After getting out of the traffic on the 210 Freeway tonight, I pulled into my garage and here comes my grandson David to greet me. He asked if I wanted some help getting the mail, so naturally I agreed to his offer. David was looking for his next issue of Children's National Geographic, but it was not in our mailbox yet, maybe tomorrow I told him.
David asked if I would watch television with him in the family room, so I thought twenty minutes of boob tube couldn't sway me too much. He was watching a show called American Idol, and was I ever happy when it was completed. Many of the contestants think they can sing, and the host Simon told them how bad they were, so their dreams of becoming the next Madonna or Sting were smashed, and you wonder why I do not watch television?
During the string of commericials, David asked "Papa, how old does someone have to be to own a cell phone?". I answered, "when your mature enough not to run the bill up in the thousands of dollar range. Why do you ask David?" And he replied "All of my friends have cell phones". Wow, ten year olds all have cell phones now, I asked myself?
As the television show ended, David brushed his teeth and got into bed.
Now that I'm older, and hopefully a bit wiser, I wonder how many things I have bought have been a result of wanting what others have?
Good Night,
Eddie
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Submitted by Dennis Cole AKA Casper....
Trouble in Cubicle Nation
By Joe Robinson, AlterNet. Posted January 30, 2006.
While big business racks up historic profits, workplace life is becoming more unbearable for the people who make the products and services.
It was a great year for labor -- if you worked at a call center in India, made your living as a CEO or sold real estate to big-box stores. But deep in Cubicle Nation, the average American worker remained on a fast track to the Industrial Revolution, with soaring workweeks, declining wages, and health, pension and vacation benefits vanishing faster than you can say job security.
Add to the siege outsourcing, cutbacks, the dismantling of ergonomics rules and forced overtime -- all while business is racking up historic profits, the most in 75 years -- and even a nearsighted dingo could see that the trends are unsustainable for families, personal health, company medical plans or an informed and involved citizenry. And completely unnecessary.
As all the productivity research shows, we can get the job done without finishing ourselves off. So let's fire some of the worst habits that got us here and ring in resolutions for a sane workplace in 2006:
Restore the 40-hour workweek. Almost 40 percent of us are working more than 50 hours a week, not exactly what the Fair Labor Standards Act intended when it set the 40-hour workweek in 1938. Chronic 11- and 12-hour days result in lousy productivity, expensive mistakes, burnout, triple the risk of heart attack and quadruple the risk of diabetes -- and leave families without a quorum for dinner. Two-thirds of people who work more than 40 hours a week report being highly stressed. Job stress costs American business more than $300 billion a year.
Establish rules for e-tools. The e-invasion is burying us alive. Human resources departments and individuals need to set tough-love boundaries that would determine message urgency, limit reflexive responses and establish no-send zones (i.e., no forwarding of multiforwarded emails and absolutely no work email at home or on vacation).
Give face time the pink slip. In the knowledge/digital age, it doesn't matter where your body is; what counts is inside your head. More telecommuting and flex schedules could save millions of dollars in office costs and hours reclaimed from gridlock, while providing workers much-needed flexibility, especially for time-crunched mothers.
Legalize vacations. Almost a third of American women and a quarter of men don't get vacation leave anymore because, unlike 96 other countries, the U.S. has no paid-leave law. Those who still get a vacation seldom get to take the whole thing. The average American vacation unit in the travel business is now a long weekend. It's barbaric. And myopic. Studies show that vacations improve performance on the job, not to mention cut the risk of heart disease and cure burnout. More than three-quarters of Americans say they would like to have another week off, which they'd get with the three-week minimum paid-leave law I've proposed.
Provide guaranteed sick leave. No one should have to lose a job because they get ill. But across this land, hardworking people are getting fired simply because their company offers no sick days and they got sick. It's time to join 139 other countries with a minimum sick-leave law and protect those who can't protect themselves. The Healthy Families Act by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., would provide seven days of guaranteed sick leave.
Make Lou Dobbs secretary of labor. The CNN anchorman's dogged coverage of outsourcing and the forgotten middle-class worker has single-handedly kept the plight of wage earners in the public eye. He's mad -- why aren't more of us? -- and he's not going to take it.
Support a living wage. With the skyrocketing costs of gas, food and rent, an increase in the minimum wage is long overdue. Consumers need to support companies that pay a living wage, such as Costco, and shun ones that don't.
Hold the back pats. This year, make a point of not supporting workaholic martyrs ("I worked all night! I came in on the weekend!" "Really? How lame.") who don't drive productivity but stress everyone around them.
Tighten the salary test. One of the main -- and unacknowledged -- drivers of overwork is the expanding definition of salaried employees. When the Fair Labor Standards Act codified the salary designation, it was intended to apply only to top administrators and managers, people who could hire and fire. Over the last two decades, the classification has been stretched to include more and more of us, particularly after new, elastic rules by the Bush administration that could turn everyone from chefs to preschool teachers into salaried workers. In addition, hundreds of thousands of hourly workers, from burger flippers to insurance adjusters, are misclassified as salaried. The explosion of salaried employees -- now 40 percent of all workers (including a huge jump in salaried caregivers) -- is without doubt having major repercussions on divorce rates, child care, civic responsibilities and drug sales. Wake up and smell the Paxil.
Provide paid childbirth leave to all working Americans. Family values start here. Only 40 percent of American workers are eligible for the 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, and fewer still are brazen enough to actually take the time off. There are 163 countries that offer paid family leave. The sterling bunch that doesn't includes Papua New Guinea, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and the richest nation on the planet.
At a time when the people who make the products and services -- without whom there would be no economy -- are considered disposable, I'd like to see political candidates in '06 resolve to do a head count and tally the number of disaffected wage earners desperate for leadership. This group includes not merely the 8 percent of private-sector workers who belong to unions but a vast legion of American Dreamers, including 70-hour-a-week video game programmers, biotech engineers and retail-sales moms pressed to the gibbering edge. One Republican pollster has found that lack of time is the No. 1 issue for young working mothers, more of a concern than Iraq and health care.
American workers have done their part, doubling productivity since 1969. How about producing a workplace worthy of them in 2006?
Joe Robinson is the author of "Work to Live: The Guide to Getting a Life."
By Joe Robinson, AlterNet. Posted January 30, 2006.
While big business racks up historic profits, workplace life is becoming more unbearable for the people who make the products and services.
It was a great year for labor -- if you worked at a call center in India, made your living as a CEO or sold real estate to big-box stores. But deep in Cubicle Nation, the average American worker remained on a fast track to the Industrial Revolution, with soaring workweeks, declining wages, and health, pension and vacation benefits vanishing faster than you can say job security.
Add to the siege outsourcing, cutbacks, the dismantling of ergonomics rules and forced overtime -- all while business is racking up historic profits, the most in 75 years -- and even a nearsighted dingo could see that the trends are unsustainable for families, personal health, company medical plans or an informed and involved citizenry. And completely unnecessary.
As all the productivity research shows, we can get the job done without finishing ourselves off. So let's fire some of the worst habits that got us here and ring in resolutions for a sane workplace in 2006:
Restore the 40-hour workweek. Almost 40 percent of us are working more than 50 hours a week, not exactly what the Fair Labor Standards Act intended when it set the 40-hour workweek in 1938. Chronic 11- and 12-hour days result in lousy productivity, expensive mistakes, burnout, triple the risk of heart attack and quadruple the risk of diabetes -- and leave families without a quorum for dinner. Two-thirds of people who work more than 40 hours a week report being highly stressed. Job stress costs American business more than $300 billion a year.
