So Tribune Co Filed for Chapter 11 -- What's That Mean For You?

By you, in this post, we mean members of the Guild at the Baltimore Sun. Check out the info below released today by the Guild leadership:

Guild Bulletin Bankruptcy

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business

Job Reductions Afoot

Guild leaders met with Baltimore Sun management on Nov. 19. Below is the update to union members about that meeting, where job reductions at the Sun were discussed. If you are a Guild member and have questions about what's happening, please direct them to your Guild representative.

Sun Bulletin -- "Numbers Please" -- Nov. 21, 2008

Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Business union newspapers

What If You Didn't Know? More Layoffs Coming to The Baltimore Sun.

The Newspaper Guild at The Baltimore Sun Reports More Layoffs To Come

Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Business

Paper cuts

Circulation at big newspapers across the country continued to tank in the six months leading up to Sept. 30, including circulation at The Baltimore Sun, according to this staff written story today.

Today also brought news that the nonprofit Christian Science Monitor -- a paper with an award-winning journalistic history -- will stop publishing its print edition in April. It only publishes Monday through Friday. Instead, it will publish a Sunday magazine. Check out the NY Times story for all the details.

It's not fair to compare the Monitor to for-profit papers, the article points out. But the Monitor management does note, in the article, that stopping the publication of the print version will enable them to keep their eight foreign bureaus open.

Interesting stuff. Thoughts?

One Health Care Plan, Partner

To save $10 million, Tribune decided to offer its thousands employees just one health care plan, through a company called United Healthcare. It's a big provider, one of the biggest in the land. But it's also a PPO, and many Sun Guild members have been using an HMO for years, to save money.

This new change will likely have financial implications for employees. To what extent? We don't know, as the company has not yet given us premium costs that we can expect to pay.

However, The Sun's HR staff was very diligent and responsive in turning around a number of answers to questions that the Guild pitched to them this week. If the switch concerns you, you can check the dedicated Google Group for Sun Guild members, which includes several PDFs that may help with your questions. Shoot an email to newsofthesun(at)gmail(dot)com and ask for an invitation if you're not in it yet.

The Web Coming Back to Calvert Street

News Item: The Baltimore Sun's Web operation (aka Baltimoresun.com, formerly the Website known as Sunspot), which is currently based out of Cross Keys in North Baltimore, will be moving to the North Calvert St. headquarters by the end of the year.

The newspaper's editorial/opinion writers, who are currently in another part of the 501 N. Calvert Street building, will be relocated to the second floor, where the newsroom is located. There'll be some shuffling of management reports, but that's insider baseball for the few score readers who read this lil' labor blog, so we won't bother with that right now.

The workers at the website are currently merit -- not Guild -- and for those who've been around awhile, know that this has regularly been a point of contention between Sun and Guild. The company has always argued that Web workers don't do the same jobs as newsroom workers, i.e. reporters, even though every once and awhile -- i.e. today -- we see Web stories with a byline that reads: "baltimoresun.com reporter." Wazzup wit dat?

Anyway, yay. We hope the company saves some money on the real estate move and makes some productive use of all the empty space on the third floor.

Some Kudos

I'm not speaking for anyone else but me when I say this, but it was heartening to see "Colorblind" on the cover of the "b" today.

Sure, it's no "Douchebag" cover that'll draw a lot of attention from the media world -- who needs that kind of attention anyway? Instead, "Colorblind" offered a collection of four short essays by African Americans in their 20s, or Generation Y, on how they perceive the issue of race.

The topic of race and racism is always simmering just beneath the surface in Baltimore -- and some might complain that the Baltimore Sun (Media Group) historically hasn't done the best job of covering it. But, in this case, it's good to see that the "b" is trying. I would look forward to reading more of this kind of stuff on my lunch break.

Reports

First, last week: a vague report from DCRTV.com about possible layoffs of up to 100 people at the Baltimore Sun.

That report has just lingered in the air, with no one really touching it.

Next -- today -- we see a report in LAObserved about 75 more editorial cuts at the Los Angeles Times coming down the pike.

Ummm, what's going on, partners?

Teaching Yourself To Fish

Many of my Sun colleagues have asked me how to go about learning different multimedia skills that you can apply to journalism, and how to start preparing yourself for the future of the craft.

More than a year ago, I asked that same question to Adrian Holovaty, the techno-journalist who created Chicagocrime.org and more recently, the wildly innovative Everyblock.com. His advice to me: just start doing it.

Since then, I've spent many, many hours -- mostly outside of work and on my own time -- engaged in self-education, class-taking and fun experimentation. Now more than ever, it's really important to start looking at the skills in your professional toolbox. What follows is a list of things you can do to prepare for your role as a digital journalist.

1) Learn how to do video. Be the geek at the family or friend get-together who shoots video, edits it later at home, uploads it to YouTube, and shares or promotes it to others. Learn video editing techniques on a simple program, like Windows Movie Maker, or the Mac's iMovie. When you're confident, start playing with Final Cut Express or Pro, a more professional software program that's used by many media outlets, incluing the Sun. Web video will become increasingly important in the future. Why? Because as broadband networks become better and faster, people will be watching more and more video online: at their desks, on their laptops, and on their smartphones -- and even on their living room couches.

2) Take a beginner class in Web design. It will make you a more technically proficient blogger, because you will learn the structure of a Web page, and how to maximize the use of keywords -- which has never been more important for finding content online. Learn HTML and CSS -- the basic languages used in Web design. Build your own little Website from scratch -- without using Dreamweaver as a crutch! (I recommend some kind of class structure for those who learn better in a structured format. I've taken classes at the University of Baltimore. But most other local higher-ed institutions offer such courses. Also, check out lynda.com for online courses.)

3) Mock up a Google blog. Do you worry you don't have any blogging experience? It's okay. Just hit Blogger.com and start your own free blog today. Keep it private so that no one can read it except for you. And then, experiment with it. Hack it. Teach yourself how to change the look of the blog. You can learn a lot about HTML and CSS simply by experimenting with a Google blog. They are extremely forgiving to the novice user. Equally important, learn how to use and interpret Google Analytics -- which will help you understand the Web audience. It's vital.

