Deadline over; no word on USA Today buyouts

Judging from Gannett Blog's unusually heavy traffic today, there's lots of interest in whether USA Today avoided layoffs by persuading enough newsroom employees to apply for 45 buyouts announced in a memo three weeks ago. The deadline was the close of business today; I haven't gotten any updates from my usually reliable tipsters at the main office in McLean, Va. I'll let you know as soon as I do.

USA Today employees: Please e-mail what you're hearing; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.

UBS conference headline: No company split

CEO Craig Dubow and other top company executives didn't offer anything substantially new in their just-concluded meeting with Wall Street media stock analysts. The top brass didn't give any new details on whether a company split is in the works; they didn't even hint at it! Maybe that's why GCI shares are now trading lower, even as the S&P-500 Index and other market indices are up smartly. Meanwhile, the company has just published this statement, summarizing some of the executives' remarks at the UBS Investment Bank Annual Global Media Conference.

Live blogging: UBS Global Media Conference

Gannett executives, led by CEO Craig Dubow (left), are speaking to Wall Street analysts about the company's strategic direction starting at 10 this morning, at the UBS Investment Bank 35th Annual Global Media Conference. I'll be watching the New York event by webcast, and blogging live on details (assuming the technology works!).

10:55 a.m.: We're done. My goodness, that was uninformative!

10:53: Dubow is now taking questions from the audience. But there's only 90 seconds available!

10:52: The advertising climate continues to be "challenging." The sub-prime mess, tightening credit and their impact on consumer spending "are a matter of some debate and considerable uncertainty,'' Martore says. On the positive side: GCI is well-positioned to take advantage of the Summer Olympics in Bejing and U.S. election spending. But, she says of 2008: "Visibility is very limited'' on advertising revenue. GCI expects revenue trends for at least the first few months of the year will be in line with current trends. "I assure you that we are working diligently to make sure our cost structure matches revenue opportunities.'' Translation: the job cuts will continue!

10:43: Now up at the microphone in this so-far deadly dull media conference: CFO Gracia Martore. At the risk of stating the obvious, there's been no big news announced -- i.e., splitting the company into different entities -- so far.

10:40: GCI is "aggressively transforming" its TV stations, adding more technology, and working on creating more content. "Putting more boots on the street,'' he says. But at no additional cost! Way to trumpet that expense control, Lougee!

10:36: Dave Lougee, President of the Broadcasting Division, is talking now.

10:34: Lots of talk about different advertising revenue segments; I'm having trouble keeping up. Tech revenue advertising is trending down, Moon says. Finance and insurance will be flat. Overall, advertising "visibility" for 2008 remains "very limited.'' Hmmm; I'll bet!

10:27: USA Today Publisher Craig Moon is now speaking. He references the recent 1% gain the paper reported in circulation -- one in a string of such gains. "This is an incredible accomplishment as we continue to grow volume,'' he says. Side note: He sounds nervous.

10:25: But, she says, Arizona, California and Florida newspapers like the Pensacola News Journal (left) are still sucking wind because of turmoil there in the real estate industry.

10:18: Clark-Johnson is now trumpeting successes at The Arizona Republic in Phoenix around bolstering entertainment coverage there to attract younger readers. (I'm not surprised she's lauding Phoenix, since she was publisher there before moving to Corporate.) "Of course, we're going to replicate that success elsewhere,'' she promises. Or maybe that's a threat?

10:13: News Division President Sue Clark-Johnson is now at the microphone. "Needless to say, the sub-prime meltdown'' has put a damper on revenue growth efforts. "Readership is up, and online'' is showing gains.

10:12: Dubow is showing the audience a video with lots of high-energy music. But we can't see it on the webcast; we've only got audio. Losers! Arrgh!

10:05: Video is "leaping off the page'' at Gannett websites, and traffic is surging, he says. "More important, we are monetizing that traffic,'' Dubow says. (Really? Then how come online revenue growth at U.S. newspapers is slowing?)

