http://www.mnguild.org Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union Copyright 2008 Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union en-us Thu, 15 May 2008 03:06:44 -0400 Thu, 15 May 2008 03:06:44 -0400 http://www.sjguild.org/rss/jpg/MNGuild.jpg http://www.mnguild.org 140 55 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004412169_mcclatchy14.html The head of the company that holds a minority interest in The Seattle Times Co. said Tuesday he’s willing to part with that stake. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004412169_mcclatchy14.html http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003803234 The Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times spent months discussing a possible circulation partnership in Orange County, but broke off the talks two months ago, according to executives at Freedom Communications, which owns the Register. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003803234 http://www.minnpost.com/davidbrauer/2008/05/13/1852/strib_guild_no_new_management_no_new_labor_either As dedicated readers of this space know, the Star Tribune has just begun labor negotiations with newsroom employees. This isn’t inside baseball: the results will go a long way to determining the quality of information you’ll get from the region’s top news source. http://www.minnpost.com/davidbrauer/2008/05/13/1852/strib_guild_no_new_management_no_new_labor_either http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003803671 Journal Register Co., facing default on its $625 million debt this summer, has been offered a $25 million infusion of cash by a Cleveland shareholder who wants a significant ownership stake, the troubled community newspaper publisher disclosed Wednesday. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003803671 ncoming Newspaper Guild prez: Industry too pessimistic Challenger Bernie Lunzer, whose election as Newspaper Guild president is expected to be certified on Thursday, said he wants to have the union "actively involved in the direction of the industry." ncoming Newspaper Guild prez: Industry too pessimistic http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080513/aqtu524.html?.v=10 The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI - News) today declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $.18 cents per share. The second quarter dividend is payable July 1, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 11, 2008. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080513/aqtu524.html?.v=10 http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/934959.html The McClatchy Co.’s chairman and chief executive tried to reassure shareholders Tuesday that the Sacramento publisher is on the right track despite falling profits, revenue and stock price. http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/934959.html http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802781 On its last day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Sun-Times Media Group stock plummeted 26% to reach an all-time low of 34 cents a share in a massive sell-off. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802781 http://www.twincities.com/ci_9237921?nclick_check=1 Bids on the Star Tribune’s five-block plot of land in downtown Minneapolis are due today, according to an offering memo obtained by the Pioneer Press. http://www.twincities.com/ci_9237921?nclick_check=1 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802762 One potential obstacle in Frank Blethen’s effort to sell his Blethen Maine Newspaper group may have been lifted as the tiny Morning Sentinel in Waterville reached agreement with its local Newspaper Guild on a new contract. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802762 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802534 Tribune Co.’s $650 million sale of Newsday is an important step toward alleviating its debt burden — for this year. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802534 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/business/media/13cablevision.html?ref=media Cablevision Systems and the Tribune Company announced a $650 million deal on Monday that will give Cablevision a 97 percent stake in Newsday. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/business/media/13cablevision.html?ref=media http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-bznews0511,0,5292148.story Tribune Co. and Cablevision Systems Corp. Saturday appeared poised to strike a $650-million deal for Newsday after presumptive front-runner Rupert Murdoch exited the stage, according to people familiar with the negotiations. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-bznews0511,0,5292148.story http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004404677_timescuts10.html Following up on vows to bring spending in line with its shrinking revenues, The Seattle Times Co. sliced the staff at its flagship newspaper by 125 employees this week. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004404677_timescuts10.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/business/media/11murdoch.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin People involved in the negotiations, who asked not to be named because the talks were confidential, said this month that Newsday’s owner, the Tribune Company, seemed headed toward accepting Cablevision’s bid, which at $650 million was the highest. Mr. Murdoch, however, told investors and analysts in a conference call on Wednesday that he remained confident, counseling, “Just be patient for a couple of days.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/business/media/11murdoch.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/05/05/daily37.html?ana=from_rss The McClatchy Co. continues to slash its estimated value of its investment in The Seattle Times Co., as both the local daily and the newspaper industry as a whole continue to reel from lost revenue. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/05/05/daily37.html?ana=from_rss http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003801848 Troubled Journal Register Co. warned late Friday in a regulatory filing that it probably will be in default of its loan covenant before the end of July. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003801848 http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080509/gannett_buyouts.html?.v=1 Gannett Co. Inc. on Friday said it was offering buyouts to a total of 160 workers at five of its six New Jersey newspapers, as advertising revenues decline. