Scott: I also did not agree with the same sex marriage things so I cancelled my subscription. If I had to pay to read this, I wouldn't. The Gazette has really gone down the wrong path. I know alot of others who have also cancelled because of this. Get back on track and I will once again buy your paper. I also don't agree with you outsourcing your jobs! There are people in this town desperatly looking for jobs, It's not hard to find them. let them do this job for you. I bet it would be cheaper!

I just got a call from California selling the Janesville Gazette! I never would have thought the Gazette would out source jobs to another state when our own county has an unemployment rate of 13%. Bad move. When you order form this company, you have to wait 7 days to get the paper, if you call the Gazette directly, it will be delivered tomarrow. Way to support the economy Janesville Gazette. Not cool.

Scott Angus
I see you recently made a decision to post (honor) gay and lesbian, "weddings". Statistics show that the vast majority of people are against this abnormal behavior. It's no secret that the Gazette is bleeding subscribers and that readership continues to decline. The decision you made reminds me a lot of the decisions the big 3 automakers have been making. All you and they are doing is putting another nail into your coffin. I suppose though, they like you couldn't care less about your future as I'm sure you too, have a golden parachute at your side.

todd.......that comment was completely uncalled for!

Scott: I wasn't sure if I was going to read the Vordermann story or not. I am glad that I did and just wanted to commend you and your staff for a beautiful piecce of journalism. It wasn't easy to read, I'm sure it wasn't easy to write and it obviously wasn't easy for the families to share....but what you did with the facts and how you presented them: BRAVO!

And yet, with all due respect, Mr. Bliss played his 'owner's trump card', and ordered the endorsement of McCain. I am reminded about reaping and sowing....

Mr. Angus,
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While I can appreciate that, why must such coverage be written in a way that goes beyond reporting a suicide? In this case, that article made an already grieving woman be looked at as if she, herself, were also a drug addict by people who didn't know her. It caused students at her son's school call him a killer. There's a difference between reporting a story and reporting a story that goes into great detail that pushes the extremely personal details of a situation out into the public. In this case, your story included Dean's suicide note. You obtained that from the police record. Gail didn't want you to print that, and you knew it. But you printed it anyway. How on Earth was that necessary to your story?
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Your policies are flawed and twisted in a way that hurt people whenever it is convenient to the Gazette. Consider for yourself: If someone in your family committed suicide in a public place (in Dean's case, at the end of Pearl Street), would you want all the details of this to be blasted out to the community? Would you want any suicide note they left you published for all the world to see?
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I hope you wouldn't want that.

oh and also maybe if you hadn't built a new printing process those "friends" might still have their jobs!!!

Mr Angus: does your paper make more than $120 a year? Cause if it does, times are a gonna get tuff for you! You will probably have to lay off more if Obama gets into office!!! Oh Yeah! you want him to! Maybe you should have endorsed John McCain and then times wouldn't be getting so rough for you and you wouldn't have to lay off your "friends"!

Regarding the TIF question, an employment guarantee was part of the deal, and Bliss Communications CFO Rob Lisser assures me that we have met our obligation.

Scott Angus

Mr. Angus- you can`t possibly think you are going to win an argument here with some of these completely ignorant people- do you? Especially the commenets about the story released on the young couple.. My hat is off to you and the Gazette. AWARENESS PEOPLE!! hello- WAKE UP. Obviously the parents themselves wanted this story told, to hopefully HELP someone RECOGNIZE that there may be real issues that could lead to something horrible.
The Gazette can`t win with some of the idiots out here. This man is trying to tell a story about hard times, layoffs etc.. Who cares how we all got here- we ARE HERE.. So instead of some people saying "hey sorry to hear that Scott, layoffs SUCK" you hear and see the IMMEDIATE finger pointing... Complete joke.

Well Mr. Angus, I am sorry to hear that you had to layoff a couple friends. THAT SUCKS. We are all hitting hard times here, and hopefully we can all pull through. As a single working mom, I can honestly say I hear what you are saying... I also would like to commend you on quite a few stories, especially the one involving this young couple. Such a tradgedy, and hopefully with more awareness we will become more wise.

