Friday, October 8, 2010
McPapers adopting McFonts
Despite promises that Gannett's daily newspapers will maintain their distinctive identities under the region design "studios," it has been announced that all newspapers will adopt the same five Monotype fonts before the end of the year.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Can Gannett reinvent the McPaper?
Published: August 27, 2010
The history of USA Today is full of firsts for the newspaper business: the first general-interest national paper of its kind, the first to use color widely in charts and photographs and once first in the number of copies printed each day.
USA Today will offer more content in digital form, an effort to win a larger share of the tablet and mobile phone news market.
But lately the paper has lost its grip on the national media market. Its advertising revenue has collapsed. Its circulation has plunged — last year it forfeited its title as the nation’s most widely circulated newspaper on weekdays to The Wall Street Journal.
Faced with this dour reality, USA Today announced on Friday the most extensive reorganization in its 28-year history. The paper will eliminate about 130 jobs, or 9 percent of its work force, and shift its business model away from the print edition that has become ubiquitous in airports, hotels and newsstands across the country.
The paper’s focus will now be on its digital operations. It will emphasize breaking news on its Web site, aiming to post articles within 30 minutes of a breaking news event. It will create a stand-alone sports edition called USA Today Sports. And it will shift more of its resources toward making content more available in digital form, an effort to win a larger share of the tablet and mobile phone news market.
Read more at nytimes.com
Q&A reveals Gannett’s public reasoning for cutting the hearts out of its community newspapers
July 26th, 2010
After Gannett recently announced plans to create five centralized centers to handle most of the design demands at its community newspapers, the Society for News Design responded with an open letter on the value of design. That letter is posted here.
Kate Marymont is the Vice President/News at Gannett’s community publishing division, and she took some time to respond to the letter and the following Q&A conducted by SND Secretary/Treasurer Jonathon Berlin to shed light on Gannett’s vision, not only for its hubs but also all aspects of its approach to visual journalism:
Read article at SND
Sunday, June 20, 2010
This is what America gets instead of community newspapers
* Gannett/USA TODAY Headquarters, McLean, Virginia
* Owner: Gannett Co., Inc. - Arlington, VA
* Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates - New York, NY
* Interior Architect: Lehman-Smith + McLeish - Washington, DC
* Developer: Hines - Washington, DC
820,000 SF Corporate Headquarters including Base Building and Interior Improvements in McLean, Virginia. Project includes two office towers extending above a common "podium" which contains food service, auditorium, conference center, healthworks and other corporate support facilities. Scope included open and enclosed office space, newsroom spaces, production areas, and executive offices.
* Gannett Tower: 12 Stories; USA TODAY Tower: 9 Stories.
* 2,048 Parking Spaces In Structured And Grade Parking.
* Atrium with Engineered Smoke Control System.
* 4,000 SF Data Center Plus Additional IT Spaces Throughout Facility.
* 2,400 Ton Chilled Water System.
* Site Amenities Included Guard House, Softball Field, Volleyball Courts and Tennis Court.
* Helistop (Per FAA Regulations).
* 4 Megawatt Standby Generator System.
* 750 KVA Redundant UPS Distribution System.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Coming up roses
December 17, 2009
Dear colleagues:
As we celebrate the holiday season, I want to take a moment to thank you for all of your tremendous work and support for Gannett in 2009.
It has been a difficult year on many fronts but we are closing out the year on a far more positive note than how it began. Our company is much stronger and better positioned, we are seeing encouraging signs that advertising is coming back and our revenue results so far in the fourth quarter are the best we have had all year.
During the course of the year, in an extraordinarily challenging economy, we maintained a healthy level of profitability, moved our core media properties forward and continued to invest and build out our digital businesses. Not many companies have been able to achieve what we have this year and this is testament to your hard work, commitment and talent. I know it has not been easy and I greatly appreciate all that you have contributed and sacrificed during a very trying time.
We head into the new year with good momentum – but also with some caution and pragmatism about how the economy will perform in the early months of the year. Thanks to your efforts and the disciplined way we approached this year, Gannett is strong and able to continue moving ahead in what we hope will be a year of greater economic stability.
Thank you again for your good work. I wish you and your families a very happy and safe holiday season and the very best in the new year.
Sincerely,
Craig
Monday, March 23, 2009
Craig's going to lose about 20 grand in his weeklong furlough
Dear Co-workers:
We are about to begin the second quarter without any real relief in sight from this unprecedented economic downturn and its challenge to our company. Despite all of your truly remarkable efforts to reverse the trend, our revenue numbers continue their downward slide and we have been faced with more difficult decisions.
