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That's from the Daily News.

 

Wielenga is a former Long Beach Press-Telegram sports and entertainment writer.



LONG BEACH LOSES ITS DAILY NEWSPAPER AS TORRANCE PUBLISHER TAKES OVER PRESS-TELEGRAM
Dave WielengaFri. February 29

Long Beach lost its daily newspaper today. The Press-Telegram, a name synonymous with local journalism for 110 years, suffered deep staff cuts and a corporate restructuring that leaves it as little more than a bureau for the Torrance-based Daily Breeze.
MediaNews Group, Inc., the corporate parent of both papers, fired Press-Telegram publisher Dave Kuta, managing editor John Futch and nine newsroom employees, then placed the operation under the control of Daily Breeze publisher Mark Ficarra – who has been on the job for little more than one month. Twelve other P-T employees will join the staff at the Daily Breeze.
“It’s a fatal shot to our efforts to maintain local control of our coverage,” said Joe Segura, veteran P-T reporter and leader of the paper’s unionized newsroom employees.
Press-Telegram Executive Editor Rich Archbold will keep his job, and reporters figured that was probably why he characterized Friday’s bloodbath as “kind of a bittersweet day.” Archbold thus extends his 30-plus-year tenure at the Press-Telegram, where in a variety of management positions — managing editor, editor, judge in the annual Halloween costume contest — he has presided over the steady decline of the paper.
Meanwhile, Press-Telegram newsroom employees had been working without a contract for more than a year while negotiating to stop the steady dismantling of the once-great paper by its over-leveraged corporate owner. Now, another bunch of them won’t be working at all.
The 11 cuts announced today during a series of late-morning meetings in the Press-Telegram’s office suites on Ocean Blvd. brought the body count for the week to 14. Reporters Don Jergler and Hanna Chu resigned a few days ago and photographer Kevin Chang checked out Thursday. The Press-Telegram now has 10 reporters to “cover” the 19 cities it claims as its territory.
Friday’s developments only made official what was becoming more and more evident in recent months. As The District reported in December, ultimate authority over the P-T’s coverage already had been shifted to Phillip Sanfield, the editor of the Daily Breeze. Sanfield began informing P-T employees that he was in charge — above Archbold on the chain of command — as soon as he arrived.
Sanfield denied he was calling the shots at the P-T when contacted by The District in December.
“I don’t want to spend much time talking with you about this, except to say that you’re not correct!” Sanfield snapped in what, as he promised, turned out to be a very short telephone interview. “I’m working with the editors at the Press-Telegram, working with Rich [Archbold] and John [Futch], looking at how we can do things as a group, more efficiently, between our two papers. Okay? Thanks.”
Sanfield cut off a follow-up question by hanging up.

 

This has been a dizzying day, but quick count from sports, 3 FT, 2 PT one PT going straight freelance.
Our fearless publisher, Douglas E. Hanes, calls it expense adjustments. Sickening.

 

Check that. Two FT. Three PT. One PT to freelance. Most of the cuts were part-timers. Quick count of survivors leaves seven writers on staff.

 

According to the alt-weekly District, the P-T is going to have 10 news reporters left to cover 19 cities in Long Beach's circulation area. And that desk-combining approach could prove to be a monumental is-that-a-city-or-part-of-Los Angeles disaster.

 

Long Beach was a pretty big-league paper in the KR days, did not think small. This is really sad, but I imagine it's saddest for those who remain from those times (if any).

 

So here's the bottom line folks... when Singleton came to Los Angeles, he claimed buying and tightening things at all of these papers would prolong their existence.

Has he accomplished this? Do these cuts keep these papers alive long enough to figure out what's next in mass media and how to monetize the World Wide Web?

Or has he simply hastened the departure of the mid-major newspaper from Southern California?

 

That's hard to say. KR dumped first Pasadena and then Long Beach because neither made enough money. Tribune Co. dumped the LADN, and Singleton paid less for it than Jack Kent Cooke paid Tribune Co., and after Cooke had invested even more money in a nice printing plant. Thomson had already clusterized Pasadena, San Gabriel and Whittier. Gannett gave up on San Bernardino despite having Palm Springs relatively nearby. Singleton hurt the journalism, but if they had been more profitable he might not have gotten his paws on them to begin with.

 

Well, it appears Singleton finally got his big wet dream of dismantling and making the Long Beach union non-existent. The LADN is next.
Within a few years, all of LANG will be just one big paper with a circ. of 180,000.

 

I've just heard the names of the six people who were laid off in sports. At least three will shock you. It's not for me to say, or name names, but the union blog is supposed to have an update soon, so check there for all the gory details.