Regarding story choices:

Bandit and Fool - We generally don't write individual stories to sell papers. That's unrealistic and shortsighted. Sure, some stories sell a few papers, but it's our long-term quality and consistency that make the difference to most of our readers, who are subscribers.
Sunday's story on the Vordermanns was an effort to look at what went wrong and whether police or mental health officials missed opportunities to help these people and possibly avert a tragedy. It also showed classic signs of a relationship gone bad. Others might now recognize those signs and take action before it's too late. We worked closely with the families on the story, and we hope it makes a difference. It was far more than a sensational story intended to sell a few papers.
We think substantive journalism such as this is important for any good local newspaper and creates loyalty in readers over time.
As for suicide coverage, we have a policy that calls for covering suicides only if they occur in public places, create public spectacles or involve public figures. We are consistent in that policy, regardless of requests from families or friends. That's only fair.

Scott W. Angus
Editor

Mr. Angus,
You say it is so hard to have to lay people off from the Gazette, which I am sure it is. Nobody likes to see that happen. In the next breath the Gazette is supporting John McCain. Your business layoffs are a direct result of the economy that he helped create.

i also agree that some of the delivery drivers driving skills have cost the gazette customers, have complaining repeatedly that our carrier was driving down the wrong side of the road, and being put off, we were finally told they are contract workers not our employees call the police, which we did, after several contacts with this person they finally stopped , but that was short lived because the police officer cant sit out here every day waiting for the paper person, now we have three, that i run into repeatedly around town, and no one does a thing about it, now our whole street quit getting the paper just to keep this person off our street and our kids safe, but hey the gazette didnt seem to care the other day i saw the gazette driver followed by the messenger person , and then a telephone book person all driving down the wrong side of the street,

That's no excuse for some of the stories the Gazette has published. Case-in-point (and this is stated -directly- to Mr. Angus): the story of Dean Godding's suicide late December of 1997.
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Sometimes the stories the Gazette prints do more harm than good, which was the case with the story about Dean. The Gazette doesn't seem to care, so long as they make money.
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While Mr. Angus may think these stories result in the Gazette making more money, they also have lost customers because of it. Dean's widow canceled her subscription as a result of the story that was posted (despite speaking with Mr. Angus, asking him to please respect her family's privacy). As for me? I will never take a subscription with the Gazette because of these practices.
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So, Mr. Angus, I wish you the best of luck. But do remember that people talk about these things.

bandit04, if you read his previous post, you will see that Mr. Angus has already addressed your concerns:

"It's not a matter of whether readers thought it was a good decision. We need to make money on our products..."

Mr. Editor...Scott... I did not read you current editorial... I am just appalled with the article the covered the first page of your so called newspaper....as usual you have allowed sensationalism within Journalism... why couldn't these two deceased young people be left alone to rest in peace... nope... news must be slow again... because this article about Shaun and Jenni Vordermann was extremely inappropriate and unethical... Scott... get a clue ... run your business morally and ethically...

I believe the point of this blog is the fact that today's businesses across the board are having to get rid of hard working employees. It makes it even harder the smaller the business and the greater the sense of family.

This blog site is full of uncreative ideas by those who wish the Gazette harm. I read daily posts about those who stopped their subscriptions or advising others of doing the same to "get back" at the Gazette for laying off individuals or not making available a full E-Edition to nonsubscribers. Posters are critical of the Gazette's every move.

STOP READING GAZETTE EXTRA IF YOU'RE SO OPPOSED. Some differ with the op/ed policy, some agree. It's not published to program or brainwash readers to agree with the view points. It's purpose is to give readers access to the full range of opinions out there today. Attackers of the Gazette's op-ed policy are not treated to these elements on the web. You have to actually pick up the print version. So you come to Gazette Extra and you still don't like it. Grow up!

It's getting old reading the rhetoric. Web page views are way up (I'm sure) and circualtion is down. Yet the same posters flock to Gazette Extra every day. If you don't like what you read, stop reading it.

