Andrew Beaujon
Aug. 9, 2012
7:15 am
Philadelphia Magazine |
Jim Romenesko
Interstate General Media is
looking for $28 million in cuts from operations at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, Newspaper Guild officials Dan Gross and Bill Ross wrote in an email to members obtained by Victor Fiorillo. That follows an emailed update to all employees from Interstate General Media CEO Bob Hall Wednesday, in which he informed employees that
revenue in the first half of 2012 was down $16 million over the same period the year before when the company posted a net loss "in excess of $17,000,000," Hall wrote.
"Our owners are willing to invest in future growth, modifying presses, technology, and marketing campaigns, but they cannot be expected to fund operating losses," Hall wrote. He promised an "extensive research project" will lead to "substantial changes to both our newspapers and Philly.com" and said negotiations on labor contracts will reflect the company's need to "change many practices and cost structures to meet industry standards."
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Steve Myers
July 9, 2012
2:57 pm
Philly.com
Staff of the Inquirer and Philly.com started unpacking at their new home this morning, to be followed by their Daily News colleagues later this week, reports Philly.com. Their new headquarters is a former Strawbridge & Clothier department store, which doesn't carry quite the mystique of their last place, nicknamed the "Tower of Truth."
The Inquirer has chronicled
the history of the old building in photos, and
reporter Alfred Lubrano did so in words, starting with the building's four-faced clock:
The clock has rung its Westminster chimes in 15-minute intervals (save for the hours between midnight and 7 a.m.) since 1925.
And, as the clock has marked the time for generations of Philadelphians, The Inquirer has endeavored to explain that time.
Time is the basic unit of journalism. Every 24 hours for the last 87 years, the paper that's housed in what is lovingly or ironically called the Tower of Truth has described what people have done with the minutes of their lives: from the Scopes "monkey" trial about evolution, featured on Page One of that July 13 paper, through the Great Depression, Hitler, the baby boom, civil rights, Vietnam, Rizzo, Legionnaires' disease, Three Mile Island, Dr. J, MOVE - all the way to Obama, Romney, and the strange year Cliff Lee is having.
And now it's all changing.
Related: Mike Leary, who oversaw the Inquirer's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into school violence,
has been named editor of the San Antonio Express News (Hearst)
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Steve Myers
Apr. 16, 2012
9:09 pm
The Philadelphia Inquirer has been in the news a lot lately, but on Monday it was for the right reasons: the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, for its investigation into violence in city schools.
This is the Inquirer that … Read more
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Andrew Beaujon
Apr. 12, 2012
2:06 pm
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Andrew Beaujon
Mar. 26, 2012
9:09 am
The Philadelphia Inquirer |
Newsworks
Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., is the state's largest hospital. Its chairman is George E. Norcross III, who is
also part of a consortium of investors looking to buy the Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com.
"Over the years,"
write the Philadelphia Inquirer's James Osborne and Craig R. McCoy, "firms with ties to board members or those with a pattern of donations to Democrats in Norcross' base of Camden County have won millions of dollars in hospital-related contracts, public records show."
In February,
Philadelphia Media Network publisher Greg Osberg told editors "he would be overseeing all articles related to the newspapers’ impending sale. If any articles ran without his approval, the editors would be fired." Should we interpret this story as indication that Osberg is practicing a lighter touch?
Meanwhile, Dave Davies reports he's heard from "a credible source"
that more layoffs are possible at the newsroom. Philadelphia Media Network, Davies writes,"envisions dumping another 35 people from the payroll over the next six months."
Related:
As Philly papers cut 37 positions, sale will test whether local owners can stay out of the newsroom (Poynter) |
Interference Seen in Philadelphia Papers (The New York Times) |
NJ paper defends putting ‘political boss’ Norcross on editorial board (Poynter)
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Julie Moos
Mar. 16, 2012
8:12 am
AP | Inquirer | Washington Post
The sale of Philadelphia Media Network
could be a done deal by the end of this month, reports the Associated Press. The sale price for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com is between $40 and $70 million, the AP reports. The papers were purchased for $130 million in 2010 by hedge funds that are now selling them once again. When PMN changes hands,
the news organization will have its fifth owner in six years. And it will be leaner than ever. This week,
21 Guild members took buyouts,
19 Guild members were laid off and
five nonunion employees were laid off (a total of 45 departures), leaving the paper with a newsroom staff of about 350.
