Monday, July 27, 2009

Press Maven: deep cuts hurt the product

Deep cuts paved the way for 2nd quarter profits at McClatchy and other newspapers. But "Press Maven" Mark Fuchs thinks the cuts have hurt the product.

Count “Press Maven” Marek Fuchs at The Street.com among those not so impressed with newspaper Q2 profits that come mostly from deep cost-cutting. That catches up with any company, inevitably hurting the product, he says. This video mentions only The New York Times, but it’s a universal lesson. And as for the Times, the Maven says, “Let’s face it, the Times looks like it’s been left in the clothes dryer too long -- it’s thin, it’s lost sections…”



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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have had dozens of past, and current McClatchy employees, write about the lack professionalism left in the wake of the downsizing, and the outright stupidity at the top of the company.
McClatchy made the decision to separate the wheat from the chaff, and keep the chaff because it is cheaper. You reap what you sow sort of deal. Circling the drain is spinning MNI out of control, too, too, bad. My heart bleeds, I mean, BLEEDS for Gary Pruitt & Company. NOT!

Anonymous said...

You guys shouldn't be saying bad things about MNI. We made money last quarter...that shows we are not stupid, we are not biased and doggonnit people like us.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:01/3:06 Both very funny posts, cept for the "we are not biased part" (Ya goof)

As for the keeping the chaff observation, it’s very accurate. In fact, the last company to try this was Circuit City about four or five years ago.

They let go all their "go to people", keeping cheaper untrained staff. The result, Chapter 11.

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of "leftovers" in McClatchy newsrooms are suckups willing to take it up the arse. Top pros have either bolted or taken early retirements (buyouts). The leftovers aren't talented enough to put out quality products. It's obvious every single day.