MediaNews Group has given up trying to figure out the Internet for itself. And that's probably a good thing if you've ever visited a MNG website. The company has turned over the management keys to Digital First Media, which is run by John Paton, the CEO of the Journal Register Company.
The deal will make Paton CEO of MediaNews as well. The deal looks like a merger, and probably is a merger, but it won't immediately result in a merging of Journal Register and MediaNews properties. As Ken Doctor explains, in a comprehensive rundown of what the deal is likely to mean, "While digital first is the strategy, the mating of MediaNews and Journal Register is about combination, about efficiency."
Efficiency, in the short run, is likely to mean fewer executives at the regional level (look to BANG as a model), more partnerships with national news providers, regional or national consolidation of content (politics, sports, entertainment?), and a video camera for all reporters.
The recently rolled out MediaNews paywalls could stay up. Or they could come down.
Although this kind of change has probably brought The Fear to MNG newsrooms around the country, economics writer Felix Salmon surmises the merger has the potential to be successful in a way that AOL's Patch might not:
The first and most important reason is that local newspapers are, and always have been, the first best source of local ad-sales talent. They know their towns, they know their advertisers, they know their readers. Local advertising relationships are valuable and expensive things to build, and AOL doesn’t have any. On the other side of the editorial divide, local newspapers are also the first best source of local news, and are generally much more respected and trusted in local communities than any cookie-cutter Patch site is likely to become.
On an individual, case-by-case basis, it’s possible to find hyperlocal websites which are better than the local print rag. And of course it’s trivially true that wherever there isn’t a local print newspaper, any Patch site would be an improvement on nothing. But if you’re looking for a national-scale business with trust and local content in the community, Digital First is an obvious place to start. More than Patch, and indeed more than Groupon, too.Better than Groupon!?
Well, reporters who have no desire to haul video cameras into city hall should remain reasonably alarmed. And people who worry that this portends further consolidation, and probably more job cuts, should probably remain worried. But at least the unknowns are becoming known.
As for Paton, he blogs, which, hopefully, means he understands words on a screen. That's also an advantage over a bunch of older executives worrying about how to cobble together their retirement packages before the Internet grinds the company finances to dust.
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58 comments:
I just love that he used the word "mating."
Wait to this guy takes a look at the cards he was dealt with medianews. As far as mating, the term praying mantise seems about right.
If he can right this ship I will bow to his brilliance. I doubt that there is any chance of that happening.
When did MediaNews have any leadership? New or old. Let's not count bad.
this Paton guy seems to have a clue, based on that Ken Doctor piece. the question is whether MNG can be fixed. that column mentioned a lot of challenges, like MNG's "lots of different legacy systems" still in place. you could say the same thing about its management, local and otherwise. decades of squeezing your company dry and weakening your product does not attract top talent.
Forget top talent, how about any talent. I hate to be negative without giving the guy a chance, but knwoing mng, it is hard not to. I still haven't figured out what he did at the journal register except take a very crappy company, run poorly and apply some discipiline. The news hounds loved him because of his mantra of internet first. I don't see any numbers that confirm his success. He has a different animal with mng, a legacy system of crap and more crap. Not much talent if any and clearly none on the electronic side...check out their web pages and their revenue, a complete joke. Good luck Mr Patton. Maybe you can be like Singleton a decade ago and get a lot of ink without much substance.
The current management is lousy. There's a new unconventional guy whose colorful and says he has the secret formula, but won't give out any hard numbers. Everybody who disagrees with him is an out of touch "newspaper person."
Where have I heard this before.
Oh yah, some guy named Zell
This will be fun to watch unless you are an employee. It is a shame lambert is leaving, he could have been the lynchpin for the new online plans that will turn the company around. I may be a bit off base here, but I cannot think of one item that I would miss if all of their newspapers stopped publishing, at least in langland. There is nothing I can't find quicker, in more depth, and covered as well or better than they deliver. I will misss all the posts here when they disappear.
The turn around is coming.
Web Only.....Newspapers Next..... Internet First !! Wow how many Ideas can they they dream up and give a flashy " futuristic " name !
