Thought for Today

Gratitude can change your attitude about your life.

Monday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

California Community News

• The Chicago Tribune - Director History
• Michael Jackson: Front Pages - Jour Mo2
• Phillip Anschutz media moves - Kevin Roderick
• First, kill the lawyers – before they kill the news - Jeff Jarvis
• L.A. Times Columnist Steve Lopez was in town Friday - Two Trees
• Steve Lopez to Other Columnists: 'Leave Your Desks' - Tina Dupuy
• Tighter copyright law could save newspapers - Newspaper Project
• Readers Staying Loyal Amid Cutbacks - Newspaper Death Watch
• For the Seattle Times Co., relief is not spelled M-A-I-N-E - Crosscut
• When There's No Print Edition, Do Readers Flock to the Web? - E&P

Thought for Today

You bring out the best in yourself by looking for the best in others.

Thought of the Day

A moment of patience in a moment of anger can help us avoid a thousand moments of sorrow.

New daily readership record at LATimes.com

From: Artley, Meredith
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 4:17 PM
To: yyeditall
Subject: New daily readership record

Colleagues – our world-class coverage of Michael Jackson’s untimely death drew more than 12 million page views to the site yesterday. That beats our previous record of 10.2 million, set the day after the presidential election.

Not surprisingly, our homepage was at the top of the list. Next up was LA Now – our center of gravity as the news first broke, with 1.6 million page views, a new record for blogs.

Soon after the story broke, “LA Times” appeared as the most searched term on Twitter.

Our stories and posts dominated Google News for much of the day, presumably introducing some new readers to our site. And “la times” was among the top 10 terms of Google Trends.

All of this underlines that our quick, insightful coverage was on the minds and at the fingertips of more readers than ever before.

Meredith Artley
Executive Editor, LATimes.com

SOURCE: Kevin Roderick

MAN IN THE MIRROR

When I first listened to these lyrics, I realized that Michael was someone whom knew just what it took to make this world a better place. We need to honor his talent and learn to make that change. RIP

Found: Dead Body of 2-Year Old Jada Justice; Her Killers in Custody

Entire story can be viewed at Electronic Village

Michael Jackson R.I.P.

This is my favorite Michael Jackson song Black & White, posted in memory of Michael. Most Jackson videos on YouTube have embedding removed, if this video is removed click on title to be redirected to view from original page.

Record Online Traffic at LATimes.com

My attempts at leaving a comment regarding the passing of Michael Jackson at the Los Angeles Times Blog LA NOW, have failed. Logging onto the LA Times web site is extremely slow as traffic to the site is most likely setting a new record today? Below is the error message I received several times when I attempted to post my comment.

Your comment could not be posted. Error type: undefined
ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved

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While trying to retrieve the URL: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.services/json-rpc

The following error was encountered:

Socket Failure
The system returned:

(98) Address already in useSquid is unable to create a TCP socket, presumably due to excessive load. Please retry your request.

Your cache administrator is webmaster.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Generated Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:40:32 GMT by oak-tp-squid002.sixapart.net (squid/2.6.STABLE18)

Michael Jackson in Hospital via Twitter

@TJSullivanLA Michael Jackson just rushed to an LA hospital in cardiac arrest ... TMZ reporting ... http://bit.ly/y0xDq

@LATimescitydesk Pop star Michael Jackson has been rushed to a hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. More soon...

Thought of the Day

It takes more than talent and hard work to be successful. It also takes integrity.

Tribune Media Services Announces Video Content Syndication

Tribune Media Services (TMS) and eGuiders Announce Internet Video Content Syndication Partnership

TMS to Syndicate Curated Video Applications Featuring Original Online Videos Selected and Reviewed by eGuiders' Team of Experts and Celebrities

CHICAGO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribune Media Services, Inc. (TMS) and eGuiders, LLC today announced a syndication partnership in which TMS will distribute eGuiders' Curated Video Applications to websites and networks in the United States and internationally. TMS is a leading domestic and international syndicator of content to print, online and mobile media companies. eGuiders is an innovative online video curation service and Web portal created by award-winning filmmaker and online pioneer Marc Ostrick and Columbia University film professor and producer Evangeline Morphos.

eGuiders' Curated Video Apps feature video content from YouTube, Hulu, Crackle and other popular video sources, curated by a team of "eGuiders," industry experts, who select and review their picks for the most interesting and entertaining online videos. In addition to the core team of eGuiders-which is made up of an array of traditional and new media professionals from filmmakers and producers to editors and designers - the community also features notable guest eGuiders, including John Landis (Animal House), Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara (King of Queens), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Willie Garson (Sex and the City), James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead), among many others. The Curated Video Apps can be customized by genre, including Pick of the Day, Animation, Comedy, Drama & Genre, Documentary/Non-Fiction, Music and Viral categories.