Ahh, yes. You've found a way to get your news for free. Now you don't have to pay. Or so you think. What will happen now with fewer news resources? Will there be more coverage or less coverage? More stories or fewer? What about the number of photos? So you found a way to "trick" the system and get if for free. How will this affect Gazette Extra? I bet the same print reporters and photographers were responsible for web content, just as they were print content. Now your free news has just become less free news.

Project the equation out a few more years. What will Gazette Extra offer? Maybe many more news employees are gone and coverage and content are greatly compromised, verging on minimalization. You get what you pay for.

Be careful what you wish for. Because it just came true.

Mr. Angus:

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse and as a fellow business owner, I understand how hyperconscious one must be in making business decisions right now. However, you already offer the "E-edition." I cannot see how it would cost Bliss Communications much capitol and how that capital woudn't be turned over into almost immediate profitable revenue. If you have no "e-edition only" subscirbers on Monday, but with its launch on Thursday have 50, are you not 50 subscriptions closer to operating in the black with little capital being expended??
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PS--The programming for the e-edition isn't really that secure. ANYONE can obtain access. All you have to know is the phone number, address and last name of a current subscriber. There are also no securities to make sure 1 person isn't sharing their password with 25 of their nearest and dearest. You'd make plenty more, I'm convinced, if you offered an E-edition only...

Publish a good product and "they will buy"

Be not a "spokespublication" for any political group.

Bias is a hazard for news people.

Like lakennedy, I love print newspapers - I read two dailys and two small town weeklys; in addition, I read all four online as well. My comment is regarding the openness of the Gazette, mainly Scott Angus. Never has any editor of the three other papers written online as part of the blog about publishing or editorial issues. I find it oh so refreshing that Scott contributes to posts as it makes me feel that even if we don't get the answer we want, he explains the situation from his standpoint. His communication here makes me feel that he does care about the readers, takes our opinions into consideration and, if fitting and doable, will implement them. Thank you, Scott.

The reason IMO is that technology with computerized systems and every phone line going to automation is sad as i hate to talk to a non human thing. It is so srewed up as half the time you spend so much time and energy and get nowhere and I might as well be talking to one of my kids as it is about the same as to getting anything accomplished. I am to the point when I get an automated system I hang up as I just waste my time getting nowhere and plus minutes on my cell and I have real humans I would rather talk with. I am sorry for the people who lost their jobs to the voices that dont hear you.

BostonBill,
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I know that as of Friday, this past week, the receptionists at the Gazette (my grandmother included) were laid off. I wonder if that's who he was referring to? The Gazette is moving to an automated voice system in place of actual humans.

I deliver for the Gazette and,whether or not the new facility was worth the money,I love it! The old 2 door garage downtown wasn't working for ANYONE! I started 2 months before the Gazette moved so I had to bear the stone age for a while. Now, I can just pull up to my door with no problem and pick up the paper I now love to read. I didn't like nor did I read the old paper. It is much better now that is has local news(that I actually read) instead of other side of the world news(that I dont care as much about)

Localmatters,
I don't know all the details of the TIF agreement, but I don't believe any employment guarantees were part of it. I'll find out more Monday and provide more information then.

Scott

Mr. Angus,

I posed this question on the news article related to the cuts but I'll pose it here as well. I'm not looking to stir anything up but I am curious on how the distribution facility TIFF was setup as it relates to employment. Many times I read in the Gazette about TIFFs approved with funding directly tied to a number or percentage of employees. Was this the case with the distribution facility? If so, what are the ramifications of your unfortunate announcement of cutbacks?

Thank you,

Steve

Fool,
I wrote in my print column weeks ago that we stopped producing The Week because it didn't make money. Pure and simple. Never. Not in 30 years. We tried and tried, but we couldn't get it over the top. It's not a matter of whether readers thought it was a good decision. We need to make money on our products, and we weren't on The Week.
As for Walworth County government, we have cut back some as we restructure after our staff cuts. We still cover the county and county government, and we hope to bolster our coverage there after we finish reorganizing.

