gannett plans to layoff 3,000 by december.

I knew A.J. from racing. He, Gary Graves and I had a COMPLETELY inappropriate conversation (or three) in Dover one year. Best to him, and to all.

 

Wow, I've crossed paths with a couple of these guys, and I worked pretty closely with A.J. on a summer project a couple of years back. Very nice guy, sad to see him get the axe like that.

Again, let me reiterate. Fuck Gannett.
Fuck 'em in their greedy, corporate asses.

I don't know about the afterlife and all that shit, but if it does exist, I hope God/Buddah/Allah/Tebow has a nice little place set aside for the dickhead CEOs and high-level execs who play their own little version of human chess.

 

Two quotes that have made me laugh more than once...

"Gannett exists so there will be something to read in hell."

"If there really was a god Craig Dubow would have died during his back surgery."

 

.

That would be the aforementioned name referred to above.

 

I guess the think tankers will have to help put out the product. Oh wait ... they don't actually work.
So I guess USA Today now is following the lead and dumping high paid, yet excellent reporters, and will be going to the cheap young un labor as well. Gannett you rock.

 

I know.

 

One of my friends was among the cuts. He's only 27. I'm sure he didn't cost Gannett much. It's just a rotten time to be a newspaper journalist, if you hope to keep a steady paycheck. Heard the Miami Herald cut seven jobs today, two full-time copy editors among them. McClatchy has been doing pretty quiet layoffs over the past few weeks. One of my former schoolmates got caught in that. Hoping 2010 is an improvement, but that's what I said in 2009 ... and 2008 ... and 2007 ...

 

I hate to be the doom-and-gloom guy because, normally, I have a very optimistic disposition. But I'll tell you why it won't pick up. Because newspaper execs have thrown in the towel. We've been hearing for years from the higher-ups that nobody reads the newspaper anymore only to hear from people on the street that they WANT to read the newspaper but there's nothing to read (cuts will do that).

So, instead of focusing on quality and doing what we do best (in-depth reporting), we're focusing on just getting the damn thing out the door so advertisers have something they can hold in their hands and feel like they're getting their money's worth. In the last year, I've had several high-level editors knowingly allow a mistake to get in the print edition because we didn't have enough time to fix it or "it's not worth being late." Whatever happened to "STOP THE PRESSES!!" Now, it's "Well, if you have a press break, try to get this correction on."

The other thing is that layoffs/furloughs/pay cuts are working. We're cut to the bone and we're still getting a paper out on a daily basis. That's all they fucking care about. When they're home enjoying a nice meal with their family, or coaching little Johnny's soccer team or little Sally's volleyball team, we're fucking working 12-14 hour days to cover for three co-workers who were shown the door in the last year and a half.

I don't know how much more cuts we can endure. Unless publishers start actually help laying out papers, we're going to eventually get to the point where we simply don't have enough bodies. Hell, we're at that point now anytime someone (God forbid) calls in sick.

Fuck 'em.

 

Maybe it's time we quit making deadline. As long as everyone keeps hitting the mark, management will keep trying to see how much more they can accomplish with less. It's bullshit.
I'm rarely proud of the garbage we put out at my publication. Not because we don't try hard, but we just don't have the fucking time to do things right.

 

You're fired and I already have 15 resumes on my desk for people just as qualified, or more, and willing to take less pay.

/management

 

I completely agree with this.

Best of luck to those USATers on the list.