Raising the specter of layoffs, the Detroit Free Press and two sister operations fell well short of their target to reduce employment by 150, according to memos sent yesterday by senior executives. The buyouts, among the biggest by any Gannett business, originally came with a starkly worded warning about possible layoffs if there weren’t enough volunteers by the July 18 deadline — last Friday.
The Gannett-owned Freep, plus The Detroit News and the joint operating agency publishing both papers, first appealed for volunteers in late June. At the time, CEO Dave Hunke warned that “the environment in which newspapers operate continues to worsen rapidly.” His June 23 note also said: “If the voluntary offer doesn’t result in a sufficient number of volunteers, or if in the future, economic conditions worsen, it may be necessary to consider layoffs.”
Yesterday’s memos did not mention involuntary layoffs. Also, the memos reported conflicting totals on the number of volunteers, and did not give a complete breakdown of where the buyouts were falling by department. Human resources chief Kristi Bowden of the Detroit Media Partnership said 116 volunteers had offered to be voluntarily laid off. (The joint operating agreement partnership publishes the Freep and the formerly Gannett-owned Detroit News.) News Publisher Jon Wolman cited 115 volunteers. Both memos said all buyout applications had been accepted.
There are plenty of other questions, too: “What are the terms of the buyout? What are they offering?” a reader asks in a new comment, below.
I’ve e-mailed Bowden, asking if layoffs are now being planned.
Wolman said 11 of the 115 applications came from the News. Bowden’s memo didn’t say how the other applications were divided among the Freep and the Detroit Media Partnership’s executive staff. (Gannett sold the News three years ago to MediaNews Group as part of a complicated deal that included Knight Ridder papers.)
Buyouts amid rapid retrenchment
In his memo, Wolman said the buyouts come as the news industry overall shrinks to contend with a worsening economy. “Even so,” he wrote, “the public’s appetite for news content is enormous and growing, and we will reorganize our efforts here to maintain strong coverage. Even with a smaller staff size, I’m confident we can develop innovations that drive our coverage even higher than it is today.”
Last week alone across Gannett:
- The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., laid off 36 and eliminated 10 unfilled jobs.
- Three Central New York papers cut about 10 jobs in a consolidation of ad sales and online operations.
- The Arizona Republic offered a second round of buyouts.
- The Honolulu Advertiser laid off 54.
In Detroit, eligible staff were active, benefit-eligible employees who were at least 45 years old, with 10 years’ service as of Friday, July 18.
Is your Gannett paper, TV station or other business cutting staff through buyouts or layoffs? Please post your replies — along with relevant memos — in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
Earlier: My advice on why you should take a Gannett buyout. Plus: Next buyouts won’t be so generous
[Image: today’s Freep, Newseum]
Commentz Korner: ‘Nice to have standards,’ but…
January 2, 2008But Trammer, who also is publisher of the Star-Gazette in Elmira, N.Y., says readers treat StoryChat for what it is: unedited, unverified postings, mostly by anonymous users. “It’s nice to have standards, and we all do, but once we decide that we’re going to allow the public a voice, we have to allow the public its voice,” he tells the Journal.
Trammer compares StoryChat vs. the print paper to the Ricki Lake Show vs. Meet the Press, hosted by journalist Russert. “The fact that the Ricki Lake Show is not like Meet the Press doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have the Ricki Lake Show,” he says. “It just means that if we’re gonna tune in, we shouldn’t go to Ricki Lake expecting Meet the Press. We go to Ricki Lake and we get what it is. And that’s where we have to be with StoryChat.”
[Images: Russert, NBC; Lake, Flickr member blackmothra. Hat tip, Romenesko]
Posted in Commentz Korner, Elmira, Ithaca | 2 Comments »