Mass Resignations Cripple Cygnus Title

And others will soon follow. It's just a matter of time.

The saga continues...I'm sure they'll come up with some matrix fix the problem... Man, when are these fools going to wise up? People do not need Cygnus, Cygnus needs people.

Somebody is hard at work on another spreadsheet as we speak.....

I'd have loved to have been a fly on that wall when the four of them told Cygnus' upper management where they were going. It's going to be big news when it gets out--and it's just the beginning of the mass exodus, as many others are planning to leave as well. I'm sure Cygnus' advertisers are worried about where all of this is leading--I know I would be if I had invested money with this company. The owners of Cygnus have no one to blame but themselves.

I guess this means we can expect the Wikipedia entry for Cygnus to be updated again. It usually is right after news like this gets out. Then it gets changed back by the damage-control folks at Cygnus. Then someone comes along and adds the deleted info back in.

I'm sure double D and double M are going after these guys with big fat offers in hand to try and do some damage control. My guess...20k + per valued employee (that right their is an oxymoron)...my other guess...no thanks.

Four people quitting from one magazine at the same time really is an interesting story. Hope you guys keep us posted on what DoDo, DD, whatever, does now! But I really hope Folio gives as much attention to the 30 who will be losing their jobs at Arby's other property -- Krause Publications -- this week as they do when a few people leave to make it big on their own.

That's the second time in 6 month that an entire "brain trust" left...remember the RV guys back in November? I hope the Krause guys will come out ok...that's quite the mess too!!!

Cygnus was (is) a company built up of small town ego (hey the only other employer in their WI HQ dairy cow town is a plastic food model company for Japanese restaurants; and 2nd city Chicago need I say more?) What ego/nerve to put tons of money in a new WI building infrastructure instead of people. And the poor Melville LI group moved from one mold infested tiny office to another (many of whom were so provincial they hated/were afraid of NYC). A mean spiritedness bunch and their deadwood sycophants. Whatever smart staffers they had or bought (& in buying they fired most of the talent)either left or were forced to leave. I saw publishers arrive and leave the next day after they got a glimpse of the set-up. Employees (except for the smug/benefited up PTN ones who had managed to be there for many many years including old-time Melville staffers and JJ-who deserved his fate- and his small town underpaid inside sales staff in WI) always complained because they had every right to. How much bad treatment and disrespect can one take? Forced time off with no pay for Christmas/Thanksgiving? Added working hours with no pay- half hour lunches and 5:30 closing? Paying morally despicable favorites and underpaying the workers? Unbelievable they could spiral down even more (I guess there is no bottoming out in hell). One of our groups mags was once the bible of its' industry & now looks so thin it might just as well disappear. Another mag had its entire experienced and hardworking intelligent sales/editorial and way too loyal Melville staff canned only to have it replaced by a group in Chicago (because DD wanted more power we heard) that stole our re-launch ideas, placed a new publisher & editor who announced in their first issue's notes that they had no experience/contacts/knowledge in the industry and would love to grown and learn (sure enough it lasted 2 issues or so and folded). Cygnus constantly had angry talented people departing, glad it's out in the open now. Makes one really long for the days when b2b publishing was "family" run by sharp, good guys - the ones who also knew how to retain and protect staff for the long haul and prospered greatly at the same time (ie: Bill Ziff, Rupert Murdoch, John Fairchild Et Al).

Its sad to me how a few of you fail to see how great of a Company Cygnus really is. I do blame the lack of cheerleading here lately on our leadership, but it doesn't change the fact that those crying are the same that choose to point fingers instead of joining the rest of us to make Cygnus even better. Has anyone mentioned that those that left happened to sit right next to the RV guys? Or play in a band together? The only surprise here is the level of arrogance. My sympathy to those that need to pick of the pieces from the mess caused because of how they choose to leave. To observers: Cygnus is a strong company and it may surprise some that its most talented aren't the ones jumping ship.

> "Or play in a band together?" Band? What kind of band? The guys from Aircraft Maintenance Technology are in a band? And, more importantly, do they have a MySpace page?

Yes there are good people (& many friendships) within your company - as publishing people know how to relate/communicate and have a good time on a personal/professional level in spite of poor/no management, that's for sure - that's a major reason why so many stay aside from the fact their job location may present obstacles to moving on (as someone else mentioned in Jan08 comments). And with regard to those jumping ship being less talented, that is down right bull. In 2004 a bible of its' industry had the publisher, a brilliant editor and an excellent sales person also all leave together at the same time as well (not under the current management - under the prior management team); so many many talented have left in the last few years how can you put them down?...nothing new here. And as an aside, the comments regarding the Harvard degree (was it in the Arts? and who knows how well they did in school etc. comment in Jan08/Feb08 in relation to the salary cuts postings), sorry to say this but affirmative action plays a big part for some entrants - and their siblings - in getting into the Ivy League...

One EX AMT guy, One Ex RV Guy, One Ex Wood guy, and 2 Current Cygnus Employees are in this band!  Ooh no!  Perhaps the songs are proprietary information so it should really be stopped? Rock N Roll is soooo evil!  Rumor also has it if you play the Band's music backward - you can hear Dave Davel chanting "I will Rule the World."

