\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=745912 Their Bills coverage is already bare bones - I wonder how soon it will be that they stop travelling to road games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Let's hope Bob Mathews is one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 The newspaper industry is dying. Believe it or not Craigslist is a huge factor. Want ads were the cash cow at newspapers for years. Gone. Unions are another big reason. I hear the local paper has a guy who's been in the mailroom for 40 years. He's making six-figures plus obscene benefits. Ad sales and subscriptions were declining for years before the economic schitt tsumnami hit. What papers are trying to do is go to an all-internet version. Printing papers costs a fortune. But advertisers are slow to adopt web advertising as legit. Plus people are now used to read newspapers for free online. Don't be shocked to see major dailies going belly up in 2009. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 What the AP story didn't say: this is part of a nationwide hack-and-slash at Gannett shops, with the expected final tally somewhere near 3,000 jobs. The meeting's this morning, and I'm worried that at least one very good sportswriter is going to be out the door solely because he makes a decent salary. One he's earned, not that the beancounters care about that minor detail any more. I sincerely hope I'm wrong. And to be honest, ink -- whoever ends up on that list, I'm not happy about anyone losing their job three weeks before Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 And to be honest, ink -- whoever ends up on that list, I'm not happy about anyone losing their job three weeks before Christmas. He'll still have his cushy radio gig...I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 He'll still have his cushy radio gig...I think. I actually like Bob, grew up reading him. However, he owes the entire last 10 years to Zippy Chippy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Funny thing is, Promo? The D&C turned a profit last year, as did most of Gannett's community newspapers: http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/do...git-profit.html And it still wasn't enough. Just got the news, and it was as bad as I expected. you, Gannett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Scott Pitoniak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Scott Pitoniak I knew it was a problem when I couldn't get to his blog this AM. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST MODE BABY! Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 So, the D&C was $62.5 million in the black last year and they had to fire Scott Pitoniak? Always screwing the small guy, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Maybe if they made it possible to sign up for a Sunday paper without 5 emails and 6 phone calls they would be able to cut costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 So, the D&C was $62.5 million in the black last year and they had to fire Scott Pitoniak? Always screwing the small guy, I guess. $62.5M was the total ad revenue, not the profit -- you can figure that out easily enough with the percentage, though. FWIW, although those moved quickly to wipe him off their sports page, Scott's blog is still cached at Google. As a friend said, he's way too good not to land on his feet somewhere ... but the D&C is a lesser paper for his loss. More room for preps and wire, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Now if most people (not you Lori) complaining would start reading papers again... Until then, it's going to be a long slog for the news/journalism industry to find its footing. Can't feed all the mouths through a free Google newsfeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 They do read 'em, GG. Online, for free, and still bitching about the ads. I guess that was your point, though ... Just one more thing to add: the future of Gannett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Scott Pitoniak has the same problem most people have had to face, he is a long term employee (24 years). Companies feel they can replace the "veterans" with rookie writers if need be, at a much lower cost. It is happening all over, and it is not new. It happened to my Dad when he was 58. They replaced him with a 20 something at half the salary. I was let go just shy of 27 years on the job. Luckily I landed on my feet, but took a 25-30% cut to keep working AND I am still on contract (18 months +)! I will miss his columns, and yes, we do get a "paper" newspaper. $62.5M was the total ad revenue, not the profit -- you can figure that out easily enough with the percentage, though. FWIW, although those moved quickly to wipe him off their sports page, Scott's blog is still cached at Google. As a friend said, he's way too good not to land on his feet somewhere ... but the D&C is a lesser paper for his loss. More room for preps and wire, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Scott Pitoniak has the same problem most people have had to face, he is a long term employee (24 years). Companies feel they can replace the "veterans" with rookie writers if need be, at a much lower cost. True enough. But while my employer can easily train someone off the street to perform my job -- in fact, they're getting along just fine without me for the rest of this year -- writing at Pitoniak's level is a creative talent most people our age don't possess, much less someone fresh out of J-school. Watch in the months ahead, and see if your sports section doesn't get measurably worse. It is happening all over, and it is not new. It happened to my Dad when he was 58. They replaced him with a 20 something at half the salary. I was let go just shy of 27 years on the job. Luckily I landed on my feet, but took a 25-30% cut to keep working AND I am still on contract (18 months +)! I will miss his columns, and yes, we do get a "paper" newspaper. Thanks for doing your part to keep the industry afloat, Rock. But I'll be perfectly honest, there's more to this story. And now that I know a little more about how/why it went down the way it did, you can rest assured the D&C won't get another dime from me unless/until I know a certain person in management is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 And now that I know a little more about how/why it went down the way it did, you can rest assured the D&C won't get another dime from me unless/until I know a certain person in management is gone. While I can respect that, I guess I see it differently. There are still good people that work there (one that I know personally), and without community support they may end up on the bread line too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 And I respect that, keg. (Obviously, I also know a few people there.) That's why I'm not banging the drum for a boycott. It's going to take me a long time to let go of this grudge, though, and that has more to do with the how than the why. The why? That's nationwide. Mike Igoe's buyout was accepted by Channel 2, and Newsday dropped this bombshell earlier today: December 5, 2008 To: Staff From: John Mancini What's Going On The outlook for revenue requires further expense cuts in the newsroom. Travel, entertainment and supply budgets have been reduced. Open positions have been eliminated and the freelance budget has been cut dramatically. In addition, we will be reorganizing Photo, resulting in a significantly smaller staff. We will also eliminate the Sports Columnist category, which includes three staffers, and the research position in Albany. These decisions will mean further job reductions or will require staffers to move into other job categories. Starting today, we will discuss details with the affected departments and individuals. These circumstances are always difficult. Valued friends and colleagues who did not contemplate making a change will face giving up jobs they have been devoted to for years. As always, we ask that the privacy of those who must weigh difficult choices be respected. Thank you once again for your dedication and effort during these challenging times. Just ... wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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