25 Jun 08 Buyouts 2.0
In an interesting twist, William M. Hartnett of the Palm Beach Post has been Twittering his buyout meeting.
Some highlights:
- No details yet on layoff severance package if buyouts don’t meet job cut goals. Just “less generous.” 9 minutes ago from web
- Guy in front row is staring at the ceiling. 7 minutes ago from web
- Separation pay taxed at normal rate, unless received as lump sum. 13 minutes ago from web
- They’ll be “exited” that day. Sounds menacing. 15 minutes ago from web
- Last day for buyout recipients: Tuesday, Aug. 12 16 minutes ago from web
- Max 52 weeks, for those here more than 26 years. 20 minutes ago from web
- Not quite enough for that yacht I was hoping to get. 22 minutes ago from web
- Two weeks of pay and benefits for every year of service. 23 minutes ago from web
What’s funny about this, and what so many others are doing right now, is that for once everyone has no fear about what they are putting online. The general consensus seems to be, “What are you going to do, fire me?”
Related LinksTags: buyouts, news business, twitter
24 Jun 08 More Lee Abrams goodies*
Abrams interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic:
JG: Why were you surprised to find out that your company has reporters based in Iraq?
LA: I was in Los Angeles, sitting in this casual little meeting waiting for someone to show up, and there was this lady who had just got back from four years in Iraq, I forgot her name, I met 300 people in two days, and she was telling me about security problems, bullets in the background and all that, and it really struck me that there should be pictures of her with Iraqi children in the newspaper to show she was there. Whereas in the newspaper, it just says, “Times Staff Reporter.” I really never thought about it, that there was really a person over there going through hell to get this.
Er, no actually. Because then you get the Geraldo Rivera’s and those like him who decide that they themselves want to be the focus of the story. The story is what we should focus on, not the hardships of the reporter who is there. After all, the reporter needs to save something for the tell-all book later. Unless you are doing some sort of Gonzo project, the trials and tribulations of the reporter should be invisible compared to the actual story, especially with Iraq War coverage.
Going to dangerous places to get a story, to inform the people and get the truth; that’s the reporter’s job. When we watch a movie, we don’t expect the actor to stop, turn to the camera and tell us how hard it was to shoot this shot or get this scene. They save that for ‘behind-the-scenes’ specials and E! News pieces, but doing so in the middle of the film would distract from…say it together kids…THE STORY.
Continuing…
JG: It didn’t strike you that there were employees of the newspaper over there doing this work?
LA: It was just ink to me, just reading. Oh yeah, here’s what’s happening in Iraq, but then I didn’t feel the human side.
JG: So more first-person in the papers, then?
LA: I would have loved to see diaries, because what she was telling me was fascinating, living in these special secured floors of the Baghdad Hotel. It was like theater of the mind.
The human side? The Iraqis dying, the American soldiers in Iraq and the numerous other American contractors in the Middle East and you can’t see the human side? Yeah, the harrowing tale of the reporter having to take THE STAIRS to the roof of the hotel to get a signal on their satellite modem in order to file their story ON DEADLINE, that’s the real human side. The horror…the horror.
I will say this about Mr. Abrams, he is incredibly ENTHUSIASTIC!
*Note: I wouldn’t normally say critical stuff of my employer but seeing that I am leaving soon, what’s the harm (knock on wood).
Related LinksTags: news business, people, Tribune
19 Jun 08 So it begins: OC Register to outsource copy editing to India
From Doug Fisher and Media Bistro, apparently the Orange County Register is going to start a pilot program where they will outsource their copy-editing duties to India.
To me this is simply a tragedy. There are those that feel copy editing is the most mechanical of all of the journalism duties in the newsroom, fixing grammar and running spell check on stories. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Copy editors have to know almost more than the reporters so that they not only know when something is wrong, logically and semantically as well as grammatically, so that they know when to ask questions. AP Style, grammar and spelling can be taught sure, but not pop culture references, idioms or other forms of expression that are uniquely American.
From a writing perspective, a copy editor’s job is to make the writer look better. When someone reads a story they don’t look at it and lavish praise or criticism on the copy editor, the name on the byline is the sole person responsible in their mind. When that editor becomes someone that is totally disconnected from the writer, both culturally and by proximity, that disconnection will show itself in the stories. They too will be mechanical and stale.