One of those choices was between more layoffs or another round of furloughs. We chose, for most employees, a furlough program consisting of at least one week of unpaid leave to be taken in April, May or June.
The program will differ from the first quarter’s in a couple of important ways:
* The length of the furlough for employees will vary somewhat by division or location, depending on the division’s operating needs and results.
* Our higher salaried employees will be asked to make an additional sacrifice. This could be a second furlough week or a week’s furlough plus a temporary salary reduction equivalent to one week’s pay for the quarter, depending on the division and/or location.
* Some hourly employees will not be required to take a full week. Each division or location will have different requirements for employees in this category.
Because of the variations, your division head will be the main source of information about your particular program. Memos will be going out shortly to each of you with specific details.
Corporate employees will be participating, as with the first quarter’s program, including all of our company officers and me. Corporate’s memo will come from Gracia.
There will be some exemptions, similar to the first quarter’s program. For instance, some locations that recently have had, or are in the midst of, layoffs or significant salary reductions will be exempt. Represented employees again will be asked to participate in lieu of layoffs.
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. We believe this is the best possible course, given the alternatives.
We also need to keep innovating, selling ads and reaching out to audiences to prepare for the return of the economy. When that happens, I believe we will be well prepared to move quickly and take advantage of the new opportunities.
Again, I must thank you all for your hard work, loyalty and dedication. I am truly looking forward to the day I can send an email that congratulates you on getting us through these hard times.
That day isn’t here yet, but I believe it will be. So we must continue to do whatever we can to keep Gannett strong and prepare for the future.
Sincerely,
Craig
We are about to begin the second quarter without any real relief in sight from this unprecedented economic downturn and its challenge to our company. Despite all of your truly remarkable efforts to reverse the trend, our revenue numbers continue their downward slide and we have been faced with more difficult decisions.
One of those choices was between more layoffs or another round of furloughs. We chose, for most employees, a furlough program consisting of at least one week of unpaid leave to be taken in April, May or June.
The program will differ from the first quarter’s in a couple of important ways:
* The length of the furlough for employees will vary somewhat by division or location, depending on the division’s operating needs and results.
* Our higher salaried employees will be asked to make an additional sacrifice. This could be a second furlough week or a week’s furlough plus a temporary salary reduction equivalent to one week’s pay for the quarter, depending on the division and/or location.
* Some hourly employees will not be required to take a full week. Each division or location will have different requirements for employees in this category.
Because of the variations, your division head will be the main source of information about your particular program. Memos will be going out shortly to each of you with specific details.
Corporate employees will be participating, as with the first quarter’s program, including all of our company officers and me. Corporate’s memo will come from Gracia.
There will be some exemptions, similar to the first quarter’s program. For instance, some locations that recently have had, or are in the midst of, layoffs or significant salary reductions will be exempt. Represented employees again will be asked to participate in lieu of layoffs.
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. We believe this is the best possible course, given the alternatives.
We also need to keep innovating, selling ads and reaching out to audiences to prepare for the return of the economy. When that happens, I believe we will be well prepared to move quickly and take advantage of the new opportunities.
Again, I must thank you all for your hard work, loyalty and dedication. I am truly looking forward to the day I can send an email that congratulates you on getting us through these hard times.
That day isn’t here yet, but I believe it will be. So we must continue to do whatever we can to keep Gannett strong and prepare for the future.
Sincerely,
Craig
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Dubow slashes his own pay to $60,000 per week in wake of corporate free-fall
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE/ AP Business Writer
Gannett Co. slashed its chief executive’s pay package by 60 percent last year, passing along the financial misery that has tormented the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as its stock price and profit shrank amid an industrywide drop in advertising revenue.
CEO Craig Dubow was granted 2008 compensation valued at $3.1 million, based on The Associated Press’ analysis of figures Gannett filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. That’s down from 2007 compensation of $7.9 million, which included estimates provided by the company of stock options that overstate what they are currently worth.
As big as the decline in Dubow’s 2008 pay package was, it still fell short of the 79 percent plunge in Gannett’s market value that erased $8 billion in shareholder wealth last year.
The AP calculations include executives’ salary, bonus, incentives, perquisites, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. It is based on an amended SEC filing that includes changes Gannett made to explain the value of Dubow’s stock awards more clearly than the McLean, Va.-based company’s initial disclosures on Tuesday.
Gannett, which publishes USA Today and more than 80 smaller daily newspapers, has been scrambling to cope as the recession has exacerbated revenue declines from a years-long shift of advertising from the print medium to less expensive alternatives on the Internet, particularly with classified ads. Gannett’s annual ad revenue from publishing fell 21 percent since 2006 to $4.15 billion last year.
