Gatehouse Media? Anyone heard anything about this company?

Or AIDS. Actually, I'm not sure which I'd prefer, working for Gatehouse or contracting a chronic disease. All the same I guess.

 

How much does corporate micromanage successful local papers if they're turning a healthy profit?

 

They're a group of penny-pinching bastards. No, they don't travel--or let me qualify that. They won't send their Boston-area people anywhere--not even to New York. They didn't send their Boston-area writers to the Super Bowl, but they sent someone from their Canton, Ohio, paper. They didn't send anyone from Boston to cover the defending champion Red Sox in spring training, but they sent a Chicago-area columnist. They don't send any Boston people to cover anything, but they sent a Norwalk, CT, writer to cover UConn women in the NCAA tournament in Tampa.
The Ledger/Enterprise is run by an editor who hates sports and thinks her readers would rather read about a local high school soccer players than the Red Sox or Celtics (they are currently not covering the Celtics on the road in the playoffs). They're at the point now where their longtime Ledger Celtics writer, who is also the Red Sox writer, has been skipping Sox games to do the Celtics, leaving an empty seat at Fenway. They use Brockton coverage instead.
They did have a round of layoffs a short time back, but their staff is so bared-boned that they can't possibly let any more people go, save for stringers.
People who work for them tell me they hate it, that they can't do their jobs and that they're demoralized about the disregard for the Sports Dept. by the higher-ups.

 

Well said.

 

My paper got bought by GateHouse several months ago. They operate on the 35/35/30 principle--that is, of the revenue that comes in, 35 percent is spent on labor, 35 percent on materials and 30 percent is profit. Our paper is safe from layoffs--for now--because our profit margin before the sale was somewhere close to 30 percent. But it's been made clear to us that that's the top priority, and our publisher has already made some pre-emptive cuts to stay in GateHouse's good graces.

 

Anyone cutting people's jobs to maintain a 30 percent profit margin will be spending that dough in hell.

 

Yeah you know that feeling when your favorite team wins the big game? Working for Gatehouse is the exact opposite.

I've mentioned this before on this board, but nothing pissed me off more than when Gatehouse ran this "thanks a million" campaign last fall. The idea was any Gatehouse employee that presents an idea that creates $50 million or more will get $1 million as a thank you.

Two things come to mind.

1. WTF. If I had a $50 million idea, why am I working for Gatehouse freakin' media.
2. WTF. Why would I basically sell my $50 million idea to Gatehouse for $1 million.
3. Okay I lied.... What? A $46 million idea isn't good enough?

 

After telling you that Gatehouse can't afford to trim its bare-bones staff, I've heard that they do have a new round of layoffs planned in New England and, in fact, have already let some people go.

 

Wrong. They do cover the Bears, though.