Posted on 12/01/2006 1:18:06 PM PST by abb
ven though employees knew it was coming, word that 21 newsroom staffers at the Pioneer Press are taking buyouts still had some shock value when it was announced Thursday.
In all, about 30 employees across all departments at the paper took buyouts.
Among those leaving the paper are columnist Laura Billings, politics reporter Patrick Sweeney and others who all told have 502 years in the newsroom at the state's oldest newspaper.
"There's a lot of pain associated with this," said Kay Harvey, a features writer with 26 years at the paper who is among those departing. "I would not be leaving if it weren't for the buyouts."
The announcement comes as the newspaper is trying to cut costs in response to declining advertising revenue.
Earlier in the budget-trimming process, the paper decided to eliminate a group of "on-call" employees who filled in on the newsroom copy desk. These on-call jobs, added to the buyouts, enabled the paper to reach its goal of cutting 40 full-time positions across all departments, with the newsroom taking a disproportionate chunk of the job losses.
Newsroom employees were told last month that at least 10 buyouts were needed in the newsroom to avoid layoffs, and the 21-staffer figure turned some heads. Management had wanted employees in other parts of the building to accept buyouts as well, said Par Ridder, the newspaper's publisher. "We had hoped for a little more cooperation than we got," he said.
The newsroom cuts are essentially a 10 percent reduction from the current staffing level of 200 workers. The people leaving include editors, clerks, copy editors, photographers, and reporters.
Thom Fladung, the paper's editor, said he agreed to the larger number of buyout requests, in part because he felt the people who stood up deserved the deals. The other factor was the budget assumptions in other parts of the building that didn't pan out.
He said he turned down fewer than five newsroom requests, tied to individuals' unique skills and key positions.
The people taking buyouts "have been peers, coaches and friends to us," he said in an e-mail to the newsroom. Today is the last day at the paper for the people taking buyouts. The package amounts to two weeks worth of pay for every year of service at the paper, up to 52 weeks.
Early next week Fladung said he'll pass on more information about how the buyouts will affect the workers who remain. The changes will put a higher premium on communication in the newsroom and identifying the best stories, he said.
"This was so fast," said Don Effenberger, 57, an editor at the paper with 28 years of experience. Employees had about three weeks to decide whether to take the buyout. Effenberger says he's not retiring, though, and will look for another job.
Word of the buyouts caps a tumultuous year for the paper, which saw the demise of its long-time owner, Knight Ridder Inc.; a sale to McClatchy Corp., the owner of the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune; and then a resale to Hearst Corp., which still technically owns the Pioneer Press. The paper is managed by MediaNews Group Inc., which has a deal with Hearst to take over ownership.
In addition, management and the paper's largest union, the Newspaper Guild, disagree about what to do with an underfunded pension plan. That issue is currently subject of a lawsuit awaiting a judge's decision.
"It's always a sad day when we lose members," said Cheryl Burch-Schoff, a Guild officer and a copy editor in the newsroom, on Thursday. "The institutional memory that's walking out the door tomorrow is just staggering to calculate."
The decline in ad revenue and the job losses — a trend being felt at newspapers across the country — have many worried about how deep the cuts will go.
"All of us have some fears for the future of the paper," Harvey said.
John Welbes can be reached at jwelbes@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2175.
"There was a land of Publishers and Editors called the Newspaper Business... Here in this pretty world Journalism took its last bow... Here was the last ever to be seen of Reporters and their Enablers, of Anonymous Sources and of Stringers... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered. A Civilization Gone With the Wind..."
With apologies to Margaret Mitchell...
Ping
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/16126482.htm
Newspaper pension freeze rejected
BY JOHN WELBES
Pioneer Press
A standoff over pension funding at the St. Paul Pioneer Press escalated this week when the paper's largest union said it would not agree to a company proposal to revamp the retirement plan.
Managers at the paper have indicated that if the union doesn't agree to a change in the pension plan by Friday, more budget cuts will be needed, including layoffs.
On Wednesday, after several meetings with managers on the new plan, the Newspaper Guild Typographical Union told the company it wouldn't agree to the freeze on the existing pension plan and a move to a 401(k) plan with a company match.
Guild leaders said they turned down the plan, which would affect some 360 Guild-represented workers, because they wanted negotiations to include other parts of the current contract as well. Also, the 401(k) accounts would be less lucrative for employees than the current defined-benefit pension.
The actual timing of any layoffs after Friday is uncertain, said Darren Carroll, a Guild officer. "They said they expected that layoffs would happen if we don't accept," he said.
Par Ridder, the paper's publisher, said he was disappointed by the Guild's decision to reject the proposal. He declined to comment on potential layoffs or other effects.
The paper and the Guild already are in court over the pension plan, which is projected to be underfunded by about $22 million by 2009. The company wants an arbitrator to decide on the freeze, while the union wants the issue to be negotiated in bargaining.
The Pioneer Press already is in the midst of a downsizing that's being accomplished through buyouts and job eliminations. That plan aims to take away the equivalent of 40 full-time positions across the newspaper.
The number of people said to be interested in a buyout, though, indicates the figure could be higher. More details on that downsizing plan could be known as early as today.
John Welbes can be reached at jwelbes@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2175.
I'm stealing that one, lol...
No question about it.
Probably equally biased, but nowhere near equally stupid. The editorial staff of the Strib is the most pristine example of pure, unadulterated stupidity you will ever find. It's amazing that their office hasn't been tested for lead.
What for??
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