Inverted Pyramid Scheme

Memo two from Sun Senior Editor Kim Guimarin

2011-06-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Memo one from Sun Senior Editor Kim Guimarin

2011-06-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

May 9 Memo from Fred Hamilton

2011-05-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellow Employees:

We are quickly approaching the end of our current fiscal year (June 30, 2011). Despite efforts to reduce our operating expenses to offset the decline in revenue, sustainable revenue growth continues to elude us. As a consequence, we are compelled to take further steps to meet our operating goals. Today, we are announcing the following actions:

1. Suspension of Vacation Accruals beginning this coming Sunday, May 15, 2011 and running through July 2, 2011. This action will not impact any vacation time that you have earned or vacation time that you have planned. Further details follow below.

2. Mandatory Five-Day Furloughs to begin May 16, 2011 and to be completed by July 2, 2011. The five-day furloughs may be taken weekly or daily increments as scheduled with your supervisor. However, exempt employees who chose to take unpaid furlough days rather than vacation, the unpaid furlough days must be taken as a full-week within the same pay (calendar) week period. If you have any available vacation time, you may use up to five earned vacation days to substitute for up to all five furlough days. Further details are provided below.

With respect to the temporary suspension of vacation accruals, please understand a few important
points:

1. During the 39 day period from May 15, 2011 through and June 30, 2011, you will be earning fewer vacation days than we all had anticipated during this fiscal year. As an illustration, those employees with an annual vacation benefit of two weeks will earn 1-1/2 fewer days. Those employees with a three-week benefit will earn 2-1/4 fewer days. Those employees with a four-week benefit will earn 3 fewer days.

2. You will not lose any vacation time already earned/accrued, but not used through May 14, 2011.

3. You are encouraged to use any vacation time you have already accrued, subject to advance request to and approval by your immediate supervisor. Any vacation time used between May 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011 can be credited toward any of the five furlough days.

4. Accommodations will be made for employees with pre-approved vacations whose vacations balances are adversely impacted by this change. Specifically, with supervisor approval, those employees may be permitted to incur a negative vacation balance.

With respect to the five-day furloughs, please note the following:

1. Furlough days may be taken in weekly and/or daily increments (see Mandatory Five-Day Furlough description presented above) and all days must be scheduled in advance with your supervisor. Exempt staffers must take their furlough days during the same pay week. Exempt employees may combine vacation days with his/her furlough BUT within the same pay (calendar week).

2. Up to five furlough days may be taken as vacation days but such an option is voluntary and must also be scheduled in advance.

3. Supervisors will be asked to extend every reasonable consideration as to when an employee would prefer his/her furlough days to be scheduled and taken.

4. As a modest offset for those employees who are included in this furlough action, we are offering those employees up to five, additional paid holidays to be used during the coming fiscal year. You will be provided a list of twelve additional paid holidays from which you may chose five (5) to be scheduled and taken. Any of the five days must be scheduled and approved by the employee’s supervisor in advance. Those “bonus” holidays must be taken on the specific holiday date. However, accommodations will be made for those employees for whom that date does not coincide with a regularly scheduled work day. Lastly, an employee must be actively employed on the specific holiday date to be paid for that day (excluded are persons who are absent from work due to an unpaid leave and those who have left the employ of the company). Further details will be forthcoming from our Human Resources staff.

Although the temporary suspension of vacation accruals and the furloughs are not welcomed, they are both the less disruptive means of reducing our operating expenses. We also continued freeze the hiring for some vacancies in an effort to avoid more painful actions and have already consolidated some jobs where it has been prudent to do so. However, today's action does not preclude other cost reduction measures including and not limited to reductions-in-force. At this time such actions will likely be limited and will continue to be an expense reduction alternative until the economy and our performance measurably improves.

As expressed in the past, we regret any inconvenience this action may cause you but until our financial challenges are clearly behind us, such actions are necessary.

Thank you for your understanding, continued hard work and dedication.

Sincerely,

Fred Hamilton
Chief Executive Officer

Memo from Fred Hamilton

2011-02-02T18:52:00.001-08:00

Memo from Fred Hamilton

2010-12-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

Memo from Frank Pine

2010-10-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up that we’re planning to make a fairly significant change to all of our websites in the very near future: We’ll be switching our commenting functions from Topix to Facebook. BANG is already doing this on insidebayarea.com, and it’s a substantial improvement over what we have here in that it makes commenting much easier, and by linking the comments to users’ Facebook accounts, it cuts down the more objectionable anonymous comments. While the traditional thinking is that requiring registration or real names with comments reduces traffic, insidebayarea.com has actually seen an increase in traffic and referral traffic from Facebook.

We’re confident that we’ll also see an increase in traffic, especially since our structure pushes users off of our site to Topix, and we don’t accrue the value of that traffic at all.

I’ll provide more information as it comes in. We’re partnering with BANG on this and still working out some of the details and tracking mechanisms we’ll be using to implement this and measure the results.

ALSO: By the end of the day today, we will have submitted all mobile news apps to the app store for approval. In the coming week, we’ll be assigning control panel accounts to site managers and transferring control of the apps to each property. I’ll reach out separately to online editors to share more information about this as well as our preliminary work on tablet apps.

Any questions, let me know.

Press-Enterprise memo to staff

2010-09-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

Enterprise Media is now the new official name of our Company, replacing the name ‘Press-Enterprise Company’. This is a name change only and our Company remains a wholly owned subsidiary of A. H. Belo Corporation and publisher of The Press-Enterprise, our daily newspaper.

Since that announcement Sales and Marketing have taken steps to begin using the ‘Enterprise Media’ name and logo on sales presentation materials and business cards for the sales staff. As a result some of you may have noticed and perhaps are wondering what it might mean for our Company and you; so I want to take this opportunity to share with you what I announced to our sales force at the September General Sales Meeting.

This change in our Company name has been planned for some time to ensure our business is seen by our clients as keeping pace with the significant, rapid and dynamic changes that are happening in the media industry. It also is aligned with the long-term vision for our business to reflect the innovation, new directions and forward-thinking multimedia strategy that our Company is actively pursuing. We have expanded from being a newspaper company to become a diversified media company. It’s now time for our customers to know us as more than a newspaper company as well.

The name Enterprise Media describes and defines who we are as a company. It effectively conveys our position as a future-focused media company; a leading and digitally savvy, multi-media news and information content provider. It is a name that will impress and influence our advertising and business-side clients to change their minds and attitudes about who we are.

This change is important because the name ‘Press-Enterprise Company’ does not align with our strategy. It is inextricably tied to our daily newspaper, ‘The Press-Enterprise,’ and it does not communicate to our customers the size, scale and capabilities of our multi-media product portfolio.

In the B2B environment with our advertising clients, particularly major regional and national advertising customers, the name ‘Press-Enterprise Company’ is tied to their past experiences with a newspaper company and it evokes attitudes and perceptions that are:

· One-dimensional. It causes our B2B clients to see us as a one-product company; in their minds, one that has limited, if any, value for their needs. Reality is we are so much more as a business partner.

· Geographically limited. In the minds of our B2B clients our Company’s market and audience reach is limited to the geography of our newspaper circulation area. Reality is that our sphere of influence and audience extends well beyond the geographic area our newspaper serves.

· Institutionally bound. It says “newspaper” which means “inflexible,” “high rates,” and “old media” to advertisers who are looking for new ways to reach their clients using social media, mobile, and more. We want our name to convey that we’re playing in that space too.

Importantly, we also want our new Company name to visibly reflect our heritage; so we deliberately retained the word ‘Enterprise’ in our new corporate name to symbolically confer the legacy of our Company’s heritage, credibility and reputation onto our new B2B brand name and logo. The word ‘Media’ is intended to encompass our entire portfolio of media products and the new and dynamic world of digital media.

Enterprise Media is a brand name that visibly makes the statement to our business clients that we are a very different business from ‘Press Enterprise Company’. Our new B2B brand is:

· Multi-dimensional. Our Company is a multi-media, multi-level news and information content provider reaching a dynamic, growing consumer audience via a wide range of media products.

· Customer-focused. Our Company provides 360° media solutions for our advertising clients through customized media and marketing programs that reach target audiences.

· Innovative. Our Company is a diversified, best practice media organization known for innovation, speed-to-market, audience growth, and ongoing investment in new multimedia products.

Enterprise Media is poised to become the Inland Region’s multimedia leader in the business-to-business environment when it comes to advertising and marketing in the new digital media age. Accordingly, the commercial/business-facing departments that serve and support our B2B client relationships and our corporate responsibilities – Advertising, Interactive, Finance, Marketing and HR – will adopt and use the Enterprise Media name on their business cards, presentation and promotional materials, etc.

Enterprise Media is not replacing our Company’s core newspaper product The Press-Enterprise or any of the other strong, credible media products/brands that we produce. Accordingly, those consumer/community-facing departments that serve and support our consumer/audience relationships – News, Circulation and Operations (production, press, I&P, transportation) – will continue to use The Press-Enterprise and PE.com names on their business cards, presentation materials, etc. And, of course, our colleagues at our ancillary products will continue to use La Prensa and The Business Press on their business cards, sales materials, etc.

Enterprise Media provides innovative media solutions to our clients that cost-effectively target and reach their most desired customers and consumers through the advertising and promotional power of a multimedia product portfolio that delivers a vast, unmatched and growing audience in the Inland SoCal Region. No other media organization in the Inland Region has:

· A bigger or more talented content and local news staff. Enterprise Media has more knowledgeable and skilled reporters and editors than any content company serving the region.

· A more proven and committed team of successful sales professionals. Enterprise Media is ranked 23rd in the entire country for Yahoo sales.

· Superior local audience growth and reach. Enterprise Media reaches more than 1.4 million people in Inland Southern California and has been recognized two years in a row as one of the top 25 media companies in the country for audience growth.

· More prominent or more powerful local brands. Enterprise Media’s portfolio includes The Press-Enterprise, PE.com, La Prensa and laprensaenlinea.com, The Business Press and bizpress.com, i-GUIDE, HSGametime.com, InlandSoCal.com and e-mediawaves.

· Deeper or stronger connections with communities and clients. Enterprise Media serves thousands of local clients and residents, hundreds of communities, and vast numbers of civic groups and charitable organizations and who live, work, shop and play in the Inland Region.

I hope you’ll take as much pride in our new name and look as I do because it truly reflects the results of all the hard work, determination, dedication and numerous contributions that each of you has made to move us into this new age of digital media; and it retains and builds on the heritage and values that are exemplified in our core product, The Press-Enterprise.

MediaNews memo to staff

2009-12-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

TO: MNG/MNGi Employees
FROM: Dean Singleton and Jody Lodovic
SUBJECT: 2009 is almost gone. Thanks for getting us through it!

First and foremost, let us thank you for your hard work and dedication during this difficult economic period, a time particularly hard for the newspaper industry. You have been asked to do more with less, and we truly appreciate your efforts and sacrifices.

While the past three years have been particularly challenging (especially 2009) for MediaNews Group and the newspaper industry, we are proud of your performance and many accomplishments, and we are confident that our strategies will lead us and the industry into a bright future. Let us highlight just a few of your/our accomplishments during this challenging period:

Advertising - While advertising revenue has been severely challenged, your performance has been near the top of the industry throughout 2009. For the three-month period ended September, for example, your advertising revenue declined 24% as compared to the industry decline of 28.2%. This performance was consistent with the first two quarters. Furthermore, in markets such as St. Paul, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles, we significantly outperformed other newspapers in the regions.

We have made significant progress in transforming our sales organization and have invested in new tools, such as iShare, training and laptops, to position us to meet the ever changing needs of our advertisers. Your success has been noted and is appreciated.

Circulation - Your circulation performance is second to none. In the September ABC 6-month report, MediaNews Group had circulation growth even as the industry lost 10.6%. That increase included The Denver Post growth which came after the demise of its primary competitor, The Rocky Mountain News. However, not including Denver, the company's loss was 4.8%, still the best performance in the industry by far. This performance moved the company from number 4 to number 2, as measured by circulation.
News - Our circulation performance would be impossible if not for the excellent news products each of your newspapers produce. There is not enough space here to comment on all the awards your newsrooms have won this year. While we, like others, have had no choice but to trim news staffs, we have tried to consolidate infrastructure to preserve reporting staff when possible. And with hard work and creativity, your newsrooms have re-invented themselves and continue to do excellent journalism. We are so proud of our outstanding editors and their dedicated staffs. And speaking of creativity, we are awed by the outstanding work you are doing online. As our traffic continues to soar, our audiences between print and online have never been larger.

Operations - The year has brought major plant consolidation for many of our newspapers. Added to creative circulation and route consolidation and new ways of doing production, you have achieved efficiencies we never would have dreamed possible while improving the service you provide.

Denver - We completed a significant restructuring in Denver after the closing of the Rocky Mountain News. While we were sad to see the Rocky go, we are excited about our future in Denver. The performance of the Denver Post during this transition has been nothing short of remarkable as we held most of the Rocky unduplicated circulation and operating performance continues to improve each month.
Internet Strategy - A group from your newspapers met offsite last April to chart our digital course for the future. Since that time, several task forces have been working to put more meat on the bones. We are now in position to start implementing the strategies we developed. Step one is to install a new content management system that will serve as the foundation for our strategies. Upon completion, we will begin building new local.com and news.com websites in each of our markets. Our largest markets should be up and running by mid-2010. In addition, we are working to implement strategies to protect and monetize our content. New pay models will begin testing in some markets early next year.

Mobile - Mobile (and other portable reading devices) represents a significant opportunity for us. Accordingly, we have engaged outside mobile expertise to help us develop our mobile strategies. We have completed phase 1 of the process and hope to have a fully mapped out mobile strategy early in 2010.

MediaNews Group is committed to making the necessary investments to implement its strategies. However, these investments must be made prudently and cautiously given the challenges we face to improve our balance sheet. As always, we must balance the need to move quickly with resources and capital available.

MediaNews, like many other newspaper companies, entered the current downturn with a reasonable level of debt based on historical measures. However, the current newspaper industry environment bears no resemblance to any previous newspaper downturn, and the magnitude of the structural and cyclical decline was simply unimaginable just a few years ago. Consequently, we, along with much of the industry, have more debt than is comfortable.

We have been working closely with our banks to restructure our debt and position MediaNews Group to execute its strategies and lead our newspapers into a positive future. Yes, we believe newspapers have a bright future! We are near agreement on the terms of a restructuring plan which we expect will be completed toward the end of the first quarter of 2010. Upon completion, MediaNews expects to have a manageable level of debt, and we look forward to working with each of you to take your newspapers into a changing but exciting future.

As we near the end of 2009, you may have questions regarding annual reviews, 401(k) contributions, health care benefits, and future furloughs, etc. While it is our hope and desire to reinstate Company-wide salary reviews and 401(k) contributions as soon as possible and avoid future furloughs, it is premature to make those decisions. The Company must see clear evidence of improving economic conditions before such decisions are made. We will keep all options open, including reinstatement on a phased approach. As you can imagine, these are not easy decisions. Our highest priority is positioning MediaNews Group for a bright future and preserving/protecting its most valuable asset — its employees. We will let you know as soon as those decisions are made.

Let us say again how much we appreciate your efforts. Your contributions are vital to the future success of MediaNews Group and the newspapers it publishes. We're probably biased, but we believe you all comprise the best newspaper team in the business. We're proud to work with you. Let us wish you and your family happy and healthy holidays and a happy new year!

Ruth Seymour's letter to KCRW members

2009-11-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

November 2009

Dear KCRW Supporter,

After 32 years of leading KCRW, I am writing to let you know that I will be retiring as KCRW’s General Manager at the end of February.

What a long and exciting journey it’s been. I’ve had the opportunity to head a station that was once considered one of the most underdeveloped in the country. When you’re that poor and weak, there’s no place to go but up or out.

KCRW went up.

It became a leader and a trendsetter. Today the audience for the unique programs the station originates has spread to listeners across the country, and indeed, across the world.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have overseen the transformation of KCRW from a worn-out facility in a middle school playground into the internet powerhouse that it has become.

No one builds a KCRW alone. When you’re so taken up with the here and now, you don’t really spend a great deal of time reflecting on the past. Therefore, I’ve asked my longtime colleague Will Lewis, who has been an invaluable companion on this radio adventure, to document the years we’ve spent shaping and growing the station. His overview is included with my letter.

I want to thank our licensee, Santa Monica College, which allowed us the freedom to experiment and cheered us on. I have served under four Presidents and countless College Boards, and throughout they have been steadfast in their support and encouragement. That is no small thing and I wish every public station as exemplary a licensee as KCRW enjoys.

The KCRW Foundation was created in 1980 to safeguard the station in a precarious time. Over the years it has allowed us to undertake some of our most ambitious programs, to expand our facilities and to enter the internet age. The KCRW you know would not exist without the support of the KCRW Foundation.

Many public stations of our size and importance have long since given up using volunteers. We cherish ours. They bring the world into our basement studios. They come from all walks of life; they range from young students to seniors. They’re excited by coming down to the station and answering phones, taking pledges, working in the music library, assisting the deejays. Each year they save the station hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Over the years we discovered and attracted an impressive number of gifted individuals who poured their passion for music, the arts and political drama into dynamic and original radio. They made our reputation.

They were supported by a loyal and devoted staff, committed and inspired by the ideas and the ideals that characterize KCRW.

The media world is now in the process of dynamic change. KCRW is at the forefront, experimenting with the technical advances that are changing the ways in which we communicate.

I am confident that the station will welcome new opportunities as they arise, ever mindful that it’s still all about the programming.

I will leave a station that is strong in its identity, a station that is like no other in the country. The words I like to use to describe KCRW (you’ve seen them in my countless fundraising letters over the years) are singular, idiosyncratic, daring, independent, smart and compelling.

I believe that’s why you value the station, why we’ve been able to forge a remarkable bond with you, one of trust and affection. You have made it possible for us to become the station we are today.

You will make it possible for KCRW to continue to flourish.

It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve as KCRW’s General Manager -- a joy and a source of great pride. That’s a pretty good note on which to say goodbye.