Scott Angus

Mr. Angus,
It might help if you shared more information with your readers. For example, why has Bliss Communications slashed news coverage of Walworth County government and why did it axe "The Week"? No one ever asked my opinion and I have yet to meet anyone who likes either of those decisions. In other words, what gives you confidence that those were indeed wise decisions? (I chuck the Shopper and Sunday right into the recycling bin, just as I did before Bliss bought them out.) How are you able to tell the baby from the bathwater?

Localboy,
Your suggestions are interesting, but do you really think we are not aggressively pursuing new revenue streams? All of your online ideas take resources. They might generate some traffic, but the revenue potential for such Web products remains extremely limited. We started Gazlo and Web products for real estate, cars and jobs in 2008,and they are paying off. We continue to review other prospects, but we can't jump into new ventures without being assured by our own realistic projections that appropriate revenue will follow. We're not alone in this. Every newspaper in the country is aggressively pursuing new online ideas and products. It's just not nearly as easy as you make it sound. Putting out new products isn't the problem. It's the revenue. Nothing online comes even close to compensating for lost print revenue.
We will keep trying, though, and we are confident we will succeed eventually.

Scott Angus
Editor

I don't think I need to be the marketing department for the Gazette, but again, somepeople need the hard copy (as explained by lakennedy) and some can get by with the E-Edition (as myself and many others). I know the Gazette is worried about their base revenue of advertisors, but the could offer the Gazlo version to the E-Edition subscribers. That version could have great coupon attachements to the advertisments. They also could provide the Gazette's version of a local E-Bay for the E-Edition subscribers. They could offer Parker and Craig sections (or any of the schools) attached that could be daily newslines for each of the schools, webcasts or podcasts of the local school sports. This would draw the young (and future subscribers)readers, and even parents. The Gazette is in the media delivering business. This should encompass all forms of media. We are a mobile society, and the Gazette needs to accomidate it. I could go on, but again, I don't want to be the free version of the Marketing department. I just don't feel that the Gazette did all to review forms of revenue before cutting staff. They took the least path of resistance, and disrupted the lives of a few employees.

Things may not be "as comfortable anymore", but more importantly the market is not the same anymore. When people have a limited amount of money to spend, they will spend it on the things they really want.

Most days, I read the free versions of both the Gazette and the Beloit Daily news on-line. I would be willing to try a subscription to the Gazette if it were on-line only. I have no desire to manage and recycle all that additional paper coming into my house. I have read comments from many other people making the same request, but apparently the Gazette is not interested in selling on-line only subscriptions. (Other newspapers do it, so I know it is possible.)

They refuse to sell a product that people are asking for and yet we are supposed to feel sad about how the economy is affecting the Gazette? I feel very sorry for the employees who lost their jobs. But for the owner, editor and other management? No way. The way for companies to stay in business is to change with the market and offer the products that people want to buy.

I get both the home delivery and (obviously) am online very often. I think that the convenience of being able to access a newspaper online is great, but not worth the costs. One cost that I find particularly troubling is the sheer quality of the news much of society is being exposed to when they rely solely on online publications. It used to be that news was updated daily, now we see news stories being updated or changed in a matter of minutes. In my opinion, this effects the quality of the news. The very medium seems to have an effect of its own.
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Personally, I read three other papers regularly besides the Gazette. These papers I buy and carry around with me all day so that when I have an idle moment, I can pick up the paper and read it. I guess, to me, there is just something about the smell of a newspaper, the constant battle of trying to fold it properly, and the ink staining my fingers that I just love. I also get this feeling of accomplishment when I've finished a paper. I remember the first time I read an entire edition of the New York Times. I know this is lame, but I felt so proud of myself for getting through that paper. Now, I can't stand not having a newspaper on me at all times.
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I'm truly sorry you had to lay off some of your co workers, Scott. It isn't easy. Good luck to you and to the rest of your kind.

