1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

The wolf at Freedom's door?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Moderator1, Jan 16, 2009.

Page 2 of 5
  1. mitch cumstein

    mitch cumstein Member

    Travel budgets eliminated, wage freezes implemented, layoffs coming soon, Chapter 11 talk, oh my....
     
    mitch cumstein, Jan 22, 2009
    #13
  2. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    From the East Valley publisher:

    January 22, 2009

    To: All Associates

    It’s no surprise to our associates here in Arizona that 2008 was a very difficult and challenging year. Our industry has gone through and continues to go through remarkable changes unlike any we have experienced before. And we have not been immune to the economic woes that have gripped the country – we’ve seen revenues decline as our customers try to figure out what they can do to weather the downturn as well.

    As we start out 2009, it is apparent that there are still tough times ahead for the economy and our industry. Like many other companies across the country, Freedom must also take steps to manage expenses as we work to transform our businesses. As part of this, there will be an announcement by Scott Flanders of a wage freeze across Freedom at every level of the company for fiscal year 2009. You will see this message posted on Freedom Net in the next couple of days, but I wanted you to hear this message directly from me first. This announcement is certainly no reflection on the level or quality of work by our associates, but is simply part of the economic reality that we will continue to face in 2009.

    We have made significant strides here locally to work to transform the business model for our operations with our sights set on our longer-term ability to continue to provide service to our communities here in the East Valley, the West Valley and Ahwatukee. I’m tremendously proud of what this team has accomplished in a very short time. There has been a lot of hard work that has resulted in improved efficiencies at our Sun City, Ahwatukee and AZIMG offices, and an incredibly smooth and seamless transition in our Tribune operations, particularly considering the magnitude of the change we have just undertaken.

    As a company though, we still need to deal with the shorter-term issue of revenues that continue to soften despite our best efforts. We will continue to look for opportunities to create efficiency, and find additional cost savings where we can in our organization. We would welcome any ideas that associates might have to help us do this as we move forward – feel free to forward your thoughts to me, or to your manager on suggestions you may have.

    Thank you for your hard work and continued support as we press forward to continue to serve our readers and advertisers in our communities.


    Julie Moreno
    Publisher, East Valley Tribune
    Pacific Region Vice President
    120 W. First Ave.
    Mesa, AZ 85210
    office: 480-898-6501
    Cell: xxx-xxx-xxxx
     
    Moderator1, Jan 22, 2009
    #14
  3. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Anyone hearing anything about meetings tomorrow afternoon in Freedom? I've heard there were mandatory meetings announced at least two papers.
     
    Angola!, Mar 19, 2009
    #15
  4. spud

    spud Member

    Yeah I'm kinda shitting bricks over here.
     
    spud, Mar 19, 2009
    #16
  5. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Rumors of Chapter 11 and major reorganization flying from what I've heard.
     
    Angola!, Mar 19, 2009
    #17
  6. spud

    spud Member

    Judging by all the "reorganizations" Freedom shops have already undergone with the forced moves for the mass hubbing initiatives they've had popping up all over the country, I'm downright terrified to walk into that meeting tomorrow to find out exactly what constitutes a 'major' reorganization for this company. They've been pretty decent to work with thus far, but I have a onerous feeling in my gut right now.
     
    spud, Mar 20, 2009
    #18
  7. didntdoit19

    didntdoit19 Member

    Doesn't Chapter 11 pretty much mean reorganization?

    (I think I'm going to be ill.)
     
    didntdoit19, Mar 20, 2009
    #19
  8. Riddick

    Riddick Active Member

    Actually loved my time with Freedom. Still got tons of friends there. Good luck all.
     
    Riddick, Mar 20, 2009
    #20
  9. mitch cumstein

    mitch cumstein Member

    Freedom was one of the good companies in the biz, but looks like good companies don't get happy endings either. Best of luck to everyone and hope it's not as bad as it sounds.
     
    mitch cumstein, Mar 20, 2009
    #21
  10. HackyMcHack

    HackyMcHack Member

    Freedom was one of the good companies when it put people ahead of profit. Unfortunately, they got away from that about 4-5 years ago, and now they're just like everyone else.
     
    HackyMcHack, Mar 20, 2009
    #22
  11. Rusty Shackleford

    Rusty Shackleford Active Member

    My Freedom paper announced weeklong furloughs this morning. Everyone from publisher down has to take a week by June.

    I'm told our paper is still making money -- albeit not as much as in the past, but we're not in the red. We're being forced to do this to make up for the rest of the company's poor showing.

    The sadly ironic thing is that we're in the process of getting a newsroom full of new computers to replace the 12-year-old ones we have now. I know this isn't the case, but it's almost like they're asking everyone to take a week off to buy themselves a new CPU.

    Still, I'd rather this than have people lose their job. Share the burden, right?

    And I echo what others have said -- Freedom has been a good company. I've fairly enjoyed my time here. None of the corporate BS I see the Gannett people complain about, nor the ridiculous JRC crap. I look at my job and hear the complaints of people in other chains and realize it's really pretty good at Freedom. Hopefully they don't go belly up.
     
    Rusty Shackleford, Mar 20, 2009
    #23
  12. spud

    spud Member

    Totally agree with you there. And it's funny how this works, but good management has drawn the same kind of solid employees. I love the people I work with. Which I guess is rough in a way because as we get shit-canned one-by-one its harder to see it go down.
     
    spud, Mar 20, 2009
    #24
Page 2 of 5
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page