Sincerely,

Ruth Seymour

Memo from Randy Michaels and Gerry Spector

2009-11-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, we filed two motions with the court overseeing our Chapter 11 bankruptcy; these motions give us a good opportunity to update you on the restructuring process.

One motion asks the court to extend the period of exclusivity for filing our restructuring plan to March 31, 2010. In plain English, this motion seeks to extend the time during which only we can file a plan. The current period of exclusivity expires at the end of this month.

As the motion states, we have made “substantial progress toward filing a plan of reorganization… ”. Our goal is to deliver a plan that our creditors can support and to do so as quickly as possible. We continue active discussions with our creditors in this regard. The other motion filed asks the court to hold a status conference on certain matters related to accomplishing this goal.

The exclusivity motion makes it clear that we’ve accomplished a lot as a company. With your help, we have stabilized and repositioned our businesses, exceeding the financial results of most of our newspaper and broadcasting peers. This year we project operating cash flow of approximately $400 million—nearly double our original operating plan.

Last week here in Chicago, we met with the leaders of all of our business units and their top sales executives to share ideas and best practices as we head into the last two months of 2009. It was a very productive meeting. There is some incredibly innovative work being done on the sales side, but we can’t let up—we have to keep pushing, keep working together across all of our properties and markets, and keep looking for new solutions for our advertisers.

Today’s motions will generate some media attention. Try to tune out the noise and focus on your job. The fourth quarter is traditionally the strongest one of the year and, with your continued hard work, we're sure this year will be no different.

Randy and Gerry

Memo from Bill Keller

2009-10-19T13:26:00.001-07:00

Colleagues:

I had planned to invite you to the newsroom and break this news in person Monday, but I've been hit by something that seems to be the flu. Though I strongly believe in delivering bad news in person, I don't want to add insult to injury by spreading infection.

Let me cut to the chase: We have been told to cut 100 newsroom positions between now and the end of the year.

We hope to accomplish this by offering voluntary buyouts. On Thursday the company will be sending buyout offers to everyone in the newsroom. Getting a buyout package does NOT mean we want you to leave. It is simply easier to send the envelopes to everyone. If you think a buyout may be right for you, you have 45 days to respond, and then we have ten days to accept or decline.

As before, if we do not reach 100 positions through buyouts, we will be forced to go to layoffs. I hope that won't happen, but it might.

Our colleagues in editorial and op-ed, and on the business side, also face another round of budget cuts.

In recent years, we've managed to avoid the disabling cutbacks that have hit other newsrooms. The company has chosen to protect the journalism by cutting production and other business-side costs, and the newsroom itself has managed its resources frugally. These latest cuts will still leave us with the largest, strongest and most ambitious editorial staff of any newsroom in the country, if not the world.

I won't pretend that these staff cuts will not in some ways diminish our journalism, or that they will not add to the burdens of journalists whose responsibilities have grown faster than their compensation. But we've been looking hard at ways to minimize the impact -- in part, by re-engineering some of our copy flow. I won't promise this will be easy or painless, but I believe we can weather these cuts without seriously compromising our commitment to coverage of the region, the country and the world. We will remain the single best news organization on earth.

I doubt that anyone is shocked by the fact of this, but it is happening sooner than anyone anticipated. When we took our 5 percent pay cuts, it was in the hope that this would fend off the need for more staff cuts this year. But I accept that if it's going to happen, it should be done quickly. We will get through this and move on.

In my absence, Bill Schmidt and John and Jill have volunteered to take your questions this afternoon. Feel free to bring additional questions to me as soon as I'm back, or check with Bill Schmidt or John or Jill privately, or save them for the next Throw Stuff at Bill session, which is in a couple of weeks.

We often -- and rightly -- voice our gratitude that we work for a company and a family that prize quality journalism above all. I hope you know that the company and the family, and I, feel an equal debt of gratitude to all of you whose sacrifice and loyalty have kept us strong.

Like you, I yearn for the day when we can do our jobs without looking over our shoulders for economic thunderstorms.

Bill

Los Angeles Times press release

2009-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Following the well-received launch of its redesigned site, the Los Angeles Times today announced Sean Gallagher as Managing Editor, Online. In his new role Gallagher will be responsible for the overall reader experience on latimes.com and on the Los Angeles Times Media Group’s growing portfolio of digital properties.

“Sean’s talent, integrity and command of virtually every facet of online publishing have been crucial to latimes.com’s success,” said Times Editor Russ Stanton. “He will provide valuable leadership as we continue to evolve and has already played a key role in helping shape our round-the-clock, fully-integrated newsroom."

Gallagher is charged with working across The Times newsroom and masthead, and in tandem with Managing Editor, Print Jon Thurber, to ensure a consistent and complementary multimedia experience and continued integration of print and Web efforts. In addition, he will continue to manage and implement the daily news and features online that have made latimes.com one of the fastest-growing newspaper sites.

Gallagher joined latimes.com in 2006 as an associate editor, coordinating the news report and overseeing the expansion of the Health and Business sections’ online offerings. He was appointed the site’s managing editor in 2007, was a key contributor to important innovation initiatives and oversaw the recent redesign that has won much acclaim from readers and industry analysts. Gallagher was previously web director of the San Diego Daily Transcript and spent more than five years at nytimes.com. He also has worked at the Village Voice as a researcher and at Scholastic Books as a production editor and is a graduate of Fordham University.

Memo from Eddy Hartenstein

2009-09-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

From: Hartenstein, Eddy
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 11:06 AM
Subject: Editorial Pages Announcement

I am pleased to announce the following changes in management responsibilities of our editorial pages.

Jim Newton, who has served as editor of the editorial pages for more than two years, is stepping down in order to finish up his biography of Dwight Eisenhower. Nick Goldberg, who has ably served as the section’s deputy editor, will now become editor, overseeing the editorial board, as well as Op-Ed, Sunday Opinion, letters and our opinion coverage online. He will assume his new responsibilities on Monday, Sept. 28 and report to me.

Starting next week, Jim will scale back his duties. He will relinquish his management of Opinion but remain part of it, becoming editor-at-large, a new masthead position. In that capacity, he will advise on editorial matters, remain a member of the editorial board and will keep writing and editing for the editorial pages, both as an editorial writer and an Op-Ed contributor.

You all know Nick and Jim, so I'll be brief in recapping their credentials. Nick came to The Times in 2003 as Op-Ed editor and later expanded his duties to include Sunday Opinion as well. Last year, he was named deputy editor helping Jim to oversee the department. Before coming to The Times, Nick, a graduate of Harvard, spent many years at Newsday, where he covered the New York statehouse and the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, among other assignments. He served as Middle East correspondent from 1995 to 1998. His work has been widely published in America's leading magazines.

Jim next week marks his 20th year at The Times, and over those decades has served as a reporter, bureau chief and editor, writing and shaping coverage from the Mission Viejo City Council to the LAPD to the administration of Mayor Riordan to the statehouse in Sacramento (and writing more than 900 A1 stories along the way). A Dartmouth alumnus, Jim began his career as clerk to James Reston, senior columnist for the New York Times. He also is the author of "Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made."

Since 2007, Jim has set high standards, and has achieved them with the daily and vital assistance of Nick. Our Opinion section reflects their collaboration, which continues now in this new alignment. This transition is a model, as is their work.

Our editorial pages present Los Angeles and California with provocative, thoughtful, literate and conscientious journalism. We publish a bracing range of views in Op-Ed - thanks there to Sue Horton and her colleagues - and supply leadership through our editorials. The result: We are an indispensible voice in the life of California.

Tribune press release on agreement to sell Cubs

2009-08-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

August 21, 2009—The Ricketts family has signed a definitive agreement with Tribune Company to acquire a 95 percent interest in the Chicago Cubs National League Baseball Club, Wrigley Field and Tribune’s approximately 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet (CSN) in a transaction valued at $845 million. The Ricketts family will have management control of the joint venture as its 95 percent owner. Tribune will retain a five-percent ownership interest.

“Our family is thrilled to have reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs, one of the most storied franchises in sports,” said Joe Ricketts. “The Cubs have the greatest fans in the world, and we count our family among them. We look forward to closing the transaction so that we can begin leading the Cubs to a World Series title.”

The Ricketts family reached the agreement with Tribune after a thorough bid process that began more than two years ago. Tribune intends to proceed to a final transaction close without soliciting further bids from other parties.

“This joint venture will provide dedicated, local family ownership and management for the team,” commented Tribune Chairman Sam Zell. “The Ricketts family will be a great steward of the franchise. They have a strong respect for the team, for the fans and for what the Cubs mean to the City of Chicago.”

Final closing of the agreement is dependent upon approval by Major League Baseball owner and bankruptcy court approvals. As part of the court's approval process, the entity holding most of the assets of the Cubs franchise will voluntarily file for Chapter 11 protection so that the franchise can emerge free and clear of Tribune Company’s financial obligations. All obligations specific to the Cubs franchise - player contracts and agreements with sponsors, broadcasters, advertisers, suppliers and ticket holders - are not expected to be impacted by the court approval process, and there should be no interruption of team operations. The court is expected to rule on approval of the transaction early in the fourth quarter of 2009.

TRIBUNE is America’s largest employee-owned media company, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. In publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel (South Florida), Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Morning Call and Daily Press. The company’s broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, WGN America on national cable, Chicago’s WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide audience. At Tribune we take what we do seriously and with a great deal of pride. We also value the creative spirit and nurture a corporate culture that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Declaration of Independence

2009-07-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Memo from Kevin Keane

2009-07-03T14:10:00.001-07:00

Colleagues,

I had always held out hope that business would bounce back quickly enough that we would be able to avoid further staff reductions this fiscal year. Unfortunately whatever rebound there is in this economy hasn't reached the advertising market yet. We project revenues will continue their skid well into next year, which means expenses will need to come down accordingly.

Today we're announcing that we will be eliminating 18 full-time positions in the newsroom (managers and rank and file employees) by mid summer. We will notify the union today as well. Employees let go will receive a week's salary for each year worked, with a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 12. The company will also pay the employer portion of Cobra benefits for health care for three months.

It goes without saying that this deep a cut on top of previous reductions will have a lasting impact on our newspapers and Web sites. Our preference would be to hold staffing at its current level until the revenue bottomed out, but we can't delay if we're to get through this downturn.

Before we finalize these cuts, however, we're asking for volunteers to step forward. These volunteers will receive an additional severance of up to eight weeks salary on top of the severance mentioned above - one week's pay for each year worked, up to eight years. Under the volunteer program, a 12-year employee would receive the maximum 20-week severance.

Management reserves the right to accept or reject a voluntary offer, depending on how vital a position is to the news organization. Every accepted offer brings down the involuntary layoff number by one. If we accept 18 volunteers, we'll eliminate the need for the layoff altogether. Anyone interested in the voluntary program should contact Belinda Byrd in HR by Wednesday, July 8 at 5 p.m.

Any questions, feel free to drop me a line.

Kevin

Memo from LANG

2009-07-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

July 1, 2009
Colleagues,

In April we announced that LANG would be suspending the accrual of vacation benefits. This measure was taken in an effort to further reduce our operating expenses. That announcement stated that the vacation accrual suspension would be in effect until July 4, 2009.

While we have made progress, we continue to realize a decline in revenue. Subsequently, it has become necessary for us to extend the suspension of vacation benefits accrual through September 26, 2009 (the first quarter of the 2010 fiscal year), at which time we will re-evaluate our situation. In addition to this extension, we are requiring all employees to do one of the following: take five days of paid vacation by September 26, OR take five days of unpaid furlough by September 26. Below is a breakdown of what this means to most of you:

For those with 40 or more hours in their vacation bank, simply take a week of vacation. Because we are heading into the summer months when most people utilize their vacation time, this option should prove to have little or no impact on the majority of employees.

For those with less than 40 hours in their vacation bank, you can do a combination of both options. An example for a full-time employee who works 40 hours per week; you have 24 hours accrued vacation, you can use your three vacation days PLUS take two unpaid furlough days to equal the total five-day requirement.

For those with little or no vacation hours in their vacation bank, you will need to take unpaid furlough equaling five days. Non-exempt employees have the option of spreading their furlough days over several pay periods or they may take all of the time off within a one-week period. It is up to you, but the time must be taken by September 26.

Exempt employees who do not have the equivalent of five days’ vacation in their vacation bank do not have the option of combining vacation with furlough. If you are exempt, and do not have at least one week of vacation, you must take a week of furlough. Your week of furlough must be taken at one time (all within the same week), and you cannot perform any work during that week. This requirement may not apply to some sales positions, so if you are in advertising sales, please see your manager for guidance.

We regret the need to implement these changes in order to meet our financial challenges. It is our belief that this is the least painful way to work towards regaining our financial footing, while allowing us to mitigate mandated furloughs for most employees or, far worse, reducing staffing levels (layoffs).

If you have questions or need to further discuss how this pertains to you specifically, please see your manager, department head, or human resources department.

Thank you for your understanding. Your hard work and dedication have been instrumental in weathering this economic storm.

Memo from Bob Dickey

2009-07-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

To: U.S. Community Publishing Employees
From: Bob Dickey

I want to talk with you about our restructuring efforts, as we continue to battle these difficult economic conditions and the impact on our advertisers. With your help, our various cost savings initiatives are making a difference.

Nevertheless, we will need to implement job reductions to align our resources with the revenue realities we face. Currently each location is finalizing its plan, taking into consideration the local economy, results so far this year and the prospects going forward.

Each plan is different and designed to address the ongoing local needs. All of them, however, involved extremely difficult decisions. Approximately 1400 employees will be impacted by the job reductions across the division. Your publisher or general manager will communicate the local plans, and we expect the vast majority of the reductions will take place by July 9. In a select few cases, the implementation may take longer. There will not be any furloughs for the rest of the year.

I want to stress that the job reductions are not a reflection on these employees or their work. We truly value their many contributions and thank them for their efforts over the years.

Unfortunately, we must take these steps because the advertising environment remains challenged. There have been some promising signs of a recovery, but the reality is the improvements are not broad-based and the economy continues to be fragile.

Even so, we know the economy will improve. To be ready, we need to continue our transformation and maintain a strong financial position. We must publish our newspapers, produce our Web sites and pay down our debt. By taking all these steps today, we will be stronger tomorrow.

Measured against our peers in the media industry, we are healthy and capable of moving forward. We are in this position because we have proactively responded to the financial conditions with actions such as these.

We continue to see good ideas coming from all of you, and we are becoming more innovative everyday. This combination of forward thinking and good fiscal management will, I believe, ultimately result in a return to success for our company.

So, please keep those thoughts and ideas coming. As always, you can email me or call with your comments.

The new news dialectic

2009-06-29T16:33:00.001-07:00

In this age of well-trafficked digital social networks, two distinct types of news have emerged: the verified and the unverified.

Verified news is what traditionally has been printed on the pages of our newspapers and news websites and broadcast on the nightly news - fact-checked, reported impartially, presented in a coherent and contextualized manner, conveyed as a story of importance to broad segments of society.

Unverified news is what gets printed or broadcast on a variety of online and cellular networks and that also provides context and deals with issues of importance to broad segments of society.

Recently, and most notably with coverage of protests in Iran, the verified and unverified have been fused together on the websites and broadcasts of news organizations that would never have run the latter in the past.

From the New York Times:

“Check the source” may be the first rule of journalism. But in the coverage of the protests in Iran this month, some news organizations have adopted a different stance: publish first, ask questions later.

If you still don’t know the answer, ask your readers. CNN showed scores of videos submitted by Iranians, most of them presumably from protesters who took to the streets to oppose Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election on June 12. The Web sites of The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Guardian newspaper in London and others published minute-by-minute blogs with a mix of unverified videos, anonymous Twitter messages and traditional accounts from Tehran. ...

Many mainstream media sources, which have in the past been critical of the undifferentiated sources of information on the Web, had little choice but to throw open their doors in this case. As the protests against Mr. Ahmadinejad grew, the government sharply curtailed the foreign press. As visas expired, many journalists packed up, and the ones who stayed were barred from reporting on the streets.

The writer is partly wrong here: News organizations had a great big choice. Pretending the situation was nearly automatic is a cop out.

That doesn't mean that the news organizations made the wrong decision. Indeed, responsible news organizations can act as a useful filter on the open spigot of social networking. Short of being able to verify the flood of information coming out of Iran, news orgs are in a position to begin the work of verifying information publicly while providing important context.

The New York Times, for instance, still has a reporter in Tehran and has a team of editors with institutional memory, so it doesn't have to blindly repeat what it's seen and heard on Twitter updates and YouTube videos. The paper also has staff that can sift through the flood of updates to pick out what is relevant, and help determine sources who are reliable (old fashioned reporter's work).

Again, from the Times:

Even anonymous Internet users develop a reputation over time, said Robert Mackey, the editor of a blog called The Lede for The New York Times’s Web site, who tracked the election and protest for almost two weeks. Although there have been some erroneous claims on sites like Twitter, in general “there seems to be very little mischief-making,” Mr. Mackey said. “People generally want to help solve the puzzle.”

Readers repeatedly drew Mr. Mackey’s attention to tweets and photos of protests in the comments thread of the blog. Some even shared their memories of the geography of Tehran in an attempt to verify scenes in videos.
Over time, the impromptu Iranian reporters have honed their skills. Some put the date of a skirmish in the file descriptions they send. Others film street signs and landmarks. But the user uploads can sometimes be misleading. Last Wednesday, Mr. Mackey put a call out to readers to determine whether a video was actually new. A commenter pointed to a two-day-old YouTube version.

This kind of fact checking is important in this new dialectic between reader and news organization. It's also why it's wrong for news organization to see this kind of collaboration as inevitable. That's passive and short changes readers. Information may be coming more quickly and from geometrically more sources, but news organizations still have a responsibility to avoid becoming platforms for untrue or overly biased information. They should be gatekeepers worth subscribing to.

Memo from Ron Redfern

2009-06-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2009

To: All PEC Employees

We are changing our home delivery footprint in San Bernardino County.

In January of this year, we were faced with the choice of leaving San Bernardino County or implementing a very aggressive price increase to allow us to cover our costs of publishing and continue delivering in San Bernardino County. Unfortunately, a significant number of subscribers in parts of S.B. County refused to accept the increase in price and cancelled their subscriptions.

