Posted on 11/15/2007 11:46:16 AM PST by abb
Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko Date/Time: 11/15/2007 2:03:54 PM Title: USA Today to eliminate 45 newsroom positions Posted By: Jim Romenesko
Memo from USA Today's editor
To: The Newsroom Staff From: Ken Paulson
We had a full auditorium at today's staff meeting, but I wanted to follow up with a brief note for those who were unable to join us in person or by phone.
At today's meeting, we discussed the economic realties that will require elimination of 45 newsroom positions.
It's unfortunate that we have to take these steps, particularly when our newspaper circulation is growing and USATODAY.com has been named the top news website in the country by the Online News Association. Unfortunately, revenue has not kept pace and we're now facing the same cutbacks that so many other news organizations have already experienced.
The job eliminations will be done on a voluntary basis in the form of buyouts for staffers with 15 years or more of Gannett experience and less than five years of online experience. Departments will exclude certain key positions based on strategic needs in 2008. We hope to achieve all job reductions through voluntary buyouts, but job eliminations are possible if we don't have enough applicants.
We'll meet with every department today to provide details on eligibility for the buyouts and answer any questions you may have.
ping
I hope they let go the person or persons who wrote yesterday’s editorial advocating mandatory national firearm registration — in order, they claim, to stop criminals and psycho killers!
Did not know USA Today contained news.
But psycho killers and criminal always register their firearms and take their vitamin C and rotate their tires.
Seriously, how could their circulation go up and revenue down?
I guess they give it away too much, Joe.
McPaper made a big mistake not offering fries....
The USA Today I saw yesterday was a freebie — I’d never pay for one.
So now the stories will be 15 words long, instead of 25 words long. Those smug, PC bastards richly deserve this.
Agreed...
The only reason that “circulation is growing” stems from the fact that they are dropping off a greater number of copies to be handed out free at motels across the nation...
That’s what they get for not allowing excerpts on FR. If Gannett would get with the program, revenues might improve.
This is no loss. HO HO HO!
Great news BUMP!
...how many so called “news room” “writers” are really required to extract/copy the 1st, 3rd, and 5th sentences from AP and/or al-reuters wires copy and post them as “pretend” news articles
Every hotel I’ve stayed at for the past three years (over fifteen hotels)...has given out USA Today at the front desk. They tacked the 50 cents onto the price of the room....which is the sad part of this story.
Many of these people will just join the Hillary for President campaign. Correct?
They have an absolutely HUGE building out in Falls Church {or maybe Faixfax}, anyway in suburban northern VA, and a HUGE staff doing I don’t know what. I was in that newsroom once several years ago and there was a army of them. I figured they must each write or extract copy from one story every three weeks. And their editorial page, which always takes BOTH SIDES of every debate, is laughable.
Guess we won't be having anymore of those "full auditorium's" eh?....snicker
Refuse to pay the .50 cents and sound like you mean it. The charge will go away, believe me I know.
While the USA Today story is overwhelmingly positive, it's also a case study in fuzzy math and the newspaper industry's measurement system. You see, USA Today doesn't get bought by 2.3 million people -- at least not in the traditional sense of the word "bought." Instead, they carpet the hallways of America's hotels, making "The Nation's Newspaper" more like The Nation's Doormat.
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