Yes music is bad, thats exactly what he meant. /rollseyes. The point was that these guys all sat together and got connected regularly after work spending most of their time bitching to each-other about how much better they were than everyone else. When the RV guys left their buddies were soon to follow. That helped who? I agree. Misery loves company and these guys were sour grapes. But seriously, I wish them well in life.

How immature! Grow up and graduate from High School!

I was once told that when a bad sitatuion gets worse it's time to look at who is staying not who is leaving as the source of the problem. So what does that really say about the "talent" staying behind at Cygnus...and if they are so talented why hasn't the management begun to turn this ship around??!!

I always liked Greg, Danny and Joe (don't know Bob). Best wishes to them in their new endeavor. It's a fairly safe bet that they didn't bail without the "promise" of a great new gig. Unfortunately, the grass often is less-green on the other side of the fence.

I suggest everyone ignore "Misery Loves Company"'s post as the obvious upper-management plant that it is. Honestly, the person responsible for PR and damage control at Cygnus is incredibly inept at it. I can't imagine how this person hasn't yet been fired, as she gets called out for it every time.

What an idiotic comment to make. They're in a band together? So what? What the heck does that have to do with how badly the company runs its own affairs and mistreats its staff? The employees at Cygnus are NOT happy there for the most part and everyone knows it, including the advertisers, and no amount of pretending on the part of the execs can change that. Cygnus is dying, both internally and in the eyes of both readers and those who used to buy ads. The rapidly shrinking staff and the rapidly shrinking magazines make that clear. Those who left did so because they realized there was nowhere to go at Cygnus now that it's become such a joke. Those who choose to remain at the company are only there because they haven't yet found a better place to go. It's common knowledge at the Melville office that many more people will soon be leaving. What does that say about Cygnus? Nothing flattering.

I cannot get over how unbelievably juvenille both the current and former Cygnus employees are coming off. If you hate it so much, leave. If you've already left, get over it and move on with your life.

...that's what they're doing--leaving. That's what this article was about. Did you even read it before attacking people?

I needed to connect the dots for you, but I'm referring not to the articles themselves but the endless whining in the blogs both here and several months ago when the last news came out.

If the vitriol you share on this blog resembles an average day at Cygnus, I say - GET OUT! Whew - if this is how strangers and co-workers react to each other, the office environment must be toxic. Good luck!

People sure are passionate about Cygnus, aren't they? Four people quit and the blogs are on fire. Thirty people get laid off from F&W and there's barely a peep after the Folio story. What's going on at F&W that isn't happening at Cygnus? We know F&W is swinging the ax in a dark room full of good people. Lately Cygnus associates have experienced some poor management, a slight temporary decrease in pay and a few people have quit to try to wrestle their piece of a diminishing American dream!

F&W may be owned by the same investment company, but really has nothing to do with Cygnus...most of the current Cygnus employees don't even know what F&W is.

Seprerate from the obvious emotion is the reality that the current Co-CEOS beleive they are "owed" something by the remnant of veterans. The truth is that along with the declining resources and incentives is also a huge decline in morale and perceived loyalty. If the senior management at Cygnus would take a "we" instead of "me" approach then the level of respect and loyalty would begin to return. An oldie but goodie "There is no "I" in team" Mr Davis.

...is that the recent events are just the icing on the cake. Since the late '90s, things have steadily gotten worse at the company, to the point that everyone feels devalued and demoralized. No one has a voice anymore. All of the veterans have been fired in endless rounds of layoffs. Budgets have been cut so thin, over and over again, that people are working a TON of extra hours with half the staff size in order to get their work out. And no one ever gets a thank-you or an acknowledgement that they've got any value to offer. The recent pay cut is just a small piece of the bigger puzzle. People at Cygnus are tired of being bulled and pushed around, and now they're venting on the blogs because they have no other recourse--the upper management fires those who dissent, and the job market in the publishing field is declining, so they're damned if they stay and they can't find jobs to leave. And since the execs' only response to all the complaining is to have a PR person pose as a happy employee from time to time, rather than actually doing anything to fix the situation, the resentment and anger just continue to grow. Expect to see more of the same.

The restructuring and "Brand Managers" (without any real authority) is a BIG reason behind these departures. People have been let go and positions eliminated to try and meet unreal expectations in this economic cycle. ABRY paid to much for this company and is trying desperately to salvage the investment. A number of good upper level management are gone. Good people have been "promoted" into positions they did not want and are not qualified to fill. With no leadership from the upper levels that have been eliminated there is no support for the struggling Brand managers. At Cygnus it is ALL ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE. The bottom line for a number of people (and there will be more) is that when an opportunity arises where you will be appreciated, managed, supported, and rewarded it is time to get out. It might interest the Co CEO boys that gas and food as well as other things have gone up in even this sleepy little area of Wisconsin. While opportunities are not plentiful they are out there. WAKE UP, this is not manufacturing your greatest asset is your PEOPLE thet them like you realize that.