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Downie Announces Major Shifts at 'Wash Post'
Edittor and Publisher ^ | 15 November 2006 | Staff

Posted on 11/15/2006 12:38:37 PM PST by shrinkermd

NEW YORK In a surprising memo to staffers today, Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor, announced several general and specific shakeups "to maximize readership of the printed newspaper, build audience on the Web site and further reduce costs in the newsroom."

This includes a plan to "shrink" the newsroom, "tightening up the paper's news hole," cracking down on story length and moving reporters and editors "within and among staffs." The Post is now suffering from regular circulation declines.

Downie called it nothing less than an "opportunity to transform journalism for a new era." He added that it is "the most important change that I will lead as executive editor. It reminds me of my early days in the newsroom, when Ben Bradlee began boldly transforming the paper during the 1960s and 1970s."

(Excerpt) Read more at editorandpublisher.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: circulation; leonarddownie; losing; wapo
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Statement: ...In explaining the bold plan, Downie wrote: "We are not just cutting costs. We believe that everything we are doing will make the newspaper stronger and increase readership of the printed paper and washingtonpost.com.

Hermeneutics: We won the election but lost circulation and it is time to obliquely criticize the Democrats.

1 posted on 11/15/2006 12:38:43 PM PST by shrinkermd
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To: shrinkermd

See what happens when you offend 40% of your readers in northern Virginia and Maryland by cheerleading for Jim Webb and Ben Cardin for six months.........


2 posted on 11/15/2006 12:41:46 PM PST by Dems_R_Losers (The people have spoken.......the housecleaning starts NOW!!)
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To: shrinkermd
Who has the cartoon showing a group of grazing dinosaurs with a meteor streaking towards earth?
3 posted on 11/15/2006 12:41:53 PM PST by CedarDave
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To: shrinkermd

If they wanted to regain readers, they could start by reporting stories honestly and free of bias.

/pipedream


4 posted on 11/15/2006 12:42:05 PM PST by rock_lobsta (Offending liberals since 1993)
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To: shrinkermd

"tightening up the paper's news hole,"

I would have guessed another hole......


5 posted on 11/15/2006 12:42:28 PM PST by dynachrome ("Where am I? Where am I going? Why am I in a handbasket?")
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To: shrinkermd

How about trying not to be left-wing shills for the Rat party? That just may help things out there, turkey!


6 posted on 11/15/2006 12:43:00 PM PST by vpintheak (Yep.)
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To: shrinkermd

Well, at least they got all of the propaganda out in time.


7 posted on 11/15/2006 12:44:33 PM PST by AmishDude (Libertarians didn't lose it for us. They're losers who work against what they claim to want.)
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To: shrinkermd

Well, he should start printing it on a mildly scented 2-ply stock, and avoid any typographic inks which could leach or smear.


8 posted on 11/15/2006 12:44:52 PM PST by GSlob
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To: shrinkermd
Downies Announces Major Shifts At Wash Post

Tass used to do the same thing in the old Soviet Union, depending on the political climate and who was, and was not sitting on the Politburo.

It's the same old agitprop with a few different names over the columns.
9 posted on 11/15/2006 12:46:11 PM PST by mkjessup (The Shah doesn't look so bad now, eh? But nooo, Jimmah said the Ayatollah was a 'godly' man.)
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To: shrinkermd
"tightening up the paper's news hole,"

That's a quote begging for a punchline....

10 posted on 11/15/2006 12:47:00 PM PST by The_Victor (If all I want is a warm feeling, I should just wet my pants.)
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To: shrinkermd

Get rid of Bob Woodward and his election-timed book releases.


11 posted on 11/15/2006 12:48:08 PM PST by what's up
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To: dynachrome
"tightening up the paper's news hole,"

I would have guessed another hole......

So tight that one would be hard pressed to drive a needle through with a sledge hammer.

12 posted on 11/15/2006 12:48:16 PM PST by brewcrew
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To: shrinkermd

13 posted on 11/15/2006 12:48:27 PM PST by gaijin
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To: Tribune7
Man, I can't wait for the layoffs at the Inky here in Philly. Add Steven A. Smith and Monica Yant Kinney to Frank Fitzpatrick, Trudy Rubin, William Bunch, Elmer Smith, and Howard Gensler.

In fact, they probably ought to just fire everybody except for Craig LaBan and Rick Nichols, the food columnists.

Trib, did you read Jewel of the Mekong in the Sunday Inky? David Lamb has all the writing skills of a ninth grader. Pedantic, Precocious, and Overly Personal. Made my toes curl up, the guy used every cliche in the book.

Owl_Eagle

If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.

14 posted on 11/15/2006 12:50:45 PM PST by End Times Sentinel (In Memory of my Dear Friend Henry Lee II)
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To: shrinkermd
"NEW YORK In a surprising memo to staffers today, Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor, announced several general and specific shakeups 'to maximize readership of the printed newspaper, build audience on the Web site and further reduce costs in the newsroom.'...This includes a plan to 'shrink' the newsroom, 'tightening up the paper's news hole,' cracking down on story length and moving reporters and editors 'within and among staffs.' The Post is now suffering from regular circulation declines."

HA!!
Is this a case of simple denial.

...or a complex one. :o)

15 posted on 11/15/2006 12:52:02 PM PST by Landru (That does it, no sleep number for you pal.)
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To: Landru

"Why do we need you when the AP, Al Jazeera and Reuters gives us the same information and I can get a 12.00 an hour typesetter?"

Ahh.. to be a journalism student today. So full of ideals and integrity, only to throw it away on rewriting anti-American proaganda from the European press.


16 posted on 11/15/2006 12:59:52 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (I thank the RNC for freeing me to vote my values rather then political party. It is liberating!)
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To: shrinkermd

Do they still outsource their articles to India?


17 posted on 11/15/2006 1:01:02 PM PST by Loyal Buckeye
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To: shrinkermd
Media Death Watch. It's too late. The WAPO's readers left a long time ago because of the paper's obvious bias and anti-American spin it put on every story.

Readers have found other sources such as FOX News, conservative talk radio, the internet, blogs and other non-left souses.

The Washington Post has been wrong, wrong, wrong for a long, long time. It's time to put it to bed.
18 posted on 11/15/2006 1:06:32 PM PST by R.W.Ratikal (q)
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To: CedarDave
I like this one.


19 posted on 11/15/2006 1:11:33 PM PST by united1000 ("An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last " Sir Winston Churchill)
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To: shrinkermd
Dinosaur Media Death Watch® ping.
20 posted on 11/15/2006 1:13:06 PM PST by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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