Update 10 a.m.: The conference has begun. Dubow is the first speaker; it's gonna be audio only -- no video stream. A year ago, he says, GCI promised big changes. "We are delivering on that promise of transformative changes. We couldn't have foreseen all that has happened, particularly in the economy," he says. "We knew the transition would be difficult. . . . What's key: We knew that these changes had to happen.''

[Images: Dubow, Gannett; this morning's Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, Newseum]

Cutlines Only: The Honolulu Advertiser

A 78-year-old tree split in half and fell at the Bodaiji Mission after strong winds, high surf and heavy rains battered O'ahu Tuesday, the Honolulu Advertiser says today. Photo by Richard Ambo, Advertiser.

Cutlines Only showcases Gannett website art. E-mail suggested links here; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.

USA Today buyouts said faltering; layoffs loom

Just 29 employees have applied for 45 newsroom buyouts, according to an e-mail from top editor Ken Paulson that was forwarded to me moments ago. With the application deadline now less than 24 hours away, the shortfall suggests as many as 16 employees may be laid off. Management had warned about that possibility when the buyouts were first announced in a memo three weeks ago.

Murdoch's empire grows; how will GCI respond?

This chart compares the stock performance of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. vs. Gannett since the start of the year. The blue line is News Corp. Gannett is red. You get the picture. More on that unpleasantness later in the post.

First: I'm flat-out envious of the folks at News Corp. -- even with my qualms about CEO Murdoch's rapacious appetite. But as people keep saying: The man loves newspapers. And he also embraces Web 2.0 in ways I'm not sure Gannett is willing to try. Just today, News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group said it had acquired social-network Beliefnet, a site devoted to spirituality and religion. Murdoch is adding that to a digital stable that includes MySpace, the hugely successful investment that made him one of the oldest webpreneurs.

It'll be interesting to compare his web strategy with the one Gannett executives are scheduled to discuss Wednesday morning during a conference with Wall Street media stock analysts. And that's just the digital side of a competition between News Corp. and Gannett that's now moving into higher gear.

Murdoch (left) has made clear several ambitions with his purchase of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal. He wants to make access to the Journal's website free; that would boost its audience considerably -- at the expense of other newspaper websites. Second, he wants to give the Journal a jolt of non-financial news so it has a more national reach. He's especially focused on Washington political coverage (watch out, New York Times!) and popular culture (get ready, USA Today!).

And if Murdoch came knocking with the right price, perhaps Gannett's board would be willing to talk about USA Today. Romenesko noted three months ago that John Hartman, who's written two books about USA Today, said Murdoch had reportedly offered to buy it a decade ago for $1 billion. Murdoch's USA Today could go full-tilt with Fleet Street-ish celebrity coverage in ways unsuitable at the Journal.

Even in a year when newspaper stocks have been getting pounded, News Corp. has done relatively OK, Google Finance data show. Its shares are down only 5.2% year-to-date vs. a 40.9% dive bomb in Gannett shares. (Smelling salts, anyone?) And that's part of why News Corp.'s market value is so much bigger than other, more newspaper-centric companies like Gannett.

I've been watching Gannett's market capitalization (chart, above) fall $100 million here and $200 million there for weeks now; these figures are as of today's closing stock prices. (Just curious: Does it matter to anyone in the Gannett Tower if the Washington Post Co. overtakes Gannett's market cap?)

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On eve of key media conference, shares slump

Gannett's stock fell 2%, closing at $35.75 a share -- another record closing low for the decade. And it might have been worse: Late in the day, shares traded at an even lower $35.52 a share before strengthening, Google Finance says.

The stock's continued decline comes as CEO Craig Dubow and other top executives face a critical constituency -- Wall Street analysts -- on Wednesday morning. The top brass are scheduled to talk about "strategic initiatives, particularly its digital strategy, and the company’s outlook for 2008," Gannett says.

Kickoff is at 10 a.m. ET. I might live-blog at least part of it. GCI is webcasting, too; details here.

Calling USA Today: What's the buyout word?

With the deadline 24 hours away for newsroom employees to apply for one of 45 buyouts, what's the buzz on how many have applied so far? The stakes are high because management warned in this memo that it needs at least 45 volunteers to avoid possible layoffs at the nation's biggest-circulation newspaper.

E-mail me here, ASAP please; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.