Thursday,
September 5, 2001
Houston
Chronicle trims work force by 5%
The
Hearst paper trimmed 127 jobs through 80 voluntary buyouts,
39 layoffs -- of which 22 were part-time -- and the elimination
of eight contract positions. Jack Sweeney, the newspaper's
publisher and president, notified employees of the job cuts
in a late-afternoon letter that asked them to join him in
"wishing those who have left the Chronicle the very best in
the future."
Thursday,
August 30, 2001
Internet
World axes editorial staffers, cuts publishing schedule
One Internet World downsize victim is Jason Black, the journalist
who was looking
for a corporate sponsor to pay half a million dollars
for his son's name. Paul Colford reports the magazine will
now come out monthly, instead of 22 times a year.
Wednesday,
August 29, 2001
The
Industry Standard's party suppliers are waiting for their
cash
The magazine's bankruptcy filing lists Liquor.com, Small Potatoes
Catering, Alpine Party Rentals, Blue Chip Cookies, the Sony
IMAX Theater at the Metreon, and Montgomery Street's Bubble
Lounge as creditors. Standard Media International owes $10.4
million to its 20 largest creditors. Tech firm Corio tops
the list with $2 million outstanding.
Tuesday,
August 28, 2001
AssignmentEditor.com
ends "free 2-year trial," charges $10/month
Founder Jim Lichtenstein says 78 percent of users surveyed
said they were willing to pay for the links and video service.
"This is a make-or-break situation," says Lichtenstein. "If
no one subscribes, then we deserve to go away."
Monday,
August 27, 2001
Exec:
Potential buyers talk about restarting The Industry Standard
On same day that it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, Standard
Media International says interested buyers may revive operations.
Akron
Beacon Journal halts sales of newspaper on CD
Brief announcement states newspaper hopes to resume sales
on CD "in the near future."
Conrad
Black has his eye on the Washington Times, New York Post
Hollinger CEO Conrad Black, who just sold his 50 percent
stake in the National Post, says he's had "countless discussions
with the Moonies," owners of the Washington Times, and numerous
meetings with New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch. Nothing
is currently available, though, Black says.
Ex-Industry
Standard editor: I hired three journalists weekly
Former Industry Standard staffers tell the WashPost's Sharon
Waxman about the bankrupt magazine's go-go days. Jane Goldman,
a former editor who did some hiring, says: "For a brief period
there, the scarce resource wasn't money, it was talent, imagination,
ideas. It was a really exciting position to be in." But the
place seemed undisciplined, says Sharon Walsh. "For a long
time there was no budgeting process. There was no one saying,
'Wait, you can't hire 10 more people until we do this.' ...
People would be flying off to do stories all over the world
without anybody approving them."
Friday,
August 24, 2001
Knight
Ridder, Tribune Co. pay $200M for HeadHunter.net
The two companies' CareerBuilder will now run HeadHunter.net
in effort to compete against Monster.com.
Industry
Standard was "an economic train wreck," claims source
Former employee says company squandered revenue on costly
office spaces it would never fill and "expensive software
contracts of dubious value."
Thursday,
August 23, 2001
Sun-Times
editor: Trib's losing "squillions of dollars" on Web effort
"We don't have that kind of money to invest in pioneering
work on the Internet," says editor-in-chief Michael Cooke.
"I think we jolly well should stay away from it until
someone shows how it can make money."
Wednesday,
August 22, 2001
AlleyCat
News revived with $250K from investors, new CEO
Tuesday,
August 21, 2001
Walker:
Mag's demise surprised me -- yet I kind of expected it
"The implosion of the category has been almost more brutal
than the bursting of the Internet bubble itself," writes
Slate scribe.
Daily
Freeman union tries to resolve contract dispute (audio link)
The Newspaper Guild Union is stepping up the pressure to resolve
a two year contract dispute with the Hudson Valley-based Daily
Freeman newspaper, reports WAMC.
