Saturday, October 12, 2013

Oct. 7-13 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

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26 comments:

  1. To continue on a earlier comment, Gatehouse does indeed suck the life out of their papers. Print sites are moved so far away that the papers have to go to press way too early, constant cutting of editorial and circulation staffs, taking contest out so pages can be cut.. It is all about the investors and upper management. Mike Reed makes Gracia look like someone on a humanitarian mission

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  2. Just curious ... if you are laid off, aren't they supposed to call you first if they are going to fill the position again? I guess all of us who know that being laid off from Gannett is an age thing (for the most part) aren't surprised that The Times in Shreveport now has a marketing director and it's not the person who was in the position before. Sure would be nice if a bunch of us had the guts to file a class action suit against Gannett for age discrimination. Yes, I know there are many no longer there who are younger, but that's only because Gannett continues to cut into the bone.

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    1. It's obvious that they're hiring far younger than the age of the previous person(s) in the job. Furthermore, there's no way in hell those who have left would return to the way things are now in Gannettland.

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    2. Same thing at my site, for more than one position.

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    3. There are only rules for civil service jobs and those covered by collective bargaining agreements (aka unions). In general employers can do what they want, especially in work-at-will states like Louisiana. The situation in Shreveport was a farce. Everyone was surprised when the company hired a new marketing director because we WERE told the position was eliminated.

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    4. I was told my job was eliminated in Shreveport - yet they hired someone new who is doing my "old job" Shreveport - where age discrimination reigns!!

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    5. Does anyone know what ever happened with Mike Huot's age discrimination case against Gannett in Louisville?

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    6. Last I checked, which was a few weeks ago, Huot's case is scheduled to go to trial in mid-November.

      Given the evidence Huot's legal team appears to have dug up so far, I'm surprised Corporate hasn't settled the case.

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    7. Thanks for the update, Jim. Hopefully Huot's case can help others.

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  3. I took a phone survey on the economy yesterday. One of the questions was, "do you think that Medical Coverage will increase or decrease over the next 5 years?" I answered that it would increase 3%-5% yearly. The person doing the interviewing said that was the most common answer. 5% yearly people.

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    1. Yeah, really scientific. The question itself makes no sense. "Will medical coverage increase or decrease?", What the hell does that mean, coverage?, the cost of premiums, the coverage offered by insurance companies? And asking people their opinion on a topic of which they have no expertise is utterly meaningless, just as meaningless as your post.

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    2. 9:14, that's what Gannett Blog does!

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  4. Would appreciate an answer to this question from a knowledgeable source
    Does Gannett retaliate against an employee notice of retirement?

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    1. How would they retaliate against retirement? Saying no?

      This week has really been frightening here. Some of the posts, like 12:13's, have been way dumber than anything in the past. I think the combination of paranoia and ignorance is really starting to destroy the little thinking ability some of you had left.

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    2. You just have to be careful about your timing. I guess it's not such an issue these days, with evaluations and raises pretty much non-existent, but I learned the hard way a few years ago that they don't appreciate receiving plenty of notice of one's intention to retire. I thought I was doing them a favor. In return, I received a bogus evaluation and was denied a due raise the last six months of my employment.

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    3. It's not that they don't appreciate it, or that they are retaliating. You just made it possible for them to screw you even further and save a few more dollars off of you - a chance they couldn't pass up.

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  5. In an effort to increase online readership, the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J., is running a contest involving local high schools to get more gallery page-views of weekly football games. Four schools compete for the prizes by clicking on gallery photos. First prize is a $100 Apple gift card and second prize is a $50 Apple gift card. The paper ran a double-truck ad in Saturday's Sports section to announce the contest.

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    1. I'm sure that advertisers will welcome this -- readers clicking so fast that they don't see the ads.

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    2. Another winning digital strategy. Give them free meth and you'll really get your click count up.

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    3. Project "Breaking Bad" meets "Project Butterfly" double those clicks LOL

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    4. Good thing you laughed at that, minus. No one else did, except maybe Jim -- another minus.

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

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  7. To 9:22 in Shreveport: (Begin sarcasm) Now, now. I'm sure the job they're hiring for has a different title than when you held it, making it technically NOT your old job - even though the duties are exactly the same. Makes perfect sense, right? (end sarcasm).

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  8. You will see that the Shreveport publisher will do as she wants and will always get her way. She isn't afraid of anyone or anything. When did they hire back a person who was laid off? Some had been offered part time positions in lieu of the lay off and others have been offered lower paying jobs in lieu of the layoff. And regarding retiring...tell me what's the advantage of retiring from Gannett?

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    1. You're forgetting an important point: Under most of those Shreveport employees watches, it fell like a rock faster than pretty much any other Gannett operation. Seems like someone who "isn't afraid of anyone or anything" is just what that place needs to put in people who want to make a difference and actually make a comeback.

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    2. 12:57: That's an oxymoron for Gannett. No talented person would come work for this company with its very well known history of failure and antiquated tactics. The Gannett ship has sailed and Shreveport is broken.

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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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