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bama nation
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« on: February 20, 2009, 10:03:58 PM » |
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E. W. Scripps owns the News Sentinel and the Memphis Commercial Appeal and several other newspapers and some TV stations. Due to poor advertising earnings, Scripps is requiring that employees take pay cuts and lose some benefits.
Year-over-year revenue from newspapers managed solely by Scripps fell 16.5 percent to $137.5 million. Advertising revenue was down 19.8 percent to $104.8 million. I found the below breakdown of the advertising revenue interesting. Not surprisingly, classified took a major hit.
Advertising revenue broken down by category was:
-- Local, down 15.1 percent to $32.1 million
-- Classified, down 31.2 percent to $27.7 million
-- National, down 18.0 percent to $7.5 million
-- Preprint and other, down 13.8 percent to $29.5 million
-- Online, down 13.1 percent to $8.0 million
The decline in online ad revenue is attributable to the weakness in print classified advertising, to which most of the online advertising is tied. Revenue from pure-play advertisers who only purchase ads on the company's newspaper Web sites more than doubled to $3.7 million.
Circulation revenue was $28.3 million, down 3.9 percent and provides only about 20 percent of the total revenue. I would have guessed it would have been much greater.
Due to the poor earnings, the newspapers, including the KNS, announced pay cuts, suspended the companies 401(k) match and will be freezing the Scripps pension plan. Exempt employees (whatever that means) will see a 5 % pay cut and nonexempt employees will have their pay cut by 3 percent. I guess these steps are better than having to fire some employees.
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The One Man Gang
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« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2009, 09:24:02 AM » |
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Dead-tree media companies are the buggy-whip manufacturers of the 21st Century. They are too big, too bureaucratized, too politicized, and too ponderous to make it. They survived the alphabetmedia TV news in the 60s ond seventies by providing more background, etc., to stories in the Hunt/Brink/Crankcase 30 minute shows. Also they covered local events and did in depth reporting on local malefactors in and out of government. Then they quit doing even that. The KNS hasn't done a decent investigative local report since Tom Chester (who came over from the Journal) left 10-12 years ago.
The recent TVA coal-ash spill is a perfect example. Tom would have smelled "Pulitzer" and been all over that like a starving buzzard on a dead hippo. Instead the KNS parroted the TVA-party line and the only time they really took notice was when that celebrity-buzzard Brockovitch showed up.
The national media and bloggers were the ones pushing the Roane County story. Where was the KNS?
Finally, why should I pay $.75/day and $2 on Sunday to read stuff I saw on the internet 24 hours previously FOR FREE? When the dead-tree media can answer that, they'll get their readers back.
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Please use your comments on this post to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Kindly forgo all civility in your discourse. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Thank you.
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« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2009, 10:00:23 AM » |
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Wow. A company/industry is losing money. Imagine that.
Seriously, the internet is a great thing for individuals, but the overall impact to all businesses has been largely negative. Not just in the newspaper business, but all business.
BTW, I'll be damned if I'm taking my laptop to the toilet or my breakfast table. I will continue to gladly pay for a printed copy and try to keep a few more people employed.
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Gustoly
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« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2009, 09:03:11 AM » |
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I use my old papers to clean windows, home and car. Works well.
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plumbervol
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« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2009, 09:55:36 AM » |
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When the newspaper industry started suffering contraction some years back consultants told the entire industry the grim truth. For the industry to survive they must become an anchor and a forum for the community they serve. IMO the KNS has done a piss poor job of doing that. Their web presence is not nearly as good as WBIR and some of the other local network sites now on the WWW.
I can't take the computer(actually I can take my blackberry)with me to take a dump, I can hear the news on the TV. I can take the WSJ, I find my at home reading of the WSJ is on the upswing.
The KNS has been so busy cutting costs etc they have not looked at the product they are dishing out. .50 or .75 cents is not the problem. Anybody with any sense understands they should be marketing the paper media newspaer towards old folks. That means the rest of the media the KNS should go after is YOUNG FOLKS.
