Chicago Sun-Times bankrupt, CSM ends print pub

One of which was a paper I read religiously, and daily. One of which was a publication of occasional reading for me, usually in the realm of a reference point for projects and research papers coming up in school. Sadly, both papers are threatened.

The latter first...Friday will be the final printing for the Christian Science Monitor. AFP reports the CSM, like other print publications, had been losing money. The publication will go 100% web-only in the coming days.

AFP:

Like other US dailies, the Monitor had been losing readership and print advertising revenue to online media for years and circulation was hovering around 50,000 by the time the decision was made to shut down the presses.

Editor John Yemma said the award-winning newspaper will still print a weekly edition for subscribers and a printable three-page daily news digest by email but the main focus will be on its website, CSMonitor.com.

He said visitors to the website, which currently attracts more than two million unique visitors a month, should not expect an immediate and dramatic change overnight but a steady improvement over time.

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The Chicago Sun-Times was always a staple in my home growing up on the South Side of Chicago. When my father told me: "Son, always read the newspaper everyday..." I never knew how his words then would resonate now into a career I was once proud of, of one I miss dearly, and now fear for.

That paper, which I, in fact, did read everyday--whether it was on the CTA bus in the morning going to high school or the commuter train headed for work--is now threatened. The Sun-Times Media Group announced this morning it was filing for bankruptcy.

Sun-Times:

The company has one significant creditor -- the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS has said Sun-Times Media Group owes up to $608 million in back taxes and penalties from past business practices by its former controlling owner, Conrad Black, now imprisoned for theft from corporate coffers.

Unlike other newspaper owners that have filed for bankruptcy amid steep dropoffs in advertising, including Chicago-based Tribune Co., Sun-Times Media Group has no bank debt. But its IRS debt thwarted efforts to raise new capital.

[Chairman Jeremy] Halbreich said Sun-Times will continue talks with the IRS while implementing a "strong and impressive" business plan. It also will pursue a deal with buyers and has hired Rothschild Inc., which was involved in the bankruptcy of United Airlines' owner, to field offers.

Several potential buyers have approached Halbreich since he took over Feb. 10 as chairman and interim chief executive, he said. "We're very confident that there's going to be some interest here," he said. "We intend to start that process immediately."

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Just please...accept NO offers from McClatchy, Media-General, Scripps, Hearst, or any other money-losing media outlet.

The way newspaperin' is going lately, I somehow suspect they won't make it. Reading the Sun-Times was a major impetus in me wanting to choose journalism as a career. If they shut down, I will definitely be in mourning.

E.C. :)

More positions cut at the W-S Journal

Thirteen Winston-Salem Journal staffers are no longer Winston-Salem Journal staffers this morning as the Media-General-owned publication cut more positions yesterday from the employee rolls.

My friend and former High Point Enterprise colleague Richard Craver inked this piece in today's issue, saying that including vacancies, 23 positions were eliminated out of a full-time staff of 260 at the paper. 85 part-time employees are also employed at the paper.

W-S Journal:

It is the third job-cut announcement by the Journal since December, totaling 37 positions through eliminated positions and unfilled vacancies.

In recent weeks, the newspaper also has reduced the number of pages, eliminated weekly redelivery in the Winston-Salem area, and reduced vendor support and circulation-promotion spending. Employees have taken and will continue to take unpaid furlough days.

The bleeding at Media General sadly won't stop.

E.C. :)

FCC Should Reconsider Newspaper Ownership Rule (Bloomberg)

Acting FCC chairman Michael Copps says the agency should reconsider restrictions on combined ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers as daily publications struggle with a plunge in revenue, according to a recent Bloomberg News story.

Bloomberg:

Members of Congress and Attorney General Eric Holder have said they’re concerned with the newspaper industry after four bankruptcies in as many months. Sales and advertising are dropping amid the recession and a migration of readers to the Internet. Daily papers have announced staff or pay cuts in New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Boston in the past two days.

