Carolinas | More evidence of regional dailies?

In September, the five-newspaper Louisiana group hired a regional editor -- the latest sign, I wrote at the time, that Corporate may be leaning toward creating single regional newspapers in lieu of individual ones serving specific markets.

Awtry

Today, the two-paper Carolina group announced that Josh Awtry had been promoted to regional executive editor, overseeing the Asheville Citizen-Times in North Carolina and the The Greenville News in South Carolina. Awtry is currently the top editor of the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Coincidentally -- or not -- the president of the Louisiana group, Judi Terzotis, was promoted to that job after working as publisher at Fort Collins. Indeed, as of September, and even as she ran Louisiana, Terzotis was supposed to oversee Fort Collins as well.

Today's move leaves me wondering whether Terzotis is now helping Corporate export the regional editor concept to other Gannett markets. Of course, the Carolinas and Louisiana aren't the first to go this route. There are regional editors for three Central New York newspapers; six papers in New Jersey, and 10 small dailies in Ohio. Other areas ripe for regionalizing are the 10 Wisconsin papers.

Awtry will be based in Asheville. The paper's staff list currently doesn't list a top editor. Greenville's senior-most news executive, Managing Editor Chris Weston, announced last week that he was retiring after 37 years at the paper.

Asheville and Greenville are about an hour apart.

[Photo: News]

Louisiana | Memo hints at creating regional dailies

This morning, the president of the five-newspaper Louisiana group offered the latest sign Corporate may be leaning toward creating single regional newspapers in place of individual ones serving specific markets.

Terzotis

In a memo, Judi Terzotis announced she'd hired Cindy McCurry-Ross from Corporate's News Department for the new position of regional editor.

"Cindy will work directly with the editors at each site to strengthen the news operations in the individual markets as well as build out a regional news network for the state," Terzotis wrote. (Full memo text, below.)

Costs should be substantially lower in a regional approach, where current newsrooms could be treated more like slimmed-down community-based news bureaus with fewer layers of highly paid editors and executive editors. 

Fewer reporters, too. For example, a reporter could be encouraged to write back-to-school features that touch on all five Louisiana markets rather than just one. Overnight, one reporter is doing the work of five. Bye-bye, four features writers. 

McCurry-Ross

In less dramatic fashion, this has already started under regional editors at three Central New York newspapers, another six in New Jersey, and 10 small dailies in Ohio. There, however, individual papers are still published under their historic flags. Other areas ripe for regionalizing are the 10 Wisconsin papers.

Gannett's most high-profile and longest-running regional is The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. That experiment has been one of the company's messiest, however.

Westchester ranked No. 10 in weekday circulation losses among the company's 81 community dailies between 2005-2012. Sales fell 46% during the period, to barely 72,000 from 133,000.

Text of Terzotis memo
Good Morning,

I’m thrilled to announce the appointment of Cindy McCurry-Ross to Gannett Louisiana regional editor. Cindy will work directly with the editors at each site to strengthen the news operations in the individual markets as well as build out a regional news network for the state.

Cindy comes to us with a wealth of experience. For the past two years she has been on the corporate news staff working with Kate Marymont on key projects across USCP. Prior to her corporate stint, she was the assistant managing editor and senior managing editor in Fort Meyers. She’s a seasoned journalist that understands audiences and cares deeply about improving the communities we serve.

Cindy reports directly to me and will be based in Lafayette.

Please extend a warm Louisiana welcome to her! Please share this announcement with your staffs.

Judi

Judi Terzotis
President and publisher, The Times, The Daily Advertiser, The Daily World

As Lafayette, La., gets a fourth publisher in just six years, can the parachuting Terzotis really respond?

Even by Gannett standards, today's announcement about a new publisher for two Louisiana newspapers really sticks out.

Terzotis

Corporate named Judi Terzotis chief executive for both The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas. Terzotis will also continue as publisher of the troubled Times in Shreveport, La., as well as president of the overall five-paper Gannett Louisiana group -- jobs she got just four months ago.

And as if that wasn't enough, Corporate's press release says she'll continue to "oversee" the Fort Collins Coloraodan, where she was publisher before moving to Shreveport in May.

