Friday, November 1, 2013

The death spiral continues.

Well, looks like the CL has more problems this week, some of them self-inflicted.  Gannett kicked the general manager and editor of VIP to the curb.  Sources at the newspaper inform JJ the publication made a profit of $25,000 last month. Apparently that wasn't good enough.  Gannett also fired the suburban reporters a couple of months ago and assigned their duties to the VIP staff.  Brilliant.  Kill off one of the few divisions actually making money.  Then the digital sales staff quit yesterday. Yup.   That is the digital sales staff for the CL.  How many ways can you shoot yourself in the foot?

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a former freelancer for that 'newspaper', it doesn't surprise me one iota. How can you tell if a Gannett exec is lying? When they open their mouths...

Anonymous said...

And ... Moon Street is suddenly in West Jackson instead of on the NW border of Midtown.

Anonymous said...

Let me guess. The illiterate Jimmie Gates is still there.

Anonymous said...

If they wanted to save money they could take the very very few people in the downtown office and move them to one of the 4 distro buildings not used, then sell the Congress St location for condo development.

Anonymous said...

My business partner lives in Madison. The new delivery person in his neighborhood cam around offering a free 30 day subscription and my partner told him "no thanks". I bought a CL after the Ole Miss v LSU game a couple of weeks ago for $2 and it wasn't worth it.

Anonymous said...

One day business school students will study Gannett as a case study on how to kill a business.

Anonymous said...

How do you take the #1 newsprint source for news in the State of MS and run it into the ground? Step 1 - sell to Gannett

Anonymous said...

i stopped the cl because they did away with the print version of the clinton news. we have a very successful local paper now--it does not have a 'revenue problem'

Anonymous said...

The travesty in all this is that they've destroyed the magazine. In the past three years, it has evolved from fluff to a legitimate local magazine with a big market look and interesting content. That ends immediately. They'll squeak a December issue out because the concept had already been established and stories had been assigned. The real test will be after that. I suspect it will take no time for word to get out and contract renewals will go over the cliff right along with VIP. RIP.

Anonymous said...

We're in Madison, and the very nice young man offered us the free trial subscription, too. Thanks, but not worth the complications... Frankly, as white Protestants, we're tired of seeing our people demonized and belittled in mainstream media, and aren't interested in supporting (even by accepting a free paper) venues which seem to glorify and justify our dispossession and replacement. (The televisions, by the way, haven't been unpacked from our last move, and may stay in the storage room for good).

Anonymous said...

6:51 While we have TV (one) we don't have cable, only "rabbit ears" for digital reception. The result? One child was valedictorian, another does very well on the academic team. This is one of the best moves we made as parents.

Anonymous said...

YAWN ... SSnnnooorrreeee .... ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

Anonymous said...

Triple or quadruple homicide in Jackson. Where do you find it in today's issue? Single column story in section B or C or D. It is no longer a local newspaper with a local staff.

Paper in The Driveway said...

How many salaries do you geniuses think a $25,000 profit can support?

Anonymous said...

Profit means everyone's salaries, and the bills, had already been paid, but I am no genius.

Anonymous said...

"...but I'm no genius". You're telling me! A magazine section with small profit doesn't support itself, much less salaries.

Anonymous said...

9:31 magazine did $800,000+ a year. It supported plenty you idiot.

Anonymous said...

And that's profit per MONTH, you idiot.

Anonymous said...

I tried to subscribe to the online paper twice. Once, I did it all online with a credit card and they gave me the paper for one month, never charged the card and then denied access. I called and got the run around. Then I tried again and got them to send me a bill in the mail. I wrote my credit card number on the bill and checked the box that enabled the payment to recur monthly. It went one month and they kicked me off again. I called to check on it and they saw me in the system but didn't know what happened. After that, I decided if they are too incompetent to take money, then I refuse to support them. I only wanted local events, news etc. anyway. I get my national news elsewhere.

I still get their headlines emailed to me daily. If I see something I like I goggle it and find the same story elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

What a train wreck. VIP had actually developed into a quality publication with interesting stories....best thing the CL has done in a very long time. I just got my new one Sunday and read it cover to cover. It's a shame that the CL wasted the team that turned it around to a classy pub. Way to go Gannett!!!

Kingfish said...

Gets better. Annie Oeth is going to run it.

Anonymous said...

you can check out Mary Ann Kirby's facebook page and see how well she's loved, post announcement. I seriously doubt Gannett's attempt to "phase her out", according to insiders, will go too well. Rumor has it that there's already been a backlash from advertisers with the brunt of it not even to be seen yet. Good luck with that. Good luck Annie Oeth.



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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