McClatchy to eliminate 1,600 jobs

Sacramento has had strong coverage of its NBA team, and the league in general, for a long time. Scott Howard-Cooper has been a key guy in that, a real veteran and league insider. As bad as it is to ax someone like that, why do I have the feeling that, if the Kings were playing better and thus fans were more into the NBA at this particular moment, the suits wouldn't be dumping a guy like S H-C?

I know all about the tendency to shed veteran folks, who tend to make more money, and "national" beat people, who aren't covering local teams per se. I just hate it a little extra when management's deployment of people ends up being a factor in whether they keep their jobs or not.

Someone thought it was a good idea to put a key guy on the NBA beat. That served the Bee well for a long time. But now he's expendable? How 'bout giving folks in that pickle a chance to take a "more essential" (if lesser) role?

Today: "Congratulations, sir, we've made you a Super-Duper Reporter First Class."

Tomorrow: "All Super-Duper Reporters First Class are being terminated."

Future career strategy: Decline all promotions that reek of non-essentialness.

 

And of course they're being very productive in their jobs, right? Impacting the community news like no one else.

 

There are no essential jobs anymore. Apparently, we're lucky if there are jobs, period.

There are many factors that go into these decisions, and those factors may, or may not, change with each new round of cuts.

It makes it so that there are no good cuts, and no good standards for making them, because each round, each media outlet, each department, and each individual -- each one making the decision, as well as each one who may be victimized by the decision -- is different.

It's like asking parents, "Which kid do you want us to kill?

There is no good choice, and no good way to make it.

 

As for me, I'd like to see the National Newspaper Sick-Out Day.

Hit back once, but hit back hard.

If nothing else, it would be a lot of fun.

 

HW: I'll bring the guitar. You bring the bottle. We'll split whatever coins land in the guitar case.

Seriously, someone else brought in a copy of the Rocky Mountain News' final issue into our shop tonight, and we all skimmed through it with a mix of admiration and sadness.

When great journalists like those at the Rocky and some of the ones mentioned on this McClatchy thread are shown the door, you worry greatly about the future. And not just in our industry.

I couldn't have said it any better, WT.

 

Why do you think KC can't afford one columnist?

 

I heard McClatchey may be doing some crazy stuff like cutting some jobs down to 32 hours. I mean, my god, how degrading. That's a huge pay cut for respected journalists.
This is beyond laughable.
Think of all the talented writers/editors out of work now.
And any kid in journalism thinks he/she will get a job with a living wage??
My god, close all J-schools NOWWWWWW!

 

Worked for a McClatchy shop earlier this decade. Was very well run and treated employees well. Location was not so great.

Moved to a K-R paper that was soon bought by McClatchy in 2006. At the time, it looked like a good move for McClatchy. No one really predicted the economic crisis that we are all in now.

I wonder if McClatchy is really losing money or just not making as much as they wanted to make this year.

 

Howard-Cooper doesn't stun me since he's the national guy. McNeal stuns me. He's been their Kings guy since they arrived or very shortly afterwards.

Damn.

 

I'm not privy to their books, but I'd be shocked if they weren't actually losing money. Newsprint costs are up and ad revenue is plummeting.

 

At this point, that old saw about "making money, just not as much as they want" no longer really plays. Even if they are still showing a "profit," the debt load is crushing. It's way harder to "build shareholder value" (ugh) when all the dividend money is going to some bank instead.

 

Not quite true. The Kings arrived in 1985, Marty arrived around 1989 and took over the Kings beat in the mid-90s. And he's been off the beat for a couple of years, writing a general assignment notes column. Sam Amick is the Bee's Kings beat writer.