Thanks for reading the BJ

A blog comment:

Longtime Beacon Journal reporter and Guild officer Paul Schleis has a neat message for her phone mail. After the obligatory “You call is important,” Schleis adds “And thank you for reading the Beacon Journal.”

It is a nice touch which other staff members at the BJ should adopt. They will need the support of readers to maintain a good newspaper for Akron.

A community without a local daily newspaper is missing much. Our hope is that any of our blog readers who are not in the news biz, will support a staff which is trying to bring you the best newspaper possible. Many workers other than those at the BJ are experiencing layoffs and other difficulties.

So we join Paula in saying, “Thank you for reading the Beacon Journal.”

~Harry Liggett

New Mad Shopper in the wings

A new Mad Shopper column starring Kerry Clawson will begin in a few weeks. Don't tell us you missed the top of page Business section promo. Well here it is.

Chiffon still looking for job

One of the more poignant stories of the Beacon Journal layoffs involved copy editor Chiffon Staebler, a widow and mother of three. Her job might have been saved because of the voluntary resignation of Debby Stock Kiefer, but the small daytime copy editing staff was discontinued and it was impossible for Chiffon to work nights. Many have asked what has happened since she left. Chiffon probably could use some help if you know of any job prospects.

Here’s her reply to an update request:

Everyone has been exceptionally kind and thoughtful since the layoffs were announced.

I am still looking for a job but haven't been successful. However, you can't be in the newspaper business this long without learning how to be a survivor.

While I love being a member of the Fourth Estate, it is truly the people I will miss. The Beacon Journal was where I had planned to end up, after winning a Pulitzer to be good enough to join the staff, of course
.
I'm one of the lucky ones who should have been able to stay. Debby Stock Kiefer volunteered to leave, but since I need to work days, I wasn't able to take advantage of her selfless gesture.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but by rights, I should have lost my job during the last round of cuts. Thanks to Jim Kavanagh, my job was saved at a time when my family and I would literally not been able to survive without it. I can't complain about being among
those let go this time.

Debby and Jim are just a few of the roughly 200 reasons why it was hard to leave. Journalists like them are why I know David Black made a good investment when he bought the ABJ and why I know the staff will work miracles in spite of this latest amputation.

~Chiffon

Does Gloria attract layoffs?

Pity poor Gloria Irwin. She cannot seem to get away from layoff problems. She wrote most of the Beacon Journal stories on the downfall of Knight Ridder. Then came the BJ layoffs and Gloria decided to leave for a new job at the Timken Co.

Top story today in Canton was that Timken was laying off 700 workers. Guess what? Gloria officially starts her new job Oct. 1. She will be writing speeches for President and Chief Executive Officer James W. Griffith whose job it is to explain it all.

No problem. It’s because of a weak auto market. Forbes Magazine reported Ford may lay off 30,000 and close 10 plants. You just can’t get away from those layoffs.

Reporter G. Patrick Kelley explains it in the Canton Repository today in a story headlined: Timken slashes 700 jobs. Here’s the lead:

CANTON – The Timken Co. said this year won’t be as profitable as predicted because of a weak auto market, and 700 workers will lose their jobs.

It’s the second time in two years that the company has slashed jobs in its automotive bearing and component business. In July 2005, the company said it would cut 500 automotive jobs and later closed a bearing plant in South Carolina that employed 1,000 workers.

That was a restructuring move to cut costs, but Friday’s announcement was about “matching demand in the marketplace,” President and Chief Executive Officer James W. Griffith said.

“We wouldn’t be having this call if it weren’t for lower demand in the automotive market,” he told analysts in a conference call.

Armon lands on his feet

Beacon Journal reporter Rick Armon is already gone and in Columbus. Here’s how he tells it:

I have moved to Columbus and started a new job at The Associated Press. I do not have a computer at my new apartment (all that stuff is still at my house in Copley) and I haven't had an opportunity to respond earlier.

