Albany determined not to put out paper

Sports editor among the 18 let go.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=817722&category=BUSINESS

 

Man, that was the first paper that had me string for them.

 

I spent some time in Albany not too long ago and there was an ad in the local "alternative" paper from the Times-Union.

Of course, I forgot what the ad was about. All I remember was that it had something to do with layoffs at the newspaper, or something. But it was a really good ad. I wish I could see it again.

Anybody have it? ??? :

 

I was just in Albany for a few days and was struck by how huge the paper is. It dwarfs the Baltimore Sun, both in physical size and in the sheer volume of pages. On a regular Thursday and Friday they had 4 or 5 sections - A, local, sports, business, and lifestyle. After experiencing The Sun's shrinkage to two sections most days, printed on teeny little pages, it was striking. Made me think that as Hearst's flagship paper, maybe the TU was immune to the woes wracking the industry. Guess I was wrong.

 

"Reductions in staff are never pleasant," George R. Hearst III, the newspaper's publisher, said Tuesday. "Many of the employees have served with distinction, and our very best wishes are with them as they continue with their professional and personal lives. Of course, our highly paid PR hacks and consultants make us say that. We really don't give a damn what happens to them or their families."

Fixed.

 

They canned the SE!?! Who do the sports reporters fall under now? City editor?

 

Eventually there will be a "Uni-Editor" position to shepherd the remaining writers.

Sixteen more unemployed, skilled people with families and bills. Another publisher and managers still drawing their fat paychecks and spewing platitudes in PR releases.

 

And, you have to assume, Albany readers will be getting a lot of the same stories and layouts in their feature section as readers in Houston and San Antonio.

 

It's not as if the Times Union needed reporters to cover corruption at the state and local levels.

 

Hey! You just reminded me what the ad was about!

 

There's a competitive situation in the area. The Schenectady paper is only about 50K, but last time I saw it a few years ago, it was a complete newspaper, meaning enough local, state, national and foreign coverage that you wouldn't need another paper. Glens Falls is not far and is one of the nation's best 30Ks. And there are JRC dailies in Troy and Saratoga.

 

Was it the cowboy one here (the ads up top rotate).

http://cancelthetu.com/