MLive has a letter from Dan Gaydou that outlines the changes, with the appropriate corporate spin. In other words, no mention of layoffs, coming online fees, etc.
Update: Just received information that the circulation call center work is going to move to Florida and perhaps another vendor. Many more local jobs are gone, although there is little mention of that in the official releases.
The closure of the Flint office and printing facility will be huge for downtown Flint.
All the talk coming out of Booth/Advance in recent months has been how they have turned profitable, blah, blah, blah. Maybe it hasn't been a big enough profit, but can't imagine huge changes like this if they were really on the right road.
Here's a tidbit from Poynter on the changes.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
More Booth developments
Things are breaking quickly on the Booth/Flint Journal/Advance front: Here are a few Q&As from inside:
Sounds like the Flint Journal buildings will be sold, but a smaller office will be established in downtown Flint. And, of course, more layoffs. Sad for my friends still there.
Here's what I have from inside:
: Where will the papers be printed?
A: The Flint print production facility will be closed starting February 2, 2012 and all Flint Journal print operations and full-time jobs will be shifted to the Valley Publishing facility in Bay County.
Q. Will the local newspaper office remain open?
A. Yes, but The Flint Journal plans to move from its existing building to a new, state-of-the-art digital media facility in a downtown location. That news will be announced when lease arrangements are completed.
Q: What is going to happen to our local newspaper employees?
A: Many of our newspaper employees will have a place in the MLive Media Group and will still work in your local community. Many others will have a place at Advance Central Services Michigan. Some circulation call center jobs will be moved to an outside vendor. While we believe these changes will create growth opportunities for our current employees, the reality is they will also lead to reductions in our work force. We will provide as much notice and consideration to our employees as possible. We'll strive throughout this process to treat all our employees with the professionalism and respect they deserve.
Sounds like the Flint Journal buildings will be sold, but a smaller office will be established in downtown Flint. And, of course, more layoffs. Sad for my friends still there.
Here's what I have from inside:
: Where will the papers be printed?
A: The Flint print production facility will be closed starting February 2, 2012 and all Flint Journal print operations and full-time jobs will be shifted to the Valley Publishing facility in Bay County.
Q. Will the local newspaper office remain open?
A. Yes, but The Flint Journal plans to move from its existing building to a new, state-of-the-art digital media facility in a downtown location. That news will be announced when lease arrangements are completed.
Q: What is going to happen to our local newspaper employees?
A: Many of our newspaper employees will have a place in the MLive Media Group and will still work in your local community. Many others will have a place at Advance Central Services Michigan. Some circulation call center jobs will be moved to an outside vendor. While we believe these changes will create growth opportunities for our current employees, the reality is they will also lead to reductions in our work force. We will provide as much notice and consideration to our employees as possible. We'll strive throughout this process to treat all our employees with the professionalism and respect they deserve.
Breaking News from Booth/Advance Newspapers
This is an announcement made today from Booth/Advance: This is either a press release or it is a Business News outlet's account of what is taking place: (There are huge changes, not the least of which is the end to a physical newspaper building and print shop in Flint staring Feb. 2.)
'"One of Michigan's largest media companies is restructuring into a digital-first company that its president says will better serve the needs of consumers and advertisers in Michigan.
Two new companies, MLive Media Group and Advance Central Services Michigan, will take over the operations of MLive.com, AnnArbor.com and Booth Newspapers, which operates papers in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Ann Arbor and Jackson. The changes take effect Feb. 2.
MLive Media Group will handle news and advertising, while Advance Central Services Michigan will handle production, distribution and human resources.
Modern media companies need to move aggressively into the digital world, offering news on phones, laptops and tablets, even as they continue printing newspapers, said Dan Gaydou, publisher of Booth Newspapers and The Grand Rapids Press. Gaydou will be president of MLive Media Group.
Those new demands for digital content, reflected in steady growth at MLive.com, require a new structure, he said. MLive.com is Michigan's largest news and information site, with 2.7 million monthly unique visitors.
"We are focusing where our audiences are telling us they are living," Gaydou said.
The restructuring will include some employee layoffs and cutbacks in newspaper home delivery in four markets, starting in February.