Outsourcing copy-editing duties may save the paper money, but at what cost? Thomas L. Friedman, I blame you and your ‘The World is Flat’ thinking. Globalization is not necessarily a good thing.
Related LinksTags: journalism, news business
14 Jun 08 Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I think that front page says it all. Kudos to the Gazette for managing to still put out a good product both online and in print despite being directly affected by the flooding.
Good thing I’m moving closer to that area soon…*gulp*
Related LinksTags: news, news business
23 Apr 08 Scarborough Newspaper Audience Ratings Report 2008
Consumer shopping research firm Scarborough Research, a Nielsen Media affiliate, has released its 2008 Newspaper Audience Ratings Report. The SNARR, besides just being a fun word to say, can be a useful and quick measure for newspapers, but it is not a perfect measure.
CLICK HERE to read the report. (PDF)
What does all of this mean?
The numbers are basically a measure of your organization’s market penetration, meaning what percentage of the audience in a specific ‘Designated Market Area’ you have. In this case, the DMA is a specific grouping of counties that is in the newspaper’s coverage area.
This is an OK measure, but I take issue with their methodology. This is how they describe how they came up with these numbers:
The Scarborough study is based on a random sample of adults (ages 18+). Scarborough Research employs a two-phase methodology to collect data: a randomly dialed telephone interview followed by a written, self-administered consumer questionnaire and television diary. The newspaper audience information and websites visited are captured during the telephone interview. A Media Rating Council (MRC) accredited media and marketing service, our newspaper data meets the highest data quality standards.
Now, knowing what I know about polling and human behavior, I think these numbers might be slightly inaccurate. Even if it is random and even if people are given anonymity, they will lie. People are afraid to admit they don’t read the paper so they fudge the results. This happens in politics with voter turnout surveys and the like. The numbers never measure up to the reality because people lie. They don’t want to appear to be Luddites or a philistine, even if no one is actually watching.
If anything, this study should have some margin of error but I could find none listed. Still, these numbers could serve to give the advertising department more leverage to bargain with advertisers and give an indication to the newsroom of where they may need to focus their attention.
What does this mean for online?
I also feel that this holds a little less weight for online. Despite the low percentage of market penetration for most news Web sites, I think that is indicative of global reach and more ‘World is Flat’ mentality of news Web sites.
Sure a lot of traffic comes from the local market but more often Web traffic comes from outside links and search engine results. These readers, drive-by surfers, have little brand loyalty. The questions is: How can newspaper Web sites take advantage of this and quantify it to advertisers and also appropriate the behavior to how they run their sites?
Paul Gillin of Newspaper Death Watch recently wrote about what he called the ‘Content-driven Reader‘ and how it is changing the landscape of journalism and online journalism. A good read. Be sure to also follow the links to both Jarvis’ post and Alan D. Mutter’s post on the same topic.
The key word here: Content.
Related LinksTags: journalism, news business, numbers, ratings
17 Apr 08 ‘Toronto Star’ lays off entire Web staff
Hat tip: Danny Sanchez
In a huge purge Torstar Corp., owners of Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper, the Toronto Star, is laying off 160 people, including the entire 10-person Web team. This comes as a shock during a time where one would think the Web team might be the safest place to be (at least I’m hoping so, *gulp*).
Most of the job cuts, taken through severance packages, were already expected, but laying off the 10-person Internet staff came as a surprise, said Maureen Dawson, an official with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
“Their message to the world is that they’re all dedicated to the Internet, but then they lay off the whole department,” she told The Canadian Press.
“The Star has said they would tell us in the coming weeks where the (Internet) work would go. We have an idea where one or two of the positions would go - but not all of it.”
“I don’t think it’s clear where it’s going for them either.”
I’m not sure if Torstar Corp. knows it or not, but Google hasn’t created a Web product just yet that eliminates the need for a Web staff. They might want to keep around a person or two. You know, someone that at least knows HTML or something. More:
But some industry critics suggested that the newspaper would try to shuffle out its older workers, and hire younger and cheaper workers, rather than train all of the veteran staff on new technology like online video.
“We see this trend of seeking to get the older employees out and bringing in new employees,” said Lise Lareau, the national president of the Canadian Media Guild, which does not represent the Star.