4) Photoshop. Play with it. Do fun things to your photos with it. If you don't have Photoshop, try to find a cheaper, similar program, where you learn how to do basic editing and resizing of images. Regular web work practically requires that you do at least simple image-editing in Photoshop or something similar.

5) Learn how to collect high-quality audio. Don't own a digital recorder yet? Why not? The recorders now on the market act like little flash drives. Mine -- an Olympus -- can hold audio recordings and music files. I plug in its USB drive into a computer and easily transfer high-quality audio into an audio-editing program. A good interview can easily turn into online content.

6) Online Social Networking. Try to stay out front in how people are networking online, whether it's Twitter or Facebook or some other application. Knowing how to quickly tap these networks for breaking news, feature story ideas, and source-building is both vital and efficient. My favorite online addiction right now is Twitter Search (search.twitter.com). Type in a keyword and you can see how people are using it on Twitter. Everyday, I monitor "Tweets" by geography, simply by searching for "Baltimore," "Towson", "Annapolis", and other relevant keywords.

7) The importance of databases. Kudos to one of our newsroom colleagues for offering to give Sun reporters some training in how to use Microsoft Excel and Access later this month. More than a year ago, I remember asking during a show-and-tell session with the "Ground Rent" team, for staff training in Excel and Access. I recall one manager saying that if any other reporter needed help with databases, they should just enlist the help of the three people in the newsroom who knew these two vital programs well. Well, a year later, two of those people took a buyout and the third is about to take a long break on extended maternity leave. The buyouts took several people out of the newsroom who knew how to do at least some computer-assisted reporting. We need to bring that knowledge back. Knowing how to work with databases is important, because the data can often be used to build interesting online applications (i.e. The Sun's homicide map.)

Lastly, I'll leave you with this link to an American Journalism Review story, which talks about how NPR (with assistance from a Knight Foundation grant), is spending $2.5 million to re-train its 450 journalists for a multimedia platform. I guess we're still waiting for Tribune, and all of its Zell money, to do the same. Since we're allegedly "partners," I suppose we have the right expect more training, so we could go out and do journalism in the 21st century.

But we can't hold our breaths waiting for that -- cuz it probably won't happen. For you, it is far too risky for the sake of your own future, to expect any training on the level of what NPR is doing. So go out and teach yourself to fish. You may not get to use these skills here, but I guarantee you that your next employer will expect this stuff from you.

Do you have any tips for how print journalists can adapt to doing their jobs on the Web? Share them below. (Please post useful stuff -- save the snark for your own blog.)

Update: Okay, a little snark is okay. Just make a good point, too, while you're at it.

Sigh

Ho-hum. It's another layoff rumor. This time, it can be found at DCRTV.com.

The news item quotes a "source" who cites the "word on the street" as his/her conduit for the information. Here's the brief:

More Cuts Coming To Sun - 9/30 - A source tells DCRTV: "Word on the street is that Sam Zell is planning to can another 100 people at the Baltimore Sun (and) baltimoresun.com in November. The rumor has been circulating around the marketing and advertising offices on Calvert Street".....

Come on, DCRTV, do a little more digging. How can you put something out there on the web without even calling The Baltimore Sun Media Group for a comment? Isn't that just irresponsible journalism? Just call 410-332-6000, get connected to a company spokesperson, and get a comment or a no-comment.

Share Our Content on Facebook and Beyond

Look up. Yes. Just above this line. Notice the little slick button that says "SHARE"?

Know what that means? It means you can take any blog post on "News Of The Sun," and share it with your friends and colleagues via the many different online social networking sites out there.

Now, with our content, you can "Digg" it, "Fark" it, "Twitter" it -- and more.

The world will never be the same. :-)

Next Dance Partner

The Baltimore Sun Media Group today announced a content-sharing partnership with WJZ (Channel 13), the local CBS news affiliate. The deal is about cross-promotion, with Sun print content getting promoted on television and WJZ video content getting featured on BaltimoreSun.com.

It's an interesting move on the part of BSMG. Some other Tribune newspapers operate in media markets where the Trib owns a local TV station, making for better "synergy" (supposedly). So the cross-promotion between newspaper and TV is presumably a little more seamless.

For the Sun, striking a deal with a local TV station is nothing new under the sun. In my 8+ years at the newspaper, this is the third deal. First, it was WMAR (channel 2), about five years ago or so. Next, a few years later, came WBAL (Channel 11) for a very brief time. Now, it's WJZ.

It seems WJZ's video will be showing up all over BaltimoreSun.com next month. They'll be selling and placing ads in front 0f the videos (something The Sun seems to have been unable to do on its own) and giving The Sun a piece of the revenue.

This really is a spot of good news, at least at this level: local television news across the land is generally notorious for using the local daily newspaper as a tip sheet for its own daily news reports. In our case now, WJZ gets to give us credit. (Nice move, Tim Franklin!)

But.

The push to include video on BaltimoreSun.com from a local TV affiliate, some might argue, is a departure from the Web video strategy laid out for the newsroom several years ago. The push was for "YouTube-quality" news video -- nothing too slick or overly produced, we were told. Just a video news report that a busy print reporter could record quickly while out on the street. A video editor would chop it together and throw it up on the web. We're talking basic stuff: crime scene video, a two minute interview with a politician. No standups in front of a camera, no TV "style" -- in fact, the Tribune Interactive training manuals didn't want our web video to be anything like TV reports.

During the last contract negotiation, management made a big deal of allowing reporters the flexibility to pick up a video/photo camera. But -- and this is my interpretation of this -- management wasn't willing to pay its reporters a little more to do video/photos. And the union wasn't going to allow management to evaluate a print reporter's performance in doing video/photos.

The result? Reporters had neither a carrot (more pay) or stick (fear of a negative performance review) in picking up a video camera. Thus, our development of Web video is not as far along as it could -- or should -- be right now.

So now, we have WJZ. We hope the dance works out. We hope we can learn a few moves from each other. We hope it makes both sides lots of money.

Movers & Shakers

Baltimore Sun Media Group's chief financial officer Erik Smist is leaving to be director of finance and administration at Johns Hopkins Press, according to an all-staff email today from Sun Publisher Tim Ryan. Mr. Smist's last day is Monday.

Mr. Smist had been with BSMG since 1986. Management will be seeking a replacement, according to Mr. Ryan's email. Good luck, Mr. Smist.

