Gary Robert Scott

Sunday resurrection and roundup

2012-07-08T12:51:00.001-07:00

Billionaires to the rescue?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has an opinion piece calling on the deep pocketed to assist daily newspapers in their struggle to keep communities informed.

I don't know. This feels too late and short sighted, since newspaper owners who think they know how to survive the game are usually the first to find out how little they really know.

Just ask the people working there: Romenesko.

At this point, big checks would seem to do more to stave off the inevitable than rescue an industry that for too long lacked the humility to break up bad management structures. Instead it gutted newsrooms to ensure those at the top got their legacy pensions.

As scary fast as changes are coming now, it feels as if the corporate lamentations that pitted bottom lines against journalistic values have started to quiet. The stagnant business culture is starting to face its mortality. New lines of thought are sprouting.

Our job is to keep pushing the principles of good journalism (SCOTUSblog has gotten well-deserved attention today for doing just that) and hope the new business models coalesce around them.

Because with the big-check largesse of a single person or foundation comes demands. Look at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, which must contend with the singular benevolence of billionaire businessman and art (institution) collector Eli Broad: WWLA.

Does this mean the L.A. Times should turn the $1-million grant from the Ford Foundation? No. But the survival of news gathering institutions is going to depend on the largesse of lots of little checks: donors, members, subscribers, listeners, readers, watchers.

Metamorphoses

2011-12-04T18:19:00.001-08:00

When I began blogging in late 2007 it was to keep writing.

I was leaving the newspaper world of my own volition and wanted to keep my mind nimble and learn the medium that seemed to be at the heart of an increasingly fragmented media. I also wanted to stay abreast of issues that I might not otherwise come across being outside a newsroom.

The early content was a grab bag of politics, pajamas commentary, and occasional analytical pieces about changes in the practice of journalism. If a few dozen people decided to read the blog each month, all the better.

Then came the axe men.

Every few months the budget cutters came through the shrinking newsrooms and hacked away at what was left. It wasn't just about an industry in contraction that gripped me, it was that the ideals that were being trampled by mediocre businessmen addicted to the grubby impulse to make profit out of pink slips. It was a cheap and mindless time and I couldn't help but talk about it.

As axes gave way to buzz saws, and board rooms embraced bankruptcy, a choke of huckster visionaries started to form around the carnage. I felt compelled to offer my best perspective on who was saying smart things about the future of journalism, and who was selling snake-oil remedies. It felt useful, even if most of my audience seemed more interested in using the comments section to vent than to bask in my wisdom.

Years have passed and I have moved into management at a public radio station. I don't have time to offer the frequent updates necessary to keep the blog moving.

Instead, I'm going to take what I learned the last few years, including from work on this blog, to do my job better. I'll continue to write here and would appreciate hearing from my readers what they think should come next. But I won't be a reliable repository of job cut updates anymore.

Onward.

Press-Enterprise editor heads to Tennessee

2011-12-01T17:06:00.001-08:00

Maria De Varenne will become the executive editor of The Tennessean after 10 years as editor of the Press-Enteprise in Riverside. Nels Jensen will takeover duties at the P-E.

Union-Tribune sold

2011-11-17T12:11:00.001-08:00

Platinum Equity has turned around and sold the San Diego Union-Tribune two years after buying the newspaper. The new owner will be a real estate company MLIM, owned by Doug Manchester, reports The Wrap. Now, real estate entrepreneurs and newspapers don't always mix well (see here), but Manchester does have the advantage of being local.

Voice of San Diego had this to say in a story presaging the sale:

If Manchester bought the newspaper outright, he'd get a key piece of property that local real estate analysts have said was a valuable part of the Union-Tribune's 2009 sale to Platinum: The company's main building, which sits on 13 acres in Mission Valley, just south of the Fashion Valley mall.

Fake news written by fake people

2011-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Scandal stories about water districts in Southern California (and maybe everywhere) often involve the cloistered ways in which the boards do business - and the generosity with which they pay themselves for doing shady business.

The Central Basin Municipal Water District has found an original way to make scandal news. The public body hired a "news" outfit to write favorable articles about the district and then got them posted on Google News as though they were legitimate. Essentially, the stories were thinly disguised public relations pieces.

Now the Los Angeles Times, which broke the Google story, has discovered that the hired-gun journalists being paid to write the water district's PR weren't really journalists - and, in fact, weren't really people.

Mike Adams, the lead writer for a company calling itself News Hawks, appeared to be imaginary. From the Times:

News Hawks also presented a picture of Adams, showing a stoic man with a gray beard and a black cowboy hat. A reader notified The Times that the photo was a stock image used to demonstrate editing techniques on websites such as deviantart.com.

