Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Gannett Blog has it. So this makes sense — Craig Dubow is the CEO of Gannett Co., which owns the Asheville Citizen-Times. Dubow also owns a second home out in Jackson County:
Following is a memo that CEO Craig Dubow reportedly just released;it follows several days of speculation that Gannett is looking for new ways to trim expenses.
Today Gannett is implementing a furlough program across all U.S. divisions and at Corporate headquarters. This means that most of our U.S. employees — including myself and all other top executives — will be furloughed for the equivalent of one week in the first quarter. This furlough will be unpaid. Unions also will be asked to participate.
We are doing this to preserve our operations and continue to deliver for our customers while confronting the issues raised by some of the most difficult economic conditions we have ever experienced.
After much consideration, we decided a furlough program would be the fairest and least intrusive way to meet these fiscal challenges in the first quarter, which is traditionally the lightest time of the year. We sincerely hope this minimizes the need for any layoffs going forward.
As the day goes on, you will be receiving information from your division presidents explaining the program, including some FAQs to help answer any of your questions and address your concerns about pay and benefits.
We have made some very difficult decisions this past year, all with the goal of keeping Gannett strong and preparing for the future. I understand I have asked a great deal of you, and I regret adding to your burden with this program.
But my sincere hope is that this step removes the need to do anything more drastic, and that business conditions improve. As always, I thank you for your patience and loyalty to Gannett.
Newspaperjunkie: The errors drive me crazy! I know we have a bunch of them, but it seems no one wants to fix them. Why? Do you know we have 9 copy editors? As well as the reporters who should be editing their own stories and checking to make sure they came out right. And as for Topix: Those people are just plain mean! And not just about copy errors, which make a story difficult to read. They’re just rude about everything and everyone – I guess they read the stories just so they can complain.
Yes, more local news and more community news. A friend told me this morning that the Ctimes has caused it’s own demise. While a new president and particularly this president is big news, is the staff at the Citizen-Times so egotisical to think that they can cover a national event better than MSNBC, CNN, CBS, etc…? I think not. An inaugural ediition is so old school. I guess since a lot of papers were sold when Obama was elected they might get a repeat. Boy, another five thousand copies at 75 cents a piece is going to prevent some more layoffs.
The new ABC audit will come out this March. Can’t wait to see the decease in circulation – again. If anyone reads the magical numbers from marketing, the increased readership includes, online and some of the other products the CT publishes. It is not the just the Ctimes. Kind of a misleading statistic.
Oh, and did you see the great print job yesterday?
There has en an increase in break-ins and robberies in the past couple of weeks. Have they interviewed any of the detectives? Have they talked to psychologists to see if a down economy provokes this type of crime? The person that held up the Citgo over the weekend apologized for robbing the store and told the clerk that he had to feed his family.
We don’t read about the local community because Hammer doesn’t care about the local community. He stays locked up in his office all day patting himself on the back for increased page views to the website and figuring how to reconfigure the top floor of the CT building so he doesn’t have to communicate or see the lowly peons that work there.
Boyle’s column this morning saying that you have to cut trees to construct a building is earth shattering. Susan Rheinhardt’s column yesterday on her rough year is pure drivel. I am sorry that she is going through a divorce and she is depressed. She has a roof over her head. Gannett is still paying her to write and of yes, she has men standing in line waiting until she grants them an audience. I could read this self-absorbed crap in a high school girl’s journal.
Journalism 101 – write about what your readers want to read.
I am surprised to hear that there are ANY copy editors at the Citizen-Times and even more so to learn they are hiring more. If this is the case, why is the paper so full of grammatical, spelling, stylistic and factual errors? Sometimes the errors are noted by readers on Topix, yet the errors do not get corrected in the online edition. Why?
To resolution:
I agree with you on several points, mainly about Dubow. If some of these bigwigs would cut their salaries and bonuses, they could save a lot more of our jobs. But in the end, they’re just too greedy. If I made the money they do, even for just 2-3 years, I may never work again. Instead, their exorbiant greed, particularly during such a hard time, comes at the expense of a lot of good people.
At least this time it’s just a furlough. Better than laying off a bunch more people. If it saves jobs, including possibly my own, I’m all for it. I’d even take it once per quarter. It’s better than not having a job or being a greeter at WalMart.
As for the "hatchet job" on the paper, I don’t think it’s so bad. Yes, space is in short supply and there’s a lot of grumbling because many stories are not being printed, but I also think that forces the news to be tighter. For myself, I would like more local news, more community news and more features. But that’s definitely not happening right now.