Establish rules for e-tools. The e-invasion is burying us alive. Human resources departments and individuals need to set tough-love boundaries that would determine message urgency, limit reflexive responses and establish no-send zones (i.e., no forwarding of multiforwarded emails and absolutely no work email at home or on vacation).
Give face time the pink slip. In the knowledge/digital age, it doesn't matter where your body is; what counts is inside your head. More telecommuting and flex schedules could save millions of dollars in office costs and hours reclaimed from gridlock, while providing workers much-needed flexibility, especially for time-crunched mothers.
Legalize vacations. Almost a third of American women and a quarter of men don't get vacation leave anymore because, unlike 96 other countries, the U.S. has no paid-leave law. Those who still get a vacation seldom get to take the whole thing. The average American vacation unit in the travel business is now a long weekend. It's barbaric. And myopic. Studies show that vacations improve performance on the job, not to mention cut the risk of heart disease and cure burnout. More than three-quarters of Americans say they would like to have another week off, which they'd get with the three-week minimum paid-leave law I've proposed.
Provide guaranteed sick leave. No one should have to lose a job because they get ill. But across this land, hardworking people are getting fired simply because their company offers no sick days and they got sick. It's time to join 139 other countries with a minimum sick-leave law and protect those who can't protect themselves. The Healthy Families Act by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., would provide seven days of guaranteed sick leave.
Make Lou Dobbs secretary of labor. The CNN anchorman's dogged coverage of outsourcing and the forgotten middle-class worker has single-handedly kept the plight of wage earners in the public eye. He's mad -- why aren't more of us? -- and he's not going to take it.
Support a living wage. With the skyrocketing costs of gas, food and rent, an increase in the minimum wage is long overdue. Consumers need to support companies that pay a living wage, such as Costco, and shun ones that don't.
Hold the back pats. This year, make a point of not supporting workaholic martyrs ("I worked all night! I came in on the weekend!" "Really? How lame.") who don't drive productivity but stress everyone around them.
Tighten the salary test. One of the main -- and unacknowledged -- drivers of overwork is the expanding definition of salaried employees. When the Fair Labor Standards Act codified the salary designation, it was intended to apply only to top administrators and managers, people who could hire and fire. Over the last two decades, the classification has been stretched to include more and more of us, particularly after new, elastic rules by the Bush administration that could turn everyone from chefs to preschool teachers into salaried workers. In addition, hundreds of thousands of hourly workers, from burger flippers to insurance adjusters, are misclassified as salaried. The explosion of salaried employees -- now 40 percent of all workers (including a huge jump in salaried caregivers) -- is without doubt having major repercussions on divorce rates, child care, civic responsibilities and drug sales. Wake up and smell the Paxil.
Provide paid childbirth leave to all working Americans. Family values start here. Only 40 percent of American workers are eligible for the 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, and fewer still are brazen enough to actually take the time off. There are 163 countries that offer paid family leave. The sterling bunch that doesn't includes Papua New Guinea, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and the richest nation on the planet.
At a time when the people who make the products and services -- without whom there would be no economy -- are considered disposable, I'd like to see political candidates in '06 resolve to do a head count and tally the number of disaffected wage earners desperate for leadership. This group includes not merely the 8 percent of private-sector workers who belong to unions but a vast legion of American Dreamers, including 70-hour-a-week video game programmers, biotech engineers and retail-sales moms pressed to the gibbering edge. One Republican pollster has found that lack of time is the No. 1 issue for young working mothers, more of a concern than Iraq and health care.
American workers have done their part, doubling productivity since 1969. How about producing a workplace worthy of them in 2006?
Joe Robinson is the author of "Work to Live: The Guide to Getting a Life."
Monday, January 30, 2006
Kids, Don't Try This at Home
I used a Blackberry to log onto our website, and let me tell you, it's like going back in time. The Blackberry runs over the wireless airwaves, and acts like a 2400 baud modem, this means each page takes almost ten minutes to load, before you can move onto the next page. The Blackberry is just fine for email, but for browsing the Internet, don't try it.
We had planned to leave for home from Las Vegas at 8:00 AM, but we slept till 9:00 AM and finally were ready to hit the road at almost eleven in the morning. We stopped by Rita's daughter's and took some picture's of her new grand-daughter Faith.
Finally on the road home, we made a quick stop at Stateline for lunch, and before we knew it, it was two in the afternoon. Needless to say, traffic moved at a snail's pace, and we didn't arrive in San Dimas till five-thirty.
I was so tired from the drive I had no interest in logging onto the Internet, and allowed my computer to rest one extra day.
Not sure I'll do much more than post a message here tonight?
My grandson David was waiting for me when I arrived home tonight, he scored 100% on his computer test, and some of the questions were not easy for a ten year old. Guess I could say he's a chip off the block.
David, like his grandfather, likes to wear different hats, and many mistake him as my son. In a way he is my son, he's on my insurance, and has lived with me most of his ten years.
Increase in Subscribers
Daily subscribers to the Los Angeles Times has increased over last year at this time. We have added 35,000 daily readers, and 50,000 Sunday readers.
Festival of Books
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held at UCLA on April 29th and April 30th, 2006.
Tribune Wellness Website
Have not visited this website myself, so let me know if it's useful to yourself and your family? Tribune Wellness
Among Ourselves
Among Ourselves is our company newspaper for employees, I had a link to this popular newspaper, but it has been moved to the Intranet. Many retired employees enjoyed reading Among Ourselves. I wonder what genius moved it from the Internet to the Intranet so outsiders can not access it?
Good Night,
Eddie
We had planned to leave for home from Las Vegas at 8:00 AM, but we slept till 9:00 AM and finally were ready to hit the road at almost eleven in the morning. We stopped by Rita's daughter's and took some picture's of her new grand-daughter Faith.
Finally on the road home, we made a quick stop at Stateline for lunch, and before we knew it, it was two in the afternoon. Needless to say, traffic moved at a snail's pace, and we didn't arrive in San Dimas till five-thirty.
I was so tired from the drive I had no interest in logging onto the Internet, and allowed my computer to rest one extra day.
Not sure I'll do much more than post a message here tonight?
My grandson David was waiting for me when I arrived home tonight, he scored 100% on his computer test, and some of the questions were not easy for a ten year old. Guess I could say he's a chip off the block.
David, like his grandfather, likes to wear different hats, and many mistake him as my son. In a way he is my son, he's on my insurance, and has lived with me most of his ten years.Increase in Subscribers
Daily subscribers to the Los Angeles Times has increased over last year at this time. We have added 35,000 daily readers, and 50,000 Sunday readers.
Festival of Books
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held at UCLA on April 29th and April 30th, 2006.
Tribune Wellness Website
Have not visited this website myself, so let me know if it's useful to yourself and your family? Tribune Wellness
Among Ourselves
Among Ourselves is our company newspaper for employees, I had a link to this popular newspaper, but it has been moved to the Intranet. Many retired employees enjoyed reading Among Ourselves. I wonder what genius moved it from the Internet to the Intranet so outsiders can not access it?
Good Night,
Eddie
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Pressmen's 20 Year Club
Long Days Are Here
It seems like the average run this days is no less than 200,000 On a good day we proved that we can do it, I am so fortunate to have a crew that continuously learn how to work together. To our new fellow pressmen, I won't deny that in the first couple of weeks of this transition I was feeling hostile, is only natural, it was hard for me to understand that you were also victims. A word of caution, no matter how long you have been a pressperson, if you don't know this presses, don't venture with them, pride is an option you can not afford. If am around I'll be happy to share what I know. It's hard to believe that even though, they were built the same, behave totally different from each other.
