Sunday, October 31, 2010
Week Oct. 25-31 | Your News & Comments: Part 3
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96 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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I've just received a heartbreaking e-mail from a Gannett newspaper employee, telling me they've received advance word they're about to be laid off.
ReplyDeleteJim, ask him/her back if you can run it.
ReplyDeleteWhat location and will there be more at that site?
ReplyDeleteI remain skeptical that there will be wide spread layoffs. I can see them happening in the design world as we continue to consolidate ad production, and at USAT who have not had their share of layoffs. Beyond that it's doubtful.
ReplyDeleteFirst quarter furloughs are another story. In my opinion we can certainly expect those across the board.
Does anyone know what's going on at Westchester layoff-wise? Are more reporters going to fall? Is the copy desk being cut for the design center in Asbury Park? Will some administrative managers feel the ax this time?
ReplyDeleteNobody tells us a thing!
When you are in a hole, the first thing you need to do is stop digging. But here we go again as corporate is ordering more layoffs and furloughs even though the previous rounds produced less revenues and lowered circulation. You might think corporate would have learned the lesson from past layoffs, and would come up with some other plan. But no, it's slash staff, slash expenses, and accept a degraded product fewer readers want to get.
ReplyDeleteAs for editorial cartoonists in the company, don't forget Pulitzer Prize-winning Matt Davies at The Journal News in Westchester County, NY.
ReplyDeleteHe is excellent, particularly on the absurdities of our political and cultural life.
Left wing all the way, but really inventive.
Doesn't do a lot of cartoons on "local" issues.
But he keeps getting better and better.
Unfortunately, that bucks the trend at The Journal News, which has been dead in the water for years now.
Gannett seems to be two-faced when it comes to dealing with the right wing.
ReplyDelete9News in Denver pulled off the air an attack ad paid for by the American Action Network, a shady outfit that refuses to disclose who puts up its money. (The network also had an ad pulled off a non-Gannett station in Connecticut.)
At the same time Gannett New Jersey has run breathless stories about a video smearing the New Jersey Education Association. The video was filmed in secret by James O'Keefe, a dirty tricks artist with ties to the hard right. O'Keefe was arrested in Louisiana this summer for wiretapping a U.S. Senator's office -- a fact that Gannett New Jersey didn't bother to include.
Meltdown at GPC last weekend. Jim, try to obtain the letter Toni sent out.
ReplyDeleteYes layoffs are coming! This time my name is on the list! Also Furloughs are scheduled for 1 week in the 1st quarter 2011 so far.
ReplyDeleteI say everyone should just say NO when they announce layoffs and furloughs. Just stand up and say NO. We workers do not have to accept this kind of treatment especially when the ones doing little to no work but love calling the shots are paying themselves WAY too much. Just imagine the effects of a 20,000 person walk out!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous@12:23 a.m. today posted the following comment on Part 2 of this thread; I'm re-posting below because of its relevance to the discussion here.
ReplyDeleteBrace yourself: Layoffs start rolling out next week, and right behind it is confirmation of first-quarter furloughs. The strategy of how to communicate it all is now being sharpened. There is an effort to protect newsrooms, but few will be able to dodge at least a couple RIFs next week. And this has nothing to do with the design studios that are planned.
In regards to Donna Shalala's comment on healthcare... Gannett's motto should read:
ReplyDelete"Humanity We Love, It's People We Can't Stand!"
This time I hope they lay off the people who deserve to be laid off. The drones who make a lot of money but add little to the finished product. The losers who aren't smart, creative or productive. Gannett has never been about excellence. It's time to weed out those that have gotten by through ass-kissing and social promotion.
ReplyDeleteWatching what has happened in previous layoffs shows that the "drones" 2:31 writes about are safe. They may not work hard, or work at all, but they have political backing and so are unlikely to be put on any layoff list. It is wishful thinking to say otherwise.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your walk out idea. Gannett will just fire everyone and start over with lower salaries and no pension.
ReplyDeleteYeah 2:31 p.m., "social promotion." I love it! That's the name of the game Gannett, no doubt. And it certainly is time to look at the "drones" as you call them.
