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.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tuesday May 5 -- Got news or an update?
If you have news or an update, leave it in comments. . . .
31 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Looks like Star-Telegram had a fire last night. Wonder why didnt the fire alarms go off? Must be that joke of a maintenance department that they have.
If the Republicans are going to rebound, they will have to re-establish themselves as the party of civic order. First, they will have to stylistically decontaminate their brand. That means they will have to find a leader who is calm, prudent, reassuring and reasonable.
Then they will have to explain that there are two theories of civic order. There is the liberal theory, in which teams of experts draw up plans to engineer order wherever problems arise. And there is the more conservative vision in which government sets certain rules, but mostly empowers the complex web of institutions in which the market is embedded.
Both of these visions are now contained within the Democratic Party. The Republicans know they need to change but seem almost imprisoned by old themes that no longer resonate. The answer is to be found in devotion to community and order, and in the bonds that built the nation.
Perhaps some of your McC readers know the repercussions of a letter I received yesterday from my old friends at McClatchy.
Several months ago I received a letter telling me not to worry, my retirement was fully funded. Yesterday I received one that said not to worry, even though it was only funded at 88% but with the backing of the PBGC in the event that the plan is terminated.
Is anyone hearing rumblings about the termination of the plan or is this notification the first sign of impending bankruptcy plans.
What caught my attention is Item 2 on the list of benefits not covered by PBGC. I.e. you have not met all age, service or other requirements. Does anyone know if a vested employee that is not 62 going to see his retirement swirling the bowl with the rest of MCI?
Clan bicker over Ted Kennedy’s Senate Seat (as the Swimmer hits the bottle)Boston Herald
Ted Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, and his nephew, former congressman Joe Kennedy, are getting set for a bruising battle over who will succeed the ailing senator, according to a new book excerpted in the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine.
“Vicki is seen by all as an interloper and she is deeply resented by Ted’s children and many of the newphews,” Edward Klein writes in his new book, “Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died,” due in stores next month.
“Joe, who sees himself as the only serious heir apparent, particularly loathes her control over his uncle and hence the family. Joe inherited his father’s ruthless gene. He is nothing if not aggressive. And anybody who tries to get between him and Ted’s Senate chair is in for a fight.”
[Snip]
[A new Ted Kennedy bio] contains some new details about the day the senator was rushed to the hospital with what turned out to be a malignant brain tumor. According to Klein, Kennedy was stricken as he played with his dogs, Sunny and Splash, on the beach in Hyannisport.
“According to one family friend he fell in the sand and realized he could not move.”
[Snip]
Kennedy’s grim diagnosis has driven him back to a bad habit: drinking. Subsequently, [the book] claims, Vicki and her father hatched a scheme to relocate the senator and his beloved sailboat Mya to Florida for the winter to get him away from enabler pals.
[Snip]
The [book] also contends that Kennedy “had been drinking the night before” his seizure at President Obama’s inauguration.
The senior senator’s staff did not return an e-mail seeking comment.
Does anyone know if a vested employee that is not 62 going to see his retirement swirling the bowl with the rest of MCI? ==============
When MNI took over the KR pension and stopped contributions the writing was on the wall. They are planning on flushing it and turning it over to the government.
What this means is that your maximum payments are going to be reduced from what was promised.
The PBGC figures your payments on a scale that takes into consideration your age at the time of default and your life expectancy.
The PBGC is a combination of a good thing and a bad thing all wrapped into one. On one hand, they prevent the company from looting the fund and insure you still receive a portion of your benefit. On the other hand, it's very existence allows a bad business to shed their responsibility with the wave of a hand and the stroke of a pen without penalty.
It's another government sponsored band aid that was poorly planned and rewards irresponsible behavior at the expense of employees and taxpayers.
Did you guys get the latest Pension info letter from McClatchy !
Lot of people are worried and have been calling HR Depts looking for assurances that their Pension is safe. The only response is a very cryptic three page letter that states that "the Plan is considered relatively well-funded" and explaining what happens when a Company goes under and gives a lot of info regarding the PBGC.
Hate to think that after all those back breaking years if MNI goes under and PBGC gives me pennies on the dollar worth of pension.
DUMB MARXISTS WORRY AS THEIR GUILD MASTERS GET FAT. GUILD ANIMAL FARM ANYONE? EXECS PAY DOUBLES, DID YOURS?
Guild leaders get fat with pay hikes. Union prez takes raise as members sacrifice
Beleaguered leaders of the Boston Globe’s biggest union - under fire for failing to strike a concession deal with the paper’s out-of-town overlords - have themselves received generous pay hikes over the past three years - even as their members have gone without a raise, according to federal filings.