Sarah Glover, the sole woman of color on the photo staff of either paper, is among those leaving. The National Association of Black Journalists condemned her departure in a statement.
"Newsrooms suffer greatly when they lose individuals who have the journalistic impact of Sarah Glover. We view her departure from the Daily News as another unsettling attack on diversity. She is a leader in the newsroom and the community. She was among the first photojournalists at the Daily News to develop and hone video skills that she also taught others. Her departure sends a disturbing message."
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Signe Wilkinson will be staying at the paper, though her job was in jeopardy.
Wilkinson tells The Washington Post's Michael Cavna that she "will draw five cartoons a week for the Daily News and three cartoons a week for the Inquirer." Inquirer cartoonist Tony Auth, also a Pulitzer winner,
took the buyout and will go work at WHYY.
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Julie Moos
Mar. 15, 2012
10:15 am
Journalists at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com are learning this week whether or not they’ll be laid off. Twenty-one people have accepted
the buyout offer, called “voluntary” but “some were under duress — as in management told them, ‘You’re going to be laid off and you can get a bigger payout if you sign,’ ” a Guild official told me. In addition, 19 people have been targeted for layoffs. In a new letter to members, Guild President Dan Gross and Executive Director Bill Ross say they will fight the layoffs.
The letter (in full below) rips into publisher Greg Osberg:
"Perhaps instead of killing stories he didn't like about the sale of the company and trying to be seen as some sort of digital visionary by holding press conferences at the Academy of Natural Sciences, giving free rent to start-up companies who play ping pong on the 5th floor at 400 N. Broad, creating a poorly-launched tablet and worrying about apps that make a few dollars, Osberg should be focused on properly staffing the newspapers in a manner that will allow more copies to be sold."
Spokesman Mark Block told WHYY's Dave Davies, "This level of concern by the leadership was a surprise, because they’ve never approached Greg with any of these specific issues ... he would be responsive to any meeting request that either Dan (Guild President Dan Gross) or Bill (Executive Director Bill Ross) would make."
Managers met this morning to review the buyouts and then begin the involuntary layoff process. They will also "reassign workers to fill in gaps."
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Julie Moos
Mar. 8, 2012
6:52 am
Inquirer |
Comic Riffs |
City Paper
The group of local leaders interested in buying the Philadelphia papers is now being led by H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who was asked to take over by former governor Ed Rendell, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Raymond Perelman, who was part of a failed bid to purchase the paper in 2010, has reportedly
joined the group, while has estranged son
Jeffrey Perelman's bid has been rejected in favor of "an exclusive arrangement" with Rendell's group, writes Andrew Maykuth. While Rendell has been the public face of the group, there have been conflicting reports about whether he was investing any of his own money in the purchase of Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. Lenfest could not clarify what Rendell's future role would be.
"I'm sorry to be so vague," he told Maykuth, "I'm not trying to avoid you ... I've not seen any written agreement that specifies all these terms so I'm being cautious about any of this until I see it in writing."
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Julie Moos
Mar. 3, 2012
1:14 pm
Inquirer | New York Post
According to reports, at least two bids have now been submitted to purchase Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com. Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell acknowledged to BuzzFeed's Ben Smith Friday that
his group's bid was in. And Keith J. Kelly and Josh Kosman report that
a bid was submitted by Jeffrey Perelman, whose estranged father
Raymond was earlier denied the opportunity to bid on the daily papers. The closed process became
increasingly controversial as the papers' publisher,
Greg Osberg, prevented his newsrooms' reporters from covering the sale. Mike Armstrong reports on the possible timeline:
Typically, in an auction-like sale, the seller chooses a preferred bidder, and the two sides enter into an exclusive period of negotiation to hammer out the details of a sale agreement. That period could last 30 to 90 days.
Related:
Timeline of Philadelphia paper sales to five owners in six years |
The nine lives of the Philadelphia Daily News (and why it’ll have a 10th) |
Inquirer, Daily News to share content, raising questions about future of separate Philly papers |
Philly papers to lose 37 positions through buyouts, layoffs
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