Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 26-April 1 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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63 comments:

  1. Pointroll and Aggregate Knowlege3/28/2012 6:52 AM

    I just heard that one of Aggregate Knowledge's major clients has stopped working with them as their cookie practices are violating the advertisers privacy policy.

    Why would Pointroll get involved with a company that steals publisher and advertiser data on their web visitors? Doesn't Pointroll have enough problems?

    Imagine Pointroll, working with Aggregate Knowledge, is placing an advertisement on USA Today and Pointroll and Aggregate Knowledge are both placing cookies on USAToday's website and the advertisers website. Not only does Pointroll gain data from USAT's website, but so does Aggregate Knowledge. Worse off, Aggregate Knowledge resells that consumer data AND web publisher data to ANOTHER advertiser who would want to target that user on another publishers website. Furthermore, the consumer does not want their data to be shared with another advertiser and loses.

    USAT will eventually lose and so does the consumer. The only winner is Aggregate Knowledge (who resells the data over and over) and Pointroll attempts to make more money by selling a rich media advertisement to the next advertiser.

    Pointroll has been pitching this as a "reporting tool", but clearly there is more to the relationship than just reporting. Reporting is based on all the illegal cookie data being accumulated by bith companies.

    This illegal privacy issues should be looked into by someone as Pointroll is in trouble and every employee is looking for the exits.

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  2. What is going on in the IT Department at The Tennessean, Nashville? A new South group VP Hired over IT, Now the Manager of Tech Service gave his notice. With the Buyouts to hit, with there best Tech leaving. This will not leave much skill and Knowledge there..Did the Good Ole Boy Network collapse finally? Good Riddance to a man that was mostly despised.. Just thinking if they will go out side to fill his shoes, or pick from the ones that are left? And trust me that's not much to pick from.

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  3. re: the comment in the last string about an email going out in Cincinnati to find out why they are losing subscribers. I cancelled my subscription recently after almost 15 years. You can tell them that the reasons are:

    1) Terrible content and lack of quality reporting. Too many stories promoting local businesses, and not enough news. And now they want to charge us to view this crap online too?
    2) Inconsistent delivery, including repeated ignored vacation stop requests
    3) Most importantly, Gannett leadership, especially Carolyn Washburn. Her attitude towards readers is appalling, and her appearance in the self-serving "Women to Watch" feature was the last straw. I refuse to spend money to support a company that treats their employees and customers like garbage.

    Please, please pass on my comments to Ms. Washburn and save yourself a phone call.

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  4. Excellent Reuters column --

    http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/2012/03/27/free-the-gannett-25/

    Free the Gannett 25!
    By Jack Shafer
    March 27, 2012

    Last week, the hall monitors who run Gannett’s 11 newspapers in Wisconsin brought the mean end of the ruler down on the wrists of 25 journalists for signing petitions to recall Governor Scott Walker...

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  5. Washburn is in Tysons trying to convince USA today to include her in a national 20 women to watch issue. Unfortunately, she has all the presence of a deputy county clerk. Why is this woman in charge of anything beyond a copydesk?

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  6. This from attorney Dave Saldana on HuffPo:

    Wisconsin Statute 103.18 holds, "No person shall, by threatening to discharge a person from his or her employment or threatening to reduce the wages of a person [...] attempt to influence a qualified voter to give or withhold the voter's vote at an election."
    If I were one of the 25 Gannett Wisconsin employees singled out for discipline for participating in the democratic process and publicly accused of unethical conduct, which could substantially harm my prospects for employment and future earnings, I might consider whether Gannett has violated Statute 103.18 and defamed me in the process.
    Many supporters of Gannett's public flogging have blamed the victims here, claiming the staffers knew that they were in the wrong, because they "signed a contract" that abnegated their rights and duties as citizens. But as any first-year law student could tell you, a contract that violates public policy or statute is void. You cannot be coerced into surrendering your rights as a citizen in order to receive a paycheck.

    www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-saldana/gannett-newspapers-walker-recall_b_1380983.html

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  7. 9:48, the people running this company are clueless. We have this issue in Wisconsin, a work place violence issue in Shreveport, and what appears to be a company wide age discrimination lawsuit, on top of horrible content and increased rates for our consumers. Can we get some professionals running Gannett that know what they're doing?

