Note: Gannett managers, as a matter of company policy, are not permitted to give professional references. Therefore, I include excerpts below from my 2008 performance review, rated commendable overall — defined by the company as being “a real producer.” Specific comments from department manager include:

On headlines: “You followed a spectacular 2006 effort with a solid 2007.”

On accuracy and grammar (rated superior): “With few exceptions, your writing and editing is clean.”

Team work (rated superior): “No one is more interested in helping colleagues than you.”

Initiative (rated superior): “You proof as aggressively as anyone, and you’ve gone to great lengths to learn as much as you can about our Web site.”

Online work: “Greg can be quite Web-savvy, and has the potential to be a solid contributor to DesMoinesRegister.com as a blogger. He is very conscientious about our print and online products. He has the opportunity to increase his value by becoming our live-posting coordinator.”