Ann Arbor

[MGoBlue]

I'm in Hour 5 digesting the news, chatting with former collegues, taking cell calls, answering email.
Nothing more to add except I plan on sitting at the bar stool at 6 p.m., and drinking until I fall over.

Very sad indeed.

 

[write receiver]

Cerainly sad news here, but in no way surprising given the way things have been there for the past year. Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine several Booth papers won't meet the same fate relatively soon. ****

 

[lapdog]

Any word on the Oakland Press?

Oakland isn't Booth. They are JRC.

Dead meat by summertime.

This is just terrible. By the end of the year will Southern Michigan have a daily paper left?

No.

 

[mustangj17]

Any word on the Oakland Press?

Oakland isn't Booth. They are JRC.

Dead meat by summertime.

This is just terrible. By the end of the year will Southern Michigan have a daily paper left?

No.

Your avatar always creeps me out.

 

[SockPuppet]

No newspaper in Ann Arbor as of June ...

Himmmmm, when (if?) Michigan wins another national championship in football or basketball, how will the school get posters of a front page to display in their offices? And there'll be no more pictures of players holding up front pages of "instant editions" that say "UM Champs" ... course, there won't be any photogs to take those pictures anyway .... ah, screw this line of thought. Makes me wanna cry. (Maybe the sarcasm font isn't appropriate; do we have an irony font?

 

[slappy4428]

No newspaper in Ann Arbor as of June ...

Himmmmm, when (if?) Michigan wins another national championship in football or basketball, how will the school get posters of a front page to display in their offices? And there'll be no more pictures of players holding up front pages of "instant editions" that say "UM Champs" ... course, there won't be any photogs to take those pictures anyway .... ah, screw this line of thought. Makes me wanna cry. (Maybe the sarcasm font isn't appropriate; do we have an irony font?

 

[slappy4428]

Ann Arbor News employees can apply for positions, which will pay 20-35 percent less than what they make now, plus a worse benefits package. The sick thing I heard is this is a test/experiment that Newhouse is funding, and if this "innovative" business model for a community news Web site doesn't work and show promise quickly, the rest of the Booth chain will follow suit.

Also F'd up: MLive.com's headquarters also are in Ann Arbor.

Wait, you lost me. If the business model doesn't work, the rest of the chain will follow suit -- how? Wouldn't it make sense for them to follow the community news site if it does work and show promise? Not being a ****, just confused.

 

[mustangj17]

Ann Arbor News employees can apply for positions, which will pay 20-35 percent less than what they make now, plus a worse benefits package. The sick thing I heard is this is a test/experiment that Newhouse is funding, and if this "innovative" business model for a community news Web site doesn't work and show promise quickly, the rest of the Booth chain will follow suit.

Also F'd up: MLive.com's headquarters also are in Ann Arbor.

Wait, you lost me. If the business model doesn't work, the rest of the chain will follow suit -- how? Wouldn't it make sense for them to follow the community news site if it does work and show promise? Not being a ****, just confused.

Speaking of community news sites, does anyone know what changes the community news sites and papers will have, if any at all?

 

[Moland Spring]

So... let me get this straight. They're going online only and hiring actual reporters to do some of the work for less pay. But the main thing for this site will be "community bloggers" who don't get paid.
So here's my thing: These people aren't stupid. At some point, community bloggers are going to be like actual people and want to, ya know, get paid for their work. What then? It all shuts down? New "community bloggers?"

 

[Starman]

So... let me get this straight. They're going online only and hiring actual reporters to do some of the work for less pay. But the main thing for this site will be "community bloggers" who don't get paid.
So here's my thing: These people aren't stupid. At some point, community bloggers are going to be like actual people and want to, ya know, get paid for their work. What then? It all shuts down? New "community bloggers?"

Yep. It worked before, it'll work again. Race to the bottom.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

So... let me get this straight. They're going online only and hiring actual reporters to do some of the work for less pay. But the main thing for this site will be "community bloggers" who don't get paid.
So here's my thing: These people aren't stupid. At some point, community bloggers are going to be like actual people and want to, ya know, get paid for their work. What then? It all shuts down? New "community bloggers?"

You nailed it. They'll just find free replacements. There's always somebody willing to BLOG! for free out there.

 

[HorseWhipped]

Hate to say it, Moland, but that's what inspires the four-inch erections for the suits these days: freelance employees in the office (**** their benefits? Yay!) and a revolving door of people they can get to write for free.

The emphasis is off the story the reader holds in his or her hand in the morning. The focus is on getting it done dirt cheap. And if there are some holes or -- yikes! -- blatant, disgusting, embarrassing errors in there, please call our newsroom reponse line at 1-800-EAT-****.