Copps, a Democrat, said the FCC’s rule didn’t meet “the needs of the industry, the economy or the public.” The rule generally bans combined ownership of a daily newspaper and nearby broadcast station, except in the largest markets.

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E.C. :)

FOX-8, WSJS take home AP awards

FOX-8 (WGHP) were among stations that took home top honors at the NC Associated Press Broadcast Awards this past Saturday. The station accepted awards for best feature, best sports feature, best photography, best consumer report and best series.

Separately, 600/1200 WSJS reporter Alex Meade won rookie of the year in Radio Division One.

Congratulations to all.

E.C. :)

Greensboro Telegram reports on N&R correction

The Greensboro Telegram inks an article on the recent correction of a column written by the News & Record's former columnist Lorraine Ahern regarding the high-profile Scott Sanders case. Ahern may have been demoted as a result of what was printed in that column.

Embarrassing.

E.C. :)

Lenslinger ponders how TV coverage of spot news is changing

FOX-8 cameraman Stewart Pittman, a.k.a. "Lenslinger," covered yesterday's job fair at GTCC, and makes some startling comparisons:

1) Our nation is in dire peril. For a community college job fair, there were more forty-something Dads with lost looks in their eyes than at Home Depot on a Saturday morning, and 2) the average news crew has dropped a lot of weight…

Of the four fancycams in attendance, three were being operated by teams of one. Not by shooters sleepwalking through their third spray-job of the day, not by college kids with lenses the size of yo-yo’s, but by reporters who shoot, shooters who speak (and one jack-ass photog who thinks he’s Hunter S. Thompson). My point: The future is here. With on-air advertising in the cellar and TV stations about to go through the same cutbacks now eviscerating the newspaper industry, the solo-newsgatherer now walks among us.

As Bruce Hornsby sings so eloquently..."gonna be some changes made."



E.C. :)

More furloughs from Gannett

Employees at Gannett are being ordered to take more unpaid time off to offset the company's steep decline in advertising revenues. This may mean more unpaid furloughs for employees at the Gannett-owned CBS-2 (WFMY).

This, from Editor & Publisher and the AP:

The furloughs spelled out Monday in a company memo are being imposed to avoid laying off more employees as Gannett tries to offset a steep drop in advertising revenue.

This marks the second time this year that most of Gannett's 41,500 workers have had to give up a week's pay. Most employees, including CEO Craig Dubow, were furloughed for at least five days during the first three months this year.

This time around, the owner of the USA Today and more than 80 other daily newspapers is requiring its higher-paid workers to relinquish up to two weeks pay during the April-June period.

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E.C. :)

Carrboro Citizen editor believes in the future of journalism

The Western Triangle's Carrboro Citizen celebrates three years this week, happy anniversary.

Its editor, Kirk Ross, opines in an open letter that the paper remains committed to the community despite the overall state of newspapers (and the sobering amount of layoffs at the larger Triangle paper, the News & Observer):

To be honest, when we started that was a pretty lonely place. Some of the better business minds in the area were quick to point out that we were daft since print is a dying part of the information industry. Our contention was then, and is now, that print may be shrinking, but it is hardly dying. Having the opportunity to start from scratch, post Internet, provided us with the chance to incorporate a lot of hard-learned lessons.

So yes, we’ve got blogs and Twitter and Facebook and Flickr and, according to the N.C. Press Association, operate the third-best website in the state for papers our size.

But all that and the print product too would be worthless without the one thing that gives purpose to our endeavor: journalism. It is quality work, solid reporting and good storytelling that empties the racks each week. Technological advances can enhance that, but not replace it.

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E.C. :)

Newspaper readers are reading

Research shows that local Triad-area consumers are reading newspapers on a somewhat regular basis, this from the media research company Scarborough Research, via the N&R's John Robinson.

Our combined GSO/HP/W-S area shows that seventy-four percent of our citizens read the newspaper in print or online, slightly better than Charlotte (72%) or Raleigh (71%).

See the numbers here.

