Wisconsin | More layoffs reported today; GM is out

[Updated at 6:06 p.m. ET.] In a comment, a reader reports a total of 31 layoffs today across all 10 Wisconsin newspapers.

[Updated at 6:01 p.m. ET.] Another reader tells me there were seven layoffs in Green Bay.

My original post: A reader who told me about these layoffs said details were still scarce. The cuts were at Wisconsin's Green Bay Press-Gazette and the Appleton Post-Crescent.

At The Sheboygan Press, the general manager-executive editor, Nhia Yang, is leaving to become director of marketing at Lakeland College, the paper says. The Press' story does not say whether she will be replaced.

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.

Cheeseheads, rejoice: You've now been re-tagged

At an occasional reader's request, I've added a single Wisconsin tag for all 10 state newspapers. That means my reader -- and everyone else -- can see the latest statewide news and comments without clicking on 10 different tags. (To be sure, those individual tags remain in place.)

[Photo: a cheesehead hat from the Cheesehead company]

Appleton | As high school sports market grows, Wisconsin daily trips over commercial photo use

The Post-Crescent used photographs it took of a high school athlete in promotional materials for the Appleton, Wisc., newspaper -- a move that led the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association to threaten her with suspension for violating a rule about appearing in commercial endorsements.

The paper took Miriam Scholl's photo during a Kimberly High School hurdling meet. Starting in July without her permission, the paper used her photo in billboards and on buses to promote coverage of high school sports. That same month, her father Phil contacted the Post-Cresent to complain, according to a local TV station. The paper told him "they own the image and they're able to do whatever they want with it," Scholl told the area Fox TV affiliate.

The situation came to a head this past Thursday, when the WIAA ruled Miriam ineligible -- a step it revoked only after the paper promised to take down the ads.

The paper backed off when the matter was brought to the attention of Publisher Genia Lovett, according to WLUK. The TV station didn't say why it took until last week for the paper to stop using Miriam's photo -- more than two months after her father says he first complained.

The Scholl case comes when Gannett and other companies are moving aggressively into an expanding market for high school sports. What's being (incorrectly) billed as the first nationwide high school sports TV, web and mobile news network is launching this fall.

GCI's High School Sports Network was renamed USA Today High School Sports in July, and it's now publishing a football print magazine. GCI bought the network in 2007.

This isn't the first time the WIAA has tussled with Gannett's Wisconsin operations. GCI challenged, on First Amendment grounds, the association's assertion that it controlled Internet video coverage of its members' events. In August 2011, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judgment against GCI.

Earlier: When bad ads happen to good people in Burlington, Vt.

Ethics 101 | When publishers and politics collide

Many of you know that 25 news employees at five Wisconsin papers got in trouble in March when public documents revealed they'd signed petitions calling for a vote to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. The case prompted a blistering ethical debate on how much a newspaper can limit the free speech rights of news employees in order to shield the paper from charges of political bias.

But what happens if a publisher in another state posts a comment on the widely read Huffington Post, urging the defeat of President Obama? Does the publisher get a pass because he isn't a newsroom employee?

Indeed, a comment just like that appeared this month on a Huffington story about the Supreme Court's upholding the health care reform law. "Hope the headline soon reads 'Obama defeated in a landslide,'" the comment says. "This guy has to go!"

Facebook login signature
A Gannett publisher signed the comment using their Facebook login, according to one of my readers. I've written to the publisher, on the chance that a family member with access to their Facebook login posted the remark. I cc'd the publisher's top editor on my note, too, but haven't heard back from either one.

In Wisconsin, the papers didn't disclose the names of employees who signed the petition. But it said none of them were reporters or assigning editors.

Nevertheless, management accused them of crossing an ethical line. Whether the employees were ever punished wasn't made public at the time. But in a memo, the managing editor of the Post-Crescent in Appleton said: "This is a serious matter that calls for serious measures."

So, would it be an equally serious matter for the publisher in question?

Indeed, it's 100% coincidental rates soared across Gannett this spring with the start of paywalls

Roesgen

"We aren’t raising our rates because

of the digital changes." 