It seems like the average run this days is no less than 200,000 On a good day we proved that we can do it, I am so fortunate to have a crew that continuously learn how to work together. To our new fellow pressmen, I won't deny that in the first couple of weeks of this transition I was feeling hostile, is only natural, it was hard for me to understand that you were also victims. A word of caution, no matter how long you have been a pressperson, if you don't know this presses, don't venture with them, pride is an option you can not afford. If am around I'll be happy to share what I know. It's hard to believe that even though, they were built the same, behave totally different from each other.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
After Week is History
This is what it feels like on Friday's at work, so many things to balance all at once.
Sometimes we drop the ball, and have to restart the balancing act, and other times everything flows together.
I will be away from my computer this weekend, leaving for Las Vegas in a few hours, but I will see if I'm able to log on with a Blackberry tomorrow. I am also taking a laptop along, but unsure if I will find the time or have the desire to say hello this weekend.
You may have noticed I have the San Fernando sign on the home page, nine times, have you wondered why? I made an error, and deleted all of the photographs, and made a quick fix, so you wouldn't see the little X's of the missing files. I"ll make the needed changes on Monday.
I'm off to bed now, finally feeling sleepy.
Goodnight,
Eddie
Friday, January 27, 2006
Newest Addition
Please welcome our newest contributor Al Albanes to this Blog.
I see the Tribune stock is on the plus side this morning, lets keep it that way for the next few months.
enjoy your weekend,
Eddie
I see the Tribune stock is on the plus side this morning, lets keep it that way for the next few months.
enjoy your weekend,
Eddie
It's Off To Work I Go
It's about that time of day again, time to get ready to go to work. The swing shift is a pretty good shift, you get to sleep in if you feel like it, and we usually get out at a fairly decent hour. But, if you want to get anything done around the house, you have to get it done in the morning. At least I do, I'm too darn tired by the time I get home from work to do anything besides have a light dinner and watch a little television. Maybe I'm starting to feel my age, I'm not as young as I once was, as much as I try to convince myself to the contrary. Well, time to take some Geritol and start getting ready for work. I hope everyone is having a great day.
Jess
Jess
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Too Busy Tonight
I had planned to write a little about how things are getting better at Oly tonight, but have Rita over, and I don't want to be rude by sitting behind the keyboard all night.
The food we were served today at Oly was great, thanks to those responsible for the free feast.
Have to run,
I.P. Eddie
The food we were served today at Oly was great, thanks to those responsible for the free feast.
Have to run,
I.P. Eddie
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
You Know it's Time to Take a Coffee Break When...
We have many good days at work, then we hit a bump, and have a bad day in the pressroom. Today it was a bad day, and all pressperson's across the country know what I'm talking about.
We ran two four page balloons, as well as two twelve page balloons, and at the lower level form plates we had a tabloid section on both form plates. Well, after running thirty-three thousand copies of tomorrow's newspaper, the drive-side dinky balloon breaks out. The balloon can be re-inserted into the folder rather easily, but we also lost a web, and it wrapped all the inside rollers.
There's nothing a pressperson dislikes more, than having to crawl inside of a printing unit, to remove the paper from the roller train. The ink inside of the doghouse seems to be a bit thicker than normal printing ink, and is very hard to remove from your skin and from under your nails.
One person is at the operator side, and one at the drive side, both on their backs, while the operator moves (inches) the unit slowly. You don't want anyone's fingers inbetween the rollers, so it's a slow process of removing the paper wrap.
Once all the paper was removed from the rollers, the web was threaded back to the middle form plates, with one half going to the upper form plates (split-web) and we're back in business.
The operator was overheard talking to himself about his average (papers per hour) and what they might do to him down the road....
Lets hope we have no further roller wraps this week?
Eddie
We ran two four page balloons, as well as two twelve page balloons, and at the lower level form plates we had a tabloid section on both form plates. Well, after running thirty-three thousand copies of tomorrow's newspaper, the drive-side dinky balloon breaks out. The balloon can be re-inserted into the folder rather easily, but we also lost a web, and it wrapped all the inside rollers.
There's nothing a pressperson dislikes more, than having to crawl inside of a printing unit, to remove the paper from the roller train. The ink inside of the doghouse seems to be a bit thicker than normal printing ink, and is very hard to remove from your skin and from under your nails.
One person is at the operator side, and one at the drive side, both on their backs, while the operator moves (inches) the unit slowly. You don't want anyone's fingers inbetween the rollers, so it's a slow process of removing the paper wrap.
Once all the paper was removed from the rollers, the web was threaded back to the middle form plates, with one half going to the upper form plates (split-web) and we're back in business.
The operator was overheard talking to himself about his average (papers per hour) and what they might do to him down the road....
Lets hope we have no further roller wraps this week?
Eddie
Be Careful Sam Rubin
Here's what Sam Rubin of KTLA morning news said regarding the new superstation CW
http://www.la.com/blog/comments.php?id=2335_0_1_0_C
http://www.la.com/blog/comments.php?id=2335_0_1_0_C
Today is Hump Day
Yes, we are halfway through the work week at the newspaper, with our last day of the week the most stressful.
With the company stocks reaching new low daily, we can only spectulate what additional changes may come to the Tribune pressrooms in the next few weeks? I'm sure any day now the CEO of Tribune will be retiring to spend more time with his family, isn't that what we always hear when executives leave.
It's that time of the day when I prepare breakfast for the children, so I'm out of here for the time being.
As we used to say in the Boy Scouts "Be Prepared".
Eddie
With the company stocks reaching new low daily, we can only spectulate what additional changes may come to the Tribune pressrooms in the next few weeks? I'm sure any day now the CEO of Tribune will be retiring to spend more time with his family, isn't that what we always hear when executives leave.
It's that time of the day when I prepare breakfast for the children, so I'm out of here for the time being.
As we used to say in the Boy Scouts "Be Prepared".
Eddie
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
CBS, Warner to form new network
UPN and WB networks to cease operations this fall
By David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:22 PM ET Jan 24, 2006
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- UPN and the WB, two of the smaller networks on U.S. broadcast television, will cease operations this fall when parents CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment form a new network to be called the CW, CBS and Warner Bros. said Tuesday.
Under terms of the agreement, Warner Bros., a Time Warner Inc. (TWX) unit, and CBS (CBS) (CBS.A) will each own 50% of the new network.
Tribune Co.'s (TRB) broadcasting unit and CBS's UPN affiliates have each agreed to sign 10-year affiliation agreements with the new network. The stations include outlets in 20 of the top 25 television markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas and Detroit.
The CW will program 30 hours a week over seven days for its affiliated stations.
Time Warner's shares rose 18 cents, or 1 %, to close at $17.27, while CBS rose $1.08, or 4.2%, or $26.90. Acme Communications (ACME), owner of eight WB affiliates, rose 15% to close at $4.07. Tribune declined 25 cents, or nearly 1%, to $29.65.
"With this move, we will be creating a viable entity, one well-equipped to compete, thrive and serve all our many publics in this multichannel media universe," said Les Moonves, chief executive of CBS, in a statement.
Dawn Ostroff, currently president of UPN, will serve as president of entertainment at the CW, while John Matta, currently the WB's chief operating officer, will take on that same role at the new venture.
Like all networks, the WB and UPN are forced to react to increasing fragmentation of the media landscape. Not only has the long-awaited "500-channel universe" come to cable and satellite, but video on demand, on various platforms, has given people more control than ever over how, when and where they watch television.
