Memphis Commercial Appeal layoffs

I'd hope so, but from what has been relayed to me, a regional publisher who was asked about such scenarios - World Series, Super Bowl, NCAA football and basketball championship games including local and regional teams - literally laughed at the question and said no deadlines will ever be adjusted for a sports story.

Readers can go online for the coverage, she said.

 

That's a crock of shit. But then again, you're probably looking at Gannett's next president saying that. Wow, what a novel idea! Don't hold the deadlines for important events. Then they wonder why no one subscribes.

To answer the Advance question: some papers are three days a week, others are four. The only one to stay at seven days home-delivered is Newark. The Star-Ledger would get killed if it cut back in the NY market. Far too many other papers.

 

Maybe they'll also push back deadline if Brett Favre ever runs for president.

 

I don't think they wonder that at all.

 

My understanding is that Dave Ammenheuser (whose face is on a billboard on the side of The Tennessean building, FYI) will coordinate everything, and the other Tennessee SEs essentially report to him.

That's how it was originally envisioned in New Jersey, but hasn't quite happened -- particularly after the Bergen acqusition. Wisconsin is also going that way. I haven't heard about Florida or any other area of the country with a critical mass of Gannett papers, but any overlap with the former JMG folks will likely be cut back in the next few weeks.

News is also being consolidated like that.

It feels like the smaller papers are bureaus of the bigger ones, but New Jersey, Tennessee and Wisconsin have multiple big papers. The power struggles will be interesting to watch, and may lead to more higher-up heads rolling.

 

I don't think it will be that interesting. I went through a couple of these things, and have observed others, and the power struggles (or decisions who to keep or reassign/lay off when there are overlapping assignments) always get resolved the same way: In favor of the people in the same building where the overall decision makers are. If that's Nashville, the benefit of the doubt will go to the people in Nashville.

I'm convinced there are three reasons for this: 1. If you work in the same building, the decision-makers know your work better, and it's much easier to rely on familiarity than actually assessing ability; 2. It's harder to pass over/lay off the people you face every day, when you can do the same with people you don't know; and 3. If, before the consolidation, you were hired by the decision-makers, you'll be favored because otherwise, it looks like they might have made a mistake in hiring you, which reflects poorly on them. (A fourth factor, too: People at the largest paper in one of these deals, even if its only slightly larger, always looks down their nose at the smaller paper — whether or not that attitude is justified.)

Occasionally, actual ability figures in, too, but not as often or as much as it should.

 

They don't want anybody to subscribe. The higher ups want the Internet only model ASAP. The problem remains that the bulk of the profits are from print subscriptions and 'ads' (the meager amount that there are) ... STILL. In spite of all the cuts and ridiculously bad sports coverage caused by ridiculously early deadlines.

 

Exactly. You get it. We're past the point of common sense journalism reasoning. The business higher ups 99.9 percent do not care about "local institutional knowledge." Remember, anybody can cover a team. And if it's a kid for 25,000 vs. an oldie for 60,000 (lol at 60000; that's really high end now) there's no decision to be made. The next move is going to be newspapers having no medical benefit packages at all (if that's legal; I've lost track of the law) just like the websites that employ sports people. No benefits is the norm there.

 

Frederick, I have missed you on these threads. I hope your absence was not due to adverse circumstance.

 

Reporters posting their own stories is so dangerous. The only news organizations allowing it are the ones who haven't been burned yet. I'm surprised the higher ups that make all the money are risking this one. With the loss of more and more veteran journalists and the hiring of young cheap journalists, it's just a matter of time before you get a story posted with so many errors it'll make national news. Even worse, could be libel or could be something that totally offends the P.C. people of the state. Again ... I know many places are having their reporters write their own headlines, post their own stories. To that I laugh and say "DANGER WILL ROBINSON!"

 

Thank you. Fredrick tries always to be the voice of reason on here. I know I'm despised by many. But in answer to your comment, thank you. And Fredrick is doing fine at this time. To tell you the truth, a lot of you read my comments that I work 70 and get paid for 40. Sad to say I've been so darn busy I haven't checked this site in months. This business is a killer but for many of us we don't just quit. It's part of what makes "journalism" special. Kick us and kick us but we keep going til they tell us not to come in any more.

 

Frederick, you are to sensitive. I don't think many people despise you. While you are certainly opinionated you are respectful of other commentators. And while you obviously have a contempt for executives in the newspaper industry it is widely shared on these boards.