Journal Register Co. files for bankruptcy - again

20th community newsroom announced:

http://www.insidethunderdome.com/2013/03/04/20-digital-first-newspapers-have-community-media-labs/

 

Clicking through the link, I found this:

"There are no walls between the “cafe” and the newsroom, and readers are invited to find the reporter that writes about their community or area of interest – or editors – and talk about concerns, ideas, questions."

I'm sure deadline gets pushed back for the reporter when he keeps getting interrupted by readers giving their concerns, ideas, questions, right?

 

"THIS AIN'T NO PEEP SHOW!" -- Biff Tannen.

 

I'm just imagining the place being overrun by JV softball parents.

"WHY are you doing a story about the football player getting a scholarship to Alabama? You should be writing about my little Muffy and her softball team. Sure, they only won one game this year, but they tried REALLY hard. And they're singing on the bench was top-notch."

Have the EE get invaded with a half-dozen of these, and he's selling his coffee-making equipment to YF.

 

One paper I was at had an editor who totally bought into the Citizen Journalism thing. Focus groups, citizen advisory panels, all that fluff. She ran that paper into the ground, then got to blow up a bigger paper, too. Then she flamed out in a very visible way.

We are the news experts. We decide what the coverage dictates. That is our profession, and our industry. ... Someone once wrote a very good column alone those lines, and it made a lot more sense than the Citizen Journalism stuff.

A good newspaper is full of people who know what to do.
You can't improve the product by getting rid of the experts.

 

Well, we're now within one month of getting the WARN notices, and I saw this gem this morning for two of JRC's Michigan properties. Methinks this is a really, really bad idea and things will not end well - and I wouldn't be surprised if JRC takes it out on its Michigan employees from more than just these two papers:
-----
Bad news from the unions at the Macomb Daily and Royal Oak Tribune: It is official today the unions voted to start an advertiser and subscriber Boycott of the Macomb Daily and Daily Tribune starting Monday. We also have unanimous strike authorization. If any of you are subscribers please cancel your subscription to either paper.

Nobody should take this lightly, these workers are fighting for their way of life and they are fighting for everybody’s way of life. Solidarity!
------
Note: The Daily and Trib are produced in the same building.

 

A bankruptcy hearing for JRC on Feb. 21 was postponed after unions made their objections.

http://denvernewspaperguild.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/journal-register-companys-bankruptcy-sale-hits-a-snag/

I'm guessing this is why JRC has been doing some negotiating with the unions. A couple other papers I saw negotiated where they would lose some workers, but they wouldn't get their pay cut.

 

Ah, knifing your union brethren in the back. Nothing like sending a comrade into the soup kitchen line to keep a few bucks for yourself.

(I'm generally a union guy, but I don't see why cutting jobs is more acceptable than a pay cut.)

 

Any DFMies winners here?

http://www.insidethunderdome.com/2013/03/18/january-dfmies-feature-gun-control-coverage-scandals-multimedia-packages/

 

A bankruptcy judge said, "Whoa, Nelly. Let's hear what the union has to say" - or something like that. Wonder how much this will screw up Paton's grand scheme.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/journal-register-judge-won-t-rule-today-on-sale.html

 

Just saw that myself.

I liked the judge's quote on not giving the company a free pass. If anyone doesn't deserve a free pass, it's JRC.

 

They might be able to cut down on overhead if they lower the number of DFMies winners. Every penny counts.