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  8. Well said Pointroll and Aggregate Knowledge! This is a shady deal and we are all wondering who approved this relationship.

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  9. Why did you delete David Bowie's "Five Years"?

    We thought that was nifty and true.

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  10. Has anyone ever addressed the workplace violence threats in the Jackson, MS, distribution center? One carrier threated and/or pulled a knife not once, but twice, on another carrier, and management took no action. From what I've been told, threats of violence are isolated to just Jackson. Does Gannett not have an enforceable policy against such threats? Especially if weapons are involved?

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  11. 10:18...because it doesn't violate the code of ethical conduct?

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  12. I did the same 9:06, at first driven by a comment from Buchanan that subscribers wouldn’t drop their print subscriptions to get their news on the web – even for free.

    Well, my few month test to see if I could live without it is now a few years old, the result of which surprised even me as I quickly learned I could and I’ve been a newspaper reader since childhood. Whenever I feel a weak moment and pick-up a copy I’m quickly reminded why I no longer need the Enquirer and it’s for many of the reasons you share.

    At the rate this newspaper is being run into the ground – and now its website, the more opportunity exists for others to finish what’s left off.

    A wealth of former employees and the web makes that easier than some would think, let alone how local decisions increasingly open a greater window of opportunity, the largest will be when smaller sized Enquirers hits door steps this Fall.

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  13. Ring, ring.
    Hello?
    Good morning, sir. I'm a highly placed Enquirer editorial cog and my boss has asked me to call the 90 people who canceled their subscriptions last week to ask why.
    What's that? Don't I have anything better to do? No, and this is on top of reading my co-workers' copy before it's posted because there were so many complaints about errors. We used to have a copy desk that did that but ..
    Uh huh. It's not even thick enough any more to line your bird cage. Got it.
    The alternative free entertainment weekly is more news-savvy than the Enquirer. Uh huh. Makes us look like corporate patsies. Uh huh.
    You want actual news? You don't want to pay for feel-good stories and mindless pap? You aren't interested in daily pictures of children at play? Uh huh.
    OK, we might have missed a few major news stories, but might I point out that we run an extensive list of fish fries? And we run it every day, in case you missed it the previous day. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
    OK, thank you very much. Now, do you want to resubscribe? I can throw in a full color supplement reprint of our Women to Watch.

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  14. 10:48, that is hysterical. The sad thing is, this will soon be going on at every Gannett site as the readership gets smaller and smaller.

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  15. 9:48, the majority of the posters on the "Gannett 25" stories have called for management's head to be served up on a silver platter.

    Sauteed with mushrooms & onions perhaps?

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  16. Who is the regional president for the Wisconsin papers?

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  17. Think that extra hard work we're all expected to do with our shiny new iPhones will make a difference?

    Thing again.

    http://jimromenesko.com/2012/03/28/who-will-fund-reporting-in-a-mobile-world/

    Short version: “The approximate conversion rate is $100 offline = $10 on the web = $1 in mobile.”

    In other words, the money ain't there and Rome is burning. I'll get my fiddle!

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  18. Cherry Hill reschedules today's farewell party because not enough people can attend. Wonder when they will reschedule newspaper production because not enough people can attend.

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    Replies
    1. More would show up from advertising if they were not planning yhe next party at a local bar and/or not fully engaged in playing games on their smart phones.

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  19. Furloughed Fury3/28/2012 11:47 AM

    There is a reason I live 50 miles away from my newspaper's circulation area so I can exercise my rights as a citizen to vote, to sign a candidates (or any other petition) and to participate as a of my home town. The situation in Wisconsin is a farce. How much money do you think the 5 failures in the executive offices throw around in campaign donations to the candidate and party of their choice?
    But of course the same rules do not apply to Craigy, Gracia and the others in nose bleed territory, only to the lowly workers asked to do more with less.

