So sorry to hear you're a victim of Gannett's horrible corporate practices on the other side of the states. Our local paper, the Asheville Citizen-Times, has undergone huge upheavals in staffing and production. The paper was produced locally for over 50 years at a printing press just down the road. They closed the press recently, outsourcing production to the Greenville, SC facility. In addition, countless editors, writers, and production staff have been laid off or forcibly removed, and existing staff are being told they have to take a mandatory week off with no pay sometime soon. If you're interested, the scuttlebutt is all over this local blog...Originally Posted by Beertigger
Technically, the giant multi-national Gannett chain has put it up for sale - or at least "certain assests" of the paper.
Informed scuttlebut says they want to shut it down, to legally open the way to pick up the other local daily, which is published by the even-worse-off Lee Enterprises.
Lee's about to be delisted from the NYSE, and they owe a billion dollars on their recent purchase of the Pulitzer chain. That's money they don't have. Last time I checked, the market cap on the entire company was $16 million.
Gannett claims to be hurting, but they still rake in money hand over fist - even as they're laying off thousands of staffers in the U.S. and in Britain.
So, because of corporate shenanigans, some 68 great journalists will be shunted aside, along with nearly a century and a half legacy of great reporting - writing, photography, editing, design, and lately video and other Internet multimedia.
I'm proud to have worked there - this has been the absolute best job I've ever had! The passion, ethics and dedication of my colleagues have been a constant inspiration.
After having a few pops of Powers last night, I'm assessing my personal way forward.
http://ashvegas.squarespace.com/journal/
Might be some similarities there between their situations and yours. Just as a side note, I do not work for the paper or for Gannett, but I was in printing/advertising with a local real estate magazine until December when I got laid off. I have a huge interest in the print industry in general as my career, so I have been following it closely.
Best of luck... As it was so famously written long ago, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...'
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