More Gannett cuts

Just read that Gannett is cutting two percent of its workforce in community papers division. (Is that all but USA Today and Free Press?)

Anyone hear of specific cuts yet?

 

Gannett blog is up to 135 departures.

 

Heard of newsroom cuts in Louisville and Indianapolis.

 

Here are some interesting financial points from Gannett Blog:
"Today's cuts came after many newspaper workers took one-week unpaid furloughs during the current quarter. And they come three months after GCI disclosed that Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow got paid $9.4 million last year -- twice what he earned in 2009. Other senior executives also got huge raises, company documents show.

"Dubow's pay included a $1.75 million cash bonus, based partly on his success in reducing costs through layoffs, furloughs and other austerity measures. Bonuses awarded other executives were also calculated according to that same formula."

Any of us could be an executive given their sharp skills. And by "sharp," we mean "will gladly cut everyone to give ourselves the money for a fifth vacation home, fourth party yacht and ninth luxury car."

Gannett is richly rewarding executives for failure ... and no amount of spin they can put on it says otherwise. Their products are awful, their treatment of employees is inexcusable and they're rewarding themselves for mass slaughter. Not surprised at all, but just sayin'.

 

I know two very good, longtime journalists who lost jobs today in Indianapolis. This business gets more disheartening everyday.

 

I know of one very good sports guy at a Gannett property who got out after Gannett/thelocalpaperpowersthatthinktheybe laid off a longtime staffer in a less-than-stellar manner.

And I'm sure those stories are in the hundreds throughout this chain alone ...

 

And Indy -- like most Gannett papers --- has had a ton of cuts lately. is this related to the combined editing operations?

 

P.S. Gannett blog said the sports editor was laid off in Springfield, Mo.

 

OK, people on the thread defending CEO pay -- what do you make of this? Actually, I know what you make of this. The guy is getting paid to do exactly what he's charged with doing: making the death spiral as profitable as possible for shareholders.

Well, fuck that guy, and fuck the system that rewards him. Why does Wall Street hate America?