850,000 Pageviews

Despite the travails at the LA Times, their coverage of the commuter train disaster last week was notable. And one of the reasons it was so, we learned from Poynter today, is because of their ability to collaborate extremely quickly and roll-out an amazing online database for their website. (see sample database entry above.)

This database was made possible because there were news people -- including a database pro with a journalistic background -- who immediately recognized the drama and human interest potential of this tragedy. They quickly collaborated to turn around a powerful -- and elegantly designed -- online program that featured salient details about each dead victim. And in doing so, they provided a noteworthy public service.

Their hardwork in a span of just 24 hours was rewarded. In coming days, their hyperlocal database of crash victims garnered 850,000 pageviews and 1,500 comments as of Wednesday, according to Poynter's Chip on Your Shoulder blog. (Read the interview with the key newsroom players involved in the database's creation -- and as of tonight, it had more than 1,800 comments.)

They were able to do this because reporters, editors, and computer geeks worked together. It was the first time they rolled out such a database on such an intense deadline.

Said Ben Welsh, the database creator:

To me the site started as simply a way to quickly disseminate the fatality list, was sketched in by our staff to become a collection of obituaries, and along the way flowered into a community conversation. We did our part, and then set things up so the readers could do theirs.

What's also notable, according to the blog, is that those involved departed from Tribune's content management system to use a more flexible web database development platform, called Django.

Not only did they work together, they broke the mold in doing so. This, my friends, is the definition of AWESOME.

For years now, the Guild at The Baltimore Sun has pushed for this type of collaboration. But that collaboration starts with bringing the Sun's newsroom and Website teams together, which hasn't happened yet.

For us to attempt a similar undertaking now, it would probably take far longer than 24 hours to build and deploy, as the few people with the knowledge to make it happen are tied up with other Website properties (i.e. bthesite.com, which supports the "b" free tabloid daily launched earlier this year by Sun publisher Tim Ryan, or the community newspaper sites).

The union wants this type of collaboration. We wanted this awhile ago.

850,000 pageviews.

Required Reading?

Are you an "integrator," a "net-newser," a "traditionalist," or a member of the "disengaged"?

Well, if you're reading this blog, I'm gonna bet you fall into the first two categories, based on a Pew Research Center study released last month.

The study is the Pew center's biennial "news consumption" survey and it does just that: breaks down how people are consuming print, radio, online and television/cable news.

Click here to find it. Here's one scary lil' finding:

In spite of the increasing variety of ways to get the news, the proportion of young people getting no news on a typical day has increased substantially over the past decade. About a third of those younger than 25 (34%) say they get no news on a typical day, up from 25% in 1998.

In a nutshell, the report breaks down its American news consumers into the four categories I mentioned above. The most desirable audience are the first two: integrators, who are older and consume a mix of online, tv and print media, and net-newsers, who are younger (median age 35) and tend to stay mostly online for their news.

The people in these categories have the money and the interest in the news, and they're more likely to crave national and political news as part of their daily fix. "Traditionalists" (aka TV news watchers) still make up a major minority in the demographic breakdown. But the young folk are watching more video online, so TV news may be in the fight for its life in a few years.

I hope everyone who works at The Baltimore Sun reads this report.

Anatomy of a MooseShag

The "b", the Baltimore Sun Media Group's free daily which is meant to kick-start the daily conversation, did just that yesterday. The conversation seemed to continue through today.

And yes, I can't believe I'm even writing about this, but here goes....

The cover of the "b" yesterday featured a young man with the huge, vertical headline of a word that begins with "D," stands for an item connected to gynecological hygiene, and rhymes with "MooseShag," which will be used from here on in as the replacement term. (Curious to read an independent definition of the actual word? Check out this Wiki.)

Inside, in Anatomy of a MooseShag, the article's author explored the contemporary cultural meaning of MooseShag -- a term which I, now in my mid-30s, probably last used seriously in early high school. Apparently, the word's been dusted off and appropriated by the young folk, and given this wonderful cultural revival in our daily lexicon of bad names we can call each other.

So yes, people seem to like to have semi-serious debates about who's a MooseShag and who's not. It's happening, in fact, all over the darn Internet. Crazy!

Anyhow, you can imagine the debate that ensued. Journalists at The Baltimore Sun -- the daily newspaper whose revenues apparently continue to bankroll the "b" -- were shocked. Shocked, I tell you!

The "b"'s editor wrote a letter to some journalists who previously complained to Sun publisher Tim Ryan (whose idea was to launch the "b" earlier this year) about the MOOSESHAG]! cover. The memo got leaked to Romenesko, of course.

Sure, journalists at a daily metro broadsheet newspaper would cringe at a sister tabloid that screams such a headline across the cover. It goes against our grain as newspeople, but also as participants and contributors in the daily discourse of civil society. Sure, we "get" there's a segment out there that loves to chatter away about "MooseShaggery." (Apparently, a word, according to the "b.")

Comments on the "b"'s Website pertaining to the article were brisk, but it certainly wasn't a tidal wave of online interaction, the way, say, Susan Reimer's controversial column on Repub VP-pick Sarah Palin generated 9,700+ responses on the Baltimore Sun's website. The "b"'s Anatomy of a MooseShag article, by comparison, had 29 comments as of 5:52 p.m. today.

We'd guess that most readers who pick the "b" up were either amused or ambivalent, or mildly disgusted, but hey, whaddya gonna do? Complain about something you get for free? That's such a MooseShag thing to do.

No, I suspect that us media folk -- especially workers at The Baltimore Sun who are a part of the Guild and who saw many of their professional colleagues leave last month -- probably talked about it more than anyone else. Out of sheer irritation. Here's why:

The Baltimore Sun Media Group last month jettisoned 55 journalists as part of a major cost-cutting measure, many of whom made indelible marks on Maryland news over decades, and chose instead to invest in a product that screams "DOUCHEBAG!" to its readers.

Oops, I mean: MooseShag!

Angry Journalists

A group of former LA Times staffers, including Walter F. Roche (a former Baltimore Sun investigative reporter) filed a class action lawsuit today in federal district court in California against Sam Zell (left), several sources are reporting.

