12,840 newspaper layoffs & buyouts -- and still counting

2009 total: 12,840+ jobs
Layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers in 2009

The pins that locate the layoffs on the map are so dense that you cannot see the names of any state between Maine and a line that runs through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and New Mexico. And, from Maine to the south, only the name of Louisiana is visible.

There are posts for the Dayton Daily News, Hamilton Journal-News, Middletown Journal and Springfield News-Sun in only the past two days.

So sad.

Click on the headline to check on newspapers that have been in your life or in the lives of your friends and former co-workers.

You name it; they're laying people off

Newspapers aren't the only ones being totaled by what is euphenistically called a "recession." I don't mean to be a downer, but it's hard not to be when you see the width and breath of these job losses. And we're not just talking about the USA either.

Check these out (if you want more information, click on the headline):

Expected job losses and announced layoffs in 2009
· GM - 47,000 second round of layoff announcements (restructuring) total = 57,000
· Cambodia Garment Industry - 51,000 jobs lost
· Japan's top 12 automakers - 25,000 combined layoffs expected
· The State of Georgia - furlough 25,000 workers (forced unpaid time off)
· Nissan - 20,000 layoffs
· Caterpillar - 20,000 layoffs
· NEC Corp - 20,000 layoffs
· AstraZeneca - 15,000 layoffs by 2013
· Panasonic - 15,000 layoffs
· KBG Toys - 15,000 expected layoffs
· Pioneer - 10,000 layoffs
· GM - 10,000 layoffs (also cutting pay by 10%)
· Boeing - between 4,500 and 10,000 layoffs pending
· GlaxoSmithKline PLC - 10,000 job losses expected
· Anglo Platinum - 10,000 layoffs
· Sprint Nextel - 8,000 layoffs (14% of staff)
· Pfizer Pharmaceutical - 8,000 layoffs (by end of 2011)
· Hitachi - 7,000 layoffs
· Home Depot - 7,000 layoffs
· Starbucks - 6,700 layoffs
· ING - 7,000 layoffs
· Phillips Electronics - 6,000 layoffs
· Intel - 6,000 layoffs (second round)
· PNC Financial - 5,800 layoffs
· Scandinavian Airlines - 5,600 layoffs
· Lonmin Plc (Mining) - 5,500 layoffs
· UBS - 5,000 layoffs (mostly management, second round)
· Goodyear - 5,000 layoffs
· Whirlpool - 5,000 expected layoffs
· Microsoft - 5,000 layoffs
· Ericsson - 5,000 layoffs
· Freescale - 4,800 layoffs
· Kodak - 4,500 layoffs
· Toshiba - 4,500 layoffs
· Texas Inetrument - 3,400 layoffs
· Nortel Networks - 3,200 layoffs
· Cisco - 3,000 layoffs
· Spansion - 3,000 layoffs
· IBM - 2,800 layoffs
· Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) - 2,300 layoffs
· Micron - 2,000 layoffs
· Estee Lauder - 2,000 layoffs
· General Motors - additional 2,000 layoffs over 2008 total
· Swiss bank UBS AG - 2,000 layoffs
· Fidelity Investments - 1,700 layoffs (second round of 4,000 job cuts announced in 2008)
· Bell Canada - 1,500 early retirement buy outs
· Sun Microsystems - 1,300 layoffs
· Unisys - 1,300 layoffs
· Time/Warner (TV) - 1,250 layoffs
· Harley Davidson - 1,100 layoffs
· Pratt & Whitney (jet makers) - 1,000 layoffs
· United Airlines - 1,000 layoffs
· Walgreen's - 1,000 layoffs
· BorgWarner - 750 layoffs
· Merck & Co. - 750 layoffs (sales reps)
· Liz Claiborne - 725 layoffs
· AOL - 700 layoffs
· Virgin Airlines - 600 layoffs
· Neimen Marcus - 450 layoffs
· Harrah's Memphis - 250 layoffs, 50 transfers to Las Vegas
· Ryanair - 200 layoffs
· John Deere - 200 layoffs
· Walt Disney - 200 layoffs
· Michelin Canada - 95 layoffs
· Billy Graham Crusade - 55 layoffs
· Dow Chemicals - unspecified number of expected layoffs
· BigLots - unspecified number of expected layoffs
· AK Steel - unspecified number of expected layoffs
· Waterford/Wedgewood - unspecified number of layoffs

How to contact Olesky

First, Helen has all of our best wishes.

