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Menu
The paper never REALLY had much as far as content goes…
We’re all better off without it.
Tami:
Everything will be fine and work out for the best. It always does when you look back in time.
Thank you Melissa. I am still cheerful as usual…even more so these days. I think they expected me to wig out or something…but actually I didn’t feel much emotion while they were giving me my exit packet. My emotion came at the reaction by my co-workers. You really develop a second family and have love in your heart for each and everyone of them. As I hugged Donna, who was sobbing, I told her not to cry for me…she said "I’m crying for me." It hit me at that moment how much compassion I felt for those left behind. Of course at that time we didn’t know that Donna was the next on their list to go. I will take your God Blessings as He will open another door for me. Here’s to a "NEW" year!
I agree with Tami. HH should have been at the plant until the last paper came off the press. What a positive message it would have sent for him to stick around and shake the employees hands as they ran the last pages. Virgil or Jeff Green would have had the decency to buy them pizza and beer. He cares B***S**T.
If HH had his way, there wouldn’t be anyone at the paper that wasn’t a model. I heard it on good authority, that one of the Marketing models sits on one side of HH in OC meetings and the blonde sits on the other side. It is not a well kept secret why these women keep their jobs. I have been told by several people at the paper that Gannett told HH to close the marketing department. I bet if the Barbie dolls in marketing weren’t Barbie dolls and were over 50 they would be out of their jobs as well.
Speaking of marketing, I forgot to write that the Marketing Director left the paper earlier this year. That means that Hatchet Hammer got rid of at least 1/2 of the Operating Committee in 2008. And, the Ad Director is leaving soon.
Count the number of ads in Monday’s paper. If the paper gets any smaller they will cut back the number of days that they publish.
It will take quite the delusional person to think that they can bring back the hundreds of thousands of dollars the paper has lost in real estate, automotive and chain store advertising. How do they expect classified revenue to grow, when they are only going to print classifieds five days a week.
I really do think that Hatchet Hammer has a fat phobia of some kind. Pay attention to the number of stories that they run about fitness. It is astounding.
Hi Tami! You always seemed so cheerful when I was at the C-T. I hate to think that you didn’t get to leave with your full dignity respected. I know that your co-workers appreciated you, despite everything. Good luck ang God bless on the other side!
I have worked for the Citizen-Times for almost 20 years before I was let go in December. I am so saddened by the leaderships lack of compassion for these people who stayed til the end to do a good job and not a single word. Your reward for doing a good job is to be kicked to the curb. They stayed because they cared. They did not deserve this final slap in the face. Hammer should have been there shaking each hand with a thank you as they exited the building. He isn’t just hiding from the public. He is rarely seen inside the office as well. He certainly wasn’t in site when I left.
resolution:
Your last paragraph was spot on. You hit the nail right on the head. I have been saying this for years and now I realize there are people out there that feel the same way. Thank you very much.
Thanks Melissa, You said it beautifully and better than I could have. I just wished I had gotten my kids over there to see it run before it was too late.
Like Resolution wrote, I am surprised that not a single newsroom employee has been let go – yet. I’m also surprised that in the age of digital cameras and Photoshop that there are still so many photogs employed by Phil and Hammer. Most of the photos published could easily be duplicated by in-field reporters. But they know best.
Good riddance to Smith. She’s a back-stabber at best. I’m sure a few ambitious folks will grapple for the AD position but they’re delusional if they think it’s a crown like it used to be.
Marketing could go as well, but they apparently possess the eye candy the big boss man enjoys so much that they’re untouchable (maybe).
What I’m saying is that they’re other areas that could have been cut, but DA Hammer is so clueless he couldn’t see it. And a lot of great and talented people were shown the door and the paper crumbles.
Amen, Martha! You just held your breath when the machines went into action. It made you feel like your story was HUGE. To see the inks mix and then thousands of papers roll out — no matter where the story ran, it was a real rush.
Excellent story in the Xpress. It is a shame. If you’ve never seen a printing press in action, you’ve missed something. Watching them go was my biggest thrill of the C-T orientation.
I’m looking forward to seeing the photos you got of this last night/morning at Sardis. I am so sad for these folks. I loved working with Philip (I can’t believe he’s still rocking the short hair!) and you will never meet a more humble, hardworking man than Billy. Just a bunch of sweet guys whose easiest day was still way harder than anything anyone ever had to do in the newsroom. Truly, the salt of the AC-T…
If you read Hatchet Hammer’s column in today’s CTimes. He had no choice but to close the press plant. With ad revenue down, and holiday sales down, there wasn’t enough advertising revenue. Humbug! I find this so fascinating. Not one, and I mean not one person in the newsroom has been laid off. They have cut sections, cut news hole and they still need the same number of writers? Today’s paper is lacking the classified section. They morphed living into the B section. All in all today’s paper is a hacked up version of what used to be a good newspaper.
In his column, he writes about readership growing over the past year. I want to know where that number is coming from? How can circulation be down YOY and readership up? Does the research include all of the weeklies? Does it include online readership? I seriously doubt that there are more readers per paper. This is why traditional newspapers are in such trouble. What magician in the marketing department came up with that number? He quotes the percentages but doesn’t tell us how the research company got those numbers.. Typical diversionary tactics from HH.
His column doesn’t mention firing Susan Ihne. Nor, does it mention laying off the Circulation Director, the IT director, The HR directior and Press Room Director. Nor, does he mention laying off another 16 people in December. I hope Jason goes after this. If Ingles laid off 1/3 of its’ work force, it would be considered newsworthy.
Oh, and don’t forget, the ad director who lead the paper to these major decreases in ad revenue is leaving later this month. I wonder if the people at the Wilson Daily Times are braced for her arrival. I wish that they would have checked her references. Five sales managers left the CTimes in her first four months at the paper. The classified manager was laid off in December. Three graphic artist/designers have been laid off or left in the past 18 months. The sales manager for specialty publications was laid shortly after her arrival. Due to her restructuring of the ad department, many veteran salespeople left to work for other magazines. For an organization that is supposed to be selling advertising to pay for the paper, she sure sliced her way to a year end bonus.
Quote:
The Citizen-Times, in its own coverage of the last night of the press operation, didn’t even talk to a single one of these guys.
Unquote:
For this above reason above I am canceling my subscription and hope others will follow.
This looks like the typical approach to anything associated with Randy Hammer. Lock myself in a room and it will go away. Listen up Hammer, I understand this pending lawsuit isn’t the first one. Maybe if you showed yourself more often in the public eye, people would would be less harsh in their feeling towards you and the paper.
Time to wake up.
*sigh*