I hate Gannett.com

Dateline: Fri 07 Dec 2012

Former Indianapolis Star features writer Abe Aamidor's new story in Chicago Quarterly Review is about a young Chicago guy, bored with life at a call center, who tries to name his blog mystupidlife.com or variations thereof, but every name is always taken. Including the one with the F word.

I have yet to research IhateGannett.com but God knows I do. Here is the latest from Bobby King, and it's more bad news. Expected but still really depressing, short-sighted and hard to take. 

Anyhow, here's what King, the Guild pre at the Indy Star, sent out this week about the latest layoffs:

Dear Friends,

The Star officially gave notice Tuesday to all 10 of our page designers that their work will be ending sometime in March and transferred to the Louisville design center. 

We had hoped that at least some of the work -- at least designing A1 -- would remain here in Indianapolis, along with a few designers to do the job. But in the end, the decision is to send all the work to Louisville.

As you recall, Gannett made the outsourcing of page design a non-negotiable priority during the contract negotiation that ended in March. Through your support and our unprecedented activism, we were able to win a 4-week extension of severance benefits and this 90-day advanced notice. But Gannett wouldn’t budge on the outsourcing itself.

At the same time we were given the notice about the designers Tuesday, Editor Jeff Taylor and Managing Editor Kevin Poortinga told us that two new jobs would soon be added in The Star’s digital hub. It is our hope that those might be filled by our designers who, we’ve been assured, will be given consideration. We haven’t seen the job descriptions yet. It is also possible that one or more of the designers will take spots at the hub in Louisville.

The Guild is already working to ensure that these folks get their proper severance and benefits as called for under the contract. With that in mind, we will be closely watching this process the next three months. 

As for how the transition to the design center unfolds, much of that remains to be seen.  It’s not yet clear which sections will move to Louisville first, but we’re told it won’t all happen at once. As the work moves, the designers who performed it will be given other projects here. They are assured of jobs here at least through Mar. 4. Some are already looking at other job prospects. We wish them all the best in that pursuit.

Finally, I just want to say that all 10 of our page designers -- Stephanie Wilson, Andy Neuman, Emily Kuzniar, Cori Faklaris, Michael Jackson, Janet Schneider, Tony Griffo, Jenny French, Leo Joint and Max Roe -- are skillful people who have been diligent workers. They are people have produced award-winning pages, powerful displays and countless special sections. They have worked hand in hand with reporters, photographers, editors and the community to bring our stories to life. They’ve done it so well in part because they know the communities they serve. We’re not sure how that can be replaced. But we’re grateful for their contributions. As a footnote, they received the news today with incredible class and poise. Because that’s just who they are. 

Bobby

Comments

Ms. Cynical [unverified] said:

Anyone who thinks that corporations in the 21st century deserve loyal employees is a fool.

2012-12-07 15:02:35

farm girl [unverified] said:

Yesterday's online edition had a very long (I was always held to a 16-inch maxium) story about Carmel in the Westside section. That's what will happen more and more when out-of-towners do the work.

2012-12-07 15:56:44

hendy [Member] said:

Wait until you try to use some of the graphics on the new population shifts, clicked from the home page. None of that stuff works correctly.

They *did* however, remove the typo from the headline. I thought it was odd- and obvious-- but now I know what it really was.

I feel for those laid off. Maybe I should start reposting sources of where to find jobs with a future again.

2012-12-07 16:10:08

escapedbeforebeinggannettized [unverified] said:

Your best source for job postings is:
www.journalismjobs.com
There are some good postings on there frequently.

2012-12-07 20:19:50

Whitebeard [unverified] said:

They may have taken it so well because, at some level emotionally, they are relieved to be getting out of The Star even though they face the challenge of new employment.

I hope several months from now they can look back and say, "Man, that worked out well. I should have gotten out of there a long time ago."

Completely agree with your assessment of company loyalty, Ms. Cynical.

2012-12-08 13:43:35

Tom Greenacres [unverified] said:

Todays Sunday Star has been hit with an ugly stick. It tries to divert your attention from the absence of editorial content, not to mention the dearth of local news-- actual news-- reporting. Good thing there's nothing to report in the political and business worlds, except that the Chamber of Commerce says the government has no business collecting dues from unions or political entities(and I would add, also has no business handing out tax money to private enterprise).

2012-12-09 11:06:01

Whitebeard [unverified] said:

Excellent points, Tom.

2012-12-09 15:04:32

north face clearance [unverified] said:

I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I'm looking to construct my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. many thanks

2012-12-10 03:36:41

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