Some of you may remember Wally Roche and the great work he did at the Baltimore Sun. Public information officers all over the state of Maryland probably still remember -- and cringe -- at the thought of dealing with Wally Roche, a tireless, dogged journalist. Now, Wally Roche (and some of his high-powered journo buddies at the LAT) get to be Sam Zell's problem.

Check out LAObserved and Chicago Business for their coverage. The press release journalists put out called the $8.2 billion deal that Sam Zell put together to buy Tribune "a scam." Tribune officials didn't have a comment yet.

Much of this ESOP stuff can get really complicated. To get a sense of where the plaintiffs may be coming from, you may want to read up on some columns written by Allan Sloan, of the Washington Post. Start with this one, about what a deal to sell the Chicago Cubs might look like and how it might be structured.

Zellapalooza?

Sam Zell, chairman and CEO of Tribune, apparently likes to throw himself extravagant birthday parties. At this year's bash, in Chicago (slated for Sept. 27), not only will it likely be another fancy affair, it will also feature aging rockers, The Eagles, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.

How cool is that? Most people for their birthdays are lucky to maybe have a karaoke bash where they get a chance to sing Eagles' songs horribly out of tune. Sam Zell gets to hire the band!

The Sun-Times columnist seems to take pleasure in needling Sam Zell over his spending of what is presumably large amounts of presumably his own money to hire the Eagles. The columnist even breaks out the italics to describe Tribune's financial woes as "huge." I'm sorry: huge. He even dropped the word bankruptcy in there. Yikes! Stop using that word, dude.

Anyhow, in the past, columnist Sun-Times Bill Zwecker reports, such big stars as Elton John, Aretha Franklin, the Beach Boys, Little Richard and Bette Midler have played Zellapalooza.

My favorite part of the column is the anonymous quote from a past Zellapalooza party-goer, who seems to defend the conspicuous consumption at these affairs:

''You do have to remember these parties employ a lot of people as waiters, carpenters, caterers and the like ... and they are well paid to work on Sam's parties.''

Who knows, maybe some out-of-work journalists who've moved on to other careers will get to attend the party, too -- as "carpenters, caterers and the like."

Thank goodness for trickle-down economics.

Movers & Shakers

The Baltimore Sun's managing editor, or No. 2 newsroom chief, announced today that he is resigning.

Bob Blau had been at the Sun nearly four years and guided some great journalism into the newspaper. (Check out his official bio at the Sun's Website.) The guy loves journalism, plain and simple. We wish him much luck in his future endeavors. There was no word on his future plans.

In his own humble and collegial words, here's a snippet from Bob's email to staff today:

Those of you now charged with navigating The Sun’s future course should know that you are among the best in the business. You have won more prizes than I can keep track of. You have outhustled and outsmarted the competition with a rare combination of scrappiness and sophistication.

In emails from Editor Tim Franklin and Publisher Tim Ryan, it was not immediately clear if Baltimore Sun Media Group management will re-fill the managing editor position, or simply eliminate it entirely. The two deputy managing editors who reported to Bob -- Marcia Myers and Paul Moore -- will now report to Tim Franklin.

Journos Blogging for Journos

"Friday is here. Most of our colleagues who opted for the buyout and were approved depart this day. It is striking to see the talent walking out the door."

The line above could've applied to what we went through at The Sun last month. But actually, it was written by a blogger who's helping keep staff at the Dallas Morning News informed about the painful contractions they're going through, too. Here's a snapshot of their blog -- NewsBuyout2008:



The blog has been covering the job losses and nitty-gritty details of buyouts and layoffs. Like us at The Sun, they've also been trying to take care of their own, by posting journalism and media-related jobs and seeking advice from ex-staffers who survived leaving the paper and moving on to another career. (Our separate jobs blog is private for now.)

Though we're half a country away, journalists in Baltimore and Dallas share in the impulse to keep their colleagues connected in this time of crisis. I'm sure the DMN and the handful of Tribune-related blogs aren't the only ones where journalists are trying to keep their colleagues informed.

Let's try to find them all.

I'll set up a link list in the middle column. If you find one, post in the comments section or email the link to us at newsofthesun(at)gmail(dot)com, and we'll update the list.

Thank you.

Tribune and Google Duke It Out

You may have heard by now: an automated Google program (aka, a "bot") is catching blame for a major Web glitch connected to a Tribune Website that caused a big airline's stock to tank this week.

(Aside: I bet that poor, dumped-on Google bot is now wishing it was in a union. Hehe.)

The back story: Google News plucked an old report about United Airlines declaring bankruptcy in 2002 off the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Website -- and then disseminated it as new news in 2008.

Shares of UAL plummeted (check out the scary drop here -- via Google Finance no less!) because the story spread all over the world through Google News on Monday. The Wall Street Journal covers the headache with this latest dispatch. Here's the interesting back-n-forth between Tribune and Google in the WSJ article:

Tribune said it previously had identified problems with Google's automated search service and had asked Google to stop trolling Tribune Web sites for inclusion in Google News.

"Despite the company's earlier request and the confusion caused by Googlebot and Google News earlier this week, we believe that Googlebot continues to misclassify stories," Tribune said.

Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said in a statement: "The claim that the Tribune Company asked Google to stop crawling its newspaper Web sites is untrue."

Tribune said it can back up the claims in its statement.

The story even got picked up by Bloomberg news service.

Interestingly, the LA Times has a more detailed story about how the snafu happened (Yay LAT!). And it makes one wonder some more about where the original problem and blame may lie. See the story here.

Again, what an unfortunate headache for everyone. Maybe a few real people are still kinda/sorta/maybe still necessary for putting out the news.

P.S. One thing we don't understand is how a six-year old story on a Tribune website can still be available to the public when it's generally the policy of its Websites to lock the stories behind a paid archive system two weeks after they're published. How is this full story even still available for free on the Sun-Sentinel's Website?

This web stuff.... sheesh. It's confusing, I know.

UPDATE: Just a thought -- Maybe Google will use this as a teachable moment and hire, oh, about 2,000 unemployed reporters and editors to help make sure the integrity of their news dissemination service isn't compromised.

Movers & Shakers

Movers & Shakers will be an occasional news blurb covering top personnel changes at The Baltimore Sun Media Group.

