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Lee Abrams' June 30 blog post

6/30/2008 10:42:17 AM

The latest from Tribune chief innovation officer Lee Abrams

Lee's Blog
June 30, 2008

THINK PIECE: THE ZONE BETWEEN TOO SUPERFICIAL & TOO SERIOUS

The economic realities are a pain. But they are realities. What is MORE
painful is the reporting that the relaunches and re thinks are because
of that. Yes, economics are a component, but it' more about getting
AHEAD of the competitive curve and getting back in the game, in a BIG
way. You can't dwell on the economics...it is what it is...and it's even
worse in the music business. (Though I rarely see artists complaining)
What we CAN do is dwell on the once in a lifetime opportunity and green
light to re-think what we do. To design the future. With that said....

Visited Channel 5 out in San Diego who is doing their own re-launch.
Other than contributing to the re-making of WGN-AMERICA, I've been
focusing primarily on the newspaper side in my first 60 days, so this
visit was a nice change of pace. The competitive spirit was a bit closer
to what I've experienced on the radio and music side...let's call
it---Intense. Personally and generally speaking I think our company
deals with extremes. TV strikes me as often playfully superficial and
newspapers often serious and self important. Somewhere in the middle is
a zone that balances intelligent with the ability to engage the masses
in 2008. Channel 5 in San Diego is certainly headed to that zone with
some fascinating new approaches to local news. I believe they will reach
that "zone". The media landscape has changed so dramatically in the past decade that staying on the either superficial or too-serious-for-the-room edges can spell trouble. But reaching that zone that balances intelligence with accessibility will be magic.

One newspaper clearly headed to that zone is the Baltimore Sun. Once
again, they were very impressive with how they have evolved their
re-launch prototypes. Some of the aspects I really liked included:

SPORTS PAGES: The idea of the inside pages having the same electricity
as the cover! Usually sports pages go into a stat heavy look...but they
maintain an energy throughout the section.

CRIME: Honoring the importance of Crime. OWNING it via a single
compartmentalized daily page. COMPARTMENTALIZING for iron clad
consistency.

CRIME II: The fact they are AFDI'ing, and have posted the "Bulldog
Drummond" character to anchor the print coverage. Give it some
character.

HOSPITAL STORY: Nothing said "huge positive difference" better than the
old vs. new hospital story. The clutter of the old vs. The beautiful
photography and layout of the new was stunning. The example here was a locally relevant but cumbersome story about a hospital. The old version was a traditional layout...the new version featured a dramatic photo of the hospital grounds that drew you in. And beyond the story, there were information boxes. It went from tired and conventional to far more interesting and engagable.

FEWER JUMPS: Good. I've never heard of a single person that LIKED jumps.

SHORT/MEDIUM LENGTH options you offer. Quick Read...detail read or drive to the web for deep dive. They made a POINT of the three options (though like most papers, their web drive was less than stellar...gotta PUSH people there, cant 'assume' they'll go there.

NUMBERING THE NATIONAL STORIES! Perfect. A whole new and modern way of prioritizing FOR the reader. Adds a whole new dimension. On the National page they had a clever numbering system. The United Airlines layoffs being story #1...and going to #10. It WASN'T a cheesy "top 40" news thing, but a well layed out extra dimension in story positioning.

GREEN: Hot color these days. I too wonder if there's a law that you MUST be blue. They were green themed. Seems like most papers are blue. Nothing wrong with blue...but green was cool. /CONTINUED

Lee Abrams' June 30 blog post

6/30/2008 10:40:47 AM

MAPS & CHARTS add context....tell the story and/or add to the story.

IMAGINATION. If there's ONE word I got out of Baltimore Sun 2.0...that
is the word

PRE LAUNCH PACKAGES: Advertiser buzz! You have ONE shot! They are taking out pre-relaunch packages to get the advertiser BUZZ going.

FEWER PAGES...But more color. Color wins.

...Orlando relaunch went great. Unofficially I heard there were some
cancellations: 8. Out of a couple hundred thousand circulation, my
calculator could even calculate the percentage that was.
A couple of things I suggested to them after their stellar re-launch:

WEB PUSH:

*You had the Web push on the front page Sunday--that was great. Wasn't there Monday.

*A bit of "marketing speak" in other web pushers. Instead of something
generic like "Get Caught Up at Work" which seems kind of vague. Try
something either specific as in "BEHIND THE GAS CRUNCH: INTENSE DETAIL AT ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM" or dreamier like "THE WORLD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS AT ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM. Presently the lines are kinda throwaway.

*See LOTS of opportunities at ENDS of bigger stories to push Web. More
than just See_____'s blog. Give 'em some meat. Some REAL reason. 2x4.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:

Why National? Get the LOCAL Box Office.

Monday might also be a good day to preview upcoming releases as they
usually come out on Tuesday.

Might have MORE Orlando specific numbers. Top CDs. Top Downloads. Top Books. Screw "National" Give'em Orlando. (easy info to acquire)

CRIME:

How about a dedicated Crime page. I say that because you have such
amazing Crime info on your site that can be imported into print.

Maybe THE LAW & YOU would have more impact being called LAW & ORDER. THAT'S what is on people's minds. YOU being the protector...the medium that delivers the goods on the BIG problem of crime. Every day. Same place 2x4.

BY THE NUMBERS:

You do it one or two times. I'd encourage MORE...so it becomes a
trademark. The 2x4. CONSISTENCY is what'll create "trademarks"

NEWS PREVIEW:

In the spirit of thinking AHEAD, a preview ala your weather preview of
stories the OS will be ON in the next four days. Conditioning people to
look and think forward. Instead of always yesterday...but doing it
strongly. Papers do it now but it's yet another afterthought in most
cases.

CARTOON:

You might consider it a regular front page "trademark" as papers did in
the 30's and 40's. Pretty powerful.

CARTOON PAGE: Maybe a "Reality Comics" where it's THE stupidest "real" stories of the day. Funny news is red hot.

MAPS: LOVE the World & Nation Map. Maybe another trademark?? Using maps in all news sections to show another way to "see" news?

...Most of these thoughts relate to creating a new generation of content
"trademarks". Content that is EXCLUSIVELY yours...that you are FIRST
with...that resonates over a long period of time. You NEED to create new content trademarks and promote and expose them so they are NOTICED.

Received a few comments on Arts/Music coverage. The thing is, I think we have to cover ALL Arts and Music that touches your TARGET with equal intensity:

On Pop/Rock/Country (Country is HUGE and many newspapers avoid it like the plague...but Garth Brooks would sell out any major stadium in 3
minutes)--Its all about PRE sell. Capturing the excitement of the show
BEFORE hand: Predicted song list...what the band eats backstage (those
riders are often hilarious)...thumbnail reviews from prior shows...a map
showing their whereabouts...inside dirt, etc...the "review after the
show" is only one aspect. Equally important is about aiding in the
decision to see the show or not AND capturing the fan
excitement/anticipation which is BEFORE they come to town.