The sports section is so big because, let’s face it, this is the South and people love sports, especially local teams. The calendars require a bit more than editing, we need to have more local news but there’s a lot going on right now with the soon-to-be new presidency and I agree that the wire stories could be cut down some.
Also, there really are a lot of copy editors. Even as some people got laid off, more copy editors were hired. Why? I guess they work cheaper than the people who were let go and can be asked to do a variety of tasks, but that certainly doesn’t make it right.
WOW! Will these people ever stop?
It was my understanding that Hatchet Hammer told the staff that the 2008 layoffs were necessary to increase the value of Gannett stock. Gannett stock is hovering around $8.00 a share. I would like someone to figure out what percentage of Gannett stock is owned by Gannett employees. I think that in early 2008, one of the cost cutting strategies that Gannett implemented was to discontinue matching funds in 401K accounts UNLESS the employee bought Gannett stock. If the majority of Gannett stock is owned by Gannett employees does anyone see that they are laying off the very people that are buying this stock?
Dubow should be congratulated (not) for doing his part. I guess that missing one week’s pay when he makes several hundred thousand dollars a year is quite generous. That large sacrifice won’t put him in a line for foodstamps. Will he forego his large Year End bonus to save jobs? This is what is wrong with America today. Too many people in a boardroom making decisions on how to cut overheard instead of figuring out ways to increase readership or build better cars or pay attention to the thousands of high risk loans. The middle class is disappearing at a rapid rate. I’ll spare everyone that rank for a different time.
Does anyone read the paper before it goes to press? What a hacked up mess, Hatchet Hammer and Fernandez have created! Six pages of sports, wire service stories, virtually no local news, lots of calendar’s (that only require editing) and this takes 40 some odd people in the news room. The CTimes continues to have an excess of editors. What the hell are they editing?
Dubow, Hammer are so out of touch.
By the way the furlough is to minimize layoff numbers world wide not to eliminate layoffs as a whole. The one week furlough is to save money in the short term and the layoffs are to trim staff to fit the new business model Gannett is implementing.
If you feel your job is not up to speed for the new business model then I suggest enrolling in night school as soon as possible.
Has anyone else noticed some interesting wording in Craig “Mr. Subliminal” Dubow’s memo to Gannett staff?
How about "FAQs to help answer any of your questions and address your concerns about pay and benefits."? Perhaps what he really means is "we’re giving you a list of written responses, so you won’t be bugging any of us Big Shots or your local administrators face-to-face and making us feel uncomfortable."
Another good one is "I thank you for your patience and loyalty to Gannett." I’m guessing that in this case, Mr. Dubow is mistaking what he imagines to be loyalty and respect for gut-wrenching fear and frustration around the fact that there are simply no other jobs to be had out there. His employees are flat-out stuck because of our crippled economy.
My heart goes out to the poor folks who are left at the AC-T. I mean the ones who do all the work and are now faced with an unreasonable demand from corporate. As we say around here, "it ain’t right."
Speaking of corporate and the economy, I realize Mr. Dubow states that he too will participate in this so called "furlough program." What a stand-up guy, huh? But what about his “second” home here in Jackson County? I wish he’d just stay down in Atlanta and do a little downsizing of his own.
Will everyone lose vacation time by taking one week without pay? Vacation hours are earned, if you’re not there, you can’t earn the time. I’ll bet you do lose some time, even if it is only one hour. You can add that to your pay loss. Does anyone know?
Across the board cuts seems better than heads rolling. Now how about execs cutting their salaries in half and selling one of their vacation homes?
It is 5 days we have to take off. If your hourly, then 3 days off a week for 5 weeks should do.
Newspaper Junkie, i’m working on a response to your previous question.
in terms of your latest question, it’s my understanding that ALL employees must take the unpaid leave. a low-ranking reporter can probably handle the cut if they plan/budget for it.
I was also hoping that you, with your insight into the Citizen-Times, might reply to my former comment about lack of editorial standards. in sum, "my basic question: is it ignorance or indifference to simple ways (it seems to me) to make the paper, even in its diminished form, so much better without adding costs." I’m truly puzzled.
Does that mean All employees, even those making less than, say, $50,000 per year, or only people over a high threshold? Can a low-ranking reporter in Asheville, with a family, handle this kind of cut? Flat tax rather than progressive tax?
One week without pay equates to a pretty big pay cut. Hard to do when most newspapers employees are living pay check to pay check.
What next, more layoffs? Maybe they will put parking meters on the side of the building to generate revenue.