In this inaugural edition, we report on a transition at the "b", The Baltimore Sun Media Group's free daily tabloid launched earlier this year. The publication's very first general manager, Brad Howard, appears to not be connected to the enterprise any longer. His name is no longer listed as a contact on the website or in the print pub. Sources report he went to another media entity in Baltimore.

Mr. Howard helped launch the "b" several months ago. He is mentioned in several online locations that have reported on the "b," including this blog, this Citypaper article, and this one in the Examiner.

We wish him well in his future endeavors.

Instability Bites

Michael Anft, of the Urbanite, takes a viewpoint on the happenings at The Baltimore Sun in this month's issue. Here's a snippet from the online version:

Shed tears for an on-the-slide daily? Forget it. Why shouldn’t the drawn-out demise of a newspaper bought to model a morally bankrupt corporate culture—the kind that led raiders and bean counters to believe you could milk 20 percent profit margins from operations that had made 2 to 3 percent annually for their previous local owners—be a cause of rejoicing? At the very least, the visibly diminished state of the Sun, with several fewer pages of news per week, might speed the search for a new model to replace newsprint.

It should be noted that The Sun has covered extensively the dislocation of workers at major companies in Baltimore for years. I wrote plenty of stories when Bethlehem Steel shriveled up and blew away a few years back, as retirees fretted over their health insurance. We also covered the fall of GM's Broening Highway plant from many, many different angles.

The coverage of 55+ journalists and others leaving The Sun recently, by comparison, has been far more muted, I think. You certainly won't find much coverage of it within the pages of the Sun. Other local media with a snarky edge seem to enjoy watching the paper stumble, even as real people work within the belly of the beast to try to maintain the newspaper's traditions and standards. The workers, meanwhile, are sometimes accused of being "whiners," when they try to call attention to what's happening.

Indeed, we should go silently into the night.

I haven't heard of any reporters tracking down recently laid-off/bought-out Sun journalists at their homes to ask them how they're gonna pay for their health insurance when their buyout package runs out. I haven't heard of other reporters tracking down recent dislocated Sun employees at their homes and asking them what their plan is for helping cover their kids' tuition. Or making that mortgage payment. God forbid these people who just lost their careers at an institution they loved should speak about the pain of being dislocated. Or express their anger and disappointment toward Tribune Co., lest they be labeled as "whiners."

Yet we (The Sun) wrote extensively about the plight of such workers when other major companies here did massive workforce cuts.

Our articles also noted that when many of these more-troubled companies were dislocating their workers, they actually gave them far more time to consider voluntary buyouts and, in some cases, gave them far better benefits -- when compared to what The Sun offered its employees over the summer in the latest round of buyouts. And these employers were actually in the red, whereas The Baltimore Sun is not. Yet.

I don't dispute Mr. Anft's contention that The Sun was often a brief stop for some ambitious writers, who were on their way to bigger and better papers. But that isn't necessarily why you've seen so many people leave, especially within the last two years. People are coming and going because of the uncertainty: they have families to care for, and the instability wears on the soul.

This latest buyout generated so much concern, within the newsroom at least, that people who feared they were on the cusp of being laid off went out on job interviews. But they survived the layoffs. Yet new, better job offers came in.

So they left.

Over the past month, we lost another handful of smart reporters in the prime of their careers this way. So, the newsroom may have lost 55 people during the official buyout period, but since then, the resignation letters have kept coming.

New York Times to its Metro section: "Bye-Bye"

The Baltimore Sun was ahead of the curve this time around. We merged our metro news section into the A/front section last month.

Today, the NY Times announced they'll be doing the same with their metro report for New York. The paper claims it won't be giving readers less news. But the section shuffle is about saving on costs of running presses to print an extra section.

Here's the story that the Times did today on the news. Fortunately, for now, it seems that layoffs/buyouts are not a part of the section shuffle at the Times.

I've been hunting around trying to find the news story that The Sun did when the "reinvention" was announced weeks ago, but no luck. If anyone finds it and can post a link to it, please do so in the comments below. Thanks!

UPDATE, Sat. Sept. 6: I still can't seem to find an actual Baltimore Sun news article that covered the changes at the paper and the economic/financial reasons behind those changes last month.

There was some other media coverage of the section changes and the "reinvention," in the weeks before it launched. Here are some links:

• WTOP news
• Editor & Publisher
• And a Sun press release.

And if you're interested in more discussion about The Baltimore Sun's reinvention, check out the reader blog: Under The Sun, which is guided by the smart, seasoned and even hand of Paul Moore, the deputy managing editor for operations. (Readers let it fly on that blog, though the comments are fairly balanced and not altogether shrill.)

But back to the dilemma at hand: I can't seem to find an actual Sun news story that explains this change to readers and approaches it from the business perspective that the NY Times story did. I'm feeling really stupid here. Did I miss it? If you can track it down, please post in the comments. It would be nice to keep an archive of major stories handy...perhaps in one of the sidebars.

Twitterific?

A colleague and I regularly get into debates over the usefulness of online social networking, with sites such as Twitter and Facebook. I see these sites as a powerful tool with great potential to totally reshape the way journalists work. My colleague is basically just too skeptical of sharing so much information online, particularly the nonsensical, personal kind of info that seems to fill up a lot of these sites.

But let's ignore the nonsensical (or whimsical) uses of such tools for a moment. For awhile, Twitter was one of those online applications that, in some ways, was born ahead of its time, and we're slowly starting to find beneficial uses for it. When you look at the numbers for how news sites are starting to such social networking online apps, you can't help but think we're really on the cusp of a revolution within an already-ongoing online revolution for the news business.

Not sure what I mean? Check out this analysis of how news sites are integrating Twitter into their offerings (The Baltimore Sun and b are mentioned), then let's chat some more. Sure, the numbers are small. But intriguing, if not somewhat promising. We'll set up a Twitter feed soon for this site.

Do you think there's real potential for a site like Twitter to really revamp the way news is disseminated? I think the potential is vast. Super vast. David Cushman, a UK blogger and digital online media guru, thinks so. Check out his interesting views on his blog, FasterFuture.

News of the Sun 2.0

Welcome to the redesigned News Of The Sun blog, your local source for what unionized workers at Baltimore's hometown daily broadsheet are thinking and talking about. (As featured in today's Citypaper.)