(At Fort Collins, Terzotis was replaced by business development director Kathy Jack-Romero. Reading between the lines, perhaps Corporate thinks Jack-Romero needs more time getting up to speed. In that case, Terzotis' role there may be short.)

In Shreveport in a story about her newest jobs, The Times was vague about where, exactly, Terzotis will live, saying only: "Terzotis will maintain offices in Lafayette and Shreveport and serve on both editorial boards. She also continues to oversee operations at the Fort Collins Coloradoan."

'A responsive team'
To be sure, Gannett has plenty of publishers who cover more than one site -- in some cases, dozens across multiple states. Just look at the publishers in Phoenix, Nashville, and Rochester, N.Y., who additionally run the three big regional newspaper groups that together encompass all 81 U.S. community dailies.

But in Terzotis' case, a quote attributed to her in today's press release must have left more than a few residents puzzled in Lafayette and Opelousas. "These communities," Terzotis says, "deserve a responsive team of people who can reflect the unique nature of south Louisiana."

Across Gannett markets, locals expect publishers to ride the rubber chicken circuit of Rotary lunches, car dealer promotions and chamber of commerce banquets. Nowhere is that more true than in small southern communities, where residents' legendary charm is leavened by wariness of executives parachuting in from multinational conglomerates based near Washington. I know, having spent six years working in Arkansas before and after Gannett bought the now-defunct Arkansas Gazette.

Lafayette and Opelousas residents pondering the notion of responsiveness will note Shreveport is about 200 miles north of their communities. And Fort Collins is fully 1,100 miles north of Shreveport. They'll note as well Terzotis is their fourth publisher in six years. (And that doesn't even count a fifth publisher who pulled out only a week after Corporate gave him the job. Nor does it include interim publisher David Petty.)

Publishers-a-go-go
Terzotis replaces Karen Lincoln, who was publisher at Lafayette and Opelousas for barely 17 months starting in March 2012. Lincoln, in turn replaced Ali Zoibi, who held the jobs only 14 months starting in December 2010.

Hurst

And Zoibi had replaced Leslie Hurst, after she was promoted in 2010 to publisher of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

Hurst, who ran the two south Louisiana dailies for three years, also knows quite a bit about parachuting from one Gannett community to another. Including Jackson, she's been publisher of seven Gannett papers over the past 17 years.

Remember when Gannett was big on diversity?

For decades, Gannett has been an industry leader in hiring more minorities, and showcasing diversity in its editorial content. Indeed, in the company's Annual Report to shareholders this year, Corporate wrote:

"A key initiative for the company is its leadership and diversity program that focuses on finding, developing and retaining the best and the brightest employees, as well as a diverse workforce that reflects the fabric of the communities Gannett serves."

But now more than ever, that role is threatened with the very recent departures of several high-profile editors -- plus the loss of the lone black member of the company's board of directors, leaving that powerful governing group looking whiter than ever.

Stovall

In Binghamton, N.Y., several readers tell me Executive Editor Calvin Stovall was among those exiting in a round of job cuts this week. (I've asked Stovall for a comment.) That followed the news African-American top editors in Shreveport, La., and Louisville, Ky., had also left their jobs. And their exits were preceded by that of the African-American editor in Montgomery, Ala., in January.

[Updated Sept. 19. In Binghamton, Neill Borowski replaced Stovall.]

In an e-mail yesterday, a reader told me: "It's become increasingly clear that Gannett's once-cherished values (namely diversity) have taken a back seat to the bottom line. That's fine, but let's hope these layoffs are met with a proportional dial down of Gannett's touting of its values."

Anything less would be hypocritical from a company where the 12 most senior executives look just as white as the board of directors.

Shreveport Confidential | Issue 5.29.13

This comments thread is about The Times at Shreveport. I've created it so readers won't overwhelm other threads about issues related to the Louisiana paper and its new publisher, appointed earlier this month. (To be archived.)

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

New pubs in Shreveport, Fort Collins and Green Bay

I was offline today when Corporate announced a series of management changes at three of the 81 U.S. community dailies:

Judi Terzotis, publisher of the Fort Collins Coloradoan, was named publisher of The Times in Shreveport, La. Terzotis joined the Coloradoan in 2011. Prior to that, she was associate publisher of Freedom Communications' Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In Shreveport, she replaces Don Bailey, who resigned unexpected in March.

