boise, then Louisville and San Francisco, where I finished my Gannett career at USA Today.)

I'll bet I'm missing other Little Rock alumni. To e-mail confidentially, use this link from a non-work computer; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.

Related: a Gazette oral history, featuring an "I know nothing" interview (.pdf!) with Neuharth, in May 2000

[Image: my Gazette employee ID photo, taken in October 1987]

Datelines: Donuts delivered, lakes choked

Datelines is an occasional roundup of news topping Gannett websites.

Burlington, Vt.: Dinky Donuts is delivering freshly made treats to customers' homes -- at the crack of dawn. Monroe, La.: Louisiana's lakes are being invaded by exotic vegetation that threatens to choke the life out of them. Indianapolis, Ind.: For the first time in nearly two decades, presidential candidates will be fighting over state's delegates. Great Falls, Mont.: The snowpack across most of Montana is slightly above the average for this time of year, authorities say. Tucson, Ariz.: A 15-year-old boy says he shot his father in the back of the head because he wouldn't let the teenager use the Internet.

[Image: this morning's News-Star, Newseum]