But Mike Orren from Pegasus News in Dallas asks a pertinent question:

...how do those numbers break out online vs. print? The disconnect is that while so much of the reader value is online, the ad dollars are in print.

Until that is solved, it doesn't matter if the total market coverage is 105%.

Robinson replies:

I don't have an answer for you there, Mike. (I haven't seen our Scarborough results.) I will say, though, that readers do find value in the print publications, too, with the evidence being that they pay for it.

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E.C. :)

Bye-bye Bee?

News from the Northern Piedmont and fresh from rumor-ville...apparently the Media General-owned Danville Register & Bee is in serious trouble. A blogger reports that the entire paper may fold as soon as the first of the month.

Excerpt from this post:

The newsroom hasn't been shuffled around yet, but since some editing is going to India, obits and ads are in Lynchburg and now the newspaper layout itself is in Lynchburg as of April 1, 2009 (not a joke), pretty soon we'll all have to go to Lynchburg to read the Danville News!

Maybe the NORTHERN end of the county will finally get some coverage now that the Danville paper is mostly stationed in Lynchburg eh?

May have something to do with this bit of news broken earlier in the week from Winston-Salem Journal editor Ken Otterbourg about the reorganization of Media General (see their corporate spin here).

We'll be watching.

E.C. :)

Newspapers as nonprofits?

It was mentioned recently that newspapers may be looking toward nonprofit status in an effort to survive. Now a bill just introduced in the US House aims to allow just that.

From the Boston Globe:

US Senator Ben Cardin introduced a bill to allow newspapers to operate as nonprofit organizations, following four bankruptcies in the industry in as many months.

Under the proposed bill, advertising and circulation revenue could be claimed as tax exempt, Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said yesterday in a statement. Newspapers would be barred from making political endorsements.

Los Angeles Times owner Tribune Co., the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and two other publishers have sought bankruptcy protection since December. Hearst Corp. last week halted the print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer after ad revenue plunged.

Wait and see...

E.C. :)

Arbitron announces personnel cutbacks

Things seem to be getting tough for Arbitron. The radio ratings firm announced yesterday it is cutting 10 percent of its workforce.

Arbitron:

“The company is realigning and restructuring in order to focus on our strategic priorities: strengthening our radio measurement service and developing new, multimedia services. This restructuring is also designed to speed decision-making so that we can better capitalize on growth opportunities,” said Michael Skarzynski, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Gotta love that corporate spin...

E.C. :)

What the heck is Clear Channel up to?

Jerry Del Colliano's Inside Music Media blog reports on some stunning stuff Clear Channel is up to lately, including eventually, running phantom radio stations.

Scary.

Treasure your terrestrial radio, and appreciate the radio stations that are not nationally or corporate-owned. Clear Channel's Triad stations include WCBT-FM (94.5), WMAG-FM (99.5), WMKS-FM (105.7), WTQR-FM (104), WVBZ-FM (100.3).

An excerpt from Colliano:

These latest developments raise a lot of questions.

• Number one -- Clear Channel appears to have been less than forthright about their intentions if I am correct.

• The mass firings are consistent with the march toward Repeater Radio.

• Someone at corporate or legal apparently has had second thoughts about Clear Channel's exposure in all of this. After all, it is unthinkable that the largest radio group could single-handedly take 800 licenses and rip up the local responsibility part for financial gain.

• Radio is sounding as bad as Wall Street but it hasn't stopped the new masters of radio from pissing all over radio listeners -- you know, the 234 million that Jeff Haley brags about. Hope they like voice tracking. Hope they like generic programming. Personally, young people have it right -- iPods, the Internet, NPR and file sharing.

• Will the GM or PD even remember to turn his or her cell phone ringer on for the night while this scam is perpetrated on the public?

• Will they have a way to get on the air on all their stations to get the word out? Will they have a way to find out what the word is?

• How will the minimum wage attendant be made aware of a public emergency in the middle of the night or at any time? Will they have a phone code to dial out? Or even a phone list of five or six management people she or he can call? (Come on, CC corporate, we have questions here!)