Since I had so little seniority, I had been expecting to be laid off and had been making contacts early on to find another job. I was lucky enough to land on my feet at AP -- with a pay raise no less.

I had been at the Beacon for a mere year and a half. It's a shame too. When my wife and I moved from Rochester, NY, to Akron, we figured that we were set for the rest of our lives. On top of that, I was at a multiple Pulitzer Prize winner. I wanted to win a Pulitzer at the Beacon or at the very least do Pulitzer worthy work. How could we have envisioned the implosion of Knight Ridder?

We are both from Ohio. I grew up in Cleveland and she grew up outside Toledo. We had finally made it home. We bought a house in Copley and invested about $17,000 in it. We figured we would be there for years, if not forever, so we might as well make it our dream place.Sigh. Now that house is on the market.

I had spent my early daily newspaper days (the late 80s and early 90s) working at papers in Columbiana County and later in Mansfield. I used to read the both the Plain Dealer and Beacon Journal daily. And it was funny because I always thought the Beacon was a much better paper.

In those days, I concluded that I wanted to end my newspaper career at the Beacon or PD, which I delivered as a paper carrier as a kid.

Well, at least I can say I worked for the Beacon. It was an odd experience. Here I was surrounded by all these journalists I had read for years and admired. Folks had incredible pride in the product and their work. And at the same time, I could see that the paper had slipped and was slipping further.

For example, how could the paper not cover Cuyahoga Falls, the second-largest city in the county? And how could the paper have ceded the whole northern portion of the county to the Plain Dealer? And why wasn't there a Washington reporter to cover the local delegation? Why were there so many specialty beat reporters when suburbs weren't covered adequately? (And in no way am I indicting any individuals because they did a great job covering their beats. I just wonder about the overall philosophy that determined priorities.) And gadzooks, newshole was pathetic after I arrived.
It pissed me off sometimes.

There is still great journalism being done there. But it definitely isn't the paper I thought kicked the PD's butt years ago.

And maybe this will tick off some folks there, but David Black was right when he questioned the energy in the newsroom. It is a laidback place -- perhaps that's a reflection of the veteran staff.

I had come from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, where the newsroom was always hectic and chasing down stories. In many ways, it was too hectic. I told friends that the perfect newsroom would be somewhere inbetween. I feel for those folks still there. And I wonder whether the paper will sink deeper, allowing the Plain Dealer and Canton Repository, which is a better paper than I remember from years past, to continue to nibble away at subscribers.

Heck, if I hadn't worked at the Beacon, I would have subscribed to the PD.
I sincerely hope that the new publisher is able to turn around advertising and earn even bigger profits for the new owner. (Let's face it, the Beacon is still making millions in profits, just not enough apparently.)

I hold no ill will against the new owner for being laid off. Sometimes you've got to lop of the leg to save the rest of the body, or however that cliche goes. I just hope it does save the body and a stronger Beacon emerges from this rubble.

Take care. And sorry for being so rambling.

If you need to reach me, please keep using rarmon1@yahoo.com
My AP email is rarmon@ap.org, but I don't feel comfortable using it for personal communication at this point.

~Rick

Guild chairman is leaving

CORRECTION ON THIS POST: Gross was not laid off. Keeping the comings and goings straight is difficult. Hope this gets it straight.

Andale Gross was first laid off and then his job was saved and then he decided to resign voluntarily. That’s the story of the Akron Newspaper Guild unit chairman with nine years of service as a reporter.

His last day on the job as a Beacon Journal reporter will be October 11 and he will start working for Associated Press in Kansas City on October 23. Gross will just be going back home in a way. He is from Moberly, MO, which is about 100 miles from Kansas City.

The Guild is getting together nominees for his and other Guild positions for next year.