Against that backdrop, Ostroff told MarketWatch the deal was driven by a desire to give 18- to 34-year-old viewers a one-stop venue to find a certain brand of entertainment, regardless of how it will be delivered.
"There's been a lot going on in the industry, just in terms of different talk about new technology, a lot of new ideas for distribution," she said.
"I think this is going to be a network that is very well supported, both technologically, in terms of different kinds of deals that are going to be made, and production," Ostroff went on. "There's just a lot of opportunity all around and it made sense, given where we are in the industry right now."
The CW will be able to draw from the production resources of Warner Bros. Television and Paramount Television, both powerhouses in the industry.
Under Moonves, CBS is being very aggressive in using new technology to reach its viewers in different ways. In November, for instance, the company forged a deal with cable operator Comcast Corp. (CMCSK) to make four of its most popular shows, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race," available on demand as soon as midnight following their broadcast on CBS owned-and-operated stations, for 99 cents per episode.
In September, UPN teamed up with search giant Google Inc. (GOOG) to offer video streams of "Everybody Hates Chris" episodes.
While new distribution methods could ultimately play a major role in the CW story, the network is counting heavily on traditional distribution. "It makes sense to have an affiliate group as strong as Tribune, along with the CBS-owned stations, which will make up about 48% of the country," Ostroff said.
She added that the new network hasn't held discussions with advertisers yet. "But I can't imagine that they wouldn't be very excited about the prospect of having a fifth network that's clearly going after a specific demographic, instead of splitting it between two different networks," she said.
The move is an acknowledgment that there aren't enough viewers to "support two networks that are kind of targeting somewhat similar audiences," said James Von Schilling, TV historian and professor of English at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa.
WB and UPN were both founded in 1995. Each network tried to find their early audience by going after ethnic audiences -- the WB with programs such as "The Wayans Brothers" and "The Parent 'Hood," and UPN with "Moesha" and others.
Later in the 1990s, the WB hit its stride with dramas that had strong appeal to teenage girls and young women, such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Dawson's Creek," "Seventh Heaven" and "Felicity." However, as these shows lost steam, the network had more difficulty developing new hits in the years following the turn of the century.
Prior to the current season, UPN had found its greatest success with the wrestling spectacle "WWE Smackdown" and the most recent chapter in the "Star Trek" saga, "Star Trek: Enterprise." Last fall, the network garnered some of its best reviews in years when it debuted "Everybody Hates Chris," a semiautobiographical sitcom produced by comedian Chris Rock.
Ostroff is undaunted by the challenge of having to launch a new network after the work she and her staff put into UPN's reemergence this season.
"It will be rebranded, but with programming that's very familiar to those viewers we're trying to attract," she said.
Among WB and UPN shows expected to be part of CW's slate are the WB's "Smallville," "Gilmore Girls," "Supernatural" and "Reba," along with UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris," "Veronica Mars" and "Girlfriends."
By David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:22 PM ET Jan 24, 2006
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- UPN and the WB, two of the smaller networks on U.S. broadcast television, will cease operations this fall when parents CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment form a new network to be called the CW, CBS and Warner Bros. said Tuesday.
Under terms of the agreement, Warner Bros., a Time Warner Inc. (TWX) unit, and CBS (CBS) (CBS.A) will each own 50% of the new network.
Tribune Co.'s (TRB) broadcasting unit and CBS's UPN affiliates have each agreed to sign 10-year affiliation agreements with the new network. The stations include outlets in 20 of the top 25 television markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas and Detroit.
The CW will program 30 hours a week over seven days for its affiliated stations.
Time Warner's shares rose 18 cents, or 1 %, to close at $17.27, while CBS rose $1.08, or 4.2%, or $26.90. Acme Communications (ACME), owner of eight WB affiliates, rose 15% to close at $4.07. Tribune declined 25 cents, or nearly 1%, to $29.65.
"With this move, we will be creating a viable entity, one well-equipped to compete, thrive and serve all our many publics in this multichannel media universe," said Les Moonves, chief executive of CBS, in a statement.
Dawn Ostroff, currently president of UPN, will serve as president of entertainment at the CW, while John Matta, currently the WB's chief operating officer, will take on that same role at the new venture.
Like all networks, the WB and UPN are forced to react to increasing fragmentation of the media landscape. Not only has the long-awaited "500-channel universe" come to cable and satellite, but video on demand, on various platforms, has given people more control than ever over how, when and where they watch television.
Against that backdrop, Ostroff told MarketWatch the deal was driven by a desire to give 18- to 34-year-old viewers a one-stop venue to find a certain brand of entertainment, regardless of how it will be delivered.
"There's been a lot going on in the industry, just in terms of different talk about new technology, a lot of new ideas for distribution," she said.
"I think this is going to be a network that is very well supported, both technologically, in terms of different kinds of deals that are going to be made, and production," Ostroff went on. "There's just a lot of opportunity all around and it made sense, given where we are in the industry right now."
The CW will be able to draw from the production resources of Warner Bros. Television and Paramount Television, both powerhouses in the industry.
Under Moonves, CBS is being very aggressive in using new technology to reach its viewers in different ways. In November, for instance, the company forged a deal with cable operator Comcast Corp. (CMCSK) to make four of its most popular shows, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race," available on demand as soon as midnight following their broadcast on CBS owned-and-operated stations, for 99 cents per episode.
In September, UPN teamed up with search giant Google Inc. (GOOG) to offer video streams of "Everybody Hates Chris" episodes.
While new distribution methods could ultimately play a major role in the CW story, the network is counting heavily on traditional distribution. "It makes sense to have an affiliate group as strong as Tribune, along with the CBS-owned stations, which will make up about 48% of the country," Ostroff said.
She added that the new network hasn't held discussions with advertisers yet. "But I can't imagine that they wouldn't be very excited about the prospect of having a fifth network that's clearly going after a specific demographic, instead of splitting it between two different networks," she said.
The move is an acknowledgment that there aren't enough viewers to "support two networks that are kind of targeting somewhat similar audiences," said James Von Schilling, TV historian and professor of English at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa.
WB and UPN were both founded in 1995. Each network tried to find their early audience by going after ethnic audiences -- the WB with programs such as "The Wayans Brothers" and "The Parent 'Hood," and UPN with "Moesha" and others.
Later in the 1990s, the WB hit its stride with dramas that had strong appeal to teenage girls and young women, such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Dawson's Creek," "Seventh Heaven" and "Felicity." However, as these shows lost steam, the network had more difficulty developing new hits in the years following the turn of the century.
Prior to the current season, UPN had found its greatest success with the wrestling spectacle "WWE Smackdown" and the most recent chapter in the "Star Trek" saga, "Star Trek: Enterprise." Last fall, the network garnered some of its best reviews in years when it debuted "Everybody Hates Chris," a semiautobiographical sitcom produced by comedian Chris Rock.
Ostroff is undaunted by the challenge of having to launch a new network after the work she and her staff put into UPN's reemergence this season.
"It will be rebranded, but with programming that's very familiar to those viewers we're trying to attract," she said.
Among WB and UPN shows expected to be part of CW's slate are the WB's "Smallville," "Gilmore Girls," "Supernatural" and "Reba," along with UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris," "Veronica Mars" and "Girlfriends."
Brokeback Pressroom
Last night I slept poorly because I fell asleep with the radio on, and they were talking about ghosts and shadow people. I woke three times thinking I heard something moving in my bedroom, only to discover it was the wind outside making the noises. Finally turned the radio off at 3:30 this morning, and it seemed that I only closed my eyes and my alarm was going off.
I have never seen a ghost, and I'm not looking forward to the experience either.