• Is the program director or air talent of today capable of sounding cogent for hours on end, talking about an emergency? Or is it all for show -- to justify the screwing that consolidators are about ready to give to Jeff Haley's 234 million best friends.

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E.C. :)

New radio project for the Washington Times

I'll give it to the Washington Times...where other papers are slicing and dicing, the Times is doing something unique with radio.

The publication announced it is launching a syndicated radio show to exploit its newsroom's investigative reporting and accountability journalism.

It seems to be a little more than the typical one-on-one "newsmaker profiles" that we're seeing a lot of from other papers, including the N&R. And we're not talking Lorainne Ahern-style investigative reporting either.

Times:

The Washington Times will launch a syndicated radio show later this spring, dedicated to the newsroom's investigative reporting and accountability journalism, Executive Editor John Solomon said Sunday.

The three-hour morning show will feature investigations by The Times, exclusive interviews with national newsmakers and discussions with reporters from The Times newsroom.

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E.C. :)

More DTV coupons are on the way

The AP reports more coupons are being made available to beat the rush to the national digital TV conversion, set for June 12. Each household can apply for two $40 coupons that cover most of the cost of converter boxes.

Consumers can apply online at www.dtv2009.gov

E.C. :)

Burlington Times-News announces furloughs

The bleeding continues among local media as the Freedom Communications-owned Burlington Times-News announced this past weekend that it is requiring its employees to take unpaid time off.

Times-News:

Freedom Communications Inc., the parent company of the Times-News, on Friday announced a companywide furlough program to cut costs.

Citing continuing weakness in advertising revenue, Freedom announced that employees at all levels will take five days off work without pay between April 1 and June 30.

"Although painful, this program will help us to weather the economic storm that every business today is facing while helping to preserve the greatest number of local jobs here at the Times-News," said Paul Mauney, publisher.

Freedom employees and supervisors will work together to schedule furloughs in a way that minimizes the impact on consumers and operations, said Scott Flanders, Freedom's CEO.

Editor Madison Taylor blogs about it here.

E.C. :)

The other shoe drops at McClatchy's Charlotte Observer

Only a week after the first shoe dropped at the McClatchy-owned News & Observer of Raleigh, the other shoe drops in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer announced today a combination of layoffs and forced salary reductions.

Bleak.

AP:

"We have really looked every place we can," publisher Ann Caulkins said during a meeting with newsroom employees Monday morning.

The Observer said in a story on its Web site that the 14.6 percent reduction means a loss of 60 full-time and 22 part-time employees in several departments, including advertising, operations, circulation, marketing and the newsroom.

Of those, 30 job cuts are in the newsroom — 19 full-time and 11 part-time, said editor Rick Thames. In addition, 14 full-time newsroom employees have been offered reduced hours, said managing editor Cheryl Carpenter.

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E.C. :)

YES! Weekly contributor also earns top honors in local charitable dancing event

An earlier mention of a local charitable version of Dancing with the 'Triad' Stars that occurred this past Saturday left out one striking notable.

Local performer Madelyn "Foxy Moxy" Greco was named "FIRST RUNNER-UP" in the event.

Greco, a well-known performer who not only is a familiar face in local productions, but is also an arts columnist and regular contributor to YES! Weekly, danced with Alyosha Anatoliy.

Congratulations, Madelyn.

E.C. :)

Larson changes syndicator, WSJS home in doubt?

Syndicated conservative talker Lars Larson, heard weekday evenings on local talker 600/1200 WSJS, was dropped by Westwood One only days ago. Almost immediately, the Portland, Ore.-based Larson was picked up by Compass Media and will be official by month's end. (see coverage from The Source Weekly and JohnRook.com)

It is uncertain how WSJS will respond to the sudden change.