Consequently, after further review, we have made the decision to discontinue home delivery in certain parts of the San Bernardino market due to low penetration levels. We will continue delivery in those areas where subscriber acceptance remains high, but unfortunately we will eliminate home delivery service in Chino Hills, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Rialto on Monday, July 13, 2009. The final print edition of The Press-Enterprise will be delivered to subscribers’ homes on Sunday, July 12, 2009.

Residents of those areas will still have access to the daily product in two ways:

P-Edition – for the very affordable price of $52 for an annual subscription or $1.25 per week for a 4-week subscription. We have eliminated the paid wall on pe.com for the next thirty days so people with access to the Internet can “test drive” the P-Edition at no cost through July 12, 2009.
Newsstand racks and retail outlets – we are leaving the single copy distribution channel in place in the areas where home delivery is being eliminated. The Press-Enterprise will still be available for daily purchase at our various retail and news rack locations throughout the area. Current pricing is $0.50/day Monday-Saturday, and $1.50 on Sunday.

Please note that subscribers in the affected areas will be receiving letters in the next day or two informing them of this change. If you receive complaint calls, please refer them to our Customer Care Call Center. And if you have any questions, please feel free to talk your Vice President, or contact Kathy Weiermiller in Circulation.

Regrettably, the current economic conditions force us to make this change; however, to paraphrase Mark Twain, “Contrary to what is being written about newspapers, the rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated.” We are optimistic about our future, particularly because The Press-Enterprise is the only major newspaper in Southern California to show readership growth of over 5% from last year, and our overall audience is up over 33% from last year. Because of that amazing growth during this difficult time, we remain committed to being the best provider of local news, information, and advertising in the Inland Region.

Thanks for your continued support.

Ron Redfern
Publisher, CEO & President
The Press-Enterprise Company

Memo from Dean Singleton and Jody Lodovic

2009-05-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

May 8, 2009

To: MediaNews Group Employees

From: Dean Singleton

Jody Lodovic

Re: Interactive Strategic Summit

Two weeks ago, 22 executives from across the company, including Publishers, Editors, and Interactive leaders, met to discuss MediaNews Group’s interactive strategy. While our websites attract a significant audience and drive considerable page views, we face three daunting challenges that needed to be addressed. First, we continue to do an injustice to our print subscribers and create perceptions that our content has no value by putting all of our print content online for free. Not only does this erode our print circulation, it devalues the core of our business - the great local journalism we (and only we) produce on a daily basis. Second, our interactive revenue growth has slowed because it has been too closely tied to our print classified business, which has suffered with the advent of Craigslist and other free online classified opportunities. Finally, we are not significantly extending the reach of our audience, as our online products too closely resemble the newspaper, and thus fail to meaningfully reach the next generation of readers.

This interactive summit was meant to address these issues head-on; to build a strategic plan that places a value on our content, protects our core print business, extends the reach of our audience, and creates new revenue opportunities online. We cannot continue to give all of our content away for free; we must consider, create and deploy new products and sites that both decouple our interactive revenue from our classified business and offer a compelling new experience for a younger (non-newspaper buying) demographic. From this conference, we have built consensus on a three pronged approach to enhance our business moving forward:

· We will begin to move away from putting all of our newspaper content online for free. Instead, we will explore a variety of premium offerings that apply real value to our print content. We are not trying to invent new premium products, but instead tell our existing print readers that what they are buying has real value, and to our online audience (who don’t buy the print edition), that if you want access to all online content, you are going to have to register, and/or pay. If a non-subscriber wants the newspaper content in its entirety online, they will be directed to some sort of registration or pay vehicle (and if they are a print subscriber, they will have full access at no charge). To be clear, the brand value proposition to the consumer is that the newspaper is a product, whether in print or online, which must be paid for.

· We will begin differentiating our sites from the newspaper and focus on strategies designed to reach younger audiences and extend our reach. The websites, newspaper.com as we call them now, will become a different product. This new site, which we have been calling news.com, will be a regional news site that is actively managed to present breaking news. It will continue to draw a content from the newspaper (but probably in a more abbreviated form), but will also have user-generated content, community involvement and third party content. News.com will continue to serve our existing audience, which spends a lot of time on our sites, and drive significant traffic. They like and depend on our sites for their national and local news. We must not alienate them as we strive to expand our audience and attract younger people and non newspaper subscribers. Obviously, our sites must draw upon the content of the newspaper, but the presentation of that content will be different. News.com will be an entry page to new content offerings, local retail advertising opportunities and premium offerings.

· We will build a new local utility site (Local.com), which is an ecosystem of local information, resources, user content, shopping guides, and marketplaces. This site will be focused on a younger audience as well as other targeted audiences based on demographics which are attractive to our current and potential advertisers. We have the advantage of being the trusted source of for news and information in our communities and have a large base of traffic to feed into Local.com. Local.com will leverage existing newspaper content and existing traffic, and we will add new content (such as Entertainment/Lifestyle) to target a younger audience. Central to this local site will be an aggregation of city or community sites (in the YourHub model) and marketplaces. Local.com will be the ultimate site for people to find stuff, do stuff, and get stuff done in their local market.

We will initially focus on five or six niche vertical content channels to support targeted advertising opportunities (many of which have reverse publishing opportunities). We will build these out with a common template, for ease of execution and maintenance, and deploy across the company.

New tiered circulation pricing strategies will be considered as part of, and tied to, the above online strategies. Such pricing strategies will be designed to maximize revenue, improve overall profitability, add value to full priced, seven day delivery, subscriptions, and reinforce the value for online content.

In order to execute this vision, we have agreed that these new strategies will be done with a template approach, using a menu of common tools and vendors. We will take advantage of the size of MNG to leverage enterprise solutions and build off a common platform that allows for fast implementation and a companywide rollout.

We will form four taskforces (News, local, premium and technology) to drive these ideas to market. They will focus on content, sales, marketing, research and build a business plan. We will also form a technical taskforce to evaluate the needs of a new content management system.

We will keep you posted periodically as we develop these new products and as this strategy evolves. Our online business is a critical piece of the future growth of this company and is integral to growing and targeting new audiences. Our newspapers continue to attract the largest and most desirable audiences in our local markets, but we feel strongly that developing new and targeted audiences online will position us to deliver the most comprehensive and effective solutions for our advertisers.

Think Piece by Lee Abrams*

2009-05-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

April 30, 2009

THINK PIECE: WHINE OR WIN— REDEFINE THE INDUSTRY, YOU'RE EITHER IN OR NOT

Constantly hearing the doom and gloom...the cutbacks, the negative stuff. It's pretty real, but throughout our company there's a LOT of re-invention going on. In fact, when this economy improves, WE will be the ones with the upper hand because instead of dwelling on the pain, we're doing something about it. Economically of course, AND IN CONTENT/CREATIVE. As sad as the state of the economy is, it's equally sad to see people whining, complaining and feeling sorry for themselves and the industry, when that energy can go toward breaking down some walls.

Just a few of the people out there moving FORWARD:
COLOR IN NEWPORT NEWS!

From Digby Solomon:

We had a full house for our upfront party for advertisers last night, announcing we were taking The Daily Press all-color. The Mayor even showed up to praise the Daily Press for taking a proactive stance during a recession to keep up with the times, and to tell people were we’re important both to the community and to local business. We got great feedback from our clients, and reset their view of us from part of a troubled industry to someone who was working to help them market themselves during a recession.

The link to our Daily Press page on you Tube shows the video we presented at the art museum last night to tell the story. The first part is a 30-second commercial we'll be running (free) on WTKR for consumers. It's not Hollywood quality, but the price was right, mostly done in house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94COrKSORUY

SACRAMENTO VS. YOUTUBE: Instead of letting the web own something, they’re fighting back and claiming their ground as a TV station.

From: Mercer, Brandon
To: Abrams, Lee
Sent: Thu Apr 23 01:05:37 2009
Subject: Local TV

Also.... remember the Southwest rapper you sent out a while ago? I'm working with Southwest to fly him out for our morning shows, and share him with Trib/LTV stations that want him, while he's here.

THE CHICAGO "SUPERBRAND" IS COMING TOGETHER--BIG

It's a MODEL for brands working together. Amazing. A year ago this stuff would be impossible...now, it's happening:
From Joyce Winnecke:
Colleagues,
Last week was Recession Relief Week for Chicago Tribune readers. And it was Recession Relief Week for Hoy, WGN-TV, WGN-AM and CLTV audiences too.
We coordinated editorial content and promotion across the newsrooms and business offices to create a full-market experience for millions of readers, listeners and viewers. Recession Relief Week began in our newsroom as an extension of the consumer team’s ongoing Recession Survival Guide. Very early in the planning stages, we expanded our story lists to include segments produced by each of our partners, many featuring Chicago Tribune expertise. We promoted in every direction possible, in our pages, in Hoy and on-air.
As Tony Hunter said yesterday, we acted like one company for the first time.
You’ll see more of this. We know that using the full strength of Chicago Tribune Media Group is key to our vision of becoming the dominant news and information destination in Chicago. We’re looking for more and better ways to coordinate with our partners.
Sheila Solomon is leading the charge for us. She’s giving WGN our front-page stories to tout on-air each evening. She’s arranging for our writers to discuss their fine work on-air. And she’s finding experts from our newsroom to help broadcast partners when they have specific needs. We want to promote Hoy, WGN-TV, WGN-AM and CLTV every chance we get too.
We’ll seek more opportunities like Recession Relief Week, and with those we will take the all-important next step – working far enough in advance to allow advertising teams to sell against the coordinated coverage.
This editorial coordination and cross-promotion is a critical part of our drive to thrive. Please send me your thoughts and ideas.
Sincerely,
Joyce

I added:

I think, moving forward, we look at topics beyond (and in addition to) the "how to cope with how bad everything is"
Imagine what the GROUP could do with Chicago hot buttons like:

RESTAURANTS
SUMMER!
THE BEARS
THE BLUES
etc...

Around the country I notice there's a LOT of recession help type stuff and obviously that’s important...but the GROUP power focusing on other mass appeal issues and PASSIONS could be very strong.

Lee

60 SECONDS WITH ON WGN AM:

OWNING THE CUBS beyond airing the games…they are engaging the stars with a “60 Seconds” feature. The stars may be time pressed, but getting them for ONE minute shouldn’t be impossible.
Here are three that aired. This week is Ryan Theriot. I'll be sure to have the talent mention the player name at least 3 times in the segment. Once at the beginning....middle....end.
The files are here: http://sn.im/gd95e-fci

AUDIO IN CHICAGO
From WGN TV’s Marty Wilke:
Here's the first look at our new audio logo (incorporating the WGNA sonic notes) for the Chicago TMG brand!
Starts tomorrow on our air and will run everywhere on the station.
Shared w the TMG cross-marketing and promotion representatives today @ our regular meeting and will be pushing out to them today for use on their websites, pre/post-rolls, and presentations -- wherever and whenever we can to co-brand the most dominant brands in Chicago!

And...from WGN AMERICA.
AUDIO LOGO ON A WEBSITE:

www.wgnamerica.com
(I have heard that there's some mysterious research indicating that people don;t like audio on websites. I imagine it can be a little annoying if you are barraged...but it seems to work fine when you click onto Windows or a Mac)

LOCAL IMAGES
Take a look at some of WGN-AMERICA'S "local" images. Of course, 'local' for them is the whole Country. The point here is how the channel captures 'local' flavor via Reality instead of cliché. In other words, instead of the Grand Canyon or a Mom holding a baby that's holding an American flag, these are more REAL America. I think this is a good angle in capturing the REAL market vs. either:

*The clichés: The obvious landmarks that are ore about tourism than those who live there

*The fake: Fake skylines that are....fake

...future "postcards" will incorporate characters. REAL people.

I'm adding 89 new images to our on-air postcard library. Sean, some of these pix are yours, some are Langmyers and some are ones that i've gathered. we've got a good mix of shots here - urban/rural/country/industrial.

Ignore the seasonal one from Ohio - that will air in the fall. the statue of soldiers @ iwo jima is part of a thing i'm putting together for memorial day. the retro stamps are just freakin' cool.

SOUTH FLORIDA TV REVOLUTION

SFL MORNING SHOW : A note I sent to Randy, Ed, Sean and others after experiencing WSFL:

Very blown away by the morning show! Not only the show, but the spirit and attitude of EVERYONE involved. If we can get 10 percent of this level of afdi, energy and willingness to reinvent at our other stations, we'll truly revolutionize TV.
There were quite a few nitpiks that I'll review today with the group, but overall, they are soooo local and soooo refreshingly and NOTICEABLY different from EVERYone else.
The other stations look disconnected, TOO professional and slick and "nationalized" in comparison, and I think this show is on track to hit its psychographic head on. Watched the competition and it was hilariously dated—Stiff, evil looking Ivory Tower news people wearing 1987 Reagan era suits, taking “news speak” with blue and silver everywhere. As organic and real as a chunk of linoleum. The CONTENT was generally fine, but undermined by a dated-playbook presentation.

They know their place on the intellectual/culture scale---and nail it well.

One BIG challenge is going to be to get the other 20 hours of sfl to match the magic of the morning show. 24/7/365

There's of course a lot for them to do but I can tell we have the makings of a winner that can be influential at our other stations. This show is SO south Florida, you can't simply recreate it, but it CAN serve as a model of breaking away, blowing up the playbook, creating a wonderful internal vibe (more like a killer radio station in 1975 than a TV station), and afdi.

I'm impressed and excited about where this can go. In a year...look out!

There are so many things they're doing right--the breezy way they refer to YouTube and facebook (vs "tech minute") to the set (love the retro photos and the painting of the city instead of a fake backdrop).
A work in progress of course, and not perfect, but they got the mojo going.
Now, just gotta make sure this sprit happens 24/7....and the whole station sings with new image innovation!
ZERO TV baggage…and it shows. Traditionalists will laugh…kinda like the old farts at BMG laughed at the audacity of “digital music”.

…The teamwork in Chicago, the spirit of reinvention in South Florida...Just two of the things that will define the Tribune Company, and in time the whole Media Industry.

*Editor's Note: I deleted a few lines from the Abrams' memo that offered password access to an online photo gallery.

Email from Cortney Fielding

2009-04-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

Friends-

Sadly, the rumors are true. I was recently caught by janitorial staff attempting to stuff the Daily Journal’s prize decorative otter into a burlap sack with plans to set him free in some other, unsuspecting newsroom. I couldn’t take the way he was silently mocking me, day after day, as I walked from the atrium to my cube. Thankfully, the good people here at the DJ said there was no need to bring the authorities into this, but I think I better make a break for it just the same.

Seriously, leaving was a tough decision. I’ve loved working with everyone here and really enjoy covering LA courts, but curiosity has gotten the better of me. I want to see what, if anything, I can accomplish out on my own and maybe catch my breath a little while figuring out what I want to do next in this business.

Granted, this is something I probably couldn’t do if I hadn’t had the foresight to marry a man who would one day collect a stable paycheck from a boring old insurance company, so props go to me for that.

I got into journalism because I enjoyed storytelling and lacked the imagination necessary to make stories up myself. Why bother when there is already so much great material ripe for the picking? I plan on continuing to tell other people’s stories. I’ve gotten a few cool freelance gigs to get me started, and I’m working on some bigger projects I’ll tell everyone about after they are more certain-so I don’t look like a total loser if they fall through.

But, if by the end of the year, I’m calling you as a PR person trying to pitch a story about an amazing law firm’s ground-breaking swine-flu practice, I guess we will know this was a very,very bad idea.

Your co-worker and friend,

Cortney

Freedom of Speech

2009-04-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

A fundamental right so easy to applaud, so very difficult to protect

By Richard McKee

The freedom to express yourself in a public forum, without fear of government censorship, is protected by the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech.” The Fourteenth Amendment extends this prohibition to the states as well.

As the U.S. Supreme Court has opined, “[A]bove all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content.” (Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley (1972) 408 U.S. 92, 95.)

Even when the government creates a public forum for a particular purpose, “Once it has opened a limited forum, however, the State must respect the lawful boundaries it has itself set. The State may not exclude speech where its distinction is not "reasonable in light of the purpose served by the forum” . . . nor may it discriminate against speech on the basis of its viewpoint.” (Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (1995) 515 U.S. 819, 829.)

Nevertheless, today, government asserts that its own right to speech should trump the free speech rights of individuals. And surprisingly, the courts have agreed. (see Morse v. Frederick (2007) 127 S.Ct. 2618.)

A perfect example was found recently in California’s Orange Unified School District. Within its seven-member Board of Education was a dissident trustee, an oddball with conspiracy theories named Steve Rocco. But he was for openness, for the public being involved in every discussion, and as such he refused to attend the Board’s closed sessions.

At the end of one board meeting, after Rocco had learned that the superintendent had used a closed session to tell the board the he had reassigned a high school principal to a nonexistent position, Rocco told the audience that he would have fired the principal, who had received a great deal of public criticism at an earlier meeting, rather than have the public continue to pay him an administrator’s salary.

In response, the superintendent decided to remove Rocco’s comments from a video of the meeting that was distributed to local broadcast outlets for airing to the public. The video provided no notice that the meeting had been edited.

At the next meeting, a majority of the school board expressed its outrage at Rocco’s earlier comments, saying he had defamed the principal and violated both the Brown Act (the state’s open meeting law) and the principal's right to privacy under the California Constitution.

Of course, these were bogus assertions. Rocco’s comments were made during the board meeting, where his criticism of the principal’s performance and the superintendent’s decision are completely protected.

The board then censured Rocco for his negative comments. The board president told Rocco that the “disciplinary action” should be interpreted to mean: “Do not do it again in the future.”

Supported by Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group, Rocco sued both the board and superintendent. He claimed that he had a right to address district issues at a public meeting and, as an elected official, had a duty to keep the public informed. He told the court that the school district had illegally interfered with his ability to communicate with his constituents: by censoring his comments from the meeting tape; by violating the Brown Act’s prohibition against board action to discourage his criticism; and by violating California’s constitutional protection affording public access to information about district business.

