Mar 31, 2009

One desk, many papers

The universal copy desk is gaining popularity as a cost-savings device for the big chains. Gannett recently penned a memo outlining a plan to create a single copy desk to serve four regional newspapers in New Jersey. The company also signaled that it might merge the news desks of several newspapers in Indianapolis, according to Gannett Blog.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lang is doing this.

Anonymous said...

from chuck reilly:

This analysis is highly relevant to our situation in the Bay Area. Dean Singleton’s MediaNews Group is saddled with nearly $1 billion in debt, part of which came from the company’s purchase of the San Jose Mercury News and the Contra Costa Times.

The continuous layoffs and cost cutting at MediaNews’ Bay Area papers are driven by the need for free cash flow to make the company’s required debt payments in the face of an advertising downturn – not because the papers are failing.

Anonymous said...

sorry to say, but the universal copy desk only means there will be more layoffs.

And ...

Those layoffs won't put the company in better financial fortunes.

As far as the papers themselves, the Singleton papers are failing due to stupid management decisions across the company.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:57:

If, in your analysis, the Singleton papers are failing due to bad management, then what is your explanation for the failure, closure and collapse of all the non-Singleton papers across the country?

Anonymous said...

The analysis is based on them getting laid off by Lang at some point and they are bitter.

Anonymous said...

The reasons are the same for all papers, idiotic decisions by management.

Papers have been failing before the decline of the economy.

Anonymous said...

What ever happened to LANG's copy desk consolidation? It was suppossed to happen in March, but I never saw any postings about it happening or not.

Gary Scott said...

Anon 11:26 a.m.: The copy desk consolidation is still in the works. The Inland Division papers are now all served out of West Covina and the three Metro Division papers (PT, DB, DN) are planning to make the move this month. At least that's the last I've heard.

Anonymous said...

Gary, who doesn't like this blog to become a forum for bashing any one company or person ...got his information from his girlfriend again....what you gonna do when she get's layd off dude?
call it bad decision making?

Anonymous said...

What's left of the Metro papers' desks should be in Covina by the end of the month.
With the numbers being dependent on how many people are taking the severance instead of the transfer.
The real question is, when will they start slashing the pay of the soon-to-be-transfered down to the inland pay scale?

Anonymous said...

Why do you keep bashing on Gary for getting the info (or not) off of his girlfriend?

A journalist's job is to put the info out there...

But of course, you don't have the slightest idea of what journalism is...keep up your penny-pinching!