To contact me:

John Olesky
By phone: 330-388-4466
By email: jo4wvu@sbcglobal.net

At least through Monday, Aug. 3.

But I'll be leaving with Paula for a week in Michigan on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and probably won't be back till Tuesday, Aug. 11.

John O.

Liggett out of touch, contact Olesky

Note from Harry Liggett:

I will be out of touch with blog for several days with Helen at Cleveland Clinic for exam involving stomach and kidneys.

If you need to post something, please contact John Olesky

Putting Dunphy comment up front

Former BJ staffer John Dunphy, now at the Orange County Register, added his comment to our post about the newspaper situation n Orange County, CA.

It is repeated here as a post by itself since some may have missed the comment.

Hi everyone: It's been interesting being here of late. I have so far survived three rounds of layoffs over the last 18 months. In the months ahead the corp that owns the register (freedom communications) will restructure it's debt and will essentially let bankers take control of the corp. how that will play out is unknown..but the bankers will form a new board of directors and new CEO. As for me..I'm a local news team leader...responsible for daily filings to the web first, newspaper second and I'm responsible for 4 weekly community papers that we publish on thursdays.

Go to earlier post

Long, embarassing correction in NY Times

Columbia Journalism Review reports that New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley this week was responsible for a long, embarrassing correction

An appraisal on Saturday about Walter Cronkite’s career included a number of errors. In some copies, it misstated the date that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and referred incorrectly to Mr. Cronkite’s coverage of D-Day. Dr. King was killed on April 4, 1968, not April 30. Mr. Cronkite covered the D-Day landing from a warplane; he did not storm the beaches. In addition, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, not July 26. “The CBS Evening News” overtook “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” on NBC in the ratings during the 1967-68 television season, not after Chet Huntley retired in 1970. A communications satellite used to relay correspondents’ reports from around the world was Telstar, not Telestar. Howard K. Smith was not one of the CBS correspondents Mr. Cronkite would turn to for reports from the field after he became anchor of “The CBS Evening News” in 1962; he left CBS before Mr. Cronkite was the anchor. Because of an editing error, the appraisal also misstated the name of the news agency for which Mr. Cronkite was Moscow bureau chief after World War II. At that time it was United Press, not United Press International.

Click on the headline to read the rest of the CJR article.

Are things looking up in Orange County?

Are things looking up in the Orange County, CA, newspaper world? The publisher of the Orange County Register says the newspaper will have double-digit operating margins this year.

"There is zero chance the Register will close its doors," says publisher Terry Horne. "Those people who say newspapers are dead are wrong. What's happening is newspapers are changing. Those that don't, will die." RE WEB SUBSCRIPTIONS: "At this time we don't plan to charge for online. I'm certainly interested in these experiments going on at other newspapers that plan to charge for some or all of the content on their newspaper websites. We'll have to determine if it's the right strategy for the Register."

Click on the headline to read more from publisher Home this week.

So, how about some comment from former BJ staffers John Dunphy and Rick Reiff who are now in Orange County: Last we heard, Dunphy was an editor of the Register and Reiff was editor of the Orange County Business Journal.

BJ photo coverage of Obama's visit.

There were three photos on page A-1 of the Beacon Journal today on President Barrack Obama's visit to the Cleveland area--two were shot by Associated Press p\hotographers and one by the New York Times.

Tribune seeks OK to pay millions in bonuses

Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. filed a motion in Delaware bankruptcy court Wednesday seeking authorization for a plan to pay millions of dollars in bonuses to more than 700 managers and other key employees for their work this year.

If Tribune Co. and its various units meet their cash flow targets for this year, the total bonus payouts would be at least $21.5 million with a cap of around $66.7 million if those goals are greatly exceeded, documents showed.

Additionally, Tribune Co. asked to pay nine of its top 10 executives $3.1 million in belated 2008 bonuses. Those incentive payments were deferred this spring when Tribune Co. sought court approval for last year's performance bonuses to expedite the process. Sam Zell, the company's chairman and chief executive, is not part of the group of 10.

