Friday, March 02, 2012

Feb. 27-March 4 | Your News & Comments: Part 6

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

49 comments:

  1. Now that Iam no longer working for The GANNETT CO. I totally see what a joke the company it is.
    Good luck to those still there---you need it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hard to believe that so many hang on,knowing what their fate eventually will be!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Re: 5:35. Brewer has also taken 4 others from the Gannett National Team to Austin. Did they all get turned loose at G? Any update on what happens to Leslie G. with the new President of Sales position?

    ReplyDelete
  4. What happens when 5-10 people leave an already depleted newsroom?

    ReplyDelete
  5. No one seems to "get" that how many people are in the newsroom is irrelevant in 2012. And 2011, and 2010, and 2009.

    Gannett and most other major media companies no longer place any value on content. It jall ust "magically appears" above the ads on the pages.

    Like many websites, those newspapers still running print editions will convert to far more "citizen journalism" (?) for filling above the all-important revenue-generating ads.

    Never mind that such garbage, unfiltered and unabashedly self-serving, will make our newspapers little more than neighborhood gossip rags and church newsletters... filled with poor grammar (even worse than what our overworked desks let through!), mindless drivel and convoluted press releases that make no sense.

    NO - ONE - CARES

    All corporate cares about is the revenue stream that they THINK will roll in regardless of the diminished quality of the content.

    Those newsroom people don't do any work anyway. They just sit around and make sarcastic comments all day and night. They don't produce anything.... THAT is the view of the bean counters and advertising folks.

    They will not learn the truth until it is too late and the few ads that remain will disappear when advertisers refuse to support a product, print OR online, full of empty air and mindless junk submitted by PR hacks and Aunt Jenny.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gannett is a complete and total trainwreck. I find myself checking this blog on a daily basis because I just can't believe what I'm seeing day after day after day. I've never worked for Gannett and feel sorry for the employees who can't seem to break away.

    There are jobs out there, people. I know it's difficult to start over, but everybody has to start somewhere. Get your resumes together this weekend and start applying for jobs. You'll find it difficult at first, but once you start the process you'll become energized and excited about taking control of your employment situation and getting back some of your self worth.

    Are you a pressman? You have a skillset that will transfer to manufacturing. Are you in advertising? You have a mariad of skills unrelated to the newspaper. Are you a journalist? Companies hire writers all the time to write up their PR materials. You can always start a local blog if you miss the daily reporting of the goings on in your community. The possibilities are endless. Use your imaginations.

    Gannett ain't worth the pain and agony I read on a daily basis. If you don't do it, ain't no one gonna do it for you. Good luck, all. I really do wish you well because from my study of this company, it isn't going to be around very long.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Right on, 11:05. It gets sooo old here to hear the same, ol' refrain: "There are no other (insert narrow description of what I do here) jobs where I live ..." Wake up, peeps! Instead of moaning about the inevitable demise of the limited vocational existence in which you have earned a living, look beyond conventional perspectives and take inventory of all of the demand out there for you -- if you effectively understand how your skillset can transition to current industry demands.

    Sure, you can wear your "old school, tried and true" journalist's pride on your sleeve. But it ain't gonna get you hired. However, if you're smart enough to craft a resume/cover/clip package that demonstrate how resourceful you are at quickly researching and writing complex topics, and producing content in multiple formats, there are many opportunities at companies that seek people who can produce blogs/podcasts/white papers/case studies, etc.

    Forget about all the regional reporting awards you won. Nobody cares. It's about developing content. If you're going to survive, you need to redefine what you can do.

    So if you hate Gannett so much, why aren't you doing this?

    Oh, and don't come up with the "there isn't much work like that where I live" line ... Modern technology has nipped that excuse in the bud.

