http://www.newsguild.org News and headlines about the media industry from the Guild Reporter Copyright 2005 The Newspaper Guild en-us Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:41:52 -0500 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:41:52 -0500 http://newsguild.org/rss/reporter.gif http://www.newsguild.org 119 50 http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/all_roads_no_longer_lead_to_print The New Haven Register‘s parent company’s new CEO told his 3,100 employees that he’s bringing their newsrooms into the digital age. To start: Every reporter gets a video camera. They now work for a “media company,” not a “newspaper company.” The new boss, John Paton, broke the news to Journal-Register Co. (JRC) employees last Thursday in a seven-minute, ten-second slide show emailed companywide. http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/all_roads_no_longer_lead_to_print http://www.newsguild.org/index.php?ID=8527 The union representing U.S.-based employees at Thomson Reuters Corp. today launched a multimedia campaign that asks whether the company’s illegal imposition of nearly 10% in pay cuts on its journalists and other employees will reduce the quality of Reuters news and information. Billboard trucks will roll daily through Manhattan’s financial district and midtown with the message: “Reuters is bad news for its employees. Is it bad for your bottom line?” http://www.newsguild.org/index.php?ID=8527 http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=141948 If you’re a certain sort of still-employed media person, you’re probably wondering how much longer you can hold on to your job. But the larger question might be: Just how unreal — illusory, delusional, unmoored from the realities of the marketplace — has your job been all along? Much of the best of contemporary journalism has been producedbecause of the largess of a small group of rich people, and those folks are fading from the scene. http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=141948 http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_creed_of_objectivity_killed_the_news_business_20100131/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Truthdig+Truthdig%3A+Drilling+Beneath+the+Headlines The creed of objectivity becomes a convenient and profitable vehicle to avoid confronting unpleasant truths or angering a power structure on which news organizations depend for access and profits. This creed transforms reporters into neutral observers or voyeurs. It has also, with the rise of a ruthless American oligarchy, left the traditional press on the wrong side of our growing class divide. http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_creed_of_objectivity_killed_the_news_business_20100131/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Truthdig+Truthdig%3A+Drilling+Beneath+the+Headlines http://www.mije.org/richardprince/inquirer-publishes-stephen-smith-after-2frac12-years Stephen A. Smith’s sports column appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday for the first time in more than two years, after Smith agreed to the Inquirer’s demand that he remove political opinions from his web site and stop espousing them on cable news shows. Smith’s agreement to the Inquirer’s ethics policy — which he contends has not been applied to other news employees — applies "until the dispute is resolved by an arbitrator," said Bill Ross, executive director of the Philadelphia Guild. http://www.mije.org/richardprince/inquirer-publishes-stephen-smith-after-2frac12-years http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/02/ta020410.html The break-in by James O’Keefe and his comrades of Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) district office was the culmination of a long-term investment strategy by conservatives to rewrite the rules of professional journalism. The Leadership Institute where James O’Keefe was employed boasts that it has trained more than 79,000 students, in the process undermining the standards of mainstream media organizations and increasing their willingness to swallow the conservative line. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/02/ta020410.html http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_newsroom_turmoil_2 An arbitrator has rejected the Santa Barbara News-Press’ $25 million claim against its former editor and ordered the newspaper’s owner to pay more than $900,000 in fees stemming from their dispute. Arbitrator Deborah Rothman said Ampersand Publishing went after the journalist in a "scorched-earth, take-no-prisoners, go-for-broke fashion." She said the company spent about $2.4 million litigating the claim against Jerry Roberts. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_newsroom_turmoil_2 http://www.newsguild.org/index.php?ID=8522 In a charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board, Global media giant Thomson Reuters Corp. was accused today of unilaterally and illegally imposing drastic cuts in the compensation of its unionized journalists, technicians and other U.S.-based employees. The Guild also charged the company with illegally implementing a Twitter policy that bars employees from tweeting anything “that would damage the reputation of Reuters News or Thomson Reuters." http://www.newsguild.org/index.php?ID=8522 http://www.alternet.org/health/145562/could_your_cell_phone_end_up_killing_you A new debate is raging over whether prolonged cell phone use poses serious health side effects. 

