Desperation in Macon?... publisher offering to sell property for a fraction of its appraised value

Has desperation set in at the Macon Telegraph?

A tipster informs me publisher George McCanless is offering to sell the Telegraph property on Broadway for a fraction of its appraised value.

The Telegraph's 170,000-square-foot building has plenty of empty space, thanks to printing operations being moved to Columbus and several rounds of staff layoffs over the past year and a half. As a result, the publisher wants to move the newspaper to a smaller location.

The publisher initially approached county commissioners to see if they were interested in buying the property to use as a courthouse. When that option didn't materialize, McCanless dropped the price -- to one third of its appraised value, according to the tipster.

Looks like the newspaper has a major cash flow problem.

Below is a Google Earth image of the Macon Telegraph building.



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"We are positioning McClatchy for a long and prosperous future"

Just came across Gary Pruitt's entire message to shareholders. The last sentence jumps out:

"We are positioning McClatchy for a long and prosperous future."

McClatchy is certainly profitable for the CEO, the management team, and execs that get laid off -- the company just released a VP and gave her a $690,000 severance package.

Read Pruitt's entire message here.
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Tuesday July 14 -- Got news or an update?

If you have news or an update, leave it in comments.
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Story of the day

Writing an article about phone etiquette, a newspaper reporter inadvertently discloses an obsession with Obama. Click here for the story.

Update: on reflection, the word "obsession" is too harsh. I should have said the reporter seems "love-struck."
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Will the Anchorage Daily News be irrelevant when Governor Palin becomes Citizen Palin?

The Anchorage Daily News is going to miss not having Sarah Palin as Alaska's governor when she becomes a private citizen later this month.

Palin drove more traffic to the ADN's web site --an unheard-of 928% spike in unique visitors last September -- than any other topic. Over the next 10 months the ADN went all Palin all the time -- usually following far-left talking points about Palin. The ADN even assigned reporters to investigate the loopy theory that Sarah Palin didn't give birth to Trig. All the while, the ADN's web site enjoyed all-time highs in visits.

Of course, ADN insiders are whistling past the graveyard and pretending they aren't worried about losing Governor Palin as a topic. Tim Lindell has this:

"I chatted off the record with a high-ranking staff member of the ADN -- the person felt that the ADN would do fine, returning to its roots as a local newspaper, and attracting enough national interest with Alaskan stories, like volcano eruptions, to sustain the organization..."

But Tim believes the ADN is already becoming irrelevant:

"... it's gratifying to me that untold effort and resources dumped into the ADN to denigrate Governor Palin, whether in countless poisonous comments or ink expended by PDS-suffering opinion columnists, has been a wasted campaign. This stuff was aimed at undermining any possible re-election campaign for AK Governor, and at depressing her favorability ratings at home. It's all now irrelevant."

And more...

"The ADN, and the anklebiters, have only a couple more weeks of relevance. They're attacking full-bore while they still can. After that, they'll only be useful for background info and for attacks on Governor Palin's Alaskan legacy -- unless they can get on top of a new "scandal", like Todd Palin's second cousin once removed getting a speeding ticket, or Piper having an overdue library book. Because God knows that they've already expended all the ammo they have, and are reduced to recycling the same old memes."

The ADN will still publish articles on Palin -- but they'll mostly be wire stories. Or an occasional ADN interview with Palin. The ADN doesn't have the resources for reporters to follow her. The ADN has been cutting staff and consolidating resources. The ADN recently moved their employees out of the top floor of their building -- the floor with the mountain views -- to lease that space out.

Photo credit: adn
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"10 reasons you'll actually miss newspapers"

Photo essay here.
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Monday July 13 -- Got news or an update?

If you have news or an update, post it in comments.
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Lose your matching 401(k) contribution?... here's a tip

I just came across an article that might help McClatchy employees figuring out what to do with their 401(k) contribution, since McClatchy suspended the company match at the end of March.

Wonder if you should keep contributing to your 401(k) even if the company stopped contributing?

Click here for some good advice.
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Be like msnbc.com

Should newspaper web sites be like msnbc.com?

Chas Hartman at Scooping the News thinks so. (How can you argue with the success of the most-visited news site on the Internet?)

Looking at the site, it's obvious they've decided to keep Rachel Maddow on the TV side -- which might the explain high readership at the Internet news site.

By the way, Chas Hartman says the Lexington Herald-Leader needs a major Web site redesign.
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Sunday afternoon open thread

OK, what's on your mind?
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Poll: readers say Gary Pruitt should be a topic at McClatchy's earnings conference call

Gary Pruitt meets with newspaper analysts on July 21 to discuss the McClatchy's performance in the 2nd quarter. Readers in the latest McClatchy Watch poll think analysts should ask Pruitt to explain why he still has his job. Click here to see poll results.
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Ad targets laid off Gannett employees

Apparently the ad below is appearing on Facebook.


Photo via Flickr
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Sunday July 12 -- Got news or an update?

If you have news or an update, leave it in comments.
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Charlotte Observer also hiring advertising sales rep

Wow, could the Charlotte Observer be in a growth mode?! Earlier I posted news the Observer is advertising for a warehouse worker; I just found out they are also hiring an Advertising Sales Rep.