    The bottom line: If you're miserable and/or scared of a layoff and/or can't live on the pay (along with constant furloughs) that Gannett deems you worthy of, it's really your own fault for not even attempting to find a better way. I'm not guaranteeing success ... That's all about talent, drive and, frankly, luck. But it sure ain't gonna happen if you just come to this blog and comfort yourself with the "can't do anything about it" defeatism that you see here all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  8. USA Today is making news again, I see. What a joke that place is. They keep trying to reinvent the wheel but the inventors are so lacking in so many areas that it now appears they are just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what might stick. Meanwhile, the errors keep mounting. Folks keep fleeing. Not real inspirational stuff for what was once a pretty decent product.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See another guy who throws stuff out as if it is truth. No one is "Fleeing" Sure some folks have left and some have been asked to leave. But guess what ? Some have come back as well. It's the cycle of life. Even Google has hundreds of folks quit and you all treat them as GODS

      Delete
  9. Was there a movement recently to get the "founders" out. Just heard an employee of over 30 years is gone and no one seems to know why.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No but folks do mo e on

      Delete
  10. 1:00 - Because they're smart and know when it's time to move on.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Indy Star settles age discrimination suit out of court.

    http://www.ibj.com/star-settles-agediscrimination-suit-with-excolumnist/PARAMS/article/33035

    ReplyDelete
  12. 1 p.m.'s reference to the "founders" is to that group of USA Today staffers who were part of the team that launched the paper in 1982.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I know that when I workerd for GANNETT the managers were very nasty towards women- who are their better employees. They need to watch their mouths, hands and please take down all those nudey pictures especially out on the press this is 2012 women have rights to not be around pigs!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Three reporters will soon be leaving at the same time at my site. Should make things interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What's going on at the Cincinnati Enquirer? The 2011 Associated Press newspaper award finalists were announced today and not a single finalist is from the Enquirer.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/213e88e85a8e44eeb10509388b990a72/OH--APSO-Awards/

    In years past, this has been a source of pride in the newsroom. Did whoever was responsible for submitting not make the entry deadline or did management choose not to enter? Or worse, have things finally deteriorated enough under Carolyn Washburn that not one of the entries was named a finalist?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anyone else see Carolyn Washburn pushing the Enquirer's iPhone app during the deadly storms? Disgusting. Should be informing public, not selling something to them at a time like that.

    https://twitter.com/#!/CarolynWashburn/status/175690061864636417

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your comment is the thing that's disgusting. It's a news organization, and it's telling folks where to find news. THAT is the POINT. Would it also be disgusting, I suppose, to say "buy the paper" then? Some of you are so blinded by hate that you've forgotten anything you may have once know about this business.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Four television stations just in downtown Cincinnati with radar equipment and coverage out the wazoo – they live for this --and Washburn tweets that people should follow the Enquirer's coverage of it through text. ROTFLMAO.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi 10:46,
    I liked the fact that you brought up the topic of "citizen journalism." I hope that Gannett never considers implementing any type of citizen journalism. I, myself, am not a journalist. However, I truly respect real journalism... People that have the proper education to research and write thought provoking pieces that are well crafted & fluent in language. As I get older, I become more and more elitist. I want to be surrounded by stories that are worth my time. I am also willing to pay for better quality journalism.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A question for journalists:

    Now with the advent of supposed “citizen journalists,” is there an organization that recognizes, makes the distinction between, and brands products that are created by true journalists with credentials?
    If there is already such an organization, I think it would be advantageous to brand products with logo/seal identifying the quality of journalism. I would like to know ahead of time, that the news articles were written by a real journalist.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 5:57 That my friend is what I would call a big idea. Like the GoodHousekeeping seal of approval.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yes, 5:59, that's exactly where I'm going with this. As a consumer, I want to know that the journalists are qualified, before I purchase the news-product. Maybe the "organization" would be built by a consortium of newspaper leaders, who want to preserve the integrity of newspaper journalism.

    - 5:57 PM :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the history of newspapers no one but a journalist, political insider or pompous never actually worked in the industry journalism professor ever spoke this philosophical tripe. Consumers want to be informed and entertained. They/we could care less about your points.

