'Bloody Monday at Kansas City Star'

Nice call, Fran.

 

In other bad McClatchy news: The Bellingham (Wash.) Herald laid off 10 percent of its staff Monday. One in sports, a few in news and the advertising director as well.

 

Via Romensko 15 in Miami.

 

Hate to be right on this one. Any word on who got cut in Raleigh or Miami?

 

And the hits keep on coming with McClatchy as two suburban KC papers fold.
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/05/03/suburban-kansas-city-newspapers-close.html

 

Even the small town model isn't working in suburbia

 

Of the 20 positions in Raleigh, we hear 11 are in newsroom. 5 were already vacant positions that won't be filled.

 

If you work at a McClatchy paper and are willingly staying there, you either have zero other options in your life or do not think clearly.

Get. Out. Now.

 

As I was sitting in a courtroom the other day waiting for a homicide arraignment, some meth head's attorney tried explaining to the judge that his client should be let out of jail (3X offender) so he could continue his career making $22/hour as an home glass installer. Of course, he had to do a little home burglary on the side to support his habit...

 

Yeah, burglaries committed by persons earning less than X dollars per year should receive a discounted sentence because of mitigating circumstances.

 

Gary Pruitt continuing in the same job is truly one of the most baffling things in the history of the newspaper business and maybe in all of corporate America. Their stock dropped 98 percent in a three-year span after the acquisition of Knight Ridder, and it just never struck anyone that he wasn't the best choice as the man in charge. After a huge run-up from '09 to '10, from 75 cents a share to about seven bucks -- creative accounting and paper-shuffling is my guess on how to explain that -- they are again down 57 percent in a little more than a year.

Is there no shareholder that cares?