Although it’s considered to be in better financial shape than many newspaper publishers, Gannett still lost $6.6 billion last year. Most of the loss stemmed from non-cash charges to account for the crumbling value of Gannett’s newspapers and the costs of eliminating more than 4,000 jobs last year, or about 10 percent of the company’s work force.
Girding for even tougher times ahead, Gannett last month decided to cut its stock dividend for the first time in its history. The 90 percent reduction in the quarterly payout will deprive shareholders of about $325 million during the next year.
Beginning this year, the company also has stopped paying for Dubow’s home security to save money.
Dubow’s 2008 pay consisted mostly of a $1.17 million base salary and a $875,000 bonus.
The salary reflects Dubow’s decision to lower his own annual base pay to $1 million in November from $1.2 million, a 17 percent reduction that will remain in effect through 2009. He also is relinquishing another $19,200 this year under a cost-cutting program requiring most of Gannett’s U.S. employees to take an unpaid week off before April.
Gannett’s board cut Dubow’s 2008 bonus in half, to $875,000, after concluding that an even more drastic reduction wouldn’t be appropriate because he and his top lieutenants had already been punished by the company’s falling stock price.
All of the stock options that Gannett has awarded its top executives during the past eight years wouldn’t generate a profit now because their cost to exercise the options is higher than the current value of the stock. The phenomenon, which is affecting more executives and even some rank-and-file workers throughout the country, is known as being “under water.”
Dubow’s compensation included another 235,000 stock options that were valued at $817,800 when they were awarded in February 2008. The options have an exercise price of $31.75, meaning Gannett’s shares will have to rise by about 13-fold for Dubow to have a chance to profit from them. Gannett shares rose 2 cents on Wednesday to $2.46.
In December, Gannett gave Dubow 100,000 shares of restricted stock valued at $132,000.
The company estimated that restricted stock that Dubow received in previous years have plummeted by about $3.5 million, or 87 percent. Dubow hasn’t been able to sell his restricted stock because of Gannett’s rules requiring its executives to own significant stakes in the company.
Dubow’s 2008 compensation package was rounded out by $144,002 to pay for his life insurance, company car, personal use of the corporate jet, lunches and home security.
Gannett Co. slashed its chief executive’s pay package by 60 percent last year, passing along the financial misery that has tormented the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as its stock price and profit shrank amid an industrywide drop in advertising revenue.
CEO Craig Dubow was granted 2008 compensation valued at $3.1 million, based on The Associated Press’ analysis of figures Gannett filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. That’s down from 2007 compensation of $7.9 million, which included estimates provided by the company of stock options that overstate what they are currently worth.
As big as the decline in Dubow’s 2008 pay package was, it still fell short of the 79 percent plunge in Gannett’s market value that erased $8 billion in shareholder wealth last year.
The AP calculations include executives’ salary, bonus, incentives, perquisites, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. It is based on an amended SEC filing that includes changes Gannett made to explain the value of Dubow’s stock awards more clearly than the McLean, Va.-based company’s initial disclosures on Tuesday.
Gannett, which publishes USA Today and more than 80 smaller daily newspapers, has been scrambling to cope as the recession has exacerbated revenue declines from a years-long shift of advertising from the print medium to less expensive alternatives on the Internet, particularly with classified ads. Gannett’s annual ad revenue from publishing fell 21 percent since 2006 to $4.15 billion last year.
Although it’s considered to be in better financial shape than many newspaper publishers, Gannett still lost $6.6 billion last year. Most of the loss stemmed from non-cash charges to account for the crumbling value of Gannett’s newspapers and the costs of eliminating more than 4,000 jobs last year, or about 10 percent of the company’s work force.
Girding for even tougher times ahead, Gannett last month decided to cut its stock dividend for the first time in its history. The 90 percent reduction in the quarterly payout will deprive shareholders of about $325 million during the next year.
Beginning this year, the company also has stopped paying for Dubow’s home security to save money.
Dubow’s 2008 pay consisted mostly of a $1.17 million base salary and a $875,000 bonus.
The salary reflects Dubow’s decision to lower his own annual base pay to $1 million in November from $1.2 million, a 17 percent reduction that will remain in effect through 2009. He also is relinquishing another $19,200 this year under a cost-cutting program requiring most of Gannett’s U.S. employees to take an unpaid week off before April.
Gannett’s board cut Dubow’s 2008 bonus in half, to $875,000, after concluding that an even more drastic reduction wouldn’t be appropriate because he and his top lieutenants had already been punished by the company’s falling stock price.