-- Richard Roesgen, general manager of The Reporter at Fond du Lac, in a weekend column about the Wisconsin paper raising subscription prices an unspecified amount when a paywall goes up June 26.

In fact, only last week CEO Gracia Martore boasted to a Wall Street conference that new paywalls would usher in subscription rate increases of 25% to 30% across the newspaper division -- eventually generating more than $100 million in additional annual profits.

Stevens Point | Last photog is lost to a buyout

In fact, Wisconsin's Stevens Point Journal is losing more than just a photographer. 

Sheboygan | Chicken wing-eating champion blames absent iPod for failing to beat personal best record

In technology related news from the Sheboygan (Wisc.) Press:

The winner of yesterday's Legend Larry's Third Annual Wing Eating Championship blamed his self-described "bad performance" on the fact he left his iPod at home. “I like to listen to tunes that get me going and help me ignore the crowd,” said Andrew "The Cannibal" Contois, who ate 2.69 lbs of medium-sauce wings.

His favorite wing-eating song is LCM by Children 18:3, a Christian punk rock band: “It even has pauses that tell me when to take a drink of water."

The contestant who appears to be retching at minute 1:20 in a video of the contest is a lovely touch.

Related: In other faith-based news, Nashville Tennessean reports young snake handlers are reviving century-old tradition. (Video.)

Fond du Lac | A 'seclusion room' in your schools?

A Wisconsin public school is in trouble over its use of a so-called seclusion room, where an autistic 10-year-old was locked inside for 90 minutes after he refused to follow a teacher's orders, according to a Fond du Lac Reporter story today.

In a photo accompanying the story, the roughly built room has padded walls and appears to be windowless.

The article made me wonder if there's a larger national story on the subject across Gannett communities: How common are these rooms, and has there been a rise in their misuse? State guidelines vary widely, according to this CNN story.

Here's a thread for your Wisconsin recall comments

Walker

Gannett Bloggers continue to debate last week's disclosure that 25 of 223 Wisconsin news employees had signed petitions seeking a recall of Gov. Scott Walker. The debate touches on newsroom ethics, freedom of speech, and the lengths to which employers can dictate workers' off-the-job activities.

I'm offering this thread for comments on this subject exclusively. Please post your replies in the comments section, below.

Shafer: Let's make journalists' political views public

From a column by Reuters media columnist Jack Shafer about a move by some of Gannett's 10 Wisconsin dailies to discipline employees for signing a recall-the-governor petition, an alleged violation of the company's ethics policy:

In a just and utopian world, news organizations would permit modest political activism by journalists – campaign contributions, placards on their lawns, bumper stickers on their cars, attendance at rallies, even the signing of recall petitions, etc. – as long as the journalists were willing to declare it. This proposal isn’t as radical as it sounds. At the core of the current journalistic codes is the notion that judging journalism requires us to judge the conduct of the journalists producing it. Instead of suppressing the political lives of journalists, why not allow that which is now covert to become overt and give readers more information to assess coverage?

Appleton | Papers' staff snared after investigation; memo: 'serious matter' calls for 'serious measures'

From a Page One column in today's Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wis., by Genia Lovett, publisher of the paper and a regional vice president over Gannett's other nine Wisconsin newspapers:

Walker

Last week, the Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team broke a story that appeared in the Post-Crescent, exposing 29 circuit court judges who signed petitions to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. It was a story we were proud to bring to you. It was watchdog journalism in its finest sense, a role we take seriously.

Today, in the interest of full transparency, we are informing you that 25 Gannett Wisconsin Media journalists, including nine at the P-C, also signed the Walker recall petitions. It was wrong, and those who signed were in breach of Gannett's Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms.

The breakdown
In addition to the P-C's nine, the other staffers were at the Green Bay Press-Gazette (seven), the Oshkosh Northwestern (five) the Wausau Daily Herald (two), and The Sheboygan Press (one), according to one of my readers.