The courts ignored the Brown Act and the Constitution, instead ruling that Rocco’s lawsuit had interfered with the board’s First Amendment right to speak its mind by censuring him, as well as its right to control its own speech by editing the meeting video in any way it wanted. Finally, the court ordered Rocco and his co-plaintiffs to pay the district’s attorney fees, which amounted to about $80,000.

In essence, the court said a government agency can cut out any information from its publications that might cast its decisions in a bad light, and the agency can take any action it wants to discourage elected officials from criticizing administrative decisions.

America’s republican form of government – of, by, and for the people – presupposes that the public will be kept informed as to the issues its government faces and retains the right to instruct their representatives as to the best course of action.

When the courts endorse the government’s right to limit or control the information it provides to the public, they allow the government to control the outcome of decision-making (i.e., Iraq has weapons of mass destruction).

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes first described the rational for protections meant to ensure an open marketplace of ideas: “The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which [people’s] wishes safely can be carried out.” (Abrams v. United States (1919) 250 U.S. 616, dissenting opinion.)

By its opinion in Californians Aware v. Orange Unified School District, G038499 (Cal.App. 9/4/2008), the Fourth District Court of Appeals authorized school boards to distribute to the public: state test score summaries absent scores from under-performing schools, tapes of board meetings with all of the negative public comments deleted, and financial reports with evidence of any fraud removed.

The concern here is historically simple. Those holding power don’t always have our best interests at heart; and power is protected by controlling what information is released.

In a public forum, government speech should never trump individual speech rights. And government speech must never include the selective release of information meant to mislead the public.

The California Legislature should move quickly to enact new law that condemns the courts for ignoring the people’s constitutional right to an open government and freedom of expression, ensures the opinions of elected officials may not be abridged nor discouraged and keeps government from distorting information to gain approval from the people.

In formulating educated opinions on how its government should act, the people’s right to an open marketplace of ideas must be preserved.

-30-

Memo from Robert Decherd

2009-04-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

April 2, 2009

Dear Colleagues:

Since I last communicated with you in late January, the challenges A. H. Belo and our industry are facing have intensified – reflecting one of the most trying advertising environments our industry has ever encountered. We have made significant progress implementing the cost reduction initiatives I described in my January 30 letter, and the Company-wide reduction in force is nearing completion. Identifying additional opportunities to manage cash remains our first priority, and we are making salary changes similar to those recently announced by many of our peer newspaper companies.

On Tuesday, the Board of Directors approved my recommendation to reduce my base salary by 20 percent and the base salaries of other Management Committee members by 15 percent, effective immediately. In addition, all full-time employees making more than $25,000 per year will have reductions in base salary as follows:

$25,000 and under 0
$25,001 - $74,999 2.5 %
$75,000 - $102,499 5.0 %
$102,500 - $149,999 7.5 %
$150,000 - $225,000 10 %
Over $225,000 15 %

These changes will be effective starting in the payroll cycles on or near May 1. The annual savings represented by these reductions exceed $10 million. We will ask employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements to voluntarily lower their salaries by the levels described above.

If you are notified prior to June 30, 2009 that you will be impacted by the reduction in force currently underway, your severance will be calculated at your current base salary as of today’s date.

Our hope is to restore most or all of these cuts for impacted employees at some time in the future, as business conditions permit. To cushion the impact of the wage cuts, all impacted employees will receive three additional personal days per calendar year, effective at the time of the salary reductions.

For participants in the G. B. Dealey Retirement Pension Plan, the Company intends to fund the Pension Transition Supplement Plan (PTS) contribution for 2008 no later than October 15, 2009. The PTS Plan contribution will be suspended for 2009. The funding for the calendar year 2009 contribution that would normally be made in 2010 will not be made, preserving approximately $6 million in cash next year. A detailed explanation of the PTS Plan changes will be mailed to all participants within the next week.

These decisions are not taken lightly and all are made with a focus toward maintaining A. H. Belo’s ability to be the leading provider of local news, information and advertising in the markets it serves. The cost-reduction initiatives we have implemented have real consequences and everyone is affected in some way. As conditions improve – which they inevitably will – we expect to look back at these steps as being painful but necessary for the long-term prosperity of our great Company. What we do everyday is special. I thank you for the sacrifices and ongoing contributions all of you are making every day. You are being asked to do much at a time when our audiences and advertisers are looking to us to help make sense of an environment that is challenging individuals and organizations well beyond our own.

I will communicate with you again soon.

Robert Decherd
Chairman of the Board
President
Chief Executive Officer

Memo from 21st Century (a division of AIG)

2009-03-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Dear 21st Century Insurance Policyholders:

On behalf of all the employees of 21st Century Insurance and Financial Services (21st Century Insurance), I first want to thank you for your continued loyalty and support during these challenging times.

I would like to take a moment to address some items that have undoubtedly created a level of uneasiness and frustration for many of our customers. Because of the tremendous support and cooperation from the United States government and its taxpayers, our parent company, AIG, has been able to continue its operations as a world-class provider of insurance services. However, with this support comes a high-level of attention to all of AIG's activities.

It is important to clarify that although the insurance companies affiliated with the 21st Century Insurance brand are subsidiaries of AIG, they have not accessed or needed any of the Federal Reserve borrowings to fund their operations. Nor have they received any capital contribution from any AIG company to support their operations. 21st Century Insurance is an organization of 6,500 employees whose mission is to deliver outstanding value and service for your auto insurance needs - a mission we are striving to achieve every day.

The insurance companies affiliated with 21st Century Insurance, which underwrite and provide coverage under your policies, are financially strong and continue to deliver outstanding coverage, service and payment of claims to all of our customers. The assets of the insurance companies are protected by state laws for the benefit of policyholders.

Additionally, AIG recently announced the formation of a general insurance holding company called AIU Holdings, Inc. This move will help enhance and protect the value of those property and casualty companies for all its stakeholders. The organization will include the Commercial Insurance Group, Foreign General unit, and other property and casualty groups. 21st Century Insurance will also be part of this new, separate organization.

We genuinely appreciate your business. At 21st Century Insurance, we are focused on putting you, the customer, first, and we look forward to providing you with the great coverage and award-winning service that you deserve.

Sincerely,
Anthony J. DeSantis

Memo from Craig Dubow

2009-03-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Co-workers:

We are about to begin the second quarter without any real relief in sight from this unprecedented economic downturn and its challenge to our company. Despite all of your truly remarkable efforts to reverse the trend, our revenue numbers continue their downward slide and we have been faced with more difficult decisions.

One of those choices was between more layoffs or another round of furloughs. We chose, for most employees, a furlough program consisting of at least one week of unpaid leave to be taken in April, May or June.

The program will differ from the first quarter’s in a couple of important ways:

The length of the furlough for employees will vary somewhat by division or location, depending on the division’s operating needs and results.
Our higher salaried employees will be asked to make an additional sacrifice. This could be a second furlough week or a week’s furlough plus a temporary salary reduction equivalent to one week’s pay for the quarter, depending on the division and/or location.
Some hourly employees will not be required to take a full week. Each division or location will have different requirements for employees in this category.

Because of the variations, your division head will be the main source of information about your particular program. Memos will be going out shortly to each of you with specific details.
Corporate employees will be participating, as with the first quarter’s program, including all of our company officers and me. Corporate’s memo will come from Gracia.

There will be some exemptions, similar to the first quarter’s program. For instance, some locations that recently have had, or are in the midst of, layoffs or significant salary reductions will be exempt. Represented employees again will be asked to participate in lieu of layoffs.

As with our first program, we are doing furloughs to hopefully mitigate the need for layoffs and to preserve our operations in the face of these extraordinary economic times. We believe this is the best possible course, given the alternatives.

We also need to keep innovating, selling ads and reaching out to audiences to prepare for the return of the economy. When that happens, I believe we will be well prepared to move quickly and take advantage of the new opportunities.

Again, I must thank you all for your hard work, loyalty and dedication. I am truly looking forward to the day I can send an email that congratulates you on getting us through these hard times. That day isn’t here yet, but I believe it will be. So we must continue to do whatever we can to keep Gannett strong and prepare for the future.

Sincerely,
Craig

Memo from Ron Redfern

2009-02-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

February 10, 2009
TO: All PEC Employees
FROM: Ron Redfern

Dear Colleagues:

By now, I hope all of you have read Robert Decherd’s letter of January 30^th to all A. H. Belo employees. If you have not, you can access it on the A. H. Belo intranet site or obtain a copy from Human Resources.

In the letter, Robert describes how the present economic climate, coupled with the significant challenges that the newspaper industry was facing even before the recent economic downturns, have made this an especially difficult time for our newspaper company, as well as newspaper companies across the country.

We continue to be very uncertain about what will happen with our economy in this coming year. Consequently, we are anticipating further advertising revenue declines for 2009 from 2008, and in fact, our January results bear this out. Because advertising revenues account for approximately 80% of our company’s revenue, we need to implement the expense-reduction measures outlined in Robert’s letter.

Two things were not ready for communication at the time of Robert’s letter: the timing of the layoffs and the severance package.

As to timing, we anticipate completing the layoffs by the end of April. We are currently in the process of determining the extent of the layoffs and will notify impacted employees as soon as possible. If for some reason the layoffs will extend beyond April, you will be advised.

A. H. Belo has adopted a severance plan that governs the amount of severance to be paid to employees who terminate employment with an A. H. Belo company due to a reduction in force.

Generally, employees who are terminated due to the reduction in force and who sign the separation-and-release agreement, will receive a lump-sum severance payment of one and one-quarter (1.25) weeks of current base pay for each year of employment. The maximum severance allowed is 10 weeks. The minimum severance payment for eligible employees will be two weeks. Partial years of service will be used for purposes of calculating the severance payment.

The severance payment will be made once the separation-and-release agreement has been signed and, when applicable, the revocation period has expired.

Outplacement services to assist employees in looking for their next employment opportunity are being provided as part of the offer.

Thanks to each of you for your continued support and efforts on behalf of The Press-Enterprise. Our mission as an organization is an important one for all of the communities we serve in the region. It is unfortunate that we must take these measures to sustain that mission, but they are truly necessary. I appreciate your cooperation during these difficult and challenging times.

Memo from the Modesto Bee (dated 1/28/09)

2009-02-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

In order to help offset decreases in advertising revenue, we will be reducing a significant number of pages in the paper each week.

These are not things we want to do, but things we need to do.

In the next several weeks, we'll be:

§ Consolidating and/or combining some sections.

§ Reducing the number of section fronts.

§ Eliminating some pages and sections altogether.

§ Refocusing some sections with content that we think will be a plus for readers.

At one point we considered going to a two-section paper on Mondays, which would move the local news into the A section. But given all the changes in the paper, with the web reduction and the shift to Sacramento, we decided against that at this time.

The changes we're making could reduce the weekly page count by 16 pages, plus or minus depending on ad volumes and sizes. One daily page is about $280, so, for example, taking 10 pages out of the paper over the course of the week would save about $2,800 or more than $145,000 a year.

Memo from Fred Hamilton on Inland Division management moves

2009-02-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow Employees:

As part of a further restructure and management consolidation I am pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Lambert to the position of Editor and General Manager for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group.

Steve has been Editor of the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin for seven years and also serves as Vice President of News for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. In his new role, he will also serve as general manager for our Inland Division.

Steve has done an outstanding job as editor and has been instrumental in the strategic planning for new product launches and content and revenue initiatives that have been rolled out across the division.

Steve Replaces Fred Board, who is no longer with our company.

Frank Pine, currently senior editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, becomes executive editor of The Sun and Daily Bulletin, handling day-to-day oversight of those news operations.

Fred Hamilton
Publisher and CEO
Inland Newspaper Division

Memo from Fred Hamilton

2009-01-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2009

Dear Fellow Employee:

In a further effort to help offset the continuing decline in revenue and position the company for future financial success while mitigating further job losses, I am announcing the implementation of a mandatory one (1) week furlough for employees to be scheduled during the period beginning February 1, 2009 and running through the month of March. All executive and management of the Company will be included. Each employee's department will determine the actual week an employee is furloughed.

I realize that we are all working hard to overcome this difficult time. I know this action will create a strain on our personal budgets, and unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that a furlough will prevent any further layoffs. However, from what I am hearing across our company... "a brief period without pay is better than many more layoffs."

This is not to trivialize the serious nature of furloughs. Implementing unpaid furloughs is indeed a very serious step. This furlough action is unprecedented for our company.

Over the next few days, your department heads will meet with you to further explain the furlough process and how people will be scheduled. A Q&A sheet is being prepared for distribution. Your human resources contact will be available to assist you and your supervisors. Personal situations will be considered based on seniority and the operational needs of the company. But, such considerations should only influence when a person's furlough begins and ends, not if a person will or will not be excused from a furlough.

As always, our customers remain our highest priority. Through your dedicated efforts, we have continued to publish quality newspapers and to produce top notch websites. Our challenge is to assure that we remain a strong company and continue to develop innovative new products which provide value-added for our customers.

At this time, it is important to understand that we, like many media and other companies, are facing significant challenges due to the deep recession. We are not the first and we certainly won't be the last to implement furloughs or take similar steps in order to address these challenges and keep our financial houses in order. We take these actions on our own because we can and we should... for the long term good of our customers and ourselves.

Thank you for your understanding, your support and your dedication.

Sincerely,

Fred Hamilton
Publisher and CEO,
Inland Division

Memo from Steve Hunt

2009-01-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon,

As you know, the copy desk from the San Bernardino Sun and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin will be joining our copy desk on Monday, Jan. 26 as we create an Inland Division Universal Desk. This desk will be responsible for copy editing every story and designing and paginating every page in our three newspapers, as well as the Sun and the Bulletin. It is an enormous task, one that requires incredible cooperation and planning. That cooperation will involve every reporter and editor on our city desk, features desk, business desk and sports desk.

One of the challenges in this venture is that three papers now share the same off-the-floor deadlines. The Whittier Daily News, Sun and Bulletin all are due off the floor at 10 p.m. Experience tells us that won't work very well when we join our desks into one. So, we're going to adjust two of those deadlines to give our designers and copy editors enough of a gap to ensure we make deadline for all three papers every night. Beginning Jan. 26, the deadline for the Sun will be 9:30 p.m. and the deadline for Whittier will be 9:45 p.m. The Bulletin deadline will remain 10 p.m. Pasadena's deadline will remain 10:45 p.m., while Tribune's will change to 11:30 p.m.

But those aren't the only changes. Because many of our copy editors and designers will be working 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. shifts, we also are going to change the copy deadlines for reporters at all five papers. Beginning Monday, Jan. 19, all inside A section copy for the three SGVN papers will be due at 1:30 p.m. A1 copy for Whittier and Pasadena will be due at 5 p.m., while A1 copy for the Tribune will be due at 5:30 p.m. This will provide us with the necessary copy flow so copy editors and designers can meet their page flow deadlines. For those of you who have never worked on a copy desk, what this does is prevent a logjam of pages on deadline, which would inevitably lead to late press starts and late delivery of papers. Of course, we realize there will be live and late stories from time to time. Special allowances will be made for those, as well as breaking news. But the hope here is to set up a system that provides for greater copy flow earlier in the day to ensure every paper in the Inland Division makes deadline and every reader gets his or her paper on time.

Naturally, those of you making photo assignments will want to try to line those up as early as you can too. We have more leeway on A1 than inside the A section, but it greatly helps designers to have art early in their shifts. Again, exceptions will be made for live events and breaking news.

Also next week, we will have one-hour earlier deadlines on Tuesday because of the inauguration. Circulation plans to print several thousand extra copies to sell on the street and wants to make sure those papers get to delivery people earlier. So on Tuesday night, Whittier's deadline is 9 p.m., Pasadena's is 9:45 p.m. and Tribune's is 10:45 p.m. For that night only, we'll want normal inside A copy by 2 p.m. and everything else by 4 p.m.

Thanks very much for your help. And while I am at it, I will echo Frank's comments about the good work you have all done recently. The Rose, our Jan. 2 parade wrap and the other special sections we've done recently were exceptional. But I am most proud that we had incredibly strong papers throughout that busy period and have kept that going. These are trying times for newspapers and most other businesses. But I am so proud of all of you and the papers we publish every day.

Thanks very much,

Steve

Comment from Alan Mittelstaedt

2009-01-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

I can't remain silent any longer.

Noah's an outstanding reporter and writer, and it's sad that he's leaving the paper. It wasn't too long ago that any newsroom in the country would die for a dozen energetic and creative writers just like him and the rest of his colleagues at the Daily Journal.

Noah's fascinated by science, technology and the law, among other things; his diverse range would be welcome at any paper striving to be on the cutting edge of legal coverage in a demanding market like Los Angeles.

Why is such a talent as Noah packing his bags?

I urge the paper's top management to do some soul-searching -- and go online today to enroll in an intensive management training course at Poynter or somewhere else. Learn the basic rules of civility and leadership that inspires.

In the meantime, start treating every writer with respect. Stop screaming, and start listening. Stop writing reporters up for minor mistakes, and start sending notes of thanks. Offer constructive criticism, not personal attacks. (By the way, such attacks are lawsuit bait.)

As I told David Houston in one of our final meetings, I have never witnessed a supervisor with a more demeaning, abusive style in my 29 years in this business. (And I've encountered some contenders in my day.) I couldn't tolerate or condone his Pleistocene-era style and left the paper at the end of the year.

The Daily Journal's filled with talented writers. Noah is one of the best of the best. He's too young to be leaving a paper that so sorely needs his enterprising talents right now.

Let's hope changes can be made to keep others from wanting to follow him.

Memo from Jim Janiga

2009-01-15T10:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow Employees,

Today our company is announcing the suspension of all annual merit increases to be effective February 1, 2009. We are not certain how long this suspension will last but are hopeful that the coming 2010 Fiscal Year operating budget will allow the suspension to be lifted. The new fiscal year begins July 1, 2009. No guarantees but that is our goal. In the meantime, all merit increases earned and due before February 1, 2009 will be processed.