FOCUS ON THE AUDIENCE THAT READS THE PAPER. I've So many articles about Heavy Metal and College Rock...Maybe leave that to RedEye and go mainstream 40+

On Classical/Fine Arts. Three thoughts:

1. A daily box --same place...same page every day with updates and info from the worlld of the arts. Preferably "hosed" by an expert with his
picture firmly placed in the paper so the box has "personality"

2. A quarterly special section that REALLY gets into the upcoming
season..

3. Ultra selectivity on longer stories. Do them, but SELECTIVELY.
Sometimes I sense that papers FORCE themselves to do lengthy pieces too often.

I think you can OWN all categories.

...Intelligence AND engaging the mainstream -- do-able. But needs the
RE-THINK and EXECUTION...every day, every page, and every break for you TV guys.

Posted by Lee at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)

More bad news at BANG-East Bay

6/27/2008 6:12:16 PM

From: Armstrong, John
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 2:59 PM
To: &EB All
Subject: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Colleagues:

As you all know, we are not immune to the financial challenges facing the economy in the East Bay and the newspaper business in general.

We have just completed work on our budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. We are forecasting a 10% drop in revenue over the next 12 months, which comes on the heels of a 17% revenue decline in this fiscal year. In my nearly five decades in this business, I’ve never experienced a downturn so deep and so broad.

Given this continued erosion of our revenue base – coupled with a more than 20% jump in the price of our most expensive commodity, newsprint – we found we had no choice but to take additional steps to sharply reduce our operating costs.

Consequently, I write to let you know we have started a significant restructuring of our operations, including employee layoffs from the management and staff ranks in all divisions and other changes to bring our overhead in line with lower revenue.

The employees subject to layoffs today were notified individually. Also, we sent a letter to the Media Workers Guild requesting a meeting to discuss our intention to lay off, on July 11, approximately 29 newsroom employees.

You will recall we achieved a reduction in our workforce in March through a buyout program. At the time we hoped that our revenue base would stabilize and additional job cuts could be handled through natural attrition.

Unfortunately, the decline in revenue accelerated in April, May and June, spurred by the prolonged real estate slump, its ripple effects on virtually all segments of the East Bay economy and the continuing migration of ad dollars to the Internet. When it became obvious that another reduction in workforce was unavoidable, we concluded we could not utilize buyouts this time because we needed to move quickly and we could no longer accommodate the randomness of buyouts.

In making the decisions on which jobs to eliminate, we were guided by three objectives:

Protect the core strength of our franchise, which is local news and information.
Maintain advertising sales presence in the markets we serve.
Minimize the impact on our web sites and other digital services.

These are difficult times to be in the newspaper business. We are building audience and ad sales on the Internet, but our digital growth is far short of the level needed to offset our print losses. We’ll get to that point, but the transition is proving to be challenging and at times painful.

We are losing quality people in our organization, which is sad and unfortunate. We wish them every success in their new endeavors. I ask those of us who remain to roll up our sleeves, renew our commitment to our mutual goals and aspirations and support each other as one team moving forward.

John

John Armstrong
President and Publisher
BayAreaNewsGroup-EAST BAY
Vice President
California Newspapers Partnership

Henry retires as Indy Star publisher

6/27/2008 1:25:20 PM

06/27/2008 01:16 PM

Subject: Announcement and thanks
To: Indianapolis Star employees
From: Barbara Henry

Dear Colleagues,

After 34 years in the newspaper business, I have decided to retire on Aug. 1. I have loved every minute (well, mostly every minute!!) of those three-plus decades. The last eight years in Indianapolis have been especially gratifying. Because of your commitment, innovation and hard work, we accomplished so much, and continue to do so. Even as our industry goes through a major transformation and we operate in a very challenging economy, The Star has continued to grow our audience. Star employees showed what can be done despite these challenges by not letting any obstacles get in the way of progress. Just a few examples:

We increased readership of our printed newspaper by making it more local, more colorful (with the help of a $72 million investment by Gannett in presses!!) and more engaging. As a former reporter and editor, I am very proud of the excellent work our newsroom has done to make a difference and, at the same time, allow our readership to grow. The Star's reports on child abuse and neglect, Indiana's economy, how tax money is spent (or misspent), Indiana's broken property tax system -- to name just a few -- have resulted in positive changes for our community and state. When I hear some say newspapers are a media dinosaur, I know they are wrong. The Star has proved that by providing make-a-difference journalism, informed and agenda-setting editorial pages, countless stories about local people and trends and top-notch sports reporting and commentary in this sports-crazed town.

Indystar.com's reach is phenomenal. We developed IndyStar.com into the No. 1 website in audience penetration in the Gannett Co. IndyStar.com has long been (and always will be) the No. 1 media website in Indiana with 45 million pageviews a month and 2.3 million unique visitors. These amazing statistics didn't just happen. The Star has been a leader in digital innovation -- with deep local content and searchable databases that draw people in (like looking up their new property taxes with the click of a mouse and seeing why the police car is at a neighbor's house in real time!)

It was The Star that started the moms revolution, with the introduction of Indymoms.com. We were so successful that Gannett is making this a national business -- starting up dozens more sites, with plans for even more, The Wall Street Journal wrote about this last week.

Our zoned community newspapers in Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, Westfield, Hendricks County, Noblesville, North Indy, East Indy, Greenwood and South Indy have allowed a large metro paper to continue to serve our readers who crave intensely local news about their communities. They are a big reason for our growing readership.

The Star added magazines to our product line: Carmel Magazine, Fishers-Geist Magazine, Hendricks County Magazine and Indymoms.com magazine. All have allowed us to increase our reach in these fast-growing suburbs and among very busy women with children.

We introduced ShopLocal, a mailed, total market coverage advertising product that allows our advertisers to reach every household in our market using The Star and ShopLocal. They also can reach every household in a specific zip code.

We introduced INtake -- now Indy.com, the magazine -- four years ago and it was an enviable success right out of the gate. Our entertainment website, Indy.com, came last year -- again, another success.

I could list many more, as you know. A statistic that all of you should be especially proud of -- because you made it happen -- is that Indianapolis Star Media Group products reach 82% of adults in the 8-county metro area 5.2 times every week. In just 18 months, we grew our reach by almost 10%. That is an incredible success story, created by employees who decided what we needed to do to grow and prosper, and just did it. You should all be very proud. I am proud of you.

Thanks for all you have done. I have gotten to know many of you well and will always cherish the many memories, good times and great laughs we had during these past eight years. I will be in the job for another month, and look forward to personally thanking you during the next four weeks.

Barbara

P.S. My successor will be named in the next couple of weeks.

Star-Ledger clarifies job security pledge

6/25/2008 4:21:27 PM

From: [Newark Star-Ledger publisher] ARWADY, GEORGE
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:29:34 -0400
To: Star-Ledger employees
Conversation: Clarification of Pledge
Subject: Clarification of Pledge

June 25, 2008

Dear Full-Time Non-Represented Employee,

With the newspaper industry in turmoil and your newspaper losing money, the importance of the company's job-security Pledge to non-represented full-time employees such as yourself has never been greater. Just last week there were announcements of large layoffs at the McClatchy newspapers � layoffs that could not happen here because of the Pledge.