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080509/gannett_buyouts.html?.v=1 http://www.contentbridges.com/2008/05/consider-the-ne.html Consider the new Big City American journalism and the emerging cast of characters owning it. It’s a page right out of the history books when a few well-heeled titans controlled the press, and its new incarnation could have all kinds of implications for the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, for AP and for the journalism start-ups near and far. http://www.contentbridges.com/2008/05/consider-the-ne.html http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003801419 The Tribune Co. reported that Q1 earnings from continuing operations soared to $1.82 billion compared with $11 million from the same period a year ago. The favorable upswing was due to the change of the company’s tax status at the beginning of the year to a subchapter S corporation. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003801419 http://www.mnguild.org/index.php?ID=5028 Northland Poster Collective became the newest unit of the Minnesota Guild/Typographical Union on May 6 when the parties signed an initial contract. The two-year pact — retroactive to April 1, 2008 - covers all four current Northland employees and will extend to any workers who join or work that is obtained by the Minnesota non-profit. http://www.mnguild.org/index.php?ID=5028 http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=143009 The Guild says it "has been carefully analyzing the [New York Times] layoffs to make sure that management has followed the contract’s job security provisions. At this point, it appears to the Guild that the company has not done so. In fact, the Guild has already filed a grievance regarding the methodology used by The Times to decide who would be laid-off." http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=143009 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003799839 Layoffs and buyouts have hit three more daily papers, with announcements of cutbacks in Colorado, Kentucky, and South Carolina. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003799839 http://www.bizlex.com/Articles-c-2008-05-06-76067.113117_HeraldLeader_Seeks_Buyout_from_4_Percent_of_Staff.html The Lexington Herald-Leader is looking to trim its staff of 385 full-time employees by 4 percent through a voluntary buyout program. http://www.bizlex.com/Articles-c-2008-05-06-76067.113117_HeraldLeader_Seeks_Buyout_from_4_Percent_of_Staff.html http://www.startribune.com/business/18712829.html The owner of the Star Tribune has informed investors that it has written down the value of its $100 million investment in the newspaper by 75 percent to reflect deteriorating conditions since the purchase in March 2007. http://www.startribune.com/business/18712829.html http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/05/05/daily7.html Newspaper chain MediaNews Group Inc. is outsourcing customer service operations for some of its California dailies — including the San Jose Mercury News, one of the company’s largest papers — to the Philippines. Meanwhile, newsroom employees at the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and other newspapers in MediaNews Group’s "Bay Area News Group-East Bay" unit are trying to form a union. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/05/05/daily7.html http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews065675295may06,0,665587.story As talks continued yesterday for the sale of Newsday, owner Tribune Co. assessed three similarly structured offers to determine which best fit its own strategic plan and need for debt-bound cash, a source close to the negotiations said. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews065675295may06,0,665587.story http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/05/how_bad_is_it_f.php Reporters examining the Star Tribune’s finances can be compared to a group of blind men reporting on an elephant. No one source, not even the paper’s higher-ups themselves, seems to have all the answers. http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/05/how_bad_is_it_f.php http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003799168 Challenger Bernie Lunzer will win The Newspaper Guild presidential election, according to voting data obtained by E&P that indicates he has a lead of more than 900 votes with only some 600 potential ballots left to be counted. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003799168 http://www.independent.com/news/2008/may/06/emnews-pressem-emindyem-settle-lawsuit/ Owners of the Santa Barbara News-Press and Santa Barbara Independent agreed to put away their legal swords this week, finally concluding a settlement to the News-Press’s complaint that the Independent had infringed upon its federal copyright protections. http://www.independent.com/news/2008/may/06/emnews-pressem-emindyem-settle-lawsuit/ http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003798799&imw=Y Stock in The McClatchy Co. dropped more than 7% on trading volume Monday that was more than seven times higher than normal. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003798799&imw=Y http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003798647 Early returns in the first contested Newspaper Guild presidential election since 1995 indicate a possible change at the top with challenger Bernie Lunzer ahead of incumbent Linda Foley. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003798647 http://www.startribune.com/business/18565504.html Faced with sliding advertising revenue amid a continuing slowdown of the newspaper industry, the Star Tribune said Sunday that it has hired an adviser to evaluate its finances. http://www.startribune.com/business/18565504.html http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/attempt_to_unionize_trib_and_cc_times_wins_support/Content?oid=720399 A months-long effort to unionize the newsrooms of the Oakland Tribune, the Contra Costa Times, and several other East Bay newspapers got a huge boost Friday when union officials revealed that "a strong majority" of reporters, photographers, and copy editors at the papers had signed union cards and were demanding a union election. http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/attempt_to_unionize_trib_and_cc_times_wins_support/Content?oid=720399 http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_9135470?