http://www.medianewsmonitor.org News of Singleton and MediaNews Copyright 2011 The Newspaper Guild en-us Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:30:36 -0400 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:30:36 -0400 http://sjguild.org/rss/jpg/MNMonitor.jpg http://www.medianewsmonitor.org 140 50 http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/08/23/news-group-rebranding-merges-oakland-tribune-contra-costa-times-other-locals-into-three-papers/#more-37937 Guild leaders have begun reaching out to government and community agencies to help members cope with job loss in the East Bay, noting the chaos of consolidation and failed business plans shows no sign of ending. An interview by KQED with Media Workers Executive Officer Carl Hall surveyed the new landscape. http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/08/23/news-group-rebranding-merges-oakland-tribune-contra-costa-times-other-locals-into-three-papers/#more-37937 http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=8037 BANG-East Bay management plans to reorganize its publications under two daily mastheads, each with its own local section, with new emphasis on bigger-picture news on the cover. Those changes will involve job loss. Management tells the Guild they estimate about 40 newsroom layoffs in BANG-EB, including both members and management. Including other parts of the company, they estimate that we will lose about 120 jobs. http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=8037 http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=8036 In a news release today, the Bay Area News Group announced a "rebranding" of its East Bay newspapers that will mean the loss of 120 jobs. Managers said about 40 newsroom jobs will be cut. The company will close its Walnut Creek plant, and collapse several small dailies under two common mastheads, The Times and the East Bay Tribune. Regional news, business and sports will be emphasized, the company said. http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=8036 http://paidcontent.org/article/419-who-is-randall-smith-and-why-is-he-buying-up-newspaper-companies/ Even in the close-mouthed world of hedge fund investment, Randall Smith, the principal of Alden Global Capital, gives new meaning to the euphemism "low profile." Smith’s Alden bought out fellow hedge funds earlier this month and now owns Journal-Register Co. outright. http://paidcontent.org/article/419-who-is-randall-smith-and-why-is-he-buying-up-newspaper-companies/ http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18384602 The Bay Area News Group announced Thursday that its newspapers will now operate under a single, common news management team under the direction of David J. Butler, editor of the San Jose Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18384602 http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=7987 Suzanne Arnaud, Administrative Director of the San Jose Newspaper Guild, will retire on July 1 after 43 years of dedicated service to members and their families. Simply put, over four decades, Suzanne has provided the heart and become the soul of the Newspaper Guild. A compassionate and tireless advocate for the rights and dignity of working people across the Bay Area, Suzanne has fought for fairness and justice on issues relating to wages and benefits, workers’ rights, retirement planning and coping with layoffs and the decline of an industry undergoing seismic change. http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=7987 http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=7887 Dean Singleton sent a message the other day. It wasn’t exactly a valentine to the Guild. The executive chairman of MediaNews Group accused the Guild of issuing an "irresponsible" news release Friday revealing that he had dropped hints of a national consolidation of news production. http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=7887 http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-onthemedia-20110205,0,7190710.column Not so many years ago, it wasn’t very hard to understand ownership of Southern California’s newspapers. The Chandlers had the Los Angeles Times, the Hoiles family controlled the Orange County Register, the Copleys reigned at the San Diego Union-Tribune and MediaNews Group, a chain run by William Dean Singleton, owned a passel of suburban dailies. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-onthemedia-20110205,0,7190710.column http://reporter-g.blogspot.com/2011/01/whats-ahead-for-medianews-and-whats.html In the best of possible worlds, the shakeup at MediaNews that left company president Jody Lodovic without a job and CEO Dean Singleton with a (severely?) diminished role would serve as an object lesson in how moral cheapness leads to downfall; a final judgment on mass consolidations and layoffs divorced from any sense of journalistic mission, ethics or service; karma for all the dedicated journalists told their dedication was a childish distraction, and for all the readers told they must accept lower and lower standards under the same brand name. http://reporter-g.blogspot.com/2011/01/whats-ahead-for-medianews-and-whats.html http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/01/the-shakeup-at-medianews-why-it-could-be-the-leadup-to-a-massive-newspaper-consolidation/ On the surface, this looks like a way for Dean Singleton to pursue his vision of consolidation, something he alluded to at the time MediaNews emerged from bankruptcy. But in reality, the shakeup robs him of nearly all his clout. So the question becomes, what will happen next? http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/01/the-shakeup-at-medianews-why-it-could-be-the-leadup-to-a-massive-newspaper-consolidation/