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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Tribune Co. plans major cuts
Michael Moriatis, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 6:08 PM on 06.06.08 |
| ->> It's a shame when investment types run a newspaper and not newspaper people. |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 6:11 PM on 06.06.08 |
->> I just spoke to a Times staffer and he related that they have been told by management that staff moral at the Times is up.
We both got a good laugh out of that.
--Mark |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 6:24 PM on 06.06.08 |
->> It is not just the media industry... Things are bad all over in this economy:
"Monthly growth in unemployment rate is biggest in over 20 years
The May jobless rate jumps half a percentage point to 5.5%, a sign that the economy is still troubled. An economist calls it the 'strongest evidence yet' that U.S. is in a recession.
By Maura Reynolds Times Staff Writer
11:38 AM PDT, June 6, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The nation's unemployment rate took a sharp turn for the worse in May, jumping to 5.5% from 5% a month earlier -- the largest one-month increase in more than two decades and a further sign that the ailing economy is not yet on the mend."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-economy7-2008jun07,0,5077276.story |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 7:58 AM on 06.07.08 |
->> One of the lessons people often overlook is that economically speaking, we're all connected. As a example, a decade ago, shoppers were attracted to Wal Mart's low prices. By the time they realized that they had traded lower prices for American jobs, it was too late. The slide had already begun.
Construction and retail jobs took the biggest hit in the latest numbers. Where I live, corn is king, followed closely behind by livestock and soybeans. Ethanol plants popping up all over the place. Should be great, right?
It's not as bad as other places. But the psychology - the mental attitudes - are certainly struggling. The resort area 20 minutes away has 7 YEARS of new condos on the market. The rich still spend, but even they are affected. Those who hold menial jobs are at risk. On the other hand, the Eatons plant that builds transmissions for garden and ag tractors was running overtime a month ago - no doubt because of the export market.
Gas will no doubt break the $150/barrel threshhold.
What's my point?
One is that there are pockets of success. Another is that opportunies are there. Eventuallly, people will begin to adapt. I expect anyone building a electric car is going to make a killing (GM, get VOLT on the market already, will you?). Prius sales were up 83% last month. Car pooling, mass transit, and bike and motor cycle sells will take off. Eventually there will be a shift.
That shift will impact newspapers as well. Sean's newspaper has, like many newspapers, redefined itself as a information hub. It will be different than it is. Recessions are ultimately, corrections in the marketplace. Corrections are opportunities. It's tough to look at it that way when you're the one facing a layoff, but it's true.
What we do with the opportunity is entirely up to us as individuals. I only wish taking several semesters of economics was manditory. ... |
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JC Ridley, Photographer
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Coral Springs | FL | US | Posted: 9:08 AM on 06.07.08 |
->> "(GM, get VOLT on the market already, will you?)"
Lets hope GM doesn't bring it to market before it is ready, like Canon did with the Mark III |
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William Jurasz, Photographer, Assistant
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Cedar Park | TX | USA | Posted: 1:33 PM on 06.09.08 |
->> Good points, Michael. Anyone wanting to read an excellent book on disruptive change should read "The Age of Turbulence", http://www.amazon.com/Age-Turbulence-Adventures-New-World/dp/1594201315/ref....
As per the Chevy VOLT, its a great concept Chevy has, and far better than the traditional hybrid (attach only one drive system to the wheels, not both). The big problem is battery technology. But if they get it to market I might seriously consider a Detroit car again for the fist time in a decade. |
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Jeffrey Haderthauer, Photographer
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Wichita Falls | TX | USA | Posted: 3:55 PM on 08.15.08 |
| ->> Apparently they are going to “satisfy reader needs as never before.” with fewer employees. I doubt it. |
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Jeff Brehm, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 4:28 PM on 08.15.08 |
| ->> Sucks if you took a long vacation while they were counting bylines. |
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Walter Calahan, Photographer
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Westminster | MD | USA | Posted: 4:31 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> The US Coast Guard's unofficial motto is "We do more with less; someday we'll do it all with nothing."
Looks like newspapers will report all the news without the staff. |
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Jack Kurtz, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | United States | Posted: 4:45 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> Walt,
Three words: Reader. Generated. Content. |
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Walter Calahan, Photographer
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Westminster | MD | USA | Posted: 5:39 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> Jack
I hear you.
Can't wait till the readers cover the White House and the Olympics!
The Super Bowl according to Fred who lives down the street.
Then they wrap it all in advertising to call it news. |
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Kevin Clifford, Photographer
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Reno | NV | United States | Posted: 5:44 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> "Among those who lost their jobs were Mark Hinojosa, associate managing editor of the newsroom’s multimedia department"
So I guess multimedia is not that important after all I guess. Sorry for all those who lost there jobs, my heart goes out to you.
As many have already said, maybe it's time for citizens to take over the newspapers. |
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Christopher Assaf, Photographer
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Baltimore | MD | USA | Posted: 7:21 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> What actually defines "Reader. Generated. Content."? Not that it should not be considered as part of the multimedia-internet mix on a news site; but does it have the same 'weight" as that if an accredited journalist for a respected organization? Is it fact checked and flight checked? Do we just ignore the history of an organization, throw away the public trust it has earned, in the name of its readers, over the years and sometimes centuries? A lot of people may disagree with how a paper handles itself, but many also agree. Some find the neutral ground and talk it all with a grain of salt and sift through a variety of sources to come to an opinion.