Kathy Jack-Romero, business development director at the Coloradoan, was promoted to publisher there. Jack-Romero has been with paper since 2005. She has also held management jobs in two other Gannett markets, in Nevada and Montana.

Scott Johnson, publisher of Minnesota's St. Cloud Times, will be moving home to his roots to be the publisher at Wisconsin's Green Bay Press-Gazette. Before St. Cloud, Johnson was regional advertising director of Gannett Wisconsin Media in Green Bay. He also was advertising director at the Press-Gazette and has had various advertising roles at other outlets in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Corporate's statement didn't detail plans for Johnson's replacement in St. Cloud.

In Green Bay, Johnson succeeds Kevin Corrado, who was named president and publisher of New England Newspapers Inc. in March. Johnson is the only the sixth publisher in the Press-Gazette’s nearly 100-year history, according to the Press-Gazette's story about Johnson's being hired.

It's worth noting that another very high-profile publisher's job must still be filled: at The Des Moines Register, after Laura Hollingsworth was promoted to the Nashville Tennessean yesterday, with significantly expanded responsibilities as president of the newly merged South and Central group of papers.

Shreveport | Pub said out after just 14 months

Don Bailey is leaving the increasingly troubled Times of Shreveport, according to a Gannett Blogger, who said his departure was announced during a staff meeting less than an hour ago. [Updated at 4:33 p.m. ET: It's now confirmed; see the memo I've just posted to the comments section, below.]

Bailey was named publisher in January 2012, coming to the Louisiana daily from Morris Communications' Augusta Chronicle in Georgia.

I'm told that advertising sales director Kevin Hall has been named interim chief executive.

The Times has been challenged on at least two fronts: A press installed in September 2010 to allow the paper to shift to a modified tabloid format has been plagued by problems, leading to frequent production and delivery delays.

More recently, the newsroom has struggled to successfully adopt a mandatory Gannett-wide editorial initiative known variously as Content Evolution and the Passion Topics.

The paper's Monday-Saturday circulation is 35,073, and Sunday is 46,453, according to the Sept. 30 ABC report.

Earlier: Read your January 2012 comments about Bailey getting hired as publisher.

In Cincy, Burlington and Shreveport, a tale of three Gannett newspapers -- with one suffering mightily

As Gannett remakes its U.S. newspapers to further emphasize digital over print, and jacks up subscription prices an average 25%, at least three dailies are really getting overhauled: In Cincinnati, Burlington, Vt., and Shreveport, La., the changes include adopting dramatically smaller tabloid formats.

The Cincinnati Enquirer is scheduled to make the move from broadsheet by the end of the year -- assuming its production partner, the Columbus Dispatch, completes a retrofit of its presses in time.

The Burlington Free Press flipped the switch in June -- with predictably mixed reaction from readers, according to a New York Times story posted online last night. The NYT doesn't quantify the response; instead it quotes critics and fans alike.

But based on recent events in Louisiana, and an internal operational review last spring by Corporate, it's clear The Times of Shreveport is in a world of hurt -- and the pain isn't limited to the change to a Berliner format two years ago.

A new publisher was installed in January. The advertising department got reorganized in the spring. A power outage in July briefly shut down operations, affecting the four other Louisiana dailies it serves. Those dailies delayed their move to the Des Moines page design hub until at least January. And the production chief left earlier this month.

Memo: Power outage shuts down La. sites

Yesterday's outage was at the building housing The Times of Shreveport, and affected (I believe) at least four other Louisiana sites. Power was restored after about an hour, according to one of my readers. Here's the memo:

To: All Gannett Louisiana users

DESCRIPTION
The Shreveport building has lost power and the generator the powers the data center during outages failed to start. We have determined that there is a battery issue with the generator and building services is working on it.

Meanwhile, the datacenter containing the editorial and classified systems for the state is now completely down. At this point we don’t have an ETA for when we will have either generator or main power restored.

We will keep everyone informed as we know more about the situation.

