Recession, Revolution and a Leaner Times

Clark Hoyt writes:

IN his autobiography “The Good Times,” Russell Baker described the Times newsroom he joined in 1954 as “comically overstaffed.” Baker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington reporter and columnist, quoted a colleague’s explanation for all the idle reporters playing bridge and working crossword puzzles:

Adolph Ochs, who bought The Times in 1896 and turned it into a colossus of journalism, “always liked to have enough people around to cover the story when the Titanic sinks,” said Meyer Berger, a legendary Times reporter.

The era of playing cards and reading Dostoyevsky while waiting for the big assignment is long gone.

}}} full column {{{
.

Trib solidifes standing, overtakes Post-Gazette for first time

Newspaper industry maven John Morton rifled through his memory for cities still served by two dailies, given the recent deaths of several newspapers.

"Hold on. Let me make sure I'm up to date and haven't missed anything today," said Morton, chuckling at his gallows humor. "Two-newspaper towns are rare. But you still have Boston and New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago."

And Pittsburgh.

In fact, the Tribune-Review solidified its standing in Western Pennsylvania last week by overtaking the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the first time. The Trib topped the P-G in Saturday circulation and is beginning to pull even with Monday-through-Friday editions.

}}} full story {{{
.