      Delete
  23. The reason there are no entries in Cincy (or at other contests at other newspapers) is because there is no staff to coordinate and submit them. Some of the contests you can't just "send in" stuff yourself as a reporter. No one keeps track of contest deadlines. At my paper, we used to enter -- and win-- many contest each year. Then they laid off the guy who helped us.

    ReplyDelete
  24. It seems that it wasn't until a few years ago that people working at USA Today since 1982 started calling themselves "founders." I worked there back in the late 80s and early 90s and the only "founder" we had then was Big Al. It is also funny that the self-proclaimed "founders" seem to have forgotten that they came from other Gannett newspapers and were originally called "loaners." If you really want to know what is wrong with USA Today, look no further than this group.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Jim,
    What are your thoughts on the topic brought to attention by 5:57 & 6:08PM? In an age where electronic publishing has opened the flood-gate to self-proclaimed citizen journalists, do you also foresee:
    … A future organization (consortium of newspaper leaders) that recognizes, makes the distinction between, and brands products that are created by true journalists with credentials? … Branding products with a logo/seal identifying the quality of journalism, by association with the consortium.

    Quality journalism is essential to well-educated societies, who distinguish between "sources." I spent over 100K, on my education, and I do not want citizen journalism invading intellectual avenues of society.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Jim,
    Can you do a favor for several of us at PointRoll? We were wondering if you can ask Chris Saridakis to weigh in on PointRoll's issue with this cookie setting/privacy issue we are having with Safari users.

    There are dozens of us asking for you to ask him his thoughts and asking you to get his permission to post the comments on this blog.

    Thank you in advance for your help,
    Very Concerned PointRoll Employees

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wasburn keeps embarrassing herself and Cincinnati. Someone please make her stop.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Do the stacks of unsold papers in convenience stores get counted toward circulation numbers? I have noticed these piles getting bigger and bigger over time. They keep a stack of Sunday papers well into the week now too. I guess that is for coupon people, maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  29. The Enquirer's refusal to use Twitter hashtags in today's coverage of a major storm is either inept or arrogant. No Twitter user follows just one media outlet for all their news anymore, and if you don't use hashtags, you're out of the conversation from the get-go. Aren't we supposed to be a digital media company now?!

    ReplyDelete
  30. 7:11,
    I'm a web programmer, and I have been reading about the subject of Safari bringing suit against multiple advertising companies. I think safari will loose this case... Since safari has it's own standards, it should also implement it's own security features to preserve its unique standards. Safari could have created a parser that would have picked up on the various cookie-code. Safari made a security promise, to it's own customers, that they could have easily maintained by implementing the proper security features on Safari's end. My prediction is that the various advertising companies will indicate that it is Safari's role & responsibility to maintain unique security features /promises ... And, I believe the advertising companies will issue a counter suit, in which Safari will have to pay for legal expenses and damages due to their own negligence. Our lawyers should also pair up with some web security programmers (in court). Programmers can illustrate that Safari could have easily cross-referenced the adverting scripts against typical keywords (such as "cookie"), to insure that Safari's securtiy upholds their own standards.
    I will give an example... Let's use the example of a company that manufactures bullet proof vests... If a bullet penetrates that vest, it is the failure of the vest company not the bullet company.

    +_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_

    7:54
    I'm also going to respond to the "twitter" comment. The twitter thing is a ridiculous and annoying fad for those with short attention spans who need to be "needed" by an inanimate objects.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I was laid off from the Cincinnati Enquirer. I remember it being a negative, toxic workplace but didn't realize the extent of that atmostpher until I started my new job this week. New job is strikingly opposite from the Enquirer. You work hard with high standards and the management appreciates your efforts. Opportunities for promotion abound. Just a postive workplace. I'm starting at the bottom again but truly grateful for a job where I don't have to worry about when (not if) I will be laid off, where I know I won't be stabbed in the back by Carolyn Washburn, Julie Engebrecht, and their lackies. My new employer is not a publicly traded corporation so no greedy stockholders to make rich. The company is growing by leaps and bounds. So nice to know that if I work hard, I will be rewarded - not treated like a piece of shit!