As recently as March, Boston Newspaper Guild president Dan Totten noted union members haven’t had a raise since 2006 as he slammed Globe and New York Times [NYT] Co. management for getting an extra two weeks paid vacation in exchange for accepting a 5 percent pay cut.
“The BNG is now in its fourth year of a wage freeze. Yet today, The NYT and Globe announced a five percent wage cut for managers, who will also receive an additional 10 personal days,” Totten said in a March 30 statement. “The Guild believes this is an affront to the workers who work without pay raises and perks every day.”
Records show that Totten’s Guild salary has jumped 12 percent in three years, from $87,482 in 2006 to $97,929 in 2007 to $98,076 in 2008.
Collectively, the pay of the Guild’s seven executive committee officers has almost doubled since 2005, jumping from $95,739 to $178,655 last year.
The Politico ^ Groups push for first gay justice By: Josh Gerstein May 5, 2009 10:46 AM EST President Barack Obama is looking to advance diversity with his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter — and early speculation has focused on whether he'll pick a woman, or perhaps the first Hispanic justice. But gay rights groups — disappointed that Obama didn't pick an openly gay man or woman for his Cabinet — are pushing him to put the first openly gay justice on the Supreme Court. Within hours of word of Souter's departure, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund was... ----- What happened to the Bam saying there would be 'No Labels' on people?
Newspapers leaning to the left until bitter end. San Francisco Chronicle
Why are most newspaper reporters and editors liberal? I've been working in the business for more than 20 years, and I can't give a quick, definitive answer to the question.
But I do think a contributing factor is that editors, like other managers, tend to hire and reward staffers who think as they do. They see their positions as neutral, which is human nature - and is reinforced by the fact that the folks in the desks around them vote the same way they do.
When they read about complaints of media bias, editors write the criticism off because they see reporters every day trying to cover stories fairly and succeeding. They fail to notice that their shared ideology limits what they see as stories.
Which is why, I believe, that Fox News Channel ratings are so high. As the New York Times reported, CNN reached 271,000 viewers ages 25 to 54 in prime time in April, less than half of Fox News' 668,000. In the first quarter of 2009, Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in the Nielsen ratings.
Liberals mock the news network's "fair and balanced" slogan. But if you read your average newspaper, then tune into Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio, it evens out. People hungry for a conservative outlook don't believe they see their values in the news or features pages. Liberal newspapers helped build conservative media.
Conservative media makes big money, too. If you combined MSNBC and CNN's prime-time ratings, they'd still trail Fox News. Not even close. Must be somebody out there who is still willing to vote conservative. It's just a matter of time before the conservatives are back in power. The Dems were left for dead four years ago, too. Remember?
I have a legal question regarding the McClatchy/KR pension: I have been receiving my pension for several years (I am retired and 65. Does the letter MNI sent last week refer to all pensioners or only those who have yet to collect their pensions?
A couple of years ago I would have been inclined to agree that it would be a relatively easy, cyclical comeback. But the demographics are just killing you guys -- the young, women, minorities of all kinds skew Democratic and not by a little. The GOP is really a regional party now -- southern white men, for the most part, with no leader who can reach out from the base. (Sorry, gang, Palin terrifies people.)
I think the GOP can certainly win again, but not until it deals with this sort of sectionalism and opens itself up to some new ideas. The party's real problem -- outside the legacy of Bush -- is that it has failed to adapt to changing circumstances. And circumstances are quite different now.
I hope the party pulls itself together. I've never minded conservatives at all, and often agree with them. But fiscal suicide and prejudice aren't conservative values.
The stock price is going up! What is going on...it should be going down!
I cannot wait until July 1st to laugh in all of your ultra conservative right wing faces when you are proven WRONG yet again when there are NO MASS LAYOFFS in June.
Ex-employees would have no clue. And current employees wouldn't know either as McClatchy announced that the first quarter ended as predicted. Remember most employees are just liberal "trolls" right?
The only "person" claiming June layoffs is this site, and likely some employees read that babel and took it as fact.
There is nothing to say that maybe some tweaking might not happen on a paper by paper basis, but no company wide mass layoff is planned.
Remember it took more than a month to make the last cuts. If it is to happen again we would need to see a notice soon otherwise it would be July.
Ex-employees would have no clue. And current employees wouldn't know either as McClatchy announced that the first quarter ended as predicted. Remember most employees are just liberal "trolls" right?
------------- You seem to be a very confused person. Ex employees have brought more information to light than anyone. Ex employees talk to current employees that cannot speak for fear of retaliation.