Here’s how Gross sums it up:

“The time that I've spent being active in the Guild has been especially rewarding. When I was asked to be a union steward years go, I never thought I would someday be the president of the Akron unit. It's been an honor to serve the union and its members. Although we've had some tough experiences recently with job cuts and change in ownership, our people have stood strong. Our stewards and officers have done an exceptional job of motivating and aiding the membership. I know that whoever replaces me will do fine because there are many strong leaders among our members.”

The Guild in Akron is a unit of the Northeast Ohio Guild in Cleveland.

Friday is last day for business editor

Friday will be the last day for Beacon Journal business editor Dave Hertz. He is leaving the newspaper after 15 years to become a vice president in the media relations department of Dix & Eaton, a firm in Cleveland. He starts there Nov.1.

“I’ve had a good run at the Beacon Journal, and I have worked with a number of talented journalists.” Hertz writes. “I’ve learned a great deal. Now it is time for me to move on.”

Hertz started at the Beacon Journal in May 1991 and has been night metro editor, deputy business editor, region editor, business editor, metro editor, enterprise editor and then business editor again. He also spent five years previously at another Knight Ridder paper in Boca Raton so he really has 20 years of service.

Each departure of long-time employees brings back special memories. The Hertz leaving recalls a classic BJ office romance. There have been others, but this one was special. There was a crowd from the BJ when Beth Angela Thomas and David Ralph Hertz were married on Saturday, October 23, 1993 in the Akron Civic Theater.

Beth was at the newspaper from February 1991 to November 1995 in several jobs including page layout and design. She now works in the Communications Department at the Cleveland Clinic. Her title is managing editor.

So David and Beth will both be working in Cleveland, but they hope to continue living in Copley. You can e-mail 13th anniversary best wishes to them at Hertz23@aol.com

264 years of news experience lost

On a running total so far, the Akron Beacon Journal has lost the expertise of 14 staff members with 264 years of experience in covering the news in the Akron area. These were not laid off, but volunteered to leave, sometimes in the hope of saving the job of a friend.

Are they the lucky 13 plus one or just unluckly? Only time and their own conclusions in the future, will tell.

Heading the list is Diana Evans with 32 years of experience. She started at the Beacon Journal in 1974 at the age of 17. She is now on leave working on a huge new media project which is just about ready to launch. Former top BJ types are helping with the effort. More about her and others on this list later.

Here’s the list by years of experience:

Diane Evans, 32, columnist who was on leave.
Debby Stock Kiefer, 28, Recipe Roundup and copy desk slotter
Jane Snow, 28, food editor
Mike Needs, 25, design editor and former public editor
Kathy Spitz, 22, health
Sarah Vradenburg, 22, editorial staff
Gloria Irwin, 21, business
Jocelyn Williams, 19, photographer
Mary Ethridge, 18, business
Dave Hertz, 15, business editor
Robin Sallie, 12, photographer
Andale Gross, 9, reporter and Guild Unit chairman
Kim Profant, 7, copy editor and design editor
Tim Good, 6, copy editor and design editor

[Note: Most of these people have or have had other duties.]

And here’s an alphabetical list:

Mary Ethridge, 18
Diane Evans, 32
Tim Good, 6
Andale Gross, 9
Dave Hertz, 15
Gloria Irwin, 21
Mike Needs, 25
Kim Profant, 7
Robin Sallie, 12
Jane Snow, 28
Kathy Spitz, 22
Debby Stock Kiefer, 28
Sarah Vradenburg, 22
Jocelyn Williams, 19

For want of anything better, we call this the BJ Retirees Blog Wall of Honor. Some might consider it a Wall of Shame. It will be a feature on our web site until Oct. 21

Volunteers going and going

If the volunteers continue to leave, the jobs of at least half of those laid off will be saved. The sports staff, we are told, needs only one more volunteer to save its remaining laid off person. The job of copy editor Lisa Abram was saved.

