Monday, July 31, 2017

Guardian retools print center

Guardian retools print center: The MMServices program from Martini Mueller involves NewsGrip conveyor software, a control system via FlexiRoll buffers, four FlexiRoll stations and CN 80 compensating stackers, as well as an up-to-date ramp system.

The Guardian Could Use Your Help

Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information.Thomasine F-R.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure.

ING announces conference details

ING announces conference details: The ING 2017 Annual Conference, targeted at operation executives, is scheduled for September 8–10 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago.

Decline of newspapers

The decline of newspapers has been widely debated, as the industry has faced dropping newsprint prices, slumping ad sales, the loss of much classified advertising and precipitous drops in circulation. In recent years the number of newspapers slated for closure, bankruptcy or severe cutbacks has risen, especially in the United States, where the industry has shed a fifth of its journalists since 2001.[1] Revenue has plunged while competition from Internet media has squeezed older print publishers.[1][2]
The debate has become more urgent lately, as a deepening recession has cut profits,[3] and as once-explosive growth in newspaper Web revenues has leveled off, forestalling what the industry hoped would become an important source of revenue.[4] One issue is whether the newspaper industry is being hit by a cyclical trough and will recover, or whether new technology has rendered newspapers obsolete in their traditional format. To survive, newspapers are considering combining and other options,[5] although the outcome of such partnerships has been criticized.[6] Despite these problems, newspaper companies with significant brand value, which have published their work online, have a significant rise in viewership.

Newspapers: a global industry in transition as an old paper-based technology confronts the age of the Internet and smart phones

Digital Media North America 2017 in October

Digital Media North America 2017 in October: The organizations say it will be an opportunity for North American news media executives to hear and discuss digital revenue strategy from the world’s most advanced media companies. Among the topics are developing sustainable new revenues, freemium and hybrid meter paywalls, branded content and new partnership approaches to compete with Facebook and Google.

Tribune Media Sells Majority of Its Ownership Stake in CareerBuilder

Company to receive approximately $158 million in cash

Jul 31, 2017
CHICAGOJuly 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) today announced that it has sold the majority of its ownership stake in CareerBuilder, as TEGNA completed the sale of CareerBuilder to an investor group led by investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), a leading global alternative investment manager, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.  As a participant in the sale, Tribune Media will receive approximately $158 million in cash and will retain an approximate 7 percent ownership stake in CareerBuilder on a fully-diluted basis.
Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) is home to a diverse portfolio of television and digital properties driven by quality news, entertainment and sports programming. Tribune Media is comprised of Tribune Broadcasting's 42 owned or operated local television stations reaching approximately 50 million households, national entertainment cable network WGN America, whose reach is approximately 80 million households, Tribune Studios, and a variety of digital applications and websites commanding 60 million monthly unique visitors online. Tribune Media also includes Chicago's WGN-AM and the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV. Additionally, the Company owns and manages a significant number of real estate properties across the U.S. and holds a variety of investments, including a 31% interest in Television Food Network, G.P., which operates Food Network and Cooking Channel. For more information please visit www.tribunemedia.com.

SOURCE Tribune Media Company

Dallas Morning News getting retrofit

Dallas Morning News getting retrofit: The order involves new controls and drives on two reel-stands on the Wifag OF370 press at the paper’s Plano site.

Today in Labor History

July 31  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.


Members of the National Football League Players Association begin what is to be a 2-day strike, their first. The issues: pay, pensions, the right to arbitration and the right to have agents - 1970
 
Fifty-day baseball strike ends - 1981
 
The Great Shipyard Strike of 1999 ends after Steelworkers at Newport News Shipbuilding ratify a breakthrough agreement which nearly doubles pensions, increases security, ends inequality, and provides the highest wage increases in company and industry history to nearly 10,000 workers at the yard. The strike lasted 15 weeks - 1999

Monday Afternoon in the Blogosphere


Retired Pressmen Charlie Coleman and Bert Badajos 




THE LAST GREAT NEWSPAPER WAR? - Vanity Fair

The delayed promise of newsroom diversity - AAJA Voices

L.A. Times Now Offers Vacations With Its Journalists - LA Weekly

Monocle is printing a limited-run weekly newspaper in Italy - Nieman Lab

Is your company short on star salespeople? Look to your newsroom - Poynter

Reactionary politics play their part in the demise of the tabloids - The Guardian

