News Cycle

Valentine's Day at Washington Post: About 54 Laid Off

2013-02-17T15:36:00.001-05:00

Fishbowl DC reported on Friday that the Washington Post quietly gave layoff notices to about 54 people in a move that touched every department in the newspaper. Betsy Rothstein wrote:

Internal sources appropriately place the number at 54, though a publicist hasn’t confirmed the exact number. Every department facing cuts was asked to keep the news to their department only, as to not make it look like a mass layoff. We’re told those given pink slips include Beth Jacobs, General Manager of Mobile, and Ken Dodelin, Director of Mobile Products. Sources say the entire Mobile Product Management and IT Project Management staffs have been eliminated. “[CIO and VP Shaliesh] Prakash thinks these are ‘inefficiencies’ – that is the exact word he uses for human beings who are not useful according to him,” said a source who spoke only on condition of anonymity. “Get rid of experienced people to save money, under the garb of streamlining is the new trend inside the Post.” The news comes on the heels of the NYT, which recently offered buyout packages to 30 employees. That target number wasn’t reached; it isn’t clear how many employees were let go.

Here is the memo that was distributed internally as reported by Rothstein:

WaPo memo: As you know, evaluating our structure and reducing costs is an ongoing priority. As part of a broader restructuring across the commercial side, we identified several areas where we believe we can operate differently. As a result, and after careful consideration, we are planning to eliminate some positions, effective April 30, 2013. The employees affected by this position elimination have already been notified, and will have the opportunity to participate in a Separation Incentive Program that will include both separation payments and a company contribution to be used towards health insurance premiums. I will share more and take your questions at our upcoming all-hands tomorrow, Feb 14th, 2013. I fully recognize that situations like this are stressful and thank you for your understanding as we work through this process. – Shailesh Prakash VP Digital Product Development and CIO

Provo Daily Herald's Executive Editor Gets a Pink Slip

2013-02-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

Executive editor Randy Wright was released from his duties at the Provo Daily Herald after laying off nine other employees last week.

Wright, 58, confirmed Thursday he was the only one let go in a second round of cuts, the result of cost-cutting at the Lee Enterprises paper. Last week, the company laid off nine employees in various areas of the operation. The paper’s president and publisher, Rona Rahlf, declined to comment Thursday, saying only that it’s "a matter of policy we don’t respond to questions of an HR matter." In a Daily Herald online story last week, it was noted that the company had reduced "cash costs" by 3.7 percent in the quarter ending Dec. 30, compared with the same period a year earlier. Davenport, Iowa-based Lee has fallen victim to declining ad revenue and falling circulation as readers have moved to digital news.

Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, owns the Daily Herald, which has a daily circulation of 24,000.

What President Obama Will Not Say During the State of the Union Address But I Would Like to Hear

2013-02-12T20:36:00.001-05:00

Good evening fellow Americans. Tonight I report to you that the United States is in good shape. North Korea has shown that it continues to improve its nuclear capability, and Iran is not far behind. Unemployment has been steady at about 8 percent or higher since I took office four years ago. Our deficit has grown from $1.3 trillion in 2009 to $16.5 trillion today. Health-care costs are increasing, and thanks to Obamacare small businesses are enjoying more paperwork. Gas prices have double since taking office. Guantánamo Bay is still open. Our military is still in Afghanistan, and there are still 45,000 of our bravest sons and daughters serving in Iraq.

Honesty would be refreshing.

Fake News and Pranks

2013-02-12T18:31:00.000-05:00

Is it any wonder why so many people mistrust the media these days? The Daily Currant ran a "satire" piece on Feb. 4 that reported that Sarah Palin was joining Al Jazeera America.

Just weeks after leaving Fox News, Sarah Palin is bouncing back by joining the fledgling Al Jazeera America news network as a host and commentator. The former vice presidential nominee confirmed today that she has signed a multi-million dollar deal to host her own shows and to provide commentary on United States issues for Al Jazeera, which is best known for its news coverage of the Middle East. After leaving Fox News, Palin said she was hoping to reach a broader audience with her message. When contacted by phone, Palin said Al Jazeera - with its extensive international network - offered her the best opportunity to broadcast to millions of people.

In an effort to double down on stupidity, The Washington Post ran it as fact, then later had to correct itself.

An earlier version of this post and the post’s URL incorrectly reported that Sarah Palin had signed on as a contributor to the Al Jazeera America news network. The blogger cited a report on the Daily Currant Web site as the basis for that information without realizing that the piece was satirical.