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  20. Furloughed Fury3/28/2012 11:48 AM

    add "resident" to the first sentence, too much red bull this morning

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  21. You should be happy only 90 people cancelled their Enquirer subscriptions last week. I would have figured the number was 1,000 or more. Wait until all those early buyouts start and the product gets even worse than it is now. You'll be running those fish-fry listings on page 1. They'll be no one to report the news or edit it. Why not just close up shop? Seriously, you think anyone is going to pay for that? Or access to online where stories are days old?
    Seriously, can there be a worse management team within Gannett than Buchanan and Washburn?

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  22. @FF at 11:37
    I don't think Gannett Wisconsin expected such a negative backlash as they've gotten, especially from the readers. I bet 80% of the comments on the stories have been positive as to the 25 employees' situation. Add to that Romenesko chiming in on the plagerism aspect; there's too much egg on face for their liking.

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  23. Why can't Gannett be like baseball's digital media division?

    http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/164/major-league-baseball-advanced-media-bam

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  33. More subscription woes:

    After my layoff, I went to a Sat/Sunday subscription, mainly for the coupons on Sunday. I also get the Big City Paper from 2 hours away 4 days a week.

    I've noticed many many of the same articles from the BCPaper repeated the next day in the Gannett paper... or a week later, usually badly edited and often with the ending chopped off completely. So much for quality content.

    Sat/Sun subscription, roughly 8 papers a month, and I routinely miss delivery of at least 3 of them. Call the paper, report the error, sometimes get a replacement and sometimes not.

    When they do deliver, the paper ends up under my car or under the bushes. It may all be within reach, but you'd better have some looong arms to grab it. Crawling around the driveway on my hands and knees is not a great way to start the day.

    And now we have the weekly call center calls trying to get us to go the full week for only 75 cents more! Five additional days of aggravation for only 75 cents!

    I have been a newspaper subscriber for more than 30 years in several different markets, and this is by far the worst paper experience I have ever known. Quality sucks, delivery is pathetic and the value received is hardly worth the aggravation.

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  34. The reporters signing the recall petition were becoming part of the story instead of reporting on it. It will cost the paper credibility especially in the eyes of those who do not support it.

    The newsrooms of the major media in the US are staffed by very liberal people. A significant portion of their readers would probably classify themselves as conservatives. The political activity of the Wisconsin reporters may win them applause from their readers on the left, but will erode their support from their readers on the right. To be successful the newspaper needs to keep readers on all sides of the political spectrum.

    Their immature behavior hurt the credibility of their newspaper, and at the end of the day will hurt themselves and their colleagues.

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  36. Jim you deleted more remarks than the Journal News has readers!!!

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  37. Enquirer's Opinion Editor Takes Buyout
    Ray Cooklis is among seven more names City Beat confirms.

    http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/tag-0-1-The%20Enquirer.html

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  38. Pointroll and Adregate Knowledge severed over legal concerns? Is this true?

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  39. They may as well just shut these papers down completely and run everything out of a few locations. There's hardly any local news anyway since all the staff at the papers has either been fired or is taking early retirement.

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  40. This headline now appears on the homepage of the Journal News' Lohud.com. Notice a typo? No one there did.

    New Hudson Valley Restaurant Week reivews: Confetti, Moderne Barn, more

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  41. 3/28/2012 9:31 AM There is room for only one Gannett Woman To Watch in Usa Today and that is Maryam Banikarim. Forget about it Washburn. And Banikarim will have her own category called Woman to Watch Your Back With.

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  42. 4:09---DON'T WORRY---KRISTA MUELLER TO THE RESCUE.