There doesn’t appear to be any consensus on what, exactly, the harmful effects on cell phone users may be. Unfortunately, the scary truth is that no one knows the full extent of problems brought on by using these must-have consumer electronics, because their use only became especially ubiquitous in recent years. http://www.alternet.org/health/145562/could_your_cell_phone_end_up_killing_you http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065522 McClatchy Co. shares tumbled Friday along with the broader market after the newspaper publisher agreed to pay steep interest rates to push back its deadline for repaying debt. "This stock is going to be a cha-cha," observed one analyst. "A step up and two steps back." (Which, when you think about it, means an overall move in reverse. . . .) http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065522 http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/02/seattle_times_debt_solved_pape.php A year and a month after the Hearst Corp. announced the planned death of its 146-year-old Seattle P-I print edition, the Seattle Times Co. indicates it has successfully fought off its own potential print demise and that "The Seattle Times is here to stay." Among the contributing factors: A Guild agreement to extend a freeze on company pension contributions. In return, the company will match half of employee 401(k) contributions, up to 4%. http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/02/seattle_times_debt_solved_pape.php http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/02/05/danger-falling-middle-class/ Jack Cafferty at CNN this week asked viewers one of his seemingly routine questions. But the responses to: “How has definition of ‘middle-class American’ changed?” reveal a cataclysmic shift in our nation’s economic identity. Gary from El Centro, Calif., summed up the vast majority of the nearly 200 responses when he replied: "You should ask this question of the three or four people in the country still remaining in the middle class." http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/02/05/danger-falling-middle-class/ http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/02/jan2010_employment.html The employment figures released today show mixed news for workers. Unemployment fell to 9.7% in January from 10.0% in December, and only 20,000 jobs were lost last month. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the economy lost over 1 million more jobs during the recession than previously estimated. More than 14 million Americans are out of work, there are six job seekers for every available job, and 4 in 10 unemployed workers have been pounding the pavement for at least six months, a record level. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/02/jan2010_employment.html http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/02/journos-arent-helpless-against-market.html#comments The Newsosaur has provoked a fair amount of comment by his suggestion that freelance journalists should stop bellyaching about being ripped off by penny-pinching publishers and simply withhold their services. Good in theory, perhaps, but a surefire way for individual journalists to end up as publishing roadkill. If only they could figure out a way to combine their efforts. . . . Hey, how about a union? http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/02/journos-arent-helpless-against-market.html#comments http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20100205_Hedge-fund_creditors_win_round_in_newspapers__bankruptcy_case.html The hedge funds holding most of the secured debt in the Daily News and Inquirer are not required to disclose what they paid for it, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled yesterday. Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, the local investor group that has owned the papers since mid- 2006, immediately appealed the ruling to U.S. District Court. If the hedge funds win in the 3rd Circuit, they’d likely have an edge on any other bidders. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20100205_Hedge-fund_creditors_win_round_in_newspapers__bankruptcy_case.html http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-healthcare4-2010feb04,0,1362585.story In a stark reminder of growing costs, the government has released a new estimate that healthcare spending grew to a record 17.3% of the U.S. economy last year, marking the largest one-year jump in its share of the economy since the government started keeping such records half a century ago. Moreover, the government may be picking up more than half of the nation’s total healthcare tab for the first time as soon as next year. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-healthcare4-2010feb04,0,1362585.story http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/79781-obama-nominees-confirmation-in-doubt-as-labor-lawyer-loses-gop-support Two Senate Republicans who previously supported a controversial labor board nominee opposed him on Thursday, putting his confirmation in doubt.

 Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) backed Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board in a committee vote last fall, but after his nomination stalled under heavy lobbying by business groups, Becker had to be re-nominated by President Barack Obama this year. Thursday. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/79781-obama-nominees-confirmation-in-doubt-as-labor-lawyer-loses-gop-support http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2010/02/04/15637/star_tribune_staffers_pony_up_3225_for_ad_honoring_ex-colleagues Talk about feeding the hand that bites you: Current and former Star Tribune newsroom workers will buy an ad next week in their paper recognizing not only the 26 workers management is purging in a reorganization plan, but the estimated 140 laid off or bought out since January 2007. Despite the painful circumstances, the ad is meant as a public tribute, not a print protest. The list of names includes only Stribbers who have given their permission; 92 have said yes. http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2010/02/04/15637/star_tribune_staffers_pony_up_3225_for_ad_honoring_ex-colleagues http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065140 The Associated Press is sending its usual army of journalists to the Winter Olympics, but AP’s its coverage this time around also represents a real departure for the wire service’s online coverage. Rather than simply provide content, it is partnering with more than 900 newspapers and broadcasters who will split the ad revenue generated from an AP-produced multi-media package of video, photos, statistics, stories and a daily webcast. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065140 http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1484/social-media-mobile-internet-use-teens-millennials-fewer-blog?src=prc-latest&proj=pej Since 2006, blogging has fallen among teens and young adults while simultaneously rising among older adults. As the tools and technology embedded in social networking websites change, and use of the sites continues to grow, youth may be exchanging ‘macro-blogging’ for micro-blogging with status updates. Teens also are not using Twitter in large numbers. While teens are bigger users of almost all other online applications, Twitter is an exception. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1484/social-media-mobile-internet-use-teens-millennials-fewer-blog?src=prc-latest&proj=pej http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/525477/donna_edwards_no_corporate_monopoly_of_elections_amendment Maryland Congresswoman Donna Edwards turned to Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis when framing the Constitutional amendment she proposed Tuesday,in an effort to reverse the Supreme Court’s precedent-breaking decision to give corporations the power to dominate political discourse. "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both," said Brandeis http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/525477/donna_edwards_no_corporate_monopoly_of_elections_amendment http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/020210.html In past years, when I talked to American progressives about the growing media imbalance — as the Right gained dominance in books, magazines, newspapers, talk radio and cable TV — a typical response was, “well, the Left is stronger on the internet.” But now, backed by deep-pocket conservatives, the Right has poured large sums of money into its internet assets, integrating them with other media properties, helping star right-wing bloggers get rich, and still maintaining the veneer of “populism.” http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/020210.html http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2010/02/demand-medias-plan-to-sell-content-to-old-media-fatties.html For many of the people trying to eke out a living in the world of traditional media, the two most frightening words in the English language are Demand Media, employer of 7,000 freelance writers, editors, and videographers. What’s so scary about that? The pay. Demand pays roughly $15 for an original, well-written and researched 500-word article. That’s three cents per word, about one-tenth of what a writer would get from a frugal magazine or newspaper. Nevertheless, media professionals are signing up in droves. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2010/02/demand-medias-plan-to-sell-content-to-old-media-fatties.html http://blog.seattlepi.com/print.asp?entryID=192982 In a new national poll, 65% of Americans say they disagree with the 5-to-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow corporations to spend without limits on ads in political campaigns. An even larger number, 69%, voiced agreement with the statement: "The decision hands more influence to lobbyists and special interest groups to tip the outcome of elections." The Angus Reid Public Opinion poll surveyed 1,003 American adults on the decision. http://blog.seattlepi.com/print.asp?entryID=192982 http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/blog-summaries/79441-nlrb-nominee-gets-contentious-hearing Senate Republicans grilled President Barack Obama’s nominee for the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday in a rare hearing for a nominee. Craig Becker has seen his nomination stalled by business groups who, concerned that Becker could help enact regulatory changes that would have the effect of the card-check bill, have argued that his nomination should not be considered until Sen-elect Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is sworn in. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/blog-summaries/79441-nlrb-nominee-gets-contentious-hearing