E.C. :)

FOX-8 reporter named winner of "Dancing with the Triad Stars"

FOX-8 reporter Angela Rodriguez was among winners at a charity event this past Saturday, titled Dancing with the Triad Stars, benefiting the Carolinas Chapter of Operation Smile, which was held at the Sedgefield Country Club.

This from FOX-8:

Angela and Arturo Sveshnikov were chosen as the best couple by professional judges based on the style and technique of their dancing.

Other local media types and participants included:

Chris Kelly: The always outspoken morning DJ on Rock 92's "Two Guys Named Chris" show for over 10 years will be dancing with Gulya Asgarova.

Robbie Perkins: Currently a Greensboro City Councilman and co-owner of NAI Piedmont Triad Commercial Real Estate will be dancing with Dasha Chube.

Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan: A physican in Greensboro and a regular guest on WGHP FOX8 TV morning news and medical director for Natural Triad Magazine will be dancing with Sasha Tsyhankov.

HONORABLE MENTION: Kimberly Van Scoy: The sunrise anchor on WXII Channel 12 TV will be dancing with Ranko Bogosavac.

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E.C. :)

Students produce anti-bullying spot

...cross-posted on Guilford School Watch...

Students at Northeast Guilford Middle School have produced an anti-bullying public service announcement to fight back against bullying in school, CBS-2 (WFMY) reports.

The children teamed up with the National Conference for Community and Justice to create the spots, which will play on the school's morning TV show.

The report says the Northeast students learned about "appreciating differences, building communication skills and getting to know people from other groups."

E.C. :)

ABC-45: an example of doing away with local news

The extreme possibility of doing away with sports desks at local television stations made me think of a case study...one only needs to look at ABC-45 (WXLV) and the cost-cutting that resulted in the closure of its news division not once, but twice. (see this neat Wikipedia entry for a short history lesson).

Sinclair Broadcast Group's commitment to ABC-45's news division was paltry and at best, pathetic. And it was their non-commitment that led to the news division's demise. More local media choices, not less, is always good for the consumer.

E.C. :)

No more sports? Could it really happen?

...all jokes aside, it will be an issue if sports coverage is cut completely from local broadcast stations. Sadly, my friends over at GreensboroSports.com ponder what may happen if this comes to a head.

GS thinks large TV groups may consider this as a cost-cutting measure. The recent firing of Dave Goren over at NBC-12 (WXII) may have been an example of such a measure.

Time will tell...

E.C. :)

No prize...

Every once in a while, one has to take a step back...and take it on the face. The last hour was one of those occasions.

A while ago, I wrote a post on how I thought the N&R reposted a wire story regarding a proposed tourist attraction in Martinsville to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bassett Furniture.

To the first-time discerning reader (who, like me, knows nothing about furniture/never covered the local furniture beat--and probably never will after this), it appears as though the article could mean the anniversary is upcoming (as in 2012). Looking at the article a couple of times, I thought there was a mistake.

The paragraph I had a difficult time with was this:

That's what the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. plans to do with a giant chair made by Bassett Furniture Industries for its 100th anniversary in 2002.

I don't know, but if I was the article writer, I would have written:

That's what the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. plans to do with a giant chair made by Bassett Furniture Industries for its 100th anniversary, celebrated back in 2002.

Further investigation revealed that in fact, the article was correct, there was no mistake. I have pulled the post and I'm man enough to take it on the chin every once in a while. And it's probably why I'm no longer employed as a working journalist and selling airplane tickets at night.

So kudos to the N&R for getting it right and shame on me for falsely accusing them of getting it wrong.

Moving on...

E.C. :)

UNC-TV tackles Triad's economy

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

UNC-TV will broadcast a live forum on the local economy at 8 p.m. April 1 at Research Triad Research Park in Winston-Salem.

Participating in the invitation-only forum are Dr. John McConnell, the chief executive of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center; Michelle Clark, a regional executive at American Express; David Congdon, the president and chief executive of Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.; Allen Gant Jr., the chief executive of Glen Raven Inc.; and Bobby Long, the chairman of the Piedmont Triad Foundation.

