Secrets of the City » star tribune

Copy Editing? Who Needs It?

Cristina Cordova — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:11:44 +0000

More Strib layoffs! And this time it’s the copy editors getting hit — mostly — meaning a loss of 60 percent of the copy editing staff at the newspaper. Oh, hell! What kind of messes are we going to witness down the road?

All told, 27 newsroom staffers were cut; 11 took last week’s buyout, 15 were let go Wednesday and Thursday and one non-union editor was laid off earlier this month. That’s fewer than the 30 positions targeted in November, but it’s not huge comfort to anyone at 425 Portland.

You Know the Score: Newspapers, Death

Cristina Cordova — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:20:59 +0000

According to MinnPost’s David Brauer, last week 11 Strib colleagues opted for buyouts, 12-20 layoffs are set to come down as soon as Monday, and the newsroom Newspaper Guild approved a Tuesday byline strike.

“Withholding bylines has a long tradition in unionized newsrooms,” explains Brauer. “The contractually guaranteed right is a visible way to protest management practices.”

Want to help? Spread the word through your Blog, Facebook, Twitter, right here. And explain the significance.

Meanwhile, on the PiPress front, things look perhaps a touch better, depending on your perspective. No layoffs; but less hours/money. According to WCCO, “members of the Newspaper Guild at the St. Paul Pioneer Press voted Friday to go down to a 37.5-hour work week and take an unpaid week of furlough in exchange for a no-layoff agreement.”

The Guild also agreed other concessions, including to forgo a previously negotiated 3 percent pay hike that was to go into effect in July. In total, the union agreed to about a 10 percent pay cut, which the company estimates will save between $1 million and $2 million annually.

I guess it beats 26 layoffs. Maybe.

Of course, you should probably hear about it from the horse’s mouth. Did I just call the PiPress a horse? Darn it, if I hadn’t grown some love for Brauer lately this would be a great place for a horse’s ass joke. (Sorry, David, I couldn’t help myself. It means nothing! Great coverage.) Check out what he has to say about the matter.

Yesterday’s News from the Strib

Max Sparber — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:30:24 +0000

The Strib has a blog called Yesterday’s News, and it’s great fun, whether they are reprinting an opinion that the Nazis will lose due to their lack of a sense of humor, a tale of preemies on display at the State Fair, a Lux Soap ad, or some Minneapolis ghost stories.

Strib paywall

Max Sparber — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:22:25 +0000

Brauer reports that, despite unsuccessful past experiences of putting their content behind paywalls, the Strib will soon be charging for some of the Vikings coverage. Would you pay?

In unexpectedly related news, filmmaker Michael Moore says that newspapers “slit their own throats” by pusuing profits at the expense of newsgathering.

Star Trib Commentors: Almost Tooo Easy

Max Sparber — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:14:21 +0000

The You Are Dumb blog sets its sites on Strib commentors, and finds them, well, to be pretty dumb. Specifically, the blog’s author looks at responses to the recent tale of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was detained in Newark as a result of having his name on a watch list, which is approximately the equivalent of Julia Roberts being detained in China for being a possible terrorist. Strib commentors, however, don’t really seem to grasp the tale, so the blog clarifies: This is clearly, in the annals of airport security snafus, a minor incident. He wasn’t removed from a plane, he didn’t miss a flight, and he only lost a couple of hours. On the other hand, this is also clearly an issue of a broken system abusing an innocent traveler for no societal benefit, and only coming to light because the innocent traveler being abused has a certain amount of fame, power, and/or pull. And once we leave the land of Clearly, we enter the murky, confused world of the Strib commenters, who proceed to describe a whole other planet.

Coleman’s last words, we hope not

Tom Bartel — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:59:07 +0000

Nick Coleman, ousted columnist from the Strib, went on MPR with Cathy Wurzer this morning to talk about “making a difference.”

Star Tribune News

Max Sparber — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:52:32 +0000

David Brauer maps out the declining economics of the Star-Tribune, which is now worth less than $90 million, while its advertising sales have fallen 20 percent. At least it is paying its bought-out writers in full. Why? Apparently, in part, out of fear of angering experienced journalists.

Do Newspapers Matter?

Max Sparber — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:19:48 +0000

Brauer makes a case that newspapers matter, especially looking at local media. Mediation rebuts. What do you think? Has the time of the newspaper passed?

More Strib Buyouts: KK Finally Kicks It

sandburg — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:18:24 +0000

David Brauer at his Braublog: According to a buyout memo released this afternoon and newsroom sources, Nick Coleman and Katherine Kersten will lose their columns, though they may be able to remain at the paper as reporters. He also mentions that the memo called for “up to three” metro columnists and “up to one editorial cartoonist” to be sacked as well. What will the loss of locally-produced content mean for the Strib? How will it set itself apart from other newspapers and online sources of media?

Shakeups in Local News

Max Sparber — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:27:01 +0000

Steve Perry is out at the Minnesota Independent, apparently as fallout from the recent budget cutting measures, which included the axing of several staff members. In the meanwhile, the Star Tribune must cut $30 million to survive, and it looks like they are asking the newspaper’s union to get employees to shoulder $20 million of that. This all seems premature to me. I mean, have they even checked for change under their sofa cushions?