"eGuiders has developed the perfect approach to tapping into two hot business opportunities - a manageable window into the vast number of Internet videos in circulation and innovative, syndication-friendly video applications," said Steve Tippie, Vice President of Licensing and New Market Development for TMS. "By curating Internet videos into a high-quality collection of 'best of' picks, adding expert commentary and packaging them into an application that is very easy for publishers to implement, eGuiders has provided us with an excellent new syndication opportunity that we think publishers will love."

"We are thrilled to be partnering with TMS to help distribute our eGuiders video recommendations. They have a great infrastructure and team in place to make syndicating our app a success," said Marc Ostrick, CEO & Co-Founder of eGuiders.com.

eGuiders is one of several recent new market and product initiatives by TMS to provide compelling, name brand content to digital publishers who specialize in delivering content in unique formats and on new platforms to their users, including the TMS Branded Media Network partnership with Adify (www.tmsbrandedmedianetwork.com), the new Jumble iPhone app and the political commentary (Opinionated) and consumer and personal finance (CASH) magazines for Amazon's Kindle.

SOURCE: PR Newswire

Wednesday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

Los Angeles Times Photographer Al Seib has the Camera turned on him

• Swine flu reported at Washington Post - Politico
• Perez Hilton and the First Amendment - Tina Dupuy
• MMC Acquires Deadline Hollywood Daily - Nikki Finke
• Black ink! Star Tribune reports monthly profit - MinnPost
• 'Momma, Don't Take My Kodachrome Away' - Jour Mo2
• Here’s what I think is a pretty solid business tip - Jeff Jarvis
• Anti-gay infomercial airs in Los Angeles market - L. A. Metblogs
• Dennis FitzSimons named to Media General board - Gary Scott
• New Union-Tribune Owners Unloading Property - Voice of San Diego
• Globe Union Caves; Paper Primed For Sale - Newspaper Death Watch

Lakeesha Alert: 2-Year Old Jada Justice is Missing *

The Amber Alert system isn't working for our nubian toddler, Jada Justice. It is time to see if the Lakeesha Alert system can make a difference.

The search for a missing northwestern Indiana toddler has entered its second week as the FBI and police continue to investigate her disappearance.

Authorities say 2-year-old Jada Justice of Portage was apparently abducted from a car June 16 while her 18-year-old cousin who was baby sitting her went into a convenience store in Gary. The cousin was briefly held as a person of interest but has since been released.

Melissa Swiontek, Justice's mother, said, "I don't know. I don't know what to feel. I don't know. I feel there are so many speculations, there's so many things. I feel like I'm going to find her. I mean, I do feel like she can't be gone ... like this is not even happening."

Clothes worn at time of abduction: Jada was wearing an orange skirt, a white tank top with orange and green stripes, white sandals and purple underwear.

Circumstances: She was last seen on June 16, 2009. Jada may be with an adult companion. She was last seen wearing an orange skirt and a striped shirt.

Gary police are searching for a young girl who disappeared when a cousin who was taking care of her left the toddler alone in a car to get milk at a gas station.

Jada Justice, who turns three in August disappeared from the car at a gas station near the intersection of East Ridge Road and Louisiana Street in Gary about 9:30 p.m.

Jada was in the back seat of the car when her cousin stopped at the gas station about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16. When the cousin returned to the car, Jada's car seat was still there, but Jada was missing.

Jada had been staying with her cousin temporarily, but was due to return to her mother on Saturday. No family member is involved in a custody dispute with the mother over Jada, and there's no reason to believe a family member may have taken her.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or Gary police Cmdr. Anthony Titus at (219) 881-1237, (219) 881-1229, (219) 881-1209 or (219) 881-1210.

SOURCE: Wayne Hicks

*UPDATE: This is a very very sad day! From Jemma Perrett on Facebook "Jada's dead.. why god why???????? lil girl so so precious, miss you baby girl! I cant stop crying WTF is wrong with this world?!! she was only a baby!! she was only 2!! R.I.P xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox"

Monday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

LAT Employee Wendy Weaver-Coleman with her Uncle Gilbert Shea retired pressman

• Dr. Enid V. Blaylock 1925-2009 - beFrank
• L.A. Times profiles Neda - Kevin Roderick
• The Evolution Of Online Journalism - Pandora
• June 22, 2009, News - Los Angeles Media Moves
• 24 Journalists &; Bloggers Arrested in Iran - Jour Mo2
• Media Suddenly Looks Like A Good Bet - New York Post
• Readers Want to Pay for News Online -- So Let Them - E&P
• Guild Strategy Undercut Globe Employees - Newspaper Death Watch
• Why 'Going Galt' Isn't the Solution for Newspapers - Newspaper Project
• Readers Are Spending Less Time On Top Newspaper Sites - Paid Content

Best wishes to ALL Fathers for a beautiful day of celebration. We celebrate you and petition you to begin/continue a positive legacy along to our future generations.

May you ALL be richly blessed on your special day!

Susan Paterno Speaks About the Future of Newspapers

Filmed for http://www.SBLocal.com - Craig Smith moderated a panel discussion on the future of journalism.

Here is Susan Paternos' (director of the journalism program at Chapman University) talk in its entirety.

