1. Sidney Harman is full of ideas for making Newsweek a more successful magazine, including discounts on books written by Newsweek writers, connecting dots, and, "has a fundamental respect for the business aspects of the operation, who doesn't think this is somehow an artistic undertaking totally separate from the real world." WSJ
2. The Tribune Co. bankruptcy negotiations have broken down. Does this mean debtors want to see the contract even more before they're willing to make a deal? ChiTrib
3. Star Trek nerds bypass Riverside exhibit, for now. Press-Enterprise
4. Amid the travails of bankruptcy, the Los Angeles Times has a scrappier feel these days, with what feels to be a more robust watchdog-approach to local reporting than in recent years. For all the good work, Tribune has decided to get the newsroom new time clocks. Ed Padgett
Showing posts with label press-enterprise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label press-enterprise. Show all posts
Aug 23, 2010
Nov 7, 2008
Hard fall
Southern California newspapers shed at least 143 editorial jobs since Oct. 1. The largest paper, the Los Angeles Times, cut the largest number, 75; the Orange County Register cut 30, the Ventura County Star 17, the Press-Enterprise nine, the LA Weekly six, the L.A. Daily News five, and the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group one.
And more cuts are to come... the Times is expected to trim its D.C. bureau mid Novmeber and the Desert Sun of Palm Springs is expected to lose people before the end of the year as part of a Gannett-wide cutback.
And more cuts are to come... the Times is expected to trim its D.C. bureau mid Novmeber and the Desert Sun of Palm Springs is expected to lose people before the end of the year as part of a Gannett-wide cutback.
Sep 4, 2008
Press-Enterprise makes deep cuts (*Updated)
The Riverside Press-Enterprise will lose 120 employees through buyouts, the company announced today. The final day for everyone who agreed to take the package is September 12.
A.H. Belo Corporation, which owns the PE, said the buyouts here and elsewhere should save the company about $30 million a year. From the memo:
Overall, 413 employees will leave the company under the VSO [voluntary severance offer] – 270 at The Dallas Morning News, 23 at The Providence Journal, and 120 at The Press-Enterprise. The total cost of the VSO is approximately $11.2 million, the majority of which will be expensed in the third quarter.
In addition, an involuntary reduction in force will be completed by mid-to-late October to achieve the necessary remaining workforce reductions.
Read the full memo here.
*Updated: The PE reports that 30 more people will be shown the door as part of this "involuntary reduction in force."
A.H. Belo Corporation, which owns the PE, said the buyouts here and elsewhere should save the company about $30 million a year. From the memo:
Overall, 413 employees will leave the company under the VSO [voluntary severance offer] – 270 at The Dallas Morning News, 23 at The Providence Journal, and 120 at The Press-Enterprise. The total cost of the VSO is approximately $11.2 million, the majority of which will be expensed in the third quarter.
In addition, an involuntary reduction in force will be completed by mid-to-late October to achieve the necessary remaining workforce reductions.
Read the full memo here.
*Updated: The PE reports that 30 more people will be shown the door as part of this "involuntary reduction in force."
Jul 29, 2008
Pressed enterprise, part two
Citing weak profits and a "bleak" financial outlook, A.H. Belo Corporation announced this week that it plans to cut 14 percent of its workforce. Last night, employees at the Press-Enterprise in Riverside got a clearer picture of what that will mean for them.
According to a memo from CEO and Publisher Ron Redfern, job cuts will initially be made through "voluntary severance" offers. However, the company has not said exactly how many employees need to take the buyout. If not enough people leave voluntarily, Redfern warns, an "involuntary reduction in force with a lesser severance package" will follow.
In addition, the paper plans to shrink the width of the print edition, cut down on the use of wire and syndicate services, make its Newspapers in Education program online only, reduce circulation in outlying areas, and outsource some portion of its ad services. (Here's what the company is telling its investors and shareholders.)
From the Redfern memo:
Unfortunately, the outlook for the foreseeable future over the next 12 to 18 months continues to remain bleak for our business, particularly on the revenue front.
-snip-
Citing weak profits and a "bleak" financial outlook, A.H. Belo Corporation announced this week that it plans to cut 14 percent of its workforce. Last night, employees at the Press-Enterprise in Riverside got a clearer picture of what that will mean for them.
According to a memo from CEO and Publisher Ron Redfern, job cuts will initially be made through "voluntary severance" offers. However, the company has not said exactly how many employees need to take the buyout. If not enough people leave voluntarily, Redfern warns, an "involuntary reduction in force with a lesser severance package" will follow.
In addition, the paper plans to shrink the width of the print edition, cut down on the use of wire and syndicate services, make its Newspapers in Education program online only, reduce circulation in outlying areas, and outsource some portion of its ad services. (Here's what the company is telling its investors and shareholders.)
From the Redfern memo:
Unfortunately, the outlook for the foreseeable future over the next 12 to 18 months continues to remain bleak for our business, particularly on the revenue front.