I think Comcast and the KNS would be a marriage made in heaven. Selling Classified ads over the channels as an extension of the classified ads in the printed press in exchange for an interactive user driven news source for the area viewing and suscription base. If not that the entire KNS web site needs to be upgraded and an emphasis put on online classified ads!! The last innovation the KNS attempted was hiring a beutiful divorced HS classmate of mine into the workforce who did not have a college degree and who will not put out. Their next big innovation was an idea to cut out free newspapers to all retired KNS emplyees.
I understand the policy of the KNS was to keep certain stories off line until after they were published hard copy in the paper. What has happened is that I and everybody else started going to WBIR and reading the damn story and what happened is that i no longer needed to buy the paper or check knoxnews.com, I check out WBIR.com. They became the forum for the announcement of school closings, community announcements etc. But by golly John Adams whores himself out on the radio and the KNS sponsors the Rocky Top League.....
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« Last Edit: February 22, 2009, 09:59:38 AM by plumbervol »
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 That Which Doesn't Break Me, Only Makes Me Stronger Reflections on 12 years of Catholic Education.It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder". |
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bama nation
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« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2009, 12:41:09 AM » |
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PV, Maybe you can help me understand the following situation. Lately it seems that more sports reporting in the KNS is being done by guys that are not employees of the News Sentinel. I'm talking about Dave Link, Mark Burgess (ex employee), Fitzsimmons, Shearer, Blackerby, etc. At the same time the KNS has employees that only report on seasonal sports such as Dan Flesser with Lady Vols basketball and Nick Gates with the Smokies and Ice Bears. Are guys like Flesser and Gates considered full time employees or are they just hired for specific functions as described above? If they are full time, it seems to me they are underutilized. Also, I've noticed that guys like Griffith, Gates, and Hodge have almost stopped covering high school football games. Maybe it's cheaper to use the free lancers than inside staff.
I recently took a tour of the new KNS facility and was really impressed with how automated the printing and assembly operation is. I still prefer buying the paper copy. Overall, I'm pleased with the content of the paper - especially their coverage of Knox County government and high school sports.
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plumbervol
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« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2009, 09:01:59 AM » |
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Onefaro could probably answer that better than I could. I can ask my retired Father and a couple folks I know who are still working at the KNS as far at the sports staff questions.
A while back my Dad because of health reasons could not drive. I took some comp time and took him to a Retired KNS breakfast get together(not official) I listened to those old farts gripe and moan. What suprised me was how aware they were of how technology had changed their business and the implications of new technology.This bunch was all old news desk, sales, etc type of of retired employees. I asked him why no retired printers(LOL) seems not much co-mingling between them occur even now after they retire.
Every community needs a media outlet, it use to be hard print. The Press was the watchdog, recent events tell me that the hard print folks want to step over the line and create news. I don't know how that will play as self promotion becomes the norm. You see everybody wants the press to reflect their core values, and yes they want the BIAS of home cooking. From the days of Parson Brownlow and his Fighting Parson days of spreading the Gospel of the Whig Philosphy on down to the day of the KNS filing suit against CC that is what the community wants.. I call it community value propaganda. Hell Knoxville has a tradition that our Newspaper actually endorsed the British in the war Of 1812. You know Andrew Jackson wanted to March into East TN and slaughter the ancestors of what was to become the East TN Republican Party. What I am saying is the press has to sell papers but they also have a responsability to deliver non biased NEWS. The newspaper industry from the days of Benjamin Franklin has always had an editorial slant and history that the modern Broadcast Industry has been able to avoid officially as far as endorsement of candidates and issues based on Partisan Politics...
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« Last Edit: February 23, 2009, 09:04:27 AM by plumbervol »
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That Which Doesn't Break Me, Only Makes Me Stronger Reflections on 12 years of Catholic Education.It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder". |
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plumbervol
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« Reply #7 on: February 25, 2009, 03:54:00 PM » |
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Well Well,
I was sent an email from a KNS employee who told me that they now accepted orders for CLASSIFIED ADS through a help desk located in India!! Also much of the art work has been shipped out to a subcontractor also located in India.... I will ask some old timers that keep up if that is accurate........