The Advertising Sales Representative position is responsible responsible for growing revenue from an existing base of accounts as well as from new accounts acquired through prospecting. Responsible for handling all aspects of the sale, from initial sale, processing orders and resolving credit issues. This individual must also generate new business by selling the full product line including print, online, preprints, direct mail etc. to clients. The National Sales Representative is also responsible for placing a significant amount of transient ads.

The Advertising Sales Representative candidiate would be well-organized, operate independently and be able to manage a large volume of accounts. Candidates must also be able to plan their work months in advance and most importantly close a sale. Familiarity working with ad agencies a plus. The candidate for this position will have excellent communication skills with customers due to the high level of contact with The Charlotte Observer customers and work well under pressure.

Requirements

High School Education and College Degree Preferred. Proposal writing experience and presentation skills are a must. Great communications shills required due to high level of contact with customers.

Compensation is listed as "base salary plus commission."

Click here for more.
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McClatchy article on liberal group urging media to go after Connecticut fireman getting widespead attention

The McClatchy article by Michael Doyle and David Lightman covering left-wing groups quietly urging the media to go after New Haven firefighter Frank Ricci has been picked up by several center-right blogs.

In a couple of minutes of research I found the McClatchy article was linked at these blogs:

• Instapundit has a little item here.
• Gateway Pundit has a post titled: Seek & Destroy: Sotomayor Supporters Urging MSM to Target Firefighter Ricci For Speaking Out Against Judge
• Jammie Wearing Fool has a post titled: "A New Low in the Politics of Personal Destruction"
• Newsbusters has this: Sotomayor Backers Urge Press to Attack Fireman, Will Media Comply?
  

And, the McClatchy article was linked by Drudge -- that alone could easily result in several hundred thousand hits.

Great work by Doyle and Lightman; I hope this piece gets a lot of mileage.
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Charlotte Observer hiring warehouse assistant

Who says McClatchy isn't hiring?! The Charlotte Observer is looking for a warehouse assistant.

The Charlotte Observer, the region’s leading information source, has a part time opportunity for a warehouse assistant to join our team in the Matthews Distribution Center. The Charlotte Observer is one of the largest newspaper in the Southeast area with circulation at 209,218 daily and 258,722 Sunday. The Charlotte Observer employs approximately 750 employees and is owned by McClatchy.

The position has a varying schedule:

Early morning schedule Mon. 2 am-6 am;

Fri. 2 am-6 am; and Sat. 2 pm-8 pm

Up to 16 hours per week

The duties of this position are:

Unload trucks, shipment verifications, general warehouse cleaning and light warehouse maintenance and assisting with all aspects of the morning routine as needed. Delivery assistance on paper routes and delivering replacement copies of the newspaper.Company car provided while on the job. This positions requires long periods of standing, stooping and lifting.

The pay is $9.00 an hour. And it's very part-time -- "up to" 16 hours a week.

Click here for more info.

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Saturday July 11 -- Got news or an update?

If you have news or an update, leave it in comments.
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Hopkins: Gannett layoffs zoom past 1,300

Jim Hopkins is tracking yesterday's Gannett layoffs, and says the total has zoomed past 1,300.

Strange timing, since Jim says he will close down his blog at midnight tonight. Despite getting pink-slipped yesterday, Gannettoid is tracking layoffs, too. (See the list here.)
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Open afternoon thread

What's on your mind?

(By the way, if you want to vote in the latest Gary Pruitt poll, click here.)
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New Hampshire newspaper abruptly folds

I think stories like this are going to accelerate.

The publisher of the The Eagle Times, a 6 day a week newspaper in New Hampshire, told employees in a Thursday memo the paper would close its doors Friday.

"We did our best to continue the operations, but the economy and the changes in the newspaper industry have made it impossible to continue this business," the memo reads. He thanked the workers for their support over the years.

Read the rest here. Hat tip: comments

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Sacramento Bee hiring a "Sr. Web Developer"

Who says McClatchy isn't hiring? The Sacramento Bee announced this week it is looking for a Sr. Web Developer.

At The Sacramento Bee, a media company of The McClatchy Company, we are working to bring value, interactivity and a sense of community to the online delivery of information. Such a task requires talented and creative individuals who have a firm grasp on the social and functional utility of the Internet.

This is a great time to join the new Bee with our award-winning website of news, entertainment and information, and new niche sites. We offer a fun and fast-paced media work environment and competitive benefits.

Overall Responsibility

As a Senior Web Developer, you will share responsibility for the development and maintenance of all sites and applications affiliated with The Sacramento Bee. You will adhere to a development schedule and provide progress updates as needed. All members of the Interactive Media department are expected to assist in the detection of emerging trends and technologies and work with staff across all company divisions. Duties include the following:

• Develop and maintain interactive web
  applications with an eye on security, functionality and intuitive user
  interfaces.
• Debug, document, and add functionality to legacy
  applications.
• Provide system administration where needed.
• Develop and maintain databases with
  extensibility and growth in mind.
• Provide technical guidance and support of web
  development across the organization.
• Determine an estimate of resources (time,
  software, hardware, etc.) for project phases as outlined by the Director of
  Digital Media.

Click here for more details



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