Death Notices

Editor & Publisher in Exile link added

2010-03-01T19:41:00.004-05:00

A link to Greg Mitchell's blog is in the industry links section.

The view from 2010

2010-01-04T20:43:00.002-05:00

One senses that the newspaper business is experiencing a bit of a lull. The economy is improving somewhat, providing some hope that advertising revenues might recover a little bit. But the underlying problems with the print newspaper business model are still there. The Great Recession exacerbated the problems, but did not cause them. Newspapers have weathered past downturns better than many industries.

The biggest paper to undergo some major restructuring over the holiday period was the Washington Times, but that paper is a unique beast -- more of a vanity press than anything else -- and provides little guidance on how things are faring with more ordinary papers. Many papers will undoubtedly be taking stock now that the calendar year has closed and we may get a better sense in this quarter about how 2010 will be.

E&P RIP

2009-12-10T17:43:00.003-05:00

Editor & Publisher, the trade magazine for the newspaper industry, is closing up shop.

Didn't see that one coming. I would have thought that they would have been in a better position than many to weather the storm because a lot of their subscriber base is institutional.

Guess not.

The casualties will continue to mount, no doubt. Even if the ecomomy is turning around, and I see little direct evidence of it, it may not for print media.

Dallas Morning news editors report to ad managers

2009-12-04T00:56:00.002-05:00

Oh, this will help.

They don;t seem to get it. A newspaper's rep is the only thing it really has. Politico and Huffington Post show that new media can be populated by new organizations just as well as established ones. If the Dallas Morning News is perceived to be just another Web site then they're abandoning their best asset.

Foolish.

Washington Times plans big cuts

2009-12-02T22:31:00.004-05:00

Looks like the Washington Times is about to abandon the daily newspaper business. "Significant reductions" are planned, according to TPM, but the more interesting news is that the paper is likely dropping its Metro and Sports departments and ending home delivery.

It's going to be a propaganda organ, plain and simple.

USA Today cuts news jobs

2009-12-01T20:13:00.003-05:00

The Washington Business Journal reports USA Today is cutting 26 more newsroom jobs and Gannett's newspapers are implementing a 1-week furlough in the first quarter as the newspaper chain continues to struggle.

While the economy may be turning around I doubt it will be quick enough or robust enough to save most daily newspapers.

Washington Post hunkers down

2009-11-24T21:01:00.002-05:00

It looks like the Washington Post is pulling out of its bureaus in other U.S. cities to concentrate on Washington-area coverage in yet another example of cuts that can't help but devalue the content of the news organization.

One wonders if sacrificing content makes sense given the competitive environment.

When all else fails -- cheat

2009-11-23T20:53:00.002-05:00

Evidently, as bad as recent reports of newspaper circulation losses are, in reality they are probably worse. According to this article new auditing rules mean that newspapers can doublecount online and print subscribers.

Good Luck making that work

2009-11-09T09:59:00.003-05:00

Murdoch is suggesting that his new paid content sites will be invisible to Google.

It will be interesting to see if he can make that work. I'm skeptical, because Google is not only most people's first choice for searching for information, but their last. IO think Google is becoming like TV, if it's not on Google it doesn't exist.

Actually, I think this would make sense

2009-11-03T20:32:00.002-05:00

It's rumored that Google may have its eye on the New York Times.

Most initial reaction is that Google would be crazy tow ant the NYT and its problems. Perhaps true as far as it goes, but the NYT's problems mostly revolve around money and that's the one problem Google can solve.

In return Google can buy a name that still has some credibility (although damaged as of late, due to money problems) that would seem to have a lot of intangible worth for Google. Google, as behemoth as it is, has a little problem of its own. It hasn't been here very long. Linking to a venerable institution like the NYT could help give Google an aura of stability and permanence, which I think it needs to move to the next stage in its plan to take over the world.

The shape of thing to come?

2009-10-31T20:34:00.004-04:00

The overall trend is ghoulish, appropriately enough, on this Halloween 2009. Newspaper circulations are hemorrhaging readership worse than a slasher movie victim hemorrhages blood. The Washington Post explains the details.

But the essence is that almost everybody is seeing huge and fatal losses in circulation that can't be sustained more than a couple more years unless stopped.

But those few exceptions suggest which print newspapers may survive.

First off, the only large daily to see a gain was the Wall Street Journal. This suggests that a print newspaper with high quality house-generated content might survive in a few knowledge-based niches. The WSJ for finance, but are there other niches where this kind of model might work.

The other newspaper seeing gains are all smaller dailies that cover small and medium-sized cities. In many cases these cities have no other regular media covering them -- not even TV. This could be considered another niche market where there's enough demand for the information that people are willing to pay for it, and a restricted supply of quality news providers.

Sinking ships

2009-10-26T13:56:00.002-04:00

The latest circulation figures are beyond grim with most major papers seeing double digit annual drops in circulation, including big names such as the New York Times.

