Wednesday, April 04, 2012

April 2-8 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

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77 comments:

  1. No breaking alert by USA Today on who won the primaries Tuesday night? Or NCAAW title game winner? Hello?

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  2. Over on jimromenesko.com, there's a copy of a Wall Street Journal memo to staff reminding of rules against partisan activity including contributions, stickers, signs, fundraisers etc., by news personnel. Interestingly, the note makes no mention of petition signing being a prohibited activity.

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  3. I discovered a similar discovery. I was always viewed off the clock, some production dreg, a private citizen. In fact I couldn't even wear a PR cap with our logo on it.

    So I wrote. I wrote long before my employ at Gannett. A state press association award. But I was production scum.

    I had an RGJ hat and was told to remove it immediately. "Where did YOU get that!" No big deal, right?

    Wrong.

    Depends who's running the show. It was sick then, it's sicker now.

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  4. 4:04 here to continue some context. I was taken to task. Where my letters to the editor elicited more discussion than its own editorials, I was told that I was now no longer a private dreg in production as so previously insisted, but now a sterling representative of our delicate community so far ignored.

    I was told if I wrote anything more I would be fired. I wrote nothing for such cause. But this was the repercussion.

    Disbelieve it if you will, what ever people are left to belief ethics triumphing protecting one's own corporate derrier, but that's the truth.

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  5. Just to clear up the stupid assignation of other posts being mine, I post rarely.

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  6. 4:10, 4:12: Those, that's me. Craig Sevier. I have an address, a phone number and a job. Think I'm an ass? Google me. Contact me. Contact anyone who conveys my sentiments in the thousands. Please.

    Let's see this superior attitude over a couple of beers. I'm sorry. I meant vodka things.

    But I speak for some I think when I say thanks for whatever single second of decency was afforded.

    Thanks for grasping like some leader that I expected too much from some folks more focused on feeling good about their selves than grasping grief.

    I guess I just needed help. Help to say fuck you.

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  7. My point. I can write in that style. And it's taken as real. No question about it. It "must" be me.

    Readers, jeez. Jim is sincere and he does do his best. But there has got to be some effort to be responsible, which means treating posters as if one had met them face-to-face.

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  11. Murcko has a terrible reputation on Madison Avenue. Why the heck did Banikarim hire her? It must have been impossible to get anyone good to take that job.

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  12. Lafayette, LA here; terror in our house. If you are needing a job this is not the place to come. If you are still here we need to run fast. ALL of our top executives walked off the job. Jim you should look into this place.

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  13. Why would Gannett pay money to fly people to McClean and pay to have them stay at the Ritz, for the sole purpose of firing them? Even Gannett execs have to be smarter than that.

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  14. Text 'em their walking papers. We have an app for that.

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  15. Well, I'm just dazzled by the new marketing campaign created by Maryam -- thanks, no doubt, to the brilliant findings in the Purpose Project.

    Oh, wait. There is nothing coming out of marketing. And the Purpose Project was a waste of time and money.

    Oooops.

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  16. @9:02 For those of us not in the know, what is the "Purpose Project?"

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  17. Nashville buyout has till Friday the 13then. then the folk will be gone. 6 in Finance,not sure the number elsewere, If anyone knowswho please postthe names..There will be a get together for them before that, The Tech Service Manager not seen in a week, gave his notice but thinking he was "walked" out to make sure he didnt do anything before his 2 weeks,Really hoping he takes the Supervisor in that area with him.Do hope the new VP for that area sees this guys record and walks him out also, then maybe work will get done.

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  22. Maryam is just warming up for her Big Act. Purpose Project is being repurposed.

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  23. Yahoo is laying off 2,000 people. Here is an analyst quoted in a Reuters story. Ring any bells?

    -------------------

    "You can't cut your way to revenue growth," said Colin Gillis of BGC Partners. "What people want to see out of Yahoo is they want to see a plan and provision for revenue growth."

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  25. Have they laid off all the single copy drivers, and collectors at all the Gannett papers?

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  26. 10:53 - doesn't that make it the "Repurposed Purpose Project"?

    How many consultant hours did we burn through for that one?

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  27. Tria is soooo amazing! She is so much better than Sarah Ripmaster. Everyone in our Chicago office wants Tria over Sarah to be the SVP of Sales.

    I think if Gannett is smart, they would dump Sarah Ripmaster and replace her with Tria. They should also drop Rob Gatto.

