The company news release, filed with the SEC, includes the following basic information:
-Advertising revenue was down 8.6 percent, despite a 17.8 percent increase in digital advertising.
-Operating income was down from $43.2 million to $33.9 million in 2011
-A lot of jobs were cut, though GateHouse described it as decreasing "compensation expense,: as in the following phrase- "The expense declines were driven primarily by lower compensation and newsprint expense. Compensation expense was down 10.7% on a same reporting period basis as the Company has been able to successfully reduce compensation expense as part of its overall permanent cost savings initiatives."
One thing the news release did not include was the $1.4 million plus in bonuses given to CEO Michael Reed ($800,000) and three other top officials. The modest Reed apparently did not want to burden readers with information about his wealth.
The GateHouse formula, one that is well on its way to destroying its newspapers, including The Carthage Press, Neosho Daily News, and Pittsburg Morning Sun in this area, has resulted in less advertising revenue, lower circulation, and no connection with the communities it serves.
Most of the money the company does make comes from elimination of jobs, a process that has left it with newspapers that are almost completely devalued.
The only people who are profiting from this are the top officials who have made sure that they receive their hefty paychecks, plus bonuses, each year. And while they have sent thousands to the unemployment line over the past few years, gutting the institution that should be the heart and soul of the small towns GateHouse serves, Reed and the other officials have guaranteed that if the day ever comes when they are the ones who are shown the door, each of them will have about two years worth of salaries, bonuses, and fringe benefits.
This would be a great news story if there was anyone left to report it.
3 comments:
Come on Randy don't you think it's time to get over it?
Mike, er, uh, Kirk after reading your previous post.... you forgot something. I DON"T WORK FOR YOU ANY MORE...... THANK GOD I can now sleep at night!
In response to Anonymous 9:22: It has been 13 years since I was fired at The Carthage Press. One- that was before GateHouse Media even existed. At that time, it was Liberty Group Publishing. Two- As far as I can tell, there is no one in GateHouse management who was with Liberty when I was at The Press. This is the same kind of article I have written about Gannett, a company that I never worked for. It is a story that is affecting the quality of a newspaper I have read for 50 years (the Neosho Daily News) and one that I worked for more than nine years (The Carthage Press). And, I should mention, no one has questioned the accuracy of my posts.
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