As I have written to you several times, the Star-Ledger has been implementing a variety of plans to reduce expenses and create new sources of revenue. Last month's closure of one of our two production plants has gone smoothly. We have purposely reduced circulation to save on printing and distribution costs. We have tightened the newshole and reduced promotion ads. On the revenue side, we have launched dozens of successful advertising initiatives and have many more planned.

As I also have written, the bad news is that all of the steps we have taken thus far have not been enough yet to offset the unprecedented fall-off of advertising revenue, especially classified advertising revenue in the help-wanted and real estate categories. Virtually every newspaper in the country, especially large papers such as The Star-Ledger, has seen revenue plunging for the last two years. At this writing, the revenue declines are continuing, and it is certain that the paper will lose millions of dollars in 2008, as it did in 2007. We have plans, however, as the full effect of the cost-savings steps take effect, and as new revenue initiatives mature, to get the Ledger back into the black in 2009.

In the meantime, it is important that we make the meaning of the job-security Pledge as clear as possible. To do so, we are again clarifying some of the wording, much as we did several years ago, when we made it clear that you must be willing to be re-trained for other jobs if the Company determines it is necessary.

When our Job Security Pledge was first announced more than 25 years ago, it was warmly received by all eligible employees. Since then, it has been fully appreciated by thousands of employees, many of whom retired after 25 or more years of service. I know of nothing like it in our industry, or any other.

Since its inception, the concept of the Pledge has always been to protect our full-time non-represented daily newspaper employees from layoffs so long as the newspaper continues to publish daily in its current newsprint form. The Pledge never was intended to apply to weekly publications or to distribution of content over the internet. The Pledge�s protection is tied to the daily publication of The Star-Ledger's current newsprint product � not the functions you perform individually.

I am taking this opportunity to reaffirm to you our commitment to our Pledge, which has never been more important than during the current economic and industry downturn. We also wish to make sure that the Pledge language is clear and unambiguous. The Pledge always has and will continue to protect the jobs of eligible employees unless our newspaper ceases to publish daily in its current newsprint form. The Pledge does not apply to situations in which our newspaper ceases to publish daily in its current newsprint form.

Here is your Job Security Pledge:

"The Star-Ledger proudly provides this pledge of job security to all full-time, non-represented employees who successfully complete a six-month probationary period: If you perform in a responsible, productive manner without misconduct, and you are willing to re-train for another job should our Company determine that it is necessary, you will not be laid off, regardless of changing economic conditions or the introduction of new technology or processes, as long as the paper continues to publish daily in its current newsprint form.�

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about the new language. And thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of The Star-Ledger. By working together we can weather this storm and come out on the other side, stronger and healthier.

George E. Arwady
Publisher

Baltimore Sun announces downsizing plans

6/25/2008 3:20:34 PM

Memo from Baltimore Sun publisher Tim Ryan

Sent: 6/25/2008 3:00 PM
Subject: Organizational Update

Dear Employees / Owners,

The two key factors that will sustain our company for the future are customer satisfaction and financial stability. Achieving both goals is challenging in the very best of market conditions. In the face of today�s tough economy, adapting to consumer trends while maintaining our fiscal strength is proving to be even more difficult � yet even more critical.

Our long-term strategy of going on offense and creating growth opportunities will continue to get us closer to our goals. Already this year, we generated incremental Sun circulation gains, launched a new, free daily publication, b, which is the first of its kind in the market and, through our "explore" websites, delivered highly-localized news and information for the region�s consumers.

In spite of these early, significant wins, we struggled to achieve our performance goals. So, while we will stay on the offense, we are altering our game plan. In order to align ourselves more closely with our customers, we are retooling our business model, which will include enhancements to our newspaper. In August, 2008, The Sun redesign will debut, giving readers more of what they want � a more concise newspaper with more local news, personally relevant and useful content, consumer information, watchdog coverage, more graphics and better navigation.

By adjusting our business model and redesigning our core publication, we expect to stimulate readership growth and improve our financial performance. Regrettably, our new course also requires us to reduce our workforce by about 100 positions across BSMG. These actions are necessary for us to remain competitive and win in the future, and will enable us to create new targeted print and interactive media for the marketplace that satisfy both consumers and advertisers.

Transition Timeframe
The workforce reduction will include a combination of closing open positions, attrition, and voluntary and involuntary separation plans according to this timeline:

Friday, June 27 � Voluntary separation packets will be available to all employees (availability to Guild-represented employees is being negotiated with the Guild). Volunteers will have two weeks, through Friday, July 11, to apply.
Friday, July 11 � Thursday, July 17 � Volunteers will be notified whether their applications were accepted or not; decisions on involuntary separations will be made based upon voluntary results.
Friday, July 18 � Employees who are part of the involuntary separation plan will be notified.
Voluntary and involuntary separations will occur in early August.

Human Resources, your leadership and plan documentation will provide further detail of plan terms, including compensation, savings/retirement funds and medical benefits. While Tribune does not have a formal severance policy, the formula that the company is using to determine benefits payable to employees affected by the current workforce reductions is more generous than any formula that the company may use after 2008.

Moving Forward
It is extremely difficult for all of us to lose colleagues and friends. However, while we cannot control the current economy, we can control what action we take to create a stronger future. We are, by far, Baltimore�s media leader, and through ongoing innovation to introduce new and exciting media for our marketplace, we will maintain our competitive position.

The leadership team and I will continue to keep you informed throughout this transition. Thank you for your patience, continuing contributions and commitment to our company.

Tim

Hartford Courant details staff, content cuts

6/25/2008 3:08:29 PM

Memo to Hartford Courant staff

From: [Editor] Teutsch, Clifford
Sent: Wed 6/25/2008 3:01 PM
To: Courant News Staff
Subject: Reductions

To: The Staff
Fr: Cliff

We told you earlier this month that we would be making significant reductions in staff and newshole to meet economic realities. I'm writing now to give you the numbers and tell you how we will proceed.

Our news pages will go from 273 to 206 per week. Positions will go from 232 to about 175. Four of those 232 positions are now vacant.

Perhaps these are the numbers you were expecting. Perhaps they are a shock. I have had a little time to wrap my head around them; many of you will need to do that too. They will be life-changing for some, and they add a sober reality for all as we continue to remake the paper for a September launch.

The staff reductions will be handled as follows:

We are offering voluntary buyouts to everyone in News except the web staff. We will accept or reject applications based on the anticipated needs of the new paper. We will not use seniority as a criterion as we have in the past. People seeking a buyout will have until July 9 to apply to Human Resources, as explained in packets being distributed today.

In addition to buyouts, we expect that layoffs will be necessary to meet our reduction target, and they too will be based on the needs we foresee for our redesigned paper.