Please note the newly added middle column, which contains not only a nod to our great history in journalism (that would be H.L. Mencken's mug) but the newly added "Recent Comments" and Twitter feed widgets -- wee little blog features that help highlight 'user-generated content' in the blogosphere. We wonder what Mencken would think about journalists tossing the words "widget" and "Twitter" around. 

Alrighty. Moving on. The right rail -- which, under the previous design, was simply known as the right column -- features more interactive thingies, including numerous polls that help you decide on your opinion. After you vote, you can then see what others think. (Such as how no one is willing to pay for local news, according to one poll.) This is another innovation brought to you for free, you scurvy band of freeloading Internet news pirates. Arrrr!

The right rail also features a contact email for expressing your issues and concerns to official Sun management, particularly if you're a subscriber. Remember: this blog is a union blog that represents the voices of Sun workers. So, you can voice your issues here but you must contact an official company representative who can address your needs as a customer. 

Welcome to News of the Sun 2.0. We laid no one off to accomplish this feat. We hope you enjoy the new look. And then read the real news at The Baltimore Sun and in the print edition. Thanks.

The Web Approach, a la NYTimes.com

Have you seen the ongoing Q&A that readers are having with Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager, of NYTimes.com?

If you're interested in some thoughtful discussion, you should take a look at what she has to say as she fields readers' questions about the media landscape and how NYTimes.com -- one of the Web's busiest news sites -- fits into it.

What's particularly interesting to note is that the New York Times, though still a venerable reporting juggernaut, is struggling financially, like so many other newspaper chains. It recently added a quarter to its newsstand price, making a Monday-Saturday paper a $1.50 proposition. It's also raising its subscription prices.

Yet, Schiller makes a noteworthy point that speaks to the NYT's commitment to focusing on a journalism model of "breadth and depth" rather than "hits" -- which stands as a sharp contrast to what Tribune newspapers have been told to focus on under current management. Schiller's quote:

Our business model does not rely on drawing large numbers of views to individual “hit” stories (though sometimes that happens) but rather to the breadth and depth of our content, which is available at all times to the many and the few.

Breadth and depth. That is what a newspaper -- and a newsroom -- often can provide better than any other type of professional media outlet. Many, both in and outside the profession, worry that as newspapers focus on being "brief" and "quick and easy" to consume, they'll undercut their own relevance. We want to write stories that you can't put down and keep you holding onto the paper even longer -- or lingering on our Website till you get into trouble at work. We don't want you done with us in 5 minutes every day. Do we?

Oh boy... I feel another poll coming on.

More "Reinvention" Discussion

Check out Charles Apple's blog over at VisualEditors.com. There you'll find a long discussion about The Baltimore Sun's "reinvention," with some interesting back-and-forth of opinions.

Also, have you heard of Twitter.com? All the young folks are using it these days. Well, you can search Twitter, which is like sifting through the stream-of-consciousness of the Internet. I searched for the words "Sun redesign," and this is what I found: check out this link.

But Would You Pay For Online Local News?

Thanks for everyone's comments so far, and for voting in the poll about The Baltimore Sun's redesign. It is important that your comments (that is, your compliments and criticisms) get directed to Sun management, so don't just comment on this blog -- register your opinions here.

Otherwise, your comments got me thinking about the next poll question, which is:

Would you pay for online local news (at the Baltimore Sun or wherever)? Vote in the poll to the right.

Right now, we hear lots of anecdotes of people giving up the print edition and just consuming the news online, where it is free.

But we all know nothing is ever free. Harvesting the news costs a lot of money, though the promise of an Internet-only news site means a publisher doesn't have to worry about operating a costly printing press and buying pricey paper and ink by the ton.

Take an imaginary walk with me: Imagine us in the year 2018. Newspapers are gone and have been gone for about five years and 2/3 of U.S. adults are reading the news on their iPhone 12G networked phone. You're scouring the Internet for local news and you're also looking more stories about the still-ongoing war in Iraq beyond the one Associated Press article that is informing the world that day. But you're frustrated: In a world where news and information is free and a serious business model for serious journalism hasn't been worked out, you're finding that you just can't find hard facts that you trust about the news of the day.

So would you pay for an online subscription to get a little better coverage and more distinctive, original reporting? Or would you be happy with the free information that leaves you still hungry for more at the end of the day?

Vote in the poll in the right column, but let's discuss amongst ourselves in the comments below.

P.S. Full disclosure: In addition to our Sun print subscription, my wife and I pay for an online-only subscription to the Wall Street Journal, whose Website is chock full of goodies every day.

Reader feedback

Hi.

If you're a loyal Sun reader, a casual Sun reader, or a "I'll never read The Sun Again" reader, please take a minute to vote in the poll on the right side of this blog.

Sure it's informal and unscientific. But we're curious to see what people think about the new look of The Sun under it's "reinvention."

One big change: we're now called The Baltimore Sun. Check out our new front page and compare it to an old copy from last week -- or go back further, say, a copy from 173 years ago -- to note the difference.

We'd like to post another poll soon that pertains to the new Baltimore Sun. But this time, I'd like to see some reader input on what you're all curious about learning in such a poll. So...Submit your poll question ideas in the comments section below. Thanks!

P.S. You can submit your opinions on the "reinvention" at the Baltimore Sun's official promotional website for the new-looking newspaper here. Please -- I implore you to do so. However, also vote on this site because it's not yet clear whether Sun management will disclose the reader feedback they've been receiving. For all of us, I hope they do.

A conversation with a neighbor

After arriving home today, my neighbor R. greeted me as he relaxed on his front porch. After a few pleasantries, he asked, "So, how's The Sun? The new redesign is coming soon, right?"

I was startled. "Where'd you read that?" I asked.

He said he had been seeing the promo ads in the paper. Hmmmm, I thought. Real readers do see those things. That's a good sign. I told him we just got a good glimpse of what it'll look like today. A lot more visual, I said.

"Well, I canceled my subscription," he said. (Though, technically, he was still getting it through the end of August.)

Ouch, I thought.

"Why?"

And he proceeded to explain that he canceled because he got frustrated that his newspaper didn't come by 6 a.m. for about eight straight days. Some days, he commutes to work by train and he's out of the house about the same time I am (since I cover early morning news.) He wants his paper to bring with him, so he can read it on the train. For him, the delivery disruption was the last straw. He was also frustrated at how thin the Monday paper was -- why pay for that, he said, when I can get it for free online?