At the same time, MLive Media Group will open new offices and hire people to produce content for MLive.com and the newspapers, and those jobs are open to employees affected by layoffs and others interested in working for the new company, Gaydou said.
"If you're a typical citizen these days, you are monitoring news around the clock: reading us on MLive.com, in paper editions, in morning newsletters delivered to your email boxes, and on apps for your mobile devices," Gaydou said.
"We will deliver on every platform."
Four newspapers, The Grand Rapids Press, The Muskegon Chronicle, The Kalamazoo Gazette and The Jackson Citizen Patriot, still will publish seven days a week, but starting Feb. 2 will change to a three-day-a-week home-delivery schedule: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
The newspapers will be available seven days a week at newsstands and by e-edition, which is the printed newspaper's digital edition for computers and tablets.
The Flint Journal will retain its current four-day home delivery schedule of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. That same schedule will apply to The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times with the addition, beginning Dec. 13, of a home-delivered Tuesday newspaper. That edition currently is available only on newsstands in Bay City and Saginaw.
In Ann Arbor, Thursday and Sunday home delivery of AnnArbor.com's print edition will remain unchanged.
The number of employee layoffs is undetermined, Gaydou said, because he expects many displaced employees will seek jobs with the new company. The new company, however, will employ more local and state content producers overall, with less spending on structural costs, he said.
"Our digital-first company is going to be a smaller company, but it will be a highly effective communications and marketing solutions company," Gaydou said.
"We will be a growth-oriented company, more innovative and more engaged with the community."
MLive.com will add new features and its website will be redesigned. The company will invest heavily in product development in partnership with Advance Digital (formerly Advance Internet), an affiliated company that is a leader in the digital news and information space.
Media companies must innovate to serve a growing online readership, even as print circulation declines across the nation, Gaydou said.
"This is a new path that has promise. It offers growth opportunities for our employees, and a new way of reaching audiences," Gaydou said. "It's what's right for communities. We're making these changes to do our job better."
Gaydou, who has worked for the Booth family of newspapers for 36 years, also announced these changes:
-- New newsrooms, or hub offices, will be opened in downtowns of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Flint and Muskegon, on or around Feb. 2. The current newspaper buildings in those four cities could be sold. "We're looking at properties and negotiating leases," he said.
-- Hub offices will continue in their current locations in Saginaw and Ann Arbor, as well as in Bay City and Jackson, where offices will be remodeled.
--Job openings at MLive Media Group will be posted in the coming days at mlivemediagroup.com.
-- The four newspapers moving to three-day-a-week home delivery will add new features and be larger on delivery days. The Sunday paper will include a new section with TV listings, puzzles and other popular features for the entire week.
-- Some statewide accounting services for the Michigan newspapers will be moved to a related company office in Delaware, and the Grand Rapids, Flint and Jackson circulation call centers will be moved to an outside vendor.
-- Newspapers will be printed in three locations: Walker, Ann Arbor and at the Bay City-area plant called Valley Publishing. The Flint print production facility will close Feb. 2, and full-time press employees will be transferred to Valley Publishing.
-- The Grand Rapids-area Advance Weeklies will continue to be published. The Flint community weeklies and Kalamazoo Hometown editions will be discontinued early in 2012.
-- The weekly West Michigan Business Review print product will end Jan. 1, and its content moved to MLive.com.
-- MLive Media Group's other top officers will be Matt Sharp, vice president of sales and marketing, Mark Hauptschein, chief digital officer; and John Hiner, vice president of content.
-- Advance Central Services Michigan will be led by Mike Ply, who will be vice president and general manager. It will oversee all production, distribution, purchasing, accounting, human resources and other support for MLive Media Group.
'"One of Michigan's largest media companies is restructuring into a digital-first company that its president says will better serve the needs of consumers and advertisers in Michigan.
Two new companies, MLive Media Group and Advance Central Services Michigan, will take over the operations of MLive.com, AnnArbor.com and Booth Newspapers, which operates papers in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Ann Arbor and Jackson. The changes take effect Feb. 2.
MLive Media Group will handle news and advertising, while Advance Central Services Michigan will handle production, distribution and human resources.
Modern media companies need to move aggressively into the digital world, offering news on phones, laptops and tablets, even as they continue printing newspapers, said Dan Gaydou, publisher of Booth Newspapers and The Grand Rapids Press. Gaydou will be president of MLive Media Group.
