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SEARCH RESULTS FOR "FURLOUGHS" Pension moves key to clearing Philadelphia newspapers sale Creditors poised to take over Philadelphia's two largest newspapers hope to move employees from defined pensions to 401k plans or some mix of both, their lawyer said after a bankruptcy confirmation hearing Thursday. Journalists running start-ups face tall odds Fed up with furloughs and down-sizing -- or forced involuntarily out of their jobs -- journalists across the land are taking matters into their own hands by starting their own news sites. Moody's: U.S. newspaper industry looks good -- for now Moody's believes U.S. newspaper revenues could finally turn positive next year -- although it warns that a "cyclical snapback" in advertising in 2012 could put the industry back on its long-term decline. JPMorgan now top Gannett owner with 10.2 pct stake JPMorgan Chase & Co. is boosting its bet that better days are ahead for the slumping newspaper industry. It reported Tuesday that it now owns a 10.2 percent stake in USA Today publisher Gannett Co., making it the company's largest shareholder.
Newspaper giant leaves the islands The corporate Goliath of the media world, Gannett Co., walks away tomorrow from nearly four decades of newspaper ownership in Hawaii after selling the spoils to the owner of its longtime rival Honolulu Star-Bulletin—but there are no white flags flyin David Black spent more than $100 million and fought along with Star-Bulletin workers for nearly a decade to publish a 52,000-circulation paper and carve out a profitable share of the Honolulu market. But since economies of scale favored Gannett's 115,000-circulation paper, The Honolulu Advertiser, it was an uneven newspaper war. Guild ratifies 5-year-plus contract with St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis Newspaper Guild members voted by a better than two-to-one margin this weekend to approve a new contract with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that cuts pay by 6% in the first two and a half years of the five and a half-year agreement. McClatchy's Ft. Worth Star-Telegram issues furloughs While newspaper companies are reporting better quarterly results, they are clearly not out of the woods. McClatchy's Ft. Worth Star-Telegram just issued one-week unpaid furloughs for employees. Gannett CEO gets big raise after engineering mass layoffs Gannett paid Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow $4.7 million last year, a sharp increase over the $3.1 million he took home in 2008, the company just disclosed in a regulatory filing. Gannett selling Honolulu Advertiser to rival Star-Bulletin The parent company of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Thursday announced it was purchasing longtime rival The Honolulu Advertiser, the largest newspaper in Hawaii. Oahu Publications Inc. said it will acquire the Advertiser, its Web site, non-daily publications and an interest in Hawaii.com from Gannett Co. The Advertiser, one of Gannett's larger newspapers with a daily circulation of 130,000, was founded in 1856 and purchased by Gannett in 1993. USA Today extends wage freeze, orders week-long furloughs USA Today, with its ad pages down 10.5% in the last quarter, is chopping expenses again, ordering all employees to take a week-long unpaid furlough and extending for another three months the freeze on salary increases imposed a year ago. Gannett's 4Q improves as cost cuts offset ad woes Gannett Co. posted its largest profit of the year in the fourth quarter as cost-cutting efforts were aided by a lessening decline in advertising sales. But shares of the biggest U.S. newspaper publisher tumbled after company executives didn't offer any hope for an upturn in newspaper advertising this year. Memphis Commercial Appeal to lay off nine At a meeting Tuesday afternoon, The Commercial Appeal informed representatives of the Memphis Newspaper Guild that job cuts announced last week would affect nine specific employees in four departments: one in accounting, one in information technology, one in advertising, two in customer service and four in editorial. Singleton praises Pioneer Press, but cuts still loom Like employees throughout Denver-based MediaNews Group, Pioneer Press staffers received a cheery end-of-year memo from CEO Dean Singleton and President Jody Lodovic. The big news: Debt-racked MNG pledges a late-winter 2010 financial restructuring. Strupp: My top 10 newspaper biz stories 2009 Another year of changes for the newspaper industry, not to mention E&P. We saw mobile sprint forward, print decrease, employees give back, and some familiar faces