Wednesday, December 03, 2008
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15 comments:
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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But pleased be advised that the people here don't speak for the non-whining contingent of people still at Gannett. Some of us are trying to make a bad situation better and push from within for better print/online integration and better journalism, period. A lot of what you read here is pointless demonizing, and that's not what we're about.
ReplyDeleteSorry, can't share my name (though I'll go public if I'm laid off, just as Jim went public AFTER he took the buyout). But within the newsroom, I'm trying to work on both platforms, and I'm constantly coming up with ways to avoid the tedious grunt work of shoveling copy through incompatible programs so that we can concentrate on journalism. The higher-ups don't always listen, of course.
ReplyDeleteJim's probably well-intentioned, but I've never seen him display any insight into the business, and he doesn't seem to be aware of the corrosive effect his blog has on the people who are trying to do good work within Gannett.
Just thought the Reuters/Poynter newcomers should know that.
After Layoff Week, I'll go back to ignoring this blog.
12:53, why wait until tomorrow to do the things that you can do today?
ReplyDeletePlease, start ignoring the blog today!
1:09 PM
ReplyDeleteYou may now return to your information center. Hurry up now.
12:40 PM
ReplyDeleteYour boss has some press releases he/she wants you re-write. After that, he might send you out to break a great holiday shopping advertorial. Now get back to your information center and wait for further instructions.
I hope the Reuters/Poynter folks are enjoying the irony of a couple of people "personally" attacking an anonymous poster while not attempting in the least to respond to the argument. Or the criticism of an anonymous poster by someone who has a Blogger profile with absolutely no identifying characteristics.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much par for the course here if you come in with a dissenting view around here. Journalism groupthink at its worst.
I think most of us in the newsrooms know the reality. We never thought of Gannett as a company that's particularly kind to its employees, and it's a little surprising in a sense that our buyouts and layoffs haven't been quite as severe as we've seen elsewhere in the industry. We're saddened by the losses, of course, and a little frustrated that we've lacked the foresight to make the proper investments to build upon our powerful brands and avoid ANY staff cuts.
But around here, the consensus is to hunt demons. The groupthink: Executives, rather than simply lacking the foresight to steer a better path and keep the stock price in double digits, are malicious people smoking Cuban cigars and toasting their success at forcing people out of jobs. "Online" people, of course, are popular scapegoats as well.
It's a pity, because there are a few people here who are just hurting and looking for ways to communicate with others who also hurting. Frankly, they'd be better off on Facebook. Someone should start an "Ex-Gannett" group there. If I'm laid off, I'll join you.
Hey, Knilands, why don't you take a long drive off a short cliff? When you can keep a job, you can weigh in on the business.
ReplyDelete1:25, I'll respond to that.
ReplyDeleteWhere the problem arises is when the dissenting opinions paint those of us with legitimate complaints as whiners. I am someone who, like the person above, worked in multiple platforms -- even started a blog without being asked. I shot video, reported and wrote and edited a section with very, very little support from management. It had its advantages, yes. But I never worked banker's hours and they didn't give a tinker's dam that I was working lots of unpaid overtime. I tried to change things from within by doing my job to the very best of my ability and I never, ever gave them half an effort. I worked when I was sick on many occasions.
And instead of thanking me for the efforts, they withheld information about awards my section won.
Whether some of you like it or not, there are executives within this company who are just plain mean, nasty and subhuman. One of them once fired a person by phone on Christmas Eve because she had a dispute with a male editor. She dared to question authority and she dared to think outside the box and she got canned the first chance they felt they had. It was a sham and he knew it.
I am glad that not everyone has suffered at the hands of executives in this company. That leaves a glimmer of hope for this company.
You're right, there is a supreme lack of foresight and vision here. But the people at the top are doing nothing to instill any sense of "we're in this together, we're with you." And that creates bitterness. Heck, even Congress took the automakers to task when they had the audacity to fly into DC on their private corporate jets to beg for money.
There's really very little difference between that reaction and what you are reading here.
At least the Ford chairman was willing to take a $1 salary while their mess gets cleaned up.
That kind of gesture would go a long way with people here, let me tell you.
1:52 - I agree with that. There are surely a few heartless, self-important scumbags within management.
ReplyDeleteBut too often, what you see here is a bunch of scattershot insults, completely devoid of insight.
And the reason I complain about it: It reflects poorly on those of us who still, for whatever reason, work at Gannett.
Jim, though I often criticize you, thank you for letting me make that point. I was worried I'd come back to this thread and find a bunch of "Comment deleted" notices.
"And the reason I complain about it: It reflects poorly on those of us who still, for whatever reason, work at Gannett."
ReplyDeleteWhy does it not surprise me that someone actually believes free speech reflects poorly on Gannett and its employees?
tree, I'll give you the scattershot insults. But I disagree with you that what's said here reflects badly on those who stay. We all have reasons we do things -- I stayed for a very, very long time because it took just the right situation for me to get out. And what's right for me isn't right for you or the person two desks down, and I will submit that I think a lot of people forget that fact.
ReplyDeleteBut staying doesn't reflect badly on you. The only thing that ever reflects badly on you is how you conduct yourself, and I think most people are intelligent enough to separate the person from the company they work for.
As someone who has worked in another paper (and for another chain) and who now works in a different business, I do have to say that the complaints voiced here are, in essence, no different than the ones I hear where I am now, and no different than the ones I heard at the other chain. Some of the circumstances and specifics cited here are definitely worse. But there isn't a business out there that doesn't have some bitter employees. Especially now.
2:18 (the second one) -- I agree. I've worked for several other chains (I would LOVE to see the profit margin numbers at some of the papers that surely bled money off their undersized staffs in ways Gannett could only envy).
ReplyDeleteWhat worries me here is the lack of insight, into the business as a whole and particularly into the online world. (You can tell I'm still livid about the "bankers hours" comment, can't you?)
The peculiar thing about Gannett is that it has so many "lifers." Some of them don't have much insight into the way other chains operate. On the other hand, Gannett must be doing something to keep those "lifers" around. Why didn't more people jump to other opportunities in better economic times?
I digress -- you're right that people are going to complain anywhere, and perhaps I shouldn't take the comments here as a reflection of my company (still my company, as far as I know). But I hope I've made it clear to anyone visiting for the first time that several of us still in the newsrooms (at the peon level) are bewildered and sometimes a little offended by the conversation at this blog.
2:18 (the first one) -- Please. The First Amendment provides no protection against someone like me coming in and saying the conversation here is ignorant.
tree, I totally understand about the bankers hours comment burning. I see some pretty moronic comments on here from people who clearly have nothing better to do than spew hatred and they're so busy being angry about things that they take it out on the wrong sector.
ReplyDeleteAs for the lifers: I think it's a reflection of the fact that for many of these people, their life is as much wrapped up in the community as it is in the paper they're at. Many of them grew up reading the paper they work for, or came to it at a point in their careers where they were ready to settle down. I know the community aspect -- I have a child in school and I am active in my community in a variety of ways -- was something that really made the prospect of uprooting difficult. I am fortunate -- the right opportunity came along at the right time and enabled me to not only get out, but keep the things that were important to me. But those kinds of opportunities don't come along every day. I had family giving me a hard time for a while about getting out, but I just didn't see a palatable situation -- and I looked at a lot of possibilities.
Change is hard, and the older you get and the more ties you have, the more difficult it gets, I think.
3:55 - Well said. Thanks for the conversation.
ReplyDeletePlatforms? Are you an diver?
ReplyDeletePlease...What about nailing the unethical politician? How about the hero cop or firefighter or the teacher who goes beyond the norm?
Platforms LOL.. How sad.