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Industry News
Circ accounts for nearly 30% of total revenue at Dallas Morning News parent A.H. Belo
Circ is really pulling its weight at A.H. Belo Corp. In a conference call with analysts Monday afternoon, Belo executives said revenue from circulation now accounts for 29.2% of total revenue, principally a result of higher subscription prices at its flagship Dallas Morning News.
Judge to Conrad Black: No Canada for you
A federal judge ordered Conrad Black to surrender his passport Friday, meaning the former media mogul can’t return to his home in Canada now that he’s free on $2 million bond.
On Gannett's plans to create five centralized design centers
After Gannett recently announced plans to create five centralized centers to handle most of the design demands at its community newspapers, the Society for News Design responded with an open letter on the value of design.
We deserve better
Many of us came to work at newspapers not just to make a living but to do our part to promote truth, justice, fairness and decency in our own small way. We do that daily — and it shows in our award-winning newspaper and website. Unfortunately, Chronicle management doesn’t seem to believe in — or practice — the same principles. At least not when it comes to us: the people who have made huge sacrifices to keep this paper alive.
Douchebag or douche bag?
I never had a personal investment in that space between the words, but as part of my job, it was my duty to point out that it should exist. It was a job that suited my tendency to worry about details, but one that also forced me to engage in unexpectedly absurd conversations.
New York Times Co. Q2 profit doubles as revenue turns positive
The New York Times Co. became the first big newspaper publisher to report top-line growth in its second-quarter results, with total revenue increasing 1.2% from a year ago.
New Guild baby bolsters East Bay forces
Grace Steffens Kepka, newborn daughter of Chronicle Unit member Mike Kepka and MediaNews mobilizer Sara Steffens, opened her eyes last week to a world of rising miltance.
Talks on hold at Chronicle as membership gathers
With a one-week break, Chronicle management still was not prepared to respond to our latest proposals — vacation, 401(k), pension, health care, raises, among others — and could not meet for negotiations today. We do plan to reschedule talks and keep the dialogue going, however. In the meantime, the Bargaining Committee worked on strategy options that we will discuss at tonight’s general membership meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Guild conference room.
In suprise, FCC defends loosened newspaper cross-ownership rules -- but Copps vows tighter ban
In a surprise move, the Democrat-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Wednesday defended changes to media cross-ownership rules adopted in the George W. Bush administration that loosened somewhat the ban on same-market common ownership of a newspaper and broadcast station.
Conrad Black released from prison on $2 million bond
Conrad Black walked out of a federal prison in Coleman, Fla., Wednesday afternoon after 28 months of incarceration. Earlier in the day, a federal judge set bond at $2 million, ruling that the former media mogul can’t leave the continental United States and must return to a Chicago courtroom to receive further conditions of his release.
KQED expands local news, integrates media
KQED Public Media will increase its local news content and integrate radio and online formats starting today when 10 newscasts are added to 88.5 FM and made instantly available in audio on kqednews.org.
Help-wanted classified revenue actually turns positive as Lee Enterprises swings to Q3 profit
Lee Enterprises Inc. reported a profit for its third fiscal quarter ended June 27 on ad revenue that remained stubbornly on the decline even as it improved from the year-ago quarter.
Judge OKs settlement to change Charleston newspaper JOA
A federal judge granted final approval to changes to the Charleston, W.Va., joint operating agreement (JOA) that is intended to bolster the Charleston Daily Mail.
First Amendment defenders 'must sometimes share their foxhole with scoundrels'
The Newspaper Guild-CWA is among 22 media groups that have signed onto a "friend of the court" brief supporting the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to picket service members’ funerals, offensive picket signs and vituperative outbursts notwithstanding.
Guild, CWA, NABET argue against relaxing of media ownership rules
The Newspaper Guild, CWA and NABET formally entered the debate over media concentration this week with a joint submission to the Federal Communications Commission, which is conducting a quadrennial review of its media ownership rules.
Going Long
It’s important to remember that the era of digital journalism is still in its very early stages. It’s going to evolve dramatically over the years. That means that many of the truths about online news that we hold to be self-evident aren’t written in stone, etched in granite or ready to be taken to the bank.
Gannett's whimper & bang show strategies plainly in flux
Gannett’s second quarter announcements: A whimper and a bang. The whimper comes from its tepid revenue data. The bang from its coincident statement that it is joining its newspaper colleagues in the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium.
The Newsonomics of the dead cat bounce
The season’s upon us, as newspaper and media companies announce their second-quarter earnings. At least some of the companies will announce: fewer than used to a couple of years ago, as Tribune has gone private (and banko), metros like Philly and Minneapolis have moved to private hands, MediaNews releases less information than it used to, and Dow Jones’ results are less decipherable, aggregated within News Corp. news division results.
From jail, Conrad Black fights $71 million tax bill
Imprisoned former media baron Conrad M. Black is fighting a $71 million bill from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which says from 1998 to 2003 he filed no tax returns and paid absolutely nothing on $120 million in taxable income.
Gannett 2Q expected to show less print ad erosion
The prolonged slump has helped make the year-to-year comparisons progressively easier. Although Gannett executives haven’t made any promises, there’s a growing sense that it might not be much longer before newspaper advertising begins to increase again.