She speaks of her News-Press Lawsuit and other things of interest to Santa Barbarans.

Atttended by: Jerry Roberts, former San Francisco Chronicle managing editor and former Santa Barbara News-Press editor and publisher; Nick Welsh, editor and reporter for the Santa Barbara Independent; James Rainey, media columnist for the Los Angeles Times; and Dick Flacks, UC Santa Barbara professor emeritus of sociology, radio host and community activist.

Don Stevens R.I.P.

Another retiree from the old Los Angeles Times Press room, which was located at Times Mirror Square, has passed away this morning. Don Stevens, who was known as Lightning to his press room colleagues has left us this morning.

Additional information to be posted as it becomes available.

HAPPY JUNETEENTH!

The discussion about the African American flag created by UNIA and Marcus Garvey reminded me of other dates on the calendar that impact African Americans differently than others in this country. For example, I wonder every year on the birthday of our nation ...why do Blacks celebrate July 4th?


It is historically accurate to recall that nothing about Independence Day back in 1776 brought a smile to the people of African descent living in America. White folks were ecstatic to overturn the yoke of the monarchy ... but, they weren't so ecstatic that they let go of the whips and chains used to enslave African Americans. Just a random thought floating thru the village today.

On the other hand, African Americans in most of the country do take time on Juneteenth to celebrate independence.

What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that all slaves were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger's regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the slave masters to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or neither could be true. For whatever the reason, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

Click here to learn more about Juneteenth if you have time/inclination. We encourage you to share more on this aspect of Ourstory as part of the Juneteenth 2008 celebration.

For now, I encourage you to share your comments on the significance of either June 19th or July 4th in your part of the diaspora? What say u?



SOURCE: BDPA Foundation
h/t Wayne Hicks

Thursday Night in the Blogosphere

New Los Angeles Times Ink Logo at Times Mirror Square

• Online Newspapers - Jour Mo2
• Walter Cronkite "gravely ill" - Gary Scott
• FBLA Editor Self-Pimps LA Weekly Piece - Tina Dupuy
• Metamorphosis for the Globe? - Nieman Journalism Lab
• Why Do People Trust The Internet More? - Newspaper Project
• UW employee given leave after talking to media - Seattle Times
• Rating the Top 25 Newspaper Websites 2009 - The Future of Print
• Report: Several Issues Could Derail Sale of Cubs - Bleacher Nation
• Stop the presses — are newspapers fit to be print? - Canton Citizen
• MySpace Is Now MyProblem for Murdoch - Newspaper Death Watch

Kobe Bryant at Lakers Coliseum Celebration

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant addresses the crowd at the championship celebration held yesterday at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times YouTube

Wednesday Night in the Blogosphere

Los Angeles Times sign over Angel Stadium

• Juneteenth Celebrations - Metblogs LA
• Known as the Twitter revolution in Iran - Jeff Jarvis
• L.A.'s Woodstock, 40 years later - Kevin Roderick
• June 17, 2009, News - Los Angeles Media Moves
• Journalism Goes Ga-Ga Over Twitter in Iran - Cyber Journalist
• U.S. Newspaper Biz Expected to Lose $25 Billion by 2013 - E&P
• LA Times Ranked 4th Most Popular Newspaper Website - Pandora
• Dodgers Baseball Honors Local Firefighters - L.A. Fire Department
• New owner to strengthen Maine newspapers - Portland Press Hearald
• Lakers parade: Officials estimate 250,000 celebrated - Los Angeles Times

Services for Gilbert Shea

From Wendy Weaver Coleman

Funeral Services for Gilbert Shea will be held on Monday June 22nd at 1:30pm, at Hosanna Christian Fellowship Church, 350 S. Sanderson Ave. San Jacinto, Ca 92582 (951) 327-0500.

Reception to follow at the Wheelhouse located at 2860 Florida Ave. Hemet, Ca 92546 (951) 652-9968 Family requests no flowers.

Online News Association Event

ONA L.A.: Mobile Web: Anywhere, anytime -- but how?
6/18/2009

When: June 18, 2009
6-9 p.m. PT

Where: Map this event »
Los Angeles Times
202 W. 1st St.
Los Angeles, California 90012
United States

Contact: Janine Warner (Janine@JCWarner.com)

Online registration is available until: 6/18/2009
Register for this event »

Registration: Now free!

The iPhone was just the first step in the massive transformation in how we get our news and information. Find out how the move to what industry experts call “The Third Screen” will change how you gather and report news and create massive opportunities for some while making others obsolete.

Scheduled speakers include:

• Chris Cross, President, Tarver Games
  Perspective: convergence of mobile gaming with news presentation and community building
• Rooly Eliezerov, Co-founder and President, Gigya
  Perspective: the coming convergence between mobile apps and widgets
• Nick Montes, President, Viva! Vision
  Perspective: advancements in the development of the mobile video space
• Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emerging Platforms Strategy, Organic, Inc.
  Perspective: the future of advertising and revenue, and the opportunities mobile will offer for newspapers, local TV and journalists

Location: The event will be held in the L.A. Times main auditorium. Enter the Los Angeles Times at 145 Spring Street, corner of 2nd Street, and report to guard in lobby. Please provide extra time to allow for sign-in. Follow directions/signs to the auditorium.