    ReplyDelete
  32. GCI stock down every day since the BIG new Pay Wall press release!!!

    Closed today at same level as Oct. 2009. So much for good news from the Good Old Boys last week...

    ReplyDelete
  33. Magazines .... Another Hunke initiative shut down

    ReplyDelete
  34. If the stock keeps going down, Gannett will probably have some new private equity/ LBO owners soon. They would probably liquidate half the stuff. The rest would probably get a new vision.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Regarding the stock:
    It is a small fluctuation. It's been going back-and-forth between $14ish and $15ish a share, for quite a while. It also may be tied to the recent increase in oil... which effects our operational costs in "transportation," of our print product. The stock market, in general, has been all over the place.


    Also, this is an interesting story on BusinessWeek.com pertaining to companies buying back shares of its own stock:
    http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b4203051800661.htm

    ReplyDelete
  36. Please, enough of this raw raw you can get out and get a better job postings, it will set you free from Gannett and your life will be so much more wonderful. Save your gospel for church. And 3;34 Those of us who work in the Press room like naked pictures of hot chicks hanging on the walls, if you don't like, stay out of the pressroom, you don't belong in their anyways. I am looking to get out, but if I do not find a job prior to the day in which I will be let go, I am enjoying myself, doing what I know the best I can, granted I am not killing myself, but when the day comes, I ride off, collect my unemployment checks and just maybe find a job I want, then again, I may not need a job when it's all said and done.
    Planning is everything

    The Happy Pressman. Still riding the wave baby and loving life

    ReplyDelete
  37. 10:52, LOL.
    I am a woman and I understand your humor. I can also make a joke: It may be more "liberating," for some, if it was a calendar from Gannett's property "Mom's like me" with a breast-feeder of the month.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  39. 11:28 no dis-respect, humor it was, you no all us pressman are good guys and we love to see a lady in the room. All eyes will be upon you..it nice to have someone walk in looking good and dressed to the nines.

    HP

    ReplyDelete
  40. 7:27,
    11:28 here. Yes, I know it's a joke. And my joke on 11:28 is to illustrate that it's funny what some people think is offensive, others think of as natural. (ie: The breast-feeder of the month calendar.)

    ReplyDelete
  41. to the press guy--have you ever heard of sexual harrassment!
    Keep that stuff at home-in your closet or under your bed!.
    Gannett has policies that they don't hold up to, seems to work for you.
    I am not religious just don't need to work around dirty press guys, there are other outlets for that stuff, should not be at work for managers or you to offend!
    Lets put of big huge nudy guys for you to admire, how about that!

    ReplyDelete
  42. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Someone spent $100,000 on a journalism education? What a monumental waste of money.

    ReplyDelete
  44. 10:18,
    They did not specify what "they" had studied. The point that they are making is, they do not consider "citizen" journalism as credible or well written journalism. They want to disseminate between products by professionals and lower-tier products of citizen journalists, before they make a purchase. People that spend $100K on their education want to read quality pieces and consider their time to be too valuable to waste on anything less. And, I would assume that you would want to uphold the highest standards, to maintain a well educated audience that appeals to advertisers.

    ReplyDelete
  45. 10:18 PM,
    Many people believe that an investment in education is the best investment that a person could make.

    I also find it interesting, that people often spend money on luxury cars which only depreciate, but will debate the value of an education.

    My advice is :
    Buy the economy vehicles and invest in your education.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Honestly, think of the enormous amount of folks that spend 50K on vehicles, that they have for 8 to 10 years... Then buy another luxury vehicle when they need a replacement.

    ReplyDelete

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."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.