Those new demands for digital content, reflected in steady growth at MLive.com, require a new structure, he said. MLive.com is Michigan's largest news and information site, with 2.7 million monthly unique visitors.
"We are focusing where our audiences are telling us they are living," Gaydou said.
The restructuring will include some employee layoffs and cutbacks in newspaper home delivery in four markets, starting in February.
At the same time, MLive Media Group will open new offices and hire people to produce content for MLive.com and the newspapers, and those jobs are open to employees affected by layoffs and others interested in working for the new company, Gaydou said.
"If you're a typical citizen these days, you are monitoring news around the clock: reading us on MLive.com, in paper editions, in morning newsletters delivered to your email boxes, and on apps for your mobile devices," Gaydou said.
"We will deliver on every platform."
Four newspapers, The Grand Rapids Press, The Muskegon Chronicle, The Kalamazoo Gazette and The Jackson Citizen Patriot, still will publish seven days a week, but starting Feb. 2 will change to a three-day-a-week home-delivery schedule: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
The newspapers will be available seven days a week at newsstands and by e-edition, which is the printed newspaper's digital edition for computers and tablets.
The Flint Journal will retain its current four-day home delivery schedule of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. That same schedule will apply to The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times with the addition, beginning Dec. 13, of a home-delivered Tuesday newspaper. That edition currently is available only on newsstands in Bay City and Saginaw.
In Ann Arbor, Thursday and Sunday home delivery of AnnArbor.com's print edition will remain unchanged.
The number of employee layoffs is undetermined, Gaydou said, because he expects many displaced employees will seek jobs with the new company. The new company, however, will employ more local and state content producers overall, with less spending on structural costs, he said.
"Our digital-first company is going to be a smaller company, but it will be a highly effective communications and marketing solutions company," Gaydou said.
"We will be a growth-oriented company, more innovative and more engaged with the community."
MLive.com will add new features and its website will be redesigned. The company will invest heavily in product development in partnership with Advance Digital (formerly Advance Internet), an affiliated company that is a leader in the digital news and information space.
Media companies must innovate to serve a growing online readership, even as print circulation declines across the nation, Gaydou said.
"This is a new path that has promise. It offers growth opportunities for our employees, and a new way of reaching audiences," Gaydou said. "It's what's right for communities. We're making these changes to do our job better."
Gaydou, who has worked for the Booth family of newspapers for 36 years, also announced these changes:
-- New newsrooms, or hub offices, will be opened in downtowns of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Flint and Muskegon, on or around Feb. 2. The current newspaper buildings in those four cities could be sold. "We're looking at properties and negotiating leases," he said.
-- Hub offices will continue in their current locations in Saginaw and Ann Arbor, as well as in Bay City and Jackson, where offices will be remodeled.
--Job openings at MLive Media Group will be posted in the coming days at mlivemediagroup.com.
-- The four newspapers moving to three-day-a-week home delivery will add new features and be larger on delivery days. The Sunday paper will include a new section with TV listings, puzzles and other popular features for the entire week.
-- Some statewide accounting services for the Michigan newspapers will be moved to a related company office in Delaware, and the Grand Rapids, Flint and Jackson circulation call centers will be moved to an outside vendor.
-- Newspapers will be printed in three locations: Walker, Ann Arbor and at the Bay City-area plant called Valley Publishing. The Flint print production facility will close Feb. 2, and full-time press employees will be transferred to Valley Publishing.
-- The Grand Rapids-area Advance Weeklies will continue to be published. The Flint community weeklies and Kalamazoo Hometown editions will be discontinued early in 2012.
-- The weekly West Michigan Business Review print product will end Jan. 1, and its content moved to MLive.com.
-- MLive Media Group's other top officers will be Matt Sharp, vice president of sales and marketing, Mark Hauptschein, chief digital officer; and John Hiner, vice president of content.
-- Advance Central Services Michigan will be led by Mike Ply, who will be vice president and general manager. It will oversee all production, distribution, purchasing, accounting, human resources and other support for MLive Media Group.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Plagiarism: The original sin of journalism just keeps on going
Poynter discusses the latest episode of plagiarism in the media. You just have to ask how people, in this day in age, believe they can get away with this when everything is so easily checked.