Parking: If you registered prior to June 17, enter garage at 213 Spring Street, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. Provide your name to security guard.

« Go to Upcoming Event List

Donors Step Forward and Pick up Laker Parade Costs

The financial impact of the Laker parade this morning will be minimal, as many donators have stepped forward to cover the costs. According to the Los Angeles Times the following donors will pickup the tab:

• Casey and Laura Wasserman. Casey Wasserman is the grandson of former Universal Pictures Chairman Lew Wasserman.
• Jerry and Margie Perenchio. Jerry Perenchio is the former chairman of Univision Communications.
• Eli and Edythe Broad. Eli Board, founder of KB Home and the SunAmerica insurance firm, is a Los Angeles philanthropist actively involved in education, the arts and science.
• Haim and Cheryl Saban. Los Angeles billionaire and media executive Haim Saban is part of an investor group that owns Univision.
• Joe and Sharon Hernandez of Melissa's World Variety Produce, a major provider of specialty produce.
• Ed and Gayle Roski. Ed Roski owns Majestic Realty and hopes to build a football stadium in the city of Industry to attract an NFL team.
• The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The San Bernardino County tribe owns a casino in Highland.

Gilbert Shea R.I.P.

I was just notified this morning from Wendy Coleman that Gilbert Shea, retired pressroom supervisor from our Orange County Facility, has passed away early this morning. Gilbert is pictured at the right, with his brother in law Gary Weaver next to him and Roger Morissette at the left.

Mr. Shea was a regular at our pressmen dinners and will be sorely missed by his family and friends. He was a very jovial man, always smiling and ready to tell a joke.

My pressroom colleagues and I would like to extend our condolences to Gilberts family.

Additional information will be posted when available.

Tuesday Night in the Blogosphere

LAT Olympic Pressman Danny Berumen a few years ago

• News as endangered species - Kevin Roderick
• The News to print N.Y. Times - The Buffalo News
• Newspaper Design Board in Crisis Mode - Jour Mo2
• 10 Steps to Saving Newspapers - Newspaper Project
• Support.com Reaches Out to Laid Off Journos - Tina Dupuy
• 'Citizen-based warfare' takes on Iranian regime - Gary Scott
• Tribune sues U. of I. for applicant data - Chicago Breaking News
• Tasers About to Hit the Streets of Fullerton - Friends For Fullerton
• Trendwatching tells the story of what it calls “foreverism” - Jeff Jarvis
• Drop In LA Times Circulation May Have Been Exaggerated - Pandora

Bill Maher - Live at the L.A. Press Club

HOLLYWOOD, CA. Author and Huffington Post editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington; Daily News city hall reporter Rick Orlov and Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent Robyn Dixon received the Los Angeles Press Club's highest honors at the 51st Annual Southern California Journalism Awards on Sunday, June 14.

Huffington received the President's Award, for having charted a new online path for journalism, and comedian Bill Maher gave the brilliant and outspoken Huffington a special introduction.

Laker Parade to Cost L.A. Taxpayers $450,000

My press room colleague, Berry Tillage, from the Los Angeles Times Olympic Facility called in yesterday with his concern over the city of Los Angeles spending two million dollars to host the Laker parade tomorrow.

Mr. Tillage said:

"With the city ready to layoff teachers, reduce public services, and furlough other public servants, how in the world can the Los Angeles City Council even consider spending such an exorbitant amount of much needed money in this fiscal crisis?"

I agree with Mr. Tillage and ask many of the same questions, should the City of Los Angeles take a look at priorities before doling out so much taxpayer money?

On the bright side, the Laker organization has agreed to foot fifty percent of the tab, reducing the burden to one million dollars for the taxpayers.

According to the Los Angeles Times: Full article

"Nearly half of the $900,000 the city needs to provide for police and traffic control has been donated by Casey and Laura Wasserman, Jerry and Margie Perenchio, and others, say sources close to the Lakers".

Appears the taxpayers of Los Angeles will only need to cover about $450,000 after the outcry yesterday, which is much better than the two million dollar costs associated with hosting the Laker parade.