    Time for the Pointroll employees to take control over this rogue management team.

    TRIA FOR SVP SALES

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  30. From Tech Services Nashville:


    In case you haven’t heard, my last day is Friday. Also, Rick Baldwin has accepted the early retirement and has departed. In another announcement today, Sean Spidle will be leaving also. All of this will leave an already understaffed department, in an extremely bad state. Keith Miller will be the interim contact for ordering equipment and emergency situations. Please be as kind as possible to the systems department technicians in this time of turn over. The few people that are left are trying VERY hard to support everyone’s needs, but it is going to be difficult.

    This should be fun with him as the one to go to when theres a job to do.

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  31. Rob Gatto has been invited to McLean VA to have a discussion with Gannett lawyers. He was told to bring his own attorney. This is not good for Mr. Gatto.

    Sorry Rob, you only can fool yourself into believing. No one else is a believer.

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  32. Jim is Paid Off4/04/2012 2:12 PM

    Seems lie Jim is removing a lot of comments today from PointRoll. I wonder why. Hey Jim, did Rob Gatto pay you off too!?!

    Or did Sarah Ripmaster offer you a "favor" to remove these postings.

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  33. It would be cool to see Sarah Ripmaster and Tria Pavlades mud wrestle. I think Sarah would flatten Tria like a pancake.

    Tria for President!

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  35. There's a big story about the Lansing State Journal and its upstart rival MLive by Lansing's alternative weekly City Pulse out today. It deals with the LSJ's move to a paywall and how it will fare against MLive, which has a smaller staff but no paywall. http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-7204-as-gannett-announces-a-paywall-foronline-content-mlive-moves-in.html

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    1. Great story ... I agree with the corporate suicide comment in it. Since the LSJ offers no content worth paying for (or heck, reading for free) I give them under two years to bankruptcy.

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  37. Susan Weiss just confirmed 1 week furlough in Q2 for USAT editorial staff, Travel and Sports exempted.

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  39. Yahoooooooooooooooooooo

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  42. Gannett just announced a second q furlough for just about every property.

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  43. So when do the layoffs at individual sites begin to be announced?

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  44. Way to go for all the trolls who have been stating insider knowledge for 2nd quarter furloughs for USCP. To our USAT brothers and sisters. Hang in there.

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  45. Thanks 4:57, you would not believe how fucked up this place is. I have not seen this amount of dysfunction at any of the half dozen newsrooms I've ever worked in.

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  46. Regarding a late post from yesterday about cutting pay roll, either by scheduled 2 week furlough per year or by reduction of salaries.

    If Gannett is about to cut pay roll company wide, I prefer the lesser of 2 evils. We all know, that a reduction in salary will never be made up in the future, so a more humane way would be to reduce the hours worked. For argument sake let me use the 10% figure, and if that is the goal, it would seem pretty obvious to look at a 2 week pay period and make that consist of 9, 8 hour days. This would give those affected a chance, and an extra day, to look for a part time job to make up he difference.
    The other option mentioned 10 day furlough to be taken over the course of a year, which is also more acceptable than a reduction in salary.

    If this really will go into effect, what do those who doesn't have a union to represent them do? Do we just bend over and say thank you?
    I believe, that when I was hired, I had to sign a "contract", which outlined the hours I would be required to work (40 per week). Some of the finer points of the "contract" were, that I could not refuse to work over time, work odd days, weekends and evenings/nights whenever I was asked to do so.
    On a different issue also told of the wonderful retirement plan that Gannett would pay in to every year I worked, and after I was vested, it would provide me with a monthly check upon retirement for the rest of my life. That didn't quite hold water, did it? I am baffled that they could actually change the retirement plan and then sort of eliminating it without anyone challenging this action. I feel I was lied to and my goal for retirement vanished.
    I just hope, that for once Gannett would do the honorable thing.

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  47. I failed to see the writing on the wall when GPS was created last September. Now I can see that every job is going to be out sourced to private contractors in production and circulation.

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  48. If there's a national contest for "Most Effed-Up Company", I hope someone posts the link for nominations here.

    I bet they'd get about 3,000 votes for GCI in a nanosecond!

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  49. 5:55,Mathis company doesn't know how to be honorable. It doesn't know how to navigate the challenges of going forward. It doesn't know how to hire great talent. Or doesn't know how to boost the stock price. It certainly doesn't know how to get rid of the people who really should be shown the door. And it doesn't know how to treat its employees.