And then this latest example.
And then this latest example.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Yet another reason I am no longer in the news business
The new AOL online service is apparently adding a few new duties to its editorial reporters. The article at the link shows how difficult it is to be a news person today.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
This is why journalism experience matters
Journalism experience does matter and this story illustrates it very well. That said, any Journalism 101 student should know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
Another take on the story is here.
Another take on the story is here.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Off to the land of Tombstones and a Great Canyon
Not that I have been posting here all that much anyway, but Joan and I are leaving on our next great adventure today so most of the writing and blogging will occur on the Grandmas Recess blog.
Happy trails!
p.s. I finally got around to posting the story of our trip to California back in May on Grandma's Recess.
Happy trails!
p.s. I finally got around to posting the story of our trip to California back in May on Grandma's Recess.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Spin worthy of a national politician
In announcing its "progress" toward the digital future, the Savannah Morning News buried the fact it is laying off more employees.
Photo chief resigns rather than layoff co-workers
Love a person with principles. Of course, it won't likely save any of his co-workers jobs, but at least he didn't have to do the dirty work.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sad news, Tom Kowalski, longtime Detroit Lions beat reporter dies at 51
This should have been up on the blog yesterday, but I have been in the Internet darkness for 36 hours because of a "tower" problem. That fixed I need to mark the passing of a great sports writer and a good friend.
Tom Kowalski, who I first met in 1984 when I went to work for the Oakland Press died unexpectedly Monday. No word yet on what caused his death.
I haven't seen Tom much since I left the Flint Journal, but we always joked together when he worked at the Oakland Press and I would see him occassionally when he worked for Booth. While most affectionately called him "Killer" my pet name for his was "Homer," which was a joke about some of his coverage of the Lions.
Of course he was not a "Homer" but he knew I was kidding when I would call him on a positive column about the Lions.
Here's another nice tribute from the Free Press.
RIP, my friend.
Tom Kowalski, who I first met in 1984 when I went to work for the Oakland Press died unexpectedly Monday. No word yet on what caused his death.
I haven't seen Tom much since I left the Flint Journal, but we always joked together when he worked at the Oakland Press and I would see him occassionally when he worked for Booth. While most affectionately called him "Killer" my pet name for his was "Homer," which was a joke about some of his coverage of the Lions.
Of course he was not a "Homer" but he knew I was kidding when I would call him on a positive column about the Lions.
Here's another nice tribute from the Free Press.
RIP, my friend.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Every so often someone just gets fed up enough to tell the truth about newspapers
Poynter has a good story about a managing editor who went public, quite undercover, to expose the new owners of his newspaper. Make sure, if you are interested in this topic, to read the links in the Poynter article to the actual essay in the newspaper.
As you can guess the managing editor did not last long at his job after this was published.
As you can guess the managing editor did not last long at his job after this was published.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Is Patch on the verge of being sold?
This also from Poynter on the future of Patch and its economic impact on AOL.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Better late than never, charging for the news online
Looks like a decade after they should have started this, newspapers have decided the online content has value too.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Ten years too late, the tune is changing
Really, not going to "do more with less" anymore. Finally a dose of reality.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Pot, meet kettle
This one is pretty funny. The Huffy Post has indefinitely suspended a blogger for borrowing too much from a story. I thought the Huffy Post was all about "borrowing" the work of others - for free - as its business model.
AnnArbor.com puts the clamps on its columnists
The new breed of Booth/Advance editors can't stand controversy. They buckle under the pressure of "offended" readers. Now they have decided to formalize that "buckle."
There are days when I miss being a newspaper reporter/columnist. And then I read this stuff and I'm glad I'm out. For good.
There are days when I miss being a newspaper reporter/columnist. And then I read this stuff and I'm glad I'm out. For good.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Newsosaur: Print is still king, but the crown is slipping
This article is an look at the print versus digital debate and specifically why newspapers can't go digital, at least not now.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Happy Fourth of July
Marching this morning in the Fourth of July Parade with my American Legion Post. Guess I can mark the parade marching off my bucket list after 11 a.m.Happy Fourth everyone! Be safe.
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