In particular, the Boston Globe saw an 18% drop in circulation. Obviously that kind of precipitous drop can't be sustained very long, At some point advertisers will lose faith that anyone is seeing their ads and at that point it will be time turn out the light.

We're in the endgame here. There will be a massive wave of closures over the next 12 months, led by newspapers like the Globe that have a legacy debt that there's no way they can hope to repay.

Gray Lady tightens her belt

2009-10-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

So the New York Times will eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs.

If the NYT can't hold the line on cuts, it's hard to see who can. This represents about an 8 percent cut, which will definitely result in some noticeable content changes.

Count me as a skeptic

2009-10-13T20:09:00.002-04:00

Rumor has it Apple will soon unveil a new "tablet" device that will "save" print media.

It will be interesting to see, but I suspect that the "saving" involved will not be the kind of saving the media expects and wants.

I already get the AP feed and New York Times on my Kindle. I find it very convenient and generally cost-effective. (I have dropped the NYT for now, though) That said, the key point I need to make about my Kindle is, as much as I like it, I have yet to see anyone else with one.

I'm sure there are major metro areas and college campuses where they abound, but I'm not in some desert or cave either and the fact that I don't see Kindles around makes me suspect that this kind of device will not be the wholesale salvation of newspapers.

Hard figures on newspaper declines

2009-10-02T21:15:00.003-04:00

Circulation figures don't tell the whole story, because in large measure the biggest problem for newspapers is not lost subscribers but lost advertisers.

This report indicated that year-over-year newsprint production is down more than 27%. This is significant because it reflects not just circulation declines, but less advertising as well. Papers are getting smaller.

First Amendment not always a help in a globalized world

2009-09-25T19:49:00.001-04:00

New York writer sued for defamation in Brazil over stuff he wrote in the USA.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004016119

More Courant follies

2009-09-14T17:15:00.001-04:00

Read all about it

Newspaper in Boca Raton folds print edition

2009-08-24T21:58:00.002-04:00

Editor & Publisher reports that the Boca Raton News, founded in 1955, is discontinuing its print edition due to the high cost of printing and distribution.

Courant is effectively and officially a rag, now

2009-08-18T20:39:00.004-04:00

It's very sad to see a Pulitzer-prize winning, two-century old newspaper turn into a dish rag, but the firing of the paper's consumer reporter for being an effective consumer reporter means that this has come to pass.

Details here

The bottom line is that after several days the newspaper has not credibly refuted the columnists charges, leading any neutral observer to conclude that the charge is essentially and substantially true.

Placing a marketing person in charge of the newsroom is a blunder of the first order. Sad.

Disturbing charges at The Courant

2009-08-17T17:50:00.002-04:00

The Courant's long-time consumer affairs reporter claims he was fired for a negative column about a major advertiser.

Editor & Publisher reports it here

This is, of course, disturbing on many levels, but one factor that's relevant to the future of newspapers is the kind of damage this sort of thing can do to a brand. Brand and reputation are among the most valuable assets of newspapers and tossing it away to placate an advertiser seems very short sighted, to say the least.

Still dropping

2009-07-27T21:30:00.001-04:00

Slump still stinging.

Wall Street Journal reports:

A.H. Belo Corp.'s (AHC) second-quarter loss widened as the media company's advertising revenue fell 30% amid a prolonged slump and a movement of readers to the Internet.

Healthy sense of self -- or arrogance?

2009-07-12T16:51:00.004-04:00

Interesting discussion about journalists, news and newspapers that debates the assumption that news needs journalists.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/07/04/journalistic-narcissism/

It's getting tough for weekly papers too. Bay State Banner suspends publication

2009-07-08T00:51:00.001-04:00

Boston's community newspaper for people of color suspended publication Tuesday, laying off all 12 employees.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Business/2009/07/07/Bay-State-Banner-suspends/1246984268.html

Sometimes they just disappear

2009-07-03T20:16:00.002-04:00

When the big dailies go under, there's usually at least some warning, but smaller papers can simply disappear. Here's a broadcast media web site's notice that a small newspaper serving five Texas towns simply stopped publishing.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/wfaa090703_ac_newspapers.5ffe9e5.html

Official game of the Washington Post

2009-07-02T22:11:00.001-04:00

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/washington-post-sells-access-obama-ot

Washington Post scandal

2009-07-02T17:56:00.003-04:00

This is a huge scandal.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24441.html

The single most important asset old style newspapers have going for them is their credibility. If they lose that, then they have no chance competing against TMZ or other newer media.

This appalling story is incredibly damaging to the credibility of the Post and raises questions about other leading newspapers, too. How much does this sort of thing happen, anyway? I've never heard of anything like this at a state-level newspaper, but one wonders if the rules that apply out here in the provinces apply at the Imperial Seat.

JRC set to emerge from bankruptcy on July 7

2009-06-27T20:16:00.002-04:00

Although there are some objections to the bankruptcy plan.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jgyA2Q7ANe_66zS0bxp32VfKoi6AD991V2N00

Chicago Sun-Times notes how Michael Jackson's death was a new media event

2009-06-26T22:44:00.001-04:00

Being somewhat old fashioned, I guess, I first heard about it on CNN, but for many people the initial word came over the Internet -- or Twitter.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1640816,w-jackson-news-break-internet-062509.article

WTF, Fox?

