Gannett a Gone Goose?
June 26, 2011
Physorg.com announces that “USA Today Publisher Gannett Cuts 700 Jobs.” Just what we need now, hundreds more unemployed.
Despite the headline, USA Today itself is not involved. Gannett is the largest news chain in the U.S, and the layoffs will hit a multitude of local papers. The article states:
Like other US newspapers, Gannett has been grappling with declining print advertising revenue, falling circulation and the migration of readers to free news online. Robert Dickey, the head of Gannett’s US Community Publishing division, said in a memo to employees that the layoffs were necessary to ‘align our costs with the current revenue trends.
Yeah, we’ve heard it before. I’d like to see what the executives make. Also why spare the national rag?
Stephen E Arnold, former vice president at the “old” Pulitzer Prize Courier Journal” hinted that the Courier Journal was once one of the top 25 newspapers in the world.
Since Gannett’s purchase of the paper, the CJ has tumbled from its lofty perch. Steve thought that Barry Senior would have gone ballistic. In his own gentile way he would have put the quality back in the paper. He would motivate staff, officers, and others by reminding everyone that quality was what made the paper great. He would have passed the word to others, including the US president, various elected officials, and his pals at the New York Times.
When large corporations gobble up local media, the quality goes out and the buzz dies.
Now the future of Gannett becomes visible. Business wizards with systems that release stories online without the value adding that extends, complements and enhances old fashioned high value writing. Where did those databases go? Good question. The gone goose’s gone geese.
Cynthia Murrell June 25, 2011
From the leader in next-generation analysis of search and content processing, Beyond Search.
Comments
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