Nice ... Even worse, CBS in LA was a victim of a Howard Stern prank call. KCBS/KCAL put on a guy on the air who had told them that he was an official from the U.S. Fish and Game Commission. He had claimed to have information about the

CBS Los Angeles learned that lesson the hard way during their coverage of the shootout between ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner and law enforcement agencies. In the call, a man who identifies himself as Captain Janks pretended to be a California Fish & Game official and said his agency was the first to spot Dorner, but then things went a bit astray. "It was confirmed that there was gunfire. We don't know at this point. We believe it was Ronnie the Limo Driver firing at Mr. Dorner." Janks said Ronnie was driving to a block party when he spotted Dorner. The problem is, Ronnie is a popular feature on Howard Stern's radio show and not a game and fish official. Janks called the CBS reporter a few choice words before getting cut off. He has been a long-time fan and popular caller of the Howard Stern Show.

I'm old school. But this is total stupidity on "Captain Janks' " part.

George Bush's Emails Hacked: What Happened to Ethics?

2013-02-10T11:33:00.002-05:00

From Paul Farhi at the Washington Post:

The Smoking Gun published apparently private Bush family photos from the hacker’s cache, such as a shot of George H.W. Bush sitting up in his hospital bed in December (the photo was taken down a few hours after it appeared). It also quoted from e-mails that revealed deep family concerns about the elder Bush’s health, including one from George W. Bush seeking input from his relatives for a eulogy to his father. Further, it posted images of paintings made by the younger Bush that he had sent to his sister Dorothy, including paintings of a man showering and one in a bathtub.

The Smoking Gun went way out of bounds here. There is no journalistic value in publishing such private communications. No public policy is affected by these emails.

I'm Baaaaaaaack, Sorta

2012-12-17T20:34:00.002-05:00

I've been away for a while growing in my new job. I'm planning to come back to this blog after the holidays. Hope all is well with everyone. I was amazed to find that I was still getting about 1,000 legitmate page views a day despite the fact I haven't posted anything in years. That's 1,000 after subtracting the robot and spam visits. Either this blog is fairly popular or Statcounter is totally bogus. I'll be tinkering with the layout for a while. So don't be surprised to see the format change often. Once again, enjoy the holidays! --- Jeff

Gould (Ark.) City Council Tries to Ban All Organizations From Meeting in Private Homes Unless Approved by City Government

2011-07-21T22:42:00.000-04:00

Government Gone Wild (Big Time): A small city's council in Arkansas votes to ban citizens from meeting together in private homes or forming organizations unless they get City Council approval. The mayor is vowing to fight the council over the most ridiculous ordinance I have ever seen.

Mother of Slain 9-Year-Old: Stop the Hatred

2011-01-09T14:06:00.002-05:00

Roxanna Green, mother of the 9-year-old child who was shot and killed by a gunman in Arizona who was targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said on MSNBC that she wanted the memory of her daughter Christina to live on.

"I just want her memory to live on, she's a face of hope, a face of change," Roxanna Green told MSNBC. "Stop the violence, stop the hatred."

Green spoke about how her daughter had been born on Sept. 11, 2001 and had been featured in a book called "Faces of Hope."

Chelstowski Named Publisher of Newsweek/Daily Beast

2011-01-06T06:01:00.000-05:00

In another sign that the two organizations are ready to merger, Ray Chelstowski, a former publisher of Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, has been named publisher of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, reports Jeremy W. Peters of The New York Times.

Chelstowski is the former publisher of Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly.

Peters offers this background in his report:

Under Mr. Chelstowski’s plan, the advertising sales staffs of Newsweek and The Daily Beast will eventually become one, and sales people will sell print and digital ads for both brands.

That could lead to further staff downsizing, but Mr. Chelstowski said it was premature to say whether there would be job cuts.

“Right now there are two separate sales staffs, two separate operations,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “I think the best way to go to market is in an integrated capacity.”

Since Barry Diller, whose IAC/InterActiveCorp started The Daily Beast, and Sidney Harman, who bought Newsweek late last year, agreed to merge operations in November, both organizations have been figuring out how to coexist. Newsweek will remain as a distinct magazine brand, while the Daily Beast Web site will become the vehicle for news online. Newsweek.com will no longer exist in its current form, and readers who type that address into their Web browsers will be redirected to DailyBeast.com.

Tina Brown, a former editor at The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, who was leading editorial operations at The Daily Beast, is now the editor of Newsweek as well.

Philly Inquirer’s Loeb Bounces Back to Washington Post as Local Editor

2011-01-05T13:10:00.002-05:00

Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli announced today that Vernon Loeb, Philadelphia Inquier's deputy managing editor/news, is returning to the Post as local editor.

Loeb's resume is a document of back-and-forth adventures betwen the two papers. Previously, he was a reporter for the Post. He started that stint in 1994 after leaving the Inquirer for the first time.

