Fitz and Jen posted an amazing interview with Morningstar equity analyst Tom Corbett about McClatchy's 3rd quarter results.
The interview is on podcast. It's about 15 minutes and it's worth a listen.
The interview is on podcast. It's about 15 minutes and it's worth a listen.
To put it mildly, Corbett isn't impressed with the net profit McClatchy posted last week because the revenue numbers are bad and still falling. McClatchy can't continue cutting its way to profit because too much cutting causes consumers to reject the product when they feel it is inferior.
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15 comments:
It's just common sense reasoning. Only brain-washed McClatchy loyalist drones still believe the company is on the rebound.
Meanwhile their ideological leader is showing the way.....
October 19, 2009 , 2:49 pm
Times Says It Will Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs
By Richard Perez-Pena
The New York Times plans to eliminate 100 newsroom jobs – about 8 percent of the total – by year’s end, offering buyouts to union and non-union employees, and resorting to layoffs if it cannot get enough people to leave voluntarily, the paper announced on Monday.
The program mirrors one carried out in the spring of 2008, when the paper erased 100 positions in its newsroom, though other jobs were created, so the net reduction was smaller. That round of cuts included some layoffs of journalists – about 15 to 20, though The Times would not disclose the actual figure – which was the first time in memory that had happened.
The paper has made much deeper reductions in other, non-newsroom departments, where layoffs have occurred several times. But the advertising drop that has pummeled the industry has forced cuts in the news operation, as well. The newsroom already has lowered its budgets for free-lancers and trimmed other expenses, and employees took a 5 percent pay cut for most of this year.
Nearly all metropolitan papers have been cutting their news operations for years, and some have fewer than half as many people in their newsrooms as they did in 2000.
The Times’ news department peaked at more than 1,330 employees before the last round of cuts. The current headcount is about 1,250; no other American newspaper has more than about 750.
Yes, Yes! Die NYT, Die!
Don’t, well actually I hope the door does hit you in your Liberal ASS!
I am plagiarizing but I do love this quote.
“I wonder what these soon to be unemployed folks with those valuable journalism and English degrees are going to do to radicalize the fast food industry.”
Maybe the NYT should rethink some of those “economy recovering” stories.
They'll all be forced into an all-online product very soon. You can't keep the doors open and continue to pay large staffs. Two dozen reporters can put out a decent online product in most cities. Companies aren't interested in producing quality products these days.
Right, grow the online ad revenue a bit more, jettison most of your staff and you can hang around until you figure out how to make money. Survival mode is underway for most newspaper companies.
But they'll need better managing editors and executive editors to make the transition. Plus, harder-working reporters who can endure 12 hour days and much more story production.
Perhaps if Maureen Dowd gets laid off she can ask Catherine Zeta-Jones for a job as a publicity writer. At least it would be better than Paul Krugman trying to get his old job back advising Enron.
Ah, sweet dreams.....
The best survival strategy for newspapers today is to make it a point to piss off half of your potential customers and advertisers daily. Then deny that you are pissing them off and insist that they have no influence over your decisions anyway.
You need to avoid printing any news that detracts from the liberal party line, insist on diversity as defined my melanin not ideas and blame America for everything that goes wrong with your business model.
Yeah... light at the end of the tunnel.
MNI stock went up today, for whatever reason. There was this cheerful article:
http://industry.bnet.com/media/10004626/mcclatchy-turnaround-continues-online-revenues-grow/
They're working on more ways to cut costs. From a double-secret corporate memo:
Vending machines user fee.
Reporters must rent PCs.
$10 charge for performance evals.
Staff meetings now cost $25.
Reporters must provide own chairs.
Two reporters for each desk.
Reporters must provide own desk.
No more lights, candles only.
Reporters must bring own candles.
To 2:14: LMAO!!!
Anon 1:49 and 2:14. Your humor and wit makes my day. Thank you!
I guess our lawyer, I mean CEO, Pru never took an economics class. The draconian cost-cutting that is ongoing will produce short-term profits but threaten the company's survival in the long run.
By screwing employees with endless pay and benefit cuts you drive off talent and reduce the quality of journalism. By reducing the amount of news, charging more for it and casting quality aside you lose readers and advertisers.
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