ReplyDeleteNot to be a wise guy, but I gotta know: what do executive editors and news VPs do at the local sites? They don't seem to have a whole lot to do with news. So what is it that they do?
So 2:31, 2:40 and 4:14 I am asusming you three are the smart ones and not the drones huh? You should see what we drones think about you, "all talk and no work" pontificators!
ReplyDeleteRight, 4:29, and the drones shall inherit the earth.
ReplyDeleteWe had one executive editor who watched TV most of the day and frequently ducked out early to go to the movies. He got a nice promotion even though he accomplished absolutely zero in his three-year stay at our site.
ReplyDeleteHe liked playing games with the staff, at one point instigating a three-way competition for local news editor.
Imagine having three people rotating in and out of the job on a weekly basis. This went on for several months and did nothing except throw the news operation upside down. All of the "candidates" by the way had worked for the company for quite some time so their abilities were well known.
And all three were used to working considerably harder than this so-called "executive editor."
Here's a rumour for you all to chew and or gorge on. There's much talk on this blog about the executive level uselessness.
ReplyDeletePUBLISHER CONSILDATION. Rumour has it that the USCP is ditching the one paper one publisher philosophy. It seems that we may now have group publishers.
This will be a political bloodbath of EPIC proportions. I'm sure most publishers will want a job. Will they sacrifice their underlings? Or will there instead be patricide/matricide as the youngins take out there elders?
Much better then Survivor.
I still like my job.
ReplyDeleteand I like the people i work with...Most of them anyway. If there are RIFs, I hope they are minimal, and expertly targeted.
Good luck to all of you. Especially those that care about product and quality. We could all use a boost in both of those categories.
I wish you all well. Even some of the whiners.
Furloughs in first quarter with wage freeze and layoffs are coming. Gannett has reduced staff every year since 2008, expect it to happen every year. This company used to a good company to work for. No matter what you do, no one in this company is safe.
ReplyDeleteAd Director here in Asheville is clueless. Who approved this hire? She is very nice but not very assertive.
ReplyDelete5:34pm, plenty of that leisure tv watching, skipping out the door behavior is going on in GCI Crystal Palace as well. As she makes the cuts, Martore needs to take a good look in her own backyard.
ReplyDeleteOne-week unpaid furloughs may be across the board, but layoffs and wage freezes are more likely site-specific, according to what I've been told.
ReplyDeleteAs for timing, layoffs at newspapers appear more likely next week, spanning many departments. Any furloughs and wage freezes are more likely in the first quarter.
Ditto, 7:31. I'm told some in Digital are in a loosely organized work slowdown, apparently in protest over current (lack) of leadership. Also, things there are going to get even more interesting in January.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone noticed that the allocations from all the corporate initiatives cost more than if each location had their own staff.
ReplyDeleteI assume everyone got the information showing the changes to short and long term disability starting in 2011. Is it just me, or did the document explaining everything make no sense at all??? It said those with more than 9 year of service would keep STD benefits as they are at this time, otherwise it would be 6 weeks at 100% pay and 19 weeks at 60% pay. However, the graph that they showed in the document for those who have been there more than 9 years showed 9 years as starting on 1-1-01...hummmmm on 1-1-2011, wouldn't that be 10 years? And of course the other fun part of the document was that there is a lapse in time between each of the levels - apparently if you start between 1-1 and 2-1 you fit no where in the grid.
ReplyDeleteJust another way for lovely Gannett to take as much away from us as possible while our higher ups continue to indulge and enjoy everything about life.
I used to love me job - now, going into work each day makes me feel dirty from the inside out.
to 8:07, YES!!!! The corporate consolidations have done NOTHING!!!! They reduce customer service, cost areas that have already consolidated more, and... well, basically SUCK!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJim -
ReplyDeleteAre the furloughs, layoffs, ect. only at the newspaper division or does this include broadcast as well???
The only people I've heard from -- people whose identity I know -- are with the U.S. newspaper division. That division is still struggling.
ReplyDeleteBroadcasting, meanwhile, is doing well, although largely on the expected windfall from the mid-term elections. It's an open question how well broadcasting is doing/would do, absent political advertising.