2009-06-24T19:27:00.002-04:00

Suddenly he's a "Democrat?"

Great "journalism " there, guys.

After a brief lull ...

2009-06-23T00:02:00.001-04:00

... it appears more layoffs and salary cuts are on the way. http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/06/22/daily3.html

Meanwhile the Guild and the Globe are reportedly close to a deal.

We're going Green for a bit

2009-06-16T01:23:00.002-04:00

It's a trifling gesture, but this blog will go green for a bit to express a little suport for the Iranian people.

Psst! Wanna buy a newspaper

2009-06-16T01:19:00.002-04:00

The Boston Globe is for sale -- but no one's going to pay a billion-plus bucks for it, unlike the last time it changed hands.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jkzBYoal_s1ms77Fzrfv3jMppZggD98RCTMO0

Indeed, the lucky "buyer" may actually end up being paid to take it off the hands of the New York Times. Wouldn't THAT be rich!?

So what now for The Boston Globe?

2009-06-12T17:57:00.002-04:00

Employees voted down a proposal for major concessions, so the New York Times Co. said it will declare an impasse and impose 23% pay cuts effective June 25.

A nice, disinterested and detailed analysis is here: http://www.cabot.net/Issues/CWA/Archives/2009/06/Newspaper-Controversy.aspx

It's not clear what the NYT's long-term strategy is to salvage something from this disaster. It's amazing that the Globe had reached this state, really. If the Boston Herald can hold on, somehow, it may emerge as the last man standing in the Boston media market, which is truly stunning. I don't think you could have gotten 1 out of a hundred people to predict that the Herald would outlast the Globe.

The disappearance of the Globe might also be somewhat beneficial, at least in the short term, for some of the major suburban papers such as the Lowell Sun, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune and The Patriot Ledger, all of which compete against the Globe in their own backyards.

It's sad because the NYT's problems with The Globe are truly self-inflicted. It bought The Globe for $1.1 Billion, which was never a rational price. Indeed, it could have paid just half that and still would have found itself with an overpriced possession. Even before things turned south so dramatically recently, the business plan made no sense.

While some may benefit from the Globe's demise, many more will suffer and it won't be good for journalism or the public to lose the Boston Globe.

Philadelphia Bulletin closes

2009-06-02T19:37:00.002-04:00

This isn't a case of a century-old newspaper closing. The Philadelphia Bulletin was a 2004 start up, so it's more a case of bad timing than anything else. But still, it's a voice stilled and therefore a loss.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/46697277.html?cmpid=15585797

More rounds of pay cuts

2009-05-29T17:27:00.003-04:00

Gatehouse media, which included my former newspapers The (Brockton, Mass.) Enterprise and The (Fall River, Mass.) Herald News is planning pay cuts that amount to 7.75 percent.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/05/gatehouse_plans.html

Meanwhile, 10 percent pay cuts are coming to Portland, Maine newspaper owned by the Seattle Times.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009277672_apmenewspapersale1stldwritethru.html

Pay cuts of this magnitude will have to start driving talent out of the newspaper business, in my opinion. If content suffers, newspaper brands will lose their value as well. If a newspaper's brand doesn't signify that it's news content quality is superior to some start-up Web-based news site then it cannot compete.

No letup in sight

2009-05-21T20:18:00.002-04:00

More layoffs, this time at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, as reported in Editor & Publisher. The cuts will amount to 20% of the staff.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003975725

Tucson Citizen all done Saturday

2009-05-15T19:28:00.002-04:00

The final print edition of the Tucson Citizen is being worked on as I write this and the last copies will hit newsstands tomorrow.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/

There will be an online edition that will "live" on.

I am shocked, shocked that JRC wants to break union contracts

2009-05-13T21:43:00.003-04:00

On the other hand, going bankrupt in order to do it might be a little extreme.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090513-717256.html

The Wall Street Journal article says that JRC is asking a bankruptcy judge to void some union contracts covering about 220 workers.

We will see if this works

2009-05-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

The Wall Street Journal to experiment with micropayments. An experiment that will be watched closely.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003971568

Bigger Kindle debuts

2009-05-06T18:39:00.002-04:00

Amazon announces a new Kindle that may be suitable for newspaper and magazines.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015TCML0

And the Guild blinks

2009-05-06T11:45:00.002-04:00

Not that they had much choice. I think the Times had the stronger hand to play due to the undeniable industry-wide stress and the economy.

Besides the fact that it could unilaterally impose the wage cuts after making its "last best offer" management did have a powerful argument that the very survival of the paper and therefore all the jobs was at stake. The lifetime job guarantee was not a popular position to defend to the public and it created a divide in interests between those older members of the union that it applied to and everybody else. As a general rule I think union bargaining positions are badly compromised when management can exploit a division in the ranks.