I'm sure they had many meetings at the ranch and played the trust game and went on the zip-line to figure that out.
They are trying so hard to be Patch it's funny.
I still work at the paper and laugh at all you idiots, you act like Lang or Media news are the only struggling papers in the country. Get a life, move on, you venting and throwing stones is probably the reason you got fired, we don't need all your negativity, that negativity was a cancer in the newsroom, good riddance. And for the record, Lambert is a good dude who worked with the cards he was dealt. Most of you are just a bunch of sour old farts who could never do a better job anyway.
Hey yungster ... I resemble that remark!
No shit...newspapers are having a tough time everywhere. Thanks for the news flash. You must be a helluva investigative reporter! Everyone plays with the cards they are dealt. It is what you do with those cards that determines a leader or an also ran. What did he do on the circ side of the biz, the ad side, the communication side, the readership side, the internet side...don't think the report card would shine. The cancer in that organization starts at the top with lamberts bosses on up. Get the picture.
Sigh...seems like most of you are ready to throw dirt on us instead of suggesting ideas to help us climb out of the grave you keep digging. If Lambert wants to go...let him. Good luck to him. If you still work for this company then let's all figure out how to make it work. Ultimately, when you're sitting in that interview for your next job and the question "So, what have you done in your current job that you can be proud of?" comes along, is your answer going to direct the interviewer to your recent postings here?
To the clown at 5:06. During the past couple of years myself and many others have listed several items that your newspapers could do to climb out of the grand canyon you are in. Not one has been adopted. Face it, you work for a crap organization with crap leadership. This company is flawed and won't be fixed. Let me know in six months what your new leadership has done to turn you around. Chances are you and many others won't be there due to the fact that bankruptcy and a business model long outdated run the show. And just to give you a couple of ideas, how about a comp plan that incents sales to sell, a circ dept that delivers the newspapers on time and with all sections, special sections that don't pander to your clients, giving readers actual local news, and heaven forbid, market your product. This is low hanging fruit...how much else do you think is out there? Try placing an online ad in your system...priceless.
2:34 you still work at the paper? i'm sooo sorry. my condolences.
to the person who posted at 2:34 - most people left the place on their own volition. you still work there you say. poor dude. no foresight, eh? or is it that you are one of the other "victims" who is comfy cozy and afraid to leave the nest and move on to bigger and better. much better!!! i guess if you could do better, you would. and lambert is irrelevant at this point. no use in bantering.
If you moved on to better situations, why would you spend your time here continually whining about the papers and the people who still work there? Many of the people still there are there because they like the work, are good at it, and are hopeful for a turnaround. Everyone from the beginning knew they wouldn't get rich. Hopefully Paton can succeed in doing things MediaNews management, like Lambert, never did.
If that doesn't happen, what's it to you? You supposedly had such foresight you found something better to do. Or are those people left behind more essential than you and it eats away at you?
Either way. Let it go, stop bitching and move on.
I used to work for LANG. I left on my own. I come here to bitch about the horrible management and quality of the newspapers partly because I remain angry about how I was treated when I was there, but mostly because I still live in a community "served" by a MNG paper, and it makes me irate to see how the nincompoops who run the company have destroyed a vital community institution with their greed and incompetence.
@6:57 AM, why look away from what corporate executives are doing all across this country?
People will stop bitching about corporate greed and fraud when the corporate executives stop indulging in such behavior.
The lowly, crooked treatment and layoffs are going to continue, and it does nothing but enable the corporate executives when so many people just like you are telling those who get hit the hardest to essentially shut up.
It is the posters who still work at lang and continue to support the organization. Now, I am all for supporting the organization that employees you, am all for doing the best job you can do, all for working hard and hope things get better. However, at some point you have to realize that your support is not returned. They could care less about you, other employees, readers and advertisers. Actions speak louder than words and their actions are shameful.
my comment disappeared but 8:58 summed it up nicely, thanks. we all invested a lot of effort, time, trust, and hope into this company, and we're still following its every move because we're still so angry at the disgraceful way everything we put into the company was pissed away by mopes like Lambert.