From there, the picture was traced to photographer Leroy Skalstad, who said he took the shot at a Milwaukee food bank last year and posted it to several photo-sharing websites. He said the subject of the picture is a man nicknamed "Cobra."

Press-Telegram journalist Larry Allison was 77

2011-11-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

From the Press-Telegram obit:

LONG BEACH — A newsman to his core and to the end, Larry Allison spent 54 years in Long Beach journalism and worked in it until just days before he went into the hospital.
Allison died Sunday night from complications after a two-week battle with pneumonia. He was 77.

Beginning as a reporter at the Independent, Press-Telegram in 1957 and working in virtually every department in the paper through editor. He was until his final days both a voice of the community and the official voice of the paper as Editorial Page Editor.

Regardless of the positions he took for the newspaper, Allison was hailed by representatives from varied political and social viewpoints as invariably fair and accessible. His positions were seen by most as reasoned and journalistically sound. ...

Layoffs at the Press-Enterprise

2011-11-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

The Press-Enterprise in Riverside on Tuesday cut several newsroom staffers Tuesday. At least one of the names I was originally given turned out to be incorrect, so I've removed the information from this post until I can confirm exactly who was laid off.

(this post was updated)

Jobs at KCRW

2011-11-01T22:31:00.001-07:00

For those who might be interested, KCRW is hiring a promotions manager and a communications manager. Job descriptions are here.

Two more gone from Press-Telegram

2011-10-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

Long Beach Press-Telegram city editor John Futch and sports writer Doug Krikorian received layoff notices last week as part of the consolidation efforts between that paper and the Daily Breeze/Daily News. Krikorian was offered a freelance slot but declined.

Digital First Media now a MediaNews and Journal Register mashup

2011-10-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Digital First Media's inhalation of the MediaNews Group and the Journal Register Company has resulted in a new management team, with executives from the two newspaper companies being reassigned as Digital First officers under CEO John Paton.

Journal Register CFO Jeff Bairstow was named president of Digital First Media; Jim Brady becomes editor in chief, having previously served as the Journal Register's editor-in-chief, and David Butler, who headed MediaNews Group's California papers, is now executive editor of Digital First.

The three members of the Journal Register's journalism advisory board also become the advisory board for Digital First. They are well known media critics Jay Rosen of New York University's journalism program, CUNY professor and BuzzMachine blogger Jeff Jarvis, and Emily Bell of Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism.

Here's the memo announcing the changes:

Digital First Media, which jointly manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company, announced today the appointments of key executives in sales, content and operational positions.

“With today’s announcement we are putting into place the very best team to lead both MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company in implementing our Digital First strategy,” said John Paton, CEO of Digital First Media. “I am excited about the depth and breadth of talent we have assembled from both companies as we continue to work to serve our communities and growing audience. Like all legacy media companies making this important transition to Digital, we have a long way to go to fulfill that promise. Today marks an important first step.”

Jeff Bairstow was named President of Digital First Media. Mr. Bairstow, joined Journal Register Company in 2010 and was, until recently, Journal Register Company’s Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Mr. Bairstow – who was also named President of MediaNews Group – will oversee daily operations across Journal Register Company and MediaNews Group.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the knowledge of these two companies – both in traditional journalism and digital product development – into a unified leadership team that will drive the necessary digital transformation to power our growth,” said Mr. Bairstow.

Ron Mayo was named Chief Financial Officer of Digital First Media. Mr. Mayo will retain his duties as CFO of MediaNews Group in addition to his new role.
Named as Executive Vice Presidents of Digital First Media were:

- Jerry Grilly, who will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Denver Post; Steve Rossi, who is responsible for the company’s California operations; and Tom Wiley, who has served as a group publisher for Journal Register Company.

- Arturo Duran, who joined Journal Register Company in 2010 as Executive Vice President for Digital, was named Chief Digital Officer.

- Kirk MacDonald, who has served as The Denver Post’s Executive Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Digital Sales since July 2009, was named Executive Vice President of Sales. Adam Burnham, who has served as Journal Register Company’s Vice President of Local Sales, was named Senior Vice President of Local Digital Sales.

- William Higginson, who has worked for Journal Register Company since its founding and most recently served as President, was named Executive Vice President of Operations.

Jim Brady, who was named Journal Register Company’s Editor-in-Chief earlier this year, was named Editor-in-Chief of Digital First Media. David J. Butler, who has served as Vice President of News for MediaNews Group and Editor of the San Jose Mercury News, was named Executive Editor.

Named as Vice Presidents of Digital First Media were: Jonathan Cooper, who recently served as Vice President of Content for Journal Register Company; Sara Glines, who recently served as Vice President of Field Operations for MediaNews Group; and Joe Miller, who has served as Journal Register Company’s Vice President for Real Estate, was named Vice President for Real Estate.