Shannon Vickery will be the moderator.

The forum is expected to examine current financial conditions and take a longer-term view to consider how the latest developments in population, wages, technology, education and training affect the Triad's economic climate.

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E.C. :)

WTQR raises money for St. Judes

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Radio station WTQR in Greensboro and its listeners helped raise $213,244 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during its Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radiothon on Feb. 26 and 27. This year, title sponsor New Bridge Bank hosted a penny drive, which raised $2,326, including a donation from New Bridge Bank. For the three weeks before the radiothon, Bojangles' was also a partner with WTQR for its "Boot Childhood Cancer" campaign. Thirty-seven area stores sold pinups to customers, resulting in a fundraising total of $47,707. Both organizations also volunteered in the phone bank during the two-day radiothon.

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E.C. :)

Majic 94.1 fills morning spot with local on-air vet

Former Oldies 93 on-air personality Max McGann fills the morning spot over at Majic 94.1 (WTHZ), according to published reports. McGann fills the spot formerly owned by Bob Campbell and Wendy Gatlin (a.k.a the Bob & Wendy Show).

Campbell and Gatlin were recently fired due to what the station called "low ratings." (more from NBC-12 WXII)

Many of you are still voicing your comments about Bob & Wendy, and TMW is forwarding all of them.

E.C. :)

Class final: How to kill an American newspaper (SEA P-I)

In a case study of how the Seattle Post-Intelligencer died, P-I columnist Bill Virgin discusses the state of American newspapers in context with not only how the P-I died, but how other newspapers may be going down the same slippery path as the P-I and the late Rocky Mountain News.

A sample:

What sorts of mistakes did the industry make? Its reaction to the Internet is a mother lode. Instead of using the Internet as a complement to its print product, the industry went chasing after the Web and offering its most valuable property -- the news it so carefully and expensively gathered -- for free, while chasing the chimera that online advertising would support the whole thing.

The trend was no service to either readers or advertisers -- people read far more in print, and see more ads, than in an online version. The bandwidth for delivering material may be nearly infinite online, but readers' ability to absorb it isn't, and it gets even narrower online.

In the process, what newspapers did was devalue their brands and the heritage and legacies built into them, their core products and the value proposition that brought them readers and advertisers in the first place.

The genius of the American newspaper was never that it was the only place you could get information. Given enough time, money and energy, even in the age of the telegraph you could assemble the same information

But the essential point was that you didn't have to.

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E.C. :)

Life without the newsprint?

It's hard to fathom, but it is happening, and it is very real. Two major papers have shut down in a matter of weeks. And it has provided fodder for dinner conversation at the Robinson's.

News & Record editor John Robinson pens a blog saying that the conversation dealing with life without newspapers is not a lengthy one:

I was at a dinner with friends Friday, and we talked briefly about the future of newspapers. They were aware of the troubles the newspaper industry is dealing with. It wasn't a long conversation -- what is there to say? -- and we soon moved on to something else.

E.C. :)

Vote for us

In its two short months, Triad Media Watch has very quickly become a regular "must read" among those who follow local journalism in the Piedmont Triad. And I'm happy to oblige.

To that end, I'm happy to announce that Triad Media Watch has been nominated among YES! Weekly's "Triad's Best" for 2009 for the area's best blog. Cast your vote here at YES! Weekly's site.

And for the support and kind words TMW has received recently, thank you. Please continue sending in your scoops, tips, press releases; I still want to hear from more of you radio stations out there. The e-mail address is triadmediawatch@gmail.com.

E.C. :)

Former Rocky Mountain News staff create new online venture

Former Rocky Mountain News staffers announced a unique online venture called InDenver Times. Massive goal of 50,000 subscribers by April 23, the 150th anniversary of the first edition of the RMN, in order to go with a launch of a new site at www.indenvertimes.com on May 4.

