Comments on: Gannett staff to get forced, unpaid ‘vacations’

By: Pat Elliott

Pat Elliott — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:29:58 +0000

Round Two is underway:

Monday, March 23, 2009, 2:52pm MST

Gannett orders second unpaid furlough

Phoenix Business Journal – by Jeff Clabaugh

Gannett Co. Inc, which is already mandating a one week of unpaid furlough for most of its employees this quarter, has ordered another unpaid furlough for many employees in the second quarter.

The company will also temporarily cut salaries for some of its higher-paid employees.

In a memo to employees, CEO Craig Dubow said the company is about to begin the second quarter without any real relief in sight from the economic downturn, and revenue continues to fall.

“As with our first program, we are doing furloughs to hopefully mitigate the need for layoffs and to preserve our operations in the face of these extraordinary economic times,” Dubow said in the memo. “We believe this is the best possible course, given the alternatives.”

McLean, Va.-based Gannett, which has lost top credit ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s in recent weeks, saw earnings fall 36 percent last quarter.

The company has cut jobs at USA Today as well as at Phoenix’s major daily the Arizona Republic.

Gannett stock (NYSE:GCI), trading at around $2.35 per share Monday, has lost more than 90 percent of its value in the last year.

Jeff Clabaugh is a reporter for the Washington Business Journal, a sister publication.

By: jakers

jakers — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:50:19 +0000

Hmmm. I thought events were the spine of all news.

and the economy has changed for news and there model hasn’t adapted.

They are going to have to make cuts and I wouldn’t imagine they will be making a comeback after the boom returns.

By: Laurie Perez

Laurie Perez — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:15:47 +0000

This news makes me poignantly nostalgic for last year’s writers’ strike. It’s not quite the same issue, but in the ballpark. Scribes are the spine of all news. No one to write the story = no news to post = no ads in view of readers’ eyes (so no ad dollars sustaining the publication).

This is not the time to sanction writers. It’s time to elevate quality. Let’s not be “poor” in a challenging economy. Let’s raise the game.

By: Nina

Nina — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:02:46 +0000

Gannette is not the only company doing this. My company did the same thing over Christmas…two weeks later 60% of our staff was laid off (including me).

By: Chris Davis

Chris Davis — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:58:23 +0000

This is never good news but with the continual slide of newspapers, it is so much better than what many people in this industry are preparing themselves for.

By: Jackie Dishner

Jackie Dishner — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:27:55 +0000

Guess it is better than being laid off. Writers don’t want to be thrust into the world of freelancing right now, as that’s not much of an option, especially if you’re new and need to build a client base.

Generally speaking, magazines are folding by the day or producing more in-house. Web sites are lowering pay. Trades that use freelancers are sticking solely with who they know.

And the doom and gloom only seems to be getting worse, as some publishers have even stopped paying writers for work already done. Ad sales are down, and they don’t have the money!

If I were a Gannett employee, guess I’d be thankful to have some kind of job security…

Jackie (freelancing from Phoenix since 1997)

By: Charlotte Risch

Charlotte Risch — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:54:08 +0000

Saw this news on Twitter yesterday while following @nickmartin. Though you might be interested in seeing actual memo.

http://www.heatcity.org/2009/01/exclusive-gannett-update-memo-from-republic-publisher-to-employees.html