Cutting Off Limbs to Save the Corpse

Special Post from the Grave
I didn't see this being covered anywhere else, so I decided I should probably post it.

I'm still at school, so I must confess to not really being in the know. Despite my distance, I received an e-mail describing the new wave of mayhem at the Orlando Sentinel and it's much worse, much sooner then I would've ever predicted. I know the Orlando Sentinel is taking hard blows and the past year has been abysmal, but the developments below are basically a recipe for terminating the newspaper in its entirety.

From inside Sentinel walls:

Big meeting yesterday. There’ll be 36 positions eliminated from the newsroom alone. The Sentinel is now a ‘NEWS GATHERING ORGANIZATION’ with a newspaper arm. The paper part being the lesser entity. Everything we do from now on will be geared to the web site. In addition they plan to up the subscription rate????
As for the edit page, we will only be doing ONE EDITORIAL A DAY!

For Old Time's Sake

I just received some information about new developments at the Sentinel and I thought I would pass them along.

From: Hall, Charlotte H
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 10:25 AM
Subject: Florida Today Sharing
Importance: High

To All:
Today we begin a test of a content-sharing partnership with Florida Today. Routine news stories and advances of events posted on our Web sites can be picked up by the other paper for publication in the next print cycle. Stories and photos will be attributed to the originating paper, and bylines will be used. Exempted from the sharing arrangement are columns, investigative stories and major enterprise stories.
Florida Today content will not appear on OrlandoSentinel.com and vice versa, but the Web editors from the papers will pursue an aggregation strategy, including RSS feeds for some content.
During the test, the managing editors and team leaders will also explore the possibility of pooled coverage or team coverage of events on a case by case basis.
The test will run three months, and the arrangement could be made permanent or expanded at the end of that period. Mark Russell and Roger Simmons are the point people in our newsroom. If you have questions, you can direct them to Russ, Roger or me.
Charlotte

October it's kind of like August except with dead leaves

If you are actually reading this after two months have passed without a single post, I provide you with answers to your FAQ (frequently asked questions):

1) Why haven't there been any updates?

In August, I started my sophomore year at college and have been pretty wrapped up in that since. 

But, I also began to feel that my posts were becoming rather redundant. The blog was definitely started to speak out about changes and cover ups going on at the Orlando Sentinel (as well as its parent company, the Tribune) but I'm not so sure it was effective in that purpose. After a while the comment section turned from analyzing the situation and suggesting actions to be taken to just badmouthing people. And like I've said from day one, this blog is not about bashing the Sentinel or its employees, it is about speaking out about and fight back against the crisis affecting the paper and its employees. I feel like we got pretty far from that idea.

It seems that everyone (including me) has offered way more criticisms than solutions. Sam Zell maybe not care about you and your boss might be mean to you, but I don't think anybody (sane) is hoping for the collapse of this or any other Tribune paper. 

So, to return to the original purpose of the blog, I am not posting anything unless it is: a) some sort of plausible plan or suggestion for dealing with the crisis at the Sentinel (and within the Tribune); b) a personal account of your experiences with Sentinel management during this rough time; c) news about some sort of dire issue concerning Sentinel/Tribune employees.

*And honestly, I will still probably take a bit to post it because there is much to tend to at school.

2) There must be something newsworthy going on at the Sentinel/Tribune, why haven't you posted any of it?

If this newsworthy item fit into one of the categories above I was probably not aware of it. I am no longer in Orlando, so my sole source of information on the Sentinel is what you pass on to me.

When this blog started I asked for volunteers for co-posters- that offer still stands.

3) Is____ blog gone?

At least 80% of the time I am asked this I do not know or do not know well the author of this other blog. Therefore, you should probably e-mail that blog and find out from the most accurate source.

4) Why do I keep coming to this blog, no

 updates since mid-August?

Magic? Subconscious yearning to see the dramatic layout? I have no idea.

Things you didn't ask me or already have the answers to: 

• The Columbia Journalism Review will have a story concerning labor reactions towards the crisis in the newspaper in their upcoming (Nov/Dec ) issue.
• The Eagles of "Hotel California" fame played at Sam Zell's sweet 67th b-day party.
  

