Posted on 01/14/2010 2:00:37 PM PST by abb
Anchorage Daily News managers on Tuesday announced their intention to eliminate the jobs of a handful of journalists as McClatchy Co., a California-based newspaper chain, continued its strategy of maintaining profit margins by cutting costs. Over the past two years, dozens at the newspaper have been laid off, taken buyouts or left on their own, as what was once Alaska's only statewide newspaper has retreated back to the 49th state's largest city. Insiders say Daily News circulation, down from more than 70,000 to near 50,000 papers a day, is continuing to decline, while cuts in news staff have hampered efforts to take the publication online in a big way. The paper's Juneau bureau has been vacant since the end of the legislative session last year. The paper's staff has been told the Alaska Legislature will be covered this year by a rotation of reporters visiting from Anchorage.
The names of the journalists expected to leave the Daily News in the latest round of cuts are not clear at this time; however, sources say some of the paper's most experienced senior staff are likely to leave.
The Daily News has offered no public outline of the cutbacks. On Tuesday, editor Pat Dougherty posted on his blog the news that Morris Publishing Group, owner of Alaska Magazine and several Alaska newspapers, is now seeking bankruptcy protection, yet made no mention of the cutbacks coming at his own publication.
The Daily News' parent company, McClatchy Co., has trumpeted its ability to maintain profits by cutting costs, especially in newsrooms, at all of its 30 daily newspapers, from Miami to Anchorage. "Profits from McClatchy's continuing operations more than doubled year-on-year from $19 million to $42 million," The Guardian reported in July. McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt last month reported that advertising revenue at the company's newspapers are "finally, finally, improving," and that all of the chain's newspapers are profitable. Still, new layoffs are coming this month not only in Anchorage but at McClatchy operations elsewhere. Fitch Ratings, a market analyst, on Tuesday praised McClatchy's cost cutting measures, but noted the "belief that McClatchy has an untenable capital structure relative to the prospects for its future cash flow generation. Fitch has believed that absent a refinancing or equity issuance, a default of some sort would be inevitable."
The company remains more than $1 billion in debt from the purchase of the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain in 2006. Some analysts speculate McClatchy could at some point join Morris in bankruptcy court.
ping
Somewhere in New York City, Sarah Palin is laughing her ass off
Indeed.
Probably.
Problem is these people will just show up somewhere else. I hate dealing with fired journalists at the McDonald’s drive up.
Much of that can be attributed to the way the ADN has treated Sarah Palin since her VP nomination. Disgusting.
Morris Communications in GA filed this week too. They own the Topeka, KS paper.
they’re still treating her that way. a couple of days ago they were bashing her for signing on with Fox News....calling her a hypocrite for joining the very group she bashed during her campaign....the mainstream media. clueless!!!
Me, too.
I place my order, and they keep bugging me for a "second source."
WaPo sets new guidelines for events; names general manager
After last summer’s “salon” debacle, the Washington Post brass has established new guidelines for conferences and live events.
“The guidelines are important to upholding our journalistic independence and credibility, and when followed will help to ensure our integrity,” executive editor Marcus Brauchli wrote in a staff memo obtained by POLITICO. “They will be posted on The Source as part of our effort to overhaul and update our standards and ethics policies.” (The Source is used internally for staffers).
As part of the new guidelines, future Post events will have to be on the record with the newsroom choosing the topics and content.
How sucky must you be if people don’t want to read your stories about Gov. Palin?
Come on guys; everybody knows that liberal journalists aren’t qualified to work at McDonald’s. Their hiring standards are better than that.
Anchorage used to have two great daily newspapers, the Times and the Daily News. A part of the community died when the Times folded, and the Daily News has been reduced to a thin whisper of a paper reflecting the few liberals in the state. Many of the columnists are far left lunatics; the paper went out of its way to smear native daughter Sarah Palin; and the paper reflects the community like a fun house mirror. When I was a very young reporter in Alaska, I used to emulate the Anchorage Daily News style and approach; that disappeared a long time ago. Now that I live out here in the Alaska Bush, there is nothing where the Daily News used to be. RIP.
"Journalistic credibility" -- now THAT's one for the books!!
There's FAR more intelligence in "military intelligence" than there is credibility in "ournalistic credibility."
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