“Training becomes an issue. There’s ways of addressing this other than by (voluntarily laying off) the older staff and bringing in newer staff.”
Wait a minute, so there’s openings in Toronto. Robin, to the Canadian consulate, passport at the ready!
Related LinksTags: journalism, layoffs, news business
16 Apr 08 Buyouts galore, it’s a journalist blowout sale! Everything must go!
- ‘Modesto Bee’ Offers Buyouts to One-Fourth of its Employees
- ‘Tampa Tribune’ Offering Buyouts to Half of All Employees
- NY Times: ‘We expect layoffs’
- 200 Jobs to Go at ‘Seattle Times’
- CBS layoffs signal financial squeeze on TV stations
- Online Photo Gallery Depicts Sad Life In Post-Layoff ‘Mercury News’ - Link to photos is broken, CLICK HERE to see.
Yeah, so more bad news out of the newsrooms. Or is it?
Jack Schafer at Slate.com talks about the good news about the bad news coming out of newsrooms. In summary, newsrooms are getting rid of those that have sat in their cushy positions for far too long, cost the paper too much money in salary and are too far in their career to learn the new skills of the modern newsroom.
The “retirement” of the buyout brigade has the added benefit of loosening the ugly stranglehold the boomers have over the press. I may be risking self-extermination by advocating wholesale boomer expulsion, but there are just too many of us—especially the older variety—in top slots for journalism’s good. The sheer weight of our presence blocks the promotion of the next generation of talented journalists to the most desirable beats.
I’m in inclined to agree, almost wholeheartedly. Journalism is one of those jobs that, though difficult to break into, one can hang on to the position for decades. Once a journalist makes a name for themselves they become highly sought after by competitors, so in order for a paper to keep their “star” they must pay them more. That’s fine in the beginning, but eventually it spirals out of control.
Eventually those treasured giants who the paper is forced to pour vast resources into while being rewarded with limited output, must be purged. Buyouts are one way of doing that. This is not always the case however, and buyouts are not limited to those close to retirement age, but it is simply one way of looking at buyouts in a positive light. Not all is grim and gray as it may seem.
Though there’s no surefire solution to this problem now and no wants to be out of a job, but it’s one of the side effects of a market that can’t break out of it’s one-track, linear mindset. We need to learn to deal with it in order to move forward.
I’m going to talk about all of these things in the future, but the first priorities should be these:
- Fixing and modernizing the revenue model
- Standardize Web metrics for news sites
- Dismiss the “More with less” attitude
- Cross-platform training
- Understanding technology before integrating technology
Tags: journalism, news business
12 Apr 08 Newseum opens in Washington D.C.
The LA Times has en excellent photo gallery of the Newseum opening in D.C. yesterday.
Related LinksTags: journalism, news, news business
11 Apr 08 Sam Zell might sell LA Times to Geffen
According to LA Observed:
Just passing along what I was told this morning from a possibly good source — no confirmation, no independent reporting, no warranty implied. But my contact travels in the right circles to have picked up the scent and reports hearing from “three excellent sources (all with first hand information)” that David Geffen is in talks with Sam Zell to buy the Los Angeles Times from Tribune. The talks are serious enough, my source hears, that the moguls may have been close to a deal last week. For what it’s worth.
Hmm, with this and the feds not standing in the way of selling Newsday to Rupert Murdoch, Zell may be able to get rid of some of that debt he had to assume in acquiring Tribune. Selling your two hottest properties, however, doesn’t seem like the best way to go. What do I know though, I’m still in the pupal stages of being a journalist.
Related LinksTags: journalism, news, news business
10 Apr 08 Daytona Beach News-Journal going up for sale
In the wake of a lawsuit from corporate shareholders, Cox Enterprises, the owners of the Daytona Beach News-Journal announced today that they would put the paper on the market. From the Orlando Sentinel:
A sale of the newspaper has become the only option in light of the latest legal loss against Cox Enterprises, the Atlanta-based corporate partner.
“We do not yet know the form this sale will take or the timing, but we know that it will be sold as a going and continuing business,” reads the letter posted on the newspaper’s Web site and jointly signed by board members.
The News-Journal has been ordered to pay Cox $129 million to buy out its shares and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal denied the News-Journal’s last request to rehear the case.