Most people will leave by the end of July. There may be a few exceptions for production-critical jobs. The page reductions will come in September.

The packages will be the same as last time, including an enhanced pension benefit paid in the form of a contribution to your cash balance account. The payment will be based on one week of pay for every six months of service, capped at 52 weeks of pay, plus 3%. Health benefits will be continued, and the company will pay for career planning services. HR staff members are available to talk with you about your specific situation. The package is the same for buyout and layoff.

The Courant, Tribune and newspapers across the country are responding to fundamental changes in our business, especially a significant decline in advertising revenue. The cuts we're talking about today are among a number of moves we are making in the face of those changes. Multiple initiatives are underway to bring in more print revenue and maximize the potential of online. For example, about two hundred potential online advertisers attended an information session yesterday. These moves
are all necessary for this paper to sustain itself, pay down debt and invest in the future.

For some, the decision about whether to seek a buyout will depend on knowing how The Courant will change. Our vision for the new paper will be clearer, but not fully formed by July 9. We will let you know as much as possible before then. Bobbie's note on Monday was the first step in that communication.

In general, we plan to build a more compact paper for weekdays, when readers are pressed for time. We will present information in short form whenever feasible and go in-depth for the most important, relevant stories. On Sunday, when many people spend more time reading, the paper will stay about the same size it is today. Daily and Sunday, we will add new content and new approaches. There will also be takeaways, and we will be as smart as we can about making them. The paper will be completely redesigned. We will fully integrate print and online, and increase interactivity with readers.

Re-inventing a newspaper is a huge undertaking under the best of circumstances. Doing it with significantly reduced resources in a tight timeframe is even more challenging. Now, we must forge ahead with that work while we make the tough decisions about who will go and who will stay.

Those who remain will still be by far the largest news staff in Connecticut, and comparable in size to many papers of our circulation volume across the country. We will continue to be - we must continue to be -- a journalistic force. Our readers deserve that. That has been true for 243 years, and never more so than now.

AJ-C memo reassures staffers

6/25/2008 1:56:00 PM

Memo to Atlanta Journal-Constitution employees

Folks,

You may have heard today that one of our sister papers in Cox, The Palm Beach Post, announced a voluntary separation program that will reduce its workforce significantly. Because a move like this is sure to raise questions here, I wanted to communicate directly to you and to pass along a note that Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Newspapers, sent to all Cox publishers today.

First, let me say this: All Cox newspapers are carefully assessing their own markets and business models and will be taking the actions necessary to remain financially sound. We have been doing this work for the past two years and will continue. As we have said, we have three primary objectives this year:
Stabilize our print business
Grow our digital business
Reduce costs overall

Work on all three of these fronts is progressing. Our AJC 2.0 efforts are in final prototyping stages. Our digital traffic continues to climb, and this week, we begin overarching digital strategy work. We have made significant cost reductions, but as I said in a recent General Management Meeting, we have more to do this year.

The economic factors affecting our business have worsened. The recession, the housing market downturn, as well as soaring newsprint and fuel costs have increased the urgency to reduce expenses. We will do so aggressively and in ways that make most sense for our market, our readers and our advertisers.

Let me also assure you that we will continue to innovate, inform and engage � and we will remain the leading source of news and information for metro Atlanta.

I have tremendous confidence in the future of the AJC, and I appreciate your contributions to the success of our company.

John

A message from Sandy Schwartz, president, Cox Newspapers, Inc.

As we all know, the newspaper industry is under significant financial pressure. This has been largely brought on by the movement of advertising from print to online. However, additional pressure has been placed on the newspaper industry by the economy, escalating newsprint prices, circulation declines and soaring fuel prices.

We are and will remain the leading multi-media option for the customers, readers and advertisers in our markets. While we run our newspapers extremely efficiently, Cox Newspapers isn't immune to financial distress. We will continue to responsibly manage our newspapers and to accelerate our digital strategy in order to transform our operations, both in print and online.

Today an announcement of a voluntary separation program was made at The Palm Beach Post. Employees were offered a generous severance package. This is the first phase of a plan to reduce workforce and will be followed by involuntary staffing reductions in August.

Please know that the decision to eliminate employee positions was difficult but necessary. We appreciate the contributions these employees have made, and continue to make, to the company. And, consistent with the values of our company, we will treat our employees with fairness, dignity and respect throughout this process.

We have no expectations newspapers will return to the highly profitable days of the past; we do believe, however, we can publish newspapers that continue to make us proud and produce positive earnings.

I encourage you to share my message with your staff. Thanks to you and your team for all of your hard work.

Journal-Constitution editor's memo re Klibanoff

6/24/2008 2:32:37 PM

Memo from Journal-Constitution editor Julia Wallace

To all,

I am sorry to announce that Hank Klibanoff will be leaving us on July 5. In the past year or so, Hank has had a number of job feelers and entreaties about different opportunities. He has decided that now is a good time to pursue those.

Hank has played a critical role in the development of the newsroom in the six years he has been here. He has a unique blend of boundless curiosity, beautiful writing ability and a great eye for what's right -- and wrong -- in a story. It is that combination that has made him such a strong editor.

Hank left Philadelphia and came here with a goal of helping make this a better newspaper. He worked hard every day -- In very detailed ways -- to make that happen. Our readers benefited from that; as did the news staff.

Hank has always enjoyed teaching and that was evident in how he approached his job -- teaching all of us to think more deeply, ask more questions and push for excellence.

He also is a brilliant historian. While here, Hank finished his book "The Race Beat" (co-authored with Gene Roberts) on the media and the civil rights battles of the South. They won the Pulitzer Prize for this critical work.

We will miss Hank and all he has taught us. We wish him the absolute best in this next chapter of his life. We will gather at Manuel's this Friday at 7 p.m. for an appropriate send-off. Below is his note to all of us.

Julia

Klibanoff resigns from Journal-Constitution

6/24/2008 2:25:24 PM

Memo from Atlanta Journal-Constitution managing editor/news Hank Klibanoff

To: The AJC staff
From: Hank
Date: June 24, 2008

I don't have an anecdotal lede, a way to foreshadow a suspenseful ending, or some clever device to hook you. I have some news that is difficult to write and best served straight up: I am leaving the paper.

This is just about the hardest thing I've ever done. In an action-packed six years here, I have fallen fully in love with this newsroom, this staff, this company. We've worked and played well together.

Lucky me, I have been in one newsroom or another for 36 years; even luckier for me, my last six years were here with you. I want to thank Julia Wallace for bringing me down here and giving me this glorious opportunity, and James Mallory for accepting me as his managerial partner. I'm grateful to Roger Kintzel for his friendship and kindness and to John Mellott for his remarkable support for courageous journalism and untiring pursuit of freedom of information.

