From the Indiana Oracle:
Pay rose, stress fell away; the focus of many news organizations became more obviously sociologic and agenda-centered. The news media (print and TV), academia and Left-leaning politicians became a cabal. During the last election nearly everyone in the national news business with a Left political bias (the majority) wrote and behaved as if they were seeking employment in the Obama administration. Many still are.
All of this paints a picture of an insular newspaper industry focused more on itself than on prospering as a commercial enterprise. It was only a matter of time before events would catch up. Now they have.
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Livingston County daily newspaper cuts staff
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus has announced a significant but unspecified number of layoffs as it grapples with steep revenue declines.
General Manager and Executive Editor Rich Perlberg says the number is more than 10 of a total staff of 95. It includes Managing Editor Maria Stuart.
The paper is owned by Gannett Co., which had layoffs last year. The Daily Press & Argus wasn't included then.
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General Manager and Executive Editor Rich Perlberg says the number is more than 10 of a total staff of 95. It includes Managing Editor Maria Stuart.
The paper is owned by Gannett Co., which had layoffs last year. The Daily Press & Argus wasn't included then.
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2 central Pa. newspapers to combine operations
Two central Pennsylvania newspapers that share both a corporate owner and a newsroom plan to consolidate operations and publish a combined edition starting in June, a move expected to lead to dozens of layoffs.
The Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era, an afternoon newspaper, will begin publishing a single morning edition Monday through Saturday starting June 29, according to Lancaster Newspapers Inc. The company plans to cut about 60 full-time jobs and 40 part-time jobs as the operations are streamlined.
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The Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era, an afternoon newspaper, will begin publishing a single morning edition Monday through Saturday starting June 29, according to Lancaster Newspapers Inc. The company plans to cut about 60 full-time jobs and 40 part-time jobs as the operations are streamlined.
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The Quality-Control Quandary
As newspapers shed copy editors and post more and more unedited stories online, what’s the impact on their content? American Journalism Review takes a look.
News Hits Just as Detroit Papers Begin Limited Home Delivery
On a day when news about General Motors Corp. was virtually everywhere, the one place the headlines didn't reach was the doorsteps of residents of Detroit, GM's home base.
Under a new distribution model announced in December, Gannett Co.'s Free Press and MediaNews Group's News this week limited their home delivery to Thursday and Friday, while only the Free Press arrives Sunday.
On other days, the two papers will publish an abbreviated print paper sold only on the newsstand and a replica electronic edition available via the Internet.
On Monday, the two dailies marked the occasion by distributing about a half-million copies of the abbreviated papers free at 18,000 locations throughout Michigan.
The papers also offered free access to electronic editions, which attracted so much traffic its pages were "very slow to load" for part of the morning, said Janet Hasson, senior vice president, audience development at the Detroit Media Partnership, which publishes the two papers.
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Under a new distribution model announced in December, Gannett Co.'s Free Press and MediaNews Group's News this week limited their home delivery to Thursday and Friday, while only the Free Press arrives Sunday.
On other days, the two papers will publish an abbreviated print paper sold only on the newsstand and a replica electronic edition available via the Internet.
On Monday, the two dailies marked the occasion by distributing about a half-million copies of the abbreviated papers free at 18,000 locations throughout Michigan.
The papers also offered free access to electronic editions, which attracted so much traffic its pages were "very slow to load" for part of the morning, said Janet Hasson, senior vice president, audience development at the Detroit Media Partnership, which publishes the two papers.
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Newspapers' fall from grace hard to take
Cliff Pletschet writes:
I have good reason to yearn for my daily fix of newspaper reading. I was born into the business. It was 70 years ago this summer that I, at the green young age of 9, went to work at my father's printing office, which produced the Kamsack Times, a weekly newspaper in that Saskatchewan town of 2,000 souls and environs plush with farmlands.
I learned right off to make up pages in chases on stones, run linotypes and presses. I was what was called in those days a ``printer's devil'', a name which had nothing to do with deviltry and everyday to do with learning the business.
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I have good reason to yearn for my daily fix of newspaper reading. I was born into the business. It was 70 years ago this summer that I, at the green young age of 9, went to work at my father's printing office, which produced the Kamsack Times, a weekly newspaper in that Saskatchewan town of 2,000 souls and environs plush with farmlands.
I learned right off to make up pages in chases on stones, run linotypes and presses. I was what was called in those days a ``printer's devil'', a name which had nothing to do with deviltry and everyday to do with learning the business.
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Another Month of Media Job Losses
Richard Brenneman writes:
In 2008, reports Paper Cuts, a weblog that tracks U.S. newspaper closings and staff reductions cost, the country’s papers lost at least 15,859 jobs.
So it’s an ominous sign for 2009 that cutbacks in the year’s first three months are nearly half of the total for all of last year. (See http://graphicdesignr.net/papercuts)
As of early Tuesday afternoon, March 31, the website was reporting at least 7,562 newspaper positions have vanished so far in 2009, a year in which major newsrooms have shut down their presses, including Denver’s Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. And that number had risen by 237 in the previous four hours.