But, my four daughters have seen shadow people in our home, a man holding a young boys hand, and entering the bedroom next to my room. My two sons and I have not seen a thing. The shadow man has also peeked at the girls when they were in the bath or shower.
I mentioned this story to many of my friends and was told to say prayers and burn sage in every room of the house. After burning the sage and saying many prayers, the girls have not seen a thing since.
Has anyone else ever heard of or seen shadow people? Either share your story here, or drop me an email.
Thanks,
Ed
I have never seen a ghost, and I'm not looking forward to the experience either.
But, my four daughters have seen shadow people in our home, a man holding a young boys hand, and entering the bedroom next to my room. My two sons and I have not seen a thing. The shadow man has also peeked at the girls when they were in the bath or shower.
I mentioned this story to many of my friends and was told to say prayers and burn sage in every room of the house. After burning the sage and saying many prayers, the girls have not seen a thing since.
Has anyone else ever heard of or seen shadow people? Either share your story here, or drop me an email.
Thanks,
Ed
Beautiful Weather
I haven't been posting much, or spending much time on the internet at all, I've been too busy enjoying this great weather. Yes, as Ed posted, it has been a bit windy lately, but at least it hasn't been raining. Well, I'm off to run a few errands, and then I'm going to do a little yard work. I might even fire up the barbeque later, grill some carne asada, and drink a few beers while I'm cooking(I believe it's mandatory, isn't it?).
Internet Connection Lost
For those of you not living in the Los Angeles area, we have had some strong winds the past two nights, and I lost my Internet connection at 10:30 PM last night, could be from all the trees down in my area?
I needed to get into bed early anyway, so it was a positive loss.
My backyard is a total mess from our two palm trees, may have to get the ladder out and trim the palms this morning.
Time for a quick shower and then off to the children's schools.
Ed
I needed to get into bed early anyway, so it was a positive loss.
My backyard is a total mess from our two palm trees, may have to get the ladder out and trim the palms this morning.
Time for a quick shower and then off to the children's schools.
Ed
Monday, January 23, 2006
Profits before People
As American companies layoff workers and close plants, the reaction from Wall Street is generally a positive one, and the stock rises on speculation of higher profits. This so far has not been the case with the Tribune Company, as the stock hit a new fifty-two week low this morning of $29.55.
Ford Motor Company has announced just a few minutes ago that they will be closing four plants, and their stock should be showing a move in the plus column the next few weeks.
This trend across the country has a large impact on the buying power of the working class, not to mention the effect to union contracts; the union agreements are usually voided.
Are we headed for a two-class system, as we see in third world countries?
Stay Positive,
Eddie
Ford Motor Company has announced just a few minutes ago that they will be closing four plants, and their stock should be showing a move in the plus column the next few weeks.
This trend across the country has a large impact on the buying power of the working class, not to mention the effect to union contracts; the union agreements are usually voided.
Are we headed for a two-class system, as we see in third world countries?
Stay Positive,
Eddie
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Things Are Getting Better
We did pretty well on the day shift at the Olympic facility today, the press runs were concluded on time with minimal crew overtime. Don't get me wrong, I like the extra pay we get for working OT as much as the next guy, but too much of a good thing.......well you know. When you stop to think about it, we really accomplish quite an amazing task on the Saturday day shift, printing somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 million papers(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), and doing it in what is basically one expanded shift. That's quite a testament to the abilities and professional conduct of our press people, post press employees, service shops; in short, everyone involved in producing our product. As time goes on we will become more acclimated to our new work loads and production schedules, and as we do we will continue to improve our performance.
Trying Times for Tribune Employees
Tribune stock closed at $30.05 yesterday, matching a fifty-two week low, I hope this downward trend does not continue on Monday.
The Olympic Facility is at capacity from Thursday morning through Sunday morning, with everyone getting into the rhythm of new new zone runs and additional newspapers to produce. One day soon this will be a memory, as Black Monday (December 5th, 2005) is now becoming a memory.
I think the pizza I had brought into the pressroom yesterday was something I may do again, my crew produced 191,000 copies of today's newspaper, took a thirty minute lunch, and had the press completely ready for the 10:30 PM crew.
Getting off the printing presses for thirty minutes refreshing the crew, the constant noise of the presses wears the workers out. These are trying times, but lets not forget, people will burn out and be less productive when not allowed to escape for a few minutes.
I will be driving with the top down on my car this morning, the weather is fantastic today in San Dimas.
Enjoy your day everyone,
Eddie
The Olympic Facility is at capacity from Thursday morning through Sunday morning, with everyone getting into the rhythm of new new zone runs and additional newspapers to produce. One day soon this will be a memory, as Black Monday (December 5th, 2005) is now becoming a memory.
I think the pizza I had brought into the pressroom yesterday was something I may do again, my crew produced 191,000 copies of today's newspaper, took a thirty minute lunch, and had the press completely ready for the 10:30 PM crew.
Getting off the printing presses for thirty minutes refreshing the crew, the constant noise of the presses wears the workers out. These are trying times, but lets not forget, people will burn out and be less productive when not allowed to escape for a few minutes.
I will be driving with the top down on my car this morning, the weather is fantastic today in San Dimas.
Enjoy your day everyone,
Eddie
Friday, January 20, 2006
Washington Post to rethink blog comments
By Frank Barnako, MarketWatch
Last Update: 1:07 PM ET Jan 20, 2006
Editors at the Washington Post (WPO) are inviting "thoughtful feedback" about how to manage online comments to its Web logs.
Jim Brady, the executive editor, explained that the option for comments on Post.blog, dedicated to sharing news by and about the Post, have been turned off. He said as many as 200 messages containing profanity, threats or hate speech piled in after a blog column was published about the financial dealings of Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist. Editors could not keep the board clean, according to Brady.
"We're not giving up on the concept of having a healthy public dialogue with our readers. But we need to think more carefully about how we do it," he said.
A similar problem with readers' responses sank an effort by the Los Angeles Times' (TRB) to invite critiques and comments on its editorials online.
The Post's problem this week followed other articles about the freedom being found by the newspaper's columnists who are writing online, including Marc Fisher and Joel Achenbach. Comments are still open on their blogs.
Last Update: 1:07 PM ET Jan 20, 2006
Editors at the Washington Post (WPO) are inviting "thoughtful feedback" about how to manage online comments to its Web logs.
Jim Brady, the executive editor, explained that the option for comments on Post.blog, dedicated to sharing news by and about the Post, have been turned off. He said as many as 200 messages containing profanity, threats or hate speech piled in after a blog column was published about the financial dealings of Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist. Editors could not keep the board clean, according to Brady.
"We're not giving up on the concept of having a healthy public dialogue with our readers. But we need to think more carefully about how we do it," he said.
A similar problem with readers' responses sank an effort by the Los Angeles Times' (TRB) to invite critiques and comments on its editorials online.
The Post's problem this week followed other articles about the freedom being found by the newspaper's columnists who are writing online, including Marc Fisher and Joel Achenbach. Comments are still open on their blogs.
Out With The Old, In With The New
No, I'm not referring to personnel changes at the Los Angeles Times Operations Departments, this is regarding the deletion of the old web page. With the new page taking enough of my free time, I do not have time to manage two pages, so the old page was razed this morning. With over sixteen thousand hits, the old page was fun, but had a drab look to it.
The new page will be going through changes as often as warranted. I may remove the links at the left side of the page, looks very busy and cluttered to me.
I will be adding several additional bloggers, for diversity and different opinions other than my own, in the next few weeks.