Monday,
August 20, 2001
Industry
Standard editor-in-chief: "I'm angry at certain people"
"I was sincerely optimistic," said Jonathan Weber of the company's
hope for receiving bridge funding from parent International
Data Group. Laid-off staffers notified each other via phone
tree, reports NY Times.
Salon's
COO defends not flagging premium stories on main page
"We're in a catch 22," says Patrick Hurley. "If
people don't click and sample the content, they'll never have
a sense for the value of what they are missing."
Friday,
August 17, 2001
Industry
Standard stops publishing after failing to find buyer
Once highflying magazine of the New Economy plans to cease
publishing immediately. PLUS:
Cedar
Rapids (Iowa) Gazette to charge $8/month for online edition
Nonsubscribers will be charged $8 a month or $60 a year for
a membership letting them peruse online content. Privileges
include audio and video content on the site, GazetteOnline.
Seven-day-a-week newspaper subscribers will have free online
access.
Thursday, August 16, 2001
Union:
K-R's sacrificing good reporters for higher profits
Philadelphia City Paper scribe says
Knight Ridder execs are targeting Detroit, Philadelphia for
shrinking market size.
New
York Times: Our ad sales fell more than 11% last month
Technology, telecom and media ads and help-wanted classifieds
declined sharply in July. But banking and entertainment ads
remained stronger, as did auto and real estate ads.
Newsroom
rumor: NYT Co. looking to buy Providence Journal
Rumor has circulated since 1997, when Belo bought ProJo.
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Claim:
Talbot's kept Salon alive with connections, charisma
The most recent round of financing "was a mere $2.5 million,
raised through a private sale of company stock at a puny 25
cents per share," writes John Strausbaugh. "Talbot
was proclaiming it as the salvation of Salon, the bridge that
was going to get the online magazine from here to profitability."
Trade
publication sues reporters for taking sources to new job
"If anybody owns the relationship, it's the source,"
retorts defense attorney.
Ex-"Connection"
host Lydon gets a fill-in job at Boston's WTKK
Tuesday,
August 14, 2001
Tuesday,
August 14, 2001
Knight
Ridder execs: We're not putting profits before people
K-R details its position in a lengthy email Q-and-A sent
to all employees. Among the questions: "Why are
you optimistic about our future?"
Daly:
Watch for more consolidation in the tech mag world
"It's easier to buy a success story, and merge
your strength with their strength than to go out and start
something up and hope that you're going to hit it right,"
says former Business 2.0 editor.
AOL-ians
"walking on eggshells" as company preps to lay off 1,000
Monday, August 13, 2001
Hearst
editors party while fired staffers dust off resumes
Up to 50 laid off, including seven at Good Housekeeping
and at least five at Country Living.
N.C.
paper gets big market share with local news obsession
Secret to 112% market penetration? Keeping local people's
names in paper, says founder Adams.
Friday, August 10, 2001
Salon
CEO says company "was on fumes" before getting new cash
The company cut its workforce from 85 to 55 -- down from
a peak of 175 during the Internet heyday. The cuts will leave
Salon with an editorial staff of 30.
Business
weekly publisher says he'll launch Maine daily with $100K
The free, tabloid-sized Morning Sun will debut
in Portland within the month; circulation will start at 5,000
and paper will carry two wires: AP and NY Times.
Thursday,
August 9, 2001
Salon.com
gets $2.5 million in financing, lays off 14
CEO
Michael O'Donnell says in a release: "Given the difficult
financing climate, this latest investment by an impressive
group of investors is a major endorsement for the Salon brand
and its long-term potential for shareholders."
PLUS:
BW
source: New investors have "a certain affinity for Salon"
Boston
Globe offers new round of buyouts
After
cutting 185 veteran workers through voluntary buyouts earlier
this summer, the newspaper will offer buyouts to a small number
of workers in the engraving department.
