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NEWS OF THE INDUSTRY

Tribune's Newsday deal is one step in easing debt

Seth Sutel - The Associated Press - 13 May 2008

Tribune Co.'s $650 million sale of Newsday is an important step toward alleviating its debt burden — for this year.

Cablevision strikes deal to buy Newsday

Tim Arango and Richard Pérez-Peña - The New York Times - 12 May 2008

Cablevision Systems and the Tribune Company announced a $650 million deal on Monday that will give Cablevision a 97 percent stake in Newsday.

Cablevision's Newsday bid the favorite after Murdoch exits

Mark Harrington - Newsday - 11 May 2008

Tribune Co. and Cablevision Systems Corp. Saturday appeared poised to strike a $650-million deal for Newsday after presumptive front-runner Rupert Murdoch exited the stage, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Revenue problems force Seattle Times to cut staff by 125

Eric Pryne - The Seattle Times - 10 May 2008

Following up on vows to bring spending in line with its shrinking revenues, The Seattle Times Co. sliced the staff at its flagship newspaper by 125 employees this week.


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News Corporation withdraws its bid for Newsday

Richard Pérez-Peña - The New York Times - 10 May 2008

People involved in the negotiations, who asked not to be named because the talks were confidential, said this month that Newsday’s owner, the Tribune Company, seemed headed toward accepting Cablevision’s bid, which at $650 million was the highest. Mr. Murdoch, however, told investors and analysts in a conference call on Wednesday that he remained confident, counseling, “Just be patient for a couple of days.”


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MORE NEWS OF THE INDUSTRY

McClatchy slashes value of Seattle Times

Puget Sound Business Journal - 09 May 2008

The McClatchy Co. continues to slash its estimated value of its investment in The Seattle Times Co., as both the local daily and the newspaper industry as a whole continue to reel from lost revenue.

Journal Register warns it could default by July

Mark Fitzgerald - Editor & Publisher - 09 May 2008

Troubled Journal Register Co. warned late Friday in a regulatory filing that it probably will be in default of its loan covenant before the end of July.

Gannett offers 160 buyouts in NJ

The Associated Press - 09 May 2008

Gannett Co. Inc. on Friday said it was offering buyouts to a total of 160 workers at five of its six New Jersey newspapers, as advertising revenues decline.

King of the city journalism is all the rage

Ken Doctor - Content Bridges - 09 May 2008

Consider the new Big City American journalism and the emerging cast of characters owning it. It's a page right out of the history books when a few well-heeled titans controlled the press, and its new incarnation could have all kinds of implications for the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, for AP and for the journalism start-ups near and far.

Tribune Publishing results skid in Q1 -- off 11%

Editor & Publisher - 09 May 2008

The Tribune Co. reported that Q1 earnings from continuing operations soared to $1.82 billion compared with $11 million from the same period a year ago. The favorable upswing was due to the change of the company's tax status at the beginning of the year to a subchapter S corporation.

Union claims New York Times' layoffs methodology is 'flawed'

Romenesko - 07 May 2008

The Guild says it "has been carefully analyzing the [New York Times] layoffs to make sure that management has followed the contract's job security provisions. At this point, it appears to the Guild that the company has not done so. In fact, the Guild has already filed a grievance regarding the methodology used by The Times to decide who would be laid-off."

Layoffs and buyouts announced at three more dailies

Joe Strupp - Editor & Publisher - 07 May 2008

Layoffs and buyouts have hit three more daily papers, with announcements of cutbacks in Colorado, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

Herald-Leader Seeks Buyout from 4 Percent of Staff

Erik A. Carlson - Business Lexington - 07 May 2008

The Lexington Herald-Leader is looking to trim its staff of 385 full-time employees by 4 percent through a voluntary buyout program.

Star Tribune's owner forced to write off much of its investment

Neal St. Anthony - The Minneapolis Star Tribune - 07 May 2008

The owner of the Star Tribune has informed investors that it has written down the value of its $100 million investment in the newspaper by 75 percent to reflect deteriorating conditions since the purchase in March 2007.

MediaNews customer service operations move to the Philippines

Bay Area workers seeking to form Guild unit

Sacramento Business Journal - 06 May 2008

Newspaper chain MediaNews Group Inc. is outsourcing customer service operations for some of its California dailies -- including the San Jose Mercury News, one of the company's largest papers -- to the Philippines. Meanwhile, newsroom employees at the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and other newspapers in MediaNews Group's "Bay Area News Group-East Bay" unit are trying to form a union.

Tribune evaluating offers for Newsday

Mark Harrington - Newsday - 06 May 2008

As talks continued yesterday for the sale of Newsday, owner Tribune Co. assessed three similarly structured offers to determine which best fit its own strategic plan and need for debt-bound cash, a source close to the negotiations said.

How bad is it for the Strib?

City Pages - 06 May 2008

Reporters examining the Star Tribune's finances can be compared to a group of blind men reporting on an elephant. No one source, not even the paper's higher-ups themselves, seems to have all the answers.

Santa Barbara News-Press, Indy settle lawsuit

Nick Welsh - Santa Barbara Independent - 06 May 2008

Owners of the Santa Barbara News-Press and Santa Barbara Independent agreed to put away their legal swords this week, finally concluding a settlement to the News-Press’s complaint that the Independent had infringed upon its federal copyright protections.

McClatchy stock down on huge volume

Mark Fitzgerald - Editor & Publisher - 06 May 2008

Stock in The McClatchy Co. dropped more than 7% on trading volume Monday that was more than seven times higher than normal.

Star Tribune hires Blackstone Group to analyze its finances

Matt McKinney - The Minneapolis Star Tribune - 05 May 2008

Faced with sliding advertising revenue amid a continuing slowdown of the newspaper industry, the Star Tribune said Sunday that it has hired an adviser to evaluate its finances.

Attempt to unionize Trib and CC Times Wins Support

Robert Gammon - East Bay Express - 03 May 2008

A months-long effort to unionize the newsrooms of the Oakland Tribune, the Contra Costa Times, and several other East Bay newspapers got a huge boost Friday when union officials revealed that "a strong majority" of reporters, photographers, and copy editors at the papers had signed union cards and were demanding a union election.

Union petitions feds for newspaper vote

George Avalos - The Contra Costa Times - 03 May 2008

Newspaper workers petitioned federal officials on Friday to be recognized as a union, marking the latest move in a union-led effort to represent journalists employed by papers in the East Bay and San Mateo County. The journalists want the National Labor Relations Board to clear the way for an election to decide if the newspaper employees would be represented by a union.

Newspaper union stirring to life in the East Bay

John Geluardi - SF Weekly - 03 May 2008

East Bay newspaper employees who have been alarmed at the declining quality of journalism took responsibility for their own futures on Friday by asking to be formally recognized as a union.

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