The Dayton Daily news and Cox Media eliminated 7 people yesterday.
Some, were out on assignment, when the big boss notified the staff who got the axe.
When it’s your time to go, it’s “Hhello, you’re fired, give us your ID and keys and we’ll escort you out. We’ll go through your desk- and mail you anything that we think is yours.”
A few of the people heading out the door, were retirements. But, others were long-time employees, with skills and institutional knowledge. Something that isn’t valued in the puzzle palace on S. Main St.
Here’s a copy of the email that went out:
From: Collier, Jana (CMG-Dayton)
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2015 4:00 PM
Subject: staffing announcementStaff –
Today we met with seven employees whose jobs are being eliminated as part of our newsroom downsizing. Each of these journalists has contributed to the success of our company and our brands, and I want to thank and honor each one of them for their work and service.
- Photographer Jim Witmer
- Reporter Kelli Wynn
- Reporter Ken McCall
- Reporter Dave Larsen
- Manager Rashida Rawls
- Manager Ken Paxson
- Manager Kermit Rowe
Today is their last day in the office. The manager for each impacted team has created a transition plan to ensure continuity for our products and audience.
As we continue to evolve our business, I want to make sure you have the clarity you need to focus on what’s most important, to grow and engage our audience. I am working with the content leadership team to shape and focus our teams to create that clarity; to streamline our processes; and to ensure a strong digital future for each of our brands.
These efforts will require 100 percent from everyone. I need your imagination and dedication as we move forward. We’ll have staff meetings in the next two weeks to present plans and to get your input. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out to your manager, your director or me with specific questions or concerns. Our brands are strong, and the work you do every day is vital to the success of this company and to this community.
Thank you,
Jana
Missing from this list is Meredith Moss who retired- and supposedly Ken McCall, who is on the list- got a full pension. Not so lucky for the rest.
Rumor has it that one TV person was concerned with her personal safety- in case there are angry reprisals.
Gotta love the corporate buzzword bullshit- of “content leadership team”- which must mean “people who troll the internet to find things to publish to create page views” and the “strong digital future” where people actually view our shitty ads on our shitty sites.
When you have people who don’t understand news, journalism, or the city of Dayton- you get what they have, a “newspaper in name only.”
Now, it has 8 less names for bylines on an already thin news hole.
Thank Al Gore for the Internet- and Steve Jobs for the iPad -so I can still read a real newspaper everyday- the New York Times.
Best wishes to those jettisoned. May your careers all take off now that you don’t work for the evil empire.
When I made my first-ever comment on this site the other day regarding “The Hole on Ludlow Street” (in which I sang your praises) it was posts like this that were precisely what I had in mind.
For people who know a bit about Dayton — including about some of the players, the machinations and history — this kind of info is priceless.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why there’s not more of the kind of work you do. Between the traditional media, their websites, opportunities for people to comment online and the vast world of the web, where is everybody? Am I not looking hard enough?
Instead, we have an information desert where an entire metro area is shrouded in mystery, opaqueness and apathy. I don’t get it.
In the meantime, work like this piece of yours shines some light on things a lot of us want to know. Between your reporting, your commentary and the public comment posts to follow, someone like me can cobble together a wealth of useful information. I know how to wade through commentary I may or may not agree with and deal with snarky individual internet comments in order to come up with a trove I can’t get anywhere else.
Sorry to go on so long here, but after years of trying to get helpful news and insight about the Dayton area (and usually surreptitiously returning to this blog to find some) I now have to come clean and give you the plaudits you deserve.
Maybe some of these former DDN reporters can find time now to help you out.
Again, thanks. I’m a fan.
John- thank you. Those may be the kindest words anyone has posted in response to anything I’ve written over the last 10 years.
I agree with John; David keep up the good work.
As I read this, “content leadership team” leapt out and slapped me in the face. And then I discovered it slapped you, too. I knew there was a reason I follow your stuff. Keep up the good work; I don’t always agree with everything you write, but still consider your voice to be a noteworthy addition to the local civic exchange, such as it is. The DDN began to decline the day it absorbed the Journal-Herald and no longer had to suffer the slings and arrows of significant editorial competition. Its continued gutting of staff and internally generated content—real content—is a sad thing to witness. Best of luck to these most recent layoffs!
Agree with all of the above. Esrati, you are a treasure. A prophet is never recognized in his/her homeland.
Really, the credit should go to my many sources- who continue to trust me with getting the truth out. But, I try to do my best- considering I’m not paid to do any of this- in fact, this blog hurts my business.
Thank you all for your kind words of support and encouragement. I don’t expect any of you to agree with me all the time- but, I do hope you all think about the issues I try to raise.
Find it interesting that at least 5 of the people on that list are still listed as working at the paper in the present tense on the DDN website. If they can’t keep that basic information up to date, says a lot about how much attention to detail and accuracy they have.