All of the stock options that Gannett has awarded its top executives during the past eight years wouldn’t generate a profit now because their cost to exercise the options is higher than the current value of the stock. The phenomenon, which is affecting more executives and even some rank-and-file workers throughout the country, is known as being “under water.”
Dubow’s compensation included another 235,000 stock options that were valued at $817,800 when they were awarded in February 2008. The options have an exercise price of $31.75, meaning Gannett’s shares will have to rise by about 13-fold for Dubow to have a chance to profit from them. Gannett shares rose 2 cents on Wednesday to $2.46.
In December, Gannett gave Dubow 100,000 shares of restricted stock valued at $132,000.
The company estimated that restricted stock that Dubow received in previous years have plummeted by about $3.5 million, or 87 percent. Dubow hasn’t been able to sell his restricted stock because of Gannett’s rules requiring its executives to own significant stakes in the company.
Dubow’s 2008 compensation package was rounded out by $144,002 to pay for his life insurance, company car, personal use of the corporate jet, lunches and home security.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
"Most" employees get furloughs
Today Gannett is implementing a furlough program across all U.S. divisions and at corporate headquarters. This means that most of our U.S. employees - including myself and all other top executives - will be furloughed for the equivalent of one week in the first quarter. This furlough will be unpaid. Unions also will be asked to participate.
We are doing this to preserve our operations and continue to deliver for our customers while confronting the issues raised by some of the most difficult economic conditions we have ever experienced.
After much consideration, we decided a furlough program would be the fairest and least intrusive way to meet these fiscal challenges in the first quarter, which is traditionally the lightest time of the year. We sincerely hope this minimizes the need for any layoffs going forward.
As the day goes on, you will be receiving information from your division presidents explaining the program, including some FAQs to help answer any of your questions and address your concerns about pay and benefits.
We have made some very difficult decisions this past year, all with the goal of keeping Gannett strong and preparing for the future. I understand I have asked a great deal of you, and I regret adding to your burden with this program.
But my sincere hope is that this step removes the need to do anything more drastic, and that business conditions improve. As always, I thank you for your patience and loyalty to Gannett.
We are doing this to preserve our operations and continue to deliver for our customers while confronting the issues raised by some of the most difficult economic conditions we have ever experienced.
After much consideration, we decided a furlough program would be the fairest and least intrusive way to meet these fiscal challenges in the first quarter, which is traditionally the lightest time of the year. We sincerely hope this minimizes the need for any layoffs going forward.
As the day goes on, you will be receiving information from your division presidents explaining the program, including some FAQs to help answer any of your questions and address your concerns about pay and benefits.
We have made some very difficult decisions this past year, all with the goal of keeping Gannett strong and preparing for the future. I understand I have asked a great deal of you, and I regret adding to your burden with this program.
But my sincere hope is that this step removes the need to do anything more drastic, and that business conditions improve. As always, I thank you for your patience and loyalty to Gannett.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Christmas message from Craig Dubow
Dear Co-workers:
As this painful and difficult year closes, I wanted everyone at Gannett to know how much I appreciate your hard work, support and concern for our business. We could not have come this far, through these tough times, without the willingness of everyone here to give this company their all.
I want to assure you that relative to our media peers and many other industries, Gannett is transforming and leading the way. We are profitable, and our debt is moderate.
Gannett is in this position because of your hard work and sacrifices and because we made and executed on tough decisions throughout the year. We managed our cash and our debt. We've decided what to buy and what not to buy. And we've made the toughest decision of all: to keep expenses in line with revenues.
I know, as well as anyone here, that the decision to layoff employees is unpopular and wrenching. But acting as we have allows us to move forward in this recession and support the mission of our newspapers and TV stations while positioning ourselves for the digital future.
We can do this because we have a solid strategic plan. We are executing on it and we will be prepared to move quickly when the economy improves.
Our plan is to grow our digital business in a way that takes full advantage of our local strengths and our national footprint. The plan is about making smart acquisitions and partnerships such as becoming the majority owner of CareerBuilder; buying out our partners in ShopLocal and merging it with PointRoll; investing in Mogulus and 4INFO; and rolling out our internal and external digital ad networks.
Our plan is about innovation, such as the bold step of changing the newspaper paradigm in Detroit or launching ContentOne, which will change the way we share information throughout the company and with vendors.
Next year will continue to be difficult. But it also will be a year of solid management and great experimentation - of trying new ways to deliver information in ways customers want and need it. In the end, that is what we are all about and have been for more than 100 years.
Thank you all, and my best wishes for a brighter, happier new year.