Of course, there's a very good chance that the union's sacrifices will be in vain and the paper may fail anyway, but like many emergency measures you simply do what you can now and hope for the best.

I do think there is a lesson to be derived from this for unions (and similar lessons from the fate of the autoworkers) and that is unions should be very wary of making concessions on current interests in favor of promises for the future. This is not only because management has an incentive to make promises that it cannot keep (and may have no intention of keeping. While this is a possibility, it's also true that even if management is making the promise in all good faith the simple fact is that management can't foresee the future. There is no telling what the economic reality will look like 10 or 20 years down the road. And if the money isn't there then to keep the promise it will not be kept. Only in the case of pensions -- which have some legal protection, insurance and government backing -- has that long-term bet paid off. Any promise not backed up by that kind of a system is at the mercy of conditions when the bill is due on the promise. And if the company is doing well, it's probable that the union could get a better deal then anyway.

Showdown in Boston

2009-05-05T20:28:00.001-04:00

The Times Co. tells the Guild it wants a 23% cut in payroll. Guild says the 5% cut t has offered is more than the $10 million that management demanded.

Who will blink?

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/05/globe_proposes.html

They will miss us when we're gone ...

2009-05-01T20:39:00.002-04:00

... but we'll still be gone.

Expert sees decline of print newspapers accelerating: http://www.bizreport.com/2009/05/printed_newspapers_to_decline_at_faster_rate_than_initially.html

Amusing excerpt:
However, some nostalgia remains for printed newspapers. The study found that a large percentage of Internet users remain loyal to print versions and, when asked if they would miss the print edition of their newspaper if it were no longer available, 61% of those who read newspapers offline agreed - up from 56% in 2007.

Another bankruptcy

2009-04-29T00:23:00.001-04:00

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003967275

Oh, shit!

2009-04-27T14:16:00.002-04:00

This isn't good at all. It appears circulation is starting to plummet. Double digit declines over a year ago levels are common. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003966601

This is extraordinarily bad news. as the one bright spot for newspapers up to this point was that they were retaining readership reasonably well, although facing a slow, seemingly inexorable decline. The real concerns were with advertisers. The key words in the last too sentences were the words "slow" and "were." Now, suddenly, readers are abandoning print -- and without readers there are no advertisers.

Many newspapers will not survive the summer at this rate.

High stakes game of chicken?

2009-04-24T15:21:00.004-04:00

The New York Times insists that it will hold fast to a May 1 deadline to wrest concessions from unions at the Globe or the paper may shut down. A lot is at stake for both sides, but one thing is clear. whatever the outcome the Globe as we knew it is dead. Either the Times will shut it down, or the unions will agree to concessions that will fundamentally alter the kind of paper The Globe is. The $20 million in wage and rule concessions demanded will necessarily affect quality in a direct and noticeable way.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/24/times_intends_to_enforce_deadline/

Does an online paper need a print presence?

2009-04-22T19:30:00.002-04:00

Since the Seattle Post-Intelligencer closed Neilson reports traffic to the online-only paper has plummeted. The Seattle P-I folks say it's not true. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/22/AR2009042202654.html

Time will tell, but it does raise the question of whether a online edition needs a physical presence somewhere? Does Time Magazine keep its reputation if there isn't an actual magazine somewhere? How important is that incidental contact that print newspapers and magazine derive from being on the racks, in the honor boxes and lying around in waiting rooms? Can you sustain visibility over the long haul without it?

Last penguin on the ice floe

2009-04-17T18:05:00.001-04:00

It may be a competitive race between the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe to be the last man standing in the Boston market.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/16/front_page_blues/?page=2

And good luck with that

2009-04-15T17:33:00.002-04:00

Journal Inquirer to charge a fee to see their Web content. Good luck with that.

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-journal-inquirer-charge.artapr15,0,7892343.story

Easy come, easy go

2009-04-15T00:11:00.001-04:00

According to this story, among the things being cut at the Globe is 10 extra days off that managers were getting in echange for a 5 percent pay cut. Now they won't get the extar time off,but they will still get the pay cut. Nice deal. That will help morale.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/15/200_globe_managers_wont_get_09_bonuses/

Deal reached with unions at the SF Chronicle

2009-04-10T21:38:00.001-04:00

We'll see if this does any more than delay the inevitable: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/san-francisco-chronicle-r_n_173458.html

Small vignette from Kos on why newspapers are dying

2009-04-09T19:09:00.000-04:00

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/9/718099/-Yet-another-reason-newspapers-are-dying

Will this be the future?

2009-04-09T18:21:00.002-04:00

If newspapers don't adapt quickly enough, will they be replaced by startup online-only news sites?

http://www.abetteroakland.com/

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/

Kindling the newspaper

2009-04-07T19:20:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm about two weeks into the Kindle New York Times experience and I really don't see any significant downside to the device as a newspaper consumer.