• The Tell Zell blog has been on hiatus and people are convinced an extraordinary rendition is underway.
  
•  On November 6, 2008, the Orlando Area FPRA (Florida Public Relations Association) is holding an event called "Crossing the Great Divide", and it is specifically for former journalists.  Tips for making a transition to public relations as a career will be shared and discussed at the event. "Crossing the Great Divide" is to be held on Nov. 6 at the Citrus Restaurant (821 N. Orange Ave) in the bar area from 6pm-8pm. 

          For more information contact:

          Jamie Floer, APR: 407-244-3685 

           jfloer@wraggcasas.com

The mysterious magical world of retirement plans

* Too important not to post.

A Tribune retirement plan investigation (as shared with me by former Sentinel employee, Larry Guest):
The Tribune's Hewitt Retirement Center has admitted that Zell is raiding our pension fund, but gave up that info only after I hounded them for three months and filed a complaint with the U.S. Dept of Labor because Hewitt tried to stonewall my request for information.

The notice via "secure mail" in my Hewitt retirement account reads as follows:

"Currently the pension plan is overfunded. The Severence (sic) plan is being paid out from the pension plan because it is overfunded."

When I first heard rumors in early August that Zell was raiding the pension fund, I contacted Tribune human resources and was shuffled off to Hewitt (which handles pension payments). I wanted to know if the rumors were true and also if the pension fund is insured by PBGC, the federal corporation that guarentees most large corporate pension funds. Each call produced different answers. At first, yes Zell is taking money from the pension fund because it is overfunded. Then, no he's not. No one could tell me for sure if it is insured by PBGC, but they had "been told" it was. I asked for documentation and one Hewitt rep said that was not possible within their policy, but I might call PBGC.

I called PBGC and the rep I reached could not find evidence that any Tribune Company pension was insured by them. They suggested I call the Labor Dept, which I did and was told Tribune/Hewitt was required by law to answer my questions and send me a copy of the Summary Plan Description within 30 days. The Plan would confirm whether the fund is insured through PBGC. The Labor Dept rep advised me to put my inquiry and request for the Summary Plan Description in a certified to Hewitt. I did that on August 7.

By mid-September, I had received only an unsigned form letter acknowledging receipt of my certified letter but "because the information is confidential" the request could not be processed through the mail. For a week, I called almost daily and was given the runaround by reps who would not give their last name and said they couldn't talk to me unless I gave them my Hewitt password. I explained I didn't know I had a Hewitt password and the lady said she would have to assign me a password which I would receive in the mail "within 30 days." (There was no mention of a decoder ring.) After I used strong language, I was told an executive named "Andy" (no last name, of course) was working on sending me the Plan. I finally had the extreme good fortune to speak to Andy No Last Name on one occasion in September and he said the Plan would be sent to me in a few days. Ten days later, 9/16, Stacy No Last Name informed me that Andy No Last Name was on the case and would send me a copy of the Plan within 5 days.

TWENTY-TWO days later, I called and was told Andy was not available. I asked to leave a message with him and the lady rep said she couldn't do that because Hewitt didn't have voice mail. I asked if Hewitt was technologically advanced enough that she would write it on a piece of paper with lipstick or an old bullet and put it on Andy's desk. After a pregnant pause, she said she could. I told her to tell Andy No Last Name if I hadn't heard from him by noon the next day, I would be filing a complaint with the Labor Department.

At noon the next day, Oct 9, I called the Labor Department and was helped by a friendly lady who gave me both her first and last name and asked me to fax a copy of my Aug 7 certified letter, the receipt signature card and any other correspondence or phone notes to her, along with contact numbers to reach Tribune Company and Hewitt Retirement Center.

Funny thing happened the next day, Oct 10. I got a message from Hewitt that the Summary Plan Description was being put in the mail to me, though I haven't received it as of this writing on Oct. 13.