Latest volunteer leaver is Kim Profant, copy editor and page designer, who is leaving quietly to join the foreign and national desk staff of the Chicago Tribune after seven years at the Beacon Journal. Information is being sought from other volunteers who are leaving. Guild Treasurer Stephanie Warsmith told the Guild Reporter last week that 13 have volunteered. Among the big names mentioned on the blog so far are Mary Ethdridge, Gloria Irwin, Jane Snow, Debby Stock Kiefer and Sarah Vradenburg.

If you got your September 15 issue of the Guild Reporter in today’s mail, you learned that:

Knight Ridder died, but the bodies keep falling

Here’s the Reporter story:

Knight Ridder officially bit the dust June 26, when shareholders approved its sale to McClatchy. But empires are not dissolved painlessly, and the death of this one continues to reverberate.

Perhaps most shocking was the decision of David Black, new owner of the Akron Beacon Journal—once crown jewel of the Knight newspaper chain—to show the door to a quarter of all newsroom employees. The announcement means that a news operation that had 197 employees as recently as 1999 will be limping within weeks with approximately 110.

Black, a Canadian, was viewed as a bit of a hero in Hawaii five years ago, when he rescued the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and explained, “I don’t have to make much—a dollar would do.” But times apparently have changed. Although the Beacon-Journal remains profitable, it’s making only half as much as it did just four years ago—when its profit margin apparently was in the vicinity of 24%—and advertising revenue has continued to decline.

Black affects a lack of concern about his ax wielding, channeling Donald Rumsfeld in late August when he told Reuters, “I don’t really believe that the quality of a newsroom is a direct function of body count in the newsroom.” But Beacon Journal employees quickly picked up on a companion thought, in which Black complained about the allegedly wasteful activity he’d seen: desktop tents sprouted throughout the newsroom earlier this week, announcing “No Coffee,” “No Chatting” and “No Fun Allowed.”

Guild members at the paper, represented by the Northeast Ohio Guild, had a dry run at this in 2001, when Knight Ridder laid off seven newsroom staffers, and many of the same responses have kicked in this time: job banks, financial counseling, fund-raising for the unemployed. But the size of the cuts is so much larger this time—39 people—and the ranks of those left behind so much thinner that there’s a sense this isn’t just a staffing change: it’s a seismic shift in the Beacon Journal’s identity, and not for the best.

How everything will shake out won’t be known until Oct. 21, the last day of layoffs—in this round, at least, although others have been hinted—and the deadline for voluntary resignations. As of this week 13 employees had read the writing on the wall and volunteered to leave, according to Stephanie Warsmith, the unit’s secretary-treasurer. Each voluntary resignation reduces the layoff list by one.

That's all, but click to see for yourself.

Craig Wilson in hospital fourth time

Craig Wilson is in Barberton Citizens Hospital for the fourth time this year, still undergoing tests. This past Saturday he was called on by a doctor/partner of his regular hematology oncologist. She was the one on call that weekend. She introduced herself as Dr. Connelly and asked Craig how long had he been in the hospital and he said almost as long as he worked for the Beacon Journal. She said did you know a Hal Fry there? And Craig said yes, very well. She said he was my father. Craig said I was at your house many times when you were a child and knew both your parents very well. Hal had attended the University of Michigan as did Craig and Hal had lived at the YMCA as a single man as did Craig, although they apparently did not know each other from either of theseco-incidences. Dr. Betsy Fry Connelly said she had heard about Craig's exploits but did not have a name to go with them until now. What a small world.

Update from Geigers in Mongolia

Here’s an update from Pete Geiger who used to handle a number of reporting jobs–including religion–at the Beacon Journal:

My wife, Sandy, and I have been teaching college English as a foreign language for the last 12 years in Zuunmod, Mongolia. Ours is a provincial capital city of 20,000.

