I have recently realized the error of my views about the current Sentinel and will now atone for the nonsense that I've had the misfortune of posting.
False Alarm, everybody! All is well at the Orlando Sentinel.
In a story from Editor & Publisher, Lisa Jacobsen, a human resources and communications consultant at the Sentinel, insisted that "no cutbacks are planned at this time". "Nothing is happening, and nothing is planned," she assured everyone who it could possibly concern. Jacobsen would also like everyone to know that when dealing with any other source of information about the Sentinel: "There is a lot of misinformation out there."
I, personally, would like to thank Lisa Jacobsen for her honesty, relevance and for setting the record straight. These traits seem so common among people who are spokespersons for the Orlando Sentinel.
In fact, today I went to a Public Relations event where actual Sentinel staff were so kind as to grace the room with their presence. In particular, Recruitment & Staff Development Editor, Dana Eagles gave invaluable advice. When asked how to connect with reporters in the midst of newsroom changes, he recalled that if one is in PR "they should already know that reporter."
He also quelled any irrational concerns I had about the paper's consolidation of sections by noting that the Local & State is not attached to the entertainment section. In fact, there is no entertainment section! That's just a comics page stuck on the back of Local & State on Monday. Mr. Eagles assured me that the Friday Calendar section is where the entertainment news belongs. That's good because I was worried having to see celebrities on the front page everyday.
Business columnist, Beth Kassab, was a bit more of a downer, admitting that Volusia and Polk counties may not be left with anymore business reporters. But, she was more than sure that the business section would still be left with enough reporters to adequately cover local companies. As far as the layout, Kassab was a cheerleader for changes and rightfully so, because according to her, all the business section lost was some stock listings. The good news, according to Kassab, is the business section gained a blog. Now, Kassab can report any good PR stories that for some unknown reason could not fit in the paper.
So, it seems that despite all we've heard, it's just another day in paradise at the Sentinel. Sorry for all the misinformation.
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Funding local news: Who are you going to serve?
3 years ago
15 comments:
I don't buy that crap and I hope you don't either. I can't seem to see the difference, they cut worker bees only to hire non-working mangers. They are simply trying to stop the bleeding from the wound they have created. They are laying people off in minimal numbers very secretly.
Anyone wondering why the Sentinel still has a recruiter in the newsroom during layoffs?
Once again, it looks as if the the people who actually do all of the work are getting laid off while the fat-cat managers continue to skate by.
It sounds as if they're putting Eagles in charge of damage control. As you said, there's not much recruiting to be done -- unless it's just grabbing people off the street or something.
Maybe Charlotte Hall is wearing ruby slippers and clicking her heels: "We're not in Layoff Land anymore, Toto."
I personally know 4 people on the Sentinel hit list. They are out of a job -- no misinformation about that. How can the Sentinel deny that, and why should readers believe in a paper that can't even report the truth about itself?!
Oh, maybe the Sentinel will just ask Zell to launch the flying monkeys from Tribune Tower to take care of all the folks trying to get the truth out there about these layoffs. Follow the debt-ridden road......
This paper has been going down the wrong road for some time.
It has crazy people who think annual redesigns are the solution.
Re: Once again, it looks as if the the people who actually do all of the work are getting laid off while the fat-cat managers continue to skate by.
DIFFERENT NEWSPAPER, DIFFERENT STATE, SAME STORY. Every single one of our people with an office survived, and it's business as usual for them. In fact, life HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER. Fewer people to supervise.
And let us not forget that there have already been at least two rounds of layoffs previous to this in all areas other than the Newsroom since ZellCo took over in January. Finance, Technology, HR and Building Ops are a shell of what they once were.
I will agree that some of the slimming down is a move towords efficiency that was necessary due to the industry's downturn, but the blade there has already cut deep and those groups are still facing more cuts together with the Newsroom before the end of the current month.
Does anyone have a number for total layoffs in the building in the past year? Why are they trying to act like nothing is happening? It's insulting to the intelligence of everyone in the newsroom. We're paid to ferret out lies and misinformation, but we can't even report our own mess in the paper. Do they think they can get away with this now that Tribune is no longer a public company? "We own this place." Whatev. It's still a public trust that needs to be held accountable and be transparent. Charlotte needs to hold a meeting today to explain herself, or she should be locked out of the building after July 31, too.
Bonita's precious redesign may not be responsible for the layoffs and shrinking newshole, but it isn't helping either.
I feel sorry for all the people who feel the need to put a positive spin on all this crap.
Gets down to money. Charlotte and company are worried about nervous advertisers and all those subscribers (who supposedly have not canceled any subscriptions. Yeh, right, Charlotte).
RE: Gets down to money.