Generating Cash For Our Club
Sent an email to the Los Angeles Times Circulation Department last Friday regarding adding a link for subscribing to the newspaper from my page. For some odd reason the email bounced back last night, with the address calendarlive, I guess the wrong link was clicked when I was at the circulation page for the newspaper? Most bounced email's are returned within minutes of sending, if the email account is not found. Being the novice computer user, I'll send a carbon copy to myself next time, to be sure I have entered the correct address. My idea is a win-win situation for all concerned; generate subscriptions for the newspapers and cash for every subscription to our club's bank account.
Back at Work
I'm having pizza and soda delivered to my crew at 6:30 PM today, just incase we have a repeat of last Friday. As the press operator I'm stuck in the middle of keeping my supervisors happy, and my crew happy. It's a balancing act, that at times, throw's me off balance.
Computer Problems
Appears my Compaq mouse has wore out, I took the mouse apart yesterday, and removed large amounts of a black material from the internal moving parts. But, my horizontal movements are still not moving smoothly, so I may have to break out the debit card and purchase a new mouse today at Fry's. I'm considering a trackball or wireless mouse at the moment, not sure what I will buy yet?
TGIF
Verizon Eddie
The new page will be going through changes as often as warranted. I may remove the links at the left side of the page, looks very busy and cluttered to me.
I will be adding several additional bloggers, for diversity and different opinions other than my own, in the next few weeks.
Generating Cash For Our Club
Sent an email to the Los Angeles Times Circulation Department last Friday regarding adding a link for subscribing to the newspaper from my page. For some odd reason the email bounced back last night, with the address calendarlive, I guess the wrong link was clicked when I was at the circulation page for the newspaper? Most bounced email's are returned within minutes of sending, if the email account is not found. Being the novice computer user, I'll send a carbon copy to myself next time, to be sure I have entered the correct address. My idea is a win-win situation for all concerned; generate subscriptions for the newspapers and cash for every subscription to our club's bank account.
Back at Work
I'm having pizza and soda delivered to my crew at 6:30 PM today, just incase we have a repeat of last Friday. As the press operator I'm stuck in the middle of keeping my supervisors happy, and my crew happy. It's a balancing act, that at times, throw's me off balance.
Computer Problems
Appears my Compaq mouse has wore out, I took the mouse apart yesterday, and removed large amounts of a black material from the internal moving parts. But, my horizontal movements are still not moving smoothly, so I may have to break out the debit card and purchase a new mouse today at Fry's. I'm considering a trackball or wireless mouse at the moment, not sure what I will buy yet?
TGIF
Verizon Eddie
Thursday, January 19, 2006
We're Headed in the Right Direction
Last year it was so stressful coming to work everyday, not knowing how our presses would run or not run?
The past two weeks have actually been fun, why is that?
Are we moving away from pointing blame at the press operators, and actually going after the real problems that either make it difficult or impossible to make our goals?
One of our new shift-supervisors questioned the press operator's, at our afternoon meeting, how equipment in need of repairs was reported? And then explained how equipment in need of repairs was reported to the service shops at his former facility, they used a paper form. I would take this a step further, add a special field to the EOR (electronic operator report) that could be filled in, to report problems.
Exchanged email with my former supervisor, and he stated his blood pressure has dropped, lost six pounds, feels much better, and is full of energy, now that he works at the O.C. Plant. Maybe we should have all transferred to the Orange County Times as well? I'm wondering what was causing him so much stress at the Olympic Facility?
What really shook us today was the asking of our opinions on what would be a reasonable waste goal by the pressroom supervisors. Our opinions have not meant much the past few years, even though we're running the presses, and we know why waste is generated.
I feel we are finally headed in the right direction at Olympic.
Eddie
The past two weeks have actually been fun, why is that?
Are we moving away from pointing blame at the press operators, and actually going after the real problems that either make it difficult or impossible to make our goals?
One of our new shift-supervisors questioned the press operator's, at our afternoon meeting, how equipment in need of repairs was reported? And then explained how equipment in need of repairs was reported to the service shops at his former facility, they used a paper form. I would take this a step further, add a special field to the EOR (electronic operator report) that could be filled in, to report problems.
Exchanged email with my former supervisor, and he stated his blood pressure has dropped, lost six pounds, feels much better, and is full of energy, now that he works at the O.C. Plant. Maybe we should have all transferred to the Orange County Times as well? I'm wondering what was causing him so much stress at the Olympic Facility?
What really shook us today was the asking of our opinions on what would be a reasonable waste goal by the pressroom supervisors. Our opinions have not meant much the past few years, even though we're running the presses, and we know why waste is generated.
I feel we are finally headed in the right direction at Olympic.
Eddie
A Good Day
We got our runs off on time today, even though we had to run two completely different runs on the same press, and even got out to lunch on time; I call that a good day.
Things are getting easier as we learn the "eccentricities" of the various presses here at Olympic, each press has it's own distinct characteristics. Even more importantly, we're getting used to our new crews. The crew I'm on is really starting to pull together, they're a great group of people with many years of pressroom experience, and we're getting better at working together each day.
In closing, I'd like to say thanks to all the Olympic "veterans" who have lent a helping hand to ease our transition to our new working environment, it's been much appreciated.
Things are getting easier as we learn the "eccentricities" of the various presses here at Olympic, each press has it's own distinct characteristics. Even more importantly, we're getting used to our new crews. The crew I'm on is really starting to pull together, they're a great group of people with many years of pressroom experience, and we're getting better at working together each day.
In closing, I'd like to say thanks to all the Olympic "veterans" who have lent a helping hand to ease our transition to our new working environment, it's been much appreciated.
Tribune Revenues Down 6.1% in December
Publishing Advertising Revenues Down 4.5%; Television Revenues Down 10.1%
Jan 19, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Tribune Company (TRB) today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for period 12, ended Dec. 25, 2005. Consolidated revenues for the period were $539 million, down 6.1 percent from last year's $574 million.
Publishing revenues in December were $413 million compared to last year's $431 million; the timing of the Christmas holiday on Sunday and the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in South Florida accounted for about $6 million of the decline. Advertising revenues decreased 4.5 percent to $333 million, compared with $349 million in December 2004. -- Retail advertising revenues decreased 5.2 percent as weakness in the
department store, electronics, food and drug and furniture/home
furnishings categories were partially offset by increases in the
personal services and hardware/home improvement categories. Preprint
revenues, which are principally included in retail, were down 4.1
percent, due primarily to volume declines at Newsday.
-- National advertising revenues declined 9.6 percent, due largely to
declines at the Los Angeles Times. Movie, technology and wireless
categories were down, partially offset by gains in the health care and
package goods categories.
-- Classified advertising revenues rose 2.5 percent due to gains in help
wanted and real estate, which rose 13 percent and 21 percent,
respectively. Automotive classified advertising fell 16 percent.
Interactive revenues, which are primarily included in classified, were
$15 million, up 33 percent, due to strength in all categories.
Circulation revenues were down 3.5 percent primarily due to volume declines at most of the company's newspapers and selectively higher discounting.
Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues in December decreased 11.9 percent to $126 million, compared with $143 million last year. Television revenues declined 10.1 percent as advertising revenue remains soft in most markets. Weakness in telecom, automotive and food was partially offset by increases in the financial and education categories. Radio/entertainment revenues decreased 37.3 percent primarily due to lower syndication revenues at Tribune Entertainment.
This press release contains certain comments or forward-looking statements that are based largely on the Company's current expectations and are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. Such comments and statements should be understood in the context of Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the most current annual 10-K report and quarterly 10-Q report, which contain a discussion of various factors that may affect the company's business or financial results. These factors could cause actual future performance to differ materially from current expectations. Tribune Company is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers. The Company's next 10-K report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates to the information included in this release.