EFFECT AT YOUR LOCATION
All systems used by the entire GANLA region are currently not operational while we wait for power to be restored.

SUPPORT
Visit the Gannett Midwest IT Servicedesk home page or contact Gannett Midwest IT Helpdesk @ (XXX-XXX-XXXX) for questions. Use Service Desk Web Self Service to search for knowledge and manage your open support tickets.

Shreveport | GCI reaches outside for new publisher

Corporate said today that it hired a Morris Communications executive as the new publisher of The Times at Shreveport, La. Donald W. Bailey replaces Pete Zanmiller, who was named south regional vice president of Gannett Publishing Services in October, when GCI created that new unit.

Bailey was president of Georgia's Augusta Chronicle, and its 13 sister companies in Georgia and South Carolina, a job he held since 2004, according to a statement. He left that job in July, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Monroe | Print shifts to Shreveport; 27 jobs cut

Louisiana's Monroe News-Star said today that it would move its printing to The Times at Shreveport, effective Aug. 1. The switch will eliminate 12 full-time and 15 part-time jobs, the Times says in a story. The two cities are about 100 miles apart.

"New positions will be added in Shreveport with the consolidation," the story says, "and Monroe employees will be given first option for those positions."

The Times installed a Berliner press last year that produces a newspaper with an 18-inch depth. In addition, the Berliner press allows advertisers to place color advertising on every page, "which is important in today’s changing media environment,'' the paper says.

With this cost-saving step, Monroe becomes the latest paper to consolidate printing at a nearby sister site, or one owned by another publisher. As of December, the latest period available, 68% of Gannett's 82 U.S. papers had moved printing off-site.

Monroe's circulation weekdays is 29,245. Sunday's is 28,500.

Related: So far in the current quarter, GCI has eliminated an estimated 52 jobs at 10 sites, according to Gannett Blog reader reports. This spreadsheet gives a site-by-site count.

I gather this means the Monroe paper will become a Berliner? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

[Image: today's News Star, Newseum]

Broadcasting, Phoenix lead top employee awards

Corporate just announced that Mark Cornetta, president and general manager of KUSA/KTVD-TV in Denver, has been named Manager of the Year for 2010.

Finalists for that No. 1 honor in the annual employee awards program were Darren Bruce, Newsquest Magazine publisher; and John Misner, president and general manager of KPNX-TV, Phoenix, and John Zidich, president of the U.S. Community Publishing's West Group and president and publisher of The Arizona Republic.

In another top award, USA Today's iPad Launch Team won the Innovator of the Year award. USAT's win comes a day after a member of that team disclosed that he's leaving for a software developer job at Twitter.

The winners were honored at a ceremony today at Gannett headquarters in McLean, Va., along with the recipients of the previously announced Unsung Heros.

Earlier: Zidich "warning labels" now on stories.

Shreveport | Mandatory 'managing change' training

Employees at The Times of Shreveport, La., got the following memo this afternoon. One reader there wonders if similar notes have gone out elsewhere in Gannettland. I believe this is related to the recent reorganization of human resources across the company.

Hello team,

Julie Lusk, VP/HR Business Partner Teams, will be in town next week.  She is scheduled to conduct this mandatory training for all directors, managers as well as all employees. Below are the dates/times for next week’s training.

There are two versions of the Managing Change training -- one is an employee 1-hour workshop and the other is a 2-hour manager session. Both are focused on the following questions . . .

• Why do we need to change? Business imperative.
• What happens during change? How people respond.
• How do you respond to change? Understanding your reactions.
• How can we embrace change? Develop action plan. 

The manager session will also include understanding people’s reactions to change and identifying what they need to do as managers to navigate change and support employees.

From the information below, please sign up everyone in your department by sending me an email as to the date and time. The training for the managers should be limited to 15 people per session and the one for employees should be no more than 25 employees. First come first serve on the time preference.