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  50. When Gannett separated their print division, the writing was on the wall. If they were to go into bankruptcy,it would not affect the overall future plans of the Company. They would sell off and liquidate their print assets first. Do you think paywalls mean anything now?

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  51. Jim, thank you for this blog. Wondering how true the talks of Q3 furloughs are now, any word? And are they for USCP?

    ~A reader.

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  52. 9:04 --

    Maryam, in her wisdom, felt that companies can't go forward if they don't know their purpose. Maryam certainly didn't.

    So she created the Purpose Project. Looked at research (don't know at what cost). Talked to employees. And unveiled -- ta da! -- a really lame, graphic-only Powerpoint presentation. And wondered why we weren't all awed.

    Mmmmm. I can almost smell the bonus.

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  53. Leave poor Maryam alone. She's been so busy on the road partying it up, having an overpriced PR firm book her vanity interviews and booking her speeches for some spending money.

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  54. Stock dropped below $15 today.

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  55. Maryam Banikarim just got herself booked at Generation W Now in Florida on April 20. This CMO from "media giant Gannett" will be talking about how to advance your PERSONAL brand.

    And she should know. None better at self promotion than this Gen Wow woman

    Hey Banikarim, this is helping Gannett HOW????

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  56. @ 5:59 pm - you are absolutely correct. That is the plan behind GPS

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  57. My best blessings to everyone who is comfortable with their decision to leave. What makes me mad are the previous reductions in force, with no regard to personal decisions, with far less of an incentive or none. Where those people shoved off on a discount? I am sure I already know that answer.

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  58. To all those who think 2Q furloughs were never planned for USCP, they were planned. Every site budgeted furlough savings in the 2012 plan for 2Q. I am just glad GCI decided not to implement. Very hard for our GPS coworkers getting a second furlough this year.

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  59. Nice post M

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  60. I don't believe GPS had first quarter furloughs.

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  61. Today, "Enquirer Media" asked for volunteers to ride in Thursday's Cincinnati Reds Opening Day parade...in a Corvette provided by an advertiser.

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  63. Susie E behind cuts and furloughs. She was the biggest defender of R Davis and Heather Frank. A genius all around. Way to go. She has her own communication person to send out love notes to organization. Apparently writing her own jots us beyond her

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  64. Robin Pence was a genius got out or got fired ahead of time. Oh wait she was inept. But Craig liked her

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  65. who is running USAT? Oh wait Susie. Dave. Stellar record all around.

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  66. Does anyone know what the pr agency Tom beusse has hired is called?

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  67. @9:11 -you're not paying attention. GPS had Q1 furloughs. Know what you're talking about before you comment.

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  69. Maybe Banikarim will count Gen W as her furlough week. Is she part of the exempt sales team, or is she just responsible for dismantling it?

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  70. Here's the blurb about Banikarim's appearance at the Generation W conference on April 20 in Jacksonville, Fla.

    Building Your Personal Brand with Maryam Banikarim, Senior Chief Marketing Officer for media giant Gannett.
    Maryam has been working with many of the largest brands in this country, which has given her the keen insight as to the importance of each of our personal brands. It’s about what you say and how you say it and she will share all.

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  71. The brazen self promotion continues to amaze me. whats next?

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  72. Oh, so Banakarim is a SENIOR Chief Marketing Officer? Well, that's different. Feel free to do whatever you want MB. What's your next promotion: SENIOR SENIOR Chief Marketing Officer?

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  73. Jim, Matt Sullivan from Wilmington's young reader pub resigned today "to pursue other opportunities." Any word on what really happened?

    Lots of buyouts in the newsroom, too. Drink up, Ledford. Your dreams are coming true!

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  74. Usat people Wake up..
    You are a # in the eye's of this retard management...
    POWER in #'s
    all non union shop's should start looking to enter a union..
    Work slowdown...everybody should pitch in..
    Qaulity of work should have a major slide!!!!!
    Call in sick at the worst possible time's
    Add to this list!!!!
    Be creative!!!!
    We are saps in the eye's of Our leader's....
    Let's make a difference!!!!
    I work my ass of for my site!!! ...
    NO MORE......F.U.

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  75. Matt Sullivan must have finally got tired of tasteing ass in Wilmington. Spark is a total waste of paper.

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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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