Woes mount at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Mitchell Schnurman, columnist at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, outlines the woes that face that newspaper:

• Advertising fell 17.5 percent in September, the fifth consecutive month of double-digit declines
• Daily circulation has fallen 3.9 percent in the past year, to 195,446 copies
• 250 positions have been eliminated so far in 2008 -- about one-fifth of its work force
• The Star-Telegram had 390 journalists in the late 1990s; today, it has 220
• The stock price of the Star-Telegram's parent, McClatchy, fell to an all-time low last week
• Putting the Star-Telegram's historic building up for sale -- and talk of moving to the outskirts of the city -- has been a psychological body blow
• Friday's announcement of a news alliance between the Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News sparked concerns about more layoffs (duh)

Fort Worth's problems aren't unique -- all of McClatchy's newspapers are in desperate straits. (FYI, the bullet points above are my summary of Schnurman's article.)
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