Sandy is director of the college and I edit and publish a newsletter for American ex-pat English teachers here. We also sponsor a Kindergarten class for orphans and poor kids. We solicit scholarship funds for deserving students at our college. And when drought strikes (as it has for five of the last six years), we conduct relief trips into the hardest-hit counties. We distribute five to 10 tons of food, clothing, school supplies and baled hay, all bought at wholesale in the national capital, Ulaan Baatar (not "Ulan Bator," as on U.S. maps.)

I have been watching the Black days at the B-J as closely as Internet connections to Mongolia permit and I am most dismayed. I wonder, retrospectively, if the entire denouement did not start with Johnny Knight's murder in Philadelphia, the event that so dispirited JSK. It is possible to perceive that, after that, he noticeably conceded some measure of defeat and allowed events to take their course that eventuated in Phony Tony's lackadaisical custodianship.

~Pete

Contact Geiger at geiger@mongol.net

Tech guy Helmick is staying

Trying to keep up with the turmoil caused by the layoff at the Beacon Journal is a tough job. The blog statement that the early press run had been discontinued was incorrect. Apparently there is still a run, but the daytime copy desk as such is gone. No sense tryng to go into any details until the magic day around Oct 21 which will be the end of the 90-day notice period.

A couple of good things have happened that merit mentioning. Somehow, money was found, an insider reports, so photographer Bob DeMay was saved. And so was Dave Helmick, the newsroom technology guy.

Helmick was carrying some boxes out of the office Thursday evening for Dave Wilson and someone (thinking the boxes were Helmick's) observed: "There goes the collective knowledge of the newsroom's computer system." (Helmick was hired as a MAC tech but he heals sick reporter and editor terminals as well. ) Given the deep Information Technology cuts and the fact that none of the techs left seemed assigned to the newsroom, it appears there was a reconsideration. Friday was to have been Helmick's last day. Now he is staying.

We are still trying to catch up with several copy editors who are on the way out or already gone. Stay tuned.

Ho hum goodbye for Jane

Mizell might just as well have written “Oh, by the way, Jane is leaving.”

Managing Editor Mizell Stewart gave Jane Snow the ho-hum “goodbye” in the last three of 18 graphs of his Sunday column on page A3. Here they are:

“There’s a danger in naming names, though--highlighted on Friday when longtime food writer Jane Snow told me she’s planning to leave the newspaper.

“Jane is a nationally recognized food writer whose section was just named best in the country in newspapers with a circulation of less than 150,000 by the Association of Food Journalists. Her energy and dedication to the craft will be dearly missed.

“We’ll identify Jane’s replacement in the next several weeks.”

In the paragraph just before this he also noted:

“Bob Dyer will expand his repertoire beyond his weekly “Dyer Streets” column next month when he expands his unique perspective–and attitude–to other local topics”

Thought he had been doing that all along.

More good news for the blog guy came in a huge A1 first in a five-part series by Tracy Wheeler which reports the average life span in Summit County is 76.4 years. According to that I should have been dead two months ago. If I were African-American I would have been dead nine years ago at the age of 67.1. Don’t get your hopes up.

Don't Ask Jane--she's leaving

Food editor Jane Snow is leaving.

Managing Editor Mizell Stewart will make the announcement in his Sunday column.. If he uses a photo it will hopefully be better than this one scanned from an old Food section.

The blog guy did ask Jane about it, but she is not too prompt in answering e-mail. Jane joins a group of top bylines leaving the Beacon Journal–most of them volunteers who were not laid off. The list posted so far includes Mary Ethridge, Gloria Irwin, Debby Stock Kiefer and almost 20-year KR veteran Dave Wilson who was among those laid off..

The reorganization is still shaking down. Friday was the last day for the small day-time copy desk so there is no longer an early press run. Learning to live the night life will be Chuck Montague, Olga Reswow and Monica Thomas. On a dreary Saturday night there were only three copy editors and a slot, but Saturday nights have always been with small staffs.

Also gone is Chiffon Staebler who worked on the day-time copy desk. She was laid off and her job might have been saved by others volunteering to leave. But, as reported earlier, Chiffon is a young widow with three children which would make it tough to switch to nights. Hopefully, we will be able to report later what is happening in her life.