Navigating the headlines is a little clumsier than it needs to be, but it's still easier than handling a broadsheet newspaper would be. I don't read the paper during a commute, but if I did I would definitely find the Kindle easier to use on a bus or train. Using the Text to Speech function even makes it possible to "read" the newspaper while driving. (The Kindle has the ability to take headphones).

The newspaper is "delivered" every morning to my nightstand and I'm able to start reading in bed as soon as I get up. Better than home delivery. Even if the news carrier gently placed the paper on my doorstep (instead of tossing it at the end of the driveway while driving past) I'd still have to go downstairs and open the door to the elements.

About the only significant capability the Kindle version of the NYT lacks are many photos and charts. I think that the Kindle still falls short of replacing a graphics and photo-heavy publication such as Sports Illustrated or Smithsonian, but it's hard to consider this merely a temporary state of affairs that will probably abate by the time the Kindle 3 or Kindle 4 or whatever it's called rolls out in a few more years.

From the point of view of the NYT, though, the Kindle creates an entirely new dynamic because it's a subscriber-pays model instead of an advertiser-pays model. It's hard to see how any subscriber-based payment model can replace the kind of revenue that advertiser-paid print was bale to generate.

Indeed, I can't see any particular advantage an outfit like the NYT derives from its size in this new environment other than the brand value. This is not insignificant, but it may also be insufficient.

Smile break

2009-04-06T19:23:00.000-04:00

Cool video that should bring a smile during these grim times

Boston Globe to close !!!??!

2009-04-04T18:15:00.002-04:00

Wow, this is unexpected, even by someone as gloomy as me.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/04/times_co_threatens_to_shut_globe_seeks_20m_in_cuts_from_unions/

Interestingly enough, this story appears on the Globe's Web site and is very direct and candid. Usually corporate media stories that are self-referential are also rather deferential. I would interpret this as meaning the situation is as serious as a heart attack and contains less than the usual amount of posturing.

I've wondered for a while if the Boston Herald's long-term business strategy is to outlast the Globe and end up the surviving paper in Boston by default. I don't believe the Herald is burdened by much debt and indeed, may have much less than the industry average after getting about $225 million a few years ago when it sold its suburban newspaper chain.

It won't be surprising if Boston ends up as a one-newspaper town. Most similar sized cities are. But it would be surprising if that newspaper ends up being the Herald!

There were many reasons to be wary of the Times purchase of the Globe. Boston and New York have been rival cities for centuries. Just as the Red Sox and the Yankees have a long-standing rivalry, the NYT and the Globe were major rivals for years before the NYT brought the competition to an end by buying the Globe. Many wondered if the New York-based newspaper executive suite would really have the interests of the Globe at heart and the way this episode is playing out validates those concerns.

More layoffs

2009-04-01T20:58:00.003-04:00

10% at a small 13,000-circulation daily in Michigan.

http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/livingston.htm

Even USA Today is down

2009-04-01T20:55:00.001-04:00

And the Publisher jumps from the sinking ship. He denies it, naturally

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123854670808076289.html#mod=rss_media_marketing

Chicago Sun-Times files for bankruptcy

2009-03-31T18:21:00.002-04:00

Announcement here: http://www.suntimes.com/business/1503942,sun-times-media-group-bankruptcy-033109.article

Paper's future is clouded by debt issues and tax issues from Conrad Black's thieving ways.

Interesting review of the online Detroit Free Press

2009-03-30T22:22:00.004-04:00

Read about the episode here: http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/03/review_detroit.html

Then consider this fact. That same morning I reached over to my Kindle, turned it on, made one click and I could start reading that morning's New York Times while still in bed. Much more user friendly than her odyssey.

You tell me which one you think represents the future? I know where I'd place my bets.

Playing with fire?

2009-03-29T18:53:00.001-04:00

If the torches and pitchforks come out it will because of stories like this: http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/03/populist-anger-made-simple.html

Drama in Tuscon

2009-03-27T23:52:00.001-04:00

Read all about it at the Gannett Blog http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/

25 jobs lost at the Boston Herald

2009-03-27T18:57:00.001-04:00

There's no end in sight as of yet.

Grey Lady starts cutting

2009-03-26T16:52:00.001-04:00

The New York Times will be engaging in layoffs and is cutting salaries by 5% "temporarily."

At least one analyst says good luck with that: http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-new-york-times-finally-bows-to-reality-2009-3

That unipolar moment didn't last long, did it?

2009-03-25T20:23:00.002-04:00

Over at Housing Doom we hear this in the wake of China's remark about having a new reserve currency besides the dollar: After Wednesday’s festivities I’m confident that China has now made the opening gambit in its inevitable confrontation with America. The process will take a bit over 60 years and we might as well be civilized about it — since it’s going to take a while …

Kindle and coffee

2009-03-25T15:43:00.004-04:00

For most newspaper readers, the morning paper is part of their regular routine. Maybe they pick it up off the porch in their bathrobe while their morning pot of coffee brews. Or perhaps they pick it up at the newsstand on their way to work. Or maybe it's waiting for them at the office and they start the workday by catching up on the news as they drink their coffee.