‘Ink’ Reveals How Rupert Murdoch Changed Newspapers Forever - Daily Beast

Vladimir Putin’s former media czar was murdered in Washington, DC - Buzz Feed

To thrive again, local newspapers must go back to their community role - City Metric

'Paperboy' brings to you all your newspapers, magazine on one app - Deccan Chronicle

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Today in Labor History

July 30  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965, establishing Medicare and Medicaid - 1965
 
Former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappears. Declared legally dead in 1982, his body has never been found - 1975
 
United Airlines agrees to offer domestic-partner benefits to employees and retirees worldwide - 1999

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Sad News, "Happy Boots" leaving the Los Angeles Times


Senior Vice President of Operations and Distribution, Greg Malcolm, will be escorted to the exit at the Los Angeles Times Production Facility this Wednesday. Rumor has it, pizza and soft drinks will be served in the press room lobby, unfortunately I will not be able to attend as I'm banned from all Los Angeles Times properties.

Malcolm began his career at the Los Angeles Times as Director of Operations in April, 2006 for eleven years before taking his current position at the newspaper of Senior Vice President of Operations and Distribution.

From Malcolm's Linked In account:

Streamlined management structure, expanded & redefined responsibilities, improved efficiency and reliability while optimizing revenue. 
Significantly reduced operating expenses, reduced waste and improved facility reliability including achieving the lowest workers comp reserves in company history.
Malcolm achieved many goals and streamlined management extremely well, and streamlined himself out of a job. Malcolm was one of the three reasons the Teamsters were able to represent the press room, and he will be sorely missed by a few employees.

Malcolm was given the nickname "Happy Boots" for his cowboy boots he wore while working, and for some reason frowned every-time I greeted him with his favorite nickname.

I wish Greg "Happy Boots" Malcolm the best after he departs from the newspaper.


Today in Labor History

July 29  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

The Coast Seamen's Union merges with the Steamship Sailors’ Union to form the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific - 1891
 
A preliminary delegation from Mother Jones' March of the Mill Children from Philadelphia to President Theodore Roosevelt's summer home in Oyster Bay, Long Island, publicizing the harsh conditions of child labor, arrives today. They are not allowed through the gates – 1903

(The Autobiography of Mother Jones: Mary Harris Jones—“Mother Jones”—was the most dynamic woman ever to grace the American labor movement. Employers and politicians called her “the most dangerous woman in America” and rebellious working men and women loved her as they never loved anyone else.)

Nineteen firefighters die while responding to a blaze at the Shamrock Oil and Gas Corp. refinery in Sun Ray, Texas - 1956
 
Following a 5-year table grape boycott, Delano-area growers file into the United Farm Workers union hall in Delano, Calif., to sign their first union contracts - 1970

True to Type: Running America's Last Linotype Newspaper

"The Saguache Crescent" newspaper in Saguache, Colo., has been printing its news the same way since the 1800s. Publisher Dean Coombs' family has had the business for three generations, and has helped print out the weekly broadsheet on a linotype since he was 12 years old.




Friday, July 28, 2017

La Verne Mayor Don Kendrick gets a La Verne haircut



Manroland store upgrades

Manroland store upgrades: The Market-X trading platform will allow the store to offer customers of manroland web systems and offers a wider selection of products and services, according to a news release from the company.

Friday Morning in the Blogosphere


Some of the collections from the old timers at the newspaper




Publishers are desperately pivoting to video - Quartz Media

Time Inc. Explores Sale of Sunset, Golf Magazines - Bloomberg

28 newsrooms asked their audiences if they pay for the news - Poynter

Spaceships and Newspapers: How Jeff Bezos Spends His Money - Fortune

As Baltimore City Paper faces the reaper, stakes mount for alt-weeklies - CJR

Who trusts — and pays for — the news? Here’s what 8,728 people told us - RJI

Newspapers are divesting themselves of their most valuable assets — their properties - UBJ

MAD magazine skewers Trumpcare with this scathing Al Jaffee ‘fold-in’ - Washington Post

Sale Price For Kansas City Star Buildings Reflects Newspapers’ Declining Fortunes - KCUR

This veteran Chicago journalist is using an email ‘newscast’ to keep people informed - Poynter

NCWV Media buys Maryland paper

NCWV Media buys Maryland paper: The newspaper was founded in 1877 by James Hayden and has been owned and operated by five generations of the Sincell family, according to The Exponent Telegram.

