DMN update

Here's the info empolyees received from DMN's Empty Suits:

Strategic Team Is Focused on Reshaping the Newsroom
DALLAS -- The Dallas Morning News, a subsidiary of Belo Corp. (NYSE: BLC), provided details today about its previously announced voluntary severance program. The program is part of a broad organizational realignment, adapting print and online products to reflect evolving, fundamental changes in the use of media by consumers and advertisers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Voluntary Severance
The voluntary severance program is being offered to almost all newsroom employees. It is part of the newspaper's overall strategic realignment to reduce expenses and more effectively allocate resources to areas that show the greatest potential for growth.
"As the newspaper industry adapts to fundamental changes, The Dallas Morning News is shifting resources to meet evolving reader and consumer needs," said Jim Moroney, publisher and chief executive officer of The Morning News. "Continual change is the new constant in our business, but it is not for everyone. Therefore, we are offering a voluntary severance package to those who may prefer another work environment."
The Dallas Morning News expects at least 85 newsroom employees to respond to the voluntary severance program offer. Involuntary reductions are possible if voluntary severance program participation does not match the paper's strategic realignment goals.
The voluntary offer consists of a severance payment of two weeks of base pay per year of continuous employment up to 15 years, and three weeks of base pay for each year of service that exceeds 15. An additional lump-sum payment equal to 12 months of the employee's currently applicable COBRA health care premium is included.
The voluntary severance process will follow the schedule outlined below:
August 10-August 23
Eligible employees receive and consider the offer
August 24-August 30
Eligible employees accept the offer, or not
August 30-September 14
The Dallas Morning News considers and confirms employee acceptances
September 15
Final day of work for most of the employees whose acceptance of the voluntary severance has been confirmed
Newsroom Reorganization
Bob Mong, editor of The Dallas Morning News, noted that a strategic team is focusing on reshaping the newsroom to emphasize local content while maintaining the paper's commitment to journalism, expert editing and sophisticated content. The newspaper will focus on local content produced by metro, investigative, business, sports, photo, general news, art and lifestyles staffs. Detailed plans resulting from the team's work, including a significant newsroom reorganization, are expected to be announced in November.
"We need to keep changing and adapting to the requirements of our local audience," said Mong. "As we empower reporters and photographers to employ methods in new media and digital journalism to communicate stories, our emphasis will remain squarely on excellence in every regard."

 

I'd like to strategically realign some of these bastards' faces, if you catch my drift.

 

"Continual change is the new constant in our business, but it is not for everyone. Therefore, we are offering a voluntary severance package to those who may prefer another work environment."

They summoned the ghost of Orwell to do this memo.

 

Also the Belo Empty Suits behind this Corporate Memo crap will be holding their annual retreat next week at ... The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs.

 

Leaving aside for a moment the human factor and questions about print media...

What makes the Dallas Morning News think they are going to be as financially successful as an internet information provider as they are with the Dallas Morning News or the television stations - and somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but Belo owns more television stations than daily newspapers. That being the case, it probably is wrong to think of Belo as a newspaper company.

 

At this point, you are right on the mark there. Belo is no longer a newspaper company. Investors want the company to make money and improve the stock price....aside from that, as an investor, who cares how they get there.

This whole episode is really sad, as it highlights the actual shift in national news coverage. Society will be relying on just a few mainstream print and television media to cover national issues. Thus, we will rely on just a few print and television media to cover regional and local issues. The tail is starting to wag the dog.

Does this mean that we are entering the age of ungerground media, i.e. thememoryhole.com....shit like this? We are losing more than jobs and opportuntiy, we are losing the advantage of press freedoms and first amendment rights. I guess the flip side argument is that the First Amendment is exactly that...an amendment to the constitution, not a part of it's original design.

At the very least, with regard to sports, we are losing the advantage to call these overpaid jack asses out.

 

While all the "voluntary severances" are bad news for those targeted, they do confirm that there is a "favored nation" status in corporate newspapers. Ask all those recently let go by The Press-Enterprise about their severance packages -- the ones provided by the state of California's unemployment insurance program

 

I don't read the DMN to get stories about how Sally Sue and Jimmy Ray are doing on the fucking volleyball and football teams at Plano East.

Fuck. These. Guys.

 

I think that might be the worst part ... say you want to escape, and they don't let you? Then how do your co-workers/bosses treat you? ... "Sorry, you wanted to leave, so we'll give you all the crap assignments we possibly can. And hurry up on that."

 

At the Herald in 2005, considerably more employees applied for the buyout than were accepted. Then the paper laid off people anyway. It's all a bag job. They have a list, and those folks will be gone, one way or the other.

 

So, theoretically, if they get more than 85 people asking for buyouts they can give the buyouts to the people with the least seniority so they don't have to pay as much severance

Then they can "involuntarily reduce" people who are making more money and not have to pay as big a buyout.

 

Man, any manager that pulled something like that should be confined to a nice, cold corner of hell where you have to watch thirtysomething reruns for all of eternity with Joan Rivers babbling in your ear while your feet are pressed against hot plates and eyes jabbed with barbed pokers, but only in the side so you still have to watch that stupid show.

That or a room in hell where you're with Jack Bauer, and you have information that he wants, but you can't talk to give it to him.