depart. Still, the news is being delivered and the newsrooms continue to hum, in most places, even at reduced volume. Detroit News and Detroit Free Press plan furlough week to avoid layoffs The newsrooms at The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press have agreed to one-week unpaid furloughs in exchange for no-layoff guarantees through the spring. Gannett lays off staffers at USA Today, USA Weekend Gannett Co. is cutting 26 newsroom jobs at its flagship USA Today newspaper and 11 positions at USA Weekend magazine. Furloughs go ahead for Detroit Free Press newsroom Detroit Free Press newsroom employees will take a five-day furlough in exchange for no job cuts through March. Detroit Newspaper Guild members voted in favor of the plan Sunday. Times' executive editor Bill Keller critiques his paper "The idea that you can do 'more with less' is, in my view, one of the four great lies," Gannett ad sales still dropping despite 3Q profit Profits at Gannett Co. fell 53 percent in the third quarter as the largest U.S. newspaper publisher endured another big decline in ad revenue. Sun-Times unions given deadline to extend pay cuts The Chicago businessman offering to buy the Chicago Sun-Times and its 57 sibling papers wants its union employees to agree by Sept. 29 to extend pay cuts that are supposed to end with the sale. Kansas City Star announces furloughs The Kansas City Star announced Tuesday that it is instituting a one-week unpaid furlough program for most employees. Gannett blog: The exit interview Jim Hopkins on his muckraking meta-site, loved by ex-employees and loathed by management. SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST Even as the ship sinks, newspaper execs pocket the silver While Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase have become poster children for management greed run wild, their executive compensation practices are only the most extreme examples of a widening class divide. What's endemic to the financial industry is nearly as ubiquitous to the newspaper publishing business, in kind if not in scale. And that avarice is nowhere more evident than in bankruptcy court. Media General reports 2Q profit Newspaper publisher and TV station owner Media General Inc. said Wednesday that cost cutting helped deliver a profitable second quarter despite tumbling ad revenue. Guild prez: Boston deal shows union 'can push back' he Boston Newspaper Guild's success in negotiating a new contract with The Boston Globe after voting down a previous offer shows that newspaper unions can demand better treatment, according to Bernie Lunzer, national president of The Newspaper Guild. Globe Guild overwhelmingly OK's pay, other cuts The Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents nearly 700 editorial, advertising and business office workers, became the last of the Globe's major unions to ratify sizeable financial and other concessions that the paper's owner, The New York Times Co., said it needs to keep operating the 137-year-old paper. McClatchy shares gain on Gannett's good news Shares of The McClatchy Co. soared 33 percent in heavier-than-average trading Wednesday, as investors were a bit more optimistic about the newspaper publishing industry. Surprise: Gannett swings to second-quarter profit -- but newspaper ad revenue falls 27% Gannett Co. beat expectations by reporting a second-quarter profit Wednesday of $70.5 million, or 30 cents a share, from a second-quarter 2008 loss of $2.29 billion, or $10.03 a share, that included a huge impairment charge. Freedom Communications, under new CEO, cuts pay 5% for all staffers Barely two weeks after being named interim CEO of Freedom Communications, Burl Osborne announced that company-wide salaries will be cut by 5%. Tentative deal at Boston Globe Guild members to vote July 20 The Boston Globe's largest union reached a tentative deal with the New York Times Co. shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, agreeing to a substantial pay cut, unpaid furloughs, and modifications to the lifetime job guarantee provisions that protect almost 200 employees in the Boston Newspaper Guild, according to sources familiar with the deal. Can grassroots journalism do the job? My doubts are growing about whether we can rely on volunteers to produce credible journalism for a sustainable period of time. PD unions take furloughs, pay cuts to keep 7-day newspaper delivery About 500 union employees of The Plain Dealer have agreed to take pay cuts and furloughs as the paper strives to keep the business viable while advertising revenue sags. Globe, Guild talks to continue next week Boston Globe management and the paper's largest union