More furloughs for LANG

LANG employees will have to endure yet another round of furloughs. Fred Hamilton, CEO and publisher of the nine-newspaper chain, sent a memo today telling employees that they must take 5 unpaid furlough days between May 16 and July 2. LANGers will also stop accruing vacation between these dates.

For Hamilton to hastily order furloughs to be taken over such a short period of time indicates just how much pressure the company must be under to boost its bottom line before the end of the fiscal year (June 30). Indeed, Hamilton says in the same memo that LANG employees will be able to take an additional 5 paid holidays in the next fiscal year to make up for the short-term pain.

This leads me to wonder if this dramatic, last-minute action is related to a possible deal to buy the Orange County Register. LANG's parent company, MediaNews Group, is in a bidding war with the Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, to buy the Register.

It's also likely the chain is simply trying avoid further layoffs, given the revenue demands of some of its investor owners, who agreed to swallow $765 million of debt as MediaNews emerged from bankruptcy last year. The furloughs and vacation freeze come a week after layoffs at the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Hamilton said the latest actions should keep future pink slips to a trickle:

...today's action does not preclude other cost reduction measures including and not limited to reductions-in-force. At this time such actions will likely be limited and will continue to be an expense reduction alternative until the economy and our performance measurably improves.

As expressed in the past, we regret any inconvenience this action may cause you but until our financial challenges are clearly behind us, such actions are necessary.

The full memo is here.

(This post was edited)

Sanfield named interim publisher

Daily Breeze executive editor Phillip Sanfield will serve as interim publisher for the newspaper while LANG searches for a replacement for publisher Mark Ficarra, who's taking a job at the San Diego Union-Tribune. The memo:

Folks:

I’m pleased to announce that Phillip Sanfield has agreed to step in as interim publisher of the Torrance Consolidated properties. We are fortunate to have someone in Torrance who can step in with Phillip's tenure in the market. As editor of the Breeze and as a senior executive on the operating committee, he is well-equipped to keep the momentum on all fronts moving forward. Phillip will continue in his role as editor.

As I continue to familiarize myself with LANG operations over the next weeks, I will be sure to keep you all informed. In the meantime, I appreciate all that you do for our company.

Best Regards,
Fred Hamilton
President
LANG

Hamilton named LANG president

The Los Angeles Newspaper Group has promoted Fred Hamilton to become president of the nine-newspaper chain. Hamilton had served as president and publisher of LANG's Inland Division. He replaces Ed Moss, who resigned to become publisher of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

In addition, Liz Gaier, who served for a time as publisher of the Daily Breeze, will take over as interim publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News.

The company memo follows:

Los Angeles Newspaper Group (LANG) today announced the promotion of Fred Hamilton to President. Hamilton, previously President and Publisher of the Inland Division of LANG, replaces Ed Moss, who resigned to become Publisher of the San Diego Union Tribune. Hamilton brings more than 25 years of experience in the newspaper industry to this position, having previously served as publisher of several newspapers in the Western United Sates prior to joining the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

“Ed Moss did a terrific job for us as head of LANG, and we are sorry to see him go,” said Steve Rossi, President and CEO of California Newspapers Partnership, of which LANG is a part. “However, we are fortunate that Fred Hamilton is ideally suited and prepared for the top Position in LANG.”

In addition, Liz Gaier, MediaNews Group’s Senior Vice President of Business Development, was named interim Publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News. In addition to her corporate experience, Liz has considerable experience in newspaper operations, including a recent assignment as Publisher of the Torrance Daily Breeze.

*Update: The Union-Tribune gathers Moss.

Management changes in LANG's Inland Divsion*

The CEO of LANG's Inland Division sent out a memo today announcing that Steve Lambert, 52, will take over as editor and general manager of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. SGVN, as its known, is comprised of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News and Whittier Daily News. The group is also the home base of the newly consolidated copy desk.

Lambert also serves as vice president of news for all of LANG.

The memo also says Frank Pine, 37, will move out of SGVN, where he currently serves as senior editor, to become executive editor of the other two Inland Division papers: the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

The full memo from Fred Hamilton is here.

*SGVN has posted a story on the changes.