Under this suspension all increases earned and due on and after February 1, will be suspended for at least five months. For example, and based on that anticipated time period, if you are due a merit increase this coming March 2009, that merit increase will be delayed five months to August 2009. If you just receive a merit increase this past December 2008, your next merit increase would be due May 2010. Your Human Resources representatives can assist with any questions or concerns you may have.

Suspending merit increases will not reduce our current expenses but it does help us contain our expenses for a period of time. So obviously more needs to be considered and implemented, if warranted. To this end we are asking everyone to share with us any suggestions you might have regarding cuts in our operating expenses that are measurable, timely and sensible; cuts that can help us avoid more layoffs and are cuts you may be willing to accept. We need your input.

Unfortunately we cannot promise there will not be layoffs in the future but we should always endeavor to do what we can to prevent as many as possible. Obviously, growing revenue is our best option but until revenue streams stabilize and grow, reducing our expenses will continue to be a painful but necessary focus. Some early suggestions have included mandatory furloughs, cuts in our vacation benefits, pay cuts (temporary and/or permanent), reduced work schedules, allowing volunteer reduction in hours while retaining most full-time benefits, and more.

No one has THE answer and no one should naively speculate what others may not be willing to do to help save a co-worker's job... even where there are no guarantees. We would be foolish not to ask for your support, ideas, focus and commitment.

Everyone needs to be engaged. We need to support each other. We can and will make a difference. Times are tough but we are tougher. Your ideas are important to all of us.

Thank you for your attention and thank you for your continuing input and loyalty.

Sincerely,
Jim Janiga
Senior Vice President - Human Resources

Sen. Gil Cedillo is running

2009-01-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

CEDILLO ANNOUNCES RUN FOR 32nd CONGRESSIONAL SEAT, SEEKS TO CONTINUE SOLIS LEADERSHIP ON LATINO AND ECONOMIC ISSUES

(SACRAMENTO) - State senator Gilbert Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) today confirmed his intention to run for the 32nd congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Hilda Solis, the Obama administration choice for Secretary of Labor.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Latinos and the working people of East Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley. Hilda Solis has been a strong leader on labor and economic issues for the 32nd District. As a candidate I seek to continue that focus, creating a competitive workforce, securing access to affordable healthcare and investment into public safety and transportation," shared Cedillo.

Cedillo has taken on a variety of issues during his legislative career. In 2008 he proposed legislation to provide college financial aid, housing assistance and medical support services to veterans returning from the Afghan and Iraqi wars. He has passed legislation to increase access to healthcare for the uninsured via community clinics and revitalize urban communities through investment.

His immigration reform proposals, licensing all drivers and higher education opportunities for immigrant students in line for citizenship, focus on rational solutions to national security and creating a viable, domestic workforce. The varied agenda has earned Cedillo a reputation for pragmatism, frequently working to find common ground among competing interests.

Cedillo's announcement follows an announcement by fellow state senator Gloria Romero (D-East Los Angeles) that she will not pursue the 32nd congressional seat. Sen. Romero, a lifelong education advocate and respected Latino leader, has given her endorsement to Cedillo. "I have evaluated the candidates who continue to seek this congressional seat and will be giving my endorsement to Senator Gilbert Cedillo. Senator Cedillo has been a forceful advocate for public safety and anti-gang initiatives. He has been tenacious in his advocacy for the rights and dignity of working families and the preservation of good middle-class jobs," said Romero.

Memo from David Houston

2008-12-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Colleagues,

When I became editor of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals 17 days ago, there were many challenges that had to be met immediately. As anyone who follows this business knows, 2008 has shaped up to be journalism's annus horribilis. The most pressing of our challenges was to make changes needed to continue to put out a high-quality newspaper in spite of cutbacks. Today, I am announcing staffing changes that I believe will go along way toward meeting that goal.

The first is that Alexia Garamfalvi has agreed to officially take over as editor of the San Francisco Daily Journal. In that role, she will oversee the Daily Journal's Bay Area reporters and our Washington bureau. Alexia has done a terrific job running the office since my departure. In fact, she has done a terrific job since she came to the paper as an associate editor 11 months ago. Those who have worked closely with her will attest to the fact that Alexia brought our law firm business coverage to a much deeper level. And her influence has extended well beyond lateral moves and profits per partner. Alexia has guided our Washington reporters in some outstanding coverage over the past several months.

Alexia graduated from McGill and UVA law school and worked as a corporate lawyer in New York for several years before going to the Medill journalism school. She was an editor and reporter at a publication focused on U.S. trade policy and at Legal Times before moving to San Francisco and the Daily Journal.

We are moving forward quickly in our search for a new associate editor in San Francisco. In the meantime, Laura Ernde remains on hiatus from the California Supreme Court beat, filling in on that post.

In Los Angeles, associate editor Alan Mittelstaedt has decided to leave to dedicate his time to USC journalism school, where he is an adjunct professor. We owe Alan a great debt for getting our new blog, the DJ Blawter, off the ground. Please join me in wishing him well in his new endeavor. We are moving quickly to find a new associate editor.

In these lean times, it is important for us to take stock of what we do each day. We can do some things exceptionally well but we no longer have the resources to do many things well. Therefore, I have decided to eliminate the following beats in Los Angeles: pro bono; general litigation and city politics/land use. This does not mean layoffs. Our pro bono reporter left the paper several months ago and our city reporter left last month.

Noah Barron, who has held the general litigation beat, will take over our entertainment law beat that has been open for a few months. Noah has distinguished himself as a reporter with boundless energy, someone willing to take on any task.

Finally, Greg Katz, who somehow made ADR one of the most prolific beats at the paper, is taking over as the criminal justice reporter. In that role, he will cover issues of importance to criminal lawyers throughout the state.

That's the news for now. Stay tuned.

dh

Email from Joshua Stecker

2008-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Well, the cat's out of the bag.

Yes, the Press-Telegram has quietly ceased publication of San Pedro Magazine, and in turn, I have been laid off.

Getting laid off is never fun or easy, but what's worse than me losing my job is watching the two newspapers that serve San Pedro officially abandoning our area. First it was MORE, now San Pedro Magazine.

Well, I wasn't going to sit idly by and let my hometown lose a magazine that was hugely popular, profitable, well-respected and incredibly fun to produce.

So, in good ole' San Pedro do-it-yourself fashion, I'm launching San Pedro Today, a new independently owned and operated monthly magazine serving my hometown of San Pedro.

Premiering the week of January 5, 2009, San Pedro Today will have the same great 30,000 copy circulation (still the largest circulated publication in San Pedro), free home delivery to homes and condos, the beautiful glossy cover and include all the great columnists and contributors who helped make the former publication the success it was. I’m taking the best parts of what made San Pedro Magazine great and enhancing it with all the features I wanted to do but could never get done working for my former corporation.

Now that I independently own and operate San Pedro Today, I can finally give San Pedro the type of quality publication it has always deserved.

And talk about launching with a BANG! Our first issue will be a special commemorative issue featuring the San Pedro High School Football team celebrating their L.A. City Section (co-) Championship!

This premiere issue will feature a cover and story celebrating the exciting and historic 21-21 tie championship game between San Pedro and Narbonne High School. (I was there, it was an incredible game!) It will also include a multiple-page photo spread chronicling the entire game, including photos of fans in the stands and candid on and off-the-field celebrations.

It will definitely be a highly sought after publication when it hits the streets. I'm excited to launch the new magazine leading with such an awesome hometown event.

In addition to our regular content, we're also accepting "SPHS Football Pride" ads if anyone is interested in adding a personal ad congratulating our SPHS Pirates to our premiere issue. All the information is at www.sanpedrotoday.com.

On a personal note, I want to be very clear that my parting from the Press-Telegram was an amicable one. The situation that unfolded this past week was due to the incredible hardships facing the newspaper industry as a whole. I do not envy those in charge at the Press-Telegram, they have a huge mountain to climb and have to deal with a huge corporation that has completely lost focus of what it means to produce a quality local newspaper for the community. It’s sad, really. Newspapers are dying, but magazines are alive and kicking.

To all our current (and future) advertisers, thanks for shifting your support to San Pedro Today. The transition will be painless. My former advertising representative from San Pedro Magazine, Patricia Roberts, has joined me on San Pedro Today and will be assisting you in the turnover process.

I’m also pleased to announce we’re LOWERING ADVERTISING RATES across the board for the new publication. Since we do not have to go through the corporate bureaucracy to get things done, our working experience should be much more fun and easy. We’re here to help you succeed.

Lastly, those who have worked with me and have known me through the former magazine know how much I love my hometown. I’m a fourth generation San Pedran and proud of it. When I got the news about the abrupt cancellation of San Pedro Magazine, without being able to produce one final issue to let everyone know, well... I wasn't going to let that happen. So, San Pedro Today was born.

I hope you join me on what will be one incredible adventure!

Sincerely,
Joshua

P.S. Make sure when you visit www.sanpedrotoday.com that you subscribe to our email newsletter on the top right-side column. This way you won't miss out on all the new content we'll be producing. :)

Statement from Superintendent David L. Brewer

2008-12-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

·         I’ve scheduled this press availability to set the record straight about the accomplishments of the wonderful students, employees, and parents under my leadership over the past two years.

·         Two years ago, I took the helm of the Los Angeles Unified School District with vision and optimism. You see, I firmly believe that every child can learn. Every child can succeed. Every child can do great things. I know the power of education. My grandparents, the grandchildren of slaves, graduated from college. I know the power of opportunity. As an admiral in the Navy, I saw thousands of sailors, including high school dropouts; earn college degrees while in the service and master skills that would lead to prosperous and productive futures.

·         As a leader, I came to the Los Angeles Unified School District, with many goals, chief among them - results. I walked through this door with my eyes wide open. I did so with the belief that, together, we could take this District from good to great. We have many good schools. I wanted to support them so they could become great schools. I wanted to help our students read, write, think and speak their way into great futures.

·         As an experienced warrior, I came ready to fight the battles on behalf of all of our LAUSD students. When I think of this current battle, I think of the students who have no one to fight for them. I challenge every adult in this District and every adult in Los Angeles, to fight on behalf of our students. Fight for their right to a world-class education. Fight for a future that includes college and a career. Their success is the only thing worth fighting for. What our students need—not what adults want—must be LAUSD’s guiding priority.

·         To the people of Los Angeles, demand that political and adult agendas take a back seat to student agendas. The winners—today, tomorrow and every day--must be our students. The most important question we must answer is how to build on their most recent successes.

·         I knew the students of the Los Angeles School District could do better, and they proved that on the 2008 Academic Performance Index.

·         LAUSD students had the highest academic gains of any other major school district in the state last year. Elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools had record gains - and not just by a point or two, but by double digits.

·         All of our ethnic groups, with one exception, exceeded the academic gains of their state counterparts.

·         I am especially proud of one our high schools. For years, Jefferson High School had languished at the bottom in academic achievement. In 2008, thanks to great leadership and teachers, their scores soared and went up 59 points.

·         There is much more good news at the high school level. LAUSD has the largest class of 12th graders – 34,768 students – since 1979. That means more high school students are staying in school. More high school students are passing the high school exit exams. More high school students are graduating and going to college.

·         I am proud of these accomplishments, and so much more.

·         Our students also deserve world-class campuses.

·         In that regard, last month, thanks to the voters’ overwhelming confidence in LAUSD, we passed Measure Q - $7B - the largest school bond measure in the history of the nation, with nearly a 69% margin of voter approval. Because of that $7 billion investment, soon more of our students will study in traditional classrooms, not portables crowding on playgrounds. Soon, more of our students will attend schools that have state-of-the art computer centers, chemistry labs and modern cafeterias.

·         To increase the safety of our students and decrease gang violence, we opened the first-ever Boys & Girls Club on one of our campuses at Markham Middle School. We will open a YMCA on the campus of University High School in the near future.

·         I would like to thank all who have contributed to these successes. All of the students, all of the parents, all of the teachers, all of the principals, librarians, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers—everyone who works for the Los Angeles Unified School District and every one who supports our students.

·         The current debate about my leadership and the performance of the district has been contentious.   It has been demoralizing and debilitating, not only to our valued employees, but has spilled over into the community. As an African-American, I’ve experienced my share of discrimination. When I joined the Navy as an officer over 37 years ago, there were only 250 African-American officers out of 72,000.   I know what it looks like, smells like, and the consequences. Although this debate is disconcerting and troubling, it must not become an ethnic issue. When adults fight, it can manifest itself in our children. This must not become an ethnic or racial battle that infests our schools, our campuses, our playgrounds. This is not about settling an old score; this must be about what is best for every LAUSD student.

·         Therefore, I have decided to do what I think is in the best interest of the children, to put all of our students first. Although my two years of service as superintendent contain an undeniable record of significant accomplishments, I am asking the Los Angeles School Board to shield our students from this contentious debate and honor the buy-out provisions of my contract.

·         Regardless of the Board’s decision, I will continue to work for the children of LA and this nation.

·         There’s still so much work to be done. We’re facing the worst budget crisis in since 1929; we must continue to have leadership in Sacramento. I have been leading this fight for the past year.   This fight must continue.

* Gang violence persists. Too many of our young boys are dying or being maimed in the streets of LA. That’s why I’ve launched a Single Gender Academy initiative, with an emphasis on boys. Last month, I went to New York and visited two boys’ academies and one girls’ academy to benchmark and replicate in this District.   Jordan High School, King-Drew Magnet School, Audubon Middle School and Tom Bradley Elementary School have very promising single gender pilot programs. We must continue this work to save our boys.

* One of my guiding principles in Life’s Little Instruction Book.. Let me quote: “Never deprive someone of hope, because that may be all that they have.” Let me give you an example. Harris Rosen, CEO of Rosen Hotels, is providing hope in Tangelo Park in Orlando, Florida, where he has established a Pre-kindergarten to College program for the poorest children in that city. He invests $1 million per year to provide educational and other services to these children and their families. He guarantees a college education to any Tangelo Park student who is accepted to college. Many of the District’s children are living in similar neighborhoods with no hope. That’s why I have solicited the support of various community leaders to work with me in bringing the Tangelo Park program to the District. This work must continue.

* We have the best students in the nation. One of the best and most rigorous academic programs in the world is the International Baccalaureate program. When I took the helm at LAUSD, there were 82 of these programs in California and zero in LAUSD. We now have nine programs, but we need to do more.   LAUSD students deserve Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs in our secondary schools.

* My passion and commitment have not and will not diminish.

* I am proud and grateful that the Los Angeles Unified School District is better than I found it. As a third-generation college graduate who has benefited from his education, I want the same for all the students of this district. I’m reminded of my favorite hymn: “If can help somebody as I pass along, If I can show somebody that he’s traveling wrong, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, then my living is not in vain.” Live for our children.

KCRW Announces New Music Director

2008-11-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

KCRW announces the appointment of Jason Bentley as Music Director and host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, effective December 1. Bentley will leave his current evening time slot to take over KCRW’s signature music program from 9am to noon PST, Monday through Friday.

"This is a wonderful KCRW story. Jason began as a phone volunteer in the front office when he was still in high school. He grew up on KCRW because his parents were listeners. When he returned from college he reconnected with the station and debuted on the air here 16 years ago,” said KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour. “He has a passion for the music and a deep connection to the local music scene. Moreover KCRW is in his DNA."

"I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity and humbled by the task, which is to open a new chapter for the station. It's a reinvention of myself to match the gold standards set by previous music directors. It’s no longer the hypnotic pulse of the city at night – it’s the ever-evolving optimism of weekday mornings,” said Bentley.

“My show has always reflected the continual evolution of music and emerging artists. And while I built my foundation as a champion of dance and electronic music, this is a great opportunity for me to grow, a challenge I will take very seriously."

"The other side to this position, no less important than MBE, is to work closely with the incredibly talented group of DJs we have at KCRW to inspire the best from these bright minds and celebrate the diversity of our music department. Together we will build on KCRW's stellar reputation in Los Angeles and around the world."

Bentley is widely respected, not just as a KCRW DJ but as a Music Supervisor for film (“The Matrix” soundtracks), a music executive (co-founder of the Quango Music Group and an A&R exec at Madonna's Maverick imprint) and as a music producer and remixer in his own right.

Jason has nurtured a thriving music scene in Los Angeles over the years, Producing events at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Skirball Cultural Center, and The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and consults for the LA Philharmonic on special events at the Hollywood Bowl and Disney Hall. He was the headlining DJ at Uptown Underground, a hugely successful public art installation that drew more than 8,000 people to the Music Center in Downtown LA and the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Jason has served for two consecutive terms on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and is involved in awards committees every year leading up to the Grammy's. Earlier this year, Jason became the first ever DJ for the Governor’s Ball, the celebration following the Academy Awards, and more recently, he headlined the official election night party for President elect Barack Obama in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Century Plaza to a capacity crowd.

Current Music Director Nic Harcourt will step down at the end of the month to pursue several independent projects and will continue as a KCRW DJ, hosting a 3-hour show on Sunday nights from 6-9 pm PST.

Further programming updates will be released in the next few weeks.

KCRW’s Music Director Steps Down

2008-11-10T09:54:00.000-08:00

After 10 successful years as host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW’s signature music program, KCRW Music Director Nic Harcourt is stepping down November 30 to pursue several independent projects. Harcourt will continue as a KCRW deejay, hosting a 3-hour show on Sundays from 6-9 pm.

“I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to come to work every day and be surrounded by creative and passionate people and I want to keep the connection alive on my Sunday show,” said Harcourt.

“Since I arrived here, I’ve fulfilled many of my dreams as a music lover, meeting and interviewing legends like Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson and Cat Stevens (Yusuf). I’ve also been able to set the stage for future stars, introducing artists like Coldplay, Damien Rice, Dido and Norah Jones on KCRW’s airwaves. I’m equally proud to have played many unsigned and independent artists and to be a champion for Latin Alternative music.”

“I’ve also been involved with a number of innovative projects to bring KCRW’s unique programming to a larger audience, such as launching KCRW Presents concerts in Los Angeles and other cities, remote broadcasts of Morning Becomes Eclectic from major music events, and videocasting and podcasting our live studio sessions.”

“As a parent of two young children, I believe it’s time for me to explore new career opportunities and expand upon my other activities in movie, television, voice over work, advertising and the Internet.”

