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51 comments:
Allright, there has to be more to this than meets the eye. The best performing group within LANG on the ad side. Doing things that no other newspaper in LANG does. Margins in the mid to high teens. Innovation and involved with clients.
Prediction, Lambert, this will cost you and LANG where it hurts most, your ego and LANG's pocketbook.
do i see a disgruntled former employee online???
If you are talking about the first poster here, no.
Actually, can't think of many former employees from Lang that are not disgruntled. And, in most cases for good reason.
It is possible to have a point of view however stilted and not work there.
oh, sorry....disgruntled current employee!!!
the poster just points out the facts and the truth and someone else has to call them disgruntled? puh-leeze. the truth hurts....
love pushing peoples buttons!!!
some of us are smart enough to keep our thoughts about our employers to ourselves. we stay employed that way. love my pay check!!!
gee genius, isn't that why the have anonymous postings?
not talking about your employer isn't keeping you working. i am sure it is your talent and ability to stay humble.
to randy who didn't deserve this crap. best of luck and someone will get a very good ad man.
3:20 Those margins are a thing of the past. The average line rate has crashed along with revenues. Factor in the high turn over and the low morale in that department and you have a major reason why the stats have been going in the wrong direction. Can't believe they kept that albatross "hanging around" as long as they did. He chased a way a lot of talented individuals as he manged upward a lot better then he managed downward. Lambert saw through the BS.
4:53 that's not what is keeping you employeed. trust me. you are delusional. when the company wants to cut, they cut. has nothing to do with anything but the bean counting. sorry to burst your bubble.
"some of us are smart enough to keep our thoughts about our employers to ourselves. we stay employed that way. love my pay check!!!"
AS IF!!! you stay employed b/c you are making nothing and your number hasn't come up. but just wait b/c it will. cut, cut, cut. in fact, one of the hardest working writers at the DN had his job eliminated and it was purely bean counting. so get a clue. you can shut up and act scared if it makes you happy. won't change your situation either way. don't get it twisted!!!!
ha! i know. i love how he talks about keeping his job and getting a (little) paycheck. it's b/c it's the best he can do. can't do any better. wow. sorry you have to bend over and take it. checkers at ralphs and vons make more without college degrees.
5:40 you are wrong. those margins in the mid teens are accurate. Even with average line rate going south thanks to little eddie and renee roaming wind and their wonderful rate plans.
The high turnover has been self inflicted with layoffs. Not to say Randy was perfect by any means, but, your statement about managing up is wrong and as far as Lambert seeing through the BS, that's funny. He can't see through the BS in his editorial department and has been a yes man for quite a while. That's how he survives, it isn't on talent.
As said earlier, let's wait and see what the new leadership brings to the party as far as revenue and personality.
If you wanted a revenue leader would you want Lambert with his vast experience in advertising making the selection?
As far as managing up, Lambert has that job all to himself.
gotta love the two anonymous posters who seem to know who each other are. god bless LANG for bringing us all together in this way.
wow, can't we all just get along?
Randy, I wish you well. The twits that dismissed you haven't got a clue. For those of you who are Randy haters, as the two posts removed showed, he may not be perfect, but I would sooner work for him than Fred H or Steve L any day. You won't find a harder worker, a more dedicated employee. He might not have been silky smoothe but he delivered the results. And, if you want to look at turnover, take a look at all the other Lang papers. They are worse. Let's see how the boys fare without him.
Down south it looks like little eddie is cutting at a rapid pace with many more layoffs soon. He will decimate that newspaper and most talent will be gone by this time next year.
Sorry to hear about this guy from San Gabe. But it has me thinking that it's about time for another wave of layoffs to hit LANG. It has been nearly three months since the last round.
bet on more layoffs from retired fred even though jim janiga continues to deny. he is a puppet and he will continue to decimate what is left of those newspapers. they use to be fairly decent products, no longer. delivery problems plague their circulation department with no relief in sight.
can't wait to see the new circ numbers too. advertisers will be pleased with the reduced influence they are buying.
steve lambert, you aren't that arrogant that you think one of your ad lieutenants out east can run san gabe are you? clearly they are hitting it out of the park now!
A recent DN executive reported San Gabe as the #1 performing local property in LANG and Media News Group; you wonder how this guy lasted so long? Who wouldn't have morale issues with low wages, forced furlough time and reduced vacation accruals. A real formula for success. I wish this gentleman good luck.
The last poster is correct. They are the number one group within Lang and have been for quite some time. You have to ask yourself why they would make a change.
Also, the poster is right, forced time off, low wages, no increases, poor management at the top, no strategy, policies than change by the week etc.
Steve Lambert, put your ad hat on, although I believe yours may have a point at the top.
WOW! What a shock. A lot of us are returning from our Friday furloughs and received the news. A huge loss to SGVN and our department. Randy was the heartbeat. I have never worked for such a passionate, driven executive with so many ideas that helped all of us make money. He was extremely competitive and instilled that quality in us. I have worked with him for almost 7 years, he was a great leader. A lot of us hope this message will find him, because we didn’t get a chance to say our “thank you & good byes to our VP. Randy you have so many supporters; please stay in touch with us.
