my 2 cents

Here we go again ... It's Gannett's turn this time

Top executives' greed vs. sensible cost-cutting

 

Note added  April 11... Looks like David Carr at The New York Times agrees... 7 weeks later.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote in this space about my disgust with The New York Times for giving its top executives large raises and  
especially the 35% raise to its President and CEO, Janet Robinson  (putting her annual salary up from $4.1 million to $5.5 million).  These moves were made just as the paper was forcing its newsroom and other employees to accept a 5% wage cut, in the face of a first-quarter 2009 operating loss of  $61.6 million.

I said then that all the paper's problems certainly couldn't be laid at Mrs. Robinson's feet, but I wondered what sort of leadership, ethics and common public relations sense she and her Board must have to make such a move at that time.

Well, here we go again, except this time the greedy culprit is Gannett, which has been instituting some hefty layoffs at its papers over the past two years.  Some of those layoff have been done in a brutal and demeaning way, as I noted when they began to take place in August, 2009.

MediaPost reported today about a story in Gannett Blog, which I'll admit has a biased viewpoint since it is written by a former USA Today editor and is populated by comments from disgruntled current and former Gannett employees.  That caveat aside, Gannett Blog points out some real greed and questionable management judgment at the publishing giant.

Gannett's newspaper division has shed, the blog says, nearly 7,000 employees since 2008 -- a cut of more than 20%.  No doubt, there was some fat that needed to be eliminated.  And cutting personnel is often the fastest way to initiate cost-savings to help the bottom line.

But where is the sense -- or the morality -- in paying the CEO nearly $5 million, including a cash bonus of $1.45 million, even as 2,000 employees were laid off throughout that year?  The Gannett Blog says the company's annual report will disclose next month how much the CEOs pay and bonus was in 2010, as nearly 10% of the newspaper division's staff was cut.

Does it seem to you, as it does to me, that something doesn't smell right here?  Greed appears to trump common sense, morality, employee morale and public image.   And perhaps it's impacting good news coverage and journalism, too.

Blogs still have a place in marketing arsenal

Despite Pew Research study, blogs are a viable marketing tool  

 

The New York Times on Sunday reported on a Pew Research study that finds blogging has declined by half among teens.  But the Times' headline, "Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter," can be misinterpreted.  I don't think blogging is dying... not at all. 

 

Before Twitter and Facebook gained popularity, young people saw blogging as a way to express themselves and share diary-like thoughts with the world.  Soon after, others -- including marketers -- began blogging as a way to share information with customers and prospects and as a way to (pardon the use of jargon) "engage" with customers.  Blogging also became, for many professionals like me, a way to build an online presence and demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a given area.

Many of those who used blogs as an open-book diary or personal journal have migrated to Twitter and Facebook, where no heavy thinking or the heavy lifting of extensive writing is necessary. In fact, Twitter, with its 140-character limit, seems perfectly suited for so much of the inane chatter that dominates social media.  Better to let it clog up Twitter and Facebook than to have a few more pointless ramblings in the blogosphere.

I do sometimes tweet to share a thought or refer people to something interesting online, but mostly I use Twitter and Facebook as a platform to pomt people to my blog.  And marketers can use 140 characters on Twitter to get readers to visit a company blog, where a well-written and thoughtful dialogue can be conducted.

The Pew report notes that as teens are losing interest in blogging, the longer form of expression is picking up with middle age and older adults.  Among 34 - 45-year olds online, the percentage who blog has risien six percentage points in the past two years, to 16 percent.  Among 46 - 55 year olds, blogging has increased by five percentrage poinmts, to 11 percent.

Maybe many of us in middle age and beyond feel no need to tell the world every time we go to the supermarket, nor do we need to tell readers online if we can't decide between hazelnut or vanilla latte when we go to Starbucks.

There's so much more to life, and blogs can let us talk about it in a meaningful and interesting way.  And for marketers who want to reach out with meaty informartion and ideas, blogs are still a good venue.

So I say... blogs are very much alive.

 

Update Feb. 23:  Cathy Taylor, writing in MediaPost, agrees.  