Well, I can already see that my Kindle can fit very comfortably into any of those routines, or even a new one. Most days I start off flicking on the TV to CNN to see what the big news of the day might be. But now I can just reach over to the night table and open my Kindle to the morning's New York Times -- not just delivered to my door, but delivered to my bed!

This is the real future for newspaper-style news organizations. Yes, being on the Web is important, but the Internet does not play to the strengths of the newspaper journalist. You're just a voice in the crowd.

What you need to be is the first voice in the morning, and that will comes from a Kindle-like device in the future.

30 percent newsroom cut!!

2009-03-25T15:39:00.002-04:00

Reuters is reporting (http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52O5RU20090325) that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced Tuesday it is cutting 30 percnt of its newsroom staff!

There have been steep cuts in a lot of places, lately, but they have tended to be more in the line with the scale announced by the Houston Chronicle, which also announced staff cuts Tuesday, but "just" 12 percent.

15 percent staff cuts, pay cuts at two papers

2009-03-24T14:41:00.001-04:00

The Lexington (KY) Herald Leader and the Charlotte (NC) Observer, both McClatchey papers, each announced staff cuts amounting to 15 percent of their work force and that remaining employees will take pay cuts. In addition there's the liklihood of 1-week furloughs before the end of the year barring a turnaround in the economics.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilSE0udp2avqEyU8jL65w2Qq6TXgD973UC6O0

They are dropping like flies

2009-03-23T13:27:00.000-04:00

Ann Arbor will lose its print daily and three other Michigan papers are reducing the number of days they will publish: http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/03/another-daily-n.html

Got my Kindle

2009-03-21T16:31:00.000-04:00

I'm checking it out. I started with a subscription to the New York Times site. My very first impression of the Kindle is very good, less so about the NY Times site which doesn't seema s easy to use as it should be.

After the weekend I'll remark more about both once I determine how much is operator thickheadedness and how much is platform deficency.

More furloughs

2009-03-21T16:23:00.000-04:00

This time the parent company for the Orange County (CA) Register: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003953811

Hearst also cuts 48 jobs in Connecticut

2009-03-17T16:20:00.002-04:00

On the same day that it ended print publication of the Seattle P-I the Hearst Corp. announced that 48 people at its various Connecticut papers will be taking buyouts, representing almost 7 percent of the 700 employed here.

Considering that these are buyouts, rather than layoffs, I suppose that they represent the high end of the compensation scale and therefore the papers are probably saving more than 7 percent in salary costs.

Story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hqmjbJ5V9S3U7ChySXogYL9wUrFQD96VU2U00

Another good essay on the Revolution

2009-03-16T14:01:00.003-04:00

Print media does much of society’s heavy journalistic lifting, from flooding the zone — covering every angle of a huge story — to the daily grind of attending the City Council meeting, just in case. This coverage creates benefits even for people who aren’t newspaper readers, because the work of print journalists is used by everyone from politicians to district attorneys to talk radio hosts to bloggers. The newspaper people often note that newspapers benefit society as a whole. This is true, but irrelevant to the problem at hand; “You’re gonna miss us when we’re gone!” has never been much of a business model. So who covers all that news if some significant fraction of the currently employed newspaper people lose their jobs?
I don’t know. Nobody knows. We’re collectively living through 1500, when it’s easier to see what’s broken than what will replace it. The internet turns 40 this fall. Access by the general public is less than half that age. Web use, as a normal part of life for a majority of the developed world, is less than half that age. We just got here. Even the revolutionaries can’t predict what will happen.

and more ..

Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism. For a century, the imperatives to strengthen journalism and to strengthen newspapers have been so tightly wound as to be indistinguishable. That’s been a fine accident to have, but when that accident stops, as it is stopping before our eyes, we’re going to need lots of other ways to strengthen journalism instead.
When we shift our attention from ’save newspapers’ to ’save society’, the imperative changes from ‘preserve the current institutions’ to ‘do whatever works.’ And what works today isn’t the same as what used to work.

The whole thing here: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/

Bye, bye, P-I

2009-03-16T13:38:00.002-04:00

No more print for the Seattle P-I. It will go online only as of Wednesday.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96V8GFG0&show_article=1

Excellent must-read on the fate of newspapers and news gathering

2009-03-15T18:48:00.002-04:00

Long, but worth a read: http://www.american.com/archive/2009/february-2009/preparing-the-obituary

Essentially, the news was turned into a commons, and everyone was invited to drop in a fishing line and hook some advertising dollars. The problem is not that an advertising model cannot support the production of news content: pre-Internet, the industry had revenues of $1000 per subscriber, 80 percent of it from advertising, and the Internet can provide a vastly improved product. The problem is that no mechanism exists to channel the ad dollars back into the news production enterprises. So, inevitably, more and more people will launch their boats onto the ocean of content, and rising resources will be devoted to competitive efforts to attach advertising to that $14 per subscriber worth of AP content.
However, the whole structure of Internet sites still relies on the newspaper industry, including the AP. Since the newspapers support the wire services, the more the content leaks out the more they are supporting their competitors’ free ride, and the more they enable the entry of still more competitors for the advertising dollars.

