Fired Newspaper Reporters Still Reporting–For Fired Newspaper Employee Blog
by Peter Kafka
Posted on December 3, 2008 at 1:06 PM PT
I’ve already pointed out a number of sites dedicated to layoff/shutdown news, and unfortunately we’re going to see more in the coming months. So I don’t intend to highlight every one. That said, here’s an illustration of what happens when a large company full of reporters fires hundreds of its workers: They report on their own firings.
That’s what’s happening at Gannett Blog, where former Gannett (GCI) employee Jim Hopkins is asking other former Gannett employees to share the details of their layoffs. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them to talk about–Hopkins, via a network of Gannett tipsters, has tallied up about 1,000 cuts just in this round alone.
Some of them pass along memos from managers announcing cuts at specific papers and publications. Others pass along unverified tips. Hopkins, a 20-year Gannett veteran who took a buyout from the newspaper chain in January, is asking people to send in their personal stories. Here’s one:
I sat across from Executive Editor and heard words: restructuring, position, sorry, future. I said nothing. I listened to HR woman painfully recite her lines and all I could think was: her day is as bad as ours. She was the only one close to tears. I walked back to my desk to get my things and gave my colleagues a sad smile. I said nothing. I started forwarding emails to my editor, tying up loose ends and then I thought: just say nothing.”
And, yes, I’m reporting on layoffs too. At Time Warner’s (TWX) Time Inc., for instance, where cuts are still ongoing, I’m told a few dozen people were laid off at the company’s IT department last week.
So if you want to pass along information, please do. It’s more helpful if you send it directly to me via peter@allthingsd.com. But if you want to be completely anonymous, you can use the blind tip box here.