Bob Mason, who has served as Journal Register Company’s Chief Technology Officer since 2010, has been named Chief Technology Officer for Digital First Media.
Robert Monteleone, who has served Chief Human Resources Officer for Journal Register Company, was named Chief Human Resources Officer for Digital First Media.

Along with the management appointments, Mr. Paton also announced appointments to the Digital First Media Advisory Board. Named to the Advisory Board were:

- Jeff Jarvis, Associate Professor and Director of the Interactive Journalism program and the new business models for news project at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism.

- Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.

- Jay Rosen, Ph.D, professor and former chair of the journalism program at New York University.

Mr. Jarvis, Ms. Bell and Mr. Rosen had previously served as members of Journal Register Company’s Advisory Board.

LA Weekly editor stepping down

2011-10-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

Drex Heikes told his staff today that he will step down as editor-in-chief of the LA Weekly. LA Observed published his memo to employees in which he says he take time to consider next steps - and let's his stable of writers know they'll now be working with Jill Stewart.

Heikes came to the Weekly two years ago from the Las Vegas Sun, where he helped craft a series that won the Sun a Pulitzer Prize.

No food, no features at Daily News*

2011-10-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

The Daily News of Los Angeles has cut features editor Sharyn Betz and food editor Natalie Haughton, according to LA Observed. A source inside the paper say they expect more cuts in the days ahead and possible further editorial consolidation between the Daily News, Daily Breeze and Press-Telegram.

*Updated, 10/21: LA Observed's headline says it all: "LANG papers begin the inevitable consolidation." The inevitable consolidation begins with the naming of Carolina Garcia as editor of the Daily News, Daily Breeze, and Press-Telegram, under three-paper publisher Jack Klunder. Toni Sciacqua will become managing editor - digital; a designation that says a lot about the future direction of the news cluster.

People who work at the three papers think this step will lead to more layoffs, as the papers eliminate redundancy. It's possible this is also a first step toward consolidation of all nine LANG papers, as happened with BANG in Northern California.

Warren Olney gets an award

2011-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Warren Olney, host of KCRW's "Which Way, LA?" and "To The Point" will be one of three honorees on Tuesday to receive the inaugural Bill Stout Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. KPCC's Larry Mantle and Patt Morrison will also receive the award.

Buyouts in Denver

2011-10-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Denver Post wants at least 20 newsroom staffers to take buyouts as a way to cut costs. This would represent 8 percent of newsroom employees. If the plan falls short, layoffs could follow.

Four Tuesday

2011-10-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

1. Are all CEOs above average? WashPost

2. Michael Henry becomes the interim publisher of the Orange County Register. "I don't see anything really changing," says Henry, who once worked for the Resolution Trust Corp. OC Register

3. Former Los Angeles Times blog editor Tony Pierce is the new blog editor for KPCC. busblog

4. Photographer William Lewis III is leaving the Press-Enterprise and moving to France. This brings the staff to about six, according to one source.

NPR picks Sesame Street CEO

2011-10-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

NPR has appointed Gary Knell, who ran the company that produced Sesame Street, as its new CEO. He replaces Vivian Schiller, who resigned in the wake of the Juan Williams PR disaster.

Jury duty

2011-09-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

If you come here regularly, you'll notice that the same post has been up since Sept. 16. I've been on jury duty all month and haven't been able to keep up with the blog while also trying to keep up with work. I expect I'll be out at least another week. I'll try to post a few updates if I can.

Publisher consolidation in LANG

2011-09-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

At least one LANG publisher, probably at the Daily Breeze, was laid off today, probably as part of the consolidation everyone predicted would happen as Digital First Media takes over operations at MediaNews Group (see post below).

Hopefully there will be fewer companies to reference once the DFM strategy gets underway.

MediaNews gets new leadership

2011-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

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.

Four for the weekend

2011-09-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

1. Borzou Daragahi, who is leaving the Los Angeles Times for the Financial Times, had this to say about a proposed bonus package for Tribune Co. bosses: Tribune 2 give $42.5 million bonuses to 640 managers that could be used 2 hire 640 journos http://bit.ly/q2GLT4 #media

2. Speaking of the LA Times: No more vacation accrual for the rest of the year, LA Observed reports.

3. Steve Lambert, editor and publisher of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, has stepped down, according to several sources. Lambert previously worked at the San Bernardino Sun, which is part of the same MediaNews Group chain of papers.

4. The LA Times laid off ten pressroom employees today. Pressmens blog

From BANG to LANG?

2011-08-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

MediaNews Group's decision to merge its 12 Bay Area newspapers into three has led to speculation that the company could do something similar with its nine Southern California papers, collectively known as the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

I can only speculate myself, but I see the potential for structural mimicry if MediaNews succeeds in its stalled bid to buy the Orange County Register.