The job of artist Kathy Hagedorn who was the subject of one of our first posts on the layoff was saved–sort of. Kathy will move into the part-time art job held by Rick Steinhauser who will try it as a page designer.

“It is a change of position and will require retraining, but I want to stay in Northeast Ohio for now,” he says.. “My reservations are, because of the unknowns of the new responsibilities, that I may not like the job at all. I also have three kids at home that I won’t see at all because I will be primarily a night shift employee. Being the primary salary for the household, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.”

A different Black Friday at BJ

Black Friday in the Mad Shopper world is the day after Thanksgiving when shoppers are nuts (and fun in their craziness) -- rising early in hopes of bargains.

Yesterday was a different Black Friday at the Beacon Journal as Mary Ethridge gently signed off on her last column. It was indeed a sad day for readers.

Mary begins as always:

Dear Reader,

The Mad Shopper began in November 1993. It was to be a short-lived holiday shopping column written by an intern. When she left, a few of us decided to continue writing it on rotation. But by March 1994, I was the sole Mad Shopper. I have many memories of my Mad Shopper assignments-- some hilarious, others touching.

During Mary’s first year she was ordered to cover a Wal-Mart store opening in Montrose. She describes that experience and relates how she saw the effects of Wal-Mart's presence destroy enormous pieces of vacant land covered in vegetation and watched as it has tried to fend off allegations of illegal and unethical employment practices.

Here’s part of what she wrote

And I have watched as it and other mass merchants have squeezed out the mom and pop stores of the Akron area. I've written far too many obituaries of small retailers in the past dozen years. I've said goodbye to the century-old Thompson drugstore in Kent, Barney's in Wooster, Bumpas Drugs in Tallmadge, the Coffee Cup in Mogadore, Albright's Lighting in Akron.

I also blame Wal-Mart in large part for the meltdown of Rubbermaid Inc., a company that in 1994 was named the nation's most admired company by Fortune magazine. The company was sold three years later.

The decline began when Rubbermaid refused to sell its products to Wal-Mart at a discount that would have wiped out Rubbermaid's profit.

In punishment, Wal-Mart took Rubbermaid products off the shelves for a time.

I have watched as similar and detrimental pressure was applied to Cleveland-based American Greetings, Step2 Corp. of Hudson and Little Tikes of Streetsboro, among many other local companies.

After I wrote a column outlining my issues with Wal-Mart, the Beacon Journal editorial department received a letter from Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott.

He was miffed by what he called my ``diatribe'' against his company.

I still consider it one of the biggest honors I ever received in journalism. My dad, a newspaper man [former BJ editor], said if columnists aren't making someone angry on a regular basis, they're not doing their job.

I suspect there is more consolidation to come in retail, just like the recent May Co. and Federated Department Stores merger. But I also hope it will bring a brave new tribe of consumers whose criteria for making purchases include more than price.

And here’s the sad ending:

This is my last shopping column. Sigh.

I am leaving the Beacon Journal after 18 years at the newspaper, nearly a dozen of which were spent writing this column and covering business news.

I wasn't among the layoffs you've probably read about here. To use some popular corporate-speak, I'm leaving ``to pursue other interests'' and spend more time with family.

I leave the column in fantastic hands. Kerry Clawson, our current theater critic, is taking over the retail beat as well as Mad Shopper.

Kerry is a fine writer and -- most important -- is passionate about shopping.

Coming to you each week has been a privilege I will always treasure.

Goodbye, readers. And, as always, happy shopping.

Blog Note: You really MUST click on the headline to let Mary tell you the story as only she can. Her father, Mark Ethridge, would be proud.

A Stock recipe for success

Most Beacon Journal readers know Debby Stock Kiefer as the Recipe Roundup face of the Beacon Journal. She is much more as you will learn in her biography. Some of us remember that when Beacon Journal photographers needed a model for a promotion photo of some kind they always came looking for the photogenic Debbie Stock who always had a smile for everyone. She has a heart, too.

