Remember what we received from that promise. We received crap, but most of us had seen crap before.
If you have a free half-hour check out all the comments on the post here. Remember that because of the wierd layout of MLive, you have to scroll down aways from the article to see the posted comments.
This from commenter Litterateur:
LitterateurNovember 04, 2011 at 10:58AM
The comments here about costs, home delivery and medium of delivery are entirely beside the point.
If the final product was worth it, I'd pay more. If the delivery medium of delivery changes, and the content is worth worthwhile, I'd adapt to it.
Restructuring is about downsizing. Downsizing is about eliminating people. If you have bad employees, you fire them. Period. If you're restructuring and downsizing, you're eliminating good people and working out ways to get more work from fewer people while doing your best to conceal that from your customers.
I've read every single comment up to this reply. If I read one more pathetic post from Bernie or Jeff from Booth, I'm going to cancel my subscription just for spite.
Bernie keeps posting "give us a chance" and "we think you'll be pleased." Really. Why? Spell out your intentions, and then I'll decide whether to give you a chance. And what part of "I want a daily newspaper on my front porch" is confusing you?
Jeff keeps posting about these popular features -- TV listings, puzzles. Really. You're thinking I can't buy a book of puzzles at the grocery story? Or get TV listings online? Besides, who really watches network TV anymore?
If my reason for subscribing is to get local news and information, how exactly is the MLive Media Group going to provide better content if you intend to layoff dozens of people?
You're guessing the local school board president will text you the dirt on the superintendent, and you'll hide it in the word jumble? That I'll get the latest on a serial rapist in my neighborhood, but only after I solve No. 2 across and No. 7 down?
I'm guessing that the point of the TV listings is to direct me to local TV news where, for the very first time ever, I might actually get news from the idiot box than from blank (editor's note: The spelling error was in the comment, not in my translation) ink on white paper.
How about being honest? You're laying off people because the economy is bad, you're restructuring in hopes of staying in business, and you hope readers will hang in because you're doing the best you can with the resources you have?
I'd take a chance on that. Really I would. But your pathetic attempts to sell the sizzle while replacing the steak with spam is a poor way of convincing me that I can trust your content for truth and accuracy.
2 comments:
That is a well written post and hits on many points very accurately.
They're not only killing the print product but they're killing the quality as well. Not to mention killing the employees.
Interesting that one of the "executives" of this new "nimble, digital environment" felt the need to comment on a perfectly legitimate, not even all that critical, concerned FB post of a former employee. What "executive" would even bother, unless they realized that there was some truth to what people outside the sacred inner circle were saying, or that they were so insecure that and were like a moth to the flame, unable to resist. Interesting that the only one to "like" those posts is the online "guru" (i.e., gadfly) who is in now suspected by a growing circle of people of being a snitch for management.Who stays and goes has nothing to do with talent, ability to adapt, etc. It's a popularity contest; the "cool" kids get to stay on as long as long they don't dare say one negative thing about a sinking ship.
It's like being on the Titanic and saying "This is been an enjoyable cruise," just to reserve a spot on one of the life rafts. Won't matter much when the whole mess sinks in icy waters.
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