Newspaper industry taking hard hits

The coronavirus crisis continues to roil the newspaper industry. Here are some updates.

• With demand for news high around the country, McClatchy is restoring paywalls around some coronavirus stories, Axios reported. "With a lower paywall we're missing opportunities to convert drive-by readers into subscribers," Vice President of News Kristin Roberts told Axios.

• EO Media Group, the parent company of more than a dozen newspapers in Oregon and Washington, announced March 25 that it’s cutting staff by 47, the Bulletin of Bend reported.

• Untold numbers of weekly, alternative and specialty papers are cutting staff, stopping print or shutting down. Among them, the Portland Mercury, the Portland Observer, Portland Monthly and Street Roots have put on hold or delayed upcoming issues, while Willamette Week cut its print run in half, The Oregonian reported. At least one person was cut from The Independent, a Rhode Island weekly, WPRI reported. The Isthmus in Madison, Wisconsin, said it will stop producing for an undetermined amount of time.

• Gannett is suspending its dividend and undertaking a slew of cost cuts, a company press release said. The company had previously announced that newsroom employees making at least $38,000 a year will take a week of unpaid furlough in April, May and June. The USA Today owner is also instituting pay cuts.

• Lee has announced impending furloughs or pay cuts. Layoffs are slated for the Lee-owned Buffalo News, WGRZ reported. The number of cuts wasn’t specified.

• The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) announced the cutting of 22 newsroom employees.

• The Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, Massachusetts) has seen layoffs, WPRI reported. The TV station didn’t specify the number of cuts. The weekly Providence Business News said it will temporarily stop its print edition, WPRI said.

• Pamplin Media Group is merging all 20 of its papers into regional publications. The Portland Tribune and other papers in the Pamplin Media chain cut reporters’ hours, according to employees, The Oregonian reported. The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington) cut its printed page number, The Oregonian said.

• The Times-Picayune and The Advocate (New Orleans), will furlough about 10 percent of its employees and C & G Newspapers has suspended publication of its 19 print papers around Detroit, AFP reported.

• The Dalles Chronicle and Hood River News were going to stop publishing this week, according to sources at the papers, The Oregonian reported. That was staved off when Publisher Chelsea Marr moved to buy the papers from ex-congressman Denny Smith.

• The Duluth News Tribune is shifting on April 6 to a single-section, 12-page paper Mondays through Saturdays. Sunday’s print version of the News Tribune won't change.

• Rupert Murdoch’s Australian media group News Corp will cease printing some 60 regional papers, converting them to digital-only, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Analysis and tips

• Nieman Lab’s Ken Doctor provides a nice analysis of the big picture here.

• The News Media Alliance is providing a page of links with useful information for publishers about the stimulus package, CARES Act, small business loans and more. The Alliance says it will continue to update the page as more resources become available.

• WAN-IFRA features tips on navigating the crisis, via The Dallas Morning News.

Other news

• The former Columbus Dispatch printing plant is for sale at a price of $20 million, Columbus Business First reported. The paper’s move away from the plant was announced in January.

• The Springfield News-Leader (Missouri) has seen 41 layoffs, but not because of the virus, the Springfield Business Journal reported. News-Leader Editor Amos Bridges said 41 people were cut because with the shuttering of the paper's press on Boonville Avenue.

• The Wisconsin Free Press group of publications, including the Dodge County Pionier, Campbellsport News and Kewaskum Statesman, has merged with Multi Media Channels, WiscNews reported. Andrew and Laura Johnson transferred the publications to the Wood family. Multi Media Channels, owned by the Wood family, involves some 30 print publications and 17 digital channels.

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