More from Lean Dean

[Left_Coast]

First, the layoffs at the L.A. Daily News. Then the planned layoffs at San Jose (100 or so) and the predicted consolidation of reporting, etc. among Contra Costa/Oakland Tribune/San Jose.

Now ...

The Oakland Tribune is leaving downtown its Tribune Tower in downtown Oakland and all three papers advertising and classified will be consolidated in one place.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/?p=250

The same blog said Contra Costa's publisher told the newsroom to expect "layoffs in the weeks ahead."

How soon before there's one newsroom for all three papers?

Again, not a surprise. This is the Singleton M.O. He did it in Southern California, turing some pretty good papers into virtually nothing. Now he's doing it here.

Though at least he found some spare cash lying around to hire back Woody Paige at the Denver Post.

[fishwrapper]

This cannot be a shock to anyone, right?
This is what this man does. Dean Singleton has done it for more than three decades. He closed the Fort Worth Press and sold off the parts for profit in 1975.
What troubles me the most: Somehow, recently, he has become some sort of Newspaper Dignitary. He's not. Other than covering local sports and local government, his papers are lean-running cash cows with little investment in journalism and investigative reporting. It's a model. A money-making model for a profiteer. No more. No less.

[Double J]

Lean Dean, what a great nickname. Reminds me of a now-retired publisher in Ontario who was infamous for his cost-cutting abilities -- he was called "Jake the Knife."

[Football_Bat]

Layoffs in San Jose ... Santa Cruz going CNHI ... Ouch!

[DyePack]

The deities at Poytner and E&P should be along any second now to expose this scandal. In fact, I hear them now:

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (we love publishers) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ..."

Well, maybe they just need more time.

[fishwrapper]

Dyepack,
You're exactly right. That is the problem. Poynter and E&P (and the New Yorker) are always willing to hit anyone from an editor down to an agate clerk. But, God forbid, they write a cross word about a publisher.
They must keep those lines of communication open for that day when they need that ever-important quote to make their story: "We are looking to move forward as a company and a newspaper so we can better serve our readers."

[dixiehack]

Dyepack,
You're exactly right. That is the problem. Poynter and E&P (and the New Yorker) are always willing to hit anyone from an editor down to an agate clerk. But, God forbid, they write a cross word about a publisher.
They must keep those lines of communication open for that day when they need that ever-important quote to make their story: "We are looking to move forward as a company and a newspaper so we can better serve our readers."

How come Dyepack gets his secret Santa gift first?

But he's right in this instance.

[Left_Coast]

Media News is proposing a 30 percent pay cut for the Mercury News in new contract negotiations.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/?p=282

[Screwball]

Pretty standard stuff for Singleton. When he bought the Long Beach paper, he fired everyone on staff and forced them to re-apply for their jobs. You didn't get your old job back without a pay cut similar to what he's proposing for San Jose.

In Long Beach, he busted the union -- in the middle of a contract -- by getting a judge to agree that he had not bought the union contract when he bought the paper. It will be interesting to see if he tries this strategy again. 

[tyler durden 71351]

The deities at Poytner and E&P should be along any second now to expose this scandal. In fact, I hear them now:

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (we love publishers) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ..."

Well, maybe they just need more time.

Those guys at Poynter are a bunch of old biddies. When the Armstrong Williams payola story broke, they gave some wishy-washy comment about how that wasn't good...but if some poor bastard making $30,000 a year eats an egg roll at a trade show for an industry he covers, well, they come down on that like he's destroying journalism.

[Gold]

Does this really surprise anybody?  I mean, what about San Jose would make people think anything different would happen.

The difference in 2006 is that San Jose is the capitol of high tech, and people in that area are more likely to be connected to the Internet.  That is a situation where it is likely to go downhill extremely fast.

[slappy4428]

Layoffs in San Jose ... Santa Cruz going CNHI ... Ouch!