Fortune looks at "The End of Paper"

2009-03-14T11:37:00.000-04:00

Interesting summary of the state of eReading

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/03/technology/copeland_epaper.fortune/index.htm

Sometimes you have to take things personally

2009-03-13T18:11:00.002-04:00

In this case, the effects of the downturn and the general distress of the newspaper industry. It's hard to know how much is one, and how much is the other, until the downturn becomes an uptick. But whatever the exact breakdown the consequence has been belt-tightening all around, including at my paper. All of us are taking a week off without pay. My week is this week.

It's obviously better than the alternative, which would be layoffs. But it's also obviously just first aid or damage control. Just as a tourniquet may stop the bleeding or flooding a magazine may keep a battleship from exploding, furloughs and layoffs are temporary measures that can't lead to long-term health.

What will do that is an open question. Until the economy turns around, though, it's really hard to tell how much the business model behind newspapers has been permanently changed. People will still be buying automobiles in the future, for example, and the current very low rate of purchase is unsustainable, but whether Ford or GM or Chrysler will be making them is questionable. Likewise, people will still be getting their news from somewhere, but which somewhere is an open question.

The Top 10 list newspapers don't want to be on.

2009-03-12T13:58:00.003-04:00

Time Magazine lists the "10 most endangered newspapers."

For details on why they're on the list see:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883785,00.html

The list
Philadelphia Daily News*
Minneapolis Star Tribune*
Miami Herald
Detroit News*
Boston Globe*
San Francisco Chronicle*
Chicago Sun-Times*
New York Daily News*
Fort Worth Star-Telegram*
Cleveland PLain Dealer*
* Two-newspaper market

1600 jobs to go

2009-03-11T17:22:00.001-04:00

Details here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilSE0udp2avqEyU8jL65w2Qq6TXgD96R6JN80

P-I's fate to be announced next week

2009-03-11T16:04:00.001-04:00

Or so MSNBC is reporting, although no details on which day next week.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29621015/

Seattle Times looks at the P-I's move online and precedents for online-only papers

2009-03-07T21:05:00.001-05:00

Link is here, but the bottom line is that the Post-Intelligencer will be trying to fly solo as an online paper, where most of the other online-only papers still have a connection to some print publication.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008823971_onlinepapers07.html

An offer they can't refuse?

2009-03-06T20:21:00.001-05:00

Seattle P-I staffers being offered lower-paying positions at online-only edition:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=67955853853&h=3wxz-&u=JOwXm

Cuts in pay and jobs, too

2009-03-04T17:38:00.002-05:00

That's what they're facing at the Bellingham (WA) Herald.

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/03/02/daily40.html?s=smc:3

About 10 jobs are gone and the suviviors are taking a 5% pay cut.

Racist Rush

2009-03-03T17:45:00.003-05:00

No, really.

I missed this at the time, but apparently Rush Limbaugh once called Halle Berry and Barack Obama "Halfrican Americans."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200701240010

Limbuagh has skirted the edge of racism for years, of course, but I didn't know he had made such a blatant reference. Jeesh, why not call them mulattos or half-breeds?

Halfrican?

W.T.F.

45 jobs gone in Columbus, Ohio

2009-03-02T20:43:00.001-05:00

Columbus Dispatch announces 45 layoffs: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/02/dispatch_staff.html?sid=101

Did Blogs kill newspapers?

2009-02-28T17:42:00.003-05:00

Computerworld's Dan Tynan wonders. http://blogs.computerworld.com/blogosphere_newspapers

In the great food chain of news reporting, daily newspapers are like plankton -- the thing on which everything else feeds. TV and radio news? Aside from covering staged events or natural disasters, they get many of their stories from papers, then distill it into the bare essentials for broadcast. Magazine editors may be reluctant to admit this, but many articles are "inspired" by stories in the paper. And blogs? Don't get me started. I'd guesstimate a fraction of one percent of blogs feature original reporting; the rest regurgitate news from the mainstream media, mostly newspapers.
If daily newspapers disappeared tomorrow, 100 million bloggers would wake up and have nothing to say. Even the news aggregators would be in deep kimshee. For example, easily 75 percent of the stories on the front page of today's Drudge Report are from newspapers or the wire services that supply newspapers.

I don't think blogs, per se, killed newspapers, but I do think the Internet has.

When TV came out there was widespread belief that the new media would kill off newspapers. It didn't of course, largely because they are complementary media, really. What TV does well, newspaper can't do. But newspaper can do far more than TV can, because TV is enslaved by the need for images and, frankly, most news stories don't have good images.

On the other hand, the Internet is directly competitive to both TV and newspapers. It can do both about as well as either can, and has the advantage of being able to incorporate the best of the other medium directly into the same platform. Got great video to go with your story. Embed YouTube. Got a need to cover a word-heavy story? Internet can not just have the story, but ti can include links to primary documents.