Romenesko posted the memo earlier today:

From: Marcus Brauchli
Sent: 01/05/2011 12:17 PM EST

To: NEWS
Subject: A New Local Editor

To the Staff:

We are pleased to announce that Vernon Loeb will be returning to The Post as Local Editor.

Vernon joins us from The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he has been deputy managing editor for news, overseeing the metro, business, health & science and national/foreign desks, as well as the newsroom’s interactions with Philly.com. It’s his second stint at the Inquirer, having previously covered the statehouse and City Hall and done a tour as a correspondent in Southeast Asia.

Loeb

The last time he decamped from Philadelphia, in 1994, it was also to The Post, where he covered the second round of Marion Barry as mayor, before moving to the National Staff to cover the CIA and the Pentagon. He left The Post after a decade to run California investigations for the Los Angeles Times.

Vernon is a tremendously talented, high-energy journalist, whose enthusiasm for what we do is infectious. In his new job, he will drive our coverage of the region, ensuring we are serving our readers, both print and digital, the smartest, freshest and most authoritative news and features on the issues that matter most to them. It’s a good match: this is a highly competitive market, and Vernon is an intensely competitive editor.

He will start on Feb. 1 and report to Liz Spayd.

As part of this transition, Senior Web Editor Jane Elizabeth and the PostLocal.com team will soon join the Local staff, with Jane spearheading Local digital initiatives and reporting to Vernon. Prior to joining the Post as Local Web News Editor a year ago, Jane was a senior editor at The Virginian-Pilot, supervising teams covering the military, politics and government, as well as medicine, health, environment, transportation, religion and consumer issues. At the Post, she has been instrumental in PostLocal.com’s growing success. This move, which will combine our Local content creation and web teams into one seamless operation, is aimed at ramping up our Local efforts across all platforms. David Marino-Nachison will continue to be Local Innovations Editor.

Vernon is married to Patricia Ford Loeb, a distinguished public and commercial radio reporter and editor. They have four children – one out of college, one in, and twins who are seniors in high school. Loeb has been known to run a marathon or two (54 actually, ed.) and is an ardent Phillies fan.

Please join us in welcoming Vernon back to the newsroom.

Marcus
Liz
Raju

Non-Union Workers in Gannett Unit Must Take One-Week Furlough in First Quarter

2011-01-04T22:56:00.001-05:00

Gannett Co. told non-union workers of its U.S. Community Publishing Unit today that they will have to take a week off without pay in the first quarter of this year to avoid more layoffs as revenue continues to fall.

The furloughs will affect workers at the 81 community newspapers. They will not apply to Gannett's flagship newspaper, USA Today, or to the Detroit Free Press. There are a total of 17,000 employees working at the community newspapers.

In a memo issued earlier today and posted on Jim Hopkins' Gannett Blog, unit President Robert Dickey said that top line revenues "remain short of where they were a year ago." Dickey continued to say that the current economy made it necessary to implement the furloughs.

"This was, quite frankly, an option I had hoped we could avoid," he said in his memo.

The furloughs must be taken by March 27, and will include Dickey himself, the memo said. Gannett chief executive officer Craig Dubow and chief operating officer Gracia Martore will have their salaries reduced by a percentage equivalent to a week's furlough.

Russell Adams of The Wall Street Journal writes:

Like many other newspaper publishers, Gannett has slashed jobs and made many other cuts, including furloughs, in response to steep declines in advertising revenue over the past couple years. The company had about 35,000 employees at the end of 2009, down from nearly 50,000 three years earlier.

In the third quarter of last year, Gannett posted a 38% increase in profit helped by lower operating expenses. However, its newspaper business continued to drag down results. Publishing ad revenue fell 5.1% from a year earlier, a slight improvement over the 5.7% decline in the second quarter. Publishing ad revenue declined 28% in 2009.

"As we start the new year, we continue to see some improvement in revenue trends and reduced year-over-year revenue declines in U.S. Community Publishing," Mr. Dickey wrote. "This is no small accomplishment and I think you should take great pride in what you have achieved. Our top line revenues, however, while improving, remain short of where they were a year ago. This is compounded by a still challenging and uncertain economy, as well as increasing expenses."

A Dozen Incoming GOP Freshmen Switch From Tea Party to a Swank Beltway Party

2011-01-04T06:56:00.004-05:00

Here's more evidence that once you are elected to Congress and you find yourself inside the Beltway that your brain just shuts off and you just don't get it.

Denham

At least 12 Republican congressmen-elect, six of whom are Tea Party members, are banding together to throw a swank party to celebrate their inauguration and raise funds at the plush W Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. Performing at the event is country singer LeAnn Rimes, who is not a favorite among social conservatives because of her Twitter photos and other activities.