Coverage from IWantMyRocky.com. See news conference below from DEN:




E.C. :)

Bye-bye P-I

146 years...that's a lot of years, a lot of memories. Somehow, I don't think the online version will be the same. There is no feeling other than actually opening a newspaper on a daily basis.

Sadly, for many in the Seattle area this morning, this will be the last time they open up a copy of the Post-Intelligencer. Click here for wall-to-wall coverage from the SEA area.

A video tribute from the P-I staffers:



E.C. :)

N&O cuts are deep

Massive job cuts are planned at the Triangle's News & Observer. McClatchy plans an estimated 11 percent cut in its local workforce, including 27 newsroom positions at the N&O. Furloughs, and salary cuts are also planned (more from the N&O today).

The cuts come at a time where a focus on state politics is sorely needed. Indeed, N&O brass say investigative reporting will be a focus for the "new" N&O.

N&O Publisher Orage Quarles III did say that the newspaper is finished cutting pages and space for news.

The goal now, he said, is to stick to the basics of coverage, ensuring a comprehensive report on big stories and emphasizing investigative work.

E.C. :)

Seattle P-I shuts down

Just in...tomorrow's the final run for the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer. After tomorrow, the pub goes Web-Only.

AP:

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which has chronicled the news of the city since logs slid down its steep streets to the harbor and miners caroused in its bars before heading north to Alaska's gold fields, will print its final edition Tuesday.

Hearst Corp., which owns the 146-year-old P-I, said Monday that it failed to find a buyer for the newspaper, which it put up for a 60-day sale in January after years of losing money. Now the P-I will shift entirely to the Web.

"Tonight will be the final run, so let's do it right," publisher Roger Oglesby told the newsroom.

Hearst's decision to abandon the print product in favor of an Internet-only version is the first for a large American newspaper, raising questions about whether the company can make money in a medium where others have come up short.

When will it end?

E.C. :)

Stations must warn if new TV signals lack reach (AP)

In an AP wire story today, local television stations must inform viewers if their new digital signals don't reach areas covered by their soon-to-be-defunct analog broadcasts. Some of those stations, including ABC-45 (WXLV) and My-48 (WMYV) have already made the transition last month.

AP:

The new rules were prompted by lessons learned after Feb. 17, when about a quarter of U.S. TV stations turned off their analog signals. The remaining stations are scheduled to cut their transmissions on June 12.

Digital reception is generally superior to analog, but for several reasons, people who get a station's analog signal may not be able to get the digital version. Most digital signals are in the UHF band, and travel differently than the VHF signals used by most major stations for analog broadcasts. In particular, the UHF transmissions can be blocked by hills that VHF signals bend around. VHF antennas might be poorly suited to tuning UHF stations.

Many stations are also intentionally shifting their broadcast areas by moving their towers, aiming the signals differently, or cutting their power.

Stations must inform their viewers if 2 percent of them stand to lose reception in the shift to digital signals, the FCC said.

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E.C. :)

Media General closes DC Bureau

UPDATE FOLLOWS...

Just in to TMW, and a bit of sad news out of DC...media conglomerate Media General will shutter its DC bureau at the end of the month, putting six journalists at the National Press Building out of work.

MG Press Release:

"We very much regret having to take this step," said Graham Woodlief, president of the Publishing Division. "However, as the economy continues to contract, and businesses and consumers continue to reduce spending, our advertising revenues have been adversely affected at unprecedented levels. While the Publishing Division reduced expenses in 2008 by 8 percent, excluding severance, we must continue to find ways to align our costs with the available revenue."

The Washington bureau has provided news and feature stories to all of Media General's newspapers, television stations and Web sites for 30 years. In 2008, the bureau was reorganized into a multi-media team to take a Web-First approach to reporting and launched a Web site featuring sections dedicated to each of the 10 states in which Media General operates.

"Even with the strong efforts of our bureau staff to adapt to the challenging economic times, it was not enough. I thank Marsha Mercer and her team for their fine work and dedication, and I salute all the excellent journalists who have worked in the bureau over the years. The decision to close our bureau is very difficult, and parting with these valued journalists is even more painful in light of the strong contributions they have made to our communities," said Mr. Woodlief.

