Home delivery reduced for six Booth papers in Michigan

Bad news from MLive country:

http://blog.mlive.com/updates/2011/11/letter_from_our_publisher_anno.html

Here's hoping none of my former Ann Arbor News co-workers lose their jobs - or anyone else, but these cuts are worrisome, as all are. Man, I hope they're OK.

The reductions are in Saginaw, Bay City, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Jackson.

 

Looks like it'll be some pretty big consolidations across the eight-paper Booth chain in Michigan. Ouch.

 

Let's cut the home delivery, but force people to look at our cookie-cutter website designed in the 1980s... WTF

 

I'll bet this won't be the only news today about a shift in delivery, printing and online plans.

 

This sucks for many reasons. Always enjoyed the GR Press back when I lived in western Michigan. Had a solid sports section back in the 1990s, and some good people worked there.

Home delivery on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday??? Not great for delivering prep coverage, since most games are Tuesdays and Fridays.

I wonder why those three days were picked ... my guess is grocery store inserts are in the Thursday paper, and obvious Sunday has a ton of inserts. But Tuesday?

 

I'm sure it's whichever days make the paper the most money.

 

Maybe the chain can be like the Philadelphia Inquirer and start selling crappy Android tablets for readers to access the cookie-cutter website.

 

Of course. But just odd that those are the three days.

At my shop, the Tuesday paper is TINY (we're a 7-day, 22K morning paper). The three heaviest days for both page count and inserts are the Wednesday, Friday and Sunday papers.

Must be different in Michigan.

 

Heard from a former co-worker this morning that there are meetings scheduled today at one Newhouse Alabama paper to discuss the "statewide online initiative," whatever that means.

I never understood the whole Booth/Newhouse synergy, but I know they're closely tied.

 

There will be a universal desk in Grand Rapids. Other deskies from around the state can apply for those positions at, I'm sure, far less pay. Damn, damn, damn.

 

Just talked to my friend at The Flint Journal ... well, he WAS at the Journal. He got laid off, he's 31 and he did plenty of web-based content for MLive. Shitty business.

 

I know at one time Michigan was the last bastion of afternoon newspapers. The Booth newspapers in places like Kalamazoo were some of the largest afternoon papers in the country because there are no large urban afternoon dailies left. Have these papers switched to a morning edition?