GR EXTRA!

TU: Employees will get 45-day layoff notice

Albany Newspaper Guild - 02 Jul 2009

Confronted with indisputable contract language, the Albany Times-Union has conceded it must give 45 days' notice to each employee it intends to lay off. The acknowledgment came in bargaining with the Albany Guild over the company's layoff plans and marked a reversal from its earlier stance, in which it contended that the 45-day clock started running as soon as it started negotiations -- even though specific employees have not yet been told they will be cut.

GR EXTRA!

Newspaper chains could reverse readership losses by restoring local content, embracing community

CWA-SCA Canada - 02 Jul 2009

Newspaper chains such as Quebecor Sun Media could reverse readership declines in mid-size Canadian cities if they restored local content and once again became a pillar of the communities they purport to serve, a poll commissioned by CWA Canada indicates. Of those who had been regular readers, 42% said they would become so again if they could be assured that local coverage would be improved.

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Indy local shoots down Gannett's package, 97-9

The Guild Reporter - 01 Jul 2009

Members of the Indianapolis Newspaper Guild voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday, 97‑9, to reject a two‑year contract proposal presented by Gannett on April 15. The rejected package included a 12% wage cut, changes to the layoff system that make it more orderly but give the company other options than straight seniority in determining who is laid off, and several exemptions from overtime.

GR EXTRA!

No names, numbers on layoffs this week

Albany Newspaper Guild - 26 Jun 2009

Although it hasn't produced either a list of names or a total number of layoffs, the management at the Hearst-owned Albany Times Union contends that the 45-day clock on layoff notices began running June 24, when it released an 18-page document purporting to disclose how it will determine who stays and who goes. Guild leaders say the clock can't start until those targeted for layoffs are named -- and only after the company starts negotiating with the union.

The Post's 'Salon' Plan: A Public Relations Disaster

Andrew Alexander, Ombudsman - Washington Post - 02 Jul 2009

For a storied newspaper that cherishes its reputation for ethical purity, this comes pretty close to a public relations disaster. Politico reported this morning that The Post has been soliciting lobbyists to pay from $25,000 to $250,000 to underwrite off-the-record “salons” at the home of publisher Katharine Weymouth that would provide access to administration and congressional leaders and the paper’s reporters and editors.

Washington Post sells access, $25,000+

Mike Allen - Politico - 02 Jul 2009

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few" -- Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff."

GR Exclusive!

Elvis answers classified ad

Andy Zipser, Editor, The Guild Reporter - The Guild Reporter - 02 Jul 2009

The newspaper industry’s woes apparently reached a tipping point in the first part of this year, as a sudden eruption of workshops, panels and conferences all asked the same basic questions: Are newspapers really, truly dying? Does it matter? And if it does, can anyone do anything about it?

GR EXCLUSIVE!

Elvis answers classified ad

Andy Zipser, Editor, The Guild Reporter - The Guild Reporter - 02 Jul 2009

The newspaper industry’s woes apparently reached a tipping point in the first part of this year, as a sudden eruption of workshops, panels and conferences all asked the same basic questions: Are newspapers really, truly dying? Does it matter? And if it does, can anyone do anything about it?

GR EXCLUSIVE!

Elvis answers classified ad

Andy Zipser, Editor, The Guild Reporter - The Guild Reporter - 02 Jul 2009

The newspaper industry’s woes apparently reached a tipping point in the first part of this year, as a sudden eruption of workshops, panels and conferences all asked the same basic questions: Are newspapers really, truly dying? Does it matter? And if it does, can anyone do anything about it?

The recession by gender

Center for American Progress - 02 Jul 2009

As the hemorrhaging of jobs in manufacturing and construction continues to destroy livelihoods, men continue to bear the brunt of job losses in this 17 month-long recession. As of May 2009 -- the latest data available -- women account for a record high of 49.8% of all payroll jobs. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Establishment Survey, men account for 74.2% of all jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007.

Inland Study Finds Profit Eroding Fastest in Smaller Dailies

Editor and Publisher - 02 Jul 2009

Operating profits at newspapers of all circulation sizes fell during the five-year period ending in 2008, according to a study released Wednesday by the Inland Press Association. Yet despite the decline newspapers remain profitable, with operating profits still ranging from more than 11% to 15% of gross revenue in all circulation groups except 25,001-50,000, said Tim Mather, who helped prepare the report.

Canwest wins extension from lenders

Victoria Times Colonist - 02 Jul 2009

Canwest Global Communications Corp. has won an extension from its senior lenders on a deadline to come up with a definitive re-capitalization plan. Winnipeg-based Canwest, which owns the Times Colonist, said discussions with a committee representing its lenders are continuing, with a new deadline to have an agreement in principle in place by July 17, and a definitive agreement two weeks later.