Honolulu Advertiser’s 600 Employees to Protest Contract Offer from Gannett – Hawaii Reporter, Feb. 19, 2008

[Demonstrating that unions are as clueless as ever, six unions that represent 600 employees at the Honolulu Advertiser are incensed at Gannett’s latest offer of a 1 percent increase in wages and a 1.5 percent bonus. Gannet is “doing great,” said Hawaii Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who evidently has not read Gannett’s latest earnings release or noticed that its stock is off 60% over the last three years. All the congressman wants is for Gannett to share some more of that bounty, since its future looks so bright. One is reminded of the UAW strikes in the 1970s, which were just what the US auto industry needed at the time. – Ed.]

[The editors at E&P should have read this story more carefully. It appears to contain good news for newspapers, but the numbers just don’t make sense. Tell me if you can untangle this:

According to new research, “the increase in the online newspaper audience is making up 28% of the losses in print readership.” Umm, what does that mean? Making up what? Circulation? Advertising revenue? It goes on to say that “from August 2004 through March 2007….online newspaper readership grew 14%.” Wow, that’s pretty pathetic, if you ask me. That would be an annual growth rate of less than 5%, which differs from all the other research that’s been done in this area. Finally, we learn that “70% of all newspaper web site visitors also read the print version.” It that’s true, it’s bad news. It indicates that newspaper Web sites are attracting mostly their own print subscribers. – Ed.]

‘Baltimore Sun’ Launches Youth-Oriented ‘b’ – MediaPost, Feb. 21, 2008

The Baltimore Sun is planning to launch a new free tabloid targeting younger readers called “b.” The first daily issue is set to appear on April 14. With a mix of typical tabloid fare and lifestyle content, the newspaper plans to freshen its pages by inviting readers to submit their own stories, photos and video to the newspaper and its Web site.

At Annual Meeting, Lee Enterprises Claims Growing Print Readership In ‘Toughest’ Year – Editor & Publisher, Feb. 20, 2008

They appear to be doing something right at Lee Enterprises. Quoting: “[T]he reach of Lee’s print and online newspapers between October 2006 and October 2007 increased to 71% of all adults inits markets from 67%. And while the percentage of adults who read only the print newspaper remained steady at 50%, the percentage who read both print and online editions grew to 16% from 11%… Lee advertising revenue declined 1.4% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, compared with an industry average decline of 7.4%.”

Help wanted. Desperately. – Reflections of a Newsosaur, Feb. 10, 2008

[Alan Mutter analyzes the crash of the newspaper help-wanted market, which he figures has contracted 54% in the last seven years. He traces the beginning of the end to 9/11 and cites newspaper smugness over their once near-monopoly on that business. Newspapers failed to understand that readers weren’t going to go to a single destination to find jobs. Increasingly, they want the jobs to find them. Unless newspapers understand that and act quickly, he says, they’re going to lose the half of the market that hasn’t slipped away yet. -Ed.]

Did The New York Times do a disservice to investigative journalism by alleging that Sen. John McCain had a romantic relationship with a lobbyist? It certainly didn’t help the cause any. The article that caused all the fuss is actually well done, for the most part. The Times went to great lengths to document irregularities in the Senator’s relationship with lobbyists, and those inconsistencies are presented with appropriate sourcing and response. Had the paper let it go at that, this would have been good journalism.

What’s incomprehensible is that the editors chose to include allegations of an affair without any incriminating evidence whatsoever, other than comments by two disenfranchised former aides who never said they had any evidence, either. Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt upbraids Bill Keller, the Times’ executive editor, for running with such skimpy information and then trying to trivialize the topic as tangential to the piece. He calls the affair allegation, “the scarlet elephant in the room.” I’ll bet Hoyt and Keller aren’t going to be seen sitting together in the Times lunchroom any time soon.

Meanwhile, LA Times columnist Tim Rutten describes how the McCain campaign brilliantly turned the Times story into a PR coup. The McCain campaign said it had its best online fund-raising day ever the day after the piece ran. The outraged reaction by right-wing talk show hosts actually seems to have helped McCain mend some fences on the right.

In an interesting piece from down under, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Paul Sheehan dissects the Times story sentence by sentence, showing how choice of words can influence the tone of a story without ever stating an opinion directly. It’s a clever and original analysis.

Bylines of Brutality – IowaHawk, Jan. 17, 2008

[Satirical reporting that is also chillingly real. The author rounds up recent incidents of criminal activity by journalists and concludes that newsrooms are at risk of becoming a “killing field.” Of course, you could conduct this exercise for lawyers, accountants or plumbers and come to the same conclusion. Best line is from Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit: “I think it’s unfair to single out journalists as thieves, or violent, or drunks, or child abusers. Sometimes they’re all of the above.” The chart is amusing, too. This story is impressive for the sheer number of links to examples of real-life journalist crime. – Ed.]