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In 2008, reports Paper Cuts, a weblog that tracks U.S. newspaper closings and staff reductions cost, the country’s papers lost at least 15,859 jobs.
So it’s an ominous sign for 2009 that cutbacks in the year’s first three months are nearly half of the total for all of last year. (See http://graphicdesignr.net/papercuts)
As of early Tuesday afternoon, March 31, the website was reporting at least 7,562 newspaper positions have vanished so far in 2009, a year in which major newsrooms have shut down their presses, including Denver’s Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. And that number had risen by 237 in the previous four hours.
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New York Times Union to Meet on Publisher’s Salary-Cut Proposal
New York Times Co.’s biggest union will meet today to discuss a proposal from the company that would save the publisher as much as $4.5 million this year.
The company is asking the Newspaper Guild of New York to accept a 5 percent pay cut or risk losing about 80 jobs, including 70 in the New York Times newsroom, the union said in a letter to members posted on its Web site yesterday. Catherine Mathis, a Times Co. spokeswoman, said the publisher doesn’t comment on internal negotiations.
Times Co. said last week it was eliminating 100 positions and imposing a salary cut of as much as a 5 percent for non- union members in all of its businesses in exchange for additional time off. The publisher also is seeking to sell a minority stake in the Boston Red Sox baseball team and halted its dividend as advertising sales plunge.
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The company is asking the Newspaper Guild of New York to accept a 5 percent pay cut or risk losing about 80 jobs, including 70 in the New York Times newsroom, the union said in a letter to members posted on its Web site yesterday. Catherine Mathis, a Times Co. spokeswoman, said the publisher doesn’t comment on internal negotiations.
Times Co. said last week it was eliminating 100 positions and imposing a salary cut of as much as a 5 percent for non- union members in all of its businesses in exchange for additional time off. The publisher also is seeking to sell a minority stake in the Boston Red Sox baseball team and halted its dividend as advertising sales plunge.
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San Francisco Chronicle union says 120 take voluntary severance
The San Francisco Chronicle’s newsroom union said about 120 workers volunteered to leave their jobs in exchange for severance packages from Hearst Corp., which threatened to shutter the newspaper if it couldn’t negotiate sufficient cuts.
The employees represent about one-fourth of California Media Workers Guild members at the newspaper. They have until April 3 to rescind their offer to accept severance, said unit chair Michelle Devera in an interview.
The number of volunteers falls short by 30 of Hearst’s goal, meaning some workers may lose their jobs involuntarily, she said. Paul Luthringer, a Hearst spokesman, referred questions to Chronicle spokeswoman Kelly Harville, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment after regular business hours.
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The employees represent about one-fourth of California Media Workers Guild members at the newspaper. They have until April 3 to rescind their offer to accept severance, said unit chair Michelle Devera in an interview.
The number of volunteers falls short by 30 of Hearst’s goal, meaning some workers may lose their jobs involuntarily, she said. Paul Luthringer, a Hearst spokesman, referred questions to Chronicle spokeswoman Kelly Harville, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment after regular business hours.
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Livingston County Daily Press & Argus announces 'significant' layoffs
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus announced what it called a "significant" work-force reduction Tuesday in a step that a company official said was necessary to cope with "staggering" revenue declines.
General Manager and Executive Editor Rich Perlberg declined to specify the total number of layoffs, but said the number was "more than 10" from a total work force of 95.
The layoffs included two high-profile members of the news department: Managing Editor Maria Stuart and Metro Editor-Features Henry "Buddy" Moorehouse.
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General Manager and Executive Editor Rich Perlberg declined to specify the total number of layoffs, but said the number was "more than 10" from a total work force of 95.
The layoffs included two high-profile members of the news department: Managing Editor Maria Stuart and Metro Editor-Features Henry "Buddy" Moorehouse.
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The Huffington Post acquires the New York Times
Because it only happens once a year:
The Huffington Post today announced that it has acquired a majority stake in the New York Times Company.
The price of the acquisition was not disclosed, but is believed to have been facilitated with the help of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, a major investor in the company. Slim will maintain a minority ownership stake, and under the deal obtained ownership of the physical assets of the group, including outright ownership of radio station WQXR-FM.
Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington said in a statement that the New York Times would cease print publication on Friday, after which it would become an internet only publication.
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The Huffington Post today announced that it has acquired a majority stake in the New York Times Company.
The price of the acquisition was not disclosed, but is believed to have been facilitated with the help of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, a major investor in the company. Slim will maintain a minority ownership stake, and under the deal obtained ownership of the physical assets of the group, including outright ownership of radio station WQXR-FM.
Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington said in a statement that the New York Times would cease print publication on Friday, after which it would become an internet only publication.
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