People in the business community are smart and know what's happening. Just do one story and get it over with. Allowing a mini-industry of blogs to crop up and tell the truth isn't helping. I bet they're sorry they laid off the communications director earlier this year. It goes to show that these people don't really get the Web.
if it wasn't for the blogs, the layoff/buyout story wouldn't be getting out. they are helping.
From: Hall, Charlotte H
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 12:17 PM
To: OSC DL Editorial
Subject: Update
To All:
This has been a tough week for all of us. We have lost valued colleagues and talented journalists. We want to update you on the terminations.
As we told you two weeks ago, about 20 percent of positions in the newsroom would be eliminated. Seven of those positions are currently vacant. The open positions and people who asked for the severance package will make up about 70 percent of the job eliminations. Sixteen staff members were terminated this week, with 10 of them seeking the package.
As you know, we have another round of cuts coming at the end of the month, and numbers can change up to the last minute. At that time, we will do a news story when the process is complete.
We do not release the names of those leaving the Sentinel. That has been our longstanding company policy and is grounded in respect for the privacy of those terminated employees.
Unfortunately, Lisa Jacobsen's comments to E&P were taken out of context and, therefore, did not reflect the situation accurately.
Thanks for your commitment to producing compelling journalism. If you have any questions, please ask one of us.
Charlotte and Russ
an update from Editor and Publisher:
'Orlando Sentinel' Publisher Acknowledges Newsroom Cuts
By Joe Strupp
Published: July 18, 2008 1:00 PM ET
NEW YORK Orlando Sentinel Publisher Howard Greenberg acknowledged that the newspaper is cutting 20% of the newsroom, contradicting a newspaper spokesperson's earlier comment that no cuts were planned.
"We have announced a reduction in force to our newsroom staff in Orlando," Greenberg told E&P Friday. Employees, he added, "have been told about the reduction in force."
Greenberg's comments followed E&P's report Thursday that 20% of the 250-plus newsroom would lose jobs by the end of July, with about 20 being informed this week of the cuts. The reduction includes both layoffs and voluntary departures and a severance package of two weeks' pay for each year of service.
On Thursday, Editor Charlotte Hall declined to comment about the cuts, refering calls to Lisa Jacobsen, a human resources and marketing spokesperson. She told E&P that no cuts were planned "at this time."
Greenberg said that there was a miscommunication and that E&P should have been told that no cuts beyond the 20% in the newsroom were planned. He said the staff had been told about the cutbacks, but not each individual.
"We are in the middle of the process," said Greenberg, who is also publisher of the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. He added that not all employees who are being terminated have been notified. "What Lisa should have said is that we have no further reductions planned beyond that."
Numerous staffers had objected to the paper's lack of public disclosure about the cuts.
Asked why the Sentinel, a Tribune Co. paper, had not publicly revealed the job cut plans to readers prior to making them, as most papers do, Greenberg said: "We chose to do it the way we did. Unfortunately, there was a mistake."
The publisher said that the paper would publicly report the cutbacks at the end of July when they are completed. He also said that cuts in other departments would occur, but had no specifics.
Hall and Managing Editor Mark Russell, meanwhile, issued a memo to staffers Friday following E&P's story that detailed the cutbacks.
"This has been a tough week for all of us. We have lost valued colleagues and talented journalists. We want to update you on the terminations," the memo stated, in part. "As we told you two weeks ago, about 20 percent of positions in the newsroom would be eliminated. Seven of those positions are currently vacant. The open positions and people who asked for the severance package will make up about 70 percent of the job eliminations. Sixteen staff members were terminated this week, with 10 of them seeking the package."
It also acknowledged the lack of public disclosure about the cuts, stating: "As you know, we have another round of cuts coming at the end of the month, and numbers can change up to the last minute. At that time, we will do a news story when the process is complete. We do not release the names of those leaving the Sentinel. That has been our longstanding company policy and is grounded in respect for the privacy of those terminated employees."
The memo mentioned Jacobsen's comments to E&P, stating: "Unfortunately, Lisa Jacobsen's comments to E&P were taken out of context and, therefore, did not reflect the situation accurately." Greenberg, however, has acknowledged that Jacobsen was unclear.
Among those laid off is Tammy Lytle, the longtime Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the Sentinel and one of only two reporters in that bureau. Lytle, who had worked 11 years for the paper in D.C. and served as top D.C. reporter for eight years, said she was told Tuesday that she would lose her job.
"They said my position was eliminated," she told E&P. "I think it is a shame, because I think Washington news is important to Orlando. It is important to have that kind of coverage."
Lytle, 47, said she had gone to a three-day work week two years ago after her twin sons were born, working Tuesday through Thursday. She thanked the Sentinel for allowing her to put in a shorter week: "They have been good about letting me do that."
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Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
Hi, well be sensible, well-all described
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