Weekend Thoughts ... THE Jazz Teacher

A while back, I wrote about Manhattan School of Music, which I called one of New York's hidden gems. 

A true gem within the school is my friend Justin DiCioccio, the Assistant Dean and head of the school's Jazz Division. 

I met Justin more than 20 years ago, when I ran the McDonald's PR Team in the metro New York area, and Justin directed the McDonald's High School Jazz Competition, a program McDonald's sponsored.  JD and I hit it off right away, and I saw how much the young people in the jazz program loved him as a teacher.  He's been a visionary at Manhattan School of Music, expanding the range of music that's covered within the jazz program, and bringing in top jazz musicians as teachers and as workshop presenters.  On staff, he has Bobby Sanabria, James Barron, Dave Leibman and others, and he brings in other world-class jazz masters to conduct workshops for the students.

Justin has been recognized for his excellence in teaching, named the Jazz Educator of the Year  and inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame by the International Association of Jazz Educators.  He just returned from Los Angeles, where he runs the Grammy's High School Jazz Program, which was featured on last week's Grammy's telecast.

I'm proud to have him as a friend.  And I want to share this video I just found, of Justin talking about the school and teaching jazz.

Check it out... this is a real dedicated teacher.

You’re watching Justin DiCioccio. See the Web's top videos on AOL Video

 

 

 

Product Placement: The Brits got it right

TV watchers in the UK will start seeing something new beginning next Monday -- product placement.

Here in the U.S., product placement became the new wild west of TV advertising, especially as reality shows have become so popular.  Some product placement is obvious, like the Coca-Cola cups on the desk in front of the American Idol judges.  Some is more subtle -- or maybe the word should be "sneaky."  Segments on shows like "Apprentice" and "The Biggest Loser" fit in smoothly with the show's content, but they are ads cleverly disguised as part of the show.  That may be good for the advertisers, but it's not fair and, in fact, dishonest with the viewers. 

I've written about this before.  It's a pet peeve of mine.

So I like what the British TV regulators are doing.  Product placement is being allowed, which means added revenues for the broadcasters.  But the new rules require a symbol on the screen that indicates that what you're watching is, in fact, a paid message.

Commerce is good.  But so is honesty.  The FCC should take a page from our friends across the Atlantic. 

 

   

Does an MBA help in PR?

The Ragan Report had a story last week about the value of having an MBA for a job in Public Relations.  

Before getting into the benefits, the writer notes that very few people in PR hold an MBA.  He surmises that the reason is probably because PR requires a specific range of abilities that are best learned by experience rather than study -- writing, pitching, media or community relations.

The article lists five benefits of having an MBA --

1)  It focuses your thinking on business goals.

2)  It teaches you the "dialect of the tribe,"  i.e., how to speak like a business executive.

3)  It gives you the tools to run your own shop.

4)  It pays.

5)  It grows your network.

I happen to have an MBA -- in Public Relations, of all disciplines.  I got it when I first entered the job market in the early 1970s, and Pace University in New York was one of the few schools at the time offering an MBA in PR.

I had to study the general business subjects like advanced accounting, economics and statistics, as well as a course in human dynamics.  The core courses in PR covered the history of PR, some theory and some practice. 

Ironically, the PR courses I took in grad school didn't really give me much I could use.  I really learned how PR works once I was on the job.

But the MBA did get me something valuable.  It got me my first meaningful job in PR. 

When I got my degree, my first job was assisting a PR oldtimer with a few industrial accounts.  I learned about printing inks and textile equipment, but mainly, I learned how to write.  After several months, I moved to a new, fast-growing agency where I ended up staying for 13 years, becoming a partner and a manager.  I got that job specifically because I held an MBA.

I later learned that I was one of two final candidates for the spot.  It went to me because I had an MBA.  The agency felt I would be on a more equal footing to deal with all the young MBA-types in the marketing and PR department at the client -- Hanes Hosiery.  In all honesty, the MBA didn't help me perform my job any better.  And I don't recall having "MBA chat" with my counterparts on the client side.  But the agency felt it mattered, and that's why I got the job.