"There can be no serious debate about whether the top 10 executives have earned their 2008 [Management Incentive Plan] awards," the motion says.

Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 protection in December because it was struggling to manage the heavy debt it took on in going private a year earlier.

Click on the headline to read the full story on Chicagotribune.com

New York Times turns a profit

The New Yorjk Times on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $39.1 million, up from $21.1 million in the period a year earlier, as another steep drop in advertising revenue was largely offset by aggressive cost-cutting.

A favorable tax adjustment inflated the earnings in the most recent quarter. But even discounting that factor, Thursday's results marked a return to profitability — albeit slight — after a first-quarter loss of $74.5 million.

The net income was 27 cents a share, compared with 15 cents a year earlier. Excluding special items like one-time charges and the tax adjustment, net income in the most recent quarter was 8 cents a share; analyst had forecast, on a comparable basis, a 4-cent loss.Ad revenue at the company’s newspapers and related Web sites fell 31.9 percent in the quarter, the sharpest decline yet in the industry’s severest contraction since the Depression. The drop was about the same, 31.7 percent, at the company’s New York Times Media Group, consisting primarily of the flagship Times newspaper — a departure from the pattern through most of the downturn, in which The Times held up better than the other newspapers, including the Boston Globe.e.

Times Company circulation revenue rose 1.5 percent in the last quarter, based on newspaper price increases.

Overall operating revenue in the quarter was $584.5 million, down 21.2 percent. At the New York Times Media Group, revenue fell 21.8 percent, to $374.8 million. At the New England Media Group — primarily The Boston Globe — it dropped 19.2 percent, to $109.4 million.

Click on the headline to read the full article in the New York Times.

PD photographer Bill Kennedy dies at 54

Bill Kennedy, 54, of Medina, passed away on July 20, 2009 at home surrounded by his family.
Bill was a photographer and photo editor for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. As an artist, he also was a founding member and guitarist for the country cover band Bottleneck.

Bill is survived by his wife, Megan (nee MClelland); sons, Patrick of Medina and David of Cincinnati; his beloved Golden Retriever, Jazzy; his former wife, Beth Ann Savard and her triplets, Samantha, Sarah and Jacob.

Private burial services will be held at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Medina. A Celebration of Life Luncheon will be held 12 Noon Saturday at Waite & Son Funeral Home, 765 N. Court St., Medina 44256. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the MD Anderson Cancer Ctr., Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Unit 450, Attn: Dr. Benjamin, 1400 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. (Waite & Son, 330-723-3229.)
[Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Wednesday, July 22, 2009, page B5, col. 1]

Check the photographers' blog link at left for Kennedy tribute.

McClatchy reports 50 cents per share income

McClatchy Company today reported net income from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2009 of $42.0 million, or 50 cents per share - more than double the earnings per share in the second quarter of 2008. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations,(1) excluding several unusual items in the second quarter of 2009, were $25.2 million, or 30 cents per share, up 42.9% from the 2008 quarter. Total net income including discontinued operations was $42.2 million, or 50 cents per share.

The company's second-quarter 2008 earnings from continuing operations were $20.1 million, or 24 cents per share. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations,(1) excluding several unusual items in the second quarter of 2008, were $17.3 million, or 21 cents per share. Total net income including discontinued operations was $19.7 million, or 24 cents per share.

Click on the headline to read the full news release from McClatchy.

Boston Globe Guild OKs $10 million in cuts

The Boston Globe’s Newspaper Guild overwhelmingly approved a package of $10 million in wage and benefit cuts last night, ending more than three months of tense bargaining and brinksmanship.

The Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents nearly 700 editorial, advertising, and business office workers, became the last of the Globe’s major unions to ratify sizable financial and other concessions that the paper’s owner, The New York Times Co., has said it needs to keep operating the 137-year-old paper. The Globe was projected to lose $85 million this year if significant cost reductions were not made, according to the Times Co.

With a turnout of about 80 percent, Guild members voted 366 to 179 to approve the contract, which includes pay cuts, furloughs, and unpaid vacation that reduce earnings by about 9 percent; deep reductions in health and retirement benefits, including a pension freeze; and elimination of lifetime job guarantees for about 170 veteran employees.