ended another marathon bargaining session early this morning without resolving their contract dispute. The two sides will continue talking by phone today, but the next scheduled face-to-face meeting is not until Monday. After months of tension, Globe votes on cuts Months of labor acrimony at The Boston Globe will come to a head today, when members of the newspaper's largest union are to vote on deep cuts in wages, benefits and job security, amid growing signs that they could well reject the deal. SPECIAL REPORT Facing pay cuts, furloughs to avoid layoffs When owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News asked guild members last fall to give up a $25-per-week raise, most were agreeable to the idea. Shelly Richards, a member of the Philadelphia Newspaper Guild executive board and an advertising customer services employee, says they all knew the company was in dire straits, with ad revenue and circulation plummeting. Boston Guild president's letter slams New York Times Co. Less than a week before Newspaper Guild members at The Boston Globe are due to vote on a controversial contract agreement, Guild President Dan Totten has issued a letter to members that is less praise for the deal and more an attack on The New York Times Co. After 23 years in the business, after seeing my white-haired brethren grudgingly accept buyouts, after the uncertainty of watching the corporate execs put our newspaper on the market -- only to take it off when the economy tanked -- not only am I still here at the Roanoke Times, but I still get excited when I happen onto a great story. That's why I stick with journalism, even as it threatens to bail on me. Chicago Sun-Times Guild accepts 9 percent pay cut Chicago Sun-Times newsroom employees represented by the Newspaper Guild voted Tuesday night to accept a temporary 9 percent pay cut and other proposals, as parent Sun-Times Media Group operates under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and seeks a buyer. Star Tribune newsroom leaders agree to furloughs, $1.7 million in comp cuts Negotiators for the Star Tribune's newsroom union and management reached an agreement in principle Friday morning that includes $1.7 million in compensation cuts, including furloughs, pension freezes and reduced severance. The proposed contract will run through July 2011. Gannett 1Q profit drops 60 pct as ad slump worsens Gannett Co.'s first-quarter profit plummeted 60 percent as the recession and Internet competition hammered the advertising revenue that buttresses its newspapers, including USA Today. Newspaper ad revenue could fall as much as 30% NEWSPAPER advertising, already in its worst slump since the Depression, suffered by far the sharpest drop in generations during the first quarter of 2009, down 30 percent for some papers, industry executives and analysts say. Earnings preview: More Gannett woes coming in Q1? Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, is scheduled to report its first-quarter results before the stock market opens Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. Albany Times Union cancels Guild contract The Times Union of Albany has canceled a union labor agreement as it tries to reduce costs. The collective-bargaining agreement with The Albany Newspaper Guild covers about 240 of the newspaper's 450 employees, including reporters First furloughs, now paid vacation accruals, halted at some MediaNews papers Employees at MediaNews Los Angeles Newspaper Group (LANG) papers are no longer accruing paid vacation. Under a policy that began Sunday, vacation accrual for employees at the Los Angeles Daily News and other papers in the Southern California group was suspended until at least July 4. Gannett consolidates editing of four New Jersey dailies Gannett Co. is consolidating copy editing and page production operations for four New Jersey newspapers. The Asbury Park Press will house the regional operation at its offices in Neptune. The other three papers are the Home News Tribune of East Brunswick, the Courier News of Somerville and the Daily Record of Parsippany. Times Co. announces temporary salary cuts The New York Times Company budget plans announced Thursday, including a temporary 5 percent pay cut for most employees, should avert newsroom staff cuts at the flagship Times newspaper this year, the executive editor, Bill Keller, said. Michigan's spawns new hybrid age Of news(papers) The news about the news has been truly horrific this week. Massive bloodletting from coast to shaking coast. Staff cuts, furloughs everywhere. Amid the doom, gloom and cutting, let's keep our eye on what is turning into ground zero for what's next. Michigan. Hearst