What David Simon, auteur of The Wire, doesn’t (and does) understand about the newspaper business. – Slate Magazine, Jan. 22, 2008

Gutted by Money Men, Chicago Newspapers Circle the Drain – Alternet, Feb. 20, 2008

[The staff cartoonist from the Evanston Roundtable writes of the collapse of the Chicago newspaper – not just the Trib and Sun-Times, but the free weeklies and advertisers as well. Some of those alternative papers practiced pretty good journalism, she says, but everything’s now been dumbed down to reach the lowest common denominator reader. There’s an interesting observation about commuter behavior that any urbanite will value: 20 or 30 years ago, you’d get on a subway train to find a wall of newspapers. Today, it’s just people talking on their cell phones. – Ed.]

The Albuquerque Tribune, a newspaper that won a Pulitzer Prize as recently as 1994, will publish its last issue on Saturday. Circulation at the afternoon daily had dwindled from 42,000 in 1988 to just 10,000. Owner EW Scripps Co. had put the paper up for sale last August, but the only serious bidder wasn’t able to close the deal and no other interested parties emerged. Editor Phil Casaus said the last three editions will feature stories about The Tribune’s role in Albuquerque journalism. The 38 editorial staffers were informed this morning.

The Tribune was founded in 1923 and was part of the country’s oldest joint operating agreement. Under the deal, the Tribune and the Albuquerque Journal operated separate newsrooms, but combined business operations. Afternoon papers have been hit particularly hard by the advertising slowdown. BusinessWeek said there are only about 600 of them left in the U.S., down from 1,000 in 1990. See also the Reuters coverage.

Newsstand Mags Drop Circ, ‘Time’ Plummets – MediaPost, Feb. 12, 2008

[Once upon a time, a year-to-year decline of almost 20% in Time magazine newsstand sales would have been big news. Today, hardly anybody notices. Time recently redesigned to make its look less cluttered and more open, but it seens that readers prefer the dowdy old Economist – with its boring design, provocative writing and insightful analysis – over the eye candy that US publishers dangle in front of them. Time has company, BTW: Newsweek‘s newsstand sales were off 16% and U.S. News‘ were down 8%. – Ed.]

For Publisher in Los Angeles, Cuts and Worse – New York Times, Feb. 18, 2008

[The New York Times profiles the controversial publisher of the Los Angeles Times, David Hiller. His unpleasant assignment has been to make sweeping changes at the troubled west coast institution, but his style has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Detractors call him evasive and sneaky, while supporters say he’s just carrying out a difficult job. His approach to the newsroom is viewed by some as meddlesome. Last week, he named Russ Stanton editor, the fourth person to hold that title in three years. Stanton has most recently been in charge of the LATimes.com website, which should offer some insight into what Hiller is thinking. – Ed.]

Dramatics Intesify at the New York Times – social|median, Feb. 12, 2008

[Apparently, big investors in The New York Times Co. aren’t amused at the stock’s 50% drop in value over the last four years, and they’re putting some of their people in place to change direction. The Sulzbergers aren’t going quietly, though. Jason Goldberg summarizes. – Ed.]

Down On The Wire – Forbes.com, Feb. 14, 2008

[With their businesses in free-fall, some newspaper publishers are beginning to question the value of the Associated Press, whose sprawling information-gathering empire is 30% funded by member newspapers. The AP charges papers an average of $143,000 a year for its services, but large-circulation titles pay more than $1 million. The Daily News recently said it would dump AP if the charges weren’t brought down, and some publishers are wondering openly whether the AP is even necessary any more, given the amount of information that is now freely available online. – Ed.]

Newspapers, Time To Disaggregate! – Media Post, Dec. 20, 2007

[This column from a few weeks back suggests that newspapers, which are about the most vertically oriented businesses on the planet, would be betfer off disintegrating and setting up their piece parts as profit-making entities in their own rights. In other words, spin the printing plant off into a business of its own with the newspaper as simply one client. It’s easier said that done (particularly when it comes to unwinding union printing contracts struck years ago) but would no doubt make the few newspapers that managed to pull it off leaner and more competitive. (Thanks to Randy Craig for the referral) – Ed.]

