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 Schadenfreude  |
Posted on 12/08/2003 7:35:18 AM PST by Liz
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN DEC 07, 2003 19:51:03 ET XXXXX
Freelancers and per-diems are receiving early Christmas presents at all-news cable channel MSNBC -- after layoff slips are quietly passed around the network's offices!
"People are in shock over it," said one fired peacock.
Cut from payroll in recent weeks have been producers, line producers, tape producers, associate producers, segment producers and writers.
One insider describes the action as "rolling layoffs" as the network continues to struggle with its identity and its ratings.
"Look, we are making a profit, and the numbers are going up," said a network executive on Sunday evening, who asked not to be named.
The executive refused to detail the exact number of people let go, but added, "The fact is, we are launching a new primetime schedule, and I think you'll see us hire people back and hire new people for new shows."
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Filed By Matt Drudge Reports are moved when circumstances warrant http://www.drudgereport.com for updates
(c) DRUDGE REPORT 2003 Not for reproduction without permission of the author
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Schadenfreude |
This has little to nothing to do with the economy. MSNBC has been one of the worst-managed operations in America since the day it launched ... no logical business plan, a spendthrift corporate culture, etc. It's just that after 7 1/2 years of being allowed to drift aimlessly, General Electric has finally had enough and is breathing down the necks of the inept MSNBC suits, telling them to get their act together or else. And when inept managers need to make themselves look good real damn fast, they always play the same card: Fire people to increase their revenue numbers.
Even if we were in the middle of the most booming economy in history, MSNBC would still be a financial basket case, and these layoffs still would have occurred.
The only reason MSNBC "makes a profit" is because of the way the partnership between Microsoft and GE is structured. GE gets a big chunk (maybe even half) of the profits realized by the web site - even though it's run almost entirely by Microsoft except for the oversight of the hard news content - and NBC gets to use the cable channel as an accounting tool to amortize the day-to-day costs of running NBC News. If MSNBC were ever cut loose to fend for itself, especially if Microsoft kept the web site, it wouldn't survive 90 days.
As for "the numbers going up", they've gone up only the tiniest bit, and that's only because MSNBC is coming off some all-time lows. When you go from a 0.1 rating to a 0.2, you can either rationalize it as "doubling your ratings", or admit the truth that you need at least two to three times that number to survive. MSNBC, as always, is choosing the former.
The executive refused to detail the exact number of people let go, but added, "The fact is, we are launching a new primetime schedule, and I think you'll see us hire people back and hire new people for new shows."
Quite interesting that he says this right after trumpeting his "higher numbers", isn't it? If your numbers are truly trending upwards, you don't wreak havoc with your schedule and bring that trend to a screeching halt. He just admitted he's lying.
A few months ago, Nachman was on with Imus and said they'd had a meeting the previous day, where the following factoid was put forth: In the last five years, MSNBC had made SIXTY-NINE changes to its primetime schedule. Fox had only made two: Once when Paula Zahn jumped ship (and thus was beyond their control) and the other when they simply switched two shows' time slots.
Since that interview, MSNBC has fiddled with primetime at least twice.
Perhaps, but layoffs have become part of corporate culture no matter how well a business is doing. It's all about stock value and shareholders now.
Same as it ever was. People like to look back to a far gone time when things were better. But the truth of the matter is that things were lousy back then, too.
Poor ships with incompetent crews sink even in the calmest weather.
MSNBC is certainly not immune to market forces. This economic wind is fine. The crew doesn't seam willing to sail with it.
Answer: Get a new crew before the ship sinks.
Untrue.
Used to be that a company didn't disproportianately pay the top members of a corporation such a high percentage of the company's cash.
I believe that the top parts of the corporation now keep ten times a higher percentage than they used to retain. I don't remember the exact figures but I'll try and track them down.
I also know that companies routinely lay off employees while granting unbelievable amounts of money to its officers, even as a company goes under, as witnessed quite often in the news over the last few years.
This is a relatively new behavior, and as far as I'm concerned incredibly criminal.
Steal twenty-one dollars from a 7-11, go to prison. Take a few billion from a corporation that you've just let to its destruction, retire to your mansion, courtesy of the cash lined pockets of your local politician.
In fact I would argue that the MS portion of MSNBC is essential to their success. There is little doubt but that the interactivity via their WWW presence and savvy has been an important part of their success.
Some folks at MSNBC are just in that bind of needing and wanting some media related employment.
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