Gannett
Co. orders furloughs in 2010 Q1

Taking
what it calls “a conservative approach” toward managing its business, Gannett
Co. announced Tuesday it is implementing mandatory furloughs of five business
days for its non-union employees during the first quarter of 2010.

Bob
Dickey, president of Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing division, said the
furloughs must be taken before March 28, 2010. Exempt salaried employees must
take one full payroll week before the end of that period. Non-exempt hourly
employees can take the five days at any pre-approved time.

“We have
seen some promising trends in advertising with ad declines slowing throughout
the year, and as we begin the holiday shopping season, we are also seeing some
indication that retailers may be spending more on advertising,” Dickey wrote in
a memo to all U.S. Community Publishing employees. “While these trends are
encouraging, the overall economy is still fragile with a number of business
uncertainties. Therefore, as we head into 2010, we think it is prudent to take
a conservative approach toward managing our business.”

The memo
was posted Tuesday on The Poynter Institute’s Web site.

Union
employees will not be furloughed, Dickey wrote, because they recently
negotiated pay reductions in their contracts.

Dickey
said the furloughs are not a companywide initiative. However, “Corporate and
some of Gannett’s other operations also have decided to put furloughs into
place” for the first quarter, his memo stated.

“We are
instituting the furloughs during the first quarter because it is traditionally
the lightest time of the year for us,” Dickey wrote to the employees. He added
that the 2009 furloughs Gannett implemented saved the company “a significant
amount of money and helped us get through what has been unquestionably the
toughest time we have ever faced as a company and division.”

Dickey
noted in the memo that he, too, will be taking the furloughs.

Gannett’s
newspaper holdings in Virginia include USA Today in McLean; The News Leader in
Staunton; and the Eastern Shore News in Accomac.

VPA
News Contest entry kits are online

Entry
kits for the 2009 VPA News, Editorial & Photo Contest now are available href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/association/article/09-newscontest">online style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>.

Clicking
on that link will take you to a page where you can download the kits for Mac
and PC platforms, as well as category lists, a primer on how to enter the
contest, and a PUB code and division list.

The
deadline to submit electronic entries for the contest is Dec. 29. Manual
entries are due by Dec. 22.

Questions
about the contest and entries should be directed to href="mailto:stephaniem@vpa.net">Stephanie McCraw style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> at (804) 521-7578.

Finefrock
named editor at Stanardsville

Ray
Finefrock was named editor of The Greene County Record in Stanardsville last
month.

Prior to
joining the Record, Finefrock was managing editor of the Culpeper Star-Exponent
and Culpeper News. Both newspapers are owned by Media General Inc.

Cooke
recalled as a Virginia ‘gentleman’

John
Warren Cooke was laid to rest Tuesday in a graveside service in Gloucester
County.

Cooke,
publisher of the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal and former speaker of the
Virginia House of Delegates, died Saturday at his home. He was 94.

An
editorial in the Richmond Times-Dispatch praised the low-key Cooke as
representing “a Virginia ideal honored more
frequently in flowery rhetoric than in practice. He was a gentleman.”

Cooke served in the House of Delegates from 1942 until 1980
— the last 12 years as House speaker. A Democrat, Cooke was known for
reaching out to House Republicans who, during his tenure, were few in numbers.
He appointed Republicans to key committee positions, something that had never
been done by his predecessors. According to published reports, colleagues
praised him as “the soul of fairness.”

Twelve years after joining the House of Delegates, Cooke became
president of Tidewater Newspapers Inc., parent company of the Gazette-Journal,
and publisher of the Gazette-Journal. He stepped down from the TNI presidency
last March but remained as the newspaper’s publisher until his death.

Cooke was a charter member of the Virginia Press Association’s
Golden 50 Club, which honors individuals who have served the Virginia newspaper
industry for at least 50 years.

He is survived by his wife, Anne; son, Giles Cooke; and
daughter, Elsa Verbyla, editor of the Gazette-Journal.

Mother of VPA Board member dies

Marilyn
Noper Harding, the mother of VPA Board member Gail Harding, died Nov. 17 at her
home in Lynchburg. She was 86 and the widow of Bruce Byron Harding.

Gail
Harding is publisher of The Enterprise in Patrick County.

Other
survivors include two more daughters, five grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.

Newseum
trims staff once again

From
THE WASHINGTON POST

The
Newseum, one of Washington's newest attractions, has trimmed its staff for the
second time since reopening in its new, larger location on Pennsylvania Avenue
NW in April 2008.

In the
latest round of dismissals, which took place late last month, the Newseum
eliminated 29 full-time positions, or 13 percent of personnel. It has now
reduced its staff by 23 percent overall.

"The
cuts are spread throughout the organization, but should not affect the
experience of museum visitors," said Kenneth Paulson, the museum's
president. He added there were "minor cutbacks" within the floor
staff, the workers who interact most with visitors.

Many
museums in Washington, where the majority of the large attractions are
subsidized by the government, have suffered from the fallout of the recession.
In the Newseum's case, Paulson said, fundraising was the hurdle. "All of
our donors who had made pledges filled them. But we saw fewer new donors. We
fell about 20 percent shorter than our budgeted figure," he said.

The
museum, which chronicles the history of how the news has been covered and
disseminated, had 300 employees at the outset, a number that in part reflected
personnel needs surrounding the Newseum's opening. By November 2008, just
before the first round of layoffs, the staff numbered 250; it now stands at 181
people. Additionally, several employees lost to attrition have not been
replaced.

On the
positive side, the Newseum has had solid attendance. "We will top 720,000,
we are trending ahead of that," Paulson said. "Month after month, we
had exceeded last year's numbers. And our catering operations continue to drive
revenue."

Conference
registration, prelim agendas now are online

href="http://www.vpa.net/index.php/education/article/conferences/">Registration
forms and preliminary agendas for VPA’s two main conferences in 2010 now are online.

The News
Conference & Annual Meeting will be held March 19-20 at the Hotel Roanoke.
The Old Dominion Advertising Conference will be held April 23-24 at the
Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel.

2010 will
be the last year that separate conferences will be held for the news and
advertising sides. The first joint news and advertising conference is scheduled
for April 2011 in Norfolk.

Mark
your calendars for online sales training in January

The
Virginia Press Association will offer a full day of training Jan. 21 for online
sales.

This
full-day training seminar will provide online sales training at the
introductory, intermediate and advanced levels. Breakout sessions for each will
be available. The seminar is for both dedicated online sales reps and print
reps at weekly and daily newspapers that have to sell online advertising as
well.

Some of
the most veteran online sales managers in Virginia will lead this workshop to
help account executives develop a complete set of skills needed to maximize
online newspaper sales. Learn print upselling rates and techniques, print and
online combination sales, banner ad insights and tips for acquiring national
accounts and remnant campaigns.

Scott
Bateman, VPA’s online consultant, will mediate the daylong seminar.

For more
information and to register, contact href="mailto:kimw@vpa.net">Kim Woodward at (804) 521-7574.