kk

An online news service I receive made the following report that may be of significance to us fodorites...&lt;&lt;PW Daily for Booksellers from Publishers Weekly <BR>http://www.publishersweekly.com&gt;&gt; <BR> <BR>Fodors.com Scales Back Staff <BR> <BR>Following a reassessment of its business prospects, Random House has <BR>restructured the operations of its fodors.com unit, particularly those <BR>activities directly associated with its Web site. Effective immediately, <BR>Random has stopped developing editorial features exclusively for the site <BR>and has also reduced its consumer marketing efforts. As a result of the <BR>cutbacks, 13 fodors.com employees will be leaving Random, while a number of <BR>technical support people and editors have joined other Random divisions. It <BR>is estimated that about a dozen staff members remain dedicated to <BR>fodors.com, which continues under the direction of Brent Peich. <BR> <BR>Fodors.com will continue to adapt content from its books for use on the <BR>site and the company will also make its material available for publication <BR>as e-books or through other digital distribution channels. In addition, <BR>Random will continue to pursue licensing deals; it already has agreements <BR>with American Express, American Airlines and Sprint. <BR> <BR>In her memo to employees, Bonnie Ammer, president of the Random House <BR>Information Group, said the "difficult Internet business environment" <BR>forced Random to evaluate the priorities for its Web site.--Jim Milliot <BR>

Lisa

Hmmm, wonder what that "difficult Internet business environment" could be? <BR> <BR>I don't think we have any worries. We have many respondents who could (and have) take(n) over their jobs. They don't need to worry about paying these people salaries either.

Rex

I would assume that "difficult Internet business environment" means inability to sell advertising. <BR>

Rex

The specific URL for this story is <BR> <BR>http://www.publishersweekly.com/arti...658.asp#Fodors <BR>

martha python

Lisa, what do you mean by "I don't think we have any worries. We have many respondents who could (and have) take(n) over their jobs. They don't need to worry about paying these people salaries either"? <BR>Who is we, and don't we care if our friends at Fodor's get laid off?

Lisa

By "We" I mean those of us who are addicted to this board, (myself included) and who would have a few extra hours in the day if we had no Fodors board to satisfy our habit. <BR> <BR>And you are right. I do feel awful for those who lost their jobs and hope that they get organised soon.

s.fowler

Wow. Not surprising -- but still wow. <BR> <BR>I wonder if we'll find out the fate of Danny, David and Aisling, not to mention Terri.

Ed

Regrets to the Fodors.com staffers. <BR>Whether we knew you by name or not, you've done a great job with the site, added value and pleasure to forum participants od and new, <BR>and we thank you. <BR> <BR>To "those in charge" (read: whomever is left): <BR> <BR>It would be startlingly unusual for a business to share what's happened to its employees with its "customers". Nonetheless, I do hope you shun tradition and let us know who's left, and what's become of the others. Despite the spats, this forum has some of the characteristics of a family. Let us know what's happened. <BR> <BR>Ed

ron

On the other hand, Ed, I suspect that Random House's decision to cut back fodors.com was precipitated in part by the dismal failure of fodors.com's management and technical team to implement the "new improved" forum. This must have cost Random House a fair chunk of money with, apparently, zero return.

Ed

Seems like there's no event that safe from spatting in this family, eh? <BR> <BR>

justwondering

Hey Rex, I hope they didn't fire you too, that would be heartbreaking!

pam

Good luck to those who will be leaving. Thank you for the work you've done here--it is appreciated. <BR> <BR>Ed--maybe we should say, "This board has many characteristics of family, spats for example."

xxx

The cut and paste of this announcement on the US forum has generated very little reaction, and none on the grab bag forum. <BR> <BR>It seems that this forum takes the pulse of the Fodors staff; the other forums may not feel as much like a community. <BR>

coco

To quote from the May 10 letter circulated at Fodor's (and from which the PW story was gleaned: "Fodors.com...remains an integral component of our overall publishing programs. Visitors who log onto out site will continue to enjoy Fodor's comprehensively updated content and, through our popular Forums, conversations within the online community." Thought I'd share the "good news" portion of the memo.

Danny Mangin

Hello All -- <BR> <BR>As you might have gathered, it's been a busy week, so sorry about the delay in responding to this and other threads about the layoffs here. The notice picked up by Publishers Weekly, which has been copied into threads in various forums, lays out the reasoning for staff reductions, but here are the answers to the questions about who's gone and who remains. <BR> <BR>Of the people some of you have been used to hearing about, Terri Wearsch and Dave Downing are no longer with Fodors.com. Terri Wearsch was one of the best publicists I've ever had the pleasure of working with---we're all going to miss her greatly. Dave Downing worked very hard on the editorial aspects of the forums, planned the Conversation Piece/Hosted Forums, and edited many a Miniguide. He was immensely talented and an absolute joy to have around the office. We'll so miss his cheerful ways. <BR> <BR>Aisling Brennan (producer), Chris Gilbert (engineer), and I are still at Fodors.com. We'll continue to do our best to keep the forums running as smoothly as possible. <BR> <BR>Thanks as always for your support and feedback. <BR> <BR>Yours truly -- <BR> <BR>Danny Mangin <BR>Editorial Director <BR>

Art

Danny, thank you very much for the update. We feel sad about the loss of your co-workers, but hope that you and the remaining ones are around for a long time. <BR>

dana

Danny, thanks for the update. I am so sorry to hear about the layoffs.

Thyra

Danny et al... I am soooo sorry. In my experience when people get laid off at any company it tends to cast a gloom over the "survivors". I am so terribly sorry, you had a responsive, talented team which definately helped to pull me off Frommer's and onto Fodor's...(send that up to management!) I will greatly miss the other team members who regardless of "new format" issues were always pleasant and, IMHO an integral part of what made this board such a communal, fun, diverse place to hang out. <BR>My best wishes for all of the team, both on and newly departed!!!

kk

Dear Danny, thanks so much for updating us. A huge percentage of us have been through layoffs, I imagine, on both sides of the experience and realize that these aren't fun times for you, and especially for the dearly departed. We appreciate all the work you have done, and are going to need to do in the future, and we love you all one hundred percent. Just speaking for myself of course, but I bet also for hundreds of others as well. Thanks again for writing, and keep up the good fight. Ciao, kk

mac

Danny, I'm so sorry to hear that you have lost the pleasure of working with several of your valued friends and colleagues. <BR> <BR>I wish your former workmates luck, but I know that you and your remaining staff need more than luck, if you are to continue running a site that must pose many challenges both technical and editorial. Maybe you could let us know how we could help to keep the board viable, say by clicking more often on advertisers, etc. <BR> <BR>I was glad to hear from the source about what happened, and suspect others feel the same way.