This blog is mainly about the spectacular train wreck at The Sacramento Bee and its parent company, the McClatchy Company. But I also post about current events, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, politics, anything else that grabs my attention. Take a look around this blog, hope you enjoy it.
Monday, March 2, 2009
What are you hearing?
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7 comments:
Anonymous
said...
The Bellingham Herald has meeting w/ employees at 3pm today.
Newsroom staff affected included a sports columnist, features editor, designer, photographer, senior editor, editorial page editor and features writer - seven positions. Leaves exactly one person in the "features" department.
To: All Employees
From: P.J. Browning
Subject: Workforce and Wage Reductions
Date: March 2, 2009
Today we are announcing plans to reduce our workforce by 20 positions, or about 9.1% of all employees. In addition, we will move to a 37.5 hour work week for hourly employees and will put in place wage reduction guidelines for all salaried employees.
This announcement is a follow-up to the February 5 announcement by McClatchy that the company will further reduce operating expenses as a result of ongoing and unprecedented economic pressures and revenue declines.
These are difficult decisions, especially when it means saying goodbye to so many of our friends and colleagues. But we must make these additional cuts to protect the financial health of the newspaper, to ensure the success of our efforts to restructure and adjust to meet new competitive and economic challenges.
Reductions will occur in the Advertising, Circulation, News, Operations, Finance and Administration Divisions. Employees affected by this workforce reduction have been notified and provided with information about a transition package. We appreciate all that they have done for The Sun News and will do everything we can to make their transition as smooth as possible.
The wage reduction guidelines referenced above will be communicated today with each individual. Everyone will be provided a letter and will have the opportunity to ask questions. These wage reductions and the move to a 37.5 hour work week will be effective on May 4, 2009.
Our future success is the product of the hard work you all do everyday. We respectfully ask for your continued focus and contribution, even in these difficult circumstances. Thank you for all you do.
No word at the TNT or Olympian about anything going down today, even though there have been massive meetings going on all last week.
Some managers have been talking like it's a done deal that both newspapers will be working out of Tacoma in the very near future... I can't imagine that will last very long, as it's really pointless to keep publishing two newspapers that have the same stories in them... the Olympian's ad rates can't keep up with the lost revenues, and I'm sure you've all read about the attitude conflicts between TNT and Olympian people who've had their jobs moved.
Personally, I've been kind of hoping that I would get called in to be offered a buyout, because I don't know that it'll get any better for me if I stay on, and there's not a whole lot of employment options for me out there without being retrained (serves me right for working 20 years to get to this particular job that I've always wanted).
Well, I hope the Tacoma paper does not get hit too bad. They really had a change of editorial policy once Dave Seago left. The paper became almost readable again.
BOISE - More fallout from the down economy, as the Idaho Statesman embarks on major changes starting today. For the first time the Statesman is not printing its own paper – instead farming out the work to rival Nampa newspaper the Idaho Press Tribune.
The Statesman shut down its Boise printing operation and will now send all of its pages electronically to Nampa
As a result the Statesman will again be smaller – matching the size used by the Idaho Press-Tribune.
"I am both excited and melancholy," Idaho Statesman President and Publisher Mi-Ai Parrish said.
Parrish says the new paper will be smaller with less space for stories. The economic downturn has also led to fewer ads – hurting the organization’s bottom line. The Statesman announced the change more than six months ago - before a further plunge in the economic outlook.
"Everything that businesses are going through we are going through," she said.
Parrish says it was time to start printing at the Idaho Press Tribune's press - because she says printing there will save the Statesman hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
"In a time when it’s a challenging operating environment we are able to focus our efforts on gathering the news," Parrish said.
The Statesman's presses are 36 years old so Parrish says it is also a good opportunity make use of a newer system.
The Tribune's press is just six years old and recently updated.
"The readers should know the color pictures will be better," Idaho Press-Tribune Publisher Rick Weaver said.
Weaver says the 20-year lease agreement with the Statesman makes sense.
"It brings us a revenue stream that we didn't have before and gives them the opportunity to save money so it works out for both of us," he said.
As for competition between the two newspapers - it still exists, but both sides say they have achieved a new level of trust.
"Everyone has signed off in our newsroom that they won't come see what the Statesman is doing so its not going to be an issue," Weaver said.
The move to Nampa did involve lay-offs. Twenty-four were laid off as part of the switch. But Parrish says six were hired on to work at the Idaho Press-Tribune.