I know even less about the current performance of CareerBuilder, whose fortunes clearly track the job market, which remains very weak.
1. Layoffs will occur starting in the next two weeks. These will be selective for now. Starting in 2011, the layoffs will be more "massive" and across the board. It is known that Dubow and Martore have stated to the GMC that Gannett will need to get down to the right fighting weight. They have shared that Gannett is "more fit at 25,000" employees rather than the 35,000 employees they are at today. Expect everyone's budget next year to include a "contingency plan" will another 5,000 people being removed from the payroll.
ReplyDelete2. Furloughs will occur in Q1 2011 as will salary freezes and 1-2% merit raises for select levels.
3. Digital will be going through it's own transformation soon now that Martore and Dubow have cancelled the retained search for the Chief Digital role.
4. USCP is looking to get rid of Monday deliveries across all news papers.
5. Broadcast is getting ready to brace for a severe drop in revenue after the election. Apparently the basic fundamentals of the business are deteriorating and this is being masked by heavily funded campaigns in Gannett Broadcast markets.
6. Early 2011, there will be several senior level retirements announced on the Gannett Corporate side.
@8:07, that's so dead on. Every consolidation costs us more in fees paid to corporate than what it cost to have real people do the work. I knew we were getting screwed having to buy newsprint at above-market prices but these latest schemes are just senseless.
ReplyDelete@My Boss, do the "massive" layoffs in 2011 include the staff that will be lost due to the design studios or in addition? We can barely get a newspaper out as it is.
OK so now that My Boss has finally showed up with his/her take on the situation, we can all assume its true and prepare ourselves accordingly. I know I, here in NJ, is safe because we are a hub center. However, I feel for the rest of you. It was a nice ride with Gannett, but fasten your seat belt and be prepared for a bumpy landing
ReplyDeleteBroadcast has already had consolidation of engineering and techical staff within the past year. One person is doing the scheduling of commercials for 5 tv stations, for example, which used to be done at each individual station. It's working ok, though sometimes you may notice a few seconds of dead air between a program and the start of a commercial -- if someone were still at each station, he/should could hit a button and start a commercial immediately instead of waiting for the computer to could down the 2-4 second to start the commercial. Not perfect but it is acceptable to viewers. Next year's ad stream may be less but remember that 2012 is a presidential election year and political ad revenue likely will exceed the record volume we achieved this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how the consolidation furor started with buying newsprint through Gannett. Our press manager was pretty bitter about having to pay more money for a lower quality product. But with strength of a big buying block, we'd overall pay less, right?
ReplyDeleteThen when we were told to buy all our office supplies through the same national chain, we did pay a little less for copy paper but took a bath on all the other supplies we used to buy locally.
Our circulation help desk went away so we could fire our local people and give those dollars to the Center of Excellence so those people could forward 'troublesome' calls back to us.
I could continue with the consolidations of finance, photo toning, prepress and pressrooms, to the future abortion of national copy desks, but really it's too depressing. EVERY supplier or staff consolidation has ended up costing us more than it saved, at every site I've worked at.
At the beginning we have to tell how much it is currently costing us. Afterward, they come back, telling us we lied or we were stupid and we're going to have to pony up more cash because 'there's no way you could have gotten this work done with this staffing."
Consolidations may be necessary to keep expense in line with revenue. But the way we seem to run them maximizes expense, minimizes service, and generally weakens our local brands in the minds of local customers.
There should be a better way.
9:27 nailed it. I've heard rumors around Detroit that it used to cost us less to have Circ customer service in-house compared to our cost for the COE. On top of the higher cost we end up with pissed off customers, too. Nice...
ReplyDeleteI dont know how others would feel about this but if i am going to get screwed with more furloughs, i would rather have the option of giving up a week of vacation. It makes it less painful than a pay check that is only one weeks pay.