Also cut backs and roll back in some salaries for some Graphics folks in the 15-20% range. Damn the KNS has really went progressive if al of the above is true......
My daughter was offered by the KNS after she graduated college but she went elswhere, sounds like she made a good decision. One of her HS and college classmates went to work at the KNS working in the WWW side but she married and moved to Nashville and now works at the Nashville newspaper...
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« Last Edit: February 25, 2009, 05:13:15 PM by plumbervol »
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That Which Doesn't Break Me, Only Makes Me Stronger Reflections on 12 years of Catholic Education.It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder". |
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bama nation
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« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2009, 10:52:01 PM » |
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Well Well,
I was sent an email from a KNS employee who told me that they now accepted orders for CLASSIFIED ADS through a help desk located in India!! Also much of the art work has been shipped out to a subcontractor also located in India.... I will ask some old timers that keep up if that is accurate........
PV, I'm fairly certain that some of the KNS's work is being done in India. J. B. was calling Lloyd Daugherty's program (before it left the air) about every day complaining about the KNS getting tax breaks and sending work to India. Of course, about every S&P 500 type company seems to have a back office in India. Even with the financial troubles, the KNS opted to send Adams, Strange and Griffith to Lexington to cover the UT at Lexington. Why do they need 3 reporters to cover a game that was televised? |
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Orange-SkyVolFan
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« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2009, 04:18:57 PM » |
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I hope you guys don't have subscriptions to the Rocky Mountain News. Scripps is closing it Friday. This is the same company which told us we needed a 33-year-old, fired, unemployed, inexperienced football coach. I guess they should have been firing their own management instead of being activists on the local airwaves to get our football coach fired. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/rocky-mountain-news-to-shut-down/?ref=media  |
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« Last Edit: February 26, 2009, 04:21:29 PM by Orange-SkyVolFan »
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"USC is an extremely powerful place."--Skippy Kiffin
"Basilio hitched his wagon to these ultra negative callers and that is why his shows don't do that well."--Ron
DANGERVOL summed [Basilio] up:
"The greatest quote in Knoxville radio history [was] when Kiffin was hired. Hyams was interviewing Pete Carroll - Basilio was talking to W. Lynn and Small Mike. Absolutely classic!"
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plumbervol
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« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2009, 04:25:58 PM » |
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Is JB an old KNS guy?
It was my understanding the India stuff is accurate. The Guild is the last of the labor orgs at KNS. The Printers are gone(It is a dead trade) I would guess that the artist and graphics folks use to have some sort of Labor rep before the age of digitalization...... I would guess they ran off the old school story board artists and graphic design folks and hired the new techie Graphics folks who gladly dropped any affiliation to have the title non trade and now they were bent over and fudge packed just like they did the old graphics folks who were not 30 and 40 something techies like these new folks.........
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That Which Doesn't Break Me, Only Makes Me Stronger Reflections on 12 years of Catholic Education.It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder". |
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bama nation
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« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2009, 10:34:31 PM » |
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Is JB an old KNS guy?
I don't think JB ever worked at the KNS. JB is the "know it all" that used to call Dewey and some of the other sports talk shows. JB thought he was a recruiting guru among other things. I was in Rush Fitness today and there was a guy there from the Maryville Daily Times trying to get subscriptions for the paper. Some of the money is supposed to go to the Alzheimers Assoc. I stopped subscribing to the Daily Times about a year ago because I didn't like the fact that their sports department (John Brice, Fritzsimmons, etc) only wanted to cover UT sporting events and basically used free lancers to cover high school events. Anyway, the offer that the Daily Times had and that I accepted was a one year subscription at a cost of $1.75 a week. Buying the paper at a news stand would cost $6.00 per week. I guess the Daily Times is trying to increase the number of subscribers to make it more attractive to potential advertisers. |
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