Post-Dispatch buyouts

[ARD]

St. Louis offering buyouts to (surprise!) staffers over 50.

Via Romenesko

 

[Editude]

People fleeing to the suburbs no longer buy the P-D. I heard at one point that this paper paid the best relative to its cost of living.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

P-D didn't go to Big 12 or Big Ten media days as parts of budget cuts. Last year they didn't travel with U of I football. I'm not sure if that applies to this year too.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-tiger-tracker/2007/07/media-days-money-and-mapping-the-tigers-schedule/#more-13609

http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-tiger-tracker/2007/07/a-final-word-about-media-days/#more-13669

 

[SockPuppet]

And I've been told the P-D has a profit margin of at least 30 percent. Money grabbing ****tard bastards.

 

[steveu]

Jesus. Great paper, same clueless management as other organizations. You'd just hope some of Graham's blog posters would call or e-mail the P-D. Ya, I know... wouldn't do any good, but you can at least voice your position.

 

[Riddick]

how bad might sports get hit with this?

 

[STLIrish]

how bad might sports get hit with this?

The memo on Romenesko, didn't specify any target number. So it's kind of hard to say. Are there many 50+-ers in the sports department there (besides Hummel, of course)?

 

[IGotQuestions]

Their profit supposedly went down just 1 percent, too. Greedy flies indeed.

 

[zeke12]

If I'm not mistaken, the P-D is a union shop. And it does pay very well, generally.

 

[JBHawkEye]

Jesus. Great paper, same clueless management as other organizations. You'd just hope some of Graham's blog posters would call or e-mail the P-D. Ya, I know... wouldn't do any good, but you can at least voice your position.

I read what she said and thought the same thing. Then I thought, "I wonder if she'll get in trouble for this?" With corporate people, anything is possible.

 

[Central-KY-Kid]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/Popup?ReadForm&db=stltoday%5Cbusiness%5Cstories.nsf&docid=8325C99BA0E95C8B8625732B007EC2EF

St. Louis Business Journal:
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/07/30/daily60.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Associated Press:
http://newstribune.com/articles/2007/08/03/business/150state39post.prt

 

[Twoback]

And I've been told the P-D has a profit margin of at least 30 percent. Money grabbing ......

Whatever the margin is at this point, it never ceases to amaze me that the newspaper business is the only industry that responds to economic challenges -- to declining interest in the product -- by making the product WORSE.
It's like GM or Ford taking out the radio and telling people they can sing to themselves if they want to hear music. Who's going to buy that crap when Lexus is giving you Bose stereo sound?

 

[Barsuk]

how bad might sports get hit with this?

The memo on Romenesko, didn't specify any target number. So it's kind of hard to say. Are there many 50+-ers in the sports department there (besides Hummel, of course)?

I'm pretty sure Bill Coats is over 50. Don't know about anybody else.

 

[spup1122]

It's owned by a pretty good chain. I don't know if any other Lee papers are offering buyouts, but I haven't heard about any.

 

[SockPuppet]

So, basically, because of $500,000 lost on the bottom line that still had a $22.5 million profit, people lose their jobs. ****abuncha corporate suits.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

And I've been told the P-D has a profit margin of at least 30 percent. Money grabbing ......

Whatever the margin is at this point, it never ceases to amaze me that the newspaper business is the only industry that responds to economic challenges -- to declining interest in the product -- by making the product WORSE.
It's like GM or Ford taking out the radio and telling people they can sing to themselves if they want to hear music. Who's going to buy that crap when Lexus is giving you Bose stereo sound?

Well said. That was my point when our publisher met with the newsroom about job cuts at my old shop. These idiots think they can cut themselves into prosperity.

 

[FootballScribe]

There is another prominent beat writer there over the age. But I know that neither are interested in the buyout.

That offer just isn't that good.

 

[Central-KY-Kid]

Update:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/Popup?ReadForm&db=stltoday%5Cbusiness%5Cstories.nsf&docid=ACE1E360E4AC0A09862573640008C90D

60 employees retiring from Post-Dispatch
By Jeremiah McWilliams
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Sep. 28 2007

The Post-Dispatch will say goodbye to 60 retiring employees today.

In a move to cut expenses in a difficult year, the newspaper in August extended
offers of voluntary early retirement. Staffers accepting the offers include
reporters, photographers, editors, columnists and production workers, among
others.

The net reduction in staffing will total less than 60, because key positions in
the newsroom and elsewhere will need to be refilled, said Kevin Mowbray, the
newspaper's publisher.

Editor Arnie Robbins said, "I'm sad that we're losing colleagues that have such
wisdom and institutional knowledge. But I'm convinced that we will continue to
produce strong journalism with a strong public service mission."

In recent years, the newspaper industry has suffered declining circulation and
sliding advertising revenue. Papers jostle for the attention of time-crunched
consumers and compete with blogs, websites and other media and entertainment
outlets. Newspaper companies have struggled to wring enough revenue from online
advertising to compensate for shrinking advertising in the paper-and-ink
editions.

Layoffs, buyouts and hiring freezes have become increasingly common nationwide.

The annual savings from the Post-Dispatch's early retirement program is
estimated at between $3.9 million and $4.4 million. The initial cost will total
about $10.6 million and will be recognized in the 2007 fiscal year of Lee
Enterprises Inc., the paper's Davenport, Iowa-based parent company.

The Post-Dispatch bucked a national trend of falling daily circulation in the
six months ending March 31, as its paid weekday circulation rose 0.4 percent.
Paid Sunday circulation fell 3.7 percent. Lee Enterprises said last week that
same-property advertising revenue for the company fell 1.1 percent so far this
year compared to the same period in 2006.

 

[boots]

Wait a minute. I thought there was a push to hire new folks.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

They did have two designer positions open. I think they just filled one of them.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/1367667/

I don't know about any other openings, but if there is a push, it's probably for younger / cheaper people.