Journal Register files for bankruptcy

Those officers have already been paid $450,000 for a previous round of cuts, according to court papers.

What is the rationale here? 'If we can't make [enough] money with our product, we'll make it with cuts, to everything and everyone but ourselves'? Sheesh.

And, that first graph and second-to-last graph somehow should've been written up as a combined lede.

Simply stunning -- that buried news, I mean, not the poor job of getting to a big part of the point.

 

Did you ever hear the story of Darth Jelenic the Evil?

He taught his apprentices everything he knew. Then he died in his bed. But his evil lives on.

 

Wait, did I read this right or is my eyesight getting worse? Executives are getting bonuses for FIRING people and CLOSING papers?? How ass-backwards is that?

"Gee, mr. rank-and-file worker, I hate to do this (sarcasm noted), but I have to lay you off if I'm going to reach my goal for this quarter and collect my bonus."

Did I actually READ that?!?!?! WTF!?!?!

Wonder what Mr. Obama and his stimulus package would say to that?

Why doesn't someone, for just once, actually consider expanding and trying to make a profit rather than just hang on tightly to the few acorns they have left?

 

And closing a newspaper can be considered a goal of newspaper executives. I love that.

 

It was that way even in better financial times. The publisher at my former JRC shop got an end of the year bonus based on how much he came in under budget. Not how many more subscribers he got or papers he sold. How much he came in under budget.

 

Because holding on tightly to the few acorns they have left is easier and requires less risk. And given how much money these executives make, they sure don't want to be taking any risks with their golden goose.

 

Just what are they going to be executives of when the paper closes. It reminds me a scene from a movie (can't remember the title), where one man has this elaborate executive office on the top floor of a large building. Sign on the door says "Mr. XXXXX, Chairman and Chief Executive". Only the rest of the building is completely empty. At that time, I thought the image was funny.

 

Likewise, how in the world can Wall Street have failing businesses getting multi-billion-dollar bailouts from the government, then turn aorund and still award tens of millions in bonuses because, they say, they are afraid of losing "top talent."

Makes you wonder----by what measure are they judging this so-called "talent"?

 

Or they could say fuck the bonuses and not fire anyone? It's a wash right?

This is just so morally wrong.

 

It's JRC.. the legacy of Bob Jelenic.. of course it's wrong

 

As much as I understand that the Internets have helped kill newspapers, I can't help but believe that the death of newspapers began when publishers quit caring about making great products and began caring only about making great profits.

 

That's so true. I felt a tremor in the force a long time ago. JRC's move just sucks.