With the Register, LANG would look more like the Bay Area News Group did before yesterday's merger, with the Register playing the role of the Mercury News: a large paper with a statewide brand in a relatively affluent county that could serve as an editorial center of gravity for a larger region. The LANG papers already exist as three clusters of three, a structure that could be collapsed into two or three newspapers.

However, MediaNews would have to have a reason to further consolidate LANG. One obvious reason would be a desire to cut staff to lower costs - the BANG merger led to 120 layoffs. I might be wrong, but I think LANG was already leaner than BANG in terms of staff and so might not be able to stand such a huge "streamlining." (Indeed, the Register itself might be more vulnerable if cuts are a priority.)

Another reason could be that MediaNews actually believes the BANG model is more efficient and effective: Fewer brand names, a more uniform editorial approach, better positioning to do mobile, etc.

One reason MediaNews might leave LANG alone, even after a Register deal, would be to give it time to evaluate the Bay Area merger to see what works and what doesn't. Undoubtedly, there will be backlash from readers and circulation will probably drop (though the consolidation will mask some of this). But this feels like a post-print production plan and so BANG might be the guinea pig that gets isolated and studied until it recovers - or doesn't.

BANG goes boom

2011-08-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

MediaNews Group announced today that its Bay Area News Group will undergo a major consolidation that will merge 12 newspapers into three and eliminate 120 jobs - 48 of the positions are in the newsroom, KQED reports. When all is finished, BANG will consist of the Mercury News, The Times and East Bay Tribune.

BANG is using words like "streamlining" and "rebranding" to describe the merging and cutting. The actions should not come as a surprise given the decision MediaNews made in June to consolidate editorial control of the papers.

Here's part of the story (which appears to have been written by an ad agency) published on the soon-to-be retooled Contra Costa Times website:

Bay Area News Group (BANG) today announced a rebranding of many of its newspapers to better reflect the scope of its regional coverage. The changes - which include a streamlining of its print operations - primarily involve its East Bay newspapers, and will result in greater emphasis on providing high-impact, regional and local coverage.

-snip-

The streamlining of its print operations will also result in a reduction of approximately 120 jobs - primarily in the production and editorial divisions - out of a local workforce of 1,500 employees.

Management at MediaNews will argue, as it does in the story, that this consolidation is about much more than job cuts; that its a necessary step to position the BANG as a competitive news outlet in the rough and tumble 21st century. And maybe this smaller knot of news power will get the job done. But we cannot overlook the fact that this recently bankrupt company is trying to raise $350 million to buy newspapers from Freedom Communications. And we know editorial power wanes when you eliminate four dozen news staffers.

Or as the San Francisco Chronicles' Carla Marinucci tweeted: “Corporate PR spin: Release from CA’s Bay Area News Group, announcing decimation of its newspaper/staff chain tday, calls it ‘rebranding.’” (found via Romenesko)

Stalled negotiations in bid for OC Register stall again

2011-08-22T14:17:00.001-07:00

Europe is always doing something. And this time, that something is being blamed for delaying the sale of the Orange County Register.

According to the Wall Street Journal, MediaNews Group's $350 million bid to buy the Register and the rest of Freedom Communications's newspaper holdings stalled because of instability in the markets caused by the European debt crisis.

Talks stalled earlier this year over price, but apparently MediaNews, through a number of cost-cutting actions, offered enough money to get Freedom on board. The Journal says talks might resume in a few weeks, if the markets calm down a bit.

MediaNews extends paywalls

2011-08-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

MediaNews Group today announced that 23 of its paper will go behind digital paywalls - at least part way. The affected papers include two in Southern California, the Whittier Daily News and the Redlands Daily Facts. Print subscribers will be charged $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year for full access; digital-only subscriptions cost $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year.

Under the plan, online home pages, obits and classified ads will remain free. Business, feature, and sport stories go behind the walls. This is an extension of the experiment MediaNews started last year in Chico, California and York, Pennsylvania.

My sense is the papers will depend on prep sports to drive print subscribers to pay a little extra. The papers are also some of the smallest in the MediaNews universe.

Here's how MediaNews is selling the paywall:

Our new digital business model reflects the high value we place on professional journalism and helps us to fund our local reporting at a time of unprecedented change in the way people use and consume news and information.

Four Thursday

2011-08-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

1. Science writer Thomas Maugh departed the Los Angeles Times in what is expected to be an unrelenting month of layoffs and buyouts at the paper. LAO

2. Alan Mutter remains bearish on the newspaper business, despite all the cutbacks. Mutter

3. The Onion wants a paywall, but the Washington Post wants to stay free (for now). Romenesko

4. Gannett's Florida Today laid off 25 percent of its newsroom, bringing the total number of employees to 57. Gannett Blog