“My heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to KCRW, the staff and volunteers who have supported my work through the years, but most of all to the listeners. I’ve always said that I couldn’t do what I do without them and I hope they will join me on Sunday nights,” said Harcourt.

KCRW’s General Manager Ruth Seymour said “Nic has enhanced KCRW’s reputation for introducing new artists to listeners in Southern California and beyond on radio and the Internet. His singular gifts as a radio deejay and his ability to spot new talent attracted major media attention from both national and international press."

“He made performing on MBE an opportunity to be heard by top entertainment executives. In quite a number of instances it led to record contracts, television appearances and club dates.”

“We’re delighted that Nic will continue a station tradition and remain on the air at KCRW. He follows our two previous Music Directors, Tom Schnabel and Chris Douridas, who also host music programs on the weekends.”

“Nic is a hard act to follow”, added Seymour. “We are now in the process of choosing a new Music Director. We have been looking at potential candidates with an eye toward announcing a choice in the new few weeks."

Bray responds to LA Impact (UPDATED*)

2008-10-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

Christy L. O'Donnell

Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, LLP

801 South Figueroa St., 15th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Dear Ms. O'Donnell:

On September 8, 2008, I sent a request for documents to your client, L.A. Impact. You responded for the first time on October 14, 2008. Your response so far has been legally inadequate and grossly unprofessional. Your client has been poorly served by your performance.

First, I requested public documents from your client, a public agency. State law gives public agencies ten days to respond to such requests. L.A. Impact received my request -- my second request, by the way -- on September 9, 2008 (see enclosed photocopy of U.S. Postal Service "Domestic Return Receipt," labeled as Document 1). Your letter of October 14 begins, "This letter will confirm our receipt of your correspondence, dated September 8, 2008..." (see enclosed photocopy of your October 14 letter, labeled as Document 2). No explanation for your delayed response follows. Should I wish to argue that L.A. Impact does not comply with the terms of the California Public Records Act, your own letter serves as the plainest evidence of that fact. It took you five weeks to send a short initial response to a one-page letter. I hope this is not the standard at your firm.

Second, pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act, I asked to receive agendas for public meetings of the L.A. Impact directors. You mailed to me an agenda for the October 16, 2008 meeting of the L.A. Impact Executive Council (enclosed, labeled as Document 3), with a demand (see your letter, Document 2) that I pay a $2.50 fee to L.A. Impact to cover the cost of mailing. As this agenda shows, the meeting in question began on October 16, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. But you mailed the agenda to me on October 15, 2008, as the metered postage on your envelope shows (see enclosed photocopy of Manning & Marder envelope, labeled as Document 4). An agenda mailed October 15 for a meeting on the morning of October 16 is useless, a fact I shouldn't need to explain even to you. In fact, I received the agenda after the meeting was over. Perhaps five weeks is just how long it takes you to get a two-page document in the mail, but you and your client are not complying with the Brown Act by sending an agenda for a meeting that is already over when the agenda arrives. Obviously, I will not be paying your client for this agenda. Future agendas are to reach me prior to the meetings described by those agendas.

Third, on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, we exchanged email in which I asked for an appointment this week to review public records at your client's office. You responded at 9:36 a.m. on that day that you would contact your client and arrange such an appointment for me. It is now 8:45 a.m. on Monday, October 20, and I have not heard from you. You had most of the day Wednesday, and all of Thursday and Friday, to arrange an appointment at a public agency to review simple public records that should be easily available. I am requesting an opportunity to review the recent agendas and minutes of a local legislative body, a set of records that any City Clerk in the state would instantly provide to me over the counter without an appointment. This is not hard.

I am not impressed by you. Do your job.

Sincerely,

Chris Bray

*UPDATED: Here is the key paragraph in O'Donnell's letter to Bray, dated Oct. 23, that responds to the letter above:

As for your allegation that the appointment is untimely, there is no specific time requirement within the Brown Act, the above appointment is reasonable, and thus there is no violation. Although no explanation is required, you allege that you should immediately have been given an appointment within a secure LA IMPACT building solely because "a set of records that any City Clerk in the state would instantly provide to [you] over the counter without an appointment. This is not hard." As I explained in my October 14, 2008 correspondence, LA IMPACT Headquarters is a secure law enforcement building with restricted access to civilians. Further, the LA IMPACT taskforce is not a municipality or state agency, but rather a crime task force whose priorities are to assist law enforcement agencies in immediate and exigent crime suppression. As such, the above date and time is more than reasonable, given the nature of LA IMPACT. No Brown Act violation exists.

She's right, LA Impact is neither a city nor a state agency. But neither are a county or a school district, and yet both are bound by the Brown Act. (State agencies, funnily enough, are governed by a different open-meetings law.) Moreover, every one of these agencies, LA Impact included, is subject to the California Public Records Act. That means LA Impact's agendas and documents must be open to inspection at all times during business hours (6253(a)). Failure to comply is a violation of California law.

Benedict Powell by Gordon Campbell

2008-10-20T12:11:00.001-07:00

'Anonymous' hacker to plead guilty

2008-10-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

NEW JERSEY MAN CHARGED WITH ATTACKING CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY WEBSITES IN THE NAME OF ‘ANONYMOUS’

LOS ANGELES – A New Jersey man was charged today for his role in an attack on Church of Scientology websites in January 2008 that rendered the websites unavailable.

Dmitriy Guzner, 18, of Verona, New Jersey, has agreed to plead guilty to computer hacking for his role in the distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack against the Scientology websites. A DDOS attack occurs where a large amount of malicious Internet traffic is directed at a website or a set of websites. The target websites are unable to handle the high volume of Internet traffic and therefore become unavailable to legitimate users trying to reach the sites.

According to the criminal information filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles, Guzner participated in the attack because he considered himself a member of an underground group called “Anonymous.” “Anonymous” has led protests against the Church of Scientology at various locations across the country, and in January 2008 posted a video on YouTube which announced a new offensive against Scientology.

Once he pleads guilty, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks in federal court in New Jersey, Guzner faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force in Los Angeles. The agencies involved in the investigation were the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.

Bray and LA Impact

2008-10-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

September 8, 2008
Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force ("LA Impact")
5700 S. Eastern Ave.
Commerce, CA 90040

Sir or Ma’am:

I would like to receive agendas and minutes for the meetings of the L.A. Impact Board of Directors. Please add me to your Brown Act notice list. This is my second request, following my letter of July 14 of this year. Perhaps your response to my earlier request was misdirected, but it has not reached me.

Also, I want to be able to review the agendas and minutes of the L.A. Impact Board of Directors at the sites where they are regularly posted. Please provide me with a list of those sites.

Finally, I plan to review minutes for previous meetings of the L.A. Impact Board of Directors. Please identify the custodian of those records, and let me know how and where I may review them.

Thank You

Chris Bray

Cc: Richard McKee

Richard M. Kreisler, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

*******************************************

Dear Mr. Bray:

This letter being sent to you via email as a courtesy and U.S. Mail will confirm our receipt of your correspondence, dated September 8, 2008, in which you requested the following items:

1) "[T]o receive agendas and minutes for the meetings of the L.A. Impact Board of Directors", and accordingly to be added "to your Brown Act notice list."

2) "[T]o be able to review the agendas and minutes of the L.A. Impact Board of Directors at the sites where they are regularly posted", and accordingly to be provided "with a list of those sites."

3) "[T]o review minutes for previous meetings of the L.A. Impact Board of Directors", and accordingly to know the identity of "the custodian of records" and "how and where I may review them."

Here is our response to each of your above requests:

1) A copy of the upcoming Agenda for the October 16, 2008 LA Impact Board of Director's meeting has been mailed to you. Pursuant to Government Code section 54954.1 LA Impact has established a fee of $2.50 for mailing the agenda. Please forward payment for this mailing immediately to our Los Angeles office upon your receipt. Please be advised that in the future, we will require payment of this fee in advance of mailing you the agenda.

As for your request for a copy of the minutes to be sent to you, there is no such requirement within the Brown Act and thus we cannot comply with your request. Please see our response to your request No. 3, as you may view the minutes at the site at which they are normally maintained.

As for your request to be added "to your Brown Act notice list", there is no requirement of the same within the Brown Act and thus we cannot comply with your request.

2) The agenda for the next LA Impact Board of Director's meeting is posted at 12545 Florence Avenue, Santa Fe Springs, CA. Therefore, you may view the agenda at that location up to 72 hours before the regularly scheduled meeting.

As for your request regarding where the minutes are "posted", there is no such requirement within the Brown Act and thus we cannot comply with your request. Please see our response to your request No. 3, as you may view the minutes at the site at which they are normally maintained.

3) The minutes are maintained by LA Impact at their headquarters in Commerce. You will only be allowed access to view the minutes from "Open Sessions" of the Board, as closed sessions do not constitute public records. Should you still desire to view the minutes from prior Open Session, please provide me with a few alternate dates and times you are available to view the minutes so that we can make arrangements for you to do so, as LA Impact is a secure building and we will need to arrange for you to have access. In addition, please be advised that should you desire to photocopy any of the minutes, you will be asked to pay in advance a rate of $ .35 per/copy.

Should you have any additional requests or inquiries, please direct them to me as counsel for LA Impact.

Christy L. O'Donnell, Esq.
Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, LLP
15th Floor at 801 Tower
801 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 624-6900
(213) 624-6900 fax
clo@mmker.com

******************************************

Dear Ms. O'Donnell,

Thanks for your prompt reply to my request. I had hoped that LA Impact minutes and agendas were created and stored as Word files, or something similar, and could be emailed as attachments with very little cost or hassle to your client. But I would be happy to spend time in the LA Impact office instead, even if it is a substantial time commitment for us all. If I'll be required to travel to the office to read minutes every time there's a meeting of the Board of Directors, perhaps we can come up with a regular appointment time for those frequent visits. In the meantime, I'd like to schedule any morning next week after nine a.m. to review the requested minutes. I plan to read them carefully and methodically, so I may need to visit the LA Impact office quite a few times in the coming days.

Thank you for your kind assistance.

Chris Bray

Diane Fedele's infamous flier

2008-10-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

NTSB press release

2008-10-01T15:29:00.001-07:00

************************************************************

NTSB ADVISORY

************************************************************

National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

October 1, 2008

************************************************************

UPDATE: NTSB'S INVESTIGATION OF THE METROLINK, UNION PACIFIC

ACCIDENT IN CALIFORNIA

************************************************************

The following is an update of the NTSB's investigation of the September 12, 2008 accident in Chatsworth, California involving a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train. As a result of the head-on collision, there were 25 fatalities and numerous injuries.

Information regarding the Metrolink engineer's cell phone activity on the day of the accident was obtained from his service provider under subpoena from the NTSB. As part of the ongoing investigation, this information is being used to determine the timing of cell phone activity, which includes text messaging to and from the engineer's cell number, in relation to the engineer's duty hours and train operations.

Although the precise timing and correlation of these events is still underway at the Safety Board's Recorder Laboratory, preliminary information is being released regarding the approximate cell phone activity during the engineer's duty hours on the day of the accident.

On the day of the accident, the Metrolink engineer was on duty for two periods of time. The engineer was responsible for the operation of a train from 6:44 am until 8:53 am.

During this period of time, the engineer's cell phone received 21 text messages and sent 24 text messages.

He was then off duty until 2:00 pm. The engineer was responsible for the operation of Metrolink train 111 from 3:03 pm until the time of the accident. During this time period, the engineer's cell phone received 7 text messages and sent 5 text messages. According to the time on the cell phone provider's records, the last text message received by the engineer's phone before the accident was at 4:21:03 pm, and the last text message sent from the engineer's cell phone was 4:22:01 pm.

A preliminary estimate for the time of the accident, according to the Union Pacific train's onboard recorders, is 4:22:23 pm. The Safety Board's Recorder Laboratory is continuing to correlate times recorded for use of the Metrolink engineer's cell phone, train recorder data, and signal system data to a common time base.

"I am pleased with the progress of this major investigation to date," Acting NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said today. "We are continuing to pursue many avenues of inquiry to find what caused this accident and what can be done to prevent such a tragedy in the future."

-30-

NTSB Media Contact: Terry N. Williams

(202) 314-6100

williat@ntsb.gov

BANG-EB publisher steps down

2008-09-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Employees:

We’re announcing a leadership change for our East Bay newspapers. After many years of dedicated service, John Armstrong will be leaving the company effective October 17. We’re very appreciative of the effort that John has put forth during his role as Publisher, and earlier as Editor, and wish him good fortune for the future.

David Rounds, San Jose Mercury News Vice President of Circulation, will replace Armstrong as the new President and Publisher of our East Bay newspapers. David is a career newspaper professional with more than 35 years’ experience in newspaper advertising, circulation and operations. The first half of his career focused on advertising and included work at the Independent in Livermore, ANG newspapers in Pleasanton, Hayward and Fremont, where he held numerous management positions in retail and classified advertising. In 1989, he joined Lesher Communications in the East Bay working at the Valley Times, West County Times, Antioch Ledger and the Contra Costa Times in various positions including advertising manager, general manager, group Vice President, and Vice President of Circulation. David has served as Vice President of Circulation for the Mercury News since January 2005.

Dan Smith, East Bay Circulation Vice President, has been named Vice President of Circulation for the Bay Area Newspaper Group. He will now oversee all circulation efforts for the San Jose and East Bay consolidated operations. We are enthusiastic and optimistic regarding the opportunities associated with one coordinated, strategic effort to generate increased circulation sales and improve our customer retention for the BANG papers. Dan worked for the Mercury News from 1982 through 1995. He is very familiar with the market and has the benefit of having worked with a majority of the South Bay circulation team.

Michael Turpin, San Jose Advertising/Marketing Vice President, has been named Vice President of Advertising/Marketing for the Bay Area Newspaper Group. Michael will oversee all advertising and marketing efforts for the San Jose and East Bay Consolidated operations. We’re equally optimistic that a coordinated strategic effort in advertising and marketing for the BANG operations will be more effective and efficient in reaching and satisfying our advertising customers. Mike Jung, East Bay Vice President of Advertising, will report jointly to Michael Turpin and David Rounds.

Michael joined the Mercury News in 1999 as major accounts manager and later assumed the key accounts group in 2002. In 2005, Michael assumed responsibilities for all of retail advertising including overseeing the assembly of a single major accounts sales team after the MediaNews purchase of The Mercury News and Contra Costa Times. In 2007, Michael became the Vice President of Advertising for The Mercury News and earlier this year assumed responsibility for national advertising, marketing and the publishing of the Milpitas Post, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers and the Daily News Group.

While this is a challenging time in the newspaper industry, I remain convinced that we will not only survive but also thrive in the coming years. We do face immediate hardships associated with the “sea change” that is occurring in the newspaper industry coupled with a stressed economic environment. That said, the economy will eventually stabilize and newspapers will successfully navigate their way through this difficult environment.

Newspapers remain the dominate provider of local news and advertising content. It is our core competency that no other media can match. Local news and information will always be important as people want to know what is happening with the schools their children attend, the safety of their neighborhoods, the roads they drive on, the taxes that the pay, etc. So, we have a core competency that no one else really has and that people really want – the only thing that is changing is how some people want to receive that information. How we adapt our business model to best fulfill the desires of our customers is the question we must answer – and we find the answer.

The aggregate reach of our print and online customers is increasing. We reach more people today than we have in the past – we’re a growing media. Not too many of our competitors can make that claim. I’m confident that newspapers will successfully find our way through these challenging times.

Thank you for everything you have done to make our newspapers better and to get through our current challenges. Please join with me in wishing good luck and best wishes to John, David, Dan and Michael.

Mac Tully

2008-09-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

TO MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA:

REGARDING NEIL, BROWN, WEINSTEIN, ROCHE, LEVIN & NELSON vs. ZELL, ET AL

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16, 2008 -- Today current and former employees of the Los Angeles Times and the Tribune Company filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against Sam Zell, a Chicago billionaire real-estate speculator who in December 2007 took control of the Tribune Company in a controversial deal that has mired the company in more than $13 billion of debt. The lawsuit was filed by Joseph Cotchett and Philip Gregory of the law firm of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy.

As current and former members of the Employee Stock Option Plan that owns 100% of the Tribune Company and participants in various Tribune retirement plans, the plaintiffs filed this action alleging it is time to call the Zell-orchestrated acquisition what it really is: A scam. The lawsuit contends that, since the inception of the deal, it appears that Zell and his accessories have planned to enrich themselves, tax-free, by perverting laws passed by Congress intended to benefit rank and file American workers. The employee-owners of Tribune Company have everything, including their retirement plans, at great risk and little to gain in this deal, while Zell has everything to gain and little at risk. Among the deal's outrages outlined in the complaint: Zell has set up a mechanism to buy 40% of the company – valued at more than $8 billion at the time the ESOP took ownership – for as little as $500 million. It’s a classic grift, played out under the cover of legal technicalities. The real losers in this deal, however, are Americans who rely on news and information collected and disseminated by the respected Tribune news organizations.

The plaintiff-employees in this suit do not seek to enrich themselves. Rather, their announced intentions are: to protect Tribune Company’s pension and retirement funds; to give the employee-owners a place at the table with regard to management of their assets; and to remove Zell and his cronies from the Tribune Company’s board in order to save what is left of a still great news gathering operation.

In the 1970s and later in the 1980s when Senators Bob Dole (R-Kansas), Russell Long (D-Louisiana) and others in Congress spearheaded efforts to promote ESOPs with generous tax benefits, the intent was to empower employees eager to own and manage the companies where they work. When it comes to Tribune Company’s ESOP, nothing could be further from the truth. Employees were never asked if they wanted to own Tribune Company. They had no opportunity to question the wisdom of saddling a media company with $13 billion in debt at a time when the industry faces serious challenges. Even though they are nominally the owners, they have no voice on the company’s board and no say in its management.