No
holiday bonuses this year from Media General
Staffers at the Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch
and other Media General Inc. properties
won't be getting a little extra in their paychecks this December.
The company, which has given holiday bonuses for at least
30 consecutive years, says it'll save about $1.9 million by
playing Grinch in 2001.
PLUS: Discussion:
Do media cos. still give holiday bonuses?
Wednesday,
August 8, 2001
Union
to Philly journos: Toss tough questions at Tony Ridder
Knight Ridder CEO Tony Ridder is meeting with Philadelphia
Inquirer and Daily News staffers today. "This is a time for
tough questions," says the Philly Newspaper Guild. "Ridder
has led the company off in many directions, wasting money
on things that didn't work while cutting the resources of
the core businesses to the bone. Does he finally have a vision
for the company?"
Tuesday,
August 7, 2001
Salon:
We've got the cash to take us to profitability
David Talbot says you can call off the "Salon death watch."
He tells Cynthia Cotts: "We're in the final hours of completing
a new round of financing that will assure not only our survival
during this very tough year, but our eventual profitability."
PLUS: Salon
1Q earnings call scheduled for this Thursday
Bangor
Daily News lays off 19 employees
Ad revenues are down, and the paper will conserve newsprint,
close its audio text service and trim other expenses.
Inc.,
Fast Company face different fates since G+J acquisition
Last year, Bertelsmann's Gruner+Jahr USA purchased Inc.
and its onetime nemesis, Fast Company -- both influential,
Boston-based business magazines that defined two very different
eras in business. Now, Fast Company is forced to pinch
pennies while Inc. is about to undergo a costly redesign.
Monday,
August 6, 2001
Consultant
claims online users will shrug at a penny per page
Digital Deliverance's Vin Crosbie says online publishers should
explore the micro-payment model. "If you make the price so
low to be imperceptible -- 1 cent per page -- they'll pay,"
he claims.
Monday,
July 30, 2001
LA
Times will cut 1,600, close eight offices
The
Los Angeles Times
plans to trim 1,611 workers from its payroll -- about 10 percent
of its workforce -- and shutter eight satellite offices in
September.
PC
Magazine editor Rothfeder and 12 staffers get the boot
Ziff-Davis Media takes the ax to its flagship publication,
PC Magazine, firing the magazine's editor, Jeffrey
Rothfeder. NY Post reports that Rothfeder and PC
Magazine Editor-in-Chief Michael Miller -- who also doubles
as the company's editorial director -- had been feuding over
who to cut from the lineup.
Editor
says Ridder unfairly lambasted for being bad for journalism
Tallahassee
Democrat executive editor John Winn Miller says too many
critics believe newspapers should be exempt from the laws
of the marketplace. Knight Ridder CEO Tony Ridder is one exec
who's been "unfairly lambasted for being heartless and endangering
the quality of journalism," says the editor.
Thursday,
July 26, 2001
Boulder
Daily Camera readers howl after op-ed space shrinks
Michael Roberts says readers complained after the Boulder
Daily Camera cut its op-ed space during the week from
one page plus two columns to just one page. Editors responded
by restoring the extra column on Wednesdays, Thursdays and
Fridays. (Low in column.)
Wednesday,
July 25, 2001
CNet
to cut 300 more jobs
CNet
Networks will trim 15 percent of its work force after second-quarter
net loss of $218 million. The move follows a 10 percent staff
reduction in February.
She's
not wowed by Inside.com's pay-per-article plan
Betsy Schiffman says even if Inside.com's visitors do pay
for content -- "a gigantic 'if'," she writes -- the revenue
generated probably won't cover the cost of a content-selling
system. "Inside.com is doubtless hoping that users will opt
for its $3.95 monthly subscription fee, or $39 annual fee
instead," says the Forbes writer. "That's because the cost
of processing the single-article tab will eat up most, if
not all, of the revenue."