(Translation)
Dear Co-workers,
Because we executives at Gannett care more about increasing our own salaries than we do about advancing local news media during this difficult time of transition for newspapers, we are going to focus on acquiring companies and services that have absolutely nothing to do with quality journalism, such as the aforementioned CareerBuilder. With any luck, these acquisitions will allow us executives to continue filling our coffers while the quality of our local newspapers and online media outlets continues to suffer. Also, though we pretend otherwise, these acquisitions will probably have no good short-term or long-term effects on the company, and you will all probably be laid off by March. Happy holidays!
Love,
Craig
— Provided by News and Information Center Employee who doesn't want to lose job
As this painful and difficult year closes, I wanted everyone at Gannett to know how much I appreciate your hard work, support and concern for our business. We could not have come this far, through these tough times, without the willingness of everyone here to give this company their all.
I want to assure you that relative to our media peers and many other industries, Gannett is transforming and leading the way. We are profitable, and our debt is moderate.
Gannett is in this position because of your hard work and sacrifices and because we made and executed on tough decisions throughout the year. We managed our cash and our debt. We've decided what to buy and what not to buy. And we've made the toughest decision of all: to keep expenses in line with revenues.
I know, as well as anyone here, that the decision to layoff employees is unpopular and wrenching. But acting as we have allows us to move forward in this recession and support the mission of our newspapers and TV stations while positioning ourselves for the digital future.
We can do this because we have a solid strategic plan. We are executing on it and we will be prepared to move quickly when the economy improves.
Our plan is to grow our digital business in a way that takes full advantage of our local strengths and our national footprint. The plan is about making smart acquisitions and partnerships such as becoming the majority owner of CareerBuilder; buying out our partners in ShopLocal and merging it with PointRoll; investing in Mogulus and 4INFO; and rolling out our internal and external digital ad networks.
Our plan is about innovation, such as the bold step of changing the newspaper paradigm in Detroit or launching ContentOne, which will change the way we share information throughout the company and with vendors.
Next year will continue to be difficult. But it also will be a year of solid management and great experimentation - of trying new ways to deliver information in ways customers want and need it. In the end, that is what we are all about and have been for more than 100 years.
Thank you all, and my best wishes for a brighter, happier new year.
(Translation)
Dear Co-workers,
Because we executives at Gannett care more about increasing our own salaries than we do about advancing local news media during this difficult time of transition for newspapers, we are going to focus on acquiring companies and services that have absolutely nothing to do with quality journalism, such as the aforementioned CareerBuilder. With any luck, these acquisitions will allow us executives to continue filling our coffers while the quality of our local newspapers and online media outlets continues to suffer. Also, though we pretend otherwise, these acquisitions will probably have no good short-term or long-term effects on the company, and you will all probably be laid off by March. Happy holidays!
Love,
Craig
— Provided by News and Information Center Employee who doesn't want to lose job
Monday, November 3, 2008
Dubow takes 17 percent pay cut or $200,000 a year
Gannett Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Dubow today announced that he will take a voluntary $200,000 (17%) salary reduction beginning November 1 and continuing through 2009. Also, all company and divisional officers will have their salaries frozen for 2009.
"All Gannett employees are making deep sacrifices for their company," said Dubow. "I have great empathy for those employees and their families who have lost their jobs. I also recognize that our employees are working harder and harder to produce results in a challenging business environment. But I firmly believe the steps we are taking now are necessary and will serve as the foundation for our future success. I want to thank all our employees for their patience and loyalty during these difficult times."
Gannett Presiding Director Karen Hastie Williams said: "We commend Craig for his leadership in taking this step. The Board is well aware that the company and the media industry generally are experiencing difficult times. The Board believes that the company's strategic plan has set the right course given the secular and cyclical challenges the company faces. The Board continues to support Craig and his management team and their efforts to lead Gannett into the future."
---
Oh, what a huge sacrifice! It's a good thing bonuses and stock options are the real money
"All Gannett employees are making deep sacrifices for their company," said Dubow. "I have great empathy for those employees and their families who have lost their jobs. I also recognize that our employees are working harder and harder to produce results in a challenging business environment. But I firmly believe the steps we are taking now are necessary and will serve as the foundation for our future success. I want to thank all our employees for their patience and loyalty during these difficult times."
Gannett Presiding Director Karen Hastie Williams said: "We commend Craig for his leadership in taking this step. The Board is well aware that the company and the media industry generally are experiencing difficult times. The Board believes that the company's strategic plan has set the right course given the secular and cyclical challenges the company faces. The Board continues to support Craig and his management team and their efforts to lead Gannett into the future."
---
Oh, what a huge sacrifice! It's a good thing bonuses and stock options are the real money
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