7 comments:
The Bellingham Herald has meeting w/ employees at 3pm today.
News from The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Newsroom staff affected included a sports columnist, features editor, designer, photographer, senior editor, editorial page editor and features writer - seven positions. Leaves exactly one person in the "features" department.
To: All Employees
From: P.J. Browning
Subject: Workforce and Wage Reductions
Date: March 2, 2009
Today we are announcing plans to reduce our workforce by 20 positions, or about 9.1% of all employees. In addition, we will move to a 37.5 hour work week for hourly employees and will put in place wage reduction guidelines for all salaried employees.
This announcement is a follow-up to the February 5 announcement by McClatchy that the company will further reduce operating expenses as a result of ongoing and unprecedented economic pressures and revenue declines.
These are difficult decisions, especially when it means saying goodbye to so many of our friends and colleagues. But we must make these additional cuts to protect the financial health of the newspaper, to ensure the success of our efforts to restructure and adjust to meet new competitive and economic challenges.
Reductions will occur in the Advertising, Circulation, News, Operations, Finance and Administration Divisions. Employees affected by this workforce reduction have been notified and provided with information about a transition package. We appreciate all that they have done for The Sun News and will do everything we can to make their transition as smooth as possible.
The wage reduction guidelines referenced above will be communicated today with each individual. Everyone will be provided a letter and will have the opportunity to ask questions. These wage reductions and the move to a 37.5 hour work week will be effective on May 4, 2009.
Our future success is the product of the hard work you all do everyday. We respectfully ask for your continued focus and contribution, even in these difficult circumstances. Thank you for all you do.
No word at the TNT or Olympian about anything going down today, even though there have been massive meetings going on all last week.
Some managers have been talking like it's a done deal that both newspapers will be working out of Tacoma in the very near future... I can't imagine that will last very long, as it's really pointless to keep publishing two newspapers that have the same stories in them... the Olympian's ad rates can't keep up with the lost revenues, and I'm sure you've all read about the attitude conflicts between TNT and Olympian people who've had their jobs moved.
Personally, I've been kind of hoping that I would get called in to be offered a buyout, because I don't know that it'll get any better for me if I stay on, and there's not a whole lot of employment options for me out there without being retrained (serves me right for working 20 years to get to this particular job that I've always wanted).
Well, I hope the Tacoma paper does not get hit too bad. They really had a change of editorial policy once Dave Seago left. The paper became almost readable again.
What's going to happen to your job?
(GRIN) Well, let me tell you kid..
"Idaho Statesman Shrinks, Outsorces Printing"
BOISE - More fallout from the down economy, as the Idaho Statesman embarks on major changes starting today. For the first time the Statesman is not printing its own paper – instead farming out the work to rival Nampa newspaper the Idaho Press Tribune.
The Statesman shut down its Boise printing operation and will now send all of its pages electronically to Nampa
As a result the Statesman will again be smaller – matching the size used by the Idaho Press-Tribune.
"I am both excited and melancholy," Idaho Statesman President and Publisher Mi-Ai Parrish said.
Parrish says the new paper will be smaller with less space for stories. The economic downturn has also led to fewer ads – hurting the organization’s bottom line. The Statesman announced the change more than six months ago - before a further plunge in the economic outlook.
"Everything that businesses are going through we are going through," she said.
Parrish says it was time to start printing at the Idaho Press Tribune's press - because she says printing there will save the Statesman hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
"In a time when it’s a challenging operating environment we are able to focus our efforts on gathering the news," Parrish said.
The Statesman's presses are 36 years old so Parrish says it is also a good opportunity make use of a newer system.
The Tribune's press is just six years old and recently updated.
"The readers should know the color pictures will be better," Idaho Press-Tribune Publisher Rick Weaver said.
Weaver says the 20-year lease agreement with the Statesman makes sense.
"It brings us a revenue stream that we didn't have before and gives them the opportunity to save money so it works out for both of us," he said.
As for competition between the two newspapers - it still exists, but both sides say they have achieved a new level of trust.
"Everyone has signed off in our newsroom that they won't come see what the Statesman is doing so its not going to be an issue," Weaver said.
The move to Nampa did involve lay-offs. Twenty-four were laid off as part of the switch. But Parrish says six were hired on to work at the Idaho Press-Tribune.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/business/stories/ktvbn-mar0209-statesman_printing.1b2e6082.html
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