MORE
DETAILS: The Gazette just showed a slight rise in circulation
after years of declines, reports the Rocky Mountain News.
Salon
readies for Thursday's Nasdaq delisting hearing
Salon Media Group CEO Michael O'Donnell will lead Salon's
conference call presentation. The company has fallen short
of Nasdaq's floor share price of at least $1, notes Dan Fost.
On Tuesday, Salon
shares closed at 15 cents. "We're just slogging through
like the rest of media companies," says Salon senior veep
Patrick Hurley.PLUS:
Linux Magazine accepts a Microsoft ad.
PLUS: Salon
to charge for Table Talk discussion area
Nearly
300 Time Inc. employees take "Logan's Run" buyouts
Keith J. Kelly writes: "The dash for the doors has been nicknamed
'Logan's Run' after Time Inc. CEO Don Logan, who is under
enormous pressure to deliver double-digit profit growth
to his corporate keepers at AOL Time Warner." PLUS:
Two Industry Standard editors quit and join Wired.
Tuesday,
July 24, 2001
Harvard
Crimson using 40 cents/hour workers to type archives
The Harvard Crimson, which has endorsed "living wages" for
campus workers, is using low-cost Asian typists for a newspaper
archives project. C. Matthew MacInnis, a Harvard senior and
the Crimson's president, says the 40 cents per hour wage "is
not only fair, but excellent for the people doing this." One
student says of the contract: "This seems like a prank in
its outlandishness." It's not, however.
PLUS: Cambodian
woman's thrilled to make $50/month from Crimson job
Monday,
July 23, 2001
Lupo:
We're doomed when public stops caring about newspapers
"A
newspaper is supposed to do more than entertain consumers,"
writes Alan Lupo. "It should raise hell responsibly,
comfort the afflicted and be a conduit between citizens who
feel powerless and the centers of power in both public and
private sectors."
Portland
Press Herald/MST editor says byline strike's "very painful"
Labor
issues should not be make their way into the newspaper's pages,
writes editor Jeannine Guttman.
Washington
Post Co. earnings fall 65% in weak ad environment
Net
income for the second quarter of 2001 was $14.5 million, down
from earnings of $41.2 million in the same period last year.
Ad revenue in the quarter declined 12 percent across the Post
Co. media properties. But the company reported a slight increase
in revenue, largely due to its cable and test-preparation
divisions.
Z-D
Media's selling three mags, including Yahoo Internet Life
The company is seeking $60 million for its three-title
consumer media group, which includes Yahoo! Internet Life,
Family PC -- which in September is being reflagged
as Family Internet Life -- and Expedia Travels,
a travel magazine which was launched last year. Yahoo!
Internet Life is said to be solidly profitable but considerably
less so than a year ago, when it was estimated to have made
about $7 million.
Friday,
July 20, 2001
New
York Times Co.'s operating profit fell 73% in second quarter
Circulation
increased and the company cut expenses, but those gains were
more than offset by a steep decline in ad sales. While
the economy is not in a recession, "it sure feels like one,"
said CFO John
M. O'Brien.
PLUS:
Demonstrators
gather at NYT to protest freelancers' treatment
Seattle
Times staffer knows why he hasn't been called back to
work
After
a six-month transition to implement The Seattle Times
settlement with the Newspaper Guild, the "Final Fourteen"
newsroom employees still have not been called back to work.
The paper says that the fourteen do not have jobs anymore,
but the Guild has filed a grievance arguing that the return-to-work
agreement requires the Times' to call the workers back before
laying them off. Among the missing is outspoken union activist
Ivan Weiss, former senior copy editor.
Wednesday,
July 18, 2001
Daily
Camera managing editor stuns staff by taking buyout
Thad Keyes, who started at Boulder's Daily Camera in 1977
as a night police reporter, says: "You really do start wondering
what else life might have in store for you if you open the
door." Four other newsroom staffers took buyouts.