The event is sponsored by America’s New Majority, a political action committee formed by Rep.-elect Jeff Denham, R-Calif., whose goal is to raise funds.

Conservative blogger Matt Lewis reports that the cost to attend the event is "$2,500 a pop (for $50,000 you can become a "Platinum Sponsor" -- but that includes eight tickets, a "VIP lunch" and a "VIP suite" at the W hotel)."

Lewis also describes why Rimes might not be the best choice in the eyes of the socially conservative base:

But the price isn't the only thing raising eyebrows. Once thought of as "family friendly," Rimes has since added some new material to her resume. As Perez Hilton recently noted:

"LeAnn Rimes took to her Twitter to reveal some pics of herself ... as a Sexy Santa performing with the El Lay Gay Men's Christmas this past Sunday. And, of course, some with her man Eddie Cibrian!" Even before Rimes' tweet, she might have been an interesting pick for conservatives. As the New York Daily News reported in September:

"Once considered America's Sweetheart, LeAnn Rimes shocked fans when she admitted to cheating on her husband, Dean Sheremet.

. . . Rimes, now 28, admitted that she had an affair with actor Eddie Cibrian while they were shooting a Lifetime film back in 2008."

Here’s a list of all the participating members-elect, according to the Sunlight Foundation's "Party Time" site:

Jeff Denham, R-Calif.
Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn. (Tea Party)
Robert Dold, R-Ill. (Tea Party)
Renee Ellmers, R-N.C. (Tea Party)
Jeff Landry, R-La. (Tea Party)
Tom Marino, R-Pa.
Tom Reed, R-N.Y.
David Rivera, R-Fla.
Jon Runyan, R-N.J.
Steve Southerland, R-Fla. (Tea Party)
Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. (Tea Party)
Kevin Yoder. R-Kan.

POLITICO's Kenneth P. Vogel and Marin Cogan report that "House Speaker-elect John Boehner, whose name was featured on the invitation, is nonetheless skipping the event."

Their report goes on to say that at least one GOP consultant is advising his clients to stay clear of these activities:

While at least 11 incoming Republican House members had signed up for the committee by Dec. 10, other freshman were discouraged from joining, said a pair of GOP fundraising consultants.

“We strongly recommended to our clients that they not take part in this,” said one consultant, who did not want to be identified discussing advice offered to members of Congress.

“It’s causing a buzz because it’s in direct contradiction to the image that leadership is trying to portray as a conference that wants to get down to business,” said the consultant, comparing the Rimes fundraiser to one thrown by incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi when Democrats assumed the House majority in 2007.

That fundraiser – organized by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and featuring $1,000 ticket prices and performances by Tony Bennett and the remnants of The Grateful Dead – got some bad press and also sparked ill will among some of the lobbyists and political action committee managers who typically comprise the target demographic for high-dollar Washington fundraisers.

ESPN's Ron Franklin Pulled From Air After Calling Jeannine Edwards 'Sweetcakes,’ and ‘A–Hole’

2011-01-03T16:42:00.003-05:00

One of my all-time favorite sports broadcasters is in a heap of trouble for his insensitive off-the-air remarks toward a female sideline reporter.

Ron Franklin was pulled from the air before Saturday's Fiesta Bowl after he called ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards "sweetcakes" during an off-air spat, according to the website SportsbyBrooks.com.

The website also reported today that "in an email to USA TODAY reporter Michael McCarthy, ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards confirmed today that ESPN colleague Ron Franklin called her an “a–hole” during a production meeting before the ESPN Chick-fil-A Bowl telecast last Friday."

Scheduled to work on the ESPN-TV broadcast of the Chick-fil-A Bowl Friday, Franklin and Edwards were part of a production meeting before the game that was also attended by ESPN announcers Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore. During the meeting, the subject of Gilmore’s wife Marie being elected Alameda (CA) mayor came up.

As Gilmore, Cunningham and Franklin discussed the subject, Edwards tried to join the conversation.

When she did, Franklin said to her, “Why don’t you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes.”

Edwards responded to Franklin by saying, “don’t call me sweetcakes, I don’t like being talked to like that.”

Franklin then said, “okay then, a–hole.”

After the meeting Edwards reported Franklin’s comments to ESPN management. Once ESPN college football coordinating producer Ed Placey confirmed Franklin’s comments to Edwards with Cunningham, ESPN executives made an attempt to pull Franklin off the Chick-fil-A Bowl broadcast the same day. Because of late notice, no replacement for Franklin was found and the longtime play-by-play announcer called the game - without incident - with Cunningham and Edwards.