I got $5 on it!
I wonder who will be the first to make a bid? Murdoch? Gannett? Hearst?
Related LinksTags: journalism, news, news business
08 Apr 08 Morning reads, both journalism and non
- Sam Zell: A Tough Guy in a Mean Business - I’ve had mixed feelings about Zell since he became my current pseudo-boss. On the one hand he is willing to take risks and branch out in new directions (so he says). On the other hand he is only willing to do that if it increases the bottom line, not if makes for better journalism. That’s the nature of the news business though, there’s no way around it. (p.s. I love the picture above, courtesy of the New York Times.)
- Tribune Turns to Radio to Revive Empire - Another article about Zell/Tribune-deal. For some reason this whole thing fascinates me. I’d always read about the other deals big deals (McClatchy buying Knight Ridder, Tribune buying LA Times, Gannett deals), but have never had the privilege of watching one evolve from the inside out. Hopefully deals like this won’t completely destroy the business I love so much.
- Inside Word at Pulitzer Announcement: Entries Down, But Online Up - The day a Pulitzer Prize is given to a story that is an Internet-only package is the day online journalism will have truly arrived (if that hasn’t already happened).
- In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - If ‘Death by Blogging’ ever becomes a common thing, our world will have truly gone off the deep end. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind blogging for a living if the subject were something I was really into (i.e. journalism, technology, news, politics). Then again, being forced to post can hinder the quality of the writing I am sure.
- Commentary: It’s time for the newspaper industry to die - Not what you think. A commentary from Online Journalism Review contributor Robert Niles.
- ‘Washington Post’ Captures 6 Pulitzers, ‘NYT’ Takes 2 - Go WaPo! Special mention to the Chicago Tribune staff, for winning the ‘Investigative Reporting’ prize for stories on faulty government regulation of toys, cribs, car seats.
Now it is time for to go and play journalist for a bit. Interviews, notes, transcribing and more interviews. I love this game.
Related LinksTags: journalism, news, news business
20 Dec 07 Sam Zell finalizes deal to take Tribune private
So today was the day that billionaire Sam Zell took the Tribune Company private (includes video). As some of you may know and many of you may not, I am employed by a Tribune-owned company now, The Orlando Sentinel. Because of this, Zell’s deal and press conference held a little more importance to me than it did before, though even before I had been watching this story.
I must admit, at first I had my doubts about this deal before it happened. It worried me that someone that had no journalism experience was buying one of the biggest media companies in the U.S., something most billionaire do in order to make quick profits and large budget cuts. I was concerned he would do what so many other owners have done to media companies, destroy them in the name of profit.
However, after watching Zell’s presser, the first time I’d ever seen or heard the man speak live before, I am incredibly optimistic. The guy seems like a straight shooter and he has a decent vision for what direction he thinks the company should head. I’m already loving this company and I imagine it can only get better from here.
One of the biggest fears when any owner with a non-journalism background gets involved with a media company is that they will want to exert some sort of editorial control. When asked, Zell responded with candor and wit:
“…in school my english grades were shitty…I have no desire to be an editor.”
That sounds like someone that knows what he is and what he isn’t, and that sits very well with me. Some people questioned Zell pseudo-reneging on the fact that he had previously alluded that he would not assume the CEO post. Zell continued:
“But this is a very important transaction of extraordinary relevance … I spent six months trying to understand how this company runs, and as I watched and got more educated, it became clearer to me that (chief executive) is the role I needed to play. You call it CEO and I’ll call it owner.”
Once again, I like the cut of his jib. He’s interested in the company for what it can do and for what it is, not just as a money-machine.
The news room, watching Zell on a live video feed, gave him a resounding applause that signaled that this change is being seen as a positive move for Tribune and welcome change from public to private ownership.
I for one think it is awesome. Look how well the St. Pete Times does, it having a similar private ownership structure. It can only get better around here, for the news business and for the integrity of Tribune’s contribution to journalism.
2008 is going to be a good year.
Related LinksTags: journalism, news business
07 Dec 07 2008 media predictions
BusinessWeek media critic Jon Fine recently listed his 2008 media predictions with the disclaimer he’s been severely wrong in the past. However, his list seems a little more sound this year:
Read the full list and detailed descriptions here.