*** Please note that your call might be monitored for quality control.

 

[CM Punk]

This will tank before Thanksgiving.

 

[Mark2010]

(Citizen Patriot publisher Sandy) Petykiewicz said the Citizen Patriot and all other Booth newspapers in Michigan are committed to being the top information providers in their communities—both in print and online.

I call bull****. How can anyone say this with a straight face 5 seconds after they announced cutbacks?

 

[Mark2010]

So... let me get this straight. They're going online only and hiring actual reporters to do some of the work for less pay. But the main thing for this site will be "community bloggers" who don't get paid.
So here's my thing: These people aren't stupid. At some point, community bloggers are going to be like actual people and want to, ya know, get paid for their work. What then? It all shuts down? New "community bloggers?"

You nailed it. They'll just find free replacements. There's always somebody willing to BLOG! for free out there.

Checked out Craigslist lately? The number of ads for unpaid bloggers is staggering.

 

[RickStain]

So... let me get this straight. They're going online only and hiring actual reporters to do some of the work for less pay. But the main thing for this site will be "community bloggers" who don't get paid.
So here's my thing: These people aren't stupid. At some point, community bloggers are going to be like actual people and want to, ya know, get paid for their work. What then? It all shuts down? New "community bloggers?"

You nailed it. They'll just find free replacements. There's always somebody willing to BLOG! for free out there.

Checked out Craigslist lately? The number of ads for unpaid bloggers is staggering.

And people do it, because there are tons of people out there who want to be writers.

 

[Jim_Carty]

I spent an hour last night interviewing Tony Dearing and can clear up a few misconceptions.

I imagine when the site is fully staffed, it will employ as many, or more, professional reporters as the Ann Arbor News currently does (between 20 and 25, I'd guess), paying them between 30k and 40k with less generous benefits. They will prioritize sports, still travel with Michigan, and provide Michigan coverage for MLive and all the other Booth papers in Michigan. They are not planning to rely heavily on user generated content. Reporters will be expected to take photos, blog, post video and audio. They will be given wide leeway to write opinion.

So, where's the savings come from? Well, the News employs more than 200 people overall and more than 50 people in the newsroom (of which, again, probably 20 to 25 are reporters/photogs). I'd be surprised if AnnArbor.com has a staff that's 25 percent the size of the paper, and it might be smaller than that. And they'll be getting less pay and benefits.

I expect the majority of the staff will not come from the current paper.

More info in an interview with Dearing on my blog:

http://papertigernomore.blogspot.com/

I'm holding off on opinion until I process the whole thing a bit more. For the most part, I'm just very sad, and sometimes angry.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

So... let me get this straight. They're going online only and hiring actual reporters to do some of the work for less pay. But the main thing for this site will be "community bloggers" who don't get paid.
So here's my thing: These people aren't stupid. At some point, community bloggers are going to be like actual people and want to, ya know, get paid for their work. What then? It all shuts down? New "community bloggers?"

You nailed it. They'll just find free replacements. There's always somebody willing to BLOG! for free out there.

Checked out Craigslist lately? The number of ads for unpaid bloggers is staggering.

And people do it, because there are tons of people out there who want to be writers.

Another trend is toward unpaid editors. I see more ads for those each week, and not just on Craigslist.

 

[Desk_dude]

No newspaper in Ann Arbor as of June ...

Himmmmm, when (if?) Michigan wins another national championship in football or basketball, how will the school get posters of a front page to display in their offices? And there'll be no more pictures of players holding up front pages of "instant editions" that say "UM Champs" ... course, there won't be any photogs to take those pictures anyway .... ah, screw this line of thought. Makes me wanna cry. (Maybe the sarcasm font isn't appropriate; do we have an irony font?

I believe the student newsaper is a daily. Plus, both Detroit papers cover the Wolverines.

 

[steveu]

Hate to say it, Moland, but that's what inspires the four-inch erections for the suits these days: freelance employees in the office (**** their benefits? Yay!) and a revolving door of people they can get to write for free.

The emphasis is off the story the reader holds in his or her hand in the morning. The focus is on getting it done dirt cheap. And if there are some holes or -- yikes! -- blatant, disgusting, embarrassing errors in there, please call our newsroom reponse line at 1-800-EAT-****.

*** Please note that your call might be monitored for quality control.

Keep in mind some freelancers have straight gigs where they do a lot of stories and know their stuff. I know what you're getting at, but not all freelancers are straight out of college with zero work ethic.