TRIBUNE (TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday, plus a wide range of targeted publications such as Spanish-language Hoy. The company's broadcasting group operates 26 television stations, Superstation WGN 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.
TRIBUNE COMPANY SUMMARY OF REVENUES (Unaudited)
For Period 12 Ended December 25, 2005
(In thousands)
Period 12 (5 weeks)
2005 2004 %
---------- ---------- ---
Publishing
----------
Advertising
Retail $ 166,216 $ 175,415 (5.2)
National 81,575 90,270 (9.6)
Classified 85,434 83,323 2.5
---------- ----------
Sub-Total 333,225 349,008 (4.5)
Circulation 56,418 58,479 (3.5)
Other 23,371 23,694 (1.4)
---------- ----------
Segment Total (A) 413,014 431,181 (4.2)
---------- ----------
Broadcasting &
Entertainment
--------------
Television 119,920 133,383 (10.1)
Radio/Entertainment 6,056 9,661 (37.3)
---------- ----------
Segment Total 125,976 143,044 (11.9)
---------- ----------
Consolidated Revenues $ 538,990 $ 574,225 (6.1)
========== ==========
(A) Publishing advertising and other revenues for 2004 have been
reclassified to conform with the 2005 presentation. There was no
effect on total revenues.
TRIBUNE COMPANY SUMMARY OF NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING VOLUME
(Unaudited)(A)
For Period 12 Ended December 25, 2005
(In thousands)
Period 12 (5 weeks)
2005 2004 %
---------- ---------- ---
Full Run
--------
L.A. Times 266 309 (13.9)
Chicago Tribune 211 217 (2.8)
Newsday 138 147 (6.1)
Other Daily Newspapers (B) 1,393 1,387 0.4
---------- ----------
Total 2,008 2,060 (2.5)
========== ==========
Part Run
--------
L.A. Times 460 531 (13.4)
Chicago Tribune 540 542 (0.4)
Newsday 163 180 (9.4)
Other Daily Newspapers (B) 586 600 (2.3)
---------- ----------
Total 1,749 1,853 (5.6)
========== ==========
Total Advertising Inches
------------------------
Full Run
Retail 773 820 (5.7)
National 401 433 (7.4)
Classified 834 807 3.3
---------- ----------
Sub-Total 2,008 2,060 (2.5)
Part Run 1,749 1,853 (5.6)
---------- ----------
Total 3,757 3,913 (4.0)
========== ==========
Preprint Pieces
---------------
L.A. Times 511,690 484,542 5.6
Chicago Tribune 494,259 488,446 1.2
Newsday 268,037 361,946 (25.9)
Other Daily Newspapers (B) 528,104 554,836 (4.8)
---------- ----------
Total 1,802,090 1,889,770 (4.6)
========== ==========
(A) Volume for 2004 has been modified to conform with the 2005
presentation. Volume is based on preliminary internal data, which may
be updated in subsequent reports. Advertising volume is presented
only for daily newspapers.
(B) Other daily newspapers include The Baltimore Sun, South Florida Sun-
Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Morning Call,
Daily Press, The Advocate, Greenwich Time, Hoy, New York, Hoy, Chicago
and Hoy, Los Angeles.
SOURCE Tribune Company
Jan 19, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Tribune Company (TRB) today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for period 12, ended Dec. 25, 2005. Consolidated revenues for the period were $539 million, down 6.1 percent from last year's $574 million.
Publishing revenues in December were $413 million compared to last year's $431 million; the timing of the Christmas holiday on Sunday and the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in South Florida accounted for about $6 million of the decline. Advertising revenues decreased 4.5 percent to $333 million, compared with $349 million in December 2004. -- Retail advertising revenues decreased 5.2 percent as weakness in the
department store, electronics, food and drug and furniture/home
furnishings categories were partially offset by increases in the
personal services and hardware/home improvement categories. Preprint
revenues, which are principally included in retail, were down 4.1
percent, due primarily to volume declines at Newsday.
-- National advertising revenues declined 9.6 percent, due largely to
declines at the Los Angeles Times. Movie, technology and wireless
categories were down, partially offset by gains in the health care and
package goods categories.
-- Classified advertising revenues rose 2.5 percent due to gains in help
wanted and real estate, which rose 13 percent and 21 percent,
respectively. Automotive classified advertising fell 16 percent.
Interactive revenues, which are primarily included in classified, were
$15 million, up 33 percent, due to strength in all categories.
Circulation revenues were down 3.5 percent primarily due to volume declines at most of the company's newspapers and selectively higher discounting.
Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues in December decreased 11.9 percent to $126 million, compared with $143 million last year. Television revenues declined 10.1 percent as advertising revenue remains soft in most markets. Weakness in telecom, automotive and food was partially offset by increases in the financial and education categories. Radio/entertainment revenues decreased 37.3 percent primarily due to lower syndication revenues at Tribune Entertainment.
This press release contains certain comments or forward-looking statements that are based largely on the Company's current expectations and are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. Such comments and statements should be understood in the context of Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the most current annual 10-K report and quarterly 10-Q report, which contain a discussion of various factors that may affect the company's business or financial results. These factors could cause actual future performance to differ materially from current expectations. Tribune Company is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers. The Company's next 10-K report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates to the information included in this release.
TRIBUNE (TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday, plus a wide range of targeted publications such as Spanish-language Hoy. The company's broadcasting group operates 26 television stations, Superstation WGN 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.
TRIBUNE COMPANY SUMMARY OF REVENUES (Unaudited)
For Period 12 Ended December 25, 2005
(In thousands)
Period 12 (5 weeks)
2005 2004 %
---------- ---------- ---
Publishing
----------
Advertising
Retail $ 166,216 $ 175,415 (5.2)
National 81,575 90,270 (9.6)
Classified 85,434 83,323 2.5
---------- ----------
Sub-Total 333,225 349,008 (4.5)
Circulation 56,418 58,479 (3.5)
Other 23,371 23,694 (1.4)
---------- ----------
Segment Total (A) 413,014 431,181 (4.2)
---------- ----------
Broadcasting &
Entertainment
--------------
Television 119,920 133,383 (10.1)
Radio/Entertainment 6,056 9,661 (37.3)
---------- ----------
Segment Total 125,976 143,044 (11.9)
---------- ----------
Consolidated Revenues $ 538,990 $ 574,225 (6.1)
========== ==========
(A) Publishing advertising and other revenues for 2004 have been
reclassified to conform with the 2005 presentation. There was no
effect on total revenues.
TRIBUNE COMPANY SUMMARY OF NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING VOLUME
(Unaudited)(A)
For Period 12 Ended December 25, 2005
(In thousands)
Period 12 (5 weeks)
2005 2004 %
---------- ---------- ---
Full Run
--------
L.A. Times 266 309 (13.9)
Chicago Tribune 211 217 (2.8)
Newsday 138 147 (6.1)
Other Daily Newspapers (B) 1,393 1,387 0.4
---------- ----------
Total 2,008 2,060 (2.5)
========== ==========
Part Run
--------
L.A. Times 460 531 (13.4)
Chicago Tribune 540 542 (0.4)
Newsday 163 180 (9.4)
Other Daily Newspapers (B) 586 600 (2.3)
---------- ----------
Total 1,749 1,853 (5.6)
========== ==========
Total Advertising Inches
------------------------
Full Run
Retail 773 820 (5.7)
National 401 433 (7.4)
Classified 834 807 3.3
---------- ----------
Sub-Total 2,008 2,060 (2.5)
Part Run 1,749 1,853 (5.6)
---------- ----------
Total 3,757 3,913 (4.0)
========== ==========
Preprint Pieces
---------------
L.A. Times 511,690 484,542 5.6
Chicago Tribune 494,259 488,446 1.2
Newsday 268,037 361,946 (25.9)
Other Daily Newspapers (B) 528,104 554,836 (4.8)
---------- ----------
Total 1,802,090 1,889,770 (4.6)
========== ==========
(A) Volume for 2004 has been modified to conform with the 2005
presentation. Volume is based on preliminary internal data, which may
be updated in subsequent reports. Advertising volume is presented
only for daily newspapers.