Monday Night in the Blogosphere

Chicago Tribune paper handling - Photo by Dana Custer

• A new online publication brewing - Gary Scott
• Southern California Journalism Awards - Pandora
• Buy the Globe for the price of a Globe - Jeff Jarvis
• Laker Win Turns Quite a Bit Rowdy - Franklin Ave.
• If The Globe Were Sold, What Would It Go for? - Deal Book
• How one newspaper thinks positive - The Morung Express
• Newspapers Set New Rules for Social Networking - Joe Strupp
• TU employees reject company offer - Albany Newspaper Guild
• What Price Would You Put On The Boston Globe - Media Decoder
• 10,091 Layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers in 2009 - Paper Cuts

Humorous take on the New York Times

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
End Times
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

h/t TJ Sullivan

Sunday Morning in the Blogosphere

LA Times Retirees John Kane and Richard Verdugo from Flickr

• Vampires Take Over the LA Times - Jour Mo2
• Want to buy a used newspaper? - You Don't Say
• U.S. investors eye toxic debt buys: paper - News Daily
• Transcontinental to lay off 250 workers - Canadian Press
• Meanwhile, Out In Los Angeles - Hartford Courant Alumni
• Times' Sunday circulation drops below one million - Gary Scott
• USA Today To Charge $10 For E-Mail Edition - Andrew Vanacore
• Police prepare for problems if Lakers win tonight - Los Angeles Times
• In the right hands, The Boston Globe could be profitable - Daily Finance
• Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring Blog: Tribune Co - netDockets

Creating the newspaper

Knoxnews.com intern Yolanda Ortiz learns the process of how the print News Sentinel is created.

Rudy Valdez R.I.P.

Emmett Jaime III sent this over regarding retired pressman Rudy Valdez:

Hello again, its me, the bearer of bad news.

My wife received a phone call from Betty Belda, the wife of Klaus Belda, who passed away a couple of years ago. Betty told Becky that her daughter who was married to a relative of Rudy's heard that Rudy Valdez passed away and that she had no information what so ever.

If you or anybody else knows of anything please e-mail and let me know and also please pass this on to people without computers, I'm sure they would like to know. The last I heard Rudy was living in Lake Elsinore, was diabetic and had bad circulation, was helping out at a food bank. Nobody answers his phone so nobody knows what happened to him.

Thank you and take care of yourselves.

Emmett Jaime III

Friday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

LAT Press Operator Tom Hilling

• Big trouble at MySpace - Mark Lacter
• When innovation yields efficiency - Buzz Machine
• June 11, 2009, News - Los Angeles Media Moves
• KTLA's Mark Kriski vs. Howard Stern - Franklin Ave.
• Demand for paper to fall dramatically by 2020 - Victoire
• Can the $99 iPhone save newspapers? - Newspaper Project
• The Death and Life of Newspapers and Journalism - John Savageau
• Today's Los Angeles Times is wrapped in a faux front page ad - Gary Scott
• Tribune Creditors Follow the Money to the McCormick Foundation - Jour Mo2
• Crain's Chicago Business taking weeks off in print in 2009 - Chicago Tribune

Circulation Milestone at the Los Angeles Times

My career at the Los Angeles Times began on August 3, 1972, and the Sunday circulation of our newspaper always surpassed the million mark my entire career. This unfortunately changed on Sunday June 7, 2009 when circulation eased below one million copies.

Here’s a headline from the Los Angeles Times Media Center:
1961 Sunday circulation breaks the one-million mark several times during the year.

Eddy Hartenstein was brought on board as publisher of the Los Angeles Times on August 18th, 2008 to stem the bleeding at the newspaper. Just like his three Tribune Company predecessors, the blood flow has not stopped or even slowed.

With circulation and advertising descending on a daily basis at the Los Angeles Times will our publisher resort to cutting expenses by reducing the size of the workforce to increase revenue, one more time?

On Sunday June 7th, 2009 the Los Angeles Times distributed 584,310 West edition newspapers, 404,352 East Edition newspapers, for a total distribution of 988,662 Sunday newspapers.

Thought of the Day

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.

- Bill Cosby

Thought of the Day

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one.

Stop the Presses

This is the story that wasn't told -- the lives affected in the newspaper industry by the economy. Without these vital men and women in the industry, the news would have stayed stagnant for years. The final presses ran in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on March 28-29, 2009 without a story -- a mention -- of these dedicated, talented individuals. From a news man, we, on the editorial side of things, thank you.

Wednesday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

Sam Zell with his Favorite Pressman Blogger Edward

• Four in the evening - Gary Scott
• David, meet Goliath - Buzz Machine
• Phil Spector's prison mug shots - Kevin Roderick
• Tribune Responds: Sam Zell Still Chairman - CNBC
• Brothers plan to start paper in Metro Detroit - Detnews
• How Much Will You Pay To Read News Online? - Jour Mo2
• The Daily Show Solves California's Budget Crisis - Pandora
• Should America bail out The Boston Globe? - Daily Finance
• Newspapers can survive by remembering their readers - CSM
• How metro newsrooms can recapture local dominance - Newspaper Project

Globe staff invites Sulzberger to meet in Boston

Dear Mr. Sulzberger,

Thank you very much for your response. It's nice to know that we can talk to each other.

The purpose of our letter was not to substitute for negotiations but to appeal for your leadership, an appeal to find common ground. Many of us who have long admired your family and its legacy have yearned to hear from you directly, without the subterfuge of lawyers and legal posturing. Again, we believe you care deeply about the work we do, and we know you understand how vital it is to Boston.

