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Gannett joins the club?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Human_Paraquat, Aug 14, 2008.

  1. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    Am I the only person in the whole damn world who doesn't care about TV commercials, because it gives me time to take a break and do things around the condo when they're on; and doesn't care about web ads and wouldn't think to bother to put software on my PC to work my way around them?

    I've never had TiVo, don't want it, don't care about skipping commercials. I guess I'm rare (in that sense, at least). And here's some disturbing coverage of the Gannett business:

    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/wall-street-cheers-gannett-cuts/story.aspx?guid=%7BEEC525DD%2D2C80%2D4F83%2DAD5A%2DCA015ED349B4%7D&siteid=yhoof
     
  2. Shifty Squid

    Shifty Squid Member

    Interesting, Mizzou. Of course, one problem with this list is that there are multiple Gannett papers called the "News Journal." There's a Gannett-owned News Journal in Wilmington, Pensacola and Mansfield. All those would seem like possibilities. Not your fault; just wanted to point it out. As for the rest, if anyone is curious ...

    Citizen Times - Asheville
    Courier-Journal - Louisville
    Daily News Journal - Murfreesboro
    Northwestern - Oshkosh
    Journal News - Westchester County, NY
    Courier-Post - Cherry Hill, NJ
    Post Crescent - Appleton
     
  3. Riddick

    Riddick Active Member

    When is the hammer supposed to drop?
     
  4. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    The DNJ of Murfreesboro is my hometown paper. Several former staffers there peeled off a while back and started a pretty lively little weekly tab and 24/7 web site.

    *****

    I had been hesitant to get into this before now, but I had it on pretty good authority a few weeks ago that Hattiesburg was likely to be put up for sale, as the corporate suits were unhappy with the market stats there. I was told the same could well apply for Montgomery as well. I can't vouch 100% for the sourcing on this, but it had the ring of truth to it.
     
  5. albert77

    albert77 Well-Known Member

    I'll be surprised if Gannett sells Hattiesburg. That's a USA Today print site. But you never know.
     
  6. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member


    Oh, the humanity! I suggest this as an avatar for the "Journalism topics only" board.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  7. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Exactly. 2mcm, I admire your commitment to avoiding advertising, but you're an exception. I'm gonna guess you don't look at the ads in the newspaper either. Thing is, a lot of people SAY they hate advertising, but they still wanna know what's "hot" or "in" or whatever the cool kids are calling it these days.

    If you tell people that they're signing up for "special discounts" via e-mail or text message, a lot of them will do it.
     
  8. silentbob

    silentbob Member

    I'd be stunned if any chain decided to give up advertising opportunities in one of its bigger markets.
     
  9. steveu

    steveu Well-Known Member

    I can't see this happening. It's not available all over the metro area, but parts of eastern Louisville and the suburbs get the Herald-Leader from Lexington. They're not in direct competition, but you bet your butt come derby time Lexington would kick ass.

    That's another thing. C-J may be hurting along w/Gannett, but no way they're giving up the revenue from ads around Derby time.
     
  10. jambalaya

    jambalaya Member

    I work at one of the aforementioned "terrible ten" and while it wouldn't necessarily surprise me they would try something like that, would it not be putting yourself at Def-con 4.5, business wise? Why paint yourself into a corner like that? The only next options are a) just publishing USAT for locals and then b) shuttering your doors. They won't go back and rehire 200-plus employees to restart a daily newspaper. If you ask me, I don't see it happening on a wide scale, if at all. And Gannett has a history of test marketing. It could happen at one place first to gauge the market.

    Also...

    From Pacific Biz News:

    Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest newspaper publisher and owner of The Honolulu Advertiser, said Thursday it plans to cut 1,000 positions across the company.

    The latest cuts won’t affect the Advertiser since the newspaper just finished a round of layoffs that eliminated 54 jobs or about 9 percent of its work force.

    But in a note to employees, Advertiser publisher Lee Webber said he couldn’t rule out any future layoffs and cited “difficult times in our industry coupled with a weakening economic forecast for Hawaii and the nation.”

    “I wish I could tell you this will be the end of it, but that is not possible, given the current state of the economy and the newspaper publishing industry,” Webber wrote.

    Gannett, based in McLean, Va., said Thursday the cuts in its U.S. newspaper division amount to about 3 percent of its payroll. Of the 1,000 jobs, about 400 involve eliminating positions that are already vacant and 600 involve layoffs, the company said.

    Gannett papers across the country have been quietly shedding jobs for more than a year as publishers struggled to make budget numbers but this is the first time the company has made an announcement on company-wide job cuts.

    The announcement may have been calculated to give investors something more than promises and indeed, Wall Street liked the news and boosted Gannett stock (NYSE: GCI) 11 percent to close Thursday at $21.30.
     
  11. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    Another detail to consider: weekends. What about Saturdays and Sundays?
     
  12. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Great column by Jon Friedman of Marketwatch. It looks like resistance is futile.

    Gannett, (GCI 21.30, +2.04, +10.6%) , the biggest U.S. newspaper publisher, announced Thursday that it will chop 1,000 positions, or roughly 3% of its total work force at the newspapers. Some 600 people will lose their jobs, according to the company.
    Naturally, Gannett's stock soared on the news.
    Gannett, which publishes USA Today and other newspapers, has suffered the woes cutting across the newspaper industry. In July, Gannett declared second-quarter results that came in below most analysts' projections, and said it would take to take a charge between $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion related to a write-down of its assets because of softening market conditions and a steep decline in its stock price.
    Year-to-date, Gannett stock had fallen about 60% at the time of the news.
    Gannett's stock-market jump is a commentary on how Wall Street thinks. It's an exacting boss. There is a saying that the stock market has no memory. Professional investors care about the future -- they are the ultimate frontrunners and their motto may well be: what have you done for me lately?
    Gannett has historically been regarded as a prudent, well-run company. But Wall Street on Thursday isn't rewarding the company for once having the optimism and long-range strategy of launching USA Today in 1982. Nor is the Street hailing Gannett for its years of expertise and strong management.
    Instead, Wall Street is thanking Gannett for cutting costs, big time.
     
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