Sam Zell may have his own brutal economic calculus -- and I can tell you that so do readers like my neighbor, R. So many well-paid smart people diagnose the "problems with newspapers" these days as being with the content, or with "out of touch" reporters. But I'd bet a good chunk of people -- I repeat, a GOOD chunk of people -- just want their damn paper delivered on time, and not being charged more for less content.

R. is no dummy. Neither are most of our readers.

So, I pitched an idea to my neighbor: What if you could keep your subscription to The Sun, but pick up your paper at the train station? He thought about it some, and nodded approvingly.

And for the rest of the evening, I started thinking about how to make print still work for people -- after spending the past three years thinking about how to make news on the Internet work. How can we make it work for the thousands of commuters like R. who want to read the paper on the train, bus or subway? Why not deliver their subscriptions to their point of entry into the public transportation system?

Is the better model giving our product away for free (i.e. "b") or pitching our product to people in modes that are most convenient for them to access it, while we continue to make at least a little money on its actual sale. Subscribe to the paper -- and pick it up wherever the heck it is you want to pick it up. We just want you to pick it up everyday of your life.

Sure, we have newspaper boxes at train stops and bus stops and major downtown areas. But you force someone to pay full price. Sell them a subscription and give them a kiosk -- automated or manned by one or two people -- that gives them their paper at a subscription price. And guess what: you don't have to spend gas money and manpower time delivering a few thousand papers each day across the Baltimore region. Let the subscribers come to the product.

Maybe I'm naive, but is this being done anywhere? Just a thought. I probably shoulda posted it to the Tribune's Idea Bank. But maybe -- maybe -- others can share their own ideas on how to satisfy the news consumer in the 21st century on this blog. Comments away!

"I Don't Think He Gets Journalism"

"Sam Zell may be a great guy and a great businessman, but I don't think he gets journalism and I don't think a lot of the people he brought in get journalism." -- Mike Smith, executive director of the Media Management Center at Northwestern University.

Smith spoke in a video on the topic of Sam Zell and the condition of the Tribune Co., which I happened to stumble upon tonight. Check it out below. He's got some interesting thoughts and critiques, but as many of us know, we're up against certain harsh, financial conditions -- many of which we had no control in creating.




But is whether Sam Zell "gets" journalism really the point? He cares, first and foremost, about running a business for a hefty profit and servicing our massive debt. He hasn't really made a secret of his intentions and his approach. Honestly, I don't really expect Sam Zell to care about journalism anymore than I expect him to care about me or you or your colleague in the next cubicle.

But you know who should care about journalism? You.

If you're still working at The Sun, you should care. If you're still picking up The Sun and reading it -- in print or online -- I hope you care. I hope you care enough to continue to set high expectations for us. I hope you care enough to write at least an email to Sun management when you're annoyed about something -- and a kind note when you're pleased we did something right.

But we live in a pretty tough city. I wonder: if The Sun truly stumbles or falls, will anyone care?

Printing a bigger newspaper?

The Baltimore Sun Media Group today announced that it will be printing the daily edition of the Washington Times. Cha-ching.

This is great news.

Though, I have to admit, I was a little bummed when I read the press release announcing the deal. A WT official said the deal would allow them to print a bigger newspaper, with SIX sections instead of four. Wouldn't that mean that we're printing a bigger newspaper for a Washington paper than the one we publish ourselves?

I hope this makes money for BSMG. It's a move that reminded me of what Sam Zell said he would push the Trib newspapers to focus on, which is squeezing the most out of its facilities.

This is a good thing 'cuz our facilities need to work smarter, not harder. :-)

For a blast from the past, check out the video of Sam Zell talking about facilities management at The Sun, from back in March.



And here's today's press release on the BSMG-Washington Times printing agreement:

THE BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA GROUP AND THE WASHINGTON TIMES ANNOUNCE PRINTING AGREEMENT

Washington Times decision to outsource adds to Baltimore Sun Media Group's
significant commercial printing operation


BALTIMORE, August 6, 2008 — The Baltimore Sun Media Group (BSMG) and The Washington Times LLC announced today that effective September 8, The Washington Times will outsource the printing of its daily newspaper to the Sun Park facility in Baltimore.

Executives of BSMG and The Washington Times developed the agreement in the spirit of cooperation within the newspaper industry.

"There are many advantages to being printed by the Sun," said Dick Amberg, associate publisher and general manager of The Washington Times. "The expanded capabilities of their modern presses allow us to print six sections instead of four, to print many more pages, to have more color pages, to print more quickly, and to have better inserting. We are pleased to expand our relationship with the Baltimore Sun Media Group."

BSMG also delivers The Washington Times in the Baltimore distribution area, an arrangement which will continue, and BSMG will meet all current delivery deadlines. In 2001, BSMG began distributing papers to retail outlets for single copy sales of The Washington Times in the Baltimore area, and has provided quality service to home delivery customers in that market since 2004.

"We are excited to provide printing services to The Washington Times," said Stephen G. Seidl, senior vice president, operations and technology, BSMG. "Capitalizing on our significant printing and distribution operation, while maintaining a high level of service to all of our clients, is an important part of our strategy."

The Baltimore Sun Media Group has over 50 commercial printing arrangements through both The Sun and its Community Newspaper Group. Customers include the New York Post and New York Daily News. The company also has local distribution agreements with more than 20 publications. In addition to The Washington Times, the company delivers 700,000 home delivery and 400,000 single copy publications each month for clients including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Financial Times and Investor's Business Daily.

The Washington Times is embarked on an aggressive path of growth that in the past three months has included the launch of a new WashingtonTimes.com web site, ongoing incorporation of multimedia features to meet viewer demand, a redesigned local print edition and national weekly edition, and the prior engagement of Landor Associates, one of the world's leading strategic branding firms to help position the company in the digital age.