Today in Labor History

July 28  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Women shoemakers in Lynn, Mass., create Daughters of St. Crispin, demand pay equal to that of men - 1869
 
Harry Bridges is born in Australia. He came to America as a sailor at age 19 and went on to help form and lead the militant Int’l Longshore and Warehouse Union for more than 40 years - 1901
 
A strike by Paterson, N.J., silk workers for an 8-hour day, improved working conditions ends after six months, with the workers’ demands unmet. During the course of the strike, approximately 1,800 strikers were arrested, including Wobbly leaders Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn - 1913
 
Federal troops burn the shantytown built near the U.S. Capitol by thousands of unemployed WWI veterans, camping there to demand a bonus they had been promised but never received - 1932
 
Nine miners are rescued in Sommerset, Pa., after being trapped for 77 hours 240 feet underground in the flooded Quecreek Mine - 2002

Lancaster Management buys Kentucky papers

Lancaster Management buys Kentucky papers: The publications include the Prestonsburg (Kentucky) Floyd County Times, East Kentucky Shopper, Hazard (Kentucky) Herald, Shopper Stopper and their digital platforms. Appalachian Newspapers publishes the Appalachian News-Express, Floyd County Chronicle, Mingo Messenger and Mountain Bargain Hunter in the area.

Los Angeles Times Retirees Breakfast

Yesterday the men that once produced the Los Angeles Times gathered for breakfast in West Covina, California, and everyone had a great time. Unfortunately many that would have enjoyed attending knew nothing of the event, which will change for the next reunion as we employ Facebook and email notifications.
















Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Sun Media Group to be sold

Sun Media Group to be sold: The sale is set to close on Aug. 1, according to Cribb, Greene & Cope, the firm representing the Costello family in the deal. “After four generations of family ownership, selling Sun Media Group was a difficult decision for the Costello family,” said Steve Costello, vice president of advertising and marketing.

Today in Labor History

July 26  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

In Chicago, 30 workers are killed by federal troops, more than 100 wounded at the "Battle of the Viaduct" during the Great Railroad Strike - 1877
 
President Grover Cleveland appoints a United States Strike Committee to investigate the causes of the Pullman strike and the subsequent strike by the American Railway Union. Later that year the commission issues its report, absolving the strikers and blaming Pullman and the railroads for the conflict - 1894
 



Battle of Mucklow, W.Va., in coal strike. An estimated 100,000 shots were fired; 12 miners and four guards were killed - 1912
 
President Truman issues Executive Order 9981, directing equality of opportunity in armed forces - 1948
 
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect today. It requires employers to offer reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities and bans discrimination against such workers - 1992

B&R now part of ABB

B&R now part of ABB: “With B&R now combined with ABB, we in ABB Printing will be able to provide you an unmatched, comprehensive industrial automation offering – globally and across the entire spectrum of technology and software solutions around measurement, control, actuation, robotics, electrification and digitalization,” said a press release from ABB.

Wednesday Morning in the Blogosphere

Former Pressman Joe Delmendo celebrating his 83rd birthday



Why Snopes matters - American Press Institute

Cutting the kids out of the labor equation - Lima Ohio

WGN Radio leaving Tribune Tower next year - Robert Feder

The agony and the anxiety of the New York Times - Vanity Fair

Google leads the world in digital and mobile ad revenue - Recode

Local IL Newspapers Help Get AM Back On The Air - Insider Radio

He's spent nearly 7 decades at The San Francisco Chronicle - Poynter

The Times of London finds commenters are most valuable visitors - DigiDay

Journalists Reveal Favorite Apps/Websites and Cool Tools - Daily News Jems

Newspaper, magazine circulation in Turkey decreases 20 percent in one year - Daily Sabah

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

West End Holdings buys AHP

West End Holdings buys AHP: AHP owns and publishes community newspapers, websites and magazines in four states. AHP also operates digital marketing services platform Hometown Digital Solutions, which launched in 2016. AHP is seeking additional local media properties to add to its portfolio.