With Edwards and Franklin scheduled to work together the next night in Arizona, top ESPN programming executives - including Norby Williamson and Mark Gross - were involved in the decision to pull Franklin off the Fiesta Bowl radio broadcast.

Dave Lamont filled in for Franklin.

When contacted, an ESPN representative could not comment on Franklin’s current status with the company.

Franklin signed a two-year contract with ESPN last July, with the deal calling for him to work 35 events for the network per year.

ESPM subsequently pulled Franklin from the game.

Mediaite: CNN's John Roberts to Join Fox News

2011-01-03T14:03:00.001-05:00

CNN's John Roberts will join Fox News as senior national correspondent based in Atlanta and will be reporting on major domestic and international stories for the network, reports Colby Hall of Mediaite.

Some industry insiders are sure to see this as somewhat of a coup for Fox News, as Roberts will shore up the news side of FNC’s news programming. Anytime a news network can add an award winning journalist who has covered nearly every major news story of the last two decades for both CBS News and CNN. Some suggested that Roberts was poorly utilized at CNN hosting a morning news program, but Roberts did have some terrific reporting moments when he was brought out of the studio, namely while interviewing BP COO Doug Suttles, asking him “how he slept”?

It appears that Fox News will use Roberts in a similar vein, getting him out of the studio and reporting in the field on major news stories. Not only is this a win for FNC, but for fans of old school journalists as well.

NY Post: Newsweek/Daily Beast Merger Is Weeks Away

2011-01-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

Newsweek owner Sidney Harman told New York Post's Keith J. Kelly that the long-awaited merger of the struggling news magazine and the Daily Beast will finally happen in mid-January.

Kelly writes this morning:

There was no word from Barry Diller, chairman of the InterActiveCorp/IAC side of the new joint venture, which owns the Daily Beast.

Most observers blame legal and paperwork delays, combined with the usual holiday slowdown rather than any serious snags that could derail the deal reached in early November.

That means Tina Brown, the Daily Beast editor-in-chief and former editor of The New Yorker and the much-hyped failure Talk Magazine, will have longer to wait before she can put her stamp on the newsweekly when she takes over the combined operations.

In the meantime, interim co-editors Dan Klaidman and Nisid Hajari have agreed to stick around until at least the end of January -- and possibly longer.

They have been running the magazine since Jon Meacham left in late August.

WaPo's Ezra Klein: The Constitution Is Confusing and Hard to Understand

2010-12-30T16:10:00.002-05:00

I'm confused by Washington Post's Ezra Klein's contention that the Constitution, "written over 100 years ago," is confusing and hard to understand.

For starters, I thought it was written long before the Civil War. But even more perplexing is the notion that it is confusing. I'll give you the meaning behind the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights is open to some debate. But what's confusing about this?

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Could it be Sections 8, 9 and 10 that is confusing some? It does seem to be a problem for many inside the Beltway. Those three sections define the powers of Congress, the limits on Congress and the powers of the states.

Maybe it's just that Klein can't understand old documents. It's that four score and seven type of prose that is so tough to digest in the 21st Century.

The only people who have trouble understanding this wonderful document are those working to undermind it. There are some inside the Beltway who need to listen to it when it is read.

Kurtz: The War Between Olbermann and MSNBC Brass Opened Vicious Infighting

2010-11-15T11:55:00.000-05:00

Howard Kurtz at The Daily Beast has the inside details of the battle between Keith Olbermann and his superiors at MSNBC over his recent suspension for making unapproved political campaign contributions. Those contributions, sources tell Kurtz, are upsetting other NBC top journalists who are worried that they damage the reputation of the network, and thus their credibility.

Keith Olbermann was having dinner with his manager at an Upper East Side restaurant, chewing over their battle to lift his suspension at MSNBC, when Phil Griffin called.

Michael Price stepped out of the Atlantic Grill to talk to MSNBC’s president, leaving his client with a platter of 18 oysters. It was Sunday, Nov. 7, and Price informed Griffin that if they couldn’t resolve their differences quickly, Olbermann would take his complaints public by accepting invitations from Good Morning America, David Letterman, and Larry King.

Keith Olbermann (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images) “Why are you putting us in the position where you’re daring us to do this?” Price demanded, his voice rising.

“If you go on GMA, I will fire Keith,” Griffin shot back. Such a move was clearly grounds for dismissal.

The manager returned to the restaurant. He and Olbermann, who had been pushing hard to end the suspension the next day, discussed whether they would be burning bridges by carrying out the threat. Minutes later, their phones buzzed with emails from reporters, asking about a statement that NBC had just released. Olbermann, it said, would be allowed to return to his prime-time show on Tuesday—a day later than he had wanted.