Tuesday 3/15

• 8:30 Managing Change training for managers
• 11:00 Managing Change training for employees
• 3:00 Managing Change training for managers

Wednesday 3/16

• 8:30 Managing Change training for employees
• 10:00 Managing Change training for managers
• 2:00 Managing Change training for employees

Have you seen a memo like this recently? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Jackson, Miss. | Former ME Hudson lands new job; minority editor's GCI layoff had surprised industry

Hudson

The high-profile former managing editor of The Clarion-Ledger has been named the top editor of Alabama's Decatur Daily, just a month after he lost his job in a big round of layoffs that left many Gannett watchers stunned. Don Hudson, 49, will replace Executive Editor Tom Wright, who is retiring after 31 years.

Hudson was one of only nine African-American MEs at U.S. newspapers when GCI's Jackson, Miss., paper laid him off as it eliminated 15 jobs during a November round of layoffs across the company's U.S. dailies.

Richardson

In that round, GCI also laid off another African-American ME: Rod Richardson at The Times of Shreveport, La. MEs are typically a newsroom's No. 2 executive, so have considerable influence over a paper's news coverage.

Gannett's cutting loose Hudson and Richardson was a surprise, because the company under CEO Craig Dubow has said GCI's leadership and diversity initiatives may be "the most critical step" in the company's restructuring.

Hudson had been the No. 2 news executive at the Pulitzer Prize-winning Jackson newspaper for nearly eight years. When he lost his job, Hudson told Richard Prince at The Maynard Institute that GCI had "worked extremely hard to try to find a spot for me," he said, but without success.

The Decatur paper's circulation is much smaller than Jackson's: 19,528 Monday through Saturday, and 23,860 on Sunday. Jackson's is 62,018 Monday through Friday; 64,795 on Saturday, and 76,397 on Sunday.

I do not know Richardson's current job status; please let us know.

[Photo: Decatur Daily]

Shreveport's new press will likely be one of the last

"The days of big iron are over."

-- Anonymous@7:37 p.m., commenting on plans for The Times of Shreveport, La., to inaugurate a new $16 million press, allowing the paper to shift to a Berliner format, effective Sept. 27.

Shreveport | New press paves way for redesign

In what will almost certainly be one of the last such installations, The Times of Shreveport, La., is on the verge of firing up a new press that will usher in a new, smaller Berliner format, starting Sept. 27. (Prototype of front page, left; more photos here.)

In a recent column, Executive Editor Africa Price said the nearly $16 million project investment and makeover to a modified tabloid format will better serve readers and advertisers. "Our improved color reproduction, sophisticated redesign and content treasures will enhance your overall experience with the paper,'' she told readers.

Shreveport's Berliner will be the third in the United States and the second within Gannett. It was modified in The Netherlands, and the first pieces began arriving in Shreveport in April. Its installation comes when Gannett has been shuttering presses and consolidating printing at other Gannett papers or at non-Gannett production plants.

Price says the new format will be accompanied by expanded sports, business news, and opinion coverage.

The Times reports circulation of 44,067 Monday through Saturday, and 55,844 on Sunday, according to the latest ABC figures.

Super Bowl | A tale of two teams -- and homepages

Moments after the New Orleans Saints clobbered the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, two Gannett papers tell the story in big visuals, starting with The Times in Shreveport, La.:


And The Indianapolis Star:

Louisiana | Anyone hear about new editor moves?

There are rumblings that Gannett may have chosen a new top editor to replace the recently departed Denise Richter at The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La. That appointment could be one of two or more top-level editor changes in Louisiana. Anyone else heard this?

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Hubs | Could Shreveport be the Louisiana hub?

A tipster says a regional page production desk for the five Louisiana newspapers is moving forward, and could be based at The Times of Shreveport. I've asked Publisher Pete Zanmiller for comment.

Shreveport: Top editor quits; GCI's second in week

Executive Editor Alan English of Louisiana's Times (left) took the top news executive's job at Georgia's Augusta Chronicle yesterday, three months after publicly bemoaning Christmas layoffs at the Shreveport paper. It's unclear whether English's job will be eliminated; Shreveport's story doesn't say. The Georgia paper is owned by Augusta's privately held Morris Communications. English had been Times executive editor since 2004, and a Gannett employee since 1990. He's at least the second executive editor to bolt in the past week: In a budget-cutting move, Mississippi's Hattiesburg American named managing editor Dan Davis to replace Kathleen Williams, after her job was eliminated.