Today in Labor History

July 25  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Workers stage a general strike—believed to be the nation’s first—in St. Louis, in support of striking railroad workers. The successful strike was ended when some 3,000 federal troops and 5,000 deputized special police killed at least eighteen people in skirmishes around the city - 1877
 
New York garment workers win closed shop and firing of scabs after 7-month strike – 1890


(No Contract, No Peace: A Legal Guide to Contract Campaigns, Strikes, and Lockouts: This book is a must-have for any union or activist considering aggressive action to combat management’s growing economic war against workers. No Contract, No Peace! references recent union activities and NLRB decisions that have affected the labor relations environment. Schwartz’s familiarity with labor and employment law combines with his activist spirit to provide innovative yet practical tips for mounting and maintaining meaningful campaigns designed to build union and workers’ power.)

Fifteen “living dead women” testify before the Illinois Industrial Commission.  They were “Radium Girls,” women who died prematurely after working at clock and watch factories, where they were told to wet small paintbrushes in their mouths so they could dip them in radium to paint dials.  A Geiger counter passed over graves in a cemetery near Ottawa, Illinois still registers the presence of radium - 1937

The Teamsters and Service Employees unions break from the AFL-CIO during the federation's 50th convention to begin the Change to Win coalition, ultimately comprised of seven unions (4 by 2011: SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW and the UFW). They say they want more emphasis on organizing and less on electoral politics - 2005

New York Times gets controls upgrade

New York Times gets controls upgrade: The upgrade will remove obsolescence issues faced by the Colorliners, increase press functionality, and allow the presses to continue to run for years, according to a release from Goss.

Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere


A few of our many volunteers last week from One West Bank




I have the perfect face for newspapers - KPC News

Local Edition: ‘Newsrooms cannot do this alone’ - Poynter

Megaclustering Is Coming for Your Daily Newspaper - The Street

Guardian Media Group cuts losses by more than a third - The Guardian

Delivery company CIPS acquired by Long Beach newspaper service - OC Register

After father's death, this young girl sold newspapers to support family - Your Story

Dispute puts future of fact-checking site in question - The San Diego Union-Tribune

CEO Nixes Fox News Rumors, Talks Tribune and Big Ambition for Broadcast Biz - Variety

Tribune Media Company to Report Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results - PR News Wire

Texas newspapers no longer employ any staff editorial cartoonists - Austin American-Statesman


Southern California News Group to offer buyouts

Southern California News Group to offer buyouts: The email came from Executive Editor Frank Pine.

Monday, July 24, 2017

Today in Labor History

July 24  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

The United Auto Workers and the Teamsters form the Alliance for Labor Action (ALA), later to be joined by several smaller unions. The ALA's agenda included support of the civil rights movement and opposition to the war in Vietnam. It disbanded after four years following the death of UAW President Walter Reuther - 1968


(All Labor Has Dignity: People forget that Dr. King was every bit as committed to economic justice as he was to ending racial segregation. He fought throughout his life to connect the labor and civil rights movements, envisioning them as twin pillars for social reform.)
 
The U.S. minimum wage increased to $6.55 per hour today. The original minimum, set in 1938 by the Fair Labor Standards Act, was 25¢ per hour - 2008
 
U.S. minimum wage rose to $7.25 per hour, up from $6.55 - 2009

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere


The now shuttered Los Angeles Times Orange County production facility






Is Print Media on its Way to Becoming Obsolete? - Newsline

Why Gannett Should Take Another Stab at Tronc - The Street

A newspaper in the dock on Press Freedom Day - Editors Weblog

Digital Publishing: Millennials Will Pay For News - Editor and Publisher

Print spiral accelerates as newspapers lose more than $100m - Mumbrella

How an Ontario city is coping without its local newspaper - Globe and Mail

Newsmax Media Wants Delay at FCC for Sinclair's Deal for Tribune - Bloomberg

The Atlantic earns more than 80 percent of its revenue from digital - Washington Post

News organizations are using Nextdoor to connect with readers block-by-block - Poynter

McClatchy results and forecast show more stormy weather ahead for newspapers - Poynter