The memo
In an e-mail yesterday afternoon, Appleton's managing editor, Jamie Mara, alerted staffers to the impending news:

From: Mara, Jamie
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 4:49 PM
To: APC-News All
Cc: Lovett, Genia
Subject: Recall petition-PLEASE READ NOW

All:

I want to alert you to a column from our president and publisher, Genia Lovett, that will appear on Saturday's Page A-1.

Genia will alert our readers to an ethical lapse by a number of newsroom employees in Appleton and at several other Gannett Wisconsin Media sites who signed public petitions in the Gov. Scott Walker recall efforts. The employees — none of whom are news reporters or assigning news editors — will not be named in the column.

As you know, in the new business, credibility is our most precious possession. Journalists must make every effort to avoid even the perception of bias. Gannett's Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms guide us in this vital mission.

Management became aware of the signatures this week after an outside source contacted one of the employees who had signed. We then checked a searchable database of petitions to determine the extent of the matter. The revelation came on the heels of this past Sunday's watchdog report by the newly created Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team that exposed the fact that at least 29 circuit court judges in Wisconsin signed the recall petitions.

So, what now?

This is a serious matter that calls for serious measures.

Aside from opening up to our readers via Genia's column, we are in the process of planning supplemental ethics training for all news employees. We need to ensure that everyone understands the Principles of Ethical Conduct and their practical applications. We also are in the process of addressing discipline.

In the meantime, I ask these things of each of you:

• Do not respond to any media requests or other communication you might receive from outside our office in relation to this matter. Instead forward such items to me.
• Review the principles below and recommit to them.
• Do not let this throw us off course. Remain focused on the important work you do.

I am confident we will learn from the experience and emerge stronger.

Thank you

Jamie

Lafayette, La. | New publisher, top editor named

Corporate said in a statement today it had hired a former media consultant as publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Louisiana's Lafayette and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas. Karen Lincoln has been president and owner of Lincoln Media and Consulting Services of Dallas.

Also today, Corporate said it had promoted Karen Lincoln Michel to executive editor of the two papers, from assistant managing editor of the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Wisconsin.

(Note: Yes; they have very similar names.)

Lincoln replaces Ali Zoibi, who retired on March 15. The job originally was going to Richard Roesgen, who is general manager/executive editor of The Reporter and Action Publications in Fond du Lac, Wisc. Citing "personal matters," however, he pulled out just a week after his appointment was announced in late February.

Michel replaces to Brian Tolley, who was earlier named top editor at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

Lincoln Michel is a board member of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and American Indian Science & Engineering Society Publishing, according to the Advertiser's story about her appointment. She also is a past president of UNITY: Journalists of Color and is a member of the Gannett Leadership and Diversity Council..

Green Bay | Man needs a hand finding his hand

"It sure would be nice to get it back."

-- Craig Andersen, speaking to the Green Bay Press-Gazette for a story today about losing his prosthetic hand while running errands in the Wisconsin city on Jan. 3. "After retracing his steps and searching for weeks," the paper says, "he is convinced that the hand fell out of his pocket and was picked up by a passer-by. He hopes whoever has it will realize its significance and return it."

Lafayette, La. | Roesgen suddenly out as new pub

Roesgen

Only a week after being named the new publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World in Opelousas, Wisconsin's Richard Roesgen will not assume that job because of unspecified "personal matters," current publisher Ali Zoibi told employees this morning.

It's unclear what role, if any, Rosegen will continue having in his most recent job, as publisher of The Reporter and Action Publications in Fond du Lac, Wisc.

Laura Hollingsworth, president of the Midwest Group, told the Advertiser she hoped Rosegen would stay with the company, but could not say that with certainty. She didn't specify why he was backing out, describing them only as "serious, highly personal issues."

Here's Zoibi's memo to staff:

Dear Colleagues,

I’ve just learned this morning that due to unexpected personal matters Richard Roesgen will not be assuming the role of President and Publisher here in Lafayette and Opelousas.

This is a personal matter I trust we all will respect their privacy. As it happens several other qualified candidates surfaced after Richard was announced last Monday and senior management will be pursuing those discussions.

In the meantime we’ll continue to do what we do best…………..deliver great local news to our community and produce great results for our advertisers.