Price called Griffin again. “What compelled you to do that in that way?” he asked.

“We are at war,” Griffin responded.

If so, it was a war that had spread beyond the principal combatants to many of the journalists who work at NBC and MSNBC. From the moment Olbermann was found to have donated money to three Democratic candidates, there has been a deepening sense of anger and frustration among his colleagues, according to interviews with eight knowledgeable sources. These sources, who declined to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the situation, say that several of NBC’s front-line stars, including Tom Brokaw, have expressed concern to management that Olbermann has badly damaged MSNBC’s reputation for independence. (NBC and MSNBC executives declined to comment, and Olbermann declined to be interviewed.)

Mike Allen: Olbermann Refused On-Camera Mea Culpa

2010-11-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

Mike Allen of POLITICO reports today that MSNBC sources said that Keith Olbermann was suspended because he refused to deliver an on-camera mea culpa, which would have allowed him to continue anchoring “Countdown.”

Olbermann told his bosses he didn't know he was barred from making campaign contributions, although he is resisting saying that publicly. Olbermann may not hold as many cards as he thinks. He makes $7 million a year and MSNBC's prime time is not as dependent on him as it was before the addition of Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, who make considerably less.

U.S. News & World Report to Shut Monthly Print Issue After December

2010-11-05T17:09:00.000-04:00

U.S. News & World Report will cease printing its monthly print magazine in 2011, according to an internal memo from editor Brian Kelly posted on Romanesko.

It's a magazine that has been struggling for years. The once weekly had morphed into a monthly over the course of two years. Its circulation plunged last year to 1,269,260 from 1,721,377 the year before, Magazine Publishers of America estimated.

Here is the memo:

From: Kelly, Brian
To: INSIDE
Sent: Fri Nov 05 15:31:30 2010
Subject: Digital Strategy

To: U.S. News
From: Bill and Brian
RE: Completing Our Shift to the Digital World

Colleagues, We're finally ready to complete our transition to a predominantly digital publishing model with selected, single-topic print issues. This will allow us to make the most of the proven products, useful journalism, and great audience growth we've been sustaining. Thanks to all your great work, we've been able to maintain our core values of creating high-quality content while establishing a new, healthy business model. This puts us in a strong position to continue building the U.S. News brand in the new media world. As you know, we've been a leading innovator in adapting to the changing environment -- and we don't intend to give up that lead.

The December issue will be our last print monthly sent to subscribers, whose remaining print and digital replica subscriptions will be filled by other publishers. Going forward, our non-subscription print offerings will be for newsstand sale and targeted distribution. They'll include the college and grad guides, as well as hospital and personal finance guides. In addition, we’ll publish four other newsstand special editions, focusing on history, religion and some of the other subjects that have been a success for us in the past. And of course we’ll continue to expand our audience and products on the various usnews.com channels and grow the digital U.S. News Weekly.

All of us at U.S. News Media Group have been aggressively responding to the changing habits in the media marketplace, and these latest moves will accelerate our ability to grow our online businesses and position ourselves to take advantage of the emerging platforms for distributing information such as the iPad and Android tablets. We'll discuss this in more detail in meetings starting next week.

With an average unique audience of 9 million and counting, we've become a significant publisher in the digital space, creating content that people want and an audience that advertisers will pay for. Each of our channels -- Politics & Policy, Education, Money, Health, Autos, and Travel -- are now fully-formed business units that are developing on their own best course. By working both in the vertical channels and horizontally across them, the company has diversified its revenue beyond display advertising to include e-commerce products, lead generation, licensing and other sources.

Our emphasis on rankings and research content is the right path, making us an essential information source in a commoditized marketplace. We provide information that helps people make important decisions. Whether they're picking a college or voting for a senator, it's clear from the response of our users that accurate, searchable information is something they value highly. The proof is in the audience. People come to us every day, all day, for information they can’t get anywhere else.

We can't sit still. We have to keep improving the existing products while selectively creating new ones. In addition to upgrades in college and hospital rankings, we’ll refine and expand the data and tools that allow consumers to evaluate mutual funds, high schools, cars, online education, health plans and more. Travel is getting ready to come out of beta. Politics & Policy is developing its extensive database allowing citizens to examine the records of every member of Congress and is part of an expanding group of public policy tools. The iPad and the next generations of tablets and mobile platforms will create a brand new set of opportunities for us. We know that the creative energy and team spirit of everyone at U.S. News will continue to keep us ahead of the pack.