hatchet cuts deep into Houston newsroom Upper managers cower in offices and keep their jobs Layoffs at the Houston Chronicle cut much deeper into the editorial side of the newspaper than the company-wide 12 percent reduction that was announced by publisher Jack Sweeney. By the count of newsroom workers who survived, 27 percent of the paper's editorial staffers were let go yesterday. That amounts to 90 employees, they said. But no upper management employees were laid off. FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS Senator proposes nonprofit status for newspapers Contributions could be tax deductible Struggling newspapers should be allowed to operate as nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., proposed Tuesday. Cardin introduced a bill that would allow newspapers to choose tax-exempt status. They would no longer be able to make political endorsements, but could report on all issues including political campaigns. Gannett orders second round of furloughs Newspaper publisher Gannett is forcing most of its workers to take another week of unpaid leave before July. Charlotte Observer cuts 15% of work force The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said Monday it is cutting its work force by 14.6% -- an elimination of 60 full-time and 22 part-time employees -- and will cut the pay of most of those who survive the layoffs. Signs of life -- and more cuts -- in San Diego The pending purchase of the San Diego Union-Tribune by a financially oriented buyer signals that at least one investor sees signs of life in newspapers. But some serious cost cutting likely lies ahead--perhaps even before the transaction closes. Seattle P-I staffers will get severance pay Laid-off Seattle Post-Intelligencer staffers will receive between four and 62 weeks of severance pay, depending on their seniority. Under the union contract, P-I workers are entitled to two weeks of severance for every year of employment, up to a maximum of 62 weeks of severance for those who have worked at the P-I for more than 30 years. Toledo Guild seeks layoff alternatives at The Blade The Toledo Newspaper Guild plans to again ask The Blade of Toledo to seek other options before going forward with layoffs that could reach 60 people newspaper-wide, according to Guild President Lillian Covarrubias. Denver Post Guild agrees to salary cuts, annual furloughs Newsroom union members at The Denver Post voted Tuesday to approve a new contract that includes nearly $2 million in salary wage and benefit concessions, and institutes annual unpaid furlough days, the paper reported. Miami Herald to cut 175 workers, reduce salaries The Miami Herald plans to cut 19 percent of its workforce, reduce salaries of those who remain and require one week unpaid furloughs, publisher David Landsberg announced Wednesday morning. Fresno Bee threatens 25% newsroom cutback The Fresno Bee plans to layoff up to 26 of its 90 rank-and-file newsroom employees to cut costs if union members do not agree to a salary reduction plan, the newspaper reported this week. Meanwhile, its sister paper in Texas, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, said it is cutting staff. Hearst, MediaNews: You can invent the future in San Francisco See that bridge? When finished in 1937, it was not an incremental step. It was a leap into the future. Wouldn't it be a terrific idea to search for the boldest, most imaginative solution to your problems in California? More layoffs likely at The Bee as McClatchy tries to cut red ink Analyst: Publisher can’t raise stock above $1 to keep from being delisted Buyouts, layoffs, pay cuts and mandatory furloughs are all on the table as The Sacramento Bee works up a plan to help its owner cut expenses by about $110 million over the next year, The Newspaper Guild said. Gannett employees turn to unofficial blog tor clarity Gannett Inc. employees looking for the latest breaking news, layoffs and analysis about their company are increasingly turning to a blog run by a former company employee. 