At the same time, we hope you appreciate the devastating consequences of a 23 percent pay cut - how it will completely upend the lives of those who have worked at the Globe for years, some of whom have literally risked their lives to report the news.

We know there's been a lot of heated rhetoric, but we believe you're better than allowing negotiating tactics to lead to this outcome – reporters losing their homes or having to leave jobs they love because they can't afford to raise their families. The solution should be simple: Parity in cuts between the staff and management.

We're also gratified to hear that you share our commitment to making the Globe stronger and more viable - we weren't sure about this when we learned on our front page a few months ago that the Times had threatened to close the Globe - and we want to work with you to cut costs and plan for the future.

Finally, we invite you to come to Boston, to speak to us and hear from us directly. Your family has responded to countless challenges to newspapers, and there’s no reason we can’t succeed together now. We're asking for you to lead us through these hard times, with the transparency and empathy reflected in your letter.

All the best,

Concerned Reporters at The Boston Globe

SOURCE: Jim Romenesko

Sulzberger responds to concerned Globe reporters

Thank you for your letter.

My colleagues and I share your concern for the Globe and those who work there, and I'm gratified by your recognition of that despite all that surrounds us. You are correct that I had hoped this would work out differently, and that a timely solution would be found for the Globe to achieve the necessary savings without Guild employees suffering a huge wage cut.

Unfortunately, despite tireless efforts by Globe negotiators to do that just as they successfully did with each of the Globe's other major unions, the Guild's bargaining posture made that task impossible. We are now left with no alternative other than to proceed with the wage reduction. Without that, the Globe will be unable to effectuate the savings already ratified by its other unions, in which case it simply cannot survive. We cannot allow that to happen, so we, regrettably, will implement the wage reduction.

Despite my great concern for what's happening at the Globe, all dealings on this subject must be with and through the Guild which, under law, is the employees' sole and exclusive bargaining representative. To that end, negotiators for the Globe have already advised the Guild that they are ready and willing to meet and plan to do so Monday.

We all share a commitment to making the Globe stronger and more viable in the days ahead.

Sincerely,

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

SOURCE: Boston.com

A CAUSE FOR COMEDY

When times are tough, everyone needs a good laugh. On Thursday June 11th, Causecast and Ben Morrison will officially launch A CAUSE FOR COMEDY, a monthly comedy benefit series streamed live from the world-famous Hollywood Improv. Partnering top non-profits from the Causecast community with a rotating slate of the best comedians in the country, A CAUSE FOR COMEDY says that laughter is the best medicine, and the co-pay feels great.

The June 11th show will be hosted by Ben Morrison (Punk'd), and 100% net proceeds from ticket sales benefit global nonprofit, NextAid (www.nextaid.org). The line-up on June 11th will feature Dan Levy (Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend,” “Chelsea Lately,” & “The Late Late Show”), Sam Tripoli (Host of the “Wild World of Spike"), the beautiful Whitney Cummings ("Chelsea Lately", HBO's "Down and Dirty", & "Made of Honor"), The Greg Wilson ("The Hottie and the Nottie”, Showtime, FOX), a special guest set by Ben Gleib (“Chelsea Lately, NBC’s “Wedding Crashers”) and musical act J Chris Newberg ("Last Comic Standing").

Although every single person in Los Angeles should join Causecast and NextAid at the Improv on the 11th, for those who simply cannot, A CAUSE FOR COMEDY will be broadcast LIVE and FREE to the world via livestream at ACauseForComedy.org. And not only can anyone watch, they can donate, too. Featuring cutting-edge technology so hot we had to buy gloves, anyone in the world can join in the laughter, and the healing, directly from our superslick player.

So if you live in LA, we'll see you at the Improv on June 11th, and If you don't live in LA, you'll see us.

Please check out the action and join the newsletter at home-site :

http://www.acauseforcomedy.org

A CAUSE FOR COMEDY

GET FUNNY, RAISE MONEY

Project Angel Food

Project Angel Food's mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. Volunteers and staff cook and deliver free and nutritious meals prepared with love throughout Los Angeles County, acting out of a sense of urgency because hunger and illness do not wait.

With a corps of 1,500 + dedicated volunteers, the agency provides more than 11,000 meals a week to 1,600 clients of all ages and backgrounds for whom a healthy meal, delivered with a warm smile, is truly lifesaving. Project Angel Food celebrates 20 years of service to the Greater Los Angeles community in 2009.

Tuesday Night in the Blogosphere

Pressman Fred Kirby with former circulation employee Jim Wright

• Boston’s alternative future - Jeff Jarvis
• LANG launches e-editions - Gary Scott
• Al Martinez now in Daily News - Kevin Roderick
• June 9, 2009 News - Los Angeles Media Moves
• AVN To Consolidate Print Publications - Pandora
• Storms Still Ahead for the Chicago Tribune - Jour MO2
• AMERICAN JOURNALISTS AS PAWNS? - Celeste Fremon
• Boston Globe Union Rejects Deal on Pay Cuts - New York Times
• What Was Euna Lee Doing On This Assigment? - Advice Goddess
• Charging for news online: The Newport Daily News’ - Newspaper Project

Tours of Los Angeles Times Cut Back

As the Los Angeles Times seeks ways to trim costs and improve profits the guided tours, by our last remaining tour guide at the newspaper Darrell Kunitomi, will be curtailed to twice per month.