“The ratification strengthens the stability of The Boston Globe and Boston.com,’’ Globe publisher P. Steven Ainsley said in a note to employees. “Since we now have settled contracts with all our major unions, let me take this opportunity to thank every Globe employee, union and nonunion, for the sacrifices you have made to meet the unprecedented challenges we faced at the beginning of the year.’’

[Click on the headline to read the full story on Boston.com]

Analysts expect McClatchy $6.45/per share loss

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. is scheduled to report its second-quarter results before the stock market opens Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Hardly anything has gone right during the past few years for the owner of The Miami Herald and 29 other daily newspapers. The hard-luck theme is unlikely to change in the Sacramento-based company's second-quarter earnings report.

With the newspaper advertising market in ruins, another loss seems certain.

As the losses mount, the chances of a bankruptcy filing rises. That's because McClatchy is saddled with $2 billion in outstanding debt with a steadily shrinking cash flow to cover its future obligations and adhere to the financial requirements — known as covenants — set by its secured lenders.

Several other major newspaper publishers, including the owners of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer, have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past eight months. Many analysts think McClatchy is now headed down the same path, although the publisher's management hasn't discussed the possibility publicly.

McClatchy hoped to whittle about $900 million from its debt in a complex exchange, but only 9 percent of the bondholders accepted the offer.

Most of the debt stems from McClatchy's 2006 acquisition of Knight Ridder, which was completed during the early stages of an advertising slump that has grown progressively worse.

McClatchy's ad revenue plunged 30 percent in the first quarter after falling 18 percent for all of 2008. The second quarter is expected to include another share drop, based on the 32 percent decline in print advertising suffered by Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect McClatchy to lose $6.45 per share on revenue of $369 million. The company earned 24 cents per share on revenue of $490 million at the same time last year.

ANALYST TAKE: Fitch Ratings analyst Michael Simonton is among the camp that believes McClatchy will wind up in bankruptcy court at some point. "Default is imminent or inevitable," Simonton predicted after McClatchy's debt exchange flopped.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Unless the advertising market rebounds soon, McClatchy may have to lower its expenses even more to pay its bills and remain in good graces with its bankers. That could mean even more layoffs at a company that already jettisoned about one-third of its work force in the past year.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: McClatchy shares added a penny to end the quarter at 50 cents.

Way it was--not way if ought to be

Walter Leland Cronkite (1916-2009) died Friday at the age of 92 at his home in New York

The Beacon Journal’s Rich Helenfels in a sidebar calls Cronkite
“The man who told you the way it was, not the way it ought to be.”

Whether the quote is original or not, it describes Conkrite well.

If any of you out there aspire to those lofty heights, do your own reporter’s work to learn more:

See the New York Times coverage

Follow this lead to a search review of stories on Cronkite’s legacy.

Check out the front pages on Newseum from A to Z from the Anniston (AL) Star to the Virgin Islands Daily.

That’s the way it was

And here's a humorous addend:

Someone at the Chicago Tribune went crazy with the search-and-replace while writing Walter Cronkite's obituary—replacing every instance of "Cronkite" with "Mr. Cronkite.

"His last regularly scheduled assignment with CBS News was a 90-second radio segment called "Walter Mr. Cronkite's 20th Century."

Guild, Indianapolis Star in federal mediation

A federal mediator will be at the August 6 meeting of the Indianapolis News Guild with the Indianapolis Star management, the Guild said Friday.

The Guild also filed a National Labor Relations Board complaint claiming the company threatened to issue its final offer if the union did not agree to certain bargaining dates.

Guild President Tom Spalding, whose unit represents 184 Star employees, revealed the moves in an e-mail to members Friday, a day after employees met with Publisher Michael Kane.

"Star management and Gannett corporate lawyers want people to believe that we are unduly dragging out negotiations," Spalding said in the e-mail. "Given the circumstances, we firmly believe we are acting appropriately in seeking the time to fully reconstitute our bargaining committee and seeking more information about the company's supposed financial needs."