As Cynthia Tucker has heard me say because we've done several engagements together in the past year, there's no one I admire as much as her, and no one I would rather have shared Pulitzer Day with than her. Shawn McIntosh, Mike Lupo, Robin Henry and Bert Roughton have worked smartly, assiduously and, most importantly, humanely during my time here to lift the quality of the newspaper; in the past 18 months, they have worked themselves to exhaustion to make the reorganization work. There are so many others to thank that a listing is impossible, but I am thinking especially of Angela Tuck and Myra Evans.

But I'm most grateful for the opportunity to work side-by-side with the reporters and photographers, editors, researchers, artists, designers, producers, managers and all the other staff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ajc.com on some of the most important, engaging and high-impact stories an editor could ever hope to cross his desk. That, of course, is the hardest part about leaving -- that and my realization that I will not get back to producing our annual Year in Review Revue! I leave knowing that Thomas Oliver, Charles Gay and Minla Shields have shown, day after day, the leadership qualities that made mine superfluous.

So it's time -- and it's the right time -- for me to do something else.

I feel I have another big chapter to write, and I don't want to wait til it's too late. I cannot tell you right now what that next thing is because I don't know. Over the past year, I have seen some possibilities, and received calls about others, that interested me, intrigued me, or fascinated me. Leaving allows me to look and listen openly and cleanly.

Over the past few months, the feeling that I might want to do something else has grown even more intense. And I kept hearing, from deep in my childhood, words of the man best known for uttering the Golden Rule, Rabbi Hillel, some 2000 years ago. But the Hillel maxim that landed in my mind and would not leave was the third question in the challenging series of three queries Rabbi Hillel asked, questions that exist at the interplay between selfishness and selflessness: "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?"

None of that makes this easier, now that the announcement is upon me. What seemed intellectually rational a few weeks ago now is filled with emotion for me. That's a measure of my love for this newspaper and all of you.

Hartford Courant's "smarter, smaller paper"

6/23/2008 4:29:44 PM

Memo from Hartford Courant's managing editor

From: Roessner, Barbara
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 4:14 PM
To: Courant News Staff
Subject: first draft of "new" weekday courant sections...

Thanks for your smart, suprising, funny, imaginative ideas for the
"new" weekday paper, pending a substantial cut in space and staff. As
we deadline types well know, there's nothing like extreme pressure to
clarify the mind -- hence the deluge of good, even great, ideas. I have
yet to settle on content specifics, but your input has helped inform my
first run at how the paper will be sectioned. I presented this to
advertising, production and circulation veeps this morning. I'll be
hearing back from them later in the week, as I'm sure I'll be hearing
from you.

The basic weekday architecture consists of three broadsheet sections
(exceptions on Monday, when comics/puzzles roll into Sports; and
Saturday, when features and Sports merge into an outdoors-themed
hybrid). The three basic sections are:

CT/NEWS
Frontload the A section with Connecticut news, including facing pages
on A2 and A3 to showcase what distinguishes the Courant from all other
media outlets -- the scope, breadth and depth of our state and local coverage. (Eliminate freestanding Connecticut section.)

Include strategically chosen, consumer-focused economic and business
news in the A section, boldly labeled. (Eliminate freestanding Biz
section. Stock tables to web.)

Include nation/world pages, In Brief and In Depth, in back of section.

Editorial page(s).

CT/LIFE
Theme features sections on Tuesday (music/youth culture), Wednesday
(health/aging), Thursday (food/consumer), Friday (home/family), Saturday
(outdoors/things to do), with obits moving to back of sections.

Eliminate Monday Life (puzzles, etc., fold into back of sports),
eliminate Thursday and Friday Life (Flavor, At Home morph into main
features sections), Saturday Life merges with outdoors-themed Sports
section.

Keep Cal.

CT/SPORTS
Maintain weekday Sports section, showcasing Connecticut-centric
enterprise and reducing newshole by moving much of the agate and
national coverage online, with bold web refers in print. Eliminate most,
or all, special sections; roll them into daily sections.

Monday Sports section absorbs comics/puzzles. Saturday sports section
merges with features, showcasing outdoors or "Get Out" theme.

Okay, that's the gist. I await the fallout, as I press forward with
more specifics on page counts, color positions and specific content that
will make this smaller, smarter paper an interesting weekday read. I'll
keep you posted as a final draft takes shape and we move on to a
page-by-page redesign.

Thanks again,
Bobbie

Daytona Beach News-Journal prepares to be sold

6/23/2008 1:28:20 PM

Statement to Daytona Beach News-Journal employees from Georgia M. Kaney

As you know, the company is being prepared for sale. These preparations are occurring during a major downturn for the US newspaper business, a downturn we are feeling in our market.

As part of the sales process, Cox Enterprises and News-Journal Corporation hired a sales broker and a consultant to help us prepare the company for sale. It is their recommendation that some major changes need to be made now to make the company more attractive to a potential buyer, as well as strengthen the financial condition of the company in this economic downturn.

Today we will announce those changes to you. And starting today and continuing through this week we will make the changes that we announce this morning.

ORGANIZATION
We will make changes in the way The News-Journal is organized to simplify the operation and reduce costs. These changes will also bring our organization structure into alignment with the way most US newspapers are set up.

Here are the major elements of the change:
1. The creation of a production director position, with production department managers reporting to this new position. We have appointed Robert Page to be production director, and Rex Smith will succeed him as packaging and distribution manager.

2. We will move responsibility for the Business Report content to the editorial department, and also move the Business Report content employees from the advertising department to the newsroom.

3. We will eliminate the Community Relations department. Events management will be consolidated in the advertising department. Contributions management will be moved back to the front office, to be handled by Connie Fagan. NIE will continue to report to the marketing and promotion department, and we will convert NIE exclusively to the use of the electronic edition.

4. We will consolidate Marketing Development and Strategic Marketing into a new Marketing and Promotion department, headed by Lori Kopp.

5. To jump-start our on-line sales and to strategically package classified sales with on-line, we will consolidate on-line and classified advertising under current on-line manager Chris Maikisch.

6. We will make Creative Services a part of the Advertising Department.

7. We will outsource several activities that we now perform in-house, reducing headcount and overhead.

8. In conjunction with some publication changes you�ll hear about this morning our bureaus in Flagler County, New Smyrna Beach and DeLand will be closed.

PUBLICATION CHANGES
1. We will discontinue publication of the West Volusia Neighbors sections and the New Smyrna Beach Daily Journal.

2. We will incorporate some localized content and zoned advertising into the local sections of the West Volusia, Southeast Volusia and Flagler editions of The News-Journal.

3. Publishing stock market results five days a week has been discontinued, instead we will enhance the capabilities of our website with additional stock market information and services.

HEADCOUNT REDUCTIONS
To reduce costs we will announce over several days this week a reduction in force.

The total number of employees involved is 99.

The reduction in force will affect the editorial, advertising, circulation, creative services, operations, purchasing, distribution and community relations departments.