chelleandlou:
Near the top of this page on the right hand side just above the calender is a rectangular box that has a depiction of a newspaper on the left half and a red field on the right with the words "E-Edition" written thereon. That box is a link to the subscription only section of the online Gazette. That is the section that is reserved for paying customers only that I would like to buy without the need to have home delivery. I am not asking to pay for the currently free access GazetteXtra, nor do I advocate that.

localboy, I share your sentiments but try to not be too hard on The Gazette. This same thing is happening across the nation to newspapers of every size. It is not a simple cause-effect challenge. It's more of a chicken-egg dilemma. They alone need to assess which part of their economic death spiral relates to internal business decisions, which part relates to how well they have fulfilled their journalistic responsibility to the community and which part is simply beyond their control.
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News media have it easier than most businesses as they have a built-in mechanism for doing market research polls and surveys. But, in the end, the only question that really matters is, "How many would you like to buy?"

I just don't think the Gazette did enough to keep these people. I am sure Scott is correct when he states it was a sad thing to do. However, they didn't exhuast all avenues of revenue for they cut these people. I can't figure out these company leaders. When times get tough, they don't look for more and creative ways to make money (the whole reason they are in business), they look for creative ways to cut cost. Most companies are in the cost cutting business, not money making. What are they teaching at these business schools? Are you telling me that Bliss Communications can't find any other way to make more money? Companies need to stop having 'Cost Cutting' sessions, and start having 'Money Making' sessions.

I agree with localboy. I let a subscription lapse a few years ago because I did not like how the woman was delivering the paper, with her young daughter hanging out of a moving vehicle and her habit of driving down the wrong side of the road when she was by herself to put the papers in the paper boxes by the curb. I contacted the Gazette about it a few times but it never really worked itself out. I also see a lot of other bad driving practices in other parts of the city in order to get the papers delivered. We lost an awesome teenage delivery boy in favor of these stupid car routes. I use Gazettextra multiple times every day and I will buy the paper most days as well at a newsbox less that 2 blocks from my house.

billnewbie:
I can't afford home delivery so free access to check obits and headlines is nice. I do however always make sure to get a Sunday paper. So before you go giving out ideas cancel your subscription and read your news online.

I would like to know who the, "two friends" are who were laid off. They were most likely OUR friends too. I wish them well.

babaloo1: I've always thought the Gazette should be called the "Rock County Times" or something. Honestly, they should broaden their scope a bit. Where I used to live they had the Bucks County Currier Times, which covered multiple counties. That doesn't mean they have to have delivery in every area, but the Gazette could be made available in other ways through Stop N' Go or sale boxes. The bottom line is that eventually all these towns will run together. Keeping news strictly for Janesville isn't a good long term approach.

I have always liked the Gazette as it seemed like a real newspaper that covered the whole area, and covered national news decently. Beloit Daily News and Monroe Times always seemed kind of wimpy and very local. The Gazette has joined the ranks of the very thin and local. I am sure you are losing subscriptions left and right in the areas west of Janesville as you don't cover much of anything in the Orfordville, Footville, or Brodhead areas anymore. We are kind of in black hole when it comes to any news of our area now. You had said before that we would be getting a reporter back in this area. Has any progress been made on that? I still like a newspaper to read at night but I want to feel like I have read a real paper when I am done!

I have a few questions for you Mr. Angus.
Why don't you make your E-Edition available for purchase to people that don't buy home delivery? I realize that a large investment has been made in new printing facilities, an investment that may not have been the wisest use of your resources considering the business climate for print media these days. Yet forcing a home delivery subscription on those of us who want to read your news online seems self-defeating.
What's wrong with my money? I have no need for a hard copy of the news as I don't need the fish wrap and I can get what I seek online. I would pay for access to your E-Edition but I don't want newsprint.
Do you think your advertisers think less of their ad exposure online? I should think that they care little whether I read their adds on paper or on my monitor as long as I read their adds. Maybe if you had an impressive amount of online subscribers advertisers would take notice.
Could a job or two have been spared if management weren't so obstinate about the E-Edition policy?
You may not be in a position to answer all these questions Mr. Angus, I know you don't own the Gazette, but I hope those who make these decisions reconsider their rather stubborn stance. Refusing revenue seems to me to be rather a risky business philosophy.