Bill and Brian

MSNBC Suspends Keith Olbermann Without Pay Over Political Contributions

2010-11-05T15:13:00.005-04:00

UPDATE, Nov. 5 at 4:49 p.m. Eastern: Brian Stelter of The New York Times just tweeted "MSNBC now says Chris Hayes will *not* be the sub tonight. No word yet on who will be."

------

Keith Olbermann has been suspended without pay from MSNBC because of his contributions to three political candidates.

The unusual move happened this afternoon after POLITICO reported that he had contributed to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin released the following statement: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

Usually journalists are bound by ethical standards not to contribute to political campaigns or to be aligned with any political party or movement. Ethic rules concerning partisan commentators on cable TV networks and political advocacy have been debated for some time now. Many believe they are held to the same standards of new reporters. Others have felt that they are advocates, and do not fall under the same guidelines.

Indeed, journalists have contributed thousands to political campaigns and efforts and not faced suspension. MSNBC published a list of 143 journalists who gave to political campaigns. On that list, published on July 15, 2007, was Joe Scarborough, NBC's "Dateline" correspondent Victoria Corderi, MSNBC.com's Rachel Schwanewede, senior editor of TodayShow.com, and MSNBC.com's Joel Widzer, travel columnist. I cannot find any report that they suffered the same penalty that Olbermann did today.

One other distinction could be that NBC News policy does not prohibit making political contributions, just that you need prior approval from NBC executives to do so. It is possible that Scarborough and the others did receive such prior approvals and Olbermann did not.

Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress, Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, and Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway. Conway lost his bid to Republican and Tea Party candidate Rand Paul. Olbermann made the legal maximum donation of $2,400 to each.

What might be the troubling point to MSNBC brass is the fact the Olbermann made the donation to the Arizona candidates pair on Oct. 28 — the same day that Grijalva appeared as a guest on Olbermann’s “Countdown” show.

POLITICO is also reporting that Chris Hayes, the Washington editor for The Nation and a previous fill-in for Rachel Maddow, who will fill in for Olbermann tonight has also made contributions to political candidates. POLITICO reports that he gave $250 to the congressional campaign of a good friend, Alabama Democrat Josh Segall.

Gannett Blog: Cincinnati Enquirer Publisher Announces Seven Employees Laid Off

2010-11-05T14:47:00.000-04:00

A reader of Jim Hopkins' Gannett Blog sent him an email yesterday that Cincinnati Enquirer Publisher Margaret Buchanan appeared in the newsroom about 5 p.m. Wednesday and announced there had been seven people laid off, two of those in the Local Information Center. She blamed a drop-off in retail advertising that she said began in June and has continued unabated. She said she has not heard anything about a first-quarter furlough.

Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss., Terminates 15 People

2010-11-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss., laid off 15 people yesterday.

WLBT reports that the 15 people include managers, photographers and a sports reporter. The Gannett newspaper laid off 20 people in July.

Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer Plans to Lay Off 56 in Production Department

2010-11-05T14:15:00.001-04:00

Fifty-six people will lose their jobs as the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper in Columbus, Ga., cuts its production department.

The paper said today that 56 will be laid off within three months, which is the equivalent of one-third of its workforce.

President and publisher Valerie Canepa was quoted in an article written by the paper's Tony Adams, syaing that the printing of the newspaper will be outsourced to the Montgomery Advertiser, while the commercial work will be done at Gannett Offset in Atlanta.

“It creates operating cost savings and it gives us more flexibility,” Canepa said after informing affected employees Thursday afternoon of the decision to shift the production work elsewhere by Jan. 24.

The printing flexibility includes the ability to have more color pages, additional sections, improved presentation and a variety of page widths, she said.

There also will be what the publisher calls “cost avoidance,” with the large printing press being idled and portions of the Ledger-Enquirer building at the corner of Twelfth Street and Front Avenue being closed off to reduce power bills.

“We save on utility costs because the press uses a lot of power,” she said, noting through September the newspaper’s electricity bill was 13 percent higher than the year before. “We save on property tax. We have all of these benefits.”

Of the 30 daily newspapers owned by Sacramento, Calif.-based The McClatchy Company, eight now outsource their production work. They include papers in Bellingham, Wash.; Boise, Idaho; Bradenton, Fla.; Macon, Ga.; Modesto, Calif.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Olympia, Wash.

The shift in production will come at a steep price, however, with 56 of the 63 employees in the production department losing their jobs. Seven staffers will be retained, Canepa said, with the newspaper needing transportation and circulation personnel to truck the printed products from Montgomery and Atlanta to Columbus.

The company plans to contact the Georgia Department of Labor and other local businesses to help impacted workers with their search for new jobs, said Regina Torbett, the Ledger-Enquirer’s human resources manager.