6:57 it ain't gonna get any better. straight from the horse's mouse. i respect you but feel for you...you are in denial. READ:
Dean Singleton: You know, MediaNews today has perhaps 40 percent fewer employees than it had five years ago. And the number of employees it takes to do what we need to do will continue to decrease, because the revenue stream has decreased and the revenue generated online on a per-eyeball basis is not the same as the revenue generated in print. So the move to be more and more efficient in what we do will continue. I don’t think there’s any newspaper company in America that won’t have fewer people a year from now than they have today, and fewer still in two to three years. We will continue to outsource more and more functions in order to bring the cost of doing business down. We’ll continue to operate with smaller infrastructures, less management, more feet on the street. The number of people all of us have working for us will over time continue to decrease. That’s the way the business model is going."
a direct quote from singleton:
"We will continue to outsource more and more functions in order to bring the cost of doing business down. We’ll continue to operate with smaller infrastructures, less management, more feet on the street. The number of people all of us have working for us will over time continue to decrease."
i sincerely hope the folks are paying attention. it doesn't get an crystal clear than this.
That more feet on the street bullshit was 4-5 years ago along with the brilliant newspapers next. Both terrible time wasters and massive failures. I wonder if there is anyone left in that organization that ever sold anything.
It appears the verdict is in for medianews. BYEBYE.
9/11/2011 Huffington Post: Journal Register and MediaNews Group join forces under Digital First Media. The handwriting is on the wall. Paton's recent mantra: "digital first and print last." The NEW company joins two newspaper groups...
If you still think print media is going to stay, work for a small weekly paper or look for a new job.
I logged on just to verify that the kind of people who spend an inordinate amount of time crying about their former employer are the kind that do so on the anniversary of 9/11.
Thanks.
Perspective, jackasses.
6:57 and 3:13: I will always be amazed at how cynical and low company management-slugs and their stooges will go to put down the rank and file.
Now crawl back under your rocks.
I'm sure a good "public relations" job is waiting for you somewhere in a quack-medical institution, a corrupt county supervisor's office or some Ponzi-hedge-fund manager's office. I'm sure they will welcome you with open tentacles. Fare well you there for the rest of your groveling days.
Ditto above. Maybe you two can tell us what we can do all of the other days of the year. I am sure that there are many difficult days of the year that each of us face. So, taking your lead, we should all curl up in the fetal position and cry. It looks like you have discovered the spirit that makes your company great.
Oh brother. Your bitterness has made you delusional, 3:50. I am rank-and-file. And enjoy what I do.
If your personality matches your writing, no wonder they don't need your melodrama.
I bet you sit when you pee.
I'm in MNG. And they're in your head.
Well well, how cute of Felix Salmon to surmise ... Mr. Salmon I can see how proud you are to be a TRUE blogger, not one of these online interlopers from AOL Patch. You almost sound like you know what you're talking about.
Don't tell me, you know a couple of Patchers who know a couple of Patchers and you've heard things about how it's going at the top ... Let me tell you how it's going at the bottom: Many of those who run the Patch sites come from the "much more respected and trusted" community publications. They are the ones who were tossed aside by "the first best source of local news."
Believe it or not, they were not tossed aside because they were bad reporters/writers. I know that is tough to understand.
And you obviously have a tremendous amount of faith that Paton is going to be able to undo the enormous mess that MNG created, not only with its sites, but with its papers.
Of course Lean Dean got ahead of Paton by slashing the newsrooms before Paton (a known slasher himself) is able to get in there and do it himself.
At this point, the LANG papers have only slightly more staff than Patch.
They have lost a large number of the community. But I guess your logic is that the brand is enough. All you need essentially is the name Los Angeles Daily News and the web tools and you're in.
I'll go ahead and pretend you're right that the advantage is obvious.
Advertising is going to be everyone's problem.
What we don't seem to be addressing, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, is that no matter how much of a savior Singleton, um, er, sorry, my mistake, PATON is, the writers will not be saved in their current form.
They are going to be forced to go pick up a damned camera, video and still, report the story in its different forms, then hit the social media with it.