See AP story here.

Shaking my head in disbelief...
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UPDATE...

There's speculation late this afternoon that former News & Record reporter Amy Dominello may be one of the ones affected by today's MG announcement. TMW is attempting to get confirmation.

Dominello joined MG in January 2008 as a senior multimedia reporter in the Washington Bureau.

TMW's thoughts are with Amy. I've been there, it's tough, hang in there.

E.C. :)

Concord paper scales back

The Independent Tribune, serving Concord and Kannapolis, is scaling back its pub from a daily to thrice-weekly (this from MeckDeck and InterstateQ).

The Tribune, owned by (you guessed it) Media General, will print on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and will have news reported around the clock at its website.

Publisher Terry Coomes writes:

“This new hyper-local model will allow the Independent Tribune to deliver news that readers, and non readers, have told us is most important to them,” Coomes said, “and that they cannot find anywhere else.”

Breaking news will continue to be reported around the clock on the newspaper’s Web site, www.independenttribune.com, Coomes said.

“As we learned in our recently completed research study, our readers look to us to provide indepth coverage of the Cabarrus and southern Rowan communities, and we believe we must deepen our commitment to delivering this hyper-local content,” she said.

“The combination of the newspaper and its 24/7 Web site allows us to deliver community news and breaking news seamlessly,” she said.

All this, a day after the New York Times analyzed the fact that many two-newspaper markets will become one-newspaper markets beginning later this year and lasting likely through the end of next year. Separately, Greensboro's Ed Cone suspects many newspapers may become non-profit models.

For what it's worth, the business model of delivering your news has changed.

E.C. :)

Sloppy

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And McClatchy wonders why they can't sell newspapers...

E.C. :)

ESPN Radio demands big bucks from local affiliates

I'm not a big sports junkie, but headlines like this raise a major eyebrow.

National sports celebrity blog Sports by Brooks is reporting that ESPN Radio is "planning to charge some non-ESPN owned and operated sports radio stations fees to carry its radio network programming. For big markets (Top 30), the annual charge to stations is as high as $100,000."

Excerpt:

Most, if not all of those stations make their money on local sports talk shows and play-by-play ad sales. Revenue from ESPN’s national properties is usually negligible - as most of its shows have struggled in the ratings against large market, local shows. (I know, not in every case.) Perhaps local stations could make money on ESPN Radio’s play-by-play properties, but not enough to make up that $100K rights fee in any scenario.

What does this mean for local ESPN radio affiliate 980AM-WTIX? Its sister station is 790-AM The Ball, which is a FOX Sports Radio affiliate.

TMW will keep an eye out on this one.

E.C. :)

Additions to the growing blogroll: Times-News editor Madison Taylor

Just added to the growing blogroll here at Triad Media Watch...Burlington Times-News editor Madison Taylor. "From the Editor's Desk" is updated with fresh content and seems to have a sense of humor. Taylor even dives into the ongoing woes in journalism, particularly print media.

Check him out.

E.C. :)

More cuts at McClatchy

The parent company of the Charlotte Observer and the Triangle News & Observer will lay off 1,600 workers nationwide as it continues to deal with its financial problems, the N&O says today. Both papers are likely to be affected.

N&O:

The moves announced today follow other cost-cutting efforts by McClatchy. The company eliminated more than 1,150 workers last year, froze salaries and suspended its dividend. The N&O eliminated 213 full-time positions last year through voluntary buyouts, outsourcing and other steps. The Raleigh newspaper has 613 full-time positions.

The company said prior cost cuts, excluding severance and other benefit charges related to previous reductions, led to a 14.4 percent drop in cash expenses for the fourth quarter.

The latest round of cuts, which will start by the end of the first quarter and include just about every business component, will come through severance programs, attrition, consolidating and outsourcing some functions, the company said. The plan includes about $30 million in severance costs.

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E.C. :)