ReplyDeleteMy Boss says corporate wants the company to slim down to 25,000 employees, 10,000 fewer than the current payroll. But why 25,000? Why not a payroll of 15,000 or 10,000. Newsrooms with their groaning staffs of editors and reporters don’t produce any revenue, so why not just run wire stories in between the advertisements? Monday and Saturday papers don’t pay for themselves with ads, so let’s scrap them. Local TV news presenters have to be paid, so get rid of them, too, and replace them with re-runs of Leave it to Beaver instead. We don’t need news anymore, since people get all their information from the Internet. All that readers want from us is news about sales at local department stores, and where to buy discount leather couches. We can do that with even less than 10,000.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be so cocky about the future of the regional design center in NJ. These hubs can easily be consolidated into one national hub. I think that already is the long-term plan.
ReplyDeleteEmployees attending college were told that Gannett would no longer subsidize their tuition, after this semester.
ReplyDelete"My Boss" is sounding like Jeane Dixon.
ReplyDeleteSenior executives will retire? Really? Talk about a sure bet!
If Gannett lays off 10,000 people and ends Monday deliveries it will be the same as the company ending. "My Boss," as usual, has the same credibility as some blowhard you meet at a bar.
Most of the people I work with have never had another job outside of Gannett and are in the 20 year range at Gannett. This company is by far the worst I have ever seen or even heard about. The problem is that theses old vets who have not had any other experience don't know and are affraid speak up or look for other work. All they know is Gannett. It is like when a hostage falls in love with their capture. Makes no sence but that is how Gannett is. Nobody in there right mind would even consider a job at Gannett.
ReplyDeletexxx "My Boss," as usual, has the same credibility as some blowhard you meet at a bar. xxx
ReplyDeleteNo, 11:59, he/she has a good batting average based on previous posts I have seen. He/she looks plugged in. You are, of course, entitled not to believe what My Boss writes. But I find it very scary.
12:07 In the old days remembered by many of us, it was not unusual for someone to work for one company their entire career. This was encouraged by corporate America, with benefits like defined pension and health care crafted to keep employees from leaving. It was looked down on employees who left, especially if they went to work for the opposition.
ReplyDeleteThat has changed, and is still changing. Now we have portable 401K pension programs. Fixed pensions are being frozen and phased out, and I think soon we will be taking on far much of the cost burdens of health insurance. The younger generation is much more atuned to the idea of switching jobs for better pay and opportunties. Lifelong employment at one company is becoming a thing of the past.
Economics and efficiency are driving some of these changes. There was a lot of inefficiency in the old system, and featherbedding particularly among those in their 50's and coasting towards retirement. Companies today are less likely to tolerate that.
To 12:12: I believe 11:59 when he doubts "My Boss."
ReplyDeletePeople who are REALLY in the know don't go talking about it or posting about it.
Laying off 10,000 people is not something that top executives talk about candidly, or at all.
"My Boss" is like any other wannabe: Someone who thinks he knows but really doesn't.
Company gossip is easy. The truth is something else.
Thank you 'My Boss.' And thank your boss for telling you, too.... Your track record here IS good, and thanks to you & Jim we have had WAY MORE reliable information than any of our name-brand GCI bosses give us. A tip of the hat to you.
ReplyDeleteWell, then 12:30, don't believe him. You didn't pay anything for the tip, so you haven't lost anything, have you?
ReplyDeleteMy boss makes sense to me. Gracia has got to get the profit margins back up, or she won't get stocks for her stock options, and the value of GCI on the stock market will continue to decline. She can't increase the price for what we produce because there is now too much competition, and they have accomplished some savings on random expenses. So she's now looking at reducing overhead even more.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at it from Gracia's point of view, she doesn't have any other option.
Regarding the size of Gannett's workforce, the company has shown in recent years that it can do a lot more work with many fewer workers. That's partly a result of technology and structural changes such as consolidating work that have raised productivity.
ReplyDeleteMyBoss' forcecast of 10,000 more job cuts sounds large. But recall that in 2009 alone, GCI eliminated 6,100 jobs, on top of 4,600 in 2008. That's a total 10,700 right there. (Here's a table showing annual employment since 1994.)
What's more, as recently as five years ago, GCI employed 52,600 people. A year ago (the most recent figures available) employment had dropped to 35,000. That's a decline of 17,600, even though GCI has shed only a few businesses: about a half-dozen very small papers.