Here’s her reply to a blog inquiry:.

I am indeed a volunteer. I plan to stay through the 60-day period to help with the copy desk transition.

No job; I just felt God put it in my heart to give someone else a chance to continue a career at the Beacon. I'll have 28 years in on Sept. 5.

I will indeed help with my parents in Columbus as needed. My sister is there, but she has young sons and shouldn't be expected to take care of everything anyway. Our parents are only 73 years old, but not always in the best health. Other than that, for now I will continue to make and sell craft items and might even try writing a novel. Not to mention all those projects just waiting for me to have time for them.....

Bio: I was fresh out of Ohio State when I started on the copy desk at the Beacon Journal on Sept. 5, 1978. I was the first peon on a new three-person national desk and briefly wrote a column called Kids' View of the News. I was a reporter for a year after that, covering the All-American Soap Box Derby and the Y-bridge's first attempted jumper, getting thrown out of St. Thomas Hospital in the process. I moved to the features copy desk until a sort-of universal copy desk was created in the mid-'80s, and moved to the night shift in 1986 or so. I was made an assistant copy desk chief about 10 years later. In addition to copy desk duties, I wrote the Recipe Roundup column for three years, starting in October 2003. I learned a lot in those 28 years, thanks in part to mentors Joan Rice and Kathy Fraze.

After Oct. 21, I can be reached at debbylee@highstream.net .

BJ cuts 27 non-news jobs

Just reported (4:30 p.m.) on Cleveland.com by PD reporter Mary Vanac, a former BJ reporter:

The Akron Beacon Journal today announced another 27 job cuts throughout the newspaper’s departments, except in the newsroom.

Non-newsroom departments, such as advertising, accounting, marketing and circulation, are affected by the latest round of cuts, which publisher Edward Moss said would be the final ones, for now.

“What we’re doing is making the moves we have to to make sure the company is healthy for the long haul for our employees and our community,” Moss said.

Both rounds of cuts were meant to position the paper for growth and to match expenses to revenue, Moss said. Like many newspapers, the Beacon Journal’s revenues have fallen by half in the last several years and are expected to fall again this year.

After the cuts the Beacon Journal will have nearly 700 workers, Moss said.

The cuts were effective immediately, said Rita Kelly Madick, community relations and marketing director for the paper. Generally, the workers will receive two weeks’ pay for each year of service as severance, Madick said.

The Beacon Journal was acquired for $165 million by Canadian newspaper chain Black Press Ltd. in July. Moss, formerly a marketing executive from a Virginia media company, took over as publisher in early August.

Blog Update: The news was reported in Friday's Beacon Journal on page D2 as the lead brief in the Daily Backgrounder.

Here’s Dave Wilson’s story

I've been here since July 1996, with Knight Ridder since 1988. I thought I'd make it to 20 years and move on to something else. Well, Knight Ridder died of lack of usefulness this year, two years short of my exit plan.

I've been interviewing with a couple of newspapers (the Indy Star and Erie Times-News, both pretty nice papers); a Gannett recruiter; The Associated Press; some TV stations (Web sites); a couple of PR agencies; a couple of banks; and with GOJO, a local pharmaceutical/personal products manufacturer (Purell hand sanitizer). I'm also poking around at a couple of government-type jobs. Compliance, communication, etc. Ultimately, I expect to be out of newspapers, if not now, by the next job.

I'd really prefer to stay in the area. Well, let me clarify -- my wife and kids would really rather stay in the area. The kids are school age, 7 and 11, and really want to stay put. Me? I could go just about anywhere. But my wife is from here and really doesn't want to leave, no matter how dismal the economy here is. And selling our house in Cuyahoga Falls at this time of year would be tough.

