The Newspaper Guild's
Indianapolis chapter told its unionized
Indianapolis Star members in a note this evening:
 |
| Kane |
"Company-wide, the
Star is projected to be in the vicinity of minus-$6.9 million in revenue by end of '10 calendar year, Publisher
Michael Kane said in a 3 p.m. meeting on the 6th floor. Financially we are far from being out of the woods. Big problems with newsprint costs projected to go up 20-24% in 2011, putting a multi-million strain on the budget. Asked about rumors of Q1 furloughs, Kane said yes, that's a possibility(!) but nothing concrete. Sept.-Oct. had shown encouraging signs in terms of ad revenues; the paper is getting a smaller newshole."
Also, the Guild's note said: "In Indy, the company laid off five employees and word we've heard is as many as three newsroom positions were on the chopping block. Thankfully, the recent departures of reporters, a sports editor and designer probably prevented layoffs due to points for attrition."
Earlier: Get ready for newspapers to grow even more thin
I've been told by one reader that the newsprint price increase is driving some of the current job cuts.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm told, Corporate is seeking a $12 million decrease in newsprint usage through the end of this year; I don't know what that would translate to in percentage terms, however.
xxx the paper is getting a smaller newshole xxx
ReplyDeleteAt last someone candid enough to admit what is going to happen. Martore hinted that there would be savings, and I can't see anyway of reducing the paper more except by cutting the newshole. How much of a cut, we wait and see. A 30 percent hike in printing cross translates into perhaps a 30 percent cut in newspaper hole, this one thinks.
Smaller news hole = less paper = less ink = fewer stories = fewer employees.
ReplyDeleteGannett's formula for success. This must be the transformation we've all been waiting for!
Dubow and Martore have some nerve. What are their bonuses going to be next year?
And what's the formula for figuring out how much they get?
Maybe it's a sum based on the number of heads they send rolling.
I think newsprint is Gannett's second-highest expense, after labor costs, so a 20%-24% hike would be a significant hit.
ReplyDeleteThese Gannett bozos can eliminate the memos and communicate by Morse code if they want. It won't do any good.
ReplyDeletePoynter and a bunch of other journalism sites check in on this blog every day. And every employee should go out and spread the word about Gannett's insatiable greed.
They hike the price of the paper, reduce size, save money by lowering the standards of the paper used, layoff the staff, and now cut content. Can anyone please explain how they intend to retain readers?
ReplyDeleteHey Jim, what about all of the other publishers? What are they going to do?
ReplyDeleteIs this an industry wide issue or did Gannett get a special deal on its newsprint?
I think the NYTimes still owns its own forest and mill and newsprint plant. Why is this such an emergency for Gannett?
Looks like they have known this for some time. See the date on this story, which explains what is happening:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/forestweb-report-newsprint-prices-going-up-as-demand-dips-62552-.aspx
Maybe someone knows Gannett's contract cycle, but I might hazard a guess that the company has an annual contract with the mills and it is up after next month. That would explain all this talk about Q1 cuts/furloughs. You might think that since this company buys so much newsprint, it could throw its weight around and get the mills to lower prices.
ReplyDeleteThe Courier-Journal on Wednesday laid off seven employees across five departments to prepare for an increase in newsprint costs of 20 percent or more next year.
ReplyDelete“We are facing unprecedented price increases in newsprint beginning in 2011 and at the same time continue to experience a very uncertain economy going forward,” said Arnold Garson, president and publisher of The Courier-Journal, adding that paper is the company’s biggest single expense.
Paper companies in recent weeks have reported getting higher prices for newsprint as paper mills are closed.
Garson declined to specify which departments were affected by Wednesday’s job cuts.
In July, The Courier-Journal eliminated 44 jobs, bringing the staff to 575 employees.
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Wow! When I worked at the Courier-Journal in 1996-1999, it had close to 1,100 employees.
ReplyDeletePlus, the story says 44 jobs were cut in July, but I believe that was July 2009, no?
yep july 09,dec 08 is when I got it,after the new press installation had 30 pressman in 05 now they have 18 left
ReplyDeleteYeah, C-J has lost about half its employees in the past decade -- it's a shadow of its former self, but still manages to do some good journalism.
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ReplyDeleteIf they keep making the news hole smaller, why would any person want to buy the rag, were I work I can read the paper in 10 minutes, its a joke. I have been in production for 25 years and when the day comes, I will be glade to get out of this so called industry.
ReplyDelete