OK, I’ll bite. The one that concerns me most is the “daily newspapers” thing. Knowing what I know now, I think people would flip if you cut out the Saturday edition. People were incensed when our local paper stopped putting the TV Time in the non-subscription editions. Management figured most people use TV-based or DVR provided TV guides, apparently not. Cutting out the Saturday edition would severely cripple papers, regardless of how thin it usually is.
I could easily, and probably am, wrong about that. I’m no media analyst, I just write stuff and play on the intarwebs. I’ll leave that up to the scholars.
Related LinksTags: journalism, media, news business
27 Nov 07 FCC rule change update
In an update to a related story I mentioned yesterday, FreePress has published a report called:
10 Facts Kevin Martin Doesn’t Want You to Know About His New Media Ownership Rules (PDF).
It should be noted however that this isn’t about his cable company rule changes, this is about his media ownership rule changes. Again, these two proposals seem to be come from two different people and seem almost contradictory. Am I missing something here? What is Mr. Martin trying to pull?
The gist of the report is that many of Martin’s claims about the news business are outright wrong and misleading. Tim Tarr at HuffPo comments:
So, why does Martin remain determined to turn a blind eye to the public opposition to unchecked consolidation?Stopping Big Media
It’s not because the evidence suggests otherwise. On Nov. 13, Martin penned an op-ed in the New York Times, in which he argued that a “relatively minor loosening of the ban on cross-ownership of newspapers and TV stations,” would help save the American newspaper from certain death.In a new report released on Monday, Free Press found that Martin’s claim that the newspaper is an “endangered species” is greatly exaggerated.
Consider this: Revenue per circulated newspaper copy increased from 2005 to 2006. Industry-wide, newspapers still enjoy operating profit margins near or above 20 percent — higher than the S&P 500 average.
Recent mergers and acquisitions further demonstrate that newspapers remain highly valued properties. Prices paid for newspaper companies have been above 10 times cash flow, with average stock prices at eight times cash flow. These values are considered quite healthy by financial industry standards.
It’s no surprise that a bureaucrat like Martin would twist the facts in order to please lobbyists and media barons. This is the problem with bottom-line focused, business people getting involved in the business of news.
I’ve lamented on this in the past and it is indeed a dangerous road we are traveling. The news is a unique business that serves a dual purpose; yes it tries to generate revenue but its main purpose is to inform the public and keep them apprised on what is happening in their world both locally and abroad. We aren’t selling widgets here people, we’re keeping the gears of society greased.
Hopefully one day a happy medium (pun intended) will be forged. We’ll have to wait and see.
Related LinksTags: FCC, news, news business
26 Nov 07 News about the news
- F.C.C. Chief Seeks Votes to Tighten Cable Rules:
Oddly enough, Kevin Martin, the same man that wants to let media conglomerates basically monopolize a market, is trying to strengthen rules governing cable companies. The rule changes would limit cable exclusivity and lower rates for consumers. What’s Mr. Martin’s angle I wonder? By all accounts I think I would have to agree with his proposal, yet his other one regarding media property ownership is as ridiculous now as it was last time they proposed it. We’ll have to wait and see how this rolls out. - ABC News and Facebook in Joint Effort to Bring Viewers Closer to Political Coverage:
Facebook has finally edged out MySpace as the “it” social-networking site. I must admit, I like Facebook worlds better than MySpace, especially since it became a hotbed for spammers and viral marketers. Looks like Rupert Murdoch should have waited before dropping a billion dollars on a social-networking property. I give MySpace a shelf-life of two more years tops before it becomes as invisible as Friendster. The election will be the apex of Facebook’s life, and Zuckerberg would be wise to sell it soon after. The next social-networking site is no doubt right around the corner and being developed in some kid’s dorm room. - WSJ.com Must Tread Carefully if it Nixes Paid-Subs Model:
In a bold and surprising move, Rupert Murdoch announced that that the newly acquired Wall Street Journal’s online presence (WSJ.com) would soon be free. This is surprising both because WSJ.com has been one of the most successful online, subscription-based publications and because Murdoch loves the money. Perhaps Murdoch has seen the light and is more concerned with informing than making money.Yeah, and monkeys might…well, you know.
Tags: journalism, news business
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