A one-two punch I wouldn't wish on Sauronpolopack, Tom Petty or Lyman ... D_B however...

[DyePack]

The deities at Poytner and E&P should be along any second now to expose this scandal. In fact, I hear them now:

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (we love publishers) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ..."

Well, maybe they just need more time.

Those guys at Poynter are a bunch of old biddies. When the Armstrong Williams payola story broke, they gave some wishy-washy comment about how that wasn't good...but if some poor bastard making $30,000 a year eats an egg roll at a trade show for an industry he covers, well, they come down on that like he's destroying journalism.

Because that's their only power: Scaring people into thinking they "need" the training seminars at Poynter.

The organization takes no hard stands on any issues, other than the incredibly obvious.

Their alleged "heavy hitters" are reduced to providing quotes on occasion. There's no presence at a time when a guiding presence with some grounded thought would be needed.

[Editude]

Says Mrs. Editude, who is a half-full person: "30 percent? That's depressing." It's also Del Taco manager level without the 20 percent discount on chili cheese fries. Merc has some good people and puts out a good section; this is not good.

[Left_Coast]

Eight layoffs in Northern California, including a preps writer.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/?p=342

[Claws for Concern]

Eight layoffs in Northern California, including a preps writer.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/?p=342

The hits keep on coming

[Birdscribe]

And to think, I was once a finalist for a job at the CC Times...

This sucks. Big time.

Perhaps the folks rending their garments for St. Dean Baquet will shed a few threads for these folks, who deserve it a hell of a lot more.

[Left_Coast]

http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_4643303

When the number of cuts aren't being announced, just that they're "broad but not deep" that's not good.

[slappy4428]

http://www.insidebayarea.com/business/ci_4643303

When the number of cuts aren't being announced, just that they're "broad but not deep" that's not good.

How about this bullshit?

 Jobs were eliminated in the Contra Costa Newspapers advertising production department. The staff was told its work would be outsourced to Express-KCS, a U.S. company with operations in India. Production artist, typist and proofreader operations will be eliminated between Dec. 8 and March 30.

[goose]

Sounds like buyouts are on the way in St. Paul, too.

http://www.startribune.com/535/story/808625.html

[ARD]

Ad design at Columbus Dispatch also headed to India:

http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/11/20061111-B1-02.html

The Dispatch Printing Company has contracted with an Elgin, Ill., graphic-design company to create ads for The Dispatch’s advertising clients, allowing for greater efficiency and more rapid turnaround.

...

Most of the graphic-design work done for those companies is handled by some of Affinity’s 550 employees who work in Pune, India. Advertisements created for The Dispatch will be created there as well.

[Columbo]

The deities at Poytner and E&P should be along any second now to expose this scandal. In fact, I hear them now:

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (we love publishers) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ..."

Well, maybe they just need more time.

Those guys at Poynter are a bunch of old biddies. When the Armstrong Williams payola story broke, they gave some wishy-washy comment about how that wasn't good...but if some poor bastard making $30,000 a year eats an egg roll at a trade show for an industry he covers, well, they come down on that like he's destroying journalism.

I am always concerned that I have been fooling people for 20 years in this business, somehow working my way significantly up the chain.... and that at some point I will be exposed.

That is the way I feel about Poynter, too.... that they are bad actors.

[Left_Coast]

Well, at least Lean Dean is making money with all his cuts.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4668144

Profits at the company go up to $13.3 million this quarter compared with $982,000 in the same quarter last year.

[fishwrapper]

As soon as Deano makes the staff at the Merc re-interview for their own jobs at 25% less wages, we'll see that profit rise even more.
A modern day Robber Baron. A profiteer masquerading as flag bearer of journalism.

[DyePack]

And Poynter would be the anti-Upton Sinclair, urging the workers to keep putting the shit into the processed meat the right way. After all, you can't control the cuts, but you can keep grinding dead rats into the cold cuts.