And bear this in mind: The 35,000 figure is inflated by the inclusion of CareerBuilder's workforce, totaling 1,600, even though GCI owns just a hair over 50%. Under accounting rules, apparently, GCI includes CareerBuilder's total workforce even though it doesn't own the entire company.
11:20 a.m.....Options regarding furloughs are unacceptable unless Gannett comes out ahead. Your working a week instead of taking vacation doesn't save a dime.
ReplyDeleteAnd the powers that be couldn't care less that they'll get an extra week's work out of you. The quality of the product is the last thing on their minds!
regarding earlier post about regional or group publishers....I don't know about other locations, but there's no reason Poughkeepsie and Westchester can't share a publisher.
ReplyDeleteThey're already sharing a copy desk and printing plant.
Maybe they could start sharing managing editors, too!
Another 5,000 to 10,000 layoff is stunning. If true, they have to be considering abandoning some of the newspapers, and reducing the tempo of operations dramatically.
ReplyDeleteDigital is requiring us to go 24/7, which requires more staffing, not less. You can't run newspapers on zero staffs and I don't see any savings in the back shop or pressroom, which already has seen staffing cutbacks.
So envisioning a reduction of up to 10,000 has to mean closing down some operations.
Jim & My Boss: Thank you, again. I've been in a Gannett newsroom for three years and you've both been very accurate with good and bad news that is typically withheld from workers until the last possible minute. I've been expanding my options and keeping my resume tweaked. Good luck, everybody!
ReplyDeleteAs far as someone posting on here about gossip, remember what MY boss said to us, "If the time is right, I will tell you the truth". In Gannettland, the time is never right and the only time they tell the truth is when they have been outed on the blog. I guess when the time isn't right, they out and out lie, or fudge, or speak corporatease. Usual BS. We were not told about the design centers for ad departments UNTIL it was outed here on this blog. Then they were forced to tell us.
ReplyDeleteI saw my name on the list of RIF's. Has anyone thought about claiming short or long term disability for stress or something simular?
ReplyDeleteMy Boss is ABSOLUTELY correct. In fact, when my former boss (who was an executive at Gannett) was employed by Gannett, he told a few of us about a series of meetings and weekend long off sites that the GMC had with Ram Charan in 2008. Mr. Ram Charan was hired as a business advisor to Craig Dubow. Apparently, after several meetings with This very well known business consultant, Mr. Charan told the GMC members that for Gannett "to survive", the company will need to dramatically reduce staff by 2012. The number my former boss always said was Gannett at 15,000 people was the right size. So, I truly believe that the blog poster "My Boss" has very good information and has always been accurate. You can learn about Ram Charan at www.ram-charan.com
ReplyDeleteWonder what the costs were to hire the consultant who apparently said that about cutting staff to survive? You know, if someone would convince me that Dubow actually reads the crap products and considers comments from readers along with consultant reports, I guess I would have more faith in the decisions the big shots make.
ReplyDeleteAlso, reducing head count is one thing. But ripping peoples' past, present and futures away from them while keeping in place big bonuses for the hot shots is just wrong. Wonder what that consultant said about executive bonuses, stock prices and all that stuff.
I used to like the Christmas season, but every year since 2008 we have been roiled with new layoff plans that are unveiled this time of year. Now, this year, too. What I want to know is if this part of a plot by corporate to make us miserable at a time of year when we are celebrating and trying to be happy with our families? Who is the corporate grinch?
ReplyDeleteI can't take My Boss seriously when he/she commits an it's/its error.
ReplyDeleteThat's silly, 10:36 pm; we all don't work in a newsroom.
ReplyDeleteThe latest word is this: Some RIFs could come next week, but it's most likely the bulk will roll out the week of Nov. 8. First-quarter furloughs are likely, but it now appears folks are going to wait to see how early Period 12 revenue shakes out. No one in McLean wants to do the furloughs, especially RJD. Some say there is no choice, and they must happen. Maybe for second quarter, too. It all depends on the revenue picture improving, and so far, it's not. I also keep hearing there is going to be a significant tidal wave of change involving leaders of papers in early November, but definitely by year's end. No specifics yet, but change is in the air. I'm in the Interstate Group. Has anyone heard anything different? I especially hear big changes are coming to West and East groups. But again, I have no firm details. Keep the faith!