These will be involuntary terminations, and are only being done for economic reasons. The people being let go will be notified this week in meetings with their department head and an HR representative. Each person to be let go will be offered a severance package. The package will be:

� One week�s pay per year of service, with a maximum of 26 weeks� pay, and a minimum of 4 weeks� pay.
� Continued health insurance coverage under the company plan through the end of this year.
Another change put into effect, at the end of this week all rates of pay will be frozen. There will be no further pay raises given for the next 12 months, unless a new owner chooses to do otherwise.

These changes are unwelcome, but required. Unfortunately, this same scenario is playing out at many newspapers these days. The best thing we can do is stay focused on our jobs, and serving The News-Journal�s readers and advertisers. Despite the unavoidable disruptions and distractions this week, we still have jobs to do, and it is in everybody�s best interest that we do them professionally and well.

Thank you for your cooperation and hard work.
Georgia M. Kaney
Publisher

Chicago Tribune editor's memo

6/20/2008 11:33:00 AM

Memo from Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski

Dear Colleagues,

As you well know, we have launched a project to remake the newspaper,
necessitated by a call to reduce our resources but, I hope, guided by our
desire to serve our readers and this great city as smartly and passionately
as ever.

The timeline for this is faster than previous redesigns of the paper and
will require the uninterrupted attention of many of our staff. It also will
demand the best thinking of you all and a process by which everyone has the
chance to be heard even while decisions are proceeding at a quickened pace.
I wanted to share the outlines of that process and the timeline so you know
what to expect.

Bill Parker is overseeing the project and a steering committee that includes
Hanke Gratteau, Jim Warren, Randy Weissman, Joe Knowles, Jane Hirt, Linda
Bergstrom, Jim Kirk, Kerry Luft, Geoff Brown, Louise Kiernan, Eric Zorn and
me. Our charge is to chart a direction for the Tribune that consistently
delivers the quality our readers expect and value most, while enhancing and
protecting a viable business model that will flourish long into the future.
We are committed to determining the basic architecture and sectioning of the
paper within 30 days; deciding on paging (how many and where) within 45
days; understanding our staffing levels throughout the paper in 60 days; and
being ready to launch a rethought and redesigned Tribune within 90 days in
mid-September.

In order to accomplish so much at that pace, we have drafted two terrific
groups of colleagues to begin executing new versions of the news and
features portfolios under the direction of Joe Knowles:

--Jim Kirk is leading the news group, which includes Bill Adee, Rochell
Bishop, Robin Daughtridge, Cara DiPasquale, James Janega, Mike Kellams,
Peter Kendall, John P. McCormick, Dan McGrath, Flynn McRoberts, Jennifer
Mystkowski, Mike Tackett and Joyce Winnecke.

--Linda Bergstrom is heading the features group, which includes Tim Bannon,
Geoff Brown, Torry Bruno, Wendy Donahue, Chris Jones, Scott Powers, Sheila
Solomon, David Syrek, Liz Taylor and Shaila Wunderlich.

Each of these teams will be calling upon additional expertise in the
newsroom as they reach certain decision points. Moreover, they will be
working closely with colleagues in key departments outside of editorial,
especially advertising, circulation and operations. In addition, Owen
Youngman has been generously participating in many of our sessions in order
to provide us with key research and financial data.

Independent of this project, we had taken the Saturday newspaper into the
lab a few weeks ago and gone a fair distance in rethinking the last edition
of the week. We were excited about that work, and now see it as an
opportunity to test some notions in advance of this newspaper-wide redesign.
This week, we put Colin McMahon in charge of that project with the goal of
speeding it along and going to market this summer with a reimagined Saturday
paper that should better serve readers while also giving us feedback to
inform the larger undertaking.

You are, of course, welcome and encouraged to speak with any of the folks
mentioned here and share your thoughts about this process and its outcome;
some of you have already done so. In addition, Scott Williams of our
business staff has created an online forum where all of us can post ideas.
The link is http://trb.hswilliams.net/future/ Because transparency and
collegiality will be vital to the success of this project, I would ask you
all to take advantage of this forum, to keep the discussion focused on this
important work, and to please sign your posts.

I thank you all in advance for the hard work that will be required to
complete this undertaking at the same time that we are upholding our highest
standards in publishing today's Tribune. Please let me know if you have
other thoughts about how I and others might improve this process.

With admiration for you all,

Ann Marie

WSJ announces editorial leadership changes

6/19/2008 1:03:23 PM

From: Thomson, Robert
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:55 PM
To: WSJ All News Staff
Subject: Editorial leadership

Dear All,
I am pleased to announce significant changes to the editorial leadership of The Wall Street Journal, changes which will expedite decision-making and give increased authority and responsibility to reporters and bureau chiefs. These changes will take place in tandem with the creation of a central news desk that will allow significantly enhanced co-operation between print, web and Newswires journalists, in New York and around the world.

At the heart of our new structure will be a National, International and Enterprise Team, a triumvirate which will report directly to me and to whom the bureau chiefs will report. Effective July 7, Matt Murray will become National Editor, overseeing American general and corporate news, and Nikhil Deogun will become International Editor and directly oversee our global network of bureaus and correspondents. Mike Williams will preside over a broadened Page One, being responsible for investigative reporting, as well A-heds and leders. The troika, who will become Deputy Managing Editors, will sit close together in what could prosaically be called a �news hub�, thus streamlining commissioning and editing decisions, and giving them a central role in the production and presentation of copy for the paper and the website.

Mike Miller, who continues to oversee the Journal�s features sections, is to be Senior Deputy Managing Editor and will be responsible for editing the paper if I am otherwise engaged. Cathy Panagoulias becomes a Deputy Managing Editor and will take a greater role in providing administrative support for bureau chiefs and in hiring decisions. Jim Pensiero is to be Deputy Managing Editor for operations, and is masterminding our move to Midtown and the introduction of a new publishing system. Alix Freedman will have expanded authority as a defender of the paper�s ethical and journalistic standards. Alan Murray will remain as Executive Editor of the Journal Online, which will have a more influential role at the heart of the reformed news structure, and becomes a Deputy Managing Editor.

Deputy Managing Editor Dan Hertzberg will take responsibility for the European and Asian editions, and will have the task of building our editorial presence and profile in Europe and, in particular, in the U.K. Reg Chua becomes Senior Assistant Managing Editor, and will oversee the Design Team � a new Director of Design will be appointed in coming days - and the development of data resources.

Most news organizations in the U.S. and around the world are in retreat, but Dow Jones is expanding its reporting resources, rapidly developing its digital content and providing journalism of the highest integrity to an ever larger audience in The Wall Street Journal.

Yours,
Robert.

DePalma takes NYT buyout

6/18/2008 11:27:56 AM

To: The [New York Times] Staff
From: Joe Sexton

Folks,

"Tony All the Time" was the nickname on the docks for Tony DePalma's hard-working and honorable dad. Well, Tony did his pops proud with a glorious and varied career across 22 years at The New York Times. Call him, then, "Tony Did it All."

