;)
Asheville Citizen-Times lay-off toll mounts
Thursday, July 9, 2009 I've received more information about today's lay-offs at the Asheville Citizen-Times. The total stands at either 15 or 16, depending on the intel.
I have the names of all of were pink-slipped, but for the blog post purposes, I'll just report the number of positions per department. Some folks I knew, some I did not.
In the maintenance department, two people got axed, including a long-time maintenance man who knew the building like the back of his hand. In advertising, the toll stands at 4 pinked, including one of the sweetest people I ever knew in that department.
I hear that two other people in the advertising department are leaving their jobs of their own accord, and those positions will not be filled.
In the newsroom, a total of five people got cut, including the two reporters for the Mountain News whom I've already named. Julie Ball was one of the damn finest reporters I ever had the pleasure of working with. Andre Rodriguez was a hard-working journalist who worked his way up from a part-time obit clerk to full-time reporter.
One person in the online department, one person in the IT department and one person in the pre-press department lost their jobs.
Finally, a woman who has been working the front counter of the newspaper for several years - one of the many public faces of the newspaper - lost her job. I knew her as a helpful person who cared about Citizen-Times customers.
I feel for everyone who lost their job today at the Asheville Citizen-Times, as well as the hundreds of Gannett employees across the country who have been cut this week. It hurts my heart to see the death of the newspaper industry, and the damage being done to the pursuit of journalism in general.
The best to all.
Asheville Citizen-Times, newspapers
Reader Comments (23)
It's a sad sad time in this country.
This sucks!
Julie is a class act.
And Andre is such a good dude and hard worker.
I cannot believe the impact the Internet has had on news and most other media ---- or rather media as we used to know it.
So sorry for everyone at the AC-T and disillusioned at the state of Gannett in general.
It is scary to see this happening at one of America's greatest media companies.
Would you like fries with that?
So I am still to think that Asheville needs two high Marketing Salaries?
It is a shame to learn about all of those former colleagues who are no longer there, shafted by a greedy media company.
I hope that things will turn around for those who still hang on at the C-T but I know I saw the writing on the wall when I decided to get out of the game even before I really had a chance to play - Gannett jand other corporations just don't care about real journalism or the people who make their papers possible. Like so much in this world, it's all about the dollar signs.
having worked there....
The AC-T is still very very profitable. Just not ENOUGH profit to give the Gannetteers their 30% anymore. Still profitable, yet so many layoffs... *sigh*
Gannett is not so much a business model as it is a mafia shakedown model.
Wouldn't it be nice if a local business person could "White Knight" the AC-T, buy it from Gannett, and restore it to its former prominence? I'm sure a local owner would be quite happy with "only" a 15-20% profit margin and keep it all for themselves...
I agree with much of what you say, but I worked at the C-T, too and it is NOT a great paper.
It's barely GOOD on most days. I do read several newspapers (mostly online) and I do buy local as often as I can. The CT is a bunch of cops briefs and hasn't had a real watchdog article in years -- at least 2 executive editors ago.
I'm not trying to be hateful, but it's damn near lousy most days and not worth the 75 cents -- which, in terms of what a newspaper OUGHT to be, is a theoretical bargain.
Instead it feels like a waste of money. I canceled my subscription and doubt I will ever renew it.
Delivery was poor -- can't blame the drivers much, though, because they don't earn squat on a "paper route -- and the product was weak.
As your own John Boyle said (sorry if I'm wrongly assuming you work there -- and reeallly sorry if you actually do) the drivers must feel like they're tossing tissue on people's lawns when they bring the Monday paper.
Except it's not just Monday. Which is a shame. Really.
To: A proud tiny timer
From: used to be in News
Can't be proud of a paper that runs sunblock stories, National Enquirer photos and Dallas Cowboy cheerleader photos. The CT lost my subscription a long time ago. What you haven't figured out in your ivory tower is that it is not the internet that is killing newspapers, it is people like Hatchet Hammer that believe you can cost cut and consolidate your way to 30% margins.
How can you gloat the day after 15+ of your fellow employees lost their jobs about a great paper? Hah! You are like Hatchet Hammer. As long as you still get paid it doesn't matter that the lowly people lose their jobs. Who was it in the Wizard of Oz that didn't have a heart? The tin man??
But therein is the rub in Asheville -- the ad dept. for years and years has been allowed to maintain a level of incompetence that is baffling. Sales reps and sales managers in the AC-T ad dept. are not scrutinized as hard as others at the paper.
In years past, they have been treated with kid gloves and praised for half-ass efforts. If the AC-T had a killer ad team that was willing to truly be innovative, the paper wouldn't be in such bad shape. Ad management is to blame, too, for not taking care of problem people and for not getting sales reps to aggressively pursue new business segments -- not just the same old historic standbys (like car dealerships, which are now struggling).
Yes, Gannett is a monster in terms of demanding dizzying profits. Yes, the news stories could be more relevant and even more community-oriented.
But the buck stops -- literally -- with the ad dept. Get some folks who are truly hungry to sell and they will. AND get some managers who are willing to take care of underperformers BEFORE the place implodes and there may -- MAY -- be an AC-T left standing. Personally, I think it's too late and I think the future of the AC-T consists of an online presence and perhaps a Western North Carolina "edition" (i.e., a page or two) of the Greenville News. I sure wish another news organization like Mountain X would consider going daily, if online only, to start with. WNC needs local news coverage and not just via WLOS.
There is very little hard news in the paper. No investigative reporting; a miniscule business news section and the life and features are a joke. Most days, the paper is now so thin that it is hardly worth picking up.
Even the editorials are weak and hardly worth a glance. Remember when it used to call itself "The Voice of the Mountains"? The paper has very little influence in our communities any longer.
I personally can find out a lot more about what's happening in our city by reading Ashvegas or reading the Mountain Express.
it's is a real pity to see this newspaper fall so far, so very fast. i'm just not sure daily local newspapers have much of a future in asheville, or anywhere these days for that matter. times have changed and people get their news elsewhere.
We cancelled our subscription a long time ago. I can't think of anybody I know we reads it, or even talks about seeing something in the newspaper. It used to be different, but that is just the way it is today.