2:33 It's clear you've never worked for Randy. Update us after speaking with a few of his direct reports or the SGVN sales staff. Or follow up with the top performers he chased away that went to work for Clipper magazine a local competitor.
This poor guy never had a chance, 5 different gm or publishers in 6 years. From an outsider’s look he represented stability at the top for this organization.
poster at 8:29, I choose to side with the other posters near yours. You can't get all to like you and you shouldn't try. As far as those he chased off, there might have been a good reason. And, some people just can't get along. For my money, I would work for him anyday than those other clowns in the organization.
9:06 a.m. Is right. You can't get all to like you. But it is rare that you have a number of employees sue you-as "allegedly" did Randy. HR had been at SGVN for the last 4 to 6 weeks interviewing his direct reports before the hammer dropped.
I have seen lang witch hunts before, as a matter of fact, a number of organizations fall prey to them, not just lang. One would think he would be given a reason to be dismissed other than we need to make a change. Especially since HR had neen there, maybe, prior. There was no written or verbal warning. All I can say is that if I had a solid individual leading my revenue dept higher than any of his peers, I would want to make damn sure his errors were beyond repair. I don't believe that happened in this instance.
So, now that the only one left from 2007 in the upper ranks at san gabe is the HR person who has been cast aside from her earlier roll. I don't think the changes in management have caused the newspaper to improve. As a matter of fact, most readers would say it sucks.
Before I get called on it sorry for roll instead of role.
It is truly shocking to me how long Mr. Heltzley was allowed to "reign in terror" at SGVN. To say that the man could not be deceptively charming as a sociopath is not to have known him. To say that he "never had a chance with 5 gms" is not to have known that his reputation at other newspapers preceeded him. Did he not have a chance at all the other newspaper properties he worked at as well? To an outsider looking in, you have no idea of the monstrous actions this man has taken to ensure there was no one around him who had any knowledge; therefore, no one to catch him in his "nasty capers"....and nasty is an understatement. Sadly, his dismissal did not happen soon enough to stop the single-handed destruction of that staff who worked beneath him. As far as this costing LANG in their pocketbook, it already has in lost revenue, endless training of personnel who don't stay, severed relationships with advertisers and their diminished standing in the communities which they serve with revolving doors for personnel.
There is right and there is wrong and there is Karma in this Universe...sometimes it just takes awhile for your Karma to catch up with you. The path to his exit from SGVN is riddled with the broken bodies of those he perceived to stand in his way or who didn't fit his definition of who he wanted in that position. Don't waste your pity on a soul who didn't have an ounce of compassion for anyone but himself.
3:31 Well put. It's obvious that you knew Randy and how he operated.
It appears that we have a difference of opinion on Mr. Heltsley. I have worked for a number of publishers, gms, and vp's of advertising that made Randy look like a choir boy.
Even in good times advertising is riddled with terminated employees...it is a sales job and not for the faint of heart.
I guess it is ok to keep under achieving sales people on the payroll to be nice.
Look, I am not pollyana on this issue. He wasn't going to be your buddy. He may not have spoken the way you like, but, he knew his stuff and his team along with his bad habits continued to outsell everyone else in LANG for a number of years. That doesn't happen by accident and it doesn't happen over time if he is that much of a jerk.
You are entitled to your opinions and some of them may be accurate but some aren't.
As far as working with other newspapers, there are a number of top notch, well liked leaders that have worked for three or more newspaper groups, especially in the last decade. That doesn't make you bad.
As I said earlier, there are two sides to the story. I choose to base mine on long term results that were delivered. Let's see how the next person fares on the likability and revenue front. My guess is his or her bosses won't give a rats ass on likability.
7:34 It's obvious that you did not work for Randy. Monday morning quarter backs always have a different perspective on the "game". Randy was notorious for targeting top performing reps and managers based on a whim and he would go out of his way to lower their earnings by manipulating goals after the fact. He was not that tough "Glen Gary Glen Ross" sales manager. Every sales rep can handle that. They go out of there way to make sure the top performers are happy. 3:31 is correct. Randy is a sociopath. His retail crew has been tanking as he had gutted the team of top performing reps and managers. The numbers you talk about are being generated by classified legals. Those sales will come in even if Moe the chimp was sitting in his chair. If his retail team was still putting up the numbers he would still be in that seat. His management style finally caught up with him. Hard to avoid the Karma when you have fd over as many people as he has.
The long overdue departure of Mr. Heltzley is simply a case where it no longer "penciled" to keep someone so costly to the organization. As far as this poster's comments:
"You won't find a harder worker, a more dedicated employee. He might not have been silky smoothe but he delivered the results."
Could just as well be referring to Herrs Himmler & Goring in their conduct of the "final solution."
Just as the Holocaust happened, the targeting & elimination of employees based not on their lack of abilities & performance but rather "his" agenda happened. And it happened based on his own insecurities and "innovative" abilities to manipulate both people & numbers.