ReplyDeleteWest has been struggling: I've been hearing that for months. It's already had a few shakeups, in Reno and Palm Springs. And it'll be interesting to see what happens at Hollingsworth's own paper, in Des Moines.
ReplyDeleteBut I've heard only a little about Interstate, next to nothing about South, and 100% nothing about East.
I know reporters who still make the its/it's error.
ReplyDeleteI think we have to take My Boss seriously. He's been more right than wrong. But I really don't know how they are going to wring another 5,000 employees out of this company, let alone 10,000 or 20,000 in the next two years, as the consultant cited above suggests. My back of the envelope guess is that it would be possible by getting rid of print completely, and contracting out the editing and reporting functions to free-lancers.
ReplyDeleteIf it correct that corporate has cancelled the search for a new digital chief, then what are they going to do with digital? We need some visionary here, and some expensive talent is sitting around waiting.
ReplyDeleteI think the board of directors poisoned the search by saying they wanted any new director of the digital operations to be groomed as Matore's successor. I don't think Gracia is the sort to want to see any heir apparent establish a rival court and rival courtiers in this company.
10/30/2010 11:35 AM ...You must be another who makes his/her living at a desk and have no clue as to what people want. They still do want a newspaper and not ALL people go to the I-net for their news or even have I-net for that matter. They just don't want to pay 75 cents or a dollar to what amounts to a 35 cent ad wrapper. When real actual news makes the front page, or something happens locally and people EXPECT something to be in the paper about it, sales surges. Why would it do that if EVERYBODY goes to the I-net?
ReplyDelete10:16 If people want a newspaper, they are not going to get it from us at the pace we are going. Look at our papers, and you see they are already shadows of their former selves. Yet another reduction in force certainly will not improve them.
ReplyDeleteI wish well to all Gannett employees as the layoffs are announced in the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe stress level must be near unbearable at this point.Even though you must all have known
the layoffs were coming,it probably doesn't
make it easier now that the time is here.
I left Gannett 1 year ago to start my own business and that was a very ,very stressful time in my life.However,
the stress level,as a Gannett manager,was far worse.I made the decision to leave,and knew it would be difficult,leaving the comfort of a good
salary and people and friends that I had worked with for a long time.I had never,ever been unemployed,never ever drew an umemployment check, but I knew that Gannett was not stable and that I could not depend on this corporation as a career to retirement.So I had to make this decision and now,at least the stress and sleepless nights are for the benefit growing my own business and not because of Gannett's high expectations.I put my own life's savings into starting this venture ,I had to make it work.
Now,the working day and night and weekends,
is enjoyable,because it is for the good of my small but stable business and my wonderful employees.Maybe my story will help ,I don't know,it might make your own situation seem worse.
I am writing this to let you know there is life after Gannett.Even though not everyone has the
fortitude to leave before you are shoved out the door,and you are cashing the unemployment checks.Remenmber Gannett cannot ruin your life. You have choices,options and opportunities.
Isn't today the union vote in Detroit on the 12 percent pay cuts???
ReplyDelete8:58 am is right. Layoffs will start next week and will differ by site - not all properties will have them. Layoffs will be nowhere near 5,000 - My Boss is flat out wrong.
ReplyDeleteJim: Here's the latest on the bargaining situation in Detroit from the newspaper guild's Web site:
ReplyDeleteSIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN BARGAINING CLOSE TO TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS SUNDAY’S MEETING CANCELLED
In a marathon 17-hour bargaining session yesterday, the Unions and Company made significant progress in their joint economic bargaining.
We are close to Tentative Agreements. But, we need to:
work out some important details,
finish some unions’ individual non-economic bargaining
(Mailers, Guild / Free Press, Guild / News),
complete our review of information concerning the Company’s financial condition, to be done today by an economist from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Because of this we are cancelling the members’ meeting set for Sunday, October 31.