Industry
Standard to cut more jobs, trim pay by as much as 15%
Editor in chief Jonathan Weber tells Alex Kuczynski that the
magazine's in crisis, but not dead. [Weber disputes
this on the MediaNews Letters page.] Ad pages have
dropped 80 percent, to 141 pages for the six months ended
in June, from 711 for the period in 2000. Revenue is down
72 percent.
PLUS: News Corporation is selling Maximum Golf.
PlanetOut
after layoffs: More like Yahoo, less like Salon
PlanetOut Partners Inc., parent company of Gay.com
and PlanetOut.com, revealed staff reorganization plans last
week that included layoffs for 12 employees and revision of
duties for others.
Tuesday,
July 17, 2001
Cost-cutting:
Fast Company dumps Starbucks for cheaper brand
The magazine's also put an end to free Chinese food, sushi
and pizza for lunch meetings. A committee has recommended
that Post-It notes be put on office light switches to remind
staffers to save electricity. A source tells Boston Business
Journal's Donna Goodison that the magazine has been "cost-cutting
like crazy" to avoid layoffs.
Monday,
July 16, 2001
Inquirer
ombud: Buyouts create a death-in-the-family feeling here
"This has been the summer of our discontent at The Philadelphia
Inquirer," says Lillian Swanson. With dozens of staffers taking
buyouts, "all of this feels like a death in the family for
a group of journalists intensely loyal to the newspaper. ...
None of The Inquirer's top editors is claiming they can't
put out a fine newspaper with 500 people. They can. But no
one's pretending that losing all this talent will make it
any easier."
Friday, July 13, 2001
Worcester columnist: I'm quitting -- and this time I mean
it!
Worcester Telegram & Gazette columnist James Dempsey
is taking a buyout after writing about 2.4 million words.
Dempsey, who briefly quit his column earlier this year after
T&G's
editor apologized to readers for one of his pieces, writes
in his farewell piece: "It used to be that the most important
thing a newspaper could have was intelligent readers. Today,
I fear, newspapers are being produced not for readers
but for shareholders. Yes, there's always been a struggle
in journalism between the news side and the business side,
and maybe my Celtic melancholy is coming out here, but it
seems to me that the good guys are losing.
Thursday,
July 12, 2001
Cost-cutting
helps Dow Jones beat analysts' estimates
Second-quarter profit fell nearly 53 percent, but Wall
Street seemed pleased with the news as Dow Jones shares rose
Thursday morning. The company warned that third-quarter per-share
profit could come in 63 percent lower than forecast.
Earlier stories:
Dow
Jones to announce about 150 additional job cuts tomorrow
Dow
Jones to save $40K annually by getting rid of plants
Toronto
Star kills its free-standing tech section
Robert Wright says the Toronto Star was the
first paper in North America to launch a free-standing tech
section. "It is with great regret that, after seven years
and almost three months, this will be the last issue of
Fast Forward," he writes. "Ironically, the section most identified
with the dot-com boom, has become a victim of the dot-com
bust." DAN GILLMOR E-MAILS: "The Merc's Personal Technology
section dates well back to the 1980s, when it was called Computing."
Veteran
Herald-Leader columnists take early retirement
Lexington Herald-Leader announces completion of
work-force reduction by 15 positions. Columnists Don
Edwards and Dick Burdette have taken voluntary early retirements;
Dave Wilkinson, vice president for promotion and creative
services, accepted a voluntary buyout. Four workers were laid
off in the promotion & creative services, circulation
and advertising departments.
Wednesday, July 11, 2001
San
Jose Mercury News early retirement/buyouts list released
"The goal had been to thin the staff by 120 positions,
including about 30 in Editorial," according to a memo
sent to Merc News business section alums. "In the end,
the paper accepted 126 and turned down about 100." Read
the names on the MediaNews Memos page.
