Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Former Asheville Citizen-Times reporter and manager Quintin Ellison takes on the question, as Ashvegas readers continue to consider the ramifications of a shrinking (in size and stature) Asheville Citizen-Times:
A free publication would probably be the only model that would work. I’m not sure about a co-op – explain more?
It would require good sales, but there are many many good salesfolks out there.
The bigger issue might be credibility. Here is what I really, really wish would happen: Virgil Smith would leave Gannett, pull investors together, and launch a regional publication or some type of information service. Crazy? Maybe, but his roots are deep here, his heart is here, and people would trust his judgement and business abilities. Practically every former – and probably current – AC-T journalist would be at his beck and call, as would salespeople, circulation (though I’d go free and mail it outside towns), online, you name it.
Why would he do it? Because the AC-T that he built and loved is destroyed. Because the company betrayed this newspaper, the community, and its own ideals.
The region lacks the voice that it deserves. Good people with tremendous skills are either out of work, out of the field, or laboring under horrible pressures. The company is not simply suffering the woes of a crummy economy. It was mismanaged and greedy. The good stuff – such as a real committment to diversity – has been lost in the panic to maintain unreasonably high profit margins.
I have a lot to thank Gannett for, and generally enjoyed the 10 years I spent with the company, or at least the first seven or so. But I have no respect for what is taking place, company wide or in Asheville.
As to the current management at the newspaper: Never worked for Randy Hammer, though his news credentials impressed me when he came on board. I do know that Phil Fernandez is a good guy and a fair person. I seriously doubt that either of these fellows wanted a decimated newspaper to stand as their legacy in Asheville, but that is what has happened.
I hope they are resisting. But, having done and said things as a manager in Gannett that I’m not particularly proud of myself, I have to say that the likelihood is they are probably just trying to survive. It is awfully easy to start justifying that stuff when Gannett On High issues orders.
I would like to see something fill the void, whether Virgil ever comes back or not. Why don’t I do it, the masses cry? Because it needs good business leadership. I can write a decent story when motivated, but that about sums it up. Oh, and I always thought I performed well in meetings, though sometimes I talked too much. There sure were a lot of meetings …
Jason P.s comments are on point. There is a plethora of competition in the the greater Asheville area. Many are successful because they don’t have managers to manage the managers and, more importantly, they are committed to producing quality products not making 30% profit margins.
My sources tell me that everyone is job scared at the Ctimes. Hard to put out a good product if you don’t think that you will have a job in 2009. Once my current subscription is up, I will not renew it. Talk about selling out. The Ctimes is a sponsor of the fireworks adn eureka there is a story about the fireworks. Ingles is a big advertiser and guess what, there is a story on the Ingles food tree. Office Depot is an advertiser and they run a news brief that the store in Asheville is not closing. This catering to the advertiser base is shameless. Shame on you Hatchet Hammer. I wonder if the ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future will visit you this Christmas Eve?
Catching up on the posts:
– The source of my comments are me … not sure what other source to cite except my name?
– On diversity: When I got to the newspaper in 1996, there was one black person in the newsroom. No women in the sports department. Few in leadership positions at all in news – that’s what I meant by diversity. It is to Gannett’s credit that they insisted on fair hiring practices (though things got ridiculous at times)
– WNC Magazine is a perfect example of understanding the market and hiring good talented people to make it work. I’ve freelanced for them, and I can tell you that they know exactly – in terms of tone and content – what they want in each feature. And yes, they put the necessary amount of money behind the launch.
– In additon to WNC Magazine, other products also have been successful, including Smoky Mountain News and Laurel magazine (or something like that).
– Jason P. my old friend, is that your voice from the coast? Wondered how you were doing …
Is anyone who knows the ad director surprised she did not keep promises? If she is speaking it probably isn’t the truth! No I am not a former ad staffer
On the list:
Holy crap, sounds like the Ad Director kept all the promises that were made to ad services. LOL. Sounds like these sort of hours are a way of getting rid of the older folks systematically without getting sued for age discrimination. What, are you to do complain and risk losing your job? No, but I would take every vacation day and sick day I had at the most inopportune times.
So here is what you do. Find a job and do not give a two weeks notice.
Screw the establishment.
Theodore, to explain to you, the Raleigh N&O outsourced its trucking to Penske not delivery. The trucking comprises picking up the bundles from the print site and delivering to carriers. It was also stated that most if not all of the current contracted drivers would be hired by Penske.
What was the source of Quintin Ellison’s comments?
Some of the Sardis Rd. jobs that were available in Greenville were only offered $6.50/hr. Who can commute or would want to relocate for that salary?
