Gannett Blog

May 20-26 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

2013-05-23T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

USAT | How to get by with fewer reporters

2013-05-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

USA Today recently reduced staffing again, eliminating as much as 10% of its editorial ranks in another bid to cut costs amid slowing digital revenue growth rates. But even before the latest round of cuts, I noticed the paper was shifting toward more aggregation of other media to make up for its own diminished reporting resources. Here's an especially vivid example from a story this morning

May 20-26 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

2013-05-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

May 20-26 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

2013-05-20T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

Newsquest | CEO Davidson said preparing to retire

2013-05-20T14:13:00.005-04:00

That's according to Manchester radio station Key 103, which today quoted a Gannett spokesman it didn't identify as saying that Newsquest chief Paul Davidson, 58, is in "the early stages of planning his retirement." Davidson The station's report didn't give a timetable, however. Gannett has hired The Lygon Partnership to oversee the search for a new boss, and "is understood to be considering

How director Shapiro kowtowed to a Koch brother

2013-05-20T12:19:00.001-04:00

[Shapiro and Koch] In a fascinating inside account of big money's influence on public television, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer today discloses the unprecedented lengths to which WNET CEO Neal Shapiro went to appease David Koch, a high-profile trustee and financial backer of the PBS affiliate -- and the subject of a damning documentary about wealth disparities in the U.S. After WNET

May 13-19 | Your News & Comments: Part 5

2013-05-19T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

May 13-19 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

2013-05-17T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

Marketing | That was then, and this is now

2013-05-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

"This is an exciting time to join Gannett. There’s a fundamental shift in the relationship between consumers and media today, and Gannett is leading the way in transforming how it serves the needs of consumers." -- Emma Gilding, quoted in an Aug. 6, 2012, press release, when Corporate announced that she'd been hired as vice president of brand research and strategy, reporting to Chief Marketing

May 13-19 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

2013-05-16T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

May 13-19 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

2013-05-15T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

Sponsors | With gifts, an encouraging note

2013-05-15T19:03:00.003-04:00

Via snail mail, readers recently gave me two gifts: $20 and $60. That latter contribution was $5 per month for a year, according to the reader, who attached an encouraging Post-it note. With advertising sales so far this quarter, I've now taken in $609: Reader donations: $153 Advertising: $456 I'm trying to earn $4,000 quarterly, through donations of $5 per reader, plus advertising sales. Please

St. George | Returning to GCI, Long named pub

2013-05-15T14:29:00.001-04:00

Corporate just announced that Rhett Long has been named publisher of The Spectrum in St. George, Utah. He replaces Donnie Welch, who announced in March that he was leaving to start a local business. Long comes from marketing supplies producer InnerWorkings, where he was vice president of national accounts. Previously, Long held several jobs with Gannett, including vice president of operations

May 13-19 | Your News & Comments: Part 1

2013-05-14T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

USAT | Unfortunate story adjacency of the day

2013-05-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

Scrolling down through one of USA Today's stories about the actress Angelina Jolie's revelation today that she had had a cancer-deterring preventive double mastectomy, I noticed an unfortunate "more stories" link at the bottom: "Kate Moss shows no tan lines," illustrated with a photo of an apparently nude Moss.

TV networks face falling ratings and new rivals

2013-05-13T10:27:00.001-04:00

As Gannett's 23 broadcasting stations come off a record year for advertising revenue after the summer Olympics and general election, prime-time ratings for the Big Four broadcasters -- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox -- together are dropping more precipitously than ever. "Even their biggest hits, like 'American Idol' and 'Dancing With the Stars,' are fading fast," The New York Times reports this

How the Teamsters nearly beat Gannett's board; 'golden parachutes' vote was surprisingly close

2013-05-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

In an unusual rebuke to the board of directors, shareholders last week came within striking distance of passing a Teamsters union proposal to trim the "golden parachute" severance packages that Gannett's top executives could get if the company was sold, according to a new regulatory filing. The vote came at the annual shareholders meeting Tuesday morning. In a press release that afternoon

May 6-12 | Your News & Comments: Part 4

2013-05-12T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

Indy | Deal near to sell building for apartments

2013-05-11T13:38:00.001-04:00

The Indianapolis Star is close to finalizing the sale of its downtown property to a local developer planning a mixed-use development with up to 500 apartments. The Whitsett Group yesterday confirmed the discussions with Gannett, the paper says. The Star is looking for a new downtown location that better suits digital needs as it joins a long list of other Gannett properties that also are

May 6-12 | Your News & Comments: Part 3

2013-05-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

USAT | Exiting, Hiestand on tech vs. gumshoe

2013-05-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

Michael Hiestand, who started writing USA Today's sports TV column in 1990, is taking a buyout and today will be his last day -- along with around 30 other staffers who accepted the offers first made in March. In an interview with Sports Business Daily, he says he wants to stay in the business. His column mug He told the trade site journalism is now more rooted in technology -- including

May 6-12 | Your News & Comments: Part 2

2013-05-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

Can't find the right spot for your comment? Post it here, in this open forum. Real Time Comments: parked here, 24/7. (Earlier editions.)

DealChicken | Groupon cuts loss as sales rise 7.5%

2013-05-08T16:26:00.001-04:00

That's according to the online coupon leader's just-out first-quarter earnings report, cited by MarketWatch. The company -- a competitor of Gannett's DealChicken -- met analysts' average forecast on earnings and bested expectations on revenue. GRPN shares initially soared 12% in after-hours trading to a recent $6.25 a share. GCI's stock, meanwhile, was flat in late trading after closing earlier

'Valued, long-term employees' -- now, and then

2013-05-08T11:49:00.000-04:00

"The program is completely voluntary for these valued, long-term employees. They have helped us achieve much over the years and their work is greatly appreciated." -- Evan Ray, president of Gannett Publishing Services, in a memo reported today, announcing a buyout offer for 160 employees. "The program is completely voluntary for these valued, long-term employees. They have helped steer a

GPS | Reader: buyouts offered to 160 employees

2013-05-08T11:31:00.005-04:00

Anonymous@11:26 a.m. has just posted a memo from Gannett Publishing Services President Evan Ray, saying: "Today we are offering a voluntary Early Retirement Opportunity Program to 160 eligible employees of GPS distribution and single-copy sales and educational sales who are age 56 or older with at least 20 years of service, as of June 21, 2013." GPS employs about 7,200 workers. It handles