Tuesday,
July 10, 2001
Ex-Industry Standard scribe: I had quite the job -- before
the crash
Jim Evans, who joined The Industry Standard
in October 1998, says his reporting duties had him staying
in the best hotels, interviewing execs in ritzy restaurants,
and hanging out with multi-millionares. "The only thing
that was hard was writing authoritative articles on
things that I knew little about," writes Evans, now with
the Sacramento News & Review. He says the dot-com
crash was "mostly good" for tech journalists. "Many
people, both in and out of the Standard, are giving more
careful thought to what they want to do with their lives."
Sources
say Industry Standard's parent company is in play
Broward
Herald publisher Paul Anger takes K-R's buyout offer
Paul Anger, Herald vice president and Broward publisher since
1998 -- is stepping down after 29 years at the paper. Anger,
52, accepted a voluntary buyout offer.The Herald's parent
company, Knight Ridder, initiated the buyout program as part
of a corporate effort to reduce costs.Anger is one of four
Herald senior executives leaving as part of the buyout program.The
other executives leaving the company are reader representative
Barbara Gutierrez, Vice President of Community Relations Patricia
San Pedro, and Vice President of New Business Development
Flint Craig. Vickie Dahlman, The Herald's promotions manager
in Broward, also accepted a voluntary buyout, but will continue
to work on special projects for the paper.
Thursday,
July 5, 2001
Spokesman-Review
cuts 20 full-time positions, restricts travel
Publisher W. Stacey Cowles says the cutbacks will result in
a stronger paper, financially, and will mean better customer
service down the road. A newsroom union leader insists the
layoffs aren't necessary. "With this week's unprecedented
layoffs, the S-R is apparently retreating from its goal of
being the best newspaper of its size in the country," the
unon boss says.
Tuesday,
July 3, 2001
Akron Beacon Jounral editor is sick of making cuts for Knight
Ridder (Inactive link)
"We've cut and cut and cut," says Janet Leach, editor of the
Beacon Journal. "This has been excruciating .... When Knight
Ridder executives were here ... I told them I just can't have
a windstorm every three weeks. This has to be the last one.
But they couldn't give me any assurances." K-R editors tell
David Shaw that they've had to worry more about profit margins
under Tony Ridder. Former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence
says: "I think Tony Ridder is smart, very tough, and he loves
it when his papers win Pulitzer Prizes. But he has, in his
gut, no special passion for what turns journalists on."
"Dunagins People" cartoonist, columnist leaving
Orlando Sentinel (Inactive link)
Ralph Dunagin and Charley Reese, both 64, are taking the Orlando
Sentinel's buyout offer and plan to tackle other projects.
Dunagin wants to paint fine art, while Reese is thinking about
penning a detective novel. Sentinel editorial page editor
Jane Healy says of the men: "They're Central Florida institutions
with national profiles."
Cartoonist
Szep called Boston Globe's best-known buyout taker
Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman, film critic Jay Carr,
art critic Christine Temin, and classical-music critic Richard
Dyer -- all subjects of retirement speculation -- will stay
at the paper, reports Dan Kennedy. Cartoonist Paul Szep is
going, though.
Grand
Forks Herald picketers protest Knight Ridder cuts
About a dozen Grand Forks Herald staffers and their supporters
picketed in front of the Herald building, protesting what
they call unnecessary layoffs. "We are embarrassed by these
layoffs; they are not our fault, they are the result of arbitrary
profit goals," said Jaime DeLage, a Herald reporter and union
member. "The Herald is a healthy paper, but we're not profitable
enough for Knight Ridder."
PLUS: K-R's
Grand Forks Herald restructures with 25 fewer jobs
Las Vegas Citylife lays off senior writer, seven others
(Inactive link)
Las Vegas Press, publisher of CityLife, has eliminated eight
positions in response to substantially higher electricity,
newsprint and insurance costs. Senior writer and columnist
Hugh Jackson is one of those pink slipped.
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