Is Gannett really that bad?

depends on which of their papers you have worked at..some of their pennsylvania and new england properties haven't experienced as much lean deanage as the ones out west, yet.

 

Is there a good chain left?

Hell, a few years ago, Tribune Co. was the best in a runaway. Now, not so much...

 

Except for the staffing level, I did not think it was so bad. There was TONS of bullshit, but it was standardized bullshit applied evenly, which I find vastly preferable to bullshit applied by whim. Of course, I would prefer a no-bullshit zone, but such places are rare. I graded it about a C at the time.

 

I think a distinction needs to be made here about working for Gannett ... a lot depends on circulation size.

My work history has been like this: small Gannett paper for two years (sucked), mid-sized locally owned paper for a year and a half (awesome), and now a large metro Gannett paper for almost three years (also awesome). Yes, Big G takes a cookie-cutter approach on their smaller properties, and that's not fun at ALL. But as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, the biggest papers in the chain can bypass the corporate mandates and have their own identities (Indianapolis, Detroit, Des Moines, where I work, probably a few others). What I'm saying is, big-paper Gannett isn't much different from most other major metros.

I figured that should be brought up, so we're not talking in absolutes about the company (which, I freely admit, has more than its share of problems). That's my two cents, anyway. Carry on, folks.

 

Wasn't Des Moines recently told no reverse type under any circumstances? Now, I maybe use reverse type once every 4-5 months (if that), but to be told never? That sounds like corporate meddling to me.

 

Ask the folks in Rockford who got bought out by GateHouse a year ago. That is, the ones lucky enough to still work there.

In other words, better the devil you know.

 

If Gannett has not actually improved, it's still that bad. Just that others are worse.

 

You should have worked at a JRC paper, or at least a certain one near its corporate headquarters.

 

Having served a lengthy stint in Gannett I can tell you such edicts on the superficial stuff tend to last only as long as it takes for a regime change to take place either locally or at corporate, which generally means 2-3 years at the max.

On the other hand, some stuff (like the seven-column grid on the cover) did get enforced with an iron fist because, I'm sure, they were the result of several very expensive consultants and/or reader focus groups.

 

By establishing a paper trail I mean keeping a daily updated 10-plan, putting in a photo request, handling negotiations between subject and photographer, making sure an editor doesn't want to hold the story for a few days or move it up to the week you are on vacation because there is a hole in the budget and they think the art will be good, and hoping some actual news doesn't occur in the interim that will make all of your extra efforts moot. Imagine doing this for several stories a week and it can be a grind. I highly recommend the Gannett Blog. It's not a "bitch session" site, but you can get a good perspective from a lot of different papers. Including the one you are considering.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I thought this might create a bit of a firestorm.

I asked if it's "really that bad" because I was told throughout my schooling and career (about 4 years now) to avoid Gannett like the plague, but nobody ever seemed to have any concrete reasons for saying it other than something along the lines of "they treat you like shit."

To the person wondering about circulation, it'd be going from roughly 20k to roughly 40k in the Midwest.

 

In this current climate, some would argue that you should avoid ALL newspaper chains "like the plague."

There are plenty of people on this thread that apparently hate Gannett, and with good reason I'm sure. But if you're going to pass on this opportunity and instead wait it out for one of those strong, stable, money-making, no-risk chains to hire you away - well, you're going to be waiting for a LONG LONG time.

In this job environment, I just don't think you can afford to swear off an entire chain of newspapers. Like I said, I haven't had ANY PROBLEMS at my current Gannett paper.
Man, now I've really jinxed myself.