Anyway, the bulk of my career has been as a copy editor, 10 years of those as a slot, supervisor or department head. I most recently have been a deputy metro editor, with six reporters and roughly a dozen correspondents to herd, as well as the religion page, blotters and breaking Web news. In addition to that, I'm licensed in Ohio for life and health insurance, and I have a Series 6 license to sell securities (stock and bond mutual funds).

As distressing as this layoff has been for me and my family, in some ways I feel worse for the ones "Left Behind." This newspaper will be a hollow shadow of its former self. Yes, there was some room to trim some fat. Problem is, they chopped out a lot of meat and bone.

But as I tell folks lately, NMFP -- not my (fill in the blank) problem.

My problem is finding a paying gig with benefits before the end of October. Hints, leads, huge piles of cash are welcome!

-- Dave Wilson

Talk about a fast shuffle

Talk about a fast shuffle. Combine these two column photos and imagine Elaine Guregian singing and dancing her way along to a theater performance or two–hopefully not all on the same night;.

Regular Beacon Journal customers will not be pleased to read the double whammy of Guregian and Clawson columns that are stacked together today on page A 2..

Let Elaine explain first:.

“As the fall season begins, I'll be transitioning into an expanded role at the Beacon Journal. I'll be adding theater to the beat of classical music and dance that I've covered for 16 years. Kerry Clawson, the Beacon's current theater critic, will be moving to cover retail business and shopping. As the arts and culture critic, I'll write previews, news, reviews and other stories about classical music, dance and theater. Dorothy Shinn, our longtime visual art critic, will continue providing reviews.”

Elaine Guregian can be reached at 330-996-3574 or eguregian@thebeaconjournal.com

And now it’s Kerry’s turn:

“To both those who toil to create theater and the many readers/patrons who thrive on the art: I will forever treasure the 6 ½-year dialogue we have had about the transformative power of theater.

”My move to cover retail business and shopping means I won't be handling the theater beat anymore. But I'll always remain a student of the theater.

“I have had the honor of sharing many laughs and a number of tears with you all, watching hundreds of local productions come to life. I will always have a respectful awe for the amazing intelligence, love of craft, sheer talent and incredibly hard work of theater professionals and volunteers in the Akron area and beyond..”

The headline on her “see ya” piece is:

Please continue to keep local theater scene alive.

Go to Guregian column

Go to Clawson column

Printer Bob Flint dies

Retired BJ printer Robert Lee Flint, 70, of Randolph, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006, at his home.

Born Sept. 22, 1935, in Clarksburg, W. Va., a son of the late Raymond Franklin and Helen Victoria (Kuhar) Flint, Robert was a printer with the Akron Beacon Journal for 35 years and retired in 1998. He was a member of the Liberty Bible Church. Bob enjoyed photography and trap shooting.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Sharon L. Flint; children, David (Mary) Flint of Parma, Timothy (Janet) Flint of Fallston, Md., Brendan (Patty) Flint of Phillipsburg, N.J., Eric (June) Flint of Meadowlands, Pa., Laura (David) Deubel of Rootstown, Susie Flint of Brookpark, Amy Flint of Queen Creek, Ariz.; sister, Patricia Flint of Clarksburg, W. Va.; brother, Dan (Helen) Flint of Diamond; grandchildren, Lauren, Kristen, and Alex Flint, Amber (John) Capello, Hannah Flint, Eddie and Aaron Flint, Justine and Austin Flint, Courtney and Kyle Deubel; great-granddaughter, Sophina Grace Capello.

Friends will be received Friday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Wood-Kortright Funeral Home, 703 E. Main St., Ravenna, where funeral services will be officiated by Reverend Paul Phillips on Saturday at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery in Randolph. Military honors will be provided by the U.S. Navy and VFW Post 1055. Memorial donations may be made to the Liberty Bible Church, 2215 state Route 183, Atwater, Ohio 44201..
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Thursday, September 21, 2006, page C6, col. 3