You think it's easy to get print reporters to switch gears? You haven't been paying attention have you? Even if they had the motivation, they don't have the tools.
These poor reporters are miserable in these newsrooms and they are leading the charge?
Patch may not be the end all, be all but at least they are not sitting on their asses. They are moving ahead.
Felix, if you don't like Patch, just say so.
8;55, it is a shame you are not in readers and advertisers heads, then maybe your company will survive. I think not.
I am all for giving maximum support to a company that employees me till they screw me over and over again. Support then becomes enabling. Make a sacrafice or two for the long term good, understandable. Continue to sacrafice when the so called leaders don't is stupidity. If you think your new savior will be the answer, well, keep hope alive.
As far as posting on 9/11, 3:13, you are a nut case.
Let's get back on point. Where can I get one of those well paying PR jobs with a hospital, government or hedge something companies?
8:55 PM: ROTFLMAO! I hope I do sit when I pee, you Schweddy Balls eatin' nutter! They downsized our janitorial staff here.
... and I'll BET you're rank-and-file. ;-) ;-) ;-)
Sure kid. Rank maybe.
What is the flavor of Kool-Aid they're serving where you work today? (Answer that and I'll know what newsroom to find you in!)
@9:50 AM: I'll get back to you on that.
9:50 - how about you figure that out yourself? oh wait, you don't know how. otherwise you would have already. bummer.
No really, where can I get a high paying PR job with a hedgerow company or superintending the quakes or something. Whatever he said. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about.
3:13, Sept. 11, So you "logged on just to verify that the kind of people who spend an inordinate amount of time crying about their former employer are the kind that do so on the anniversary of 9/11," did you? What does that say about you? Sounds hypocritical if you ask me. Why do that on such a hallowed day? It sounds like you're whining about people whining. And then, you call people "jackasses." How mature of you. And how considerate of you, on Sept. 11, to call other people with legitimate criticisms "jackasses."
Do you ever look in the mirror to do some self-reflection? And by that, I don't mean staring at yourself lovingly in a mirror.
I'm so done with this blog. It used to be informative, but now it has turned into a bunch of bratty kids throwing spitballs at each other.
good riddance
I'm not a brat! You are! Not me!
Welcome, new "leadership," same as the old leadership. Salt Lake City hit with layoffs today. Denver Post next? Others in LANG and BANG?
more layoffs? not at medianews, the happiest place on earth. they have to pay for that new leadership somehow don't they. lets see how much money the new buzzwords make them...digital first, another joke.
People change. Times change. Technology advances. Saying that it’s wrong for newspapers to try to be successful in a digital world is like saying we should all give up our TVs and go back to listening to AM radio for our entertainment like they did in the “good old days.”
The growing pains of progress are intense right now and every one of us is being challenged to come up with new ways of living and thriving. It’s certainly not the time to throw in the towel and adopt the mindset that all hope is lost.
Opportunities abound but are hard to see when we focus on the past and continue to look for someone or something to blame because we have been prodded outside of our comfort zones.
Live in the now, embrace the evolution of the universe and show up to life each everyday grateful you have yet another chance to be an integral part of the human race.
5:36, a thoughtful well written post. I can't disagree with you when it comes to your basic theme, things change. The issue for many posters who respond here is not that they are unwilling to change, growing pains, shared sacrafice, tough business etc. It is that their company hasn't adopted that attitude. It starts from the top. The people in charge have done everything they can to turn the clock back to a m radio days. No innovation, no out of the box thinking and as a matter of fact, they can't even run the old business model correctly. Ask a subscriber or an advertiser. Change is not the enemy, the enemy is ineptness from the top, ineptness in dealing with employees and customers.
3:33: Like I said in my last post, every American is being challenged to find new ways of doing things. And it’s just as difficult for those in charge as it for the rest of us.
No one goes into business thinking that they want to fail. But when things start looking bleak, it’s easy to go into survival mode and start making choices based on fear.
That being said, as long as we continue believing we are victims of the system, that is exactly what we will continue to be. If we don’t agree with the way our leaders are doing things, it’s best to seek out a new work situation that has leadership we are aligned with.