It was in 1978 that Tony sold his first freelance article to The Times. Now, 30 years later, he is returning to the risk and reward of independent writing, and taking the buyout. During his 22 years at The Times, Tony's byline appeared in almost every section of the paper (yes, a soccer match from Azteca stadium in Mexico City). At the Times, he was foreign correspondent, international business correspondent, national education reporter, Newark correspondent, and most recently environmental reporter on Metro. During that time he has also written two books (one has been optioned for a movie) and was a finalist for an Emmy. He will be writing more books at Seton Hall University, where he will become writer-in-residence, and contributing once again on a freelance basis to The Times. His last day here is June 27, and I will be back to you all with the details of a farewell appropriate for such a dedicated journalist and prince of a man.

Joe

Abrams' 15 ways to grow newspapers

6/17/2008 2:23:12 PM

The latest from Tribune chief innovation officer Lee Abrams

Lee's Blog
June 16, 2008
THINK PIECE: 15 POINTS THAT'LL GROW NEWSPAPERS

Two months in. There are consistencies I see in every newspaper. Here are 15 things that I strongly believe can GROW newspapers. It's of course not this simple, but I see these as fundamentally critical from a content perspective. Points I've discussed before, but are becoming glaring:

1. COMPARTMENTALIZING: Want baseball scores? It's all there on the baseball pages of the Sports section. Market report? It's all there on the stock market page. But why aren't other important categories compartmentalized?? In LA, I noticed that the entertainment business stories are there...but they are scattered around the paper. I believe, as an example, the LA Times could OWN Entertainment Business information, IF it was all on one page (es). Right now, you find a story on it...then turn a few pages and there's another story...then turn the page, and another story, it's kind of all-over-the-road. The content is there, but it's not consolidated. The result is that they are not getting the credit or ownership. Same thing with literally ANY important category. Consolidate Crime, environment, gas etc....Newspapers generally "kinda" do this, but as with literally everything, it's so underplayed that it's not noticed. Again, think 10pm News on TV. It's organized. It's consistent. Newspapers are not--or at least not to the point they NEED to be in 2008. If grocery stores were organized like newspapers, you'd wear out your shoes looking for vegetables, as carrots would be in aisle 6, tomatoes in aisle 8, etc...

2. ASSUMPTIONS: Possibly the biggest problem. Assuming. I met a reporter who spent 4 years in Baghdad. Dodging bullets...staying in Hotels protected by the Marines. Yet, I'll bet NO-one outside of the building knew this person was risking their life in Iraq to get YOU the news. If it were CNN, you'd see rockets and RPG's in the background as the reporter ducks shrapnel. In the paper, it's usually a small byline.

Hell, papers should have photos of the reporter with Iraqi kids...be writing diaries. Before I joined Tribune, I had NO idea that reporters were around the globe reporting the news...Because the paper "assumed" I knew. Then I saw an article on Broadway shows. Again a small byline with no mention of "Reporting from New York". These are assumptions that are shooting ourselves in the foot. People DON'T know that you have REAL people exclusively reporting, because we ASSUME they do.

3. THE NPR FEEL? Newspapers strike me as being a little TOO NPR. I like NPR, and their shows like Morning Edition do well. But NPR can also be a bit elitist. Morning News Radio has a lot of similarities to papers: Similar target audience; Old Media; Time restraints. It's probably a good thing to study the feel of a well honed All News Radio station. Yeah, a different medium, but I sometimes get a slower more intellectual NPR feel from papers than a usually quicker paced and more mainstream News Radio delivery. It's all about being INTELLIGENT...not intellectual. We are in the mainstream business. The 2008 Mainstream business. SMART...but not elite....and we DO get a little NPR at times. (And I DO like NPR...)

4. BRAGGING RIGHTS: Ever watch ESPN? They OWN sports. Tiger Woods has a hangnail and they will have the exclusive report. Newspapers need to live in that world a little more. Not sensational...but a little swagger. Words like Exclusive are ok, especially since you ARE often exclusive. Papers still seem rooted in the 50's, before CNN, FOX, ESPN and other modern news vehicles. The thing is---The content is there...but it's SO weakly packaged that the other guys are running right over the papers...we look tired next to 21st Century media...we ARE tired compared to ESPN types. Our tiredness is in our packaging, assumptions and lack of COMPETITIVE DRIVE that insures EVERY page is THE BEST...not OK...THE BEST.

5. LIBERATE THE DESIGNERS. I heard one paper had sections "off limits" to designers. Huh???!!! That makes NO sense. They are the ones that will package the information into greater engagement. Eye power!! THE ENGAGEMENT IS NOT THE HEADLINE AS MUCH AS THE LOOK. The right headline AND an amazing look and you WILL get engagement into the content. That engagement turns users into Fans. But headlines alone, short of a HUGE story ain't going to do it. You need BOTH. /CONTINUED

Abrams' 15 ways to grow newspapers

6/17/2008 2:16:11 PM

5.b LIBERATE THE PHOTOGRAPHERS...Or at least do everything in your power to maximize this STRENGTH,

6. THROWAWAYS: 90% of the Section indexes are throwaways ...afterthoughts. Take a look. It's sort of like "Oh...incidentally, here's what's inside". These are DRIVERS. In 1958 maybe people had time to discover what's inside....today they don't. Or how about "For More...go to www.thenewspaper.com" More what??? Another throwaway. In one re-design I saw an article followed by three web comments with a pointer to the website. That was great. Gave you a TASTE. A generic "For More..." is a waste of ink. Go through EVERY page and you'll see generic throwaways that assume.

7. CONSISTENCY: At most papers, the folks show me their greatest hits. Great pages they've done. Then--I'll look at the date and it was 2004. Yes, it was an amazing piece that LOOKED right...had great graphics, compelling writing and cool support (graphs etc...). But it was 4 years old. We need to do that every page...every day. Why?

a) That's the ONLY way it'll get noticed.

b) You HAVE TO...to survive...and grow. Difficult? Yes...I know. But a
reality of competing in 2008.

EVERY PAGE...EVERY DAY needs to be amazing.

8. LIVING IN THE NEWSPAPER WORLD: Being satisfied with a good traditional looking newspaper isn't going to do it. Gotta break free. Gotta accept what's going on out there and adapt (and flourish) or tweak (and die a slow death). Don't look to other papers. (except foreign ones) YOU are in the position to re-invent. If you look at other papers...you'll continue to live in the past.

9. GETTING NOTICED: An ongoing theme. Papers DO things that'll get
noticed, but package it so it's a mystery. I already said this, but it warrants a repeat. The look...the intelligence...the 2x4...day in and day out. Tweaking will kill you. Aggressively and NOTICABLY changing the look and feel can and most likely WILL grow you.

10. MANANA: Urgency! It's a media war out there that is NOT being won...but CAN. Recipe for failure: Focus Group...evaluate the focus
group...have a committee meeting to evaluate...more focus groups.

This isn't rocket science. It's HARD logistically...but GROWING isn't
rocket science. The biggest problem is lack of urgency. Dramatic
problems require dramatic solutions.

