The Pensacola News Journal will move printing to the Press-Register, a Newhouse daily in Mobile, Ala., starting June 2, employees were told soon after midnight this morning. "All press workers will be permanently laid off," a tipster says. "There will be four distribution points in our coverage area after the papers are brought back from Mobile, about a 45-minute drive." My tipster did not say how many jobs are at risk; I would guess the total is close to 40.The Daily News Leader in Staunton will cut eight full-time and 15 part-time positions after announcing Monday it will outsource its printing press operations to a family-owned daily in Harrisonburg. "Deadlines will be moved up significantly, causing some late sports events, government meetings and other breaking news to be left out of the print edition and shifted to the paper's Web site,'' the paper said Tuesday.
The production shifts add to the tally of jobs lost in a new round of newspaper layoffs Corporate now appears to be ramping up. As of 3:34 a.m. today, the company has laid off at least 134 employees in the 29,000-worker newspaper division, according to Gannett Blog reader accounts and published reports.
Earlier: Roll Call IV tallies layoffs and other jobs eliminations in a new surge of payroll cuts that began this month. We now have seven of 85 U.S. dailies accounted for; is yours included?
[Image: recent screenshot of the News Journal's homepage]
"Deadlines will be moved up significantly, causing some late sports events, government meetings and other breaking news to be left out of the print edition and shifted to the paper's Web site,''
ReplyDeleteI knife into the heart of the newspaper's reason to exist.
If the locals don't see the news they want, they'll stop buying the newspaper. With circulation down, advertisers see less reasons to advertise.
Management once again shoots itself in the head.
Holy crap. I'm in Alabama (Montgomery Advertiser), and this is really weird! I'm just so surprised they'd go to a non-Gannett paper for printing Pensacola. I mean, I get it, the Press-Register is one of the two largest papers in the state, and Mobile's less than and hour from Pensacola. It still just seems odd to me.
ReplyDeletePosted on PNJ website about 9 a.m. central time
ReplyDeleteThe Pensacola News Journal announced today to its employees it is closing its downtown Pensacola production and trucking operations and outsourcing the work to the Mobile Press-Register.
Advertisement
The newspaper’s other operations, including the newsroom, advertising, marketing departments, will remain at the downtown location. More than 200 employees will remain downtown. The newspaper’s delivery schedule to readers will not change.
A combination of 84 fulltime and part-time jobs will be eliminated during the transition.
The move will take place 60 days from today’s announcement. Employees who stay on during the transition period will receive a severance package.
“This certainly was not an easy decision,” said President and Publisher Kevin T. Doyle. “It is never easy to lay off dedicated workers, especially in this economic environment.
“It is my job to keep this company financially strong. The Press-Register has one of the most modern printing facilities in the country, which allows it to do the same work we do for less.”
The News Journal does not want to be in the manufacturing and transportation business, Doyle said. With today’s announcement, the PNJ becomes the ninth Gannett-owned paper to outsource its printing operation.
“What we do best -- and will continue to do best – is produce local news. Local news is very expensive to produce so we have to find ways to save money so we can continue to support our community and First Amendment efforts. I would guess our newsroom staffing levels are more than all of the local television and radio stations combined.”
Moving forward, the News Journal will expand its product blueprint by introducing PNJ Media Solutions. PNJMS will include its current product line including the PNJ, Pelican brand of weeklies, Career Builder magazine, Weekender, Flora Bama football, Bella and Home and Garden magazines, Gosport, Pensacola Business Journal, Find A Home real estate magazine and the area’s largest website – PNJ.com.
“The 'media solutions' is the area we will be expanding,” Doyle said. “We will be adding services as well as products. Services will include direct mail, zip code delivery, digital expansion, consulting, advertising creative, design services, website development and Search Engine Optimization. Our marketing operation has the best consumer research in the marketplace and we will utilize that information to assist our customers.”
Not only will deadlines be moved up, but there is no way for them to keep the same delivery schedule. I spent a decade at the PNJ. We routinely had deadlines moved up to make sure the paper could be delivered "on time" every morning.
ReplyDeleteSo now they'll move deadlines up to give the Press-Register time to print it, then wait to have it trucked back over here. Pensacola will be lucky to get its paper by 8 a.m. Then again, who actually subscribes to it anymore?
We're all saddened by the news at the PNJ. The award-winning paper is a mere shadow of what it once was.
ReplyDeleteOur hearts go out to all the hard workers who will be losing their jobs.
Wait until Obama's Pentagon budget is unveiled Monday, and see that Pensacola is losing more than its presses. The departure of the Navy is going to make this place a coastal desert.
ReplyDeleteAnyone in Ft. Myers ready to talk about the negotiations to have the paper published on Scripps' new publishing plant near Omokalee?
ReplyDeleteThe Staunton News Leader is going to be contract-printed at the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg. That paper is part of Byrd Newspapers, which owns one other daily and a bunch of weeklies in the Shenandoah Valley.
ReplyDeleteThis latest outsourcing is going to produce a major problem for Staunton: How and where are they going to put out a Sunday edition? Harrisonburg doesn't publish on Sunday for economic and religious reasons.
..."in the old days..."
ReplyDeletethese papers would be bringing in commercial work, not becoming someone else's revenue.
Too bad they stopped running this company like a business.