Current employees are indeed kept in the dark as much as possible but you are actually going to try and say that the first quarter results came in as predicted? No they did not. They came in FAR, FAR BELOW what was predicted.
You're using a blatantly false premise to validate a clearly dishonest characterization.
You move on to say the only people that have claimed June layoffs were likely was this site. This too is a BLATANTLY FALSE assertion as we are all aware of several sites that have been linked to making this case.
You're either one of two things. Ignorant of the facts, or intentionally dishonest. Since you post numerous falsehoods in a single post, I can only assume the latter.
Oh, on your last point. Yes, most employees are liberal trolls. I can't argue that. Fortunately it isn't universal.
The layoffs/firings were pre-scheduled by McClatchy last year. The fact that the last 'clean-up' layoff comes in June has not been news since their timetable leaked back in February. No, it will not be massive, as there is little scootch room left. But it will happen, at a number of McClatchy properties.
This is the last effort at reducing the bottom line before McClatchy has to enter into bankruptcy...
Maybe the reason for the stock movement is that the SEC chair wants to investigate short selling.
============ It is possible that would cause a large short or two to cover but lets face it. 3 million shares of a penny stock isn't exactly an earth moving event.
I doubt that anyone is going to be moved by much that the SEC chair says since she is one of the principals who were responsible for the lax regulatory posture that the SEC took in the first place.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations recent report shows a 5.52% drop in the Anchorage Daily News daily circulation and a 10.12% drop in the Sunday circulation in the last six months.
31 comments:
Looks like Star-Telegram had a fire last night. Wonder why didnt the fire alarms go off? Must be that joke of a maintenance department that they have.
http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=41771@ktvt.dayport.com
David Brooks:
If the Republicans are going to rebound, they will have to re-establish themselves as the party of civic order. First, they will have to stylistically decontaminate their brand. That means they will have to find a leader who is calm, prudent, reassuring and reasonable.
Then they will have to explain that there are two theories of civic order. There is the liberal theory, in which teams of experts draw up plans to engineer order wherever problems arise. And there is the more conservative vision in which government sets certain rules, but mostly empowers the complex web of institutions in which the market is embedded.
Both of these visions are now contained within the Democratic Party. The Republicans know they need to change but seem almost imprisoned by old themes that no longer resonate. The answer is to be found in devotion to community and order, and in the bonds that built the nation.
Perhaps some of your McC readers know the repercussions of a letter I received yesterday from my old friends at McClatchy.
Several months ago I received a letter telling me not to worry, my retirement was fully funded. Yesterday I received one that said not to worry, even though it was only funded at 88% but with the backing of the PBGC in the event that the plan is terminated.
Is anyone hearing rumblings about the termination of the plan or is this notification the first sign of impending bankruptcy plans.
What caught my attention is Item 2 on the list of benefits not covered by PBGC. I.e. you have not met all age, service or other requirements. Does anyone know if a vested employee that is not 62 going to see his retirement swirling the bowl with the rest of MCI?
BOSTON PAPER TRIES TO STAY RELEVANT
Clan bicker over Ted Kennedy’s Senate Seat (as the Swimmer hits the bottle)Boston Herald
Ted Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, and his nephew, former congressman Joe Kennedy, are getting set for a bruising battle over who will succeed the ailing senator, according to a new book excerpted in the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine.
“Vicki is seen by all as an interloper and she is deeply resented by Ted’s children and many of the newphews,” Edward Klein writes in his new book, “Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died,” due in stores next month.
“Joe, who sees himself as the only serious heir apparent, particularly loathes her control over his uncle and hence the family. Joe inherited his father’s ruthless gene. He is nothing if not aggressive. And anybody who tries to get between him and Ted’s Senate chair is in for a fight.”
[Snip]
[A new Ted Kennedy bio] contains some new details about the day the senator was rushed to the hospital with what turned out to be a malignant brain tumor. According to Klein, Kennedy was stricken as he played with his dogs, Sunny and Splash, on the beach in Hyannisport.
“According to one family friend he fell in the sand and realized he could not move.”
[Snip]
Kennedy’s grim diagnosis has driven him back to a bad habit: drinking. Subsequently, [the book] claims, Vicki and her father hatched a scheme to relocate the senator and his beloved sailboat Mya to Florida for the winter to get him away from enabler pals.
[Snip]
The [book] also contends that Kennedy “had been drinking the night before” his seizure at President Obama’s inauguration.
The senior senator’s staff did not return an e-mail seeking comment.
Does anyone know if a vested employee that is not 62 going to see his retirement swirling the bowl with the rest of MCI?