About The Baltimore Sun Media Group
The Baltimore Sun Media Group, a Tribune company, publishes The Sun, baltimoresun.com, 30 community newspapers and magazines, and a growing portfolio of targeted print and online products, including b and bthesite.com. In print and online, the Baltimore Sun Media Group reaches 1.2 million readers each week in the Baltimore area, making it the region's most widely read source of news and information.
About The Washington Times

The Washington Times LLC is a multimedia company in the nation's capital that publishes The Washington Times, a full-service, general interest daily newspaper and other media products. Founded in 1982, The Washington Times is one of the most-often-quoted newspapers in the U.S. with a reputation for hard-hitting investigative reporting and thorough coverage of politics, policy and culture. The Washingtontimes.com web site includes all of the original content from the daily printed newspaper plus original content produced for online users in print, audio, visual and interactive formats.

New Acronym: NBC

Nothing But Class.

That's the only way I can describe what happened yesterday at The Sun. On the last day for 40+ veterans -- and by veterans I mean professionals -- our newsroom leaders (Tim Franklin, Bob Blau, Marcia Myers, Howard Libit, et al.) showed a level of class, decency and integrity that I don't think I've ever personally witnessed in the workforce.

With so many journalists at other papers simply getting a tap on the shoulder (or a phone call at home?! Really?), our newsroom leaders put together a 1 hour send-off and tribute.

Kind words were spoken about every single person who was leaving. People cried. The voices of crusty editors, who are rarely sentimental in public, cracked with emotion.

Reporters, copy editors, designers, multimedia pros, photographers -- these 40+ people who left yesterday helped raise The Sun in the morning and helped it set in the evening.

If you wish, take a moment in the comments to give a shout-out to some of the people who left, and share a memory you had with them. Let me start with a few:

Andre Chung. Good luck my friend. I'll never forget the good times we had together in some of the worst parts of Baltimore, reporting on some of the worst things that people can do to one another.

Greg Garland. Good luck, my friend. I'll never forget the work we did together on stories on the state prison system. We worked hard to be fair and accurate. We made a difference. You always amazed me with your abilities to cultivate sources.

John Lindner. Good luck, my friend. You turned my shaky video clips into two-minute Web hits. I learned so much from you. And yer pretty damn funny, too.

-30-

Saying Goodbye to People Who Knew All About AFDI

We've heard alot about AFDI, that acronym that's been shouted at us here in Baltimore from quarters out west. AFDI, or Actually F!@#$%^^& Do It, was meant to empower us. To give us the gumption to come up with ideas and implement them. Even as the tools and the manpower to AFDI get stripped away from us almost every week.

I'm talking about the heart and soul of our newspaper: our people. Our fellow journalists. My God -- do you all realize who have walked (or will soon walk) out the door of the Sun this week?

Sandy Banisky. Jon Morgan. John Fairhall, to name just a few. I can't even imagine some disaster hitting Baltimore without seeing their faces in the newsroom to help guide the stories.

You want to talk about AFDI? These three journalists are prime examples of people who got it done in Baltimore for decades. They did more to enrich this city, with their dogged reporting and great writing, then any Hot-L ever will. I certainly hope that our fledgling free, daily publication "b" succeeds, but seriously, even 20 years of "b" will not come close to the indelible mark that Banisky, Morgan and Fairhall -- to highlight just a few of the 55 who are leaving -- have left on Baltimore.

My colleagues: think about what we are losing and remember to mark this passing. It is truly a momentous time in Baltimore's recent history, this flight of so many probing, independent thinkers who are walking away from our journalistic enterprise. The loss is not only The Sun's, but the citizens of Baltimore. These are great minds, hard workers, seasoned veterans, and decent, humane people who actually gave a f!@#.

I know the time will soon come to focus again on the future, but ... we're about to say goodbye to so much institutional memory that it's frightening. It's like we're performing a partial lobotomy on our own collective newsroom brain. So much for AFDI.

But there is some decency left. Thanks to our top editors, Tim Franklin and Bob Blau, for taking the time to mark the moment for many of our esteemed colleagues who are leaving. It means a lot.

Sneak Peek At the New Sun

TellZell.com got hold of a presentation that discusses the Sun's "reinvention," slated to debut Aug. 24.

Here's the document, which debuted online at TellZell. Thoughts, comments, prognostications? Share in the comments section below. Everyone loves talking about their local newspaper, so let's start the conversation up right now.

The Baltimore Sun reinvention - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: The Baltimore Sun reinvention

The Hyperlocal Future

What else can we be now, but hyperlocal? But what does that mean? Can The Sun make enough money to thrive if we're all about hyperlocal news? And can we do it well enough so that we not only hook readers, but keep them absolutely plugged in and virtually addicted to our news content for hours each day, at work and at home?

I thought I'd post some links to some recent thoughts in the blogosphere on what it means to be doing hyperlocal journalism. Read at your leisure. But you may notice a common theme that the writers have, which is that great, original, newsworthy content -- produced by people who really know a community -- really does matter.

• "Tag A Site Hyperlocal And It's Doomed."
  
  
• Tribune Should Hire This Guy (Rob Curley)
  
  
• "Cracking The Local Market"(a rundown of hyperlocal sites, such as Topix)
  
  
• Hyperlocal News Fails Without Locals -- one of my favorite posts, whichtakes the perspective that the Washington Post's experiment with hyperlocal in Loudoun County failed because it didn't have enough "locals" who knew how to make the site really resonate with readers. Hmmmm. Something to think about.
  

That's all for now. Happy monday.

Young Journalists

Those young journalists. Tsk-tsk. If we're not laying them off, they're leaving us because we -- newspapers, that is -- are too slow to change and adapt to the Internets.

Check out this interesting blog post by Mark Glaser, over at MediaShift. Glaser does a fascinating Q&A with Vickey Williams, a veteran journalist now affiliated with the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, where she is director of its Digital Workforce Initiative.

Glaser highlighted this quote from a report called "All Eyes Forward," about newsrooms working on reinventing themselves -- I mean, seriously reinventing themselves -- from the ground up:

"While a certain amount of turnover is expected and normal among the youngest practitioners of any craft — in pursuit of career advancement or reflecting a simple change of heart — these messages seemed different in both volume and intensity. A majority of younger journalists (age 29 and below) in nearly every pilot seemed to us to be saying, “We’re leaving because the changes we see as necessary aren’t happening fast enough."

The report, though longish, is a fascinating read (you'll find the PDF link in Glaser's post.) Ten smallish newspapers volunteered to reinvent their culture and position themselves better for change and survival. If you care about journalism, it's worth a glance.