Thursday, October 06, 2011

Oct. 3-9 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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21 comments:

  1. Dubow resigned.

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  2. Man down!!!!

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  3. Craig Dubow has resigned from Gannett.

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  4. New CEO Gracia C. Martore http://people.forbes.com/profile/gracia-c-martore/35784

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  5. With Marjorie Magner named Chairman and Gracia Martore named CEO. I expect an end to furloughs and more layoffs.

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  6. Has anyone else heard about Gannett going entirely to paperless billing of advertising customers ?
    I was shown a notice from a former customer.
    This is a small market site.The customer received a Gannett letterhead,2 page notice that said Gannett will now be billing via paperless method.
    The letter asked for bank account numbers so all advertising could be handled via direct withdrawal.The notice explained that all transactions both credit adjustments and debit payments would be automatically taken.
    The customer was furious and said he will end all advertising. He would never trust Gannett with his money,ever.

    This notice had no local newspaper/shopper name and info included.I believe that a lot of customers of small town publications don't even know who Gannett is .

    This may awaken a huge amount of advertisers to fact that there is No local owned paper and much as they like to hind the fact that they are Gannett owned and have no local ownership.

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  7. Martore's publicly articulated philosophy is that employees should be happy that they still have jobs. Of course, since she's been running the show for the last 18 months anyway, don't expect any changes. But, no one should think for a minute that she'll be better than Dubow.

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  8. Gannett Co., publisher of newspapers including the Asbury Park Press and USA Today, named Gracia Martore chief executive officer after Craig Dubow resigned following a medical-related leave of absence.

    Martore has been president and chief operating officer at the company. Marjorie Magner, a director, was named nonexecutive chairman.

    In a letter to Gannett employees, Martore wrote, “In order to capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead, we need to be bold and take risks. We need to be connected and work seamlessly across the organization. And we need to continue to focus on innovation. Because of our national reach and local impact we make a difference every day. The more we succeed the more our communities will grow and thrive.”

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  9. The only clue gracia has about running this business: shrinking the employee base. That's how she innovates. Hold on tight boys and girls.

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  10. Gracia Martore as CEO...Let's take a closer look:

    1. She is a "bean-counter" by experience. Nothing wrong with that, but does a company like Gannett need an accountant running it now? Unless there is some amazing vision that she has, a bean-counter is not qualified to run a media company that is looking to "transform" (her word, not mine).

    2. She is a micro-manager. No one would have 22 DIRECT REPORTS if she had confidence in her leadership. Furthermore, she hires people to surround her from getting too close to the business. As much if a micro-manager that she is, Ms. Martore knows very little about our businesses.

    3. She has NEVER met a client. What CEO does not know their companies top 50 clients across divisions??? This one! She is an introvert that hides behind her HP12C

    4. She is GREAT at budgeting. If you think Dubow had anything to do with layoff's over the last 5 years, you are fooled. Ms. Martore has been the catalyst at forcing each "President" to fire thousands of people. She is also the mastermind of the furlough and considerable reductions in health benefits.

    As CEO, you should expect Ms. Martore to play to her strengths...cost cutting and micro-managing. Do NOT expect any vision from her. Remember, she will retire in less than 5 years, her vision for Gannett will be very short term! (that means, she will cut thenshit outnof everyone's budget).

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  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  12. The new captain of the sinking ship. The agenda: !. Reserve personal lifeboat. 2. Implement escape plan. 3. Redecorate stateroom. 4. Begin tossing crew overboard. 5. Exclaim loudly- It's really damp in here!

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  13. I find the appointment of a new chairwoman with investment banking and private equity experience to perhaps be the biggest harbinger.

    I know not Gracia, but unless she's God's gift to leadership, it doesn't make sense. Losing teams go outside to hire new leaders.

    Five years under Gracia? No. She's keeping the seat warm until a private equity firm takes over. And a takeover may be the best thing that ever happened to us, because Lord knows this isn't working now. If the only thing they have to hype right now is DealChicken, we're cooked.

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  14. If the board of directors was serious about a better future for Gannett, it would not have allowed someone from within the company to take over. Picking Gracia means the board is happy with the status quo and their overly generous compensation. The company is done.

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  15. I don't know if this "My Boss" is THE "My Boss" but he/she is exactly right. GM was the brains (and I use that term loosely) behind past layoffs and the crappy severance package. Promoting Martore to CEO means more layoffs/furloughs in our future. Make your way to emergency exits.

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  16. 5:49, that is a scam. It's been around a long time, where criminals trade on the newspaper's brand, and attempt to extract bank account numbers from your customers. Someone should notify them immediately that this is a scam. I am not familiar with any newspaper company who has gone to 100% electronic invoicing yet - especially with a lot of mom & pop customer bases.

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  17. The constant chorus of "we're done" wears thin, at least with me. It all depends on your point of view. From the personal point of view of thousands, who have and probably will lose their jobs, I get it. I suspect Gannett will be around for a long time, albeit in a much smaller form.

    I also tire of the Titanic references. They are cheap, lazy comparisons. Expend a little energy, people. You work for a media company after all. I can think of several other passenger ship references that might fit. Titanic: just don't see it, as I said above.

    And I miss the original "my boss."

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  18. This was posted on the Moms Like Me site yesterday in response to the news the site is closing:


    Dear Gannett,

    (followed by photo of Johnny Cash flipping someone the bird)

    http://ozarks.momslikeme.com/members/JournalActions.aspx?m=18220808&source=stream_home&pi=22&q=&dt=MWorldData.Message&si=Comments&filter=0&g=503675&se=&sd=&sn=0

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  19. Anon 9:15 AM said:

    "I don't know if this "My Boss" is THE "My Boss" but he/she is exactly right."

    RESPONSE:
    You know, for some reason I've always felt that "My Boss" was Craig Dubow!
    I could be wrong and I hope I am, but look at it this way... "My Boss" announced that he would be retiring soon, Craig leaves and then soon afterwards - resigns!
    These actions are too close for me ROFLLLLLLLLLL

    Quite funny if I man say so myself!

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  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  21. Correction:

    Quite funny if I MAY say so myself!

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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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