-snip-
· We will be implementing action plans to further conserve newsprint and reduce distribution and circulation expenses. These will include reducing our current web width from 48” to 46,” cutting back circulation in the Desert, and moving NIE from print to solely an online service. These initiatives and others will provide significant cost savings.
· On the news and content side for print and online we will be reducing syndicate and wire services, consolidating business content resources, and continuing to rethink entertainment content as well as structural changes in news and online we might make to reduce expenses and maintain optimum focus on local news coverage.
· We will be making changes in page layout and ad production, and realigning our production workflow to extend ad deadlines to reduce expenses and provide more selling time to capture additional revenue on a daily basis. And we will be looking at outsourcing more functions.
Jul 28, 2008
Pressed enterprise
The Belo Corporation, parent of the Dallas Morning News and our own Press-Enterprise in Riverside, announced today that it will cut 14 percent of its workforce as part of a plan to bolster its flagging bottom line. The company will first offer buyout packages and then turn to "involuntary layoffs" to meet its goals.
It remains unclear exactly how many jobs are on the line at the PE. Employees have been asked to attend a meeting tonight at 6:30.
The Belo Corporation, parent of the Dallas Morning News and our own Press-Enterprise in Riverside, announced today that it will cut 14 percent of its workforce as part of a plan to bolster its flagging bottom line. The company will first offer buyout packages and then turn to "involuntary layoffs" to meet its goals.
It remains unclear exactly how many jobs are on the line at the PE. Employees have been asked to attend a meeting tonight at 6:30.
May 20, 2008
More PE in the news
Copper thieves strike the San Bernardino offices of the Press-Enterprise and meet the sharp end of the law.
Copper thieves strike the San Bernardino offices of the Press-Enterprise and meet the sharp end of the law.
Press-Enterprise blots out the Sun
A trenchant analysis of the San Bernardino Sun/Riverside Press-Enterprise circulation wars from Sun cast-away Paul Oberjuerge. His post comes in response to a triumphant memo from PE Publisher and CEO Ron Redfern, celebrating his paper's circulation growth and the losses suffered by the competition.
To wit: According to the latest readership figures from the most recent Scarborough Research report for the 12-month period ending January 2007, our total weekly print audience has grown to 825,596 – a 5.5% increase in the Los Angeles DMA, the nation’s second largest metro area, spanning five counties and more than 52,000 square miles.
This is a very significant accomplishment for our team. Why? Because The Press-Enterprise is the only newspaper of the Top 5 in the L.A. DMA to post a gain in readership. All of the others lost among the other Top 5 newspapers, The Los Angeles Daily News saw a 7% drop in readership; The Orange County Register was down 4.3%; The Los Angeles Times fell 4.1%; and The Ventura County Star was down 0.3%.
During the same period, LANG’s Inland Empire Newspaper Group division -- The Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts -- saw a 6.9% decline in its total weekly print audience.
And what’s even more exciting, The Press-Enterprise’s weekly print audience in San Bernardino County jumped 10.4%, while The Sun’s San Bernardino County audience was down 2.1%. We also saw a 5.8% increase in its Riverside County audience.
(Read PRNewswire story here.)
I encourage you to read Oberjuerge's entire post, and pay close attention to the part where the newsroom talent flows from the Sun to the PE. Investment in talent was the key strategic move here. The PE kept a relatively large staff and paid people like grownups. As a result, the PE became the paper reporters and editors went to after gaining some experience at a LANG paper. Having been offered a PE job, I have a good idea of the salary gap.
There are other factors at play, of course, and no one is saying the PE is perfect. But you can't win a war when you're busy disarming yourself.
To wit: According to the latest readership figures from the most recent Scarborough Research report for the 12-month period ending January 2007, our total weekly print audience has grown to 825,596 – a 5.5% increase in the Los Angeles DMA, the nation’s second largest metro area, spanning five counties and more than 52,000 square miles.
This is a very significant accomplishment for our team. Why? Because The Press-Enterprise is the only newspaper of the Top 5 in the L.A. DMA to post a gain in readership. All of the others lost among the other Top 5 newspapers, The Los Angeles Daily News saw a 7% drop in readership; The Orange County Register was down 4.3%; The Los Angeles Times fell 4.1%; and The Ventura County Star was down 0.3%.
During the same period, LANG’s Inland Empire Newspaper Group division -- The Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts -- saw a 6.9% decline in its total weekly print audience.
And what’s even more exciting, The Press-Enterprise’s weekly print audience in San Bernardino County jumped 10.4%, while The Sun’s San Bernardino County audience was down 2.1%. We also saw a 5.8% increase in its Riverside County audience.
(Read PRNewswire story here.)
I encourage you to read Oberjuerge's entire post, and pay close attention to the part where the newsroom talent flows from the Sun to the PE. Investment in talent was the key strategic move here. The PE kept a relatively large staff and paid people like grownups. As a result, the PE became the paper reporters and editors went to after gaining some experience at a LANG paper. Having been offered a PE job, I have a good idea of the salary gap.
There are other factors at play, of course, and no one is saying the PE is perfect. But you can't win a war when you're busy disarming yourself.
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