Nonprofit journalism on the rise – Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 12, 2008

[One possible solution to the loss of quality jouralism resulting from newspaper job cuts is an increase in activity from the nonprofit sector. This article profiles a few fledgling ventures that are offering the kind of activist investigative reporting that was once the domain of daily newspapers. There are plenty of risks in this model – sustainability among them – but philanthroy could fill some of the gaps left by dying dailies. Quoting: “There’s freedom in not having to worry about making every possible reader happy, says managing editor Roger Buoen, formerly with the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune [and now with MinnPost, a nonprofit startup]. In his previous job, his bosses were preoccupied with attracting ‘readers who don’t read the paper,’ he says. ‘If you had complicated stories, there were a few strikes against them off the bat.'” – Ed.]

What Does the Future of the Newspaper Look Like? – WebProNews, Jan. 15, 2008

[A search engine optimization expert looks at The World Association of Newspapers recent “Shaping the Future of the Newspaper” slide show and concludes that a lot of it is hooey. – Ed.]

The Art of Link Letters – That’s the Press, Baby, Feb. 11, 2008

[David Sullivan writes of how a one-man news operation called Newzjunky is creaming its competition in Watertown, NY. Why? Economics. Newszjunky has almost no overhead, and its “content” mainly consists of links to other sources. But it’s hyper-local, with a great list of links to resources in the community. It’s also stuffed with ads. Newzjunky is one of the ugliest websites I’ve ever seen, but there is an odd appeal to its flashing, font-filled chaos. There really is something for everyone there. And its rival, the Watertown Daily Times, doesn’t know how to compete with it. – Ed.]

The True Promise of Citizen Journalism – Local Man, Feb. 12, 2008

[Doug McGill writes about what reporters can learn from citizen journalists. He makes interesting points about the dampening effect of objectivity. Reporters aren’t suppose to have opinions, yet they do, of course. Other writers have commented recently that newspapers began to separate from their readers when they adopted neutral voice and lost their personalities back in the 1960s. Some misty-eyed veterans are imagining a return to the muckraking advocacy journalism of the 1920s noting that one of the appeals of blogs is their personality. Thanks to Mark Hamilton for the link. – Ed.]

Tribune Co. Will Cut Up to 500 Jobs – Editor & Publisher, Feb. 13, 2008
[New Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell initially told employees that he planned to grow the company out of its recent troubles, but those plans are evidently on hold for now. The layoffs only amount to about 2% of the total workforce. In a novel twist, they’ll be funded with overages from Tribune’s employee pension plan. The struggling LA Times will lose 40 to 50 editors. – Ed.]

Tribune Plans More Cuts; Courant May Lose 45 Jobs — Hartford Courant, Feb. 14, 2008
[The Hartford Courant will get caught up in the Tribune Co. layoffs, losing 45 positions, with 10 of them in the 240-person newsroom. -Ed.]

Tribune to cut 400 to 500 companywide, 45 at Sun — Baltimore Sun, Feb. 14, 2008
[It appears that 45 is the magic number for layoffs at Tribune Co. papers. The Baltimore Sun also expects to shed that many jobs. – Ed.]

New York Times Plans to Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs – New York Times, Feb. 14, 2008
[With 1,332 employees, the Times’ newsroom is still by far the largest in the industry. No competitor has more than 900 newsroom staffers. Nevertheless, pressure from shareholders can’t be ignored. An interesting note in this piece is that Rupert Murdoch says he’s committed to making the Wall Street Journal a formidable competitor to the Times and is ready to add to its 750-person newsroom staff in order to do so. – Ed.]

Star Tribune Sinks Deeper Into Oblivion – True North, Feb. 12, 2008
[The Minneapolis Star Tribune will cut 58 more jobs on top of the 145 positions it cut last spring. That will leave the paper with about 1,900 employees, or about 10% smaller than it was at this time last year. No editorial employees are affected by this round of layoffs. Most of the cuts are due to efficiences from an outsourcing contract.

In a recent memo, publisher Chris Harte echoed a now-familiar refrain: “Total revenue (print and internet advertising and circulation) is down almost $75 million in the last two years. Classified revenue has been the hardest hit part of our business, and our 2007 classified revenue was down over 50 percent from what it was at the start of the decade.” – Ed.]

Publisher GateHouse to cut 60 Mass. jobs – The Boston Globe, Feb. 14, 2008
GateHouse Media Inc. is cutting 60 positions at its Massachusetts publications, including The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, The Enterprise of Brockton, and dozens of suburban papers, according to an employee briefed on the plans.

Lost printing contract likely leading to job cuts – Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Feb. 9, 2008
The News-Gazette will have to cut costs – and probably jobs – as a result of the Chicago Tribune’s decision to print all of its editions in Chicago, News-Gazette Publisher John Foreman said. The News-Gazette will continue printing the Tribune until April 26, when seven of the 24 jobs in the pressroom will be eliminated.