==============
When MNI took over the KR pension and stopped contributions the writing was on the wall. They are planning on flushing it and turning it over to the government.
What this means is that your maximum payments are going to be reduced from what was promised.
The PBGC figures your payments on a scale that takes into consideration your age at the time of default and your life expectancy.
The PBGC is a combination of a good thing and a bad thing all wrapped into one. On one hand, they prevent the company from looting the fund and insure you still receive a portion of your benefit. On the other hand, it's very existence allows a bad business to shed their responsibility with the wave of a hand and the stroke of a pen without penalty.
It's another government sponsored band aid that was poorly planned and rewards irresponsible behavior at the expense of employees and taxpayers.
Did you guys get the latest Pension info letter from McClatchy !
Lot of people are worried and have been calling HR Depts looking for assurances that their Pension is safe. The only response is a very cryptic three page letter that states that "the Plan is considered relatively well-funded" and explaining what happens when a Company goes under and gives a lot of info regarding the PBGC.
Hate to think that after all those back breaking years if MNI goes under and PBGC gives me pennies on the dollar worth of pension.
Anymore info !
DUMB MARXISTS WORRY AS THEIR GUILD MASTERS GET FAT. GUILD ANIMAL FARM ANYONE? EXECS PAY DOUBLES, DID YOURS?
Guild leaders get fat with pay hikes. Union prez takes raise as members sacrifice
Beleaguered leaders of the Boston Globe’s biggest union - under fire for failing to strike a concession deal with the paper’s out-of-town overlords - have themselves received generous pay hikes over the past three years - even as their members have gone without a raise, according to federal filings.
As recently as March, Boston Newspaper Guild president Dan Totten noted union members haven’t had a raise since 2006 as he slammed Globe and New York Times [NYT] Co. management for getting an extra two weeks paid vacation in exchange for accepting a 5 percent pay cut.
“The BNG is now in its fourth year of a wage freeze. Yet today, The NYT and Globe announced a five percent wage cut for managers, who will also receive an additional 10 personal days,” Totten said in a March 30 statement. “The Guild believes this is an affront to the workers who work without pay raises and perks every day.”
Records show that Totten’s Guild salary has jumped 12 percent in three years, from $87,482 in 2006 to $97,929 in 2007 to $98,076 in 2008.
Collectively, the pay of the Guild’s seven executive committee officers has almost doubled since 2005, jumping from $95,739 to $178,655 last year.
Groups push for first gay Supreme Court justice
The Politico ^
Groups push for first gay justice By: Josh Gerstein May 5, 2009 10:46 AM EST President Barack Obama is looking to advance diversity with his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter — and early speculation has focused on whether he'll pick a woman, or perhaps the first Hispanic justice. But gay rights groups — disappointed that Obama didn't pick an openly gay man or woman for his Cabinet — are pushing him to put the first openly gay justice on the Supreme Court. Within hours of word of Souter's departure, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund was...
-----
What happened to the Bam saying there would be 'No Labels' on people?
PIGS FLY FOR A DAY IN FRISCO
Newspapers leaning to the left until bitter end. San Francisco Chronicle
Why are most newspaper reporters and editors liberal? I've been working in the business for more than 20 years, and I can't give a quick, definitive answer to the question.
But I do think a contributing factor is that editors, like other managers, tend to hire and reward staffers who think as they do. They see their positions as neutral, which is human nature - and is reinforced by the fact that the folks in the desks around them vote the same way they do.
When they read about complaints of media bias, editors write the criticism off because they see reporters every day trying to cover stories fairly and succeeding. They fail to notice that their shared ideology limits what they see as stories.
Which is why, I believe, that Fox News Channel ratings are so high. As the New York Times reported, CNN reached 271,000 viewers ages 25 to 54 in prime time in April, less than half of Fox News' 668,000. In the first quarter of 2009, Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in the Nielsen ratings.
Liberals mock the news network's "fair and balanced" slogan. But if you read your average newspaper, then tune into Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio, it evens out. People hungry for a conservative outlook don't believe they see their values in the news or features pages. Liberal newspapers helped build conservative media.
Right-wingers are so out of touch it's sad. That's one reason they misread the electorate so badly.
Conservative media is a synonym for security blanket.
How so idiot?
Conservative media makes big money, too. If you combined MSNBC and CNN's prime-time ratings, they'd still trail Fox News. Not even close. Must be somebody out there who is still willing to vote conservative. It's just a matter of time before the conservatives are back in power. The Dems were left for dead four years ago, too. Remember?
Re: Groups push for first gay Supreme Court justice
Politico Comment:
How about a black 1 armed gay midget?