Those being laid off will be eligible for severance packages, Canepa said in a memo to Ledger-Enquirer staff, while a job bank and outplacement center will be set up at the newspaper. The Montgomery Advertiser also is expected to add workers for the new business, the memo said, with former Ledger-Enquirer employees being given “first consideration” during hiring.

“I’ve been in HR for 23 years and have a lot of contacts,” said Torbett. “We are very dedicated to assisting our employees with their job search.”

Once the production jobs are eliminated, the Ledger-Enquirer will have 109 people on its payroll. That’s down from a work force of 245 in April 2006, before the proliferation of mostly free news on the Internet and a national recession began to cut deeply into the U.S. newspaper industry’s advertising and circulation revenue.

The Ledger-Enquirer, which dates to 1828, has gone through a handful of buyouts, layoffs and operating cost cuts over the last 28 months to manage through the tidal shift in business — remaining profitable the entire time. McClatchy has cut more than 4,000 jobs companywide in that period.

“The Ledger-Enquirer has a long and proud tradition of serving this community, and this move will not affect our mission,” Canepa said in her note to employees Thursday.

“I know that weathering this recession has been exceptionally hard for all of us, but we continue to be successful because of our ability to adapt to a constantly changing economic environment,” she said.

TALENT AVAILABLE

The Ledger-Enquirer is eliminating its production department by Jan. 24. Here are skilled positions being cut and soon to be available to other employers:

-- Manager/supervisors

-- Press operators

-- Machine operators

-- Forklift operators

-- Maintenance

-- Machinist/maintenance

-- Pre-press operators

-- Plate makers

-- Mailers/inserters

Fox is Even a Bigger Winner Tuesday Than the GOP By Trouncing CNN, MSNBC

2010-11-03T17:40:00.001-04:00

Fox had its biggest midterm election night ever, reports Brian Stelter of The New York Times, by clubbing its competitors by about 300 percent.

Fox pulled in 6.96 million viewers in prime time, while CNN averaged 2.42 million viewers, and MSNBC averaged 1.94 million viewers. That's 287 percent more than CNN and 358 percent more than MSNBC.

Stelter reported that the Nielsen Co. would not have comparison numbers against the broadcast networks until tomorrow, but early indications are that Fox would beat them, too.

Among viewers 25 to 54 years old, Fox News averaged 2.43 million in prime time, Stelter writes. CNN averaged 1.03 million among that demographic and MSNBC, 669,000.

Fox averaged 3.06 million viewers during the midterms in 2006, when there was a Democratic wave, Stelter reports. Fox has grown significantly in popularity since then.

CNN, by contrast, has shrunk — it had averaged 2.97 million viewers in the midterms in 2006. MSNBC’s prime-time averages were almost the same in 2006 and 2010.

(On the night of the presidential election in 2008, CNN averaged 12.3 million viewers in prime time, Fox averaged 9 million, and MSNBC averaged 5.9 million.)

The cable news channels’ ratings were inflated all day because of the election, but Fox ratings were inflated more than the others. Fox averaged 3.02 million viewers from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Belo, Owner of the Dallas Morning News, Reports $4.6 Million Net Income in 3Q of 2010

2010-11-03T17:19:00.001-04:00

A.H. Belo Corp. today reported net income of $4.6 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2010 compared to a net loss of $5.8 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009, a company release said.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) was $14.2 million, an increase of $20 million compared to the third quarter of 2009. Third quarter 2010 EBITDA includes pension expense of $1.6 million; a $1.1 million bonus accrual; a $1.4 million gain on two real estate transactions in Dallas; a $1.2 million reversal of an accrual for workers’ compensation insurance; and $1.1 million of insurance proceeds.

When pension expense is added to EBITDA (“Adjusted EBITDA”) in both periods, the resulting Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2010 was $15.8 million, an increase of $21.6 million compared to the third quarter of 2009.

“The Board and Management Committee are very pleased with the progress reflected in A. H. Belo’s third quarter performance," chairman, president and chief executive officer Robert W. Decherd said in the release. "Our corporate and operating unit teams have worked intensely for the past two years to reach this relative stability in an industry environment that continues to change at a rapid pace.

"Third quarter total revenue decreased 6.1 percent compared to 2009 and was only 100 basis points below the company’s 2010 Financial Plan for the third quarter.

"Expense containment and cost reductions remain top priorities across the entire organization.

"As of Sept. 30, the company had approximately $81.3 million of cash and cash equivalents, no borrowings outstanding under its bank credit facility, and remained in compliance with bank covenants.

"The addition of $21.3 million of cash and cash equivalents during the third quarter further strengthens the company’s ability to maintain and enhance the quality of its local content and make decisions in the long-term interests of the company, its shareholders and its employees.”