Scott, I often side with your views, but if there was one area which we don't agree on is subscriptions. You and I have had brief discussions on offering the electronic version of the Gazette to non hard copy subscribers. For what ever reason, you guys have reluctantly denied this feature. I believe this would appease the young and the old. You might have even been able to fend off the decision to cut staff, with the extra subscription money. We won't know now, will we. I am in deep thought on purchasing a hard copy subscription, just because I am sensitive to the recent cuts made, and I don't wish anybody to loose their job. But I just can't make the leap, knowing that lady will be delivering my newspaper, in her car (for her son) with her son hanging out the passenger door while the car is moving, jumping out every other house to deliver the newspaper. I just don't want to contribute to that. It just seems so much easier to answer the 'ding' of my you got mail feature, notifying me that my electronic subscription just arrived safely, dry, on time, any without the irresponsibility of some parent driving their son around in the car delivering newspapers.

My heart is cetainly not breaking for the Gazette. Perhaps if you ran a paper that is fair and balanced; or if you allowed your reporters to do REAL reporting, to give us real news rather than relying on the left, liberal wire services to spoon feed us their opinion ladden trash; or if you allowed your readers space to editorialize with more than 250 words; or if you used headlines about real important events in the world, nation and state; I would have kept my subscription. Your "Local Matters", apparently, really doesn't matter at least to me.

Of course, if you have a product others don't have you can increase sales. Local activities come to mind, which the Gazette already has, but could be expanded. Who's not reading papers? I think it's younger people that are getting more and more information from the Internet. How about advertising on billboards that the Gazette keeps up on who in Janesville is putting new videos on YouTube, or local pictures on Flickr. Anything good happening on MySpace regarding local people? A breaking news text messaging service included with the paper subscription could be good. More in-depth reporting about sensitive issues in the area. Issues people might not normally expect. I also think a color cartoon series called something like "Tales from the Briarmoon" would be a hit. OK, scratch that last one. It was in bad taste, and I voted for her, too. We need to freak out the establishment as Homer J. Simpson once said.

It would seem that no one is safe these days. Rumors have Mercy consolidating clinics once the new addition is complete. Yahoo, which is in the once high flying tech industry, recently announced layoffs. Since the seventies, America has seen relatively good economic times with at least some level of growth over that period. Granted, there have been highs and lows, but overall we’ve been lucky. As a result, our economy has increasingly become consumer driven. However, for many Americans, keeping up with that consumerism meant buying on credit. Unfortunately, it had to come to a halt at some point and we needed a reality check. That is not to say things shouldn’t be better or that steps couldn’t have been taken to avoid this scenario. However, the nature of our problems stem from an extended period of prosperity even though most people don’t realize it. Our parents never bought new cars every three years and they certainly didn’t have fifty two inch flat screen TV’s and $400 dollar gaming systems. Moreover, they didn’t live in 2,000 sq foot homes with 3,000 dollars worth of landscaping. Most of our parents grew gardens for vegetables. Our expectations are unreasonably high in a global economy where many people are willing to work for a few dollars an hour and are very hungry for work of any kind.
From the news standpoint the Internet has made receiving news very easy. Consequently, print has suffered. However, much of the Internet driven news was derived from print. Unfortunately, the quality of the news has suffered greatly, because many of these websites and bloggers fabricate or embellish news to keep their content fresh. Adding to the problem is the dwindling number of print news companies for which to draw as a source.
The key for the Gazette is to stick to quality news. At some point people are going to look to quality again, especially in uncertain times. The Gazette, and newspapers like it, needs to stick to basics while incorporating technology. Quality objective reporting will eventually win out over sensationalism, but it will take time for people to realize that not everything they read on the net is true. Of course this is just my personal opinion, but I do believe over time people will come back to quality.