Last year Darrell was to be let go in one of the many buyouts at the company, but was given a last minute reprieve by the then publisher of the newspaper David Hiller. Mr. Hiller felt the tours of the newspaper were good public relations, which we agree with.

Darrell is an excellent tour guide with a wealth of knowledge regarding the newspaper, and I highly recommend all employees of the Los Angeles Times to take his tour. Darrell has been our tour guide for well over thirty years; he’s a very interesting guide.

I suppose two tours per month are much better than no tours at all.

Contact Darrell here to schedule your family or company tour of our newspaper.

Scare at Times Mirror Square

I’ll label this “Scare at the Square”. Many Los Angeles Times employees assumed the worse when their company identification cards would not allow them onto the newspaper property yesterday at Times Mirror Square. Seems the system that reads employee identity cards went down Sunday morning at 3:30 am for unknown reasons


With the newspaper in turmoil and the CEO possibly leaving the Tribune Company, many employees thought they had been terminated from the newspaper, but were not informed by their supervisor.

Why would employees think they had been let go you ask? Last year two employees were not notified of their job loss until they arrived at the newspaper. When their I.D. cards did not work, security gave them the bad news that they had lost their jobs.

Over at the Olympic Production Facility security notified everyone on Sunday as they attempted to open the gate for access to the company parking lot, that the security system had failed and our company cards would not open any doors to the building.

Not certain if the newspapers Orange County Production Facility was affected or not, but employees are regaining access to the buildings as the system is slowly restored.

Tribune Names New Executive Vice President

Tribune Names Julio Marenghi Executive Vice President/Sales and Distribution for WGN America

CHICAGO, June 9, 2009 -- Tribune Company today announced the appointment of Julio Marenghi as executive vice president/sales and distribution for WGN America. Marenghi, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of sales experience, will be responsible for leading all top line sales efforts, growing distribution and managing the national cable channel’s day-to-day operations.

"Julio is a proven leader who understands every facet of the business," said Ed Wilson, president of Tribune Broadcasting. "He’s innovative and talented and the strong relationships he’s forged across the television advertising industry will serve WGN America well. He’s the right guy for this position and his consistently successful record speaks for itself."

Prior to joining WGN America, Marenghi held significant leadership roles at CBS Television Stations. Most recently as president/advertising sales, he was responsible for the strategic management, operation and top line sales of 27 stations. His leadership of local, national and digital sales operations and marketing efforts enabled the station group to increase market share by 10% and improve the revenue rank in all of CBS’ top 7 markets. He was also responsible for building the company’s first business development and marketing division.

"WGN America is a great brand with tremendous potential for growth -- I want to expand our reach and take this operation to the next level," Marenghi said. "To do that, we must boldly define our brand and give advertisers the kind of customized solutions that best meet their needs in a highly competitive marketplace."

Marenghi’s experience also includes serving as president and general manager of CBS’ New England triopoly of stations and numerous sales positions at television stations on the east and west coasts.

Marenghi is a Boston native and a die-hard Red Sox fan who says he has recently developed a strong interest in the Chicago Cubs.

Changes Coming to the Los Angeles Times?

With word out of Chicago yesterday that Sam Zell may lose control of the Tribune Company, employees of the company across the country ponder what could happen if the bankruptcy court gives control of the company to creditors?

(pictured - Victor Banuelos, Sam Zell, and Diane Riazi)

The scenarios for this exchange are not very hard to vision, the bankers will either continue to run the Tribune Company or sell off each property to recoup their losses. If the latter occurs will a new owner of the Los Angeles Times have a positive or negative impact on the newspaper and the remaining employees?

Sam Zell and Eddy Hartenstein (publisher of the Los Angeles Times) have been very tight lipped about the ado at the company, which we hope changes within the next few days.

Sunday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

Pressmen Ron Williams with Bill Garcia

• Furlough fever - Gary Scott
• The myth of perfection v. beta culture - Jeff Jarvis
• Newspaper Ad Sales In Sharp Decline - Pandora
• Globe drivers' union approves $2.5m in cuts - Boston.com
• Your Health Is Going To Be Too Expensive - Advice Goddess
• Dave Eggers is Enthusiastic About Print - Newspaper Project
• Twitter filter that lets you follow your favorite journalists - Muck Rack
• Sam Zell may lose Control of Tribune Company - Chicago Tribune
• Newspapers Most Likely to Shut Down or Go Online Only - Jour MO2
• Zell May Be a Genius in Other Lines of Work, NOT in Journalism - Jour MO2

Aaron Albanes Slide Show - U.S. Marines

Pressman Al Albanes created this slide show of his son Aaron's Marine Corps Training. Aaron has shipped off overseas and naturally Al and his family are concerned for his safety as war continues on several fronts. To honor Aaron Albanes we wanted to share this with everyone.