All the best,

Ali

Lafayette, La. | Roesgen named pub; Zoibi retires

Corporate said in a news release moments ago that Richard Roesgen has been named president and publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World, in nearby Opelousas, effective March 19.

Roesgen

Roesgen formerly was general manager/executive editor of The Reporter and Action Publications in Fond du Lac, Wisc. He succeeds Ali Zoibi, who is retiring after 14 months in the job.

Prior to joining the Reporter and Action in 2009, Roesgen was publisher of Wisconsin's Sheboygan Press from 2000 to 2009; publisher of the Reporter from 1998-2000, and managing editor in 1994-1998 and news editor from 1991-1994.

A search will be launched for Roesgen's successor, according to a memo from Genia Lovett, publisher of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wisc., and a vice president in the Midwest Group of newspapers.

Roesgen's appointment comes just three days after the top editor over Lafayette and Opelousas, Brian Tolley, was named executive editor of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

By the numbers: circulation

• Lafayette Monday to Saturday: 29,374; Sundays, 42,171. Opelousas: weekdays, 5,669; Sunday, 7,060.
• Fond du Lac: weekday evenings: 10,355; Sunday, 13,853

Post-anonymous, legal risks in Facebook comments

Gannett websites recently switched to a Facebook-powered commenting system in hopes readers would be more civil; after all, the thinking goes, they'd be using their real names.

Now, readers are discovering the more immediate legal consequences of posting out in the open.

This week, two Wisconsin real estate developers sued a Wisconsin Rapids resident, Mark Larson, for posting what they say was a defamatory comment about them on a story published last month by The Daily Tribune of Wisconsin Rapids.

The Dec. 16 story said the developers, brothers Brad and Pat Pavloski, had sold a Nepco Lake boat landing to another developer -- a deal that could halt public access to the landing by ice fisherman.

Larson, commenting on the story via his Facebook account, wrote: "What a travesty. IMO, why does there seem to be a taint in every endeavor of the Pavloski boys, from papa on down." He also wrote: "I fear this is just a harbinger of whats to come when public lands and spaces are increasingly gobbled up by private interests."

Pre-Facebook, Larson might have posted that comment anonymously, making it harder for the Pavloskis to track him down. Harder, but not impossible, of course. Gannett's online privacy policy says: "Please be aware that we may occasionally release information about our visitors if required to do so by law."

Paper zapped all comments
The newspaper subsequently removed all the reader comments on the story -- including Larson's -- according to an independent news weekly, VOICE of Wisconsin Rapids; it reported the Pavloskis' lawsuit, filed Tuesday, in a story today.

Larson's comment is still on his Facebook page, where it was posted as well, after it first appeared on the Tribune story. Indeed, he subsequently reposted it a second time on his Facebook page, to defend it against criticism by other Facebook users.

Tribune readers, meanwhile, started posting new comments on the original story, demanding that the paper return the original comments. "By removing those posts," wrote Steve Abrahamson, "it would seem you are hiding something or protecting someone. Please give me some feedback as to why this happened."

Echos of Wausau
In its story today, VOICE of Wisconsin Rapids said the Tribune isn't named in the Pavloskis' suit. It quoted media attorney Bob Dreps saying the paper "is not responsible for third party comments on its website."

This isn't the first time one of Gannett's 10 Wisconsin papers has had trouble with reader comments. In 2009, the Wausau Daily Herald was accused of turning over the identity of an anonymous poster to a local government official after the poster wrote critical comments about the official on the paper's website.

That prompted a memo from News Department Vice President Kate Marymont, who reminded editors that it's company policy to shield the identities of anonymous posters.

Related: VOICE of Wisconsin Rapids was founded by former Gannett employees Jeff and Kathy Williams.

Sheboygan | A belated goodbye to really Big Iron; dismantling press adds to shift away from printing

In its latest move toward an all-digital future, Gannett is dismantling the 188-ton Goss 5-Unit Anti-Friction press that printed The Sheboygan Press from 1956 until 1998, when printing moved to its sister paper at Fond du Lac. The remains are headed for the scrap heap, the Press says today in a story.