Friday, July 21, 2017

Staffers at the Orange County Register are about to be faced with downsizing

From: Frank Pine
To All:
This morning, we held editorial staff meetings throughout SCNG to talk about our current editorial planning and to share some details of initiatives we will be implementing in coming weeks.
It’s important to note that we are always seeking new and creative ways to improve our digital newsgathering and to increase our audience. Over the past year, those efforts - your efforts - have resulted in some very impressive achievements and significant gains in digital audience. At the end of June, monthly uniques were up nearly 40 percent from last year, and sessions and page views were up 30 percent. At the same time, our newly formed SCNG social media team is already having an impact, with social sessions up more than 50 percent from last year, and we’re reaching the audience we need, with big gains in local users (up more than 35 percent) and younger users (up nearly 40 percent). These are some of the best numbers in all of Digital First Media, and they are a testament to your hard work and dedication. I cannot thank you all enough.
Nevertheless, the efforts currently underway are particularly noteworthy as they will result in significant changes to the way we operate.
As you all know all too well, our entire industry continues to grapple with declining print revenue trends even as we develop new business models for digital. Consequently, we must continually find ways to operate more efficiently as print revenues continue to decline. This challenge is not unique to us. It’s one that our entire industry faces.
We’re looking closely at what is already working on our sites and with our audience, and we’re also looking at what is clearly not working. We’re also researching current trends and studying what has and has not worked for other media companies. We are developing our future content plans carefully and thoughtfully, based on data and research.
We expect to roll out a restructured newsroom plan over the next couple of months. The plan will include an even more aggressive emphasis on digital, a commitment to data-based decision making and new ways of approaching breaking news, enterprise and beat reporting.
As we reorganize, we will also be seeking ways to reduce expenses in line with revenues. This is critical to ensuring our business remains viable in the years to come.
In the next few weeks, we will be offering a voluntary separation package. We are hopeful there will be enough volunteers for us to avoid layoffs, and that as part of this process, we are also able to reassign staff and hire for positions critical to fulfilling our digital strategy.
It’s too early to say precisely how many people or positions will be affected. The goal will be based on the financial performance of the company as well as our ability to identify other potential savings. We anticipate making a more formal announcement of the voluntary severance package with all of the pertinent details in August. We then expect it will take a few weeks for people to decide whether they want to participate and for us to determine how we will go forward. We hope to complete the process no later than the end of September.
While these are very difficult decisions to make, they are necessary if we are to remain a stable and profitable business, especially in the face of continued declines in revenue. We are undertaking this effort to better position the company for continued growth.
We will continue to provide updates and more information as plans are further developed.
As always, thank you for your continuing commitment to our organization and to our readers. We greatly appreciate all of you and all that you do.
If you have questions, please ask.

An email announcing a buyout plan just went out to all employees at the Southern California News Group (SCNG), the parent company of the Orange County…
OCWEEKLY.COM|BY ASK A MEXICAN

Today in Labor History

July 21  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Local militiamen are called out against striking railroad workers in Pittsburgh. The head of the Pennsylvania Railroad advises giving the strikers "a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread." - 1877
 
Compressed air explosion kills 20 workers constructing railroad tunnel under the Hudson River - 1880
 
IWW leads a strike at Hodgeman's Blueberry Farm in Grand Junction, Mich. - 1964
 
Radio station WCFL, owned and operated by the Chicago Federation of Labor, takes to the airwaves with two hours of music. The first and only labor-owned radio station in the country, WCFL was sold in 1979 - 1926
 
A die-cast operator in Jackson, Mich., is pinned by a hydraulic Unimate robot, dies five days later. Incident is the first documented case in the U.S. of a robot killing a human - 1984











July 20

New York City newsboys, many so poor that they were sleeping in the streets, begin a 2-week strike. Several rallies drew more than 5,000 newsboys, complete with charismatic speeches by strike leader Kid Blink, who was blind in one eye. The boys had to pay publishers up front for the newspapers; they were successful in forcing the publishers to buy back unsold papers - 1899

(Kids at Work: Your heart will be broken by this exceptional book’s photographs of children at backbreaking, often life-threatening work, and the accompanying commentary by author Russell Freedman. Photographer Lewis Hine—who himself died in poverty in 1940—did as much, and perhaps more, than any social critic in the early part of the 20th century to expose the abuse of children, as young as three and four, by American capitalism.)
 
Two killed, 67 wounded in Minneapolis truckers' strike—"Bloody Friday" - 1934
 
Postal unions, Postal Service sign first labor contract in the history of the federal government—the year following an unauthorized strike by 200,000 postal workers - 1971