(B) Other daily newspapers include The Baltimore Sun, South Florida Sun-
Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Morning Call,
Daily Press, The Advocate, Greenwich Time, Hoy, New York, Hoy, Chicago
and Hoy, Los Angeles.
SOURCE Tribune Company
How Do I Use The New Blog?
This is a common question for users unfamiliar with this software, here are a few tips.
To respond to a post, click on comments, write your message, then click on how you would like to been seen by other users. Fill in the word verification, and click on post your message.
To read previous messages at the left side of the posted messages, just click on the message title.
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And lastly, to view the archives just click on the month you would like to read.
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, yesterday is gone. (Fleetwood Mac)
Eddie
To respond to a post, click on comments, write your message, then click on how you would like to been seen by other users. Fill in the word verification, and click on post your message.
To read previous messages at the left side of the posted messages, just click on the message title.
At the top of the blog page you can search for anything that might be written on a certain subject within this blog.
And lastly, to view the archives just click on the month you would like to read.
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, yesterday is gone. (Fleetwood Mac)
Eddie
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Is Traffic Getting Better in Los Angeles?
Last night I mentioned how traffic on the Los Angeles Freeway system is getting worse as every day passes, and maybe I brought bad karma my way. I was busy with several projects at home this morning, and left home for work twenty minutes later than usual. And naturally the San Gabriel Freeway (605) had two lanes closed on the South bound side that I was traveling on to work.
I read the freeway sign that stated there was a backup at Lower Azusa, and for a moment thought of taking the 210 Freeway to the 2 Freeway, but hoping the sign had not been updated I took the shortest path to work, and was I ever in error by doing so.
As I sat there watching the clock in my car move quickly across the face, I pondered calling work to let them know I might be arriving a little late. But then, the freeway started moving, and I somehow made it to work ontime once again.
I know my co-workers go through the same stress as we come from all parts of Southern California to downtown Los Angeles.
Tomorrow I will leave for work much earlier than today.
Eddie
Another Tough Day
Today was just another tough day at the Times, we walked on to a press that hadn't been run since Saturday. There was no paper in the press, a couple of dozen safe buttons pushed in around the press, and the roller crew was putting the finishing touch on their job. Things went down hill from there. We had trouble running the press up for black board so we ended up not going to lunch as we just about had a plate starter by the time we were through stripping the old plates off. Fortunately, once we worked all the bugs out of the press, we ran great. Tomorrow will be a better day.
To Eat or Not to Eat..That is the Question?
Last Friday my crew worked from 2:30 PM till 10:45 PM without a break, and without a lunch. This will not occur again this Friday, we are all going to lunch.
If we are so far behind, then pre-shift my crew to 1:00 PM, so we can get a lunch break, and pay the overtime at the end of the shift.
The way our Friday work hours are planned, we will get a paid lunch (working more than five hours without a lunch break) every Friday.
With all the brain power we have in the front offices, we can come up with something better than what we currently have.
Ed
If we are so far behind, then pre-shift my crew to 1:00 PM, so we can get a lunch break, and pay the overtime at the end of the shift.
The way our Friday work hours are planned, we will get a paid lunch (working more than five hours without a lunch break) every Friday.
With all the brain power we have in the front offices, we can come up with something better than what we currently have.
Ed
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
California Drivers
As I inched my way along the Pomona Freeway tonight, I watched as the car in front of me tried for several minutes to get into the right lane. No one wanted to allow this driver into their personal space, I guess they were all in a hurry to get home?
For those of you not living in a major city, traffic in Los Angeles happens at all hours, so we have to be prepared to wait. I myself leave my home ninety minutes before my shift starts, just hoping I will not be delayed too long on this trip?
And when there is no traffic, I must fight my way through the pallet companies behind our building. Just last month, I was trapped between trucks unloading their pallets. I could not back up, or move forward. I would have left my car where it was, but I was blocking a driveway, and walked to work. After twenty minutes of waiting, I called in to work and explained my situation. Luckily, I made it to work on time, with two minutes to spare.
I dislike traffic, but on the way home I have my cell phone and thirty CD's of music to make the trip somewhat pleasent. The train is an alternative to some, not newspaper printers, we're never quite sure what time we may be leaving work? And the last train out of Union Station for San Dimas leaves at 8:50 PM. Now if I were to miss that train, God only knows how long it would take to get home by bus?
Los Angeles is a fun city to visit, just too many people here.
Keep Smiling,
Edward
For those of you not living in a major city, traffic in Los Angeles happens at all hours, so we have to be prepared to wait. I myself leave my home ninety minutes before my shift starts, just hoping I will not be delayed too long on this trip?
And when there is no traffic, I must fight my way through the pallet companies behind our building. Just last month, I was trapped between trucks unloading their pallets. I could not back up, or move forward. I would have left my car where it was, but I was blocking a driveway, and walked to work. After twenty minutes of waiting, I called in to work and explained my situation. Luckily, I made it to work on time, with two minutes to spare.
I dislike traffic, but on the way home I have my cell phone and thirty CD's of music to make the trip somewhat pleasent. The train is an alternative to some, not newspaper printers, we're never quite sure what time we may be leaving work? And the last train out of Union Station for San Dimas leaves at 8:50 PM. Now if I were to miss that train, God only knows how long it would take to get home by bus?
Los Angeles is a fun city to visit, just too many people here.
Keep Smiling,
Edward
Coming Together
Seems the new crews are working out better than expected at the Oly Facility, the monday first daily set a new record off time, for a few crews.
Filed under "When it rains it pours". One of our new operators at Oly had a tough week his first week at Oly, with many web breaks and high waste. To make matters worse, after arriving home Friday night, the tree in front of his house fell onto his car. Luckily, he was not in the car at the time.
Filed under "When it rains it pours". One of our new operators at Oly had a tough week his first week at Oly, with many web breaks and high waste. To make matters worse, after arriving home Friday night, the tree in front of his house fell onto his car. Luckily, he was not in the car at the time.
Happy Birthday Martin Luther King
Found out today that our old friend Robert (Bob) Ries passed away on January 1st, 2006. I will call his daughter tomorrow.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Testing from remote location
I'm happy to say I have finally found the glitch that was causing so many problems. The path was set incorrectly, so the blog was being sent to my root directory, I mean folder, making it useless.
This is a test from a location far from home, just wondering if this is running correctly?
The links will be running from the blog page soon.
Now to see if this can be read?
Have a great day,
Eddie
This is a test from a location far from home, just wondering if this is running correctly?
The links will be running from the blog page soon.
Now to see if this can be read?
Have a great day,
Eddie
Testing and more testing
I have been trying to find out why this new program is not being published into the correct folder, for several days now? I'm not sure if the changes in the path I have made are correctly set yet, so I must make a change, then publish, and with fingers crossed, visit my blog and hope I can read my test message?
Lets see what happens with this latest test?
Eddie
Lets see what happens with this latest test?
Eddie