He is far from "a choir boy."
well posters, I have worked with randy at two newspapers. although you may not like him and have serious issues with him, comparing his reign of terror to nazi germany is a bit severe don't you think?
as far as classified legals, why don't the other papers in lanf have them?
and, after a year he is going against those numbers. take out the five to six million from those and he still outperforms the group.
hate him all you want, but, he produced and in talking with more than a dozen managers, sales people and clerks, his rep aint as bad as you say.
as has been said, let's see how the replacement fares and how the ad numbers hold up.
Is it just me or do all the pro-Randy commenters sound like the same person? Randy himself? Very sad.
It is very disappointing to all of us here at SGVN, to read these comments coming from our senior management, who is trying very hard to discredit our leader. We know our current publisher is trying to justify his decision. They were never involved in our department. The only involvement was trying to get us to support way too many initiatives and not allowing us to focus on the daily business at hand. The only true negative statement is “Randy won’t accept under performers and we are glad he didn’t because of the message it sent to all of us”. And for the record he never allowed his managers to change our monthly sales goals midstream, he challenged each one of us to produce more and he rewarded our efforts. Randy, your team thanks you and wishes you all the best. If they only new how many of us supported you.
poster at 8:35, I am responsible for some of the pro Randy comments. I am not Randy. What is sad is that you can't believe that some of his staff liked him and appreciated him.
At any time, employees are free to pursue employment at other businesses. A large number of people chose to stay working with him which to me means he didn't rub all the wrong way.
Disagree all you want, but, there are a number of current and past employees that liked working with and for Randy.
9:41 I appreciate your passion but your statement would be believable if you "owned" your statement by using your name.
ropWhat everyone can look forward to is the absence of turmoil, bullying, favoritism, mind games & micromanagement. The possibility that someone with true LEADERSHIP abilities will fill that void with policies & a vision that empowers people to succeed, not bullying them into hopelessness. That people will once again see the possiblities of a job well done and start to play. Start to focus on what's best for the mutual benefit of their clients, themselves and their employer.....not just how to survive. For too long, it's been mediocrity was the safe zone and that if you can't win, you won't play. My hope is this will once again become a great place to work with people freely exchanging ideas to help each other...not be pitted against each other.
Life is about change, so here's to that change and hope for what could be the emergence of a better future for SGVN.
to 10:00, right back at you. i don't see your name here. and to 10:19, if you really believe you are going to get someone to fill your wish list at sgvn, you need a drug test.
10:44 You represent that you are speaking for many in the advertising department who will miss him. You would have more credibility of you owned your statement. It is obvious that you did not work in SGVN's advertising department.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..."
To 10:44, you miss my point. NO ONE COULD BE WORSE.
To those who "liked and appreciated him" you must have been one of the chosen few who he "fed" during his regime...or more to the point, your number had not yet come up. You also can feel free to follow him to his next destination if you think he's so driven, talented, innovative.....
well boys and girls, all are entitled to their thoughts. just because someone is anonymous in their postings as everyone in this tree is, doesn't mean they don't work in the ad dept or haven't worked in the ad dept.
rest assured there are some that enjoyed the experience and some who didn't.
and to those of you who think it can't get worse, we will just have to wait and see. how have you liked the reign of lambert and hamilton over the last 18 months?
San Gabe was better before.
Amen 2:05.
to 10:44's remark:
"and to those of you who think it can't get worse, we will just have to wait and see. how have you liked the reign of lambert and hamilton over the last 18 months?"
I think that question has been answered by 12:55 and his post: "it is rare that you have a number of employees sue you-as "allegedly" did Randy. HR had been at SGVN for the last 4 to 6 weeks interviewing his direct reports before the hammer dropped."
At least a lot a people are breathing easier, relaxing and trying to recover from the Post Tramatic Stress Disorder they've been suffering from since Randy was inflicted upon them.
As the transplanted little eddie is proving at the SD UT cutting and downsizing is a fact of newspaper life today, but thankfully for some, Randy no longer is.
It appears there was a good Randy and a bad Randy as described by hopefully people that worked with him. All I can say from my own experience in dealing with him and those of many others, he was a solid ad man who didn't have the best communication skills with his team. Not meant as an excuse, but, if you are working at an outfit like LANG, that changes from hour to hour, how did he constantly get results that were the best within LANG and MNG? It seems to be a cross purposes. Don't by the rumors that he was having these massive HR problems. Like most managers, it happens. If in fact he is as bad as you say he would have been let go long before now. Also, if he had accused of infractions, why wasn't he confronted and told about them? Hate him all you want, he produced and a large part of the staff isn't happy about it. The guy they are suppossed to be bringing in isn't a star, we will see how he does.
Another example of how bad LANG communicates with employees. As mentioned by other posters, no other news organization that appears on this site gets the venom that MNG and LANG does. Whether it is about layoffs, terminations, or announcements, they win the I hate to work here by a giant margin.
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