Instead, we intend to complete our work on Tentative Agreements and set a members’ meeting to
vote on ratification of those Tentative Agreements on Sunday, November 14.
We will send out Bargaining Bulletins informing you of the terms of the final Tentative Agreements as well as the details on the members’ meeting to vote on the TAs.
We are pleased to be able to report, finally, on progress in bargaining.
Thank you for staying strong.
As posted by 2:54 p.m. "8:58 am is right. Layoffs will start next week and will differ by site - not all properties will have them. Layoffs will be nowhere near 5,000 - My Boss is flat out wrong."
ReplyDeleteMy Boss said these upcoming layoffs will be "selective." S/he said nothing about numbers. The 5,000 number was in reference to the 2011 budgets, part of a "contingency plan."
When corporate does start in with more "massive" layoffs, as My Boss referenced, I can only imagine it would involve the gutting of Features Departments company-wide, replacing those sections with a USA Today insert. Sites would still have to freelance out local arts and entertainment stories, but I'm sure corporate doesn't think readers care about things like experience, consistency, voice...
I just want them to fire me or lay me off at this point. I can't quit because I want to be able to qualify for unemployment in case I have to use it. I am just emotionally and physically worn out from all of this. Being let go would be a relief.
ReplyDeleteThat was me last July. I can only imagine what it's like now.
ReplyDeleteI will never advertise in any Gannett product or purchase anything do to an advertisment placed in any Gannett product nor will I ever use, read, watch, or listen to any Gannett product, channel, or station. Gannett has tarnished its name and done a lot to harm that of actual watchdog journalism. Gannett is becoming a slang term like Munson did in KingPin. Soon people will be saying things like "don't getting all Gannett on on me" and "man you sure did get Gannetted on on that one"
ReplyDeleteWe're in a death spiral.
ReplyDeleteYet one more credibility buster, and this time it's USA Today.
ReplyDeleteActually, I usually enjoy the USAT lottery information since it has tons of information on jackpots everywhere. Well, I'll never trust the information again after today.
The USAT information for the Hoosier (Indiana) lottery is not at all the same as what's on the official state lottery website. It's a big deal since that lottery climbed to one of the top five in the nation after no wins for about eight months. USAT information leads a reader to believe that nobody hit Satuday night, and that the jackpot is $35 million for Wednesday's draw. But the official lottery website shows one jackpot winner for last night, and a pot of $1 million for Wednesday.
Dubow and his ilk might not think this is a big deal. I do.
The USAT information for the Hoosier (Indiana) lottery is not at all the same as what's on the official state lottery website.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes. One of the important three: datelines, obits and lottery. Get them wrong and you are either the laughing stock or hated.
I forgot to mention - NEVER, EVER misspell your city in a 24 pt. headline.
;-))
How distressing is it to read this:
ReplyDelete10/31/2010 4:48 PM
Anonymous said...
We're in a death spiral.
For so many of us, this proud profession is what we dreamed of doing since we were in college; in some cases, back in high school. We put on our game face daily, we strive to do great work for our communities, we coach our staffs, we attempt to inspire and we hope -- more than anything -- that our good work will improve life in our respective markets. I'm a No. 2 manager at a metro-sized GCI newspaper and I won't lie: It's getting more and more frustrating to stay the course, to stay focused and to stay inspired to do what we know our readers want and demand of us when constant rumors of layoffs, furloughs, closures and the shuffling of leaders permeate this site and this company. I'm not blasting Jim or all the folks who comment here. Not at all. It's just that I find myself increasingly frustrated and worried about something I love doing all because our profit margins aren't high enough and Wall Street, no matter what we do, cannot be placated. I'm not naive. I know we're a public company. I understand the business realities. All I'm saying: I got in this industry to touch others and to tell stories that need to be told. Now, I constantly fear someone in a corner office in the very near future is going to tap me or others with whom I work on the shoulder and say, "It's over." A death spiral? How do Craig, Gracia, Dickey or others expect us to inspire others and maintain our commitment to excellence when all we hear about Gannett is that we're in a death spiral?
