Posted on 06/19/2008 3:15:49 PM PDT by abb
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution eliminated 21 jobs in its information technology department, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, which added the June 18 cuts were part of a restructuring.
AJC spokesperson Jennifer Morrow told the paper that 30 full-time positions were eliminated but nine of them were open, resulting in 21 employees cut.
The job cuts come less than two months after the paper announced a restructuring of its circulation department, cutting 62 positions and reducing distribution operations down to 49 counties.
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the paper saw a daily circulation drop of 8.5% to 326,907, in the six months ending March 31, 2008. Sunday circulation during the same period fell 5% to 497,149. That decline followed a 9.1% circulation reduction in the previous six-month period.
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/06/16/daily86.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Thursday, June 19, 2008 - 4:05 PM EDT
AJC cuts more jobs in wake of circulation drop
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Giannina Smith Staff Writer
Daily newspapers, including the AJC, are being hit hard by the times as circulation numbers continue to plummet nationwide.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cut 21 jobs in the IT department on June 18 as part of a restructuring. AJC spokesperson Jennifer Morrow said 30 full-time positions were eliminated, nine of which were open, resulting in only 21 employees cut.
According to figures released April 28 from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the AJC saw a daily circulation decline of 8.5 percent to 326,907, in the six-month period ending March 31. Sunday numbers during the same period fell 5 percent to 497,149. This drop in circulation followed a 9.1 percent decline in the previous six-month period.
On April 30, the AJC announced a restructuring of its circulation department, cutting 62 distribution positions and consolidating its distribution operation to 49 counties.
Augusta-based Morris Publishing Group, with $375 million in revenue last year, is also hurting. According to a May 14 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is in danger of violating its debt agreement by Dec. 31, 2008. The news comes after the company reported a startling 43.6 percent drop in profit from continuing operations in 2007.
Morris is the owner and operator of 13 daily newspapers, including The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla.
ping
Yes excellant news. This paper rates right up there with the nyt.
I can’t wait for them to fire Cynthia Tucker.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003818863
A.H. Belo Hits New Post-Split Low On Bad Day For Newspaper Stocks
By Mark Fitzgerald
Published: June 19, 2008 5:20 PM ET
CHICAGO Stock in A.H. Belo, the four-month-old newspaper pure-play split off from Belo Corp., hit a new low Thursday on a day when Wall Street continued bearish on nearly the entire newspaper sector.
Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) hit a 52-week low with its close of $23.67, off 75 cents, or 3.07%. It had traded in a range of $23.81 to $56.36.
Investors may have been reacting to a sour assessment of newspaper stocks from Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert, who wrote that the industry has set new records in 2008 — all of them bad, including three consecutive years of ad revenue declines. Appert reaffirmed his rating of the newspaper sector as “underweight.”
Even a report that there are multiple bidders for troubled Journal Register Co. did nothing to lift the trouble community paper publisher’s stock. On low volume and with the over-the-counter market ticker running slowly, Journal Register (OTC: JRCO.PK) was trading at 20 cents two hours before the close, down 2 cents or 9% from its open.
A.H. Belo (NYSE: AHC) closed at $7.01, down 47 cents, or 6.28%. Its previous low had been $7.29 since opening as a public company on Feb. 11 with an initial price of $16.35.
The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) was also among the bigger percentage loser. It closed at $7.56, down 29 cents, or 3.69%.
After being hammered down more than 7% Wednesday, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel publisher Journal Communications (NYSE: JRN) rebounded very slightly Thursday, ending on the positive side with a close of $5.38, a gain of 2 cents, or 0.37%.
The biggest percentage gainer on the day was thinly traded American Community Newspapers (AMEX: ANE), whose stock has languished in penny territory for months. American Community closed at 28 cents, up 6 cents, or 27.2%.
Any word on Tucker?
All I’ve seen is what I have posted. I’ll look on the AJC site.
Struggling newspaper publisher Journal Register Co. is considering several offers to buy or invest in the company, a major shareholder said.
Richard Barone, chairman of The Ancora Group in Cleveland, said Wednesday he met with the company a few weeks ago to discuss his own offer to buy a 70 to 90 percent stake for $25 million.
“They’re going to give it consideration,” Barone told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “They’ve had other offers and they’re going to look at all these different options.”
Messages left for representatives of Journal Register were not returned.
The company owns 22 daily newspapers, including the New Haven Register in Connecticut, and 312 nondaily publications. Like many newspaper owners, it has struggled with declining advertising revenue. In April, the company’s stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because its stock price fell below required limits for listing.
In the first quarter, Journal Register’s revenue fell by 10 percent to $102.4 million. The company incurred a net loss of $72.2 million, or $1.84 per share, mainly due to a writedown related to its Michigan and New York publications. A year ago, it posted a profit of $29.1 million, or 74 cents per share.
On May 12, Barone sent a letter to Journal Register’s chief executive, James Hall, with his proposal. He said he later met with Hall and the company’s investment banker to discuss the deal. Barone expects Journal Register to make a decision about its options by the end of the month.
Barone said the company has $645 million in bank debt, “which they will not be able to service by the first quarter of next year. Something has to be done between now and then.”
Barone’s investment depends upon a restructuring of the company’s bank debt. Without it, he said he is not interested in pursuing a majority stake.
If his investment goes through, Barone expects to keep the company public and retain current management to run the business since he has no direct publishing experience. He also would look into selling unprofitable publications.
“There are buyers for these that are not strictly financial buyers. They want to obviously break even but are not necessarily focused on profitability,” Barone said. “The issue is, they like owning the property.”
In spite of the newspaper industry’s ailing fortunes, he said it’s “not going to die. It looks like it’s dying, but there’s (always) going to be newspapers.”
Shares of Journal Register rose 2 cents to 22 cents on Wednesday. The market value of the company’s outstanding shares stood at $8.66 million.
AJC also stopped delivering to my area. We are 45 minutes south of downtown Atlanta and they don’t even deliver to the stores here anymore. My father had to fight to get a refund of his subscription that he paid for!
Wait a sec, here..aren’t the IT guys the ones that help run the website and all the other multi-media stuff that supposedly will save the newspaper? So, what gives..
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009657/posts
AJC (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) to trim distribution area (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch)
When will they cut Cynthia Tucker? Everytime a salesperson calls or stops me at the grocery store, I tell them I’ll think about the AJC when Tucker goes.
If they fired the tucker idiot the IT people could keep their jobs.
The article said IT types got the ax. They are the educated employees. Tucker falls in the vast wasteland of BA
If your subscriber and advertiser databases shrink enough, you don’t need as many DBA’s and clerks to administer them.
OHH Wait till I send to my cousin who is in Atlanta Georgia on business LOL!
He hate this paper WITH PASSION
Cut IT? If a paper can’t get Drudge, how can they report the news?
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