But here is a better idea:
How about picking a person who is most qualified.
I have a legal question regarding the McClatchy/KR pension: I have been receiving my pension for several years (I am retired and 65. Does the letter MNI sent last week refer to all pensioners or only those who have yet to collect their pensions?
Good question 9:04. That letter certainly wasn't very comforting. It sounded like an early warning for impending doom.
I also got that pension letter... frightening !
@8:51
A couple of years ago I would have been inclined to agree that it would be a relatively easy, cyclical comeback. But the demographics are just killing you guys -- the young, women, minorities of all kinds skew Democratic and not by a little. The GOP is really a regional party now -- southern white men, for the most part, with no leader who can reach out from the base. (Sorry, gang, Palin terrifies people.)
I think the GOP can certainly win again, but not until it deals with this sort of sectionalism and opens itself up to some new ideas. The party's real problem -- outside the legacy of Bush -- is that it has failed to adapt to changing circumstances. And circumstances are quite different now.
I hope the party pulls itself together. I've never minded conservatives at all, and often agree with them. But fiscal suicide and prejudice aren't conservative values.
Ohs No!
The stock price is going up! What is going on...it should be going down!
I cannot wait until July 1st to laugh in all of your ultra conservative right wing faces when you are proven WRONG yet again when there are NO MASS LAYOFFS in June.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING MCCLATCHY WITH MCCLATHCY STOCK!!!
2.92M Shares .72
10:09 AM Which ultra right wing Conservatives have said that there was going to be mass layoffs in June?
The only people that I have heard that from are employees and ex-employees.
I have a serious question for you. How old are you?
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING MCCLATCHY WITH MCCLATHCY STOCK!!!
--------------
LOL Stock up on no news, with large volume on a down day is not good news.
Now 3.60M Shares .73
30 minutes later
@ 10:34
Ex-employees would have no clue. And current employees wouldn't know either as McClatchy announced that the first quarter ended as predicted. Remember most employees are just liberal "trolls" right?
The only "person" claiming June layoffs is this site, and likely some employees read that babel and took it as fact.
There is nothing to say that maybe some tweaking might not happen on a paper by paper basis, but no company wide mass layoff is planned.
Remember it took more than a month to make the last cuts. If it is to happen again we would need to see a notice soon otherwise it would be July.
Maybe the reason for the stock movement is that the SEC chair wants to investigate short selling.
Ex-employees would have no clue. And current employees wouldn't know either as McClatchy announced that the first quarter ended as predicted. Remember most employees are just liberal "trolls" right?
-------------
You seem to be a very confused person. Ex employees have brought more information to light than anyone. Ex employees talk to current employees that cannot speak for fear of retaliation.
Current employees are indeed kept in the dark as much as possible but you are actually going to try and say that the first quarter results came in as predicted? No they did not. They came in FAR, FAR BELOW what was predicted.
You're using a blatantly false premise to validate a clearly dishonest characterization.
You move on to say the only people that have claimed June layoffs were likely was this site. This too is a BLATANTLY FALSE assertion as we are all aware of several sites that have been linked to making this case.
You're either one of two things. Ignorant of the facts, or intentionally dishonest. Since you post numerous falsehoods in a single post, I can only assume the latter.
Oh, on your last point. Yes, most employees are liberal trolls. I can't argue that. Fortunately it isn't universal.
The layoffs/firings were pre-scheduled by McClatchy last year. The fact that the last 'clean-up' layoff comes in June has not been news since their timetable leaked back in February. No, it will not be massive, as there is little scootch room left. But it will happen, at a number of McClatchy properties.
This is the last effort at reducing the bottom line before McClatchy has to enter into bankruptcy...
Maybe the reason for the stock movement is that the SEC chair wants to investigate short selling.
============
It is possible that would cause a large short or two to cover but lets face it. 3 million shares of a penny stock isn't exactly an earth moving event.
I doubt that anyone is going to be moved by much that the SEC chair says since she is one of the principals who were responsible for the lax regulatory posture that the SEC took in the first place.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations recent report shows a 5.52% drop in the Anchorage Daily News daily circulation and a 10.12% drop in the Sunday circulation in the last six months.
September 2008Daily - 61,882
Sunday - 70,272
March 2009Daily - 58,468
Sunday - 63,160
Damn! Democrats vote to provide Pedophiles with Hate (thought) crime protection. Vote to deny the same to Veterans.
Actually, Anon 11:02 is right on target. Mop-up action only, no mass layoff planned.
11:02 is an idiot that posted nothing but falsehoods from the first paragraph on.
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