Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thursday Feb. 5 -- Got news or a question?

If you have news or a question, leave it in comments.
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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alan Mutter is fast becoming a good voice of reason in this time of turmoil. He has writing about the need for print media in installments, and there is the good news, and the bad news. The next installment: How online ad sales depend on print.
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Reflections of a Newsosaur
Alan Mutter
-Why newspapers can’t stop the presses-

Contrary to some of the ill-informed articles you might have read lately, almost every newspaper company still needs to print newspapers if it wants to stay in business.

Although the idea of paperless newspapers ricochets around the blogs with some regularity, fans of the concept recklessly disregard the economic realities of the publishing business as it exists today. So, we’re going to do a little math in a moment to prove:…
More@
http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-newspapers-cant-stop-presses.html

Anonymous said...

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-05-2009/0004967029&EDATE=

Check out the Restructuring Plan

Anonymous said...

Suspended 401k Matching and pension accrual.

Anonymous said...

Announced layoffs are coming in Lexington in the next few weeks.

Anonymous said...

Company is to cut $100-110 million in expenses over the next 12 months.

Means layoffs...not %'s of people, but a dollar amount at each paper.

Anonymous said...

Pension freeze on top of it all. I wonder just what kind of pension freeze they are talking about?

Anonymous said...

Non-unions to take it in the shorts first.

Anonymous said...

McClatchy announced that it is developing a plan to reduce costs by an additional $100 million to $110 million, or approximately seven percent of 2008 cash expenses, over the next 12 months beginning later in the first quarter of 2009. Details of the plan have not yet been finalized and as a result, costs to complete the plan are not yet known. In addition, the company will freeze its pension plans and temporarily suspend the company match to its 401(k) plans, effective March 31, 2009. The company will extend a salary freeze for senior executives in 2009 that was implemented in 2007. The company previously announced that it had implemented a company-wide salary freeze from September 2008 through September 2009.
And from Boy Blunder Gary's mouth:
... "I recognize the sacrifices our employees are making to help us get though this difficult time and I appreciate their loyalty to McClatchy."

Anonymous said...

7:05 What papers are union now.

Anonymous said...

Pension freeze and 401K contributions are being suspended. Also, there will be layoffs. A memo went out to employees today at all McClatchy newspapers.

Anonymous said...

Hey McClatchy Watch..Can you find out if there are buyouts or severance packages with the papers reporting in.

Can we see on of the publishers emails to their employees?

Anonymous said...

I just want to give a kudos to McClatchy Watch today for the way he is running his blog. Wish it could run like this everyday. I have been a critic but great job today.

Anonymous said...

Now as each paper lays off can we get the numbers and departments they come from. Also what type of severance and benefits. Are they the same for each paper?

Good job Kevin.

Anonymous said...

Please read the document below. If you are interested, the senior management team and I will be available to answer questions today at4:00 pm in the downtown 4th floor conference area located next to the 6th St. elevator.



To: All Employees



From: Gary Wortel



Subject: McClatchy Announcement



Date: Feb. 5, 2009



This morning, McClatchy announced that it is freezing its pension plans and temporarily suspending the company match to its 401(k) plans, effective March 31. McClatchy also announced that it will cut an additional $100 million to $110 million or approximately 7% of 2008 cash expenses over the next 12 months, beginning later in the first quarter of 2009. The press release is available at www.mcclatchy.com. McClatchy will send more detail on the retirement changes to you directly, both by e-mail and information mailed to your home.



Here at the Star-Telegram we have seen an unprecedented loss in advertising revenue with many of our best customers either going out of business or closing locations, and employment advertising dropping to all time lows. In response to these losses we are developing plans to reduce expenses. Unfortunately, these cuts will include position eliminations.



We have also determined we will be outsourcing some of our Finance functions to Infosys, a global consulting firm. The transition process will begin on Monday, February 16th, and should be completed by the end of June. We will be completing the transition to APAC, our customer service vendor in the next 60 days. We also are exploring several other alternatives to limit the number of layoffs. We will share these details with you just as soon as they are final.



We understand how disruptive it is to receive these announcements without more specific information. We also understand that today’s announcement is especially discouraging given all the cuts made in 2008. We had hoped that previous cuts would be sufficient to see us through the sharp revenue declines affecting our industry. Instead, we must continue to respond to the unprecedented and deepening financial crisis that is threatening not only our industry, but all kinds of businesses in almost every sector of the economy.



The decisions we now need to make are difficult, but we will act quickly, deliberately and with an eye toward the future. We are positioning this newspaper to compete and succeed in a demanding, competitive, more integrated media environment. We will remain the community’s most comprehensive source of news and advertising.



As in the past, we will work quickly to notify employees who may be affected by staff reductions. As we have just begun work on these plans now, you may not hear more from us for at least a few weeks. Employees whose positions are eliminated will be provided with a transition package that will include severance pay and benefits continuation. We also will provide outplacement services and do everything possible to make their transition as smooth as possible.



There’s no way The Star-Telegram would be able to manage through today’s difficult environment without the talent, innovation and dedication of our staff. I know we’ve asked a lot of you in the past and we are asking more from you today. I hope we can continue to count on you. Thank you for all you do.









Gary Wortel

President & Publisher

Star-Telegram

817-390-7944 Phone

817-336-2790 FAX

Anonymous said...

THE OLYMPIAN IS GOING TO ONLY PUBLISH ON SUNDAYS. BLACK AND WHITE WITH $3.50 CHARGE. NO HOME DELIVERY OR STORES. RACKS ONLY. WILL HAVE 3 EMPLOYEES. PRINTING DONE WEEKS IN ADVANCE

Anonymous said...

I hear rumors that all the papers will have the cuts announced by Feb 16,2008.