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.
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).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. :)
Just in...tomorrow's the final run for the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer. After tomorrow, the pub goes Web-Only.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. :)
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.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. :)
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.See AP story here."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.
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.
The Independent Tribune, serving Concord and Kannapolis, is scaling back its pub from a daily to thrice-weekly (this from MeckDeck and InterstateQ).“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.
For what it's worth, the business model of delivering your news has changed.
E.C. :)
I'm not a big sports junkie, but headlines like this raise a major eyebrow.
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.
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.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. :)
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