I'm a firm believer in education -- any education.  Learning never goes to waste.  Even if you don't use it directly in your career, it makes you a more rounded and interesting person.  My daughter, for example, got her degree in anthropology.  She has never worked in that field.  But I saw how much the knowledge stuck when I went with her to the Museum of Natural History.  She knew so much more than what was written on the little placards on the exhibits.  

So I won't quibble with the five benefits listed above, even if I don't think each one (especially #3 and #5) is that relevant.  It's education, and that never goes to waste.

So, students -- learn what you can in school.  Get an advanced degree.  It's a good credential to have.  And when you couple it with what you really learn on the job, it can be a powerful knowledge combination.  

 

Post-Game Media Wrap-up

 

Once again, I wonder about the news judgement of some media people.

THE news of the Super Bowl yesterday was the Packers' win.  Second, in my opinion, should be problems that some fans had at the stadium when their seats were not available.  Then would come the analysis and consumer survey opinions of the ads, which are as much a part of The Game as what happens on the field itself.

But the lead story -- or the second top item -- on the morning shows both local and network was the mistake singer Christina Aquilera with the "Star Spangled Banner" lyrics.  So she made a mistake.  It's not unusual for even the top singers to flub lyrics.  Aquilera did the right thing -- she continued on.  And her apology issued later was appropriate and should lay it to rest.

But the media this morning kept pounding her.  Hell, if I were in front of tens of thousands of fans and 110 million TV viewers, I'd be lucky if I could remember my own name.  Lyrics aside, her rendition was so filled with unnecessary flourishes that it seemed a bit schmaltzy to me.

Since I didn't see the game, other than the great interception and touchdown run by Packers' Donald Driver, I also missed the ads.  I did happen to see the cute VW "Darth Vader" ad online.  It deserves all the buzz it's been getting.

So now, once the post-game analysis by the armchair coaches is done, the story may be whether or not there will even be a Super Bowl next year.  A contract dispute may be looming, between greedy players and even greedier team owners. What will advertisers do with the extra cash they'll have if they can't spend it at the rate of $2.8 million per 30-second shot?  Lower prices a bit, maybe?

Stay tuned.

 

(Don't worry, readers.  my 2 cents is NOT becoming a sports blog, despite two posts in a row on football.  Anyone who knows me knows that would never happen.)

(Super Bowl) Weekend Thoughts

Depending on which prognosticator you listen to, this year's Super Bowl TV audience will exceed 107 million and could hit 110 million in the U.S.  A select group of advertisers are paying upwards of $2.8 million per 30-second spot to have their ad run during the big game.

So much of the hype every year is about the ads, rather than the game itself.  Newspaper stories include a list of whose spots will run when during the game, and previews of some of the ads have already been shown on the entertainment shows and online.

Whatever the eventual audience turns out to be, FOX will count one less since I won't be watching the game.  Had the Jets made it, I might have tuned in periodically to check on them.  Not that I'm a fan, but I do root, root, root for the home team.

But since they're not in the game, I have absolutely no interest in it.  I'm not the typical red-blooded American male who plans his weekends around what game is playing and when.  I'm not a big beer drinker, and wings aren't among my favorite foods.   And all the hype about the ads only serves to turn me off to the whole thing.  I just don't care.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing early Sunday evening.  Maybe I'll be at the movies.  Or I'll read – I'm starting the last of the Stieg Larsson trilogy about Lisbeth Salander.  Weather permitting, I may take the dog for a long walk.

But I know won't be watching the game.  It's almost un-American, isn't it?  I'm not joining the crowd.

It's similar to how many of my fellow Jews feel on Christmas.  It's not our holiday, so what do we do?  How many times can you watch "It's a wonderful life" on TV?  Stores are closed, as are most restaurants.  Museums are closed.  Many Broadway shows are dark on Christmas.  With few options, we end up going to a movie and having Chinese food, since Chinese restaurants are just about the only ones open on Christmas.

So on Sunday, while the rest of the nation fixates on Super Bowl, I’ll be doing who-knows-what.   But I won't be sitting with beer and wings and watching the Steelers and Packers.

What are your plans, hmmm?