Who knows? Not me. I am just working a late shift at a job I thought I'd be laid off from on July 18. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 8:19 PM on 08.15.08 |
| ->> you go jeff, I keep reading that response from publisher's whenever they cut staff. I'm still trying to figure out if they are really as stupid as they THINK the readers are. I mean if a car salesman tried to sell you a car with no wheels and kept telling you it was as good as the older model, would you buy it? I don't think so. so newspaper keep slashing content and pages and they wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions like they are superheated rocks. talk about asleep at the wheel. and they announced yesterday there are to be yet more cuts at our paper....... |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 8:32 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> It's turning out that readers who are sufficiently motivated to submit content are a tiny minority. Of those there, are far fewer who can create content that will engage anybody outside of their immediate family.
Then there's the ticking time bomb of faked material and outright lying.
Creating reliable compelling content is a skill shared by relatively few people.
--Mark |
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Erik Markov, Photographer
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Kokomo | IN | | Posted: 10:29 PM on 08.15.08 |
->> maybe this is an impertinent question, if so sorry, but I hope someone can explain something to me.
When a company lays someone off, depending on the size of company and how many are laid off, a newspaper might list the names of those unfortunate employees.
Whats good for the goose doesn't seem to be good for the gander. Newspapers never mention specific details of the people being laid off. I've been working for newspapers long enough to know we do a poor job of being introspective when it comes to our own operations. And listing the names of photographers or reporters isn't on the same scale as say those soldiers who have died in Iraq.
I realize listing the names would be the honorable thing to do which the last thing any corp. wants to do. But if this was really simply about declining revenue and nothing else(such as greed), it wouldn't seem to be any harm. |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 11:04 AM on 12.04.08 |
->> Happy Holidays....
Associated Press Worldstream
December 4, 2008 Thursday 2:51 AM GMT
BUSINESS NEWS
265 words
New layoffs announced at Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO
The Chicago Tribune notified its employees Wednesday that several members of its newsroom staff will leave the paper by the end of the week.
Editor Gerould Kern's memo to employees, obtained by The Associated Press, did not specify the number of layoffs or who was leaving. Tribune spokesman Michael Dizon declined to comment on internal matters.
"As you are aware, the current financial crisis is the worst since the Depression, and the economic forecast for 2009 is quite sobering," Kern wrote. "In addition, our industry is in the midst of historic structural change driven by technology and rapid audience fragmentation."
The newspaper cut 80 jobs less than four months ago, representing 14 percent of the newsroom staff. The Tribune had 480 newsroom employees after the cuts.
Chicago-based Tribune Co., which also owns The Los Angeles Times and other newspapers across the country, announced last month it was consolidating newsgathering operations in Washington.
As in the previous round of layoffs, the dismissed employees will get one week's pay for every six months of service, up to a maximum of one year's salary, the memo said. They will also keep getting benefits for a minimum of three months to a maximum of 52 weeks, depending on seniority.
"Reductions like these are always painful," Kern wrote.
The Audit Bureau of Circulation reported in late October that the Tribune's circulation though September fell 5.8 percent from last year's figures for its Sunday editions and 7.8 percent for its weekday editions.
Both declines were greater than the industry average, the Audit Bureau said.
December 4, 2008 |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 12:41 PM on 12.04.08 |
->> Newspapers are very vulnerable people cutting back when times get tough. If money is tight they simply won't renew their subscriptions or pick up the paper at the store in the morning. Any obstacle makes people rethink the worth of actually picking up a print copy and instead reading it online.
Unfortunately, a print user moving to online is a money loser for the newspaper on a 1-1 basis. They are not able to extract the same amount of revenue from a single web site visit as they have been able to do in the past from a single print reader.
But other businesses are similarly vulnerable. Starbucks is a "luxury" that people are bypassing because it's an easy few bucks a day to save. Mid and higher end restaurants are losing out to fast food due to cost.
It's sad to watch because I really do believe people will miss newspaper-style journalism when it is no longer widely available. The question is whether they will miss it enough to pay for it. |
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Mike Shepherd, Photographer
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Wichita | KS | USA | Posted: 1:13 PM on 12.04.08 |
| ->> I really do believe people will miss democracy when it is no longer widely available. |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 2:12 PM on 12.08.08 |
->> Tribune files for bankruptcy protection
Dec 8 02:58 PM US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) - Media conglomerate Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, as the owner of the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs and other properties tries to deal with $13 billion in debt.
Severe reductions in advertising this year because of the recession have put pressure on the Chicago-based company. Most of its debt comes from the complex transaction in which the company was taken private by real estate mogul Sam Zell last year.
Although the next major principal payment isn't due until June, analysts say Tribune has been in danger of missing lender-imposed financial targets.
Tribune made the filing Monday in bankruptcy court in Delaware. |
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Dave Einsel, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Houston | TX | United States | Posted: 3:09 PM on 12.08.08 |
->> Mike's point is neither "Off Topic" nor "Huh" worthy.
News organizations have long been the watchdog of democracy. As they continue to close/downsize state, Washington and foreign bureaus; who will be the public's eyes and ears on government?
Regardless of delivery method - print, broadcast or online - fewer reporters means fewer eyes, fewer stories, fewer opinions and fewer chances to hold our local, state and national leaders accountable.
The wholesale downsizing of news organizations is not just about the tragedy of our colleagues losing their jobs. It's the tragedy of an uninformed society.
No matter your political conviction, that is a very bad thing. |
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