‘Charlotte Observer’ Announces Job Cuts – Editor & Publisher, Jan. 31, 2008

I got a call today from a journalist who’s doing a story on the future of newspapers (does this mean the Death Watch has finally made the big time?) and he shared an interesting t dbit. He said he had contacted a prominent thought leader in the journalism field, whom I won’t name. This thought leader had said that the impending collapse of the newspaper industry was “a threat to democracy.”

Excuse me, but what? A threat to democracy? Newspapers are dying, in large part, because of democracy. The rise of citizen publishing has made it possible, for the first time, for large numbers of ordinary citizens to publish to a global audience without the intercession of media institutions. What could be more democratic than that? If Thomas Jefferson was alive today, he’d be an active blogger. Social media is the most democratic process to hit the publishing industry in 500 years.

I’m going to give the thought leader the benefit of the doubt and assume that he was referring to the decline of investigative journalism as practiced by newspapers. On that point, I’ll defer to journalism professor Steve Boriss, who argues that a lot of what passes for investigative journalism today is simply reporters acting as conduits for whistle-blowers. Those malcontents will find other outlets for their gripes, whether it be Consumerist.com or something else. I’m quite confident that the market will take care of filling the need for advocacy reporting.

I think the threat-to-democracy statement is more a function of the arrogance of traditional news journalists, who believe that a system in which a few thousand editors decide what people should know is superior to one in which many millions of citizens make those same judgments. If citizen media is a threat to democracy, I shudder to think of the alternative.

Well, that was fast.

On Tuesday, Transcontinental Media of Montreal announced that it was shutting down the Halifax Daily News, effective immediately. By the next day, the newspaper’s home page had already been relaunched as Metro Halifax, one of the expanding network of free Metro dailies being stamped out by Metro International S.A.

The Daily news just couldn’t continue, said Marc-Noel Ouellette, senior vice-president at Transcontinental. “It was costing a fortune.” The Daily News’ tiny circulation 20,000 put it at a competitive disadvantage against the much larger Chronicle Herald.

The shutdown means that 92 people will lose their jobs, although some 35 of them are expected to find employment with Transcontinental or the new daily.

Metro International has been busy bringing the McPaper concept to local markets. Its Metro dailies sport a common look and feel and are designed to be read in 20-25 minutes. More than 100 Metros are being published around the world right now and, if the current pace of shutdowns continues, there’ll be no lack of new market opportunities for the owner.

Newspaper journalism in crisis: Burnout on the rise, eroding young journalists career commitment

Recent research by Scott Reinardy, Ph.D. of the Ball State University Department of Journalism examines journalist burnout in an exhaustive quantitative study. Quoting from the abstract:
The three-component Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey was implemented to examine burnout among newspaper journalists (N = 770). With a moderate rate of exhaustion, a high rate of cynicism and a moderate rate of professional efficacy, burnout among journalists demonstrate higher rates of burnout than previous work. Additionally, journalists expressing intentions to leave the profession (n = 173) demonstrated high rates of exhaustion and cynicism, and moderate rates of professional efficacy, making them “at-risk” for burnout. Also, 74.5 percent of journalists 34 and younger (n = 223) expressed intentions to either leave newspaper journalism or answered “don’t know.” The most “at-risk” to burnout appear to be young copy editors or page designers working at small newspapers.

AngryJournalist.com lets fed-up journalists vent their (anonymous) rage

[This new site lets anyone vent their anger about the journalism profession anonymously. The creator, Kiyoshi Martinez, says he launched it for several reasons. Quoting:]

“In private conversations with friends I sensed that there is a growing angst among the upcoming crop of journalists entering the field right now. Journalism-school graduates have the odds stacked against them. More than likely, their education was inadequate. It’s rare that new media skills were taught or were de-emphasized making the majority of them less competitive. The job market is terrible. More companies are having hiring freezes or worse, layoffs meaning fewer opportunities are available. It’s an instance where supply greatly outnumbers demand. And of what jobs are available, these entry-level jobs pay poorly. It’s even worse in broadcast media.”

The death of American newspaper – Watchdogs watching, Jan. 29, 2008

[An eager young journalist’s ideals come crashing to earth when he interviews for a newspaper job and finds that the pay won’t even cover the basic costs of living. That’s the way it is, the editor tells him. The owner wants to make a lot of money, and that means paying starvation wages to the staff. The aspiring reporter blogs about his experience, concluding, “Im witnessing the death of American newspaper.” – Ed.]