Blogs, themselves, are just a small part of the problem. The news aggregating sites are the largest part. What they will do once the newspapers disappear is a very good question, though.

No 2009 convention for ASNE

2009-02-27T20:11:00.002-05:00

The American Society of Newspaper Editors, citing tough times, has cancelled its annual convention.

http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=7268

Rocky Mountain News RIP

2009-02-26T18:36:00.002-05:00

And the end comes for the Rocky Mounatin News: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/26/rocky-mountain-news-closes-friday-final-edition/

The paper has been moved from endangered to deceased.

A handful of newsroom staff (about 10) will ove over to the Denver Post, the rest will lose their jobs.

San Francisco Chronicle may close

2009-02-25T18:51:00.002-05:00

Heart Corp. said it will impose big cuts on the S.F, Chronicle in an effort to stem more than $50 million in losses and will either sell the paper or close it if no buyer can be found.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/02/25/MNO2164F73.DTL

Hartford Courant lays off 100

2009-02-25T18:46:00.001-05:00

And just like that, a hundred jobs are gone at The Hartford Courant: http://www.courant.com/business/hc-web-courantcuts0225,0,7696606.story

And another bankruptcy

2009-02-24T20:12:00.001-05:00

This time in Philadelphia: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20090222_Inquirer_owner_files_for_bankruptcy.html

Perhaps less dire than JRC, this one is mostly about debt.

And there goes JRC

2009-02-21T21:42:00.002-05:00

Journal Register Corp. has filed for bankruptcy.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iuX8HrEMBhwkQH2BzYHwkKN7mVTgD96GAE6O1

What will emerge from the wreckage is hard to say. The company owns some 20 dailies and more than a 100 weeklies, so no doubt there's something of value buried in there.

Given that JRC is, arguably, the absolute worst of the newspaper chains that emerged from the chain era, I can't say I am sorry to see it go. The AP story mentions that the company's stock was recently trading at less than a penny, down from more than $20 a few years ago.

As the entire purpose of the chain was to suck as much profit out of local communities while returning the bare minimum in journalistic service, expect there to be no tears shed among journalists over the demise of the operation. Yes, I know that this is a "reorganization" bankruptcy, but the chain will not emerge from this reorganization intact or with the same management.

Scripps cuts pay

2009-02-20T23:41:00.002-05:00

The Scripps chain will cut pay by more than 3 percent, and emplyees will go ahead and take it, I'm sure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/business/media/20scripps.html?_r=1&ref=business

And still more furloughs

2009-02-18T23:16:00.000-05:00

It's a regular epidemic. This time it's Media General.

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/02/16/daily41.html

A former Gannett employee runs a blog keeping tabs on that chain

2009-02-18T00:20:00.003-05:00

Here's the link: http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/

Gannett has a bad reputation among the rank-and-file even among media chains. It's not rock bottom, however, that honor undoubtedly belongs to JRC.

Another daily drops a couple of days

2009-02-17T18:12:00.001-05:00

Kane County (Ill.) paper drops Monday and combines Sunday and Saturday into a weekend edition coming out Saturday.

http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2009/02/16/04732986/index.xml

More furloughs, this time in Kansas and Missouri

2009-02-17T18:08:00.003-05:00

NPG Newspaper's give 390 employees a week "off."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003941981

Another "daily" drops a day

2009-02-16T18:55:00.001-05:00

This time in Idaho Falls: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003941774

So how do you make information worth paying for?

2009-02-15T13:55:00.002-05:00

Interesting debate over how to save newspapers here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hm-NaXE47tuN1DQKXQlgBaYJpNJA

The reality is that there needs to be some way to make providing information economically viable to do.

Personally I think any model that depends on consumers paying is not viable given current technologies. We're seeing the same problem play out in other media such as music and book publishing. All these were created during an era when technology required physical media that was impossible to copy by the individual user and therefore it was possible to control distribution by limiting access to the physical media represented by the book or record/LP/8-Track/cassette/CD. Newspapers and magazines, ironically, were less wedded to this model, generally only charging the consumer for the cost of the paper and generating most income from advertisers.

Given that information can't be held in by the current bounds of technology I think it's a losing strategy to expect consumers to pay for content at any price that would be economically viable.

On the other hand. advertisers still need to get attention and in an environment where it gets harder and harder to be noticed. What will have to change, I think, it's the expectation that advertising dollars will support the huge infrastructure of current media companies. Most of the people employed at a newspaper or magazine don't produce content.

Indeed, at a newspaper with a couple hundred employees, only a few dozen work in the newsroom and around the same work in advertising. The news media of the future will be much leaner and meaner. There will still need to be reporters, editors and ad reps but the whole printing and circulation operation will have to go, along with comparable reductions in the support staff needed.

"Never?" That's definitely "deferred" compensation

2009-02-12T18:41:00.002-05:00

Bankruptcy judge OKs the Chicago Tribune's plan to stop paying deferred comp and change severance policies.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/business/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003937485