'Newspapers should shut down their free websites for a week' homas Jefferson did not wish to become a wolf. Odd as that may sound today considering all the good he did his country, Jefferson worried about the possibility, so much so that, while on a trip to Europe in 1787, one of his letters home became a kind of dissertation about the people he'd seen transformed into "wolves and sheep" along the way. New England Newspapers Inc. turns to furloughs New England Newspapers Inc., which runs newspapers in Massachusetts and Vermont, will require about 300 hourly and salaries employees to take unpaid one-week furloughs in a cost-cutting measure. Pioneer Press workers vote for unpaid furlough Newspaper Guild members at the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Friday voted to take five unpaid days off between Feb. 9 and April 30 as part of furloughs proposed by the newspaper’s parent company. MediaNews announces furloughs in New Mexico and Texas MediaNews Group Inc. said Friday that employees at its New Mexico and Texas newspapers have been asked to take one-week furloughs to avoid layoffs. St. Paul Pioneer Press asks union workers to take furlough The St. Paul Pioneer Press is asking union workers to take a week of unpaid time off as the newspaper seeks to cut costs. Even St. Pete Times announces pay freeze, suspends 401-K contributions The St. Petersburg Times has joined the ranks of many other papers announcing pay freezes and suspension of 401-1 matches. Other papers have also mandated unpaid furloughs, but not at the Times, yet. Honolulu Advertiser contract seeks 10% cut in pay Tentative deal keeps other benefits; Feb. 8 ratification vote set Negotiators for six unions and The Honolulu Advertiser reached a tentative agreement yesterday that calls for workers to take a pay cut while the newspaper works to overcome an economic downturn. Moody's downgrades Gannett, citing revenue slump Moody's Investors Service downgraded the credit ratings of Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today, on Monday, concerned by an ongoing slide in advertising revenue. Some Lee Enterprises papers, including Post-Dispatch, ordering furloughs Several Lee Enterprises newspaper around the nation - including its biggest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- have ordered employees to take unpaid furloughs. A.H. Belo chooses layoffs -- 500 of them - over furloughs, pay cuts A.H. Belo Corp. will lay off approximately 500 employees at The Dallas Morning News and its three other dailies, CEO Robert Decherd told employees in a memo that said pay cuts and the newly popular industry practice of furloughs had been considered and rejected by management. MediaNews Group unpaid furloughs spreading Unpaid one-week furloughs that have already struck MediaNews Group dailies in Californian may be heading east as one of the chain's Pennsylvania papers confirms plans for the mandatory week off and another is bracing for a possible directive. Fears of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing at The Seattle Times On Wednesday, worries that the dominant Seattle daily may soon file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection crept out into the open when an administrator for the union that represents Times employees mentioned the possibility in an e-mail to union members. MediaNews chain in Bay Area latest to order one-week furloughs Just two weeks after Gannett instituted a mandatory one-week furlough for all employees, a major regional chain of MediaNews Group is doing the same. Landmark combining wage freeze with chain-wide unpaid furloughs Landmark Communications, publisher of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk and two other dailies, Monday announced a chain-wide wage freeze that will be combined with five unpaid days off during the first half of 2009. Guild responds to Star Tribune bankruptcy Graydon Royce, co-chairman of the MInneapolis Star Tribune's unit of the guild, said he learned of the paper's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing when another employee called him about 8:15 p.m. last night. "The Newspaper Guild was given no heads up at all," Royce said, according to an article in today's edition of the paper. "We have to get a lawyer and financial expert to represent us in any proceedings that happen. Beyond that, we just don't know what's going to transpire. Editors, Guild respond to Gannett furlough We will be posting below reactions to the mandated one-week unpaid leave for all employees ordered today by Gannett. For one thing, the company clearly expects union members to go along with it -- they may not agree. Gannett's Q & A on unpaid furloughs BANG-EB UNIT BULLETIN Guild takes layoff protest to NLRB Unfair labor practice alleged for failure to negotiate We filed unfair labor practice charges Monday to protest the Bay Area News Group-East Bay's refusal to negotiate layoffs before the employees were sacked. The company on Thursday asked for a meeting to discuss yet another workforce reduction. We agreed to meet Monday morning. But by Friday evening, the company notified the eight layoff victims and locked them out of the workplace. Severance and other terms were dictated rather than negotiated. |
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