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  43. Home - Blogs - Staff Blogs
    March 28th, 2012 By Kevin Osborne |


    (**UPDATE AT BOTTOM)

    The Enquirer’s sole remaining editorial writer, Ray Cooklis, is among the employees who will be departing the newspaper as part of a round of “early retirement” buyouts.
    Others who are leaving The Enquirer include Features Editor Dave Caudill; photographer Glenn Hartong; reporter Steve Kemme, who covers eastern Hamilton County; Copy Desk Chief Sue Lancaster; Bill Thompson, a sports copy editor and occasional music critic; and Copy Editor Tim Vondebrink.
    CityBeat confirmed Tuesday that political columnist Howard Wilkinson and longtime photographer Michael Keating also were leaving the newspaper.

    http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-3201-enquirers_opinion_editor_takes_buyout.html

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  44. WHY?

    Because she's a Gannettoid, of course. Dim, small, and lemming-like.

    ---

    Washburn is in Tysons trying to convince USA today to include her in a national 20 women to watch issue. Unfortunately, she has all the presence of a deputy county clerk. Why is this woman in charge of anything beyond a copydesk?

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  45. Yeah! Whoever heard of a silent "e" at the end of Modern?

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  46. Umm, 4:09, that's the correct name of the place: "Modern" with a silly "e" on the end.

    I see this a lot with business parks with the word "point" in their name. It's now "pointe."

    Some owners just can't resist pretentiousness, like spelling "theatre" instead of "theater."

    I think it not only pretentious but really annoying. But it is Moderne Barn, no typo.

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    1. Carnage in usa today sports. top editors canned today.

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  47. 4:09 Are you enjoying Patch? Oh wait, with your sharp skills, you must be at Main Street Connect.

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  48. 4:09 Are you enjoying Patch? Oh wait, with your sharp skills, you must be at Main Street Connect.

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  49. The typo in the restaurant piece has nothing to do with Moderne. The typo is: reivews ... with the v and i transposed.

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  50. Any news on who is taking the buyout at Brevard? I know the sportswriter who left, but who else ois retiring?

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  51. Funny, the word I noticed wrong was "reivews". Do I get a prize, or was it actually Moderne you were going after, or both?

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  52. 3:45 and 3:13 yes, you get the prize for nitpicking. And being asses. Congratulations.

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  53. Yes, I know who is taking the buyouts at Brevard, but will not announce their names here until it is official.
    The count is now:
    News 1
    Advertising 2
    IT 2
    Admin 1

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  54. This blog and its on-the-road with Gannett whimpering and bitching and moaning is about as useless as Maryam Banikarim.

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  55. I know for a fact you all really miss me now.

    Love,

    Craig Moon

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  56. Oh oh, must be hitting a nerve. Here come the naysayers that you don't hear from unless we're onto something big, huh 9:45? Is it the Midwest issue, the pointroll issue, The Enquirer issue, the Wisconsin issue? Which one are you trying to take the focus off of? Gannett is about to get good. Shit is going to be hitting the fan. I've got my popcorn, do you?

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  57. So many issues, so little time. I think the employees are getting the upper hand. Thanks Jim!

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  58. 5:56...it's getting old and boring. Not everyone who criticizes The Journal News works for Patch. I know it's hard for you to accept, but TJN is failing.

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  59. 8:34 Concerning the Tech and IT Departments at The Tennessean, If and when they Hire a New Manager for the Tech side and If they move the current Supervisor into that slot, well lets just say, they may be better off out sourcing it.
    Lets just be for real here some people are better off just as worker bee's then Managers of a Department if you know what we mean.So Powers to be at The Tennessean think good and hard about this one.get someone in there with some ability to Manage, NOT a person that does nothing all day and is waiting for his 30 years..

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  60. To 10:18--No. It is not just Jackson!! 2 years ago in Cincti (Forest Park)...Warehouse employee assaulted early morning. Resulted in surgery, time off, and criminal charges. Never written in morning paper! Ironic? Cincy DM's have often talked about atmosphere and safety.

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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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