Fitting for the subject, the Press posted an abbreviated version of the story online, directing readers to a longer one in the print edition. Today's front page is dominated by a 1965 photo of the beast.

GCI has been winding down its printing operations for years now. By the end of last year, 68% of the company's U.S. community newspapers had outsourced printing to commercial printers or to other GCI and non-GCI papers, according to GCI's annual report to securities regulators. (In addition, 54% of the papers were being designed and paginated at centralized editing hubs, the report says.)

The report continues: "In the case of USA Today, 20 non-GCI printers were used to print the newspaper in U.S. markets where there are no company publishing sites with appropriate facilities. Non-GCI printers in 11 foreign countries publish and distribute an international edition of USAT under a royalty agreement. USA Weekend, Clipper Magazine and Gannett Healthcare Group are also printed under contracts with commercial printing companies."

GCI's commercial printing revenue, including from Gannett Offset, totaled about $254 million last year, down 2% from the year before and way down from $348 million in 2008. That was mostly due to due to "generally lower commercial printing revenue in the U.S. and U.K. and from the sale of a U.K. commercial printing business early in the third quarter of 2009."

Two months ago, GCI folded its printing operations into a large new division -- Gannett Publishing Services -- that also includes distribution and advertising artwork production and photo toning services.

Appleton | Wisconsin shifts to regional top editor

Another group of Gannett papers is shifting to a more regional approach in newsroom management. The following is from a memo Publisher Genia Lovett of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wisc., sent today to employees of Wisconsin newspapers. GCI has 10 papers in the state, ranging in weekday circulation from 8,259 at the Stevens Point Journal to 43,278 at the Green Bay Press-Gazette as of March 31. Here are excerpts from the memo:

Lovett

I am pleased to announce two changes in Gannett Wisconsin Media’s content operation that will help us best serve our customers. Effective immediately, Dan Flannery takes on the new role of Regional Executive Editor for Gannett Wisconsin Media, leading group-wide content initiatives and digital strategies. At the same time, Green Bay Press-Gazette Executive Editor John Dye will take on the added leadership role for our news recruitment and training efforts.

As regional executive editor, Dan will be the leader for planning and developing content across Gannett Wisconsin Media locations while maintaining Gannett’s high standards of ethics and integrity. He will:

• Work with the editors across Gannett Wisconsin to efficiently and effectively plan collaborative content generation with focus on big-issue, major-impact stories that offer the ability to localize in most or all markets.
• Create the Gannett Wisconsin Investigative/Watchdog team and direct its work.
• Direct statewide planned event coverage and statewide breaking news coverage.
• Oversee Wisconsin digital growth strategy initiatives that will allow local staffs to focus on content generation.
• Continue to lead the day-to-day information center operation of the Post-Crescent.

In addition to his Green Bay responsibilities, John will lead our recruitment initiatives for talented journalists and improve our news training. John’s skills and relationships will be a great resource for all our content operations. Direct hiring and managing of local personnel will still reside with the local leadership.

As executive editor and managing editor, Dan has been at the forefront of expanding Gannett Wisconsin's enterprise efforts and digital efforts, including the "State of Drinking" effort in 2008, ground-breaking digital and live-streamed coverage of the Steven Avery homicide trial in 2007, development of the "Varsity" high school sports coverage brand, breaking-news coverage of the 2007 multiple homicides in Crandon, and more.

Dan has also created stronger bonds between GWM properties, which led to impressive group-wide coverage of the Madison protests in February and March, plus more group-wide enterprise efforts this year.

Earlier: In June 2009, single editor named to oversee 10 Ohio dailies.

Appleton | GCI loses appeal over webcasting suit; 'national implications' said for school sports events

From a new story on The Post-Crescent website in Appleton, Wisc.:

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is constitutionally entitled to sign exclusive contracts for Internet streaming of high school sporting events, a federal appeals court affirmed today.

The decision has national implications for media organizations that hoped to produce online broadcasts of sporting events free from restrictions by state athletic associations. It stems from a lawsuit against the Post-Crescent, GCI, and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.