When Zell hung “You own this place now” banners at the Los Angeles Times, employees could not know the high price they would pay for this “privilege.” According to the complaint, Zell has de-funded employees retirement packages, raided the employee pension fund for more than $400 million, and eliminated more than a thousand Tribune Co. jobs. Meanwhile, Zell and his band of publishing rookies are wrecking the company’s marquee properties – including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, and the Chicago Tribune – alienating readers by launching aimless redesigns while dramatically cutting coverage. Seemingly ignorant of journalistic ethics, they have, for instance, turned control of the Los Angeles Times Magazine over to the advertising staff, with no indication to the reader that this product is now a “pay-to-play” advertorial. All the while, revenues have continued to decline.

The saga of the Los Angeles Times follows a familiar path in American media. Los Angeles’ Chandler family controlled the newspaper for generations, making it the flagship of the powerful Times-Mirror Company. In 2000, the Chandler heirs merged the family-controlled company with the Chicago-based Tribune Company. Even considering the debt to finance the merger, the company maintained profit margins in excess of 20%.

Despite a slowing economy, a precipitous drop in ad revenue in the real estate, classified, and automotive sectors along with the de-monetizing of content put on the web and the spiraling cost of newsprint – the Tribune Company continued to be profitable throughout this decade. Without the staggering debt load from the Zell deal, the Los Angeles Times would be solidly profitable today – without eviscerating news gathering operations.

It is flat wrong to regard the Tribune Company's troubles as the death throes of the newspaper industry. Americans are not rejecting the industry’s editorial product. The Los Angeles Times has millions more readers than it did a few years ago – over 20 million discrete readers at latimes.com in August 2008. In that month alone, the paper chalked up more than 120 million page views. Its besieged editorial staff continues to produce some of America’s finest journalism.

The media landscape is changing and, yes, newspapers are just learning how to navigate this new world. Unfortunately, current management is making things worse, led by Zell and his Chicago gang who can't shoot straight. Zell does not consider himself a publisher and has shown nothing but contempt for journalism. He notoriously said “F… you” to an employee-photographer who dared question his leadership. Speaking to the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, Zell referred to the staff as “overhead, not producing any revenue.” Zell’s history is specializing in profiting from the purchase and sale of distressed properties. He has said he expects to make a fortune for himself during his tenure at the Tribune Company. And, as it stands, he can do that while leaving the coffers of the Tribune ESOP empty and the readers of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Company’s other news outlets without an authoritative local source for news and information.

Should these institutions, vitally important to the life of the nation – indeed, never more so – be allowed to fall victim to ruthless corporate raiding and the pump-and-dump machinations of predatory “investors”? News organizations are both businesses and public trusts. A free press is the only business stipulated by the Constitution. No other entity – no website, no blogger – is on the horizon to replace the boots on the ground around the world providing Americans with the information we need to function in a global economy. The Los Angeles Times, alone, spends $2 million a month to support its Baghdad bureau, making its war coverage among the finest in the world. If Zell and his cronies continue to cut the staffs of these news organizations, it means inevitably that they will give their readers less content that is valuable to them. As these newspapers become less valuable to readers, they become less valuable to advertisers as well.

To that point, Zell and his cronies say they plan to close the Los Angeles Times’ Baghdad bureau.

-- Dan Neil, Corie Brown, Henry Weinstein, Walter Roche, Myron Levin & Jack Nelson

For more information contact:

Attorney for the Plaintiffs Plaintiffs’ spokesman

Joseph W. Cotchett Dan Neil

Philip L. Gregory (818) 508-1000

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy

San Francisco Airport Office Center

840 Malcolm Road, Suite 200

Burlingame, CA 94010

jcotchett@cpmlegal.com

pgregory@cpmlegal.com

(650) 697-6000

2008-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 4, 2008 4:00 P.M. CDT

VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE PROGRAM IS COMPLETED

DALLAS – A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE: AHC) said today that the voluntary severance offer (VSO) extended to the Company’s newspaper employees in July has been completed. Overall, 413 employees will leave the company under the VSO – 270 at The Dallas Morning News, 23 at The Providence Journal, and 120 at The Press-Enterprise. The total cost of the VSO is approximately $11.2 million, the majority of which will be expensed in the third quarter.

In addition, an involuntary reduction in force will be completed by mid-to-late October to achieve the necessary remaining workforce reductions. The expense related to the reduction in force is estimated at $2.4 million and will be recorded in the fourth quarter. The reduction in force is limited to the news, production, customer retention call center, and Al Día departments at The Dallas Morning News; the news, consumer sales, packaging and production departments (excluding pressroom) at The Press-Enterprise; and, the news, editorial, advertising and promotion departments, subject to contractual obligations, at The Providence Journal.

The combined workforce reductions are expected to result in a savings of more than $29 million on an annualized basis.

Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and Chief Executive Officer, said, “These job actions are part of a restructuring of our newspaper operations that accelerates the allocation of resources to promising new print and online products while focusing our workforce on A. H. Belo’s local content creation and sales capabilities. We greatly appreciate the dedication and service of all A. H. Belo employees who are leaving the Company under the voluntary severance program. I’m confident that we’re taking the right steps to realign our resources to meet consumer and advertiser needs while maintaining the exceptional quality of A. H. Belo’s journalistic products.”

A copy of the letter sent to operating company employees today by Jim Moroney, executive vice president of A. H. Belo and Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of The Dallas Morning News is available at www.ahbelo.com/invest.

2008-08-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

August 14, 2008

To: All Employees of the Desert Sun

From: Rich Ramhoff

Re: Company expense reductions

I’m writing to let all of you know about some coming expense reductions that will affect The Desert Sun and Gannett’s entire U.S. Community Publishing Division. The extent of these reductions is such that you may be hearing from other colleagues across the division, and I wanted to make sure you had accurate information.

As you know from reading our headlines, the real estate economy in California and across the U.S. is in a significant downturn. Gas prices are up; vehicle sales are down. Unemployment is on the rise. Those three sectors – real estate, auto and recruitment – make up a very large portion of our business. That has severely hurt our revenues in Palm Springs and the division as a whole.

To respond to the decline, Community Publishing has given every newspaper a significant payroll reduction target. In total for the division, it will amount to about 1,000 positions, of which 600 will be actual layoffs across Gannett. In Palm Springs, we have been able to make up almost all of our reduction through attrition and holding positions open. However, we will have to eliminate three current full-time positions. I realize that announcing layoffs before we have a final decision about the actual people involved is difficult. Division is reviewing all newspaper plans, and will provide final approval before Aug. 21. Each person will receive one week of pay for every year of service (minimum two weeks) and medical benefits will continue during that time.

I regret that I have to send this information while I am away from the office. I am moving my family to the valley this weekend. I will be back in the office Monday afternoon and will be available to answer questions then. Until I get back, please talk with your department heads if you have any questions.

These are tough times, but let me emphasize a point: We are going to remain the strongest local information source in the Coachella Valley. That means we still will hire people to cover news, sell advertising and support the people who do that. It also means we may need to decide to stop doing less important things in order to do the most important things. We will rebound as the Valley economy rebounds. With our strong newspaper, our Web site and our non-daily publications we reach more than three-quarters of the adults in our market over the course of a week. That is a business with a future. Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise.

2008-07-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

July 28, 2008

To: All Employees

From: Ron Redfern

Dear Colleagues,

Today, as you know, our chairman, Robert Decherd, announced a number of initiatives that A. H. Belo Corporation is undertaking in response to the current adverse business environment that the newspaper industry is struggling with in this fast-changing media environment.

At our recent town hall meetings in June we shared with you the challenges that the current economic climate continues to have on our business here in the Inland region of Southern California. Because of our dependence on housing and construction, we have been hit worse than most newspapers across the country. However, our sister newspapers, The Dallas Morning News and The Providence Journal, are experiencing similar performance struggles as a result of this downturn.

Thanks to your efforts over the past 18 months we have been successful in making significant improvements to our business operations that have reduced expenses without compromising the quality of our products. However, as we noted in our town hall sessions, these improvements have not outpaced the declines we continue to experience in classified ad revenues nor the significant increases in newsprint prices. Unfortunately, the outlook for the foreseeable future over the next 12 to 18 months continues to remain bleak for our business, particularly on the revenue front.

Consequently, as Jim Moroney announced today, the Corporation, and thus our Company, must continue to look for ways to reduce overall expenses. One of the steps announced directly affects all of us as fellow employees here at the Press-Enterprise Company. The Corporation is making a voluntary severance offer to many of the employees in A. H. Belo’s Companies. As noted in the communications you received today, this voluntary program will provide enhanced severance benefits as well as outplacement services and a COBRA opportunity for eligible employees who elect to accept it and whose acceptance is confirmed by our Company.

This offer is being made to a large number of employees possible across the Company. It is our hope that this offer will encourage a substantial voluntary workforce reduction within the Company. Should that not occur, the Company will need to implement an involuntary reduction in force with a lesser severance package than the voluntary severance offer. However, if more eligible employees accept the offer than business conditions allow, the actual number of eligible employees allowed to participate in the voluntary severance program will be determined on a first come, first served basis.

In addition to the initiatives that are being announced at the corporate level, we find it is necessary for the Company to undertake additional actions locally to further reduce expenses here as well. As was mentioned at our June meetings, we have been evaluating a number of options to do this. Over the next three months we will be implementing several of them, a few of which are noted below:

· We will be implementing action plans to further conserve newsprint and reduce distribution and circulation expenses. These will include reducing our current web width from 48” to 46,” cutting back circulation in the Desert, and moving NIE from print to solely an online service. These initiatives and others will provide significant cost savings.

· On the news and content side for print and online we will be reducing syndicate and wire services, consolidating business content resources, and continuing to rethink entertainment content as well as structural changes in news and online we might make to reduce expenses and maintain optimum focus on local news coverage.

· We will be making changes in page layout and ad production, and realigning our production workflow to extend ad deadlines to reduce expenses and provide more selling time to capture additional revenue on a daily basis. And we will be looking at outsourcing more functions.

Unfortunately, the circumstances in which we are operating require the Company to make these very difficult decisions to reduce our workforce and expenses. We are sensitive to the impact our decisions will have on some of our fellow employees; however, we can’t be naïve and sugarcoat our current business situation. Our ultimate responsibility is to ensure we remain financially viable so we can sustain this business, preserve our civic mission and continue to publish this newspaper and the many other products in our portfolio now, and those that will be created in the future.

There are some who say our industry is facing its demise, but tell that to the 124 million people in this country who still read a newspaper or use our websites. For 130 years, The Press-Enterprise has weathered economic downturns and still we continue to deliver the best local news in our region, in more ways than ever, to a market of over 4 million people and growing.

While we’re struggling from a financial standpoint, it is important to remember that the fundamentals of our media franchise in this Inland region are exceptionally strong. Our audience has grown 33% from last year to 1.2 million people. Our products reach 65% of the total adults in the region. The readership of our core newspaper product is up 6% year-over-year; in fact, ours is the only one of the top five circulation newspapers in the L.A. DMA to show readership growth this year. Overall penetration for our newspaper remains in excess of 30%, second highest in all of Southern California. The number of local retail businesses advertising with us has increased 8% over last year. And the recent outpouring of positive support for our Local Plus section demonstrates that our strategy to be the preeminent local/local news provider in the region is working.

The Press-Enterprise continues to maintain a stable and growing audience and advertiser base. Add to that a diverse local economy and the expected future population growth of 13% in our region over the next five years, and our Company is positioned for future success, in spite of the challenges we’re working through now.

Starting today and continuing through August 8, 2008 vice presidents, directors and managers will be having department meetings with employees to discuss the voluntary severance offer. At that time eligible employees will be provided with individual letters regarding the voluntary severance offer. The letter will include the specific dollar amount of the severance and the COBRA opportunity for each employee eligible.

On behalf of senior management of the company, I want to thank each and every one of you for your steadfast commitment and contribution to The Press-Enterprise at this time of significant challenge.

Sincerely,

2008-07-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

Transcript of Sam and Randy Interview

Operator: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Tribune Conference Call. My name is Katie and I’ll be your coordinator for today. At this time, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. We will be facilitating a question and session towards the end of this conference call.

(OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS)

I would like now to turn the call over to your host for today, Mr. Gary Weitman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations. Please proceed.

Gary Weitman: Okay, thank you Katie, and thanks everybody for being on the call today. As you know, we're going to make Sam and Randy available for questions. It was important to us to be talking to our own media outlets first. We've gotten a number of media requests and Sam and Randy both wanted to make sure we were taking care of our own folks first.

So with that, we're going to open it up for questions, and we'll take the first question from Tim Darragh at The Morning Call. Tim?

Tim Darragh: Yes, thank you for taking my call. I'd first like to ask about the decision to cut the newsroom here at The Morning Call by 25%, which is a severer cut at any newspaper in Tribune and larger than most of the other newspapers. Even though the newsroom here has been doing its job, as you know our readership day-to-day increased by over 7% in the past year. So given that, I'd like to know why The Morning Call was asked to cut its newsroom by almost 25%?

Sam Zell: This is Sam Zell. First of all, although circulation numbers are interesting and obviously very relevant, revenue numbers are what pays our bills. And the steps that we've taken, and are taking across the country, are a downsizing of our organization to more closely reflect the revenue trends that are relevant.

It is very clear, and we certainly accept the fact, that the role of the newspaper is changing. And we need to size our organizations and our newspapers to reflect the realities of the marketplace and that's what we're doing. I don't think anybody picked The Morning Call specifically, but we went through everyone of our organizations with the goal of bringing our efficiency levels up and our headcount down, so that we can survive to live another day.

These are very, very difficult and challenging times and we are doing our best to make, what we believe are the appropriate decisions for the future.

Gary Weitman: Tim, did you have a follow up?

Tim Darragh: Well, yes. I mentioned readership not circulation, because we've been told that readership is more of the key number than circulation, and the readership is up 7%. In addition -- and at the newsroom function. In addition --.

Sam Zell: I'm not challenging that, I'm just telling you that when it's all said and done, we've got to have enough money coming in the door to turn on the lights and print the newspaper on a daily basis. And those are the kind of decisions we made. It's not a criticism of The Morning Call. It's an adjustment of The Morning Call size to the reality of the market place going forward.

Randy Michaels: Tim, I would second the motion that The Morning Call's a great paper and the newsroom's doing a great job. And it is not something that we enjoy. It's not something that we intended to do. However, the revenue is down much more, not just for us but for everybody, than anyone anticipated.

And look, this is not without precedent. I just read that in 1929 after The Crash, the Colonel cut the Chicago's Tribune size, closed a lot of the foreign bureaus and cut the number of reporters in Chicago down to 83 in order to stay alive through the Depression. So this is hardly unprecedented, it's not the first time. But we're seeing revenue declines that start to approach those levels. And I think we're going to come nowhere near those kind of draconian cuts that had been made before to keep these papers alive.

It's really unfortunate. And it's no reflection of the -- on the quality of the work the newsroom is doing.

Gary Weitman: And with that, we're going to move to the next questioner, Chris Flores at the Daily Press. Chris are you on, and do you have a question?

Chris Flores: Thank you. Yes, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the idea of more Tribune newspapers going to an all-local front and increasingly sharing centrally designed pages for nation and world news as CCI evolves?

Randy Michaels: Well, I think all local it certainly would -- if you're talking about all news of local interest, I think that's the direction most of our papers are going. That doesn't mean that the news necessarily has to happen in our immediate geography.

In other words, for the Daily Press, the troop movement in Iraq, if it involves a lot of people who are from, say Newport News, who may be very quote "local." But I think that we do have opportunity to centralize some of our world and national news gathering reporting and writing. I don't see the reason to write every story eight and nine times.

But each of our papers will thrive to the extent that it's a reflection of its local community and its local community's interests. I don't mean for that to be all local news. In other words, news of interest to the local community wherever it occurs, I think is a cornerstone of how we're going to keep our papers relevant.

Chris Flores: I think -- I was thinking more in terms of the role of the copy desk plays in terms of putting together nation and world news and some of the experiments that have been going on between the Daily Press and some other papers. You know, looking to centralize that function of putting a lot of that together and sharing --.

Randy Michaels: As you know, we have been experimenting and how far we go will depend on the results of those experiments. But I would tell you that I would expect we'll be going live reasonably soon with some of those techniques. And I'm optimistic that we can -- that it's one way we can put out a better paper at lower cost.

Chris Flores: And under this system, how would you deal with the different nation and world preferences that each region might have? And that's one thing we've seen between some of -- in our experiments that we have different preferences. We're very military, you know whereas somewhere in Florida they may have other preferences down there. How do you deal with that as you share more and more nation and world content?

Randy Michaels: Well, I think sharing doesn't equal homogenization and it doesn't equal one size fits all. If, for instance, there is a military story, you should be able to pull it down in Newport News if you think it's relevant. And maybe you have to edit it, maybe because there is a local angle. But, I don't think we need to start from scratch in each of our markets with every story.

And in some cases, the story that runs in Allentown and Newport News may very well be the same story with the same picture and require no re-editing. As much as we can centralize those functions and make it possible for you to pull down something that is appropriate, or close to appropriate for your market, the better. That doesn't mean the stories in your paper should be the same as the stories in the Baltimore paper.

Gary Weitman: Chris, we're going to have to move on to the next person in line.

Chris Flores: Thank you.

Gary Weitman: Sure. Doreen Hemlock at the Sun-Sentinel, are you on the line? Operator you can open that line.

Doreen Hemlock: Hi, my question is about cutting back certain kinds of offerings and what that does in terms of turning off readers. For example, recently we've eliminated the stock listings in the business page and we've had a lot of older readers here in South Florida, who have said they are no longer going to subscribe to the paper.

How do you cut back certain offerings, whether it's international or stock listings and so on, and still expect to keep the readership and circulation growing? How does it not become a self-fulfilling prophecy of declining readership?

Sam Zell: I think the answer, in a broad sense is that, one of the issues that we're dealing with on a daily basis is attempting to find out what kind of a newspaper and what does it look like in the future? We know that the services and the level of interface that the previous newspapers provided is unsustainable at revenue levels, and has been unsustainable for some years now. And so, our objective is to basically to keep trying to find solutions to what works, what generates appropriate revenue, that gives us the ability to continue and to, in effect, deliver our message.

The answer is we're the first ones to tell you we're going to try everything until we find what the best niche is. Some of those things will lose us readers. Hopefully a lot of them will gain us readers, and it's the ultimate balance that's what we're after.