Spalding also revealed that the company's latest proposal includes a 12% salary cut and a two-year salary freeze. He told E&P Friday that management agreed to the arbitration and the first session will be Aug. 6.

Click on the headline to read the Editor & Publisher report which includes text of the email.

Enjoying a week in New York City

By John Olesky
Paula and I enjoyed a 1,109.7-mile week-long journey to fascinating New York City, hitting a lot of sights familiar to others, and maybe a few not so familiar:
1. Took free rides on the Staten Island and Governor’s Island ferries.
2. Went inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
3. Sat on lawn chairs on Broadway (David Letterman has fun with this one on his show). New York City’s version of Cuyahoga Falls’ Front Street.
4. Relaxed in Central Park sunshine with thousands of other people.
5. Strolled the Coney Island boardwalk where I had my usual Nathan’s hot dog. Larry King made Nathan’s famous in the early days of his radio show, long before he donned suspenders for CNN’s TV cameras.
6. Got splendid views of the New York skyline from Governor’s Island and the Brooklyn Esplanade. 7. Had dinner at former West Virginia University and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Amos Zereoue’s Manhattan restaurant, called Zereoue, on 37th Street. We toasted “To the Mountaineers!” since WVU is our alma mater.
8. Found excellent Polish food at Theresa’s in Brooklyn, which reminded me of dining at Babushka’s Kitchen in Northfield.
9. Attended a concert in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park with Columbian and Venezuelan bands. I couldn’t understand a word they sang, but enjoyed the music and the female fans’ reactions (which mostly involved their behinds vibrating).
10. Went inside Trump Tower and its copper world.
11. Visited the United Nations headquarters.
12. Drove to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with its scenic vista on the Hudson River.
13. Got tremendous views of the Statue of Liberty every day. What we didn’t do was have a planned lunch with former BJ newsroom folks Kathy Goforth and Charles Buffum because work found Buff. Maybe next time. Next up: A week in Michigan with my friend since first grade at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School in Monongah, West Virginia.

To see photos of the trip, click on the headline.

PD alumni to meet July 31

PD alumni gather for lunch on the last Fridays of January, April, July and October Spouses and guests always welcome

NEXT LUNCHEON: Noon, Friday, July 31

PLACE: Nighttown, 12387 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights
(top of Cedar Hill)

COST: $20.50 includes soup, salad, non-alcoholic beverages, tax & tip

CHOICES: Roasted Duck Breast Salad (baby greens, shallots, walnuts)
Dublin Lawyer (lobster and mushrooms in whiskey sauce)
Chevre Chicken (stuffed with cheese, shallots, walnuts)
Grilled Vegetable Plate

RSVP by July 24:
JoAnn Pallant (440) 734-1923, or japallant@sbcglobal.net

[Sourcer: PD alumni news by margie and rosie]

Gary Post-Tribune staffers want to buy newspaper

Gary (IN) Post-Tribune staffers want to buy their paper from the Sun-Times, Andry Grimm, a Post-Tribune reporter and president of the Gary Newspaper Guild, is optimistic. "We might be the only people in the world who believe in our newspaper right now, and I think we'll get in and get a bargain."

Click on the headline to learn more in the Chicago Reader.

Indy Guild wants members to wear red at meeting

Report from Editor & Publisher

NEW YORK The Indianapolis Newspaper Guild, which overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from The Indianapolis Star two weeks ago, is asking members to show up in force and wear red during a meeting Thursday with Publisher Michael Kane.

In an e-mail to members Wednesday, Guild President Tom Spalding stated: "The Guild officers and stewards understand that, for whatever reason, we have members who have not felt comfortable showing their support for the Guild by wearing lanyards or displaying signs on their desks in the newsroom. But after seven months of contract negotiations in which the company has refused to negotiate and has presented progressively worse proposals at the bargaining table, after two weeks of unpaid furloughs, after three rounds of layoffs in less than a year in which the company disregarded the seniority provisions of our contract, there comes a time when you have to show the company which side you are on. This is one of those times."

The call for unity also follows last week's companywide layoffs of some 1,400 employees by parent company Gannett. Those resulted in the loss of 14 guild members at the Star, including guild secretary Sylvia Halladay. Spalding has said contract talks are continuing, but no new agreement has been put forth.