By continuing to blame people at the top and focus on what you perceive as their shortcomings, you are holding yourself back from focusing on all the good things that await you.
I’ll leave you with this statement I saw on a Billboard not that long ago that really inspired me: “Microsoft was started in a recession.”
Well, now you are taking a plunge that I can't agree with. At some point those in charge need to take responsibility for their actions and inactions. This recession was not a surprise. As a matter of fact, the newspaper recession has been going on for years way prior to the so called recession. These leaders have had many years to become enlightend and creative and for whatever reason they haven't. They continue to make the same mistakes looking for a different outcome. When you are in charge of a company you get the ying and the yang. When you are in an economic downturn, a couple of things you can clearly focus on is make it more painful for your competitors, and be in a better position to gain share when you return to economic normalcy. Theses leaders have done neither. The janitors, sales teams, circulation dept, etc aren't going to make the decisions that win or lose the war, the leaders are. This group has failed for years and will continue to do so.
Read the article from Paul Oberjuerge to see what the last leader they fired was like.
Just because you work for someone doesn’t make you powerless. However, that does seem to be the popular belief among many people.
We are in control of our own lives and make choices everyday that steer us in both positive and negative directions.
I, for one, want to stay on a positive track and draw prosperity into my life. Bitterness and resentment are only going to push it away, so why would I want to go around harboring those things?
Yes, we are sometimes dealt a bad hand but in my way of thinking, it’s really a gift that holds the lessons we need to learn to take us to the next level.
My wish is that everyone in our business who has been disappointed by it finds the security and contentment they seek. Our talents have been given to us for a reason and when one door closes, you can be sure that another opportunity is right around the corner.
Be encouraged that although newspapers may not survive, you most certainly will!
not sure what train of thought you are on but it aint based on reality. maybe you are a frustrated fortune cookie writer or a believer in turn the other cheek and the world will take care of you. look, face it, there are not so nice people on the planet, choosing to believe otherwise is denial. this company is flawed so is management. may you live long and prosper little grasshopper.
I have to agree with the post right above me. Whoever is writing this mushy crap has got to be living in a Efing dream world. The company leaders have never lead, except to disaster after disaster. If anyone speaks up in this company, we are ignored or worse, lead out the back door first chance they get. This is a place where if the leaders don't come up with an idea, it is no good and you should be quiet. I've seen many talented people give their opinion only to see them in the unemployment line soon after. I'm going to fly under the radar and be a yes boss person until I have to turn out the lights myself because that is where this is inevitably going. And for all those who write "Having said that..." U come directly from management because that's one of the stupid things you always say.
Ipads are cool, Iphones are cool, mediaNews newspaper are not. They have failed to reach and connect to the Ipad generation.
MediaNews has cut local Art & Entertainment and or the underground art scene who are hip Ipad/Iphone users. Also sports.
Make newspapers cool again by producing original local stories.
Copy pasting them into other newspaper defeats the local purpose.
PS Tweeting & Facebooking won't save newspapers
Most obvious, medianews is not alone. They are at the bottom of the pack, but, not alone. I believe that they have no hope. It is impossible to turn that tugboat around. They won't hire journalists to get the unique content. If they did, they can't sell it to advertisers. If they did, they can't increase the circ base or stem the tide of circ and readership losses. They are playing in a fixed game and they aren't holding the deck. By fixed, I mean much more capable firms, news and technology that have something of value to offer. Look, they have fallen off the mountain but still breathing because they have a couple of seconds left prior to impact.
They shouldn't call it " Clustering "they should call it " Watering Down. "
9:10 you rock. right on. exactly. the only thing is ask is why are you going to wait to turn out the lights? why not be proactive and make some moves to get off the sinking ship and better yourself? why be so passive?
to 9-15 8:41,
I'm old enough to have saved enough in my life time. I'm just holding on to my paycheck as long as I can.
if you have the financial independence then it is much easier to laugh at their bullshit...good for you.
AOL Patch is beginning to spoil and FAST!
Getting something new implies that you had something in the beginning.
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