Since I was one of the 16 let go last week, they have changed everyone’s scheduled hours in the Ad Services Dept. The creative team of graphic designers have worked a morning schedule for 16-21 years are now asked to work 12-8pm or 2pm-12am giving the newbies (1 year or less) the earliest shifts of 10-6. Talk about age discrimination and total disrespect to their experience and talent is unbelievable.
I feel so bad for those left behind. I know I’m out of a job, but I do some sense of relief since leaving.
I know a whole production facility that is looking for a job, and not having a easy time finding it. Press and insert machine operators are not exactly in high demand.
Not to mention that their daily paper is dropping classified 2 days a week.
Also know a whole lot of route carriers that think their routes will be so small they wont even break even by this time next year. They might like to see another publication they could simultaneously deliver in the wee hours of the morning.
In theodore’s defense…count up the number of internal politics at the citizen times posts you have just on your front page Ash.
It’s quite a lot.
Especially when you still haven’t done a single post about the new city councilman, even though that affects FAR MORE PEOPLE that citizen times firings or internal goings on.
There are two major problems with starting any kind of publication in the Western North Carolina area in this current day and environment.
The first, is the amount of competition already in the market. It would be one thing to have pnly one daily newspaper to compete against, but with Iwanna having a strong classified hold, Mountain Express owning downtown, Haywood having a strong newspaper, and the 101 other products to compete against out there, the question becomes, where do you go for new sources of revenue?
Businesses are going to view you as the come and go, fly by night, here we go again product and if you aren’t reaching a market they are not already reaching with another media, why should they invest with you. Any product has to hit an area or demographic that no one else is doing a good job of reaching now.
WNC Magazine proved that it can be done, providing an upscale, lifestyle magazine that quickly shut down the Citizen Times’s already established counterpart Blue Mountain Living. If you were going to follow a model, this would a product to look at and see how they have done it. The owner, who owns Charleston Magazine, spared no expense, found a niche and decided to own it, no matter what.
The second issue is financing. You have to expect to take a loss, maybe up to your first 2 or 3 years in business, as you try to establish a marketplace. Start up costs are going to be high, good employees are going to want benefits and no matter what we might say, no one wants to take a pay cut or work for free just to work on something that seems right and good. We all think it, we all say it, but can any of us really do it or afford it. In this day and age, what bank in is going to loan with that business plan and knowing those issues. The financing is going to have to be privately funded and right now, where are the deep pockets going to come from?
theodore, thanks for your comments. i’m interested in what other topics you’d like to see discussed. i’ve pretty consistently tried to be all over the place with asheville goings-on.
standing at a slant: Go ahead and start your own newspaper business for all I care. I’m just saying that the stories on this blog have tilted so heavy toward the former Citizen-Times employees, how bad the paper is doing, how everyone hates the advertising dept, etc. I got it. You hate them. You want to sart your own paper. You miss Virgil. Go get ’em with your new paper!
This blog used to have more relevant topics about Asheville, I’d rather see more discussion about anything else.
theodore: you talk about Gannett like the people running it went to Harvard. The people you so admire have undergrad degrees in an unrelated subject and only got promoted because they were related to someone, kiss arse better then anyone else, or there was a slot to fill. (ACT ADVERTISING HIRING POLICY)
But one other thing I will say. It is thinking like yours that has kept a lot of people down. And with that attitude it will keep you from ever owning your own successful business.
A co-op that is made up of journalist, photographers, Graphic designers, web designers and ad reps. We would all own a piece of the pie. I am not exactly sure of the logistics but I think it would work. I wonder what Virgil’s feedback would be.
I’m NOT looking for ‘diversity’ in a news source. Divisiveness is what got us here, bankrupt and weak.
I’m looking for NEWS Information–world, national, regional, state, and local. I want to be informed about these arenas of human endeavor so that I can make informed, intelligent decisions in my relationships with others.
Anything else is a waste of an intelligent individual’s time.
Let it go. There are so many facets you are missing to actually getting a paper out; delivery, mail or free. Virgil doesn’t even have a house here anymore and it they were smart they would have a no-compete clasue. The businesses are overrun with ad reps from the multiple free/paid products now, and selling ads at the moment isn’t so easy.
You may be able to write, but I doubt you could go against Gannett on the business side. Finance, printing, circulation/delivery, etc.
Every newspaper company is going through the same things. NY Times prints Hendersonville out of Spartanburg, The News and Observer in Raleigh just contracted it’s delivery to Penske, Tribune Co. filed bankruptcy. They are all just trying to make it work in this economy.
Find a new topic to bitch about. This one is getting old fast.