Response to Union President

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Response to Union President:
In reference to “No Threats, Abundance of Lies, ” Severance Agreement and Deauthorization:

The last paragraph of the latest “notification requesting remittance” from GCC/IBT Local 140N dated May 11th, 2009 states:

“Your continued failure to pay your required dues and fees will cause the Union to take legal action against you, including all legal fees, in an appropriate court of law to enforce the agreement entered into between the LA Times and the Union that all bargaining unit members will become members of the Union or pay the equivalent amount of dues and fees paid by members of the Union as a condition of employment at the LA Times. We hope that such action will be unnecessary.”

My question is what part of this statement and letter is not a threat? It simply says give me money or I will take you to court. It sounds like extortion to me.
The union president says that he would “not have a problem with him (Lee Carey) ever joining the Local” which works out perfectly, because that is exactly what I and many others want to do – never join the Local or pay dues! The problem is the union wants our money even if we are not formally union members. They feign attempts at being the caring protector, but their actions say, “give me the money or else I will take you to court!” So, I have done what most individuals do when they are threatened with court actions: I have retained legal counsel from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. According to their letter head, the Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. “has been defending America’s workers from the abuses of compulsory unionism since 1968.” The unfair labor charges (below), detail the grounds on which the current union security clause will be proven to be unlawful.

The union continues to do two things very well: attempting to collect (or extort) dues from co-workers, who do not want to pay dues or be a part of the union, and creating an environment of fear and anxiety in the pressroom.

Without the collection of dues and the creation of fear, the union couldn’t exist.
If we didn’t have a union, we wouldn’t have had negotiotions. If we hadn’t had negotiations we would still have shift differential, severance pay, better overtime policies/pay and a few other things conceded by the negotiating team – but as the president states, “at least these agreements/concessions are binding.” The other departments continue to have everything we had – plus a 3% raise, without representation! I don’t see the rest of the company departments lining up for union protection. With all the great things the union is (supposedly) doing and protection they provide, wouldn’t all employees of the LA Times want to be represented?

If you don’t believe in the union position you are characterized as not being “your brother’s keeper,” as having a “me mentality,” as being “selfish at best.”
The union president’s latest cry that “management has waged war on ALL pressroom employees” is a little dramatic, but adds to the fear mongering. (Working conditions are tough, and definitely a lot worse since the union contract, but “war?”)

Telling union employees to “reveal my deeds” and “motives” and “convince others to remove their signatures” from the deauthorization petition is just another personal attack against a fellow pressman, who is exercising his right (and 70+ other co-workers’ right), to a deauthorization vote. The numerous libelous accusations you have written about me (and other co-workers) are nothing more than personal attacks to discredit a threat to the union president’s position.

Insinuating that I am working in concert with management and couldn’t have known about a decertification or a deauthorization process is insulting and another testament to the union’s desperate declarations. The rumor that management writes all my correspondence is a compliment, but untrue. However, the internet is a wealth of information to people who want to educate themselves and protect their rights provided to them under the National Labor Relations Act. We all have access to free legal counsel from lawyers who are willing to help in forced-unionism situations such as ours. Individual rights are the foundation of this country and should not be taken away by the union.

The recent handling of the severance package for our 63 colleagues is an example of why I (and many others) don’t want to pay dues or be a part of the union. The only reason 63 of our colleagues didn’t have the same (up to) 6-month severance package, which the rest of the L.A. Times had, was that the union neglected to put a severance clause in the contract. (They did get their dues check off and union security clause, unlawful as it is.) Did the union withdraw their board charges in exchange for the severance because the charges were about to be dismissed anyway? Or, because the president was one of the individuals receiving the severance? Conflict of interest? How many bargaining unit employees voted on this recent decision?

Why is the union so afraid of a deauthorization vote? The many petitioners and non-dues paying pressman don’t see the union as a value or a benefit and are excercising their right to due process under the law. The National Labor Relations Act was created to further democracy in the work place and protect our individual rights as well as our collective rights.

In closing, all of us (that still work) at the LA Times realize these are trying, difficult and changing times. The current union actions of fear mongering, half-truths, distortions, and a “contract” that has left us with worse pay, worse working conditions, and worse relations with management than before the union contract, is not making these trying times any easier.

I consider the $1,400.00 bonus as partial remuneration for the concessions the union negligently made in the contract (the 3% raise we lost would have been yearly, meaning that we are losing $2,000 per year every year henceforth).

Below is a copy of the unfair labor practice charges filed with the NLRB by NRTW against the union and the L.A. Times.

A copy of the appeal filed with the NLRB (in Washington D.C.) pertaining to the deauthorization petition will be available this week.

Lee Carey
LA Times Pressman

Editor note: The document would not copy to Blogger, if you would like to view the copy email your requests to Edward and I will send it your way.
edpadgett1@verizon.net

Smoke Signal is here

Thirty-one second video on the production of Smoke Signal newspaper.