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com Newspaper workers petitioned federal officials on Friday to be recognized as a union, marking the latest move in a union-led effort to represent journalists employed by papers in the East Bay and San Mateo County. The journalists want the National Labor Relations Board to clear the way for an election to decide if the newspaper employees would be represented by a union. http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_9135470?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2008/05/newspaper_union_comes_to_life.php East Bay newspaper employees who have been alarmed at the declining quality of journalism took responsibility for their own futures on Friday by asking to be formally recognized as a union. http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2008/05/newspaper_union_comes_to_life.php http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003798129 Nine months after MediaNews Group withdrew recognition of the Newspaper Guild unit at its Alameda Newspaper Group outside San Francisco, employees there and at five sister newspapers have petitioned for a new union vote. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003798129 http://www.mnguild.org/index.php?ID=5003 Journalists leading a guild organizing effort at the Bay Area’s largest newspaper chain petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for formal recognition as a union today, the Northern California Media Workers Guild announced. http://www.mnguild.org/index.php?ID=5003 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797872 The excess of newspaper staff-cut announcements in recent months has taken on an unsettling ring. While the loss of jobs is terrifying enough, an added element makes it even more stomach-churning: In some cases, jobs are not so much lost as going elsewhere — often overseas. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797872 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797868 The Washington Post Co. reported Friday that its first-quarter net income was $39.3 million, or $4.08 a share, down from $64.4 million, or $6.70 a share, from Q1 2007. Most of the decrease came from a $24.6 million charge, with an after-tax impact of $1.60 a share, related to an early retirement program at Newsweek magazine. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797868 http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews0502,0,565450.story Cablevision Systems Corp.’s $650-million bid for Newsday has been received, and rival suitors were said to be mulling possible changes to their offers, sources familiar with the talks said Thursday. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews0502,0,565450.story http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797784 Its stock delisted by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and shunned by investors, troubled community newspaper publisher Journal Register Co. said late Thursday it intends to stop filing reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797784 http://sbdailysound.blogspot.com/2008/05/mccaw-hands-out-pink-slips.html In an action dubbed a “company wide reorganization,” the Santa Barbara News-Press laid off 10 employees yesterday, two of whom were editors. http://sbdailysound.blogspot.com/2008/05/mccaw-hands-out-pink-slips.html http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/newsday-the-sale-that-isnt-a-sale/index.html Is the Tribune Company dodging the tax man? Not quite, but the newspaper company seems to be doing its best to avoid paying Uncle Sam a piece of the proceeds from the potential sale — or non-sale, if you happen to be a representative from the Internal Revenue Service — of Newsday. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/newsday-the-sale-that-isnt-a-sale/index.html http://feeds.feedburner.com/contentbridges/VSQv How fast can you paddle? That’s the unabated message of today’s ABC FAS FAX circulation numbers being reported. They cover the six-month period, through March 31. Overall, the water keeps rising: 3.5% down daily, and 4.5% down Sunday. Those are in line with what we’ve now seen for more than three years. The waves aren’t subsiding, but rising a bit more. Worse, there’s not much relief in sight. http://feeds.feedburner.com/contentbridges/VSQv http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews0429,0,1089746.story Cablevision Systems Corp. appears poised to make an end-around bid for Newsday this week with an offer expected to top two competing $580-million bids by media barons Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman, according to sources familiar with the matter. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews0429,0,1089746.story http://www.ocregister.com/articles/register-percent-circulation-2028796-newspaper-horne The Orange County Register and its affiliated publications are laying off between 80 and 90 employees, or 5 percent of its workforce, because of declining advertising revenue, President and Publisher Terry Horne said Monday. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/register-percent-circulation-2028796-newspaper-horne http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003795271 The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., is offering buyouts to 230 of its 900 employees, according to a story in today’s editions. But, the paper stated, only "a small percentage of those people are expected to accept and leave the company. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003795271 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003795275 Before Frank Blethen can sell his four-daily Blethen Maine Newspaper group, he may have to quell a growing labor problem at one of the foursome’s smallest papers. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003795275 http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/21/daily49.html Earnings by the Denver Newspaper Agency, the partnership that publishes The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, declined in the first quarter of 2008 from the previous quarter, but exceeded average quarterly earnings in 2007, with the sale of The Post’s former printing plant boosting early-2008 results. http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/21/daily49.html