11. HITS: That's the focus. Use the 2x4. Gas Crisis. I don't think a box
on the front page EVERY DAY with a Gas update is out of the question. I
still see stories that, well, are kind of obscure. (aka boring)...OR
worse...great stories that are SO under-packaged, they just don't get
noticed.

12. LUDDITE PENALIZATION: Don't hide cool stuff on the web. Reverse
publish to the paper when it makes sense. Can't quite figure out why we
ASSUME people will find cool stuff on the web. They may. But the
newspaper should SHARE in the often amazing web content--particularly
the graphy stuff that is pure eye stimulation and can go miles in
supporting a story.

13. FREE PUBLICATIONS: I can't help noticing that there's some very cool things being designed into Free Publications. Existing and Prototype.
Why can't some of that be in the core paper? It's almost as if the core
paper is sacred and REAL innovations have to be saved for the free
paper. Huh?

14. MAKE IT EASY: Newspapers have a habit of making things SO hard to read absorb and engage in. We're in the age of Media ease. Make it hard, and they'll go away faster than a CD buyer. You'll have to break away from instincts at times...you'll have to think like a 2008
consumer-easier said than done...

15. MAPS: We are in the GPS age. The eye candy age (and I'm not talking about Page 3)...I mean MAKE INTELLIGENT CONTENT EASY TO ENGAGE IN. There's no law that says intelligent content must be difficult.

....More to come. I realize all of this isn't easy. It's a tough,
challenging and logistically complex business...but these are, in my
opinion, a start. I'm thinking that we can, through smart and dramtic
evolutions, drive the core papers to new heights, which in turn will
drive the ENTIRE BRAND and everyone wins. I think this is all
attainable.

Oh---check WGN-AMERICA. They have blown it up and rating impact has been immediate!

Thanks.

Charlotte Observer cuts 123 positions

6/16/2008 10:13:00 AM

Memo from Charlotte Observer's publisher

From: Caulkins, Ann
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 9:10 AM
To: @Charlotte All
Subject: Letter from Ann Caulkins
To All Observer Colleagues,

I am writing today to tell you that The Charlotte Observer is reducing its workforce by 123 positions, or about 11.1% of the total.

This is a painful but necessary step. We're operating in a time of great change and challenge for our operations, for The McClatchy Company and for the newspaper industry overall. Increased competition and a pronounced economic downturn have combined to reduce revenues dramatically, and these cuts are part of the way we must respond. As you know. We have already been transitioning to new ways of doing business, and we are now accelerating that effort. We are confident in our ability to navigate to a stable and prosperous future as an integrated media company serving as our community's most trusted supplier of news and advertising information.

Reductions will occur in Operations, Advertising, Finance, News, Circulation, Information Technology, Administration, Human Resources and Marketing. Although many of these job eliminations will occur through involuntary layoffs, there also will be opportunities for employees to voluntarily elect a severance package were reductions are occurring in work groups of two or more employees. If enough employees do not take the voluntary option, then the work groups will be reduced according to least tenure. Employees affected by this reduction are being notified as quickly as possible and being provided with information about the severance program and their last day. They will be provided with a transition package that includes a severance pay allowance and benefits continuation. We also will provide outplacement services.

As a news company, we have often reported on such transitions in other industries. Now we face the painful reality of severing employment ties with valued friends and colleagues, many of whom have served the company well for many years. We are sorry to do so, and will do everything possible to make their transition as smooth as possible.

The Charlotte Observer is making other changes in its business model and operations, as well. We have found regional efficiencies with other McClatchy newspapers in the Carolinas, such as working with the Raleigh News and Observer in sharing newsroom resources, consolidation of magazine production work for several of the McClatchy newspapers and a change in newspaper web width from 48 inches to 47 inches. We will continue to look for other operating efficiencies as we respond to our changing business model.

Other workforce reductions were also announced today throughout McClatchy. A press release detailing those actions -- amounting to about 1,400 jobs, or 10% of the company's workforce -- is available on www.mcclatchy.com. As CEO Gary Pruitt says there, "McClatchy is committed to remaining a healthy, profitable company positioned not only to meet current challenges, but to take full advantage of opportunities for growth as we restructure to support our mission of delivering high quality news and information."

This is also a difficult and disorienting time for those of us who remain on the job. Your continued effort and dedication are the foundation of our faith in the future, and we know from experience what a talented and productive group you are. The public service mission that has always animated us remains unchanged, but we will need to make many other changes as we adapt to today's far more competitive media landscape. We will be working diligently alongside you to ensure that we do so.

If you have any questions about the transition program or the voluntary transition option, please contact human resources. If you have any questions about departmental or structural changes, please contact your department manager. Thank you again for your continued service and cooperation.

Ann

Tribune COO on his publisher's departure

6/12/2008 4:37:08 PM

Memo from Tribune chief operating officer Randy Michaels

After 30 years with Tribune Company in a variety of roles, Scott Smith has decided to retire. Scott has had an extraordinary career, beginning in the finance department in 1977. He served as the company's chief financial officer, headed up the corporate development department, and was publisher of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune -- twice. In January 2005 he became president of our publishing group. And he's enjoyed the admiration and respect of his colleagues everywhere he�s been.

Scott�s career has really come full circle. He was instrumental in helping Tribune go public in 1983, and in helping to guide it through the going-private transaction last year. More recently, he�s been helpful as we implement our plans for the future.

Scott will be staying on to help us with the transition to his successor, who we expect to name soon. Attached is Scott's email to employees at the Chicago Tribune, announcing his plans. Please join me in thanking Scott for all of his efforts on behalf of the company.

Randy

Scott Smith retires as Chicago Tribune publisher

6/12/2008 4:13:36 PM

From: Smith, Scott C.
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:01 PM
Subject: My Decision to Retire

Colleagues,

I want to let you know that I will retire as publisher of the Chicago Tribune and president of Tribune Publishing once a successor for my Chicago Tribune CEO role is selected. Sam, Randy and I agree it's time for new leadership to lead the next wave of market driven change in our business.

When the new Tribune era began last December, I committed to focus on my Chicago Tribune duties and facilitate the best possible transition for the company overall. The new era has brought fresh perspectives that I sought to blend effectively with established Tribune strengths, starting with the very talented people steadfastly dedicated to our success. While views and styles clearly differ, we all share the same fundamental goals. As Sam put it, we need to go for greatness built on relevance, revenue and respect, plus generate enough cash flow to pay our debt and create equity value. As tough as market conditions are, I remain confident you will do all you can to best achieve these objectives.

I am proud of all we have accomplished over my 30 years with this extraordinary enterprise. Together we created a lot of value for our customers, communities, owners and each other, navigating major changes in markets, media and the news each day along the way. It has been a profound privilege and pleasure to serve as publisher of the Tribune for the final portion of my career. We expanded our leading position in Chicagoland and among major metropolitan papers in many important ways. Looking forward, you are well prepared to advance the Chicago Tribune and our related media here for the benefit of all we serve.

Thanks for the great honor of serving with you. I will always be a fan and friend.

Best, Scott

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