9:14, I agree on morale, but to gain readers and advertisers, the product has to be improved, and that won't happen with more cuts.
ReplyDeleteGannett never had a reputation for being in the news business because they love news. They always had the reputation for destroying companies. They are more interested in the cash then the love of the business. Perhaps if they actually loved the business they would have made the right decisions. Whoever has the best news wins. Good journalists good stories.
ReplyDelete3:39 in all seriousness if you went to HR and told them you wanted to volunteer for the next RIF whenever that is they'd put you on the list. Legally they can't ask you but you can approach them. Seriously if you are willing you could save someone's job who wants to stay. I applaud your courage.
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain what's up with the digital "managers" at different levels being hired for the five groups? What do they actually do that local digital people can't do? When they came to our paper recently there was an entourage of them...
ReplyDeleteA young lady from Louisville,Ky won the Miss World title saturday in China and the great couier journal at this time has not reported it in the paper or on their web site what a piece of shit newspaper go Arnie Garson just go
ReplyDeleteDon't drag Wall Street into this, 9:17. Investors are agnostic and are only looking for the best return on their investment for the minimal risk. Gannett doesn't fill that bill at this time.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, GCI was a Wall Street darling, which explains the $90 price tag for GCI stock. In 2006, Gannett produced a 30 percent profit margin. Today it is 10 percent and declining.
So you see which corporate is adopting a policy of reducing labor costs whereever possible. With revenues flat, as they were in Q3, it is the only way corporate sees of bringing back the glory days of double-digit profits as far as the eye can see.
We all knew this about Gannett when we took jobs with this company. Gannett is the only newspaper concern that refers to its papers not by their names, but as "profit centers."
The consultants have told corporate that content really doesn't matter. People will look at the paper even if it is filled with junk stories from Demand Media, or community news written by local citizens for free. I happen to think readers are more sensible than that, but unfortunately that is not the way corporate sees it.
You are kidding. They got the lottery number wrong. Impossible. People rip up their tickets after seeing they didn't win. Do you realize the recriminations, sleepless nights and nightmares if no one ever comes forward as the winner.
ReplyDeletewhy can't the reducing labor costs included things like reducing bonuses for the top dogs? that's what doesn't make sense to me. why don't shareholders insist on those kinds of reductions? maybe it's because that would be simply enough to put consultants out of jobs.
ReplyDeleteWhen classifieds went online free with Craigs list, it was over for Gannett.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone learned whether the layoff plan involves a first phase of soliciting volunteers in return for better severance, a buyout approach as has been done before?
ReplyDeleteGannett and quality never belong in the same sentence..
ReplyDeleteMaybe the potentially huge terminations was what led Moon to complain that Dubow was out to kill the community newspapers. It sure sounds like it.
By the way, I recall posts not long ago by people longing for the days of Al Neuharth.
Give me a break! He was responsible for lowering the quality of every paper that Gannett swallowed up during his tenure. Name one paper that improved under Gannett.
Well, people aren't buying Gannett's crap anymore, especially when there's so much free crap out there.
And this company of ass-kissing managers for whom greed has been a way of life, is simply ill equipped to compete in a legal, upright way.
It knows the dirty tricks - just ask Big Al - but it doesn't know how to innovate without buying another's ideas.
I doubt the company will die, but I find it hard to imagine what it will be when its papers are nothing more than shoppers.
I don't recall any "enhanced" buyout offers, at least not in recent years. In Westchester it was basically here it is, take it or leave it.
ReplyDeleteOr, you're outta here. Good luck and here's your check!
You are kidding. They got the lottery number wrong.
ReplyDeleteThey are not the only one--ask around and you'll find more.
We were told by our paper's management at the last layoffs that we could not volunteer for RIFS; they had a hit list and that was that (my wording).
ReplyDeleteI believe that the layoffs will come later this week - they need full staffing levels to get through Tuesday's elections. THEN they can dump people.
Any corporate reduction MUST include USAT employees. Last month's cuts protected all the highly paid, do nothing editors. The paper could save $2 to $3 million easily by getting rid of a dozen senior editors with dubious job responsibilities. Weekend is also overstaffed at the top.
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