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A new Guild star is born Proving that Friday the Thirteenth has been unfairly maligned, workers at the Bay Area News Group-East Bay voted 104 to 92 on June 13 for Guild representation. (Español) Lunzer ticket prevails Confirming the preliminary results reported last month, the TNG-CWA Sector Election and Referendum Committee has certified Bernie Lunzer and his top two running mates, Carol Rothman and Connie Knox, as winners in the union's first contested election in 13 years. (Español) Politics ban overturned An arbitrator's decision voiding a Detroit Free Press ban on political contributions by editorial employees has implications for other publishers attempting to control what their employees can do off the job—provided those employees are protected by an appropriately worded collective bargaining agreement. 'Whoever has the most fun, wins' "Hi there," she'd say from the microphone on the convention floor, "I’m Linda-Foley-Lexington and I rise in support of the motion..." She rose a lot, this Linda-Foley-Lexington, never at a loss for words or opinions and never one to use silence as a rhetorical device, even to signal spaces between words. (Español) Picking a tough time to be a union activist When Linda and I were hired into the Guild's collective bargaining department, we were definitely "the new generation." The leaders at the time, President Chuck Perlik and Secretary-Treasurer Chuck Dale, had started their Guild careers when we were still in diapers.
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News of the industry SERC Certifies Saxberg for Canada East VP newsguild.org 04 Jul 2008 The Newspaper Guild Sector Election and Referendum Committee (SERC) convened on June 30, 2008 and certified the results of the 2008 Sector Elections with regard to the position of Vice President for the Canada East Region. Barbara Saxberg garnered 451 votes, to Darren Pittman's 405 votes. Deeper staff cuts likely at newspapers Alan Mutter, Reflections of a Newsosaur 03 Jul 2008 Even though 48.7% of the 102,120 jobs eliminated in the newspaper industry since 1990 were lost in the last three years, publishers since 2006 have failed to reduce headcount as aggressively as they did during prior downturns, according to an analysis of the industry's historic performance. How many more jobs should be cut? Precedent suggests that the industry in the last two years should have abolished 23,580 more jobs than it actually did. Philadelphia papers may combine some newsroom jobs Deborah Yao, Associated Press 03 Jul 2008 A team of managers at The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News has been appointed to oversee consolidation of some functions at the two papers in a bid to cut costs. Leading the team is the Inquirer's co-managing editor, Sandra Long, who met with the union on Tuesday to talk about the changes, said Henry Holcomb, president of The Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia that represents newsroom and other staff at both papers. NABJ Issues Warning on Layoffs Richard Prince, Journal-isms 03 Jul 2008 As news outlets stepped up notices of buyouts and layoffs, the National Association of Black Journalists on Thursday issued "an open letter to the entire industry" asserting that "NABJ will hold you accountable if you do not consider diversity in your hiring and, particularly, firing practices." The NABJ statement listed recent staff cutbacks around the country and cited an estimate from the American Society of Newspaper Editors that the number of journalists of color at newspapers declined by nearly 300 last year. |
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"Rightsizing" is one of those words management slings about when it wants to make it seem like it's making intelligent decisions in tough times. Sounds better than "panicking." But to describe the current round of newspaper staff cuts, there's a better word: Frightsizing. And Tribune is the poster boy of frightsizing: calling it an employee-owned company is high parody when those "owners" are being shown the door in massive numbers. My lament this Fourth of July is to ask readers to see newspapers as not just another casualty in the churn of business. Sure, reporters say stupid things and write idiotic stories. Everyone stumbles. But on its best days, a newspaper is a marvel of style and wit, of small-type discoveries and large-type overstatements, a diary of our deeds. We may still prove Jefferson's preference wrong: perhaps a nation can function without newspapers. But it would be a confederacy of dunces. On the surface, yesterday's debt-default news seems like another body blow for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. but the Strib's ongoing newsroom labor negotiations offer surprising hope. Although Strib publisher Chris Harte mandated a 10%, $2.5 million newsroom cut several weeks ago, I'm told contract negotiators have all but met that figure -- without layoffs, and only a few buyouts. In fact, the Newspaper Guild could get layoff protection.
The Los Angeles Times plans to cut 250 positions, including 150 jobs in the print and online news departments, the paper's editor said Wednesday. As a result, the paper will undergo a makeover by the fall that will cut pages by 15% per week, eliminate some sections and trim story length. The move follows an announcement that Tribune Co. is exploring the sale of its headquarters in Chicago and the downtown Los Angeles Times office building.
With ad revenue down 12% so far this year, the publishing company of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Tuesday it is reducing its workforce by about 10% through buyouts, attrition, and involuntary layoffs. The cut in the staff of 1,300 full-time equivalents will be completed by the end of the year. Those taking buyouts or being laid off will receive cash severance and a healthcare benefit, Journal Sentinel Inc. said. Despite the turmoil that will see 60 journalists leave The Sun's newsroom by the end of the month, a group of local businessmen still wants to buy the paper -- for better or worse. "Our position has always been the same and we're just staying very patient," said Theodore G. Venetoulis. Meanwhile, Guild negotiators said they were unable to extend the two-week deadline for the newsroom's approximately 250 employees to take a buyout before layoffs begin. The Baltimore Sun will eliminate its daily business section later this month.
The changes, set to begin July 29, will initially move the Sun's business coverage to the back of the "Maryland" section of the paper. A redesign of the Sun, slated to take affect by the end of August, will feature two pages a day focusing on business. The business stories will be folded into a new "uber-news" section, which will focus on local, national and world news coverage. America's press is deeply conservative and deeply caught up with its own self-image. Recession and the advance of the internet blow mist all over the battlefield. But the crucial element in its distress is just plain, old-fashioned ineptitude: Too many companies paid too high a price to gobble up competitors in the fat years and now can't service their debt mountain as times grow thinner. Washington has become Versailles. We are ruled, entertained and informed by courtiers. The popular media are courtiers. The Democrats, like the Republicans, are courtiers. Our pundits and experts are courtiers. We are captivated by the hollow stagecraft of political theater as we are ruthlessly stripped of power. It is smoke and mirrors, tricks and con games. We are being had. After weeks of speculation about pages being reduced and sections eliminated, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland is cutting an average of 32 pages per week. The Monday separate business section will be eliminated, on Wednesday a stand-alone style section and stand-alone food section will be combined into one section, Thursday's paper will see the consolidation of two stand-alone sections on arts & life and food & garden, and Friday's arts & life section will be cut. Bay Area News Group-East Bay undertook company-wide job cuts Friday, affecting every department, including the newsroom, advertising, circulation and production. The company also said it plans to lay off 29 out of 226 employees in a newsroom operation whose journalists voted this month to be represented by the Newspaper Guild. The union-represented journalists who are being laid off will be notified on or before July 11. |
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