Update: Gannett world — USA Today for sale?

[JayFarrar]

Oh, Lordy, Jim Hopkins is working overtime at http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/

Among the sampling:

In new sports czar, USAT expands GCI-wide reach
Today's announcement of a newly created USA Today Sports Media Group -- and a top executive in charge -- is at least as interesting for its broad mission: The newly hired Tom Beusse will be responsible for overseeing business and strategy for national sports initiatives across not only USAT, but also Gannett’s 82 other daily newspapers, 23 broadcast TV stations, plus HighSchoolSports.net and action sports subsidiary BNQT.com. (I note that HighSchoolSports' tagline already says it's a "USAT partner.")

Urgent: I hear furloughs have been announced
That's all I know. Posting from my iPhone. Updates as I learn more.

What follows are 68 and counting comments detailing the plans. All employees will take a one week furlough in the first quarter. Others are getting a pay reduction and more layoffs might be coming:

7. Gannett will be reducing 5,000 employees in the next twelve months.

And just to really **** you off:

How furloughs helped spur $4M in exec bonuses

Lots more on Hopkins' blog.

 

[1HPGrad]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

So happy I don't have to deal with this anymore. It's not every employee, however. Guild peeps are safe in at least one city.
No. 7 on the list is 5,000 layoffs in next 12 months? Perhaps they suppose at this point layoff news is a tad repetitive. Can't lead with that every time?
(Always wondered about the beat writers who covered Wilt during the 1961-62 season. From games 50 on, I imagine their final sentence often was: Wilt Chamberlain chipped in 58, 63, 72, 49, etc.)

 

[playthrough]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

Is there any other kind of Gannett news?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

I read this thread and I'm so glad I'm done with this ****.

It was such a great profession that was just ruined by the idiots who run just about all of the major chains.

 

[mustangj17]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

I read this thread and I'm so glad I'm done with this ****.

It was such a great profession that was just ruined by the idiots who run just about all of the major chains.

I miss newspapers, but I will never miss Gannett. I feel bad for anyone who is still dealing with this ****.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

I read this thread and I'm so glad I'm done with this ****.

It was such a great profession that was just ruined by the idiots who run just about all of the major chains.

I miss newspapers, but I will never miss Gannett. I feel bad for anyone who is still dealing with this ****.

I miss the good old days, but my last three years in the business were pure hell and it was all because of this kind of **** and nothing with the actual job.

5,000 is going to be one hell of a bloodbath.

 

[Moderator1]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

If they truly do another 5,000 on top of what's already been done, how many will be left?

 

[Matt1735]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

So happy I don't have to deal with this anymore. It's not every employee, however. Guild peeps are safe in at least one city.
No. 7 on the list is 5,000 layoffs in next 12 months? Perhaps they suppose at this point layoff news is a tad repetitive. Can't lead with that every time?
(Always wondered about the beat writers who covered Wilt during the 1961-62 season. From games 50 on, I imagine their final sentence often was: Wilt Chamberlain chipped in 58, 63, 72, 49, etc.)

If you are talking about the same Guild group that I know is spared... the only reason they are "spared" is because they agreed to a 10 percent across the board cut with no raises for three years. And those ****ers still got bonuses. Unconscionable.

 

[flexmaster33]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

So glad I turned down a Gannett offer about six months ago...sounds like a nightmare.
I've liked the product in the past, but it seems things are getting terribly watered down and it sounds like a horrible structure to work under.

 

[flexmaster33]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

If they truly do another 5,000 on top of what's already been done, how many will be left?

Who needs reporters when computers can write the stories...is that where Gannett is headed. Unreal...and if so, it should be the death blow to the chain.

 

[JayFarrar]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

After a closer reading, it looks like Phoenix, Detroit and USA Today employees won't be taking a furlough.
Detroit is because of the union and the Republic recently combined with the TV station or something. Still not sure about USAT but they have generally been spared in the past.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

The only way to get to 5,000 will be to completely shut down a few papers.

 

[JayFarrar]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

Others on Hopkins' blog have questioned the 5,000 number as well.

AP says Gannett currently has about 35,000 employees, down 46,000 at the end of 2007.

Of the current 35k, about 17,000 work in the community publishing division.

It seems like the majority of jobs would come from someplace other than CP but I don't know.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

I know I'm bringing up politics here, but whenever I talk to anyone about being unemployed (except for job interviews of course), I bring up Craig Dubow.

I point out to them about how Dubow has collected millions in bonuses while laying off thousands of workers, and making all his employees take pay cuts and unpaid furloughs while crying poverty about the company.

I then ask the other people why Dubow deserved a tax cut while it's a huge fight to extend my unemployment benefits. Strangely enough, when I use this example, I get a lot of sympathy. And truthfully, I don't really want their sympathy. I want people to wake up and realize what the hell is going on this world instead of worrying about who Snooki is ****ing.

That's why I'm bitter towards Gannett. Not the paper I worked for, or the great people who I worked with, a bunch of whom are still dealing with this bull****. But towards the corporate schmucks who, in my mind, I'm rooting for very bad things to happen to them someday.

 

[StaggerLee]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

The absolute funniest thing about the furloughs is the statement from Bob Dickey where he mentions scheduling of furloughs should be done so that your "backup" is available to work during your furlough. WTF Bob! There are no more backups, you pigs laid them all off.

I am SERIOUSLY considering taking my furlough the week of our state high school basketball tournament.

 

[Mark2010]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

Go for it, Stagger Lee. Have a Gannett paper less than 2 hours from here that distributes on the racks in town. Their section has really fallen off since they've gone to that standardized NFL/NBA/MLB page. Wonder how this will affect their coverage of stuff that we compete on.

 

[Mark2010]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

Dickey's Q&A is hilarious (well, for an outside observer not affected). If you are bent on maintaining some pie in the sky profit margin that is out of touch with reality, just sell and be done with it!!

 

[JimmyOlson]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

At my old shop, I've heard that along with 1st quarter furloughs, there is a demand for every reporter to do four major "watchdog" projects a year. So, do a lot more work in a lot less time.

So glad I left.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

At my old shop, I've heard that along with 1st quarter furloughs, there is a demand for every reporter to do four major "watchdog" projects a year. So, do a lot more work in a lot less time.

So glad I left.

The primary watchdog task should be to **** on the leg (or face) of any top-rank Gannett exec you can access.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Re: Giant and mostly bad news in Gannett world

At my old shop, I've heard that along with 1st quarter furloughs, there is a demand for every reporter to do four major "watchdog" projects a year. So, do a lot more work in a lot less time.

So glad I left.

Yeah, we used to have those 'demands' too every time there were layoffs and cutbacks, from upper management. The old 'Do more with less' crap. We'd all just shake our heads and wonder what planet they were on.

Then a month or two would go by, and upper management would get upset because everything they wanted to get done wasn't getting done. Well duh. You don't authorize overtime, and they're less people to get things done. And we're not volunteering our time for a company that's going to dump us anyway. Cut out the rah-rah crap and join the rest of us in reality.