Randy Michaels: Doreen, look, I'm aware that a lot of papers have taken out stock listings without much impact, because frankly most people aren't getting their stock quotes in the paper. I'm aware of the noise level and I know there's been a discussion. Maybe we'll put it back.

We're not going to -- we don't have all the answers. There's no book. And so, if it turns out the noise level is high enough -- I know that when we redesigned the Orlando Sentinel, we had fewer than 500 complaints. But more than 10% of it were about the elimination of a certain column. What was it called, Sound Off or --.

Sam Zell: Ticked Off.

Randy Michaels: Ticked Off. And so we put it back. And if it turns out there's enough noise about the stocks, we'll put them back too.

Doreen Hemlock: Okay. And just one other thing. How do you monetize the net? I mean, in our case, I know that we're down more than $50 million in ad revenues, and on the net we only have something like $20 million, it doesn't compensate at all, so how do you monetize that, if people are going -- what are the efforts in that regard?

Sam Zell: I guess it starts with producing a net product that is not just a regurgitation of a newspaper. And, when you think about the fact that only 30% or 40% of net revenue comes from advertising, and the remaining 60% comes from transactions, it's pretty obvious that we have to become much more net savvy and take advantage of what the net provides us. The future of our revenue base has to include significant net contribution and we would expect that to be the case going forward.

Doreen Hemlock: Are there any specifics on how to do that though?

Sam Zell: I'm sorry.

Doreen Hemlock: Are there any specifics on how to do that, whether it's --?

Sam Zell: Well, I think you've got to watch and see. I mean, we're just rolling out our first net product in St. Louis and it's in test. And once that gets carried out across the country, I think you'll see a much more aggressive net program from us than what has been the case in the past.

Randy Michaels: So you do it with search, with referrals, with taxonomy and not just display ads and all those things are coming.

Doreen Hemlock: Thank you very much.

Gary Weitman: Doreen, we've got to keep moving. Michael Hiltzik is your line open? And we're up to you if you want to ask a question -- at the L.A. Times? Michael?

Michael Hiltzik: All right. Randy, you came out to LA a few months ago, and you spoke quite energetically about how you were going to incentivize the sales force to sell across all lines -- all media lines and do other things to raise the top line of the enterprise. And thus far, we've seen a lot of efforts that go to cutting costs and selling assets at Tribune, but the effort to grow the top line by getting more out of sales, it seems [to absolved].

Or at least we haven't seen as much in terms of that. Obviously, we talked about that there hasn't even been an [answer] back here at the Times for many months. Can you tell us what progress you've made, or what we're going to be seeing in the future in terms of revenue building efforts?

Randy Michaels: Yes, sure Michael. I'm sorry that we're not communicating well because actually in Los Angeles, there's quite a bit going on. Your comment about a chief revenue officer is right on. That is long overdue and on the way. We have not been doing nothing.

There's a gentlemen now who works in your building named Don Meeks, and he is in charge of a program called Tribune 365 which is a sales organization set up to handle accounts across platform, across the paper, KTLA, Hoy, in our on-line products, and to generate money that is not currently allocated for the newspaper. And he is in the process of building a team to do that along with John O'Loughlin in the marketing department, because they're going after non-advertising dollars.

You probably know, 60% of the money spent in promotion is spent -- I mean, in marketing, is spent in promotion. And at the moment, newspapers don't go after that money except with coupons and the inserts in the Sunday paper. So we are building exactly what I promised you, which is a team to out and crack incremental revenue opportunities. I know it's frustrating because sales cycles take a year to 18 months, but Don is already building a team to do that.

We expect to have a CRO announced in a matter of, I'll say a few weeks, and it'll be before that. And we're very, very clear that we have no problems that a few hundred million in revenue wouldn't solve.

Gary Weitman: Mike, you've got a follow-up?

Michael Hiltzik: Yes, I would --. Can you tell us a little bit about where we stand with the appointment of a new publisher here at the Times? There's been speculation in public about people like Eddie Hartenstein and there's also been talk that Brian Greenspun may be playing a new role, at the Times and the Tribune generally. So [say] a little bit about whether there have been talks with Brian.

Sam Zell: I think the answer is, that we are working very hard on, again in finding the new publisher of the LA Times. We would expect to complete that sometime in the next three to four weeks. I don't think that Brian Greenspun's going to play any greater role in the LA Times going forward than the role he plays as a director of the Tribune, and somebody who's very interested in both helping us and making this adventure work. So, I think that given three or four weeks, I think all of your questions will be answered.

Gary Weitman: Thanks, Mike. We're going to move to Matthew Kauffman at The Hartford Courant.

Matthew Kauffman: Hi, thanks for holding this call. As Tim mentioned at the top of the call, several of your papers, including here at the Courant, are in the process of eliminating as much as a quarter of their reporting staff. You guys know the financial picture better than I do, so can you give me your thinking of how much time this round of elimination buys for the employees who are staying? For example, how likely is it, in your mind, that additional sort of broad based staff reductions will be required before the end of say, the calendar year?

Sam Zell: This is Sam. I think the answer is that we're not interested in trial by torture. We're not interested in having -- dying by 1,000 cuts. We are doing everything we can to make this downsizing happen as quickly and as painlessly as possible. I think that there are different timeframes for different parts of this organization, so I can't tell you specifically as it relates to your situation.

But I think that, particularly in the T6 papers, we've moved much closer to being finished than we are to starting. Having said that, we're all sitting here looking at a very perilous environment. And we're attempting to make our best judgment as to what we need to do, both to survive and to produce a product. So all I can tell you is that we think we've taken the steps in the newsroom that were required and are relevant. And we're hopeful that we can go forward from this point, and that's certainly our objective.

Gary Weitman: Matt, do you have a follow up?

Matthew Kauffman: I do. Sam, you were here almost exactly six months ago and had told the staff, I'll quote, "I do not believe that anybody can grow a business by reducing the number of employees. It is not our game plan to in effect, try and figure out how few people we can have run this business." And I think we've moved maybe a little bit more in that direction.

As I understand it, cash flow projections continue to fall at, I'm guessing at all the newspaper properties. And I don't think those numbers are anywhere near the numbers that you had expected to see when you were valuing the Company a year or so ago. Have you figured out for yourself, what went wrong in your analysis and how you could have been so far off in projecting what 2008 would look like for the industry?

Sam Zell: The answer is, that when we underwrote this transaction, we assumed a continued suppression of newspaper revenue, somewhere in the minus 5% to minus 7%. This was in line with everybody's expectations. As a matter of fact, our expectations were somewhat more pessimistic than conventional wisdom at the time. We have now confronted almost 20% depreciation in revenue.

I don't believe it's fair to hold me to the sentence that I expressed when I was there six months ago, when in fact, we've had a very traumatic, and frankly this is dramatically worse than September 11th. I mean, I don't know that anybody has a frame of reference on advertising revenue destruction that in effect is as bad as this, going all the way back to The Depression. So, I think the circumstances are dramatically worse than anyone could have possibly predicted. And we're dealing with it accordingly. There aren't a lot of other options if you want to stay in business.

Gary Weitman: Thanks, Matt. We're going to keep moving so that we can try and wrap this up in 30 minutes or so. We're going to go to Lorraine Mirabella at The Baltimore Sun. Operator, if you could open Lorraine's line.

Lorraine Mirabella: Hi, I had a question about asset sales and the sales that are in process or nearly completed, will the proceeds allow the Company to meet its debt obligations for this year? And, are there other asset sales that are being considered specifically, is The Baltimore Sun one of those? And is the Company speaking with any, or in contact with any potential buyers of the Sun?

Sam Zell: We believe that we have, with the asset sales in place, we have adequate liquidity to meet all of our requirements for 2008. And nothing has changed since I made that statement about two months ago. Are there future asset sales on the horizon? I can't answer that question in specificity. Obviously, the Cubs are on the agenda and beyond that, I don't think we have anything definitive.

As to the Baltimore Sun, as I've said numerous times before, when the Tribune transaction was originally announced, we were contacted by various people in various markets across the country who expressed an interest in buying various assets. We have had intermittent conversations with various people since that time with no definitive resolution. So, at least at this point, I would tell you that the only newspaper disposition that we have on our agenda for 2008 is Newsday.

Gary Weitman: Lorraine, you have a follow up?

Lorraine Mirabella: Well, I -- can you say whether any of those conversations that you've had have been with any groups that are interested in the Sun, and whether that has been any --?

Sam Zell: I previously had stated that we had in fact gotten inquiries from people on Newsday, on The Sun, on the LA Times, on the Florida newspapers, and I don't think that situation has changed at all.

Lorraine Mirabella: Okay.

Gary Weitman: Lorraine, we've got to keep moving. We're going to go to Scott Powers at The Orlando Sentinel. Operator, could you open Scott's line? Scott, your question?

Scott Powers: Yes, it's a follow up to Matthew, earlier I think. When you talk about the T6 papers are closer to being finished than started, what economic expectations do you have to set that in? I mean, what do you see going forward as the economic conditions that will make that work?

Randy Michaels: Well, the -- Scott, I think that what's -- I think that what Sam meant is that we did an exercise where we tried to project, based on the current trends, where we're going to be in 2010 and what the right size for the paper is. Sam said, death by 1,000 cuts is not -- I mean, I'm aware of how tough morale is and understandably so.

We need to get past the Sword of Damocles and get focused on how to build better papers with leaner staffs. And I would rather take our pain at once and get to where we need to be, so that we can focus on the important work that's ahead of us in reinventing the American newspaper.

So we're trying to get to 2010 levels right now. And we believe at T6 that we're going to be pretty close. I think what we're trying to avoid saying is, we're not going to guarantee you, there will never be another cut or that no one will ever lose their job. But it is certainly our intention to get it all out of the way right now, and move on with some focus and clarity.

Scott Powers: Does that expect continued revenue declines [in] what you've seen, or going back to the 5% to 7% that you'd expected earlier?

Sam Zell: I think the answer is that our internal projections assume that the majority of the decrease in advertising revenue is structural, primarily the movement of classifieds to the net. So I think we believe -- originally believed that migration would be much, much slower. I don't know why, frankly even at this point, it happened so fast. But the net effect has been that we have to look to the future, and I don't think that our 5% to 6% reduction in revenue that we projected a little over a year ago, or a year and a half ago, is probably a realistic in this changed environment.

Gary Weitman: Thanks, Scott. We're going to move now to Ellen Yan at Newsday.

Ellen Yan: Hi, everybody. Thanks. When do you guys expect the Tribune deal to be done?

Sam Zell: You mean the Newsday transaction?

Ellen Yan: Yes, I'm sorry, the Tribune Cablevision deal.

Sam Zell: We expect it to be done before the end of the summer, maybe sooner.

Ellen Yan: I'm hearing like maybe next week.

Sam Zell: Yes, that's a possibility. I didn't want to commit to you because, obviously we ain't done, and like I think Casey Stengel must have said, you ain't done until you're done.

Ellen Yan: All right. I know that once that's done, Tribune is going to have a member on the Board. Is that the entire Tribune's 3% stake, or can you talk a little bit more about the 3% stake including any specific reason for choosing 3% versus 4% or 5% or some other small number?

And does that also mean that Tribune will still keep getting 3% of the profit and also maybe share in -- or pay for 3% of any capital expenses?

Sam Zell: I'm not totally familiar with all of the details of the Newsday Cablevision/Tribune transaction. We do envision this transaction will close shortly. We envision that we will be a partner going forward with a minor voice commensurate with our ownership position.

I think that the final negotiations about what percentage of the company we would retain was a panalopy of all kinds of different issues that led to where we ended up and not some specific formula. But I would expect that Cablevision will make all of the decisions with reference to the operation of the business going forward, and that our board member would have a presence and a view, but obviously commensurate with our ownership.

Gary Weitman: Okay. Ellen, we're going to move forward. Mike Oneal from the Chicago Tribune.

Mike Oneal: Okay. You know, I think obviously we all understand the need to move more quickly and decisively in this environment, but how do you balance the needed change with the general state of chaos it creates, or disruption?

It seems as though, in some cases we're losing good people, in some cases we're -- there's just a lot of, as Randy said a minute ago, morale problems. I mean, in changing the newspapers themselves, there's obviously a lot of risk in doing the wrong thing. And I guess what I'm wondering is, is there a danger of destroying any long-term value in these brands in the interest of short-term survival?

Sam Zell: Michael, this is Sam. Let's just assume that we don't survive short term. What do you think our long-term benefits are? I think, Mike, some great philosopher, I think it was Confucius who said, necessity is the mother of invention. As Randy just explained to you a minute ago what we're doing right now is what we planned to do in 2010.

We thought we could very slowly prepare, change, execute it in an organized fashion and everybody would live happily ever after. Then the advertising market crashed. And we're looking at, as I said a minute ago, some of the worst advertising numbers in the history of the world.

I have a responsibility. And my responsibility is that I'd rather be able to keep this business alive when its cash flow has eroded at a prodigious level. What choice would you like me to have? I could just say, okay, let's just stop paying salaries and then we'd have enough cash flow and we wouldn't fire anybody. We just wouldn't pay them.

Or, we could downsize the business to reflect the realities both currently and going forward, and frankly, live to play another day. Believe me no one, no one enjoys the level of friction and the moral issues, and frankly, nobody enjoys laying people off. We're all human beings and we all have serious concerns about our fellow man. I certainly do and I think everybody sitting around this table does and yet the reality is, what's my choice?

Do I try and create a business that can be viable and preserve two-thirds of the jobs? Or, do I let all 100% of them go by the wayside because I'm not willing to confront the realities of the environment? So I guess I'd only ask you the same question, Michael in reverse. Either I make hard, short-term decisions, or I'm not going to have to make any decisions. What do you think I should do?

Randy Michaels: Michael, I'd also ask you to -- there's no question, it’s a real question and it’s a real situation and none of us signed up to do -- I didn't sign up to make the paper smaller. This was not our plan. But I'm sure it wasn't General Motors plan to close plants and lay so many people off. I'm sure it wasn't United Airlines plan to let 22% of the work force go and close 18 gates which, by the way, resulted in spending less in advertising.

I mean we're not alone, it’s a tough economy and as it gets worse it feeds on itself. And we're hardly the only business doing this. I think we're sometimes, as an industry, a little bit too absorbed on what's happening to the print business because it isn't just us. And, by the way, we're not the worst off. Take a look at GM and you can see, if that makes you feel any better, that we're getting off lightly.

Gary Weitman: Mike, do you have a follow up?

Mike Oneal: I do. I think we've all spent a lot of time over the last couple of years thinking about how do we grow on the Internet. And one of the things that I think we're confronting now is that the Internet sites, or at least in the case of Chicago Tribune the Internet has the scale to the kind of production that its already -- that it already has. And so, trying to do more on the Internet in this environment becomes difficult in the sense that are there people there who have the expertise to know how to translate some of what we're trying to do online.

Randy Michaels: Well, Mike, can I talk about that for a minute? I hear you, and we're in a -- we're doing a lot of things on the Internet to effectively recreate the newspaper. I think that’s the wrong business model. Page views don't equal circulation and display ads, while that’s what we have to sell in the paper, hardly optimize the potential of an interactive medium. And so, let me tell you what I envision specifically for the Chicago Tribune and for many of our other papers.

If you think about the history of journalism, newspapers gather most of the news in the market. Everybody gets their news from us, news radio and the TV stations and everybody else, they get their news from us because we're the people with by far the largest news staffs in each of our markets. But newspapers no longer break most of the news. We lost that in 1939 when Congress, as a result of interest in the war in Europe, forced AP and INS and UPI to start offering news to broadcast, and all of a sudden radio broke the news. That was taken from radio by television. That was taken from television by cable, because CNN is going to break more than CBS.

I think it's about to be our turn again. Because more and more people are getting breaking news on their PDA, on their cell phone, on their Kindle, on their digital assistant, and it's coming directly from the newsroom -- from the newspaper. And so, what I think we need to do -- you think about Chicago, we have the Chicago Tribune, we have WGN TV, we have CLTV, WGN Radio, all making the police calls, all going after the same stories because they go after them in very, very different ways.

We need to build, especially in markets where we have multiple media outlets, a breaking news center. And we need to recreate our website so that instead of looking like a newspaper online it looks like a breaking news site with the most recent news first, perhaps filtered based on your interest, perhaps not.

I'd like to see most people, or many people, leaving the Chicago Tribune website up all day on their computer because they're going to be constantly updated at work on the latest news. They may have to get the paper tomorrow to read the rest of the story and to get the perspective and the comment, but we need to become the breaking news authority.

That breaking news center needs to be a broadcast studio so that when it reaches a certain level it goes to bulletin status on television, on the radio. And in markets where we don't own the television, where we don't own the radio we need to partner with somebody. We need to sell our services. We need to become recognized as the source of breaking local news. And we're just a very little bit of technology away.

That may not sound like a big shift, but that is a significant shift. It's a big opportunity for the newspaper to regain its rightful place as the people who break the news and who gather most of the news in each of our communities. And that is coming to Chicago, to Los Angeles, to South Florida and in other markets as quickly as we can roll our partnerships.

Gary Weitman: Okay. And with that, we will close the call for now.

Randy Michaels: Let me say one other thing. I know that everybody hates the cutbacks. At the end of the day, we still have by far the largest news gathering organizations in our markets. In fact, the Chicago Tribune, once we complete these breaking news centers, which combine the resources of all of our media outlets, we'll have the largest, the two largest local news gathering organizations in America in Chicago and Los Angeles, smaller than they are now, yes, but still larger than any other --.

The New York Times is a national publication, the Washington Post has just gone through cuts. We will have more journalists, more people in our news centers than any other organization in America. I don't -- I'm not trying to say that makes it right, but they'll be nobody bigger and nobody to say we're too small because we'll be bigger than they are.

Gary Weitman: And with that, we will bring the call to a close. We will have an archive audio available on Triblink later today. We'll have a transcript up on Triblink late tomorrow afternoon. Thank you everybody for participating, appreciate it. Goodbye.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation in today's call. You may now disconnect. Have a wonderful day.