PS -- Because the first rep I reached at the Labor Department said PBGC phone reps were notorious about not knowing who is or isn't insured by them, I called PBGC again and reached an executive named Mike McMahan. He was able to confirm that, indeed, the Tribune pension plan is covered. So if Zell drains all the money from our pension fund, at least there is hope that PBGC will take over and keep us retirees out of the soup lines. If and when I receive this grand and glorious secret Plan from the Hewitt No Last Names, I will pass along any pertinent revelations.

Mr. Larry Guest has been retired from the Orlando Sentinel since July, 2000.

Who's repping for you?

The question above is one that all current Orlando Sentinel staffers already know the answer to and that answer is: no one. During the recent cutbacks the people who compose Orlando's only daily paper have been trying to dodge bullets left and right. Nobody has made any negotiations on their behalf, suggesting that maybe cutting out this or that will be severely detrimental to the staff. 

For the former Sentinels this is a problem of the past, but the people still there are reeling with the feeling that their days are numbered and there's nothing they can do about it. I imagine this feeling does not help workplace morale. But more importantly, when the interests of the current Sentinel staffers are disregarded there exists no chance that they may salvage components of the paper that readers appreciate. So, staffers without representation among company decision makers is a problem for both the reader and the worker.

But, how does this problem become resolved? The first step is showing that there is a large demand for representation. The petition over at Tell Zell is a good start, but it doesn't really work for Sentinel staffers fearing the repercussions of adding their signatures. There is an anonymous option, but I've heard there have been threats from management to start tracking what sites employees are visiting. Even those who are no longer Sentinel staffers sometimes cannot contribute to petitions because of problems it might cause for their future or current employers. All these factors make it a little difficult for a large demand to be shown by petition.

So, this idea was suggested to me by a Sentinel staffer: make a poll with no strings attached (no names, no IDs, no IP's)... asking people if Sentinel staffers deserve a say in how their paper is run. Hopefully, a such a poll would be able to show about how many people would love to (but aren't able to) cosign on the Tell Zell petition. 

That poll is now open to the right of this post. Add your vote, if you cannot add your name.

Hello again: A montage

I've been a little missing in action lately, so I've decided to provide an assorted bag of Sentinel/ Tribune related articles. Here goes:

1. An insightful post was laid down yesterday by my fellow blogger, Maria Padilla, on the subject of the Tribune's massive financial loss in the second quarter of their fiscal year. If you haven't already heard about it already the Tribune (Sentinel mothership) lost 4.53 billion dollars. Interestingly, most of the lost stemmed from a giant accounting charge.

 

2. This is from July (so, you may have come across it before) but the interviews contains what are most likely the only answers we'll receive from Bonita Burton on the re-design. It's not the answers to all our burning questions but the highlights (things that amused me) include:

-The alleging that there are provocative things in the Sentinel.

-The alleging  that most people don't notice editorials.

-The alleging that the redesign deposited juicy content in the paper.

3. A petition has been started to ask Sam Zell to award seats on the board of Directors to Tribune workers and Tribune readers. If this sounds good to you, if you'd like to put some heat on Zell or if it has always been your life dream to be appointed to board... sign it here.

4. The People Power Hour, a local radio show that "isn't afraid to hold those in power to task", is doing a show on the "new and improved" Orlando Sentinel. The show will be this Saturday on WAMT 1190 AM at 11 AM. And I encourage anybody who has a few choice words (beware of the FCC) about the redesign or the reductions of the Orlando Sentinel to call in and be heard at 407-273-1190 or 888-300-3776.

Got water?

 It's definitely bad when your local weekly newspaper is able to do 7 page story about your paper's problems but it's worse when you're sending memo like this out :

From: Marcum, Kim
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Subject: Water update

Next week, you'll need to BYOB -- of water, that is. Beginning next week, the bottled water service will be discontinued at the Kissimmee and Orange City bureaus.Just so you know.....

Thanks,
Kim

Yikes! Or to quote one staffer: "Unbelievable!" What's next BYOB copier paper, one square of toilet paper per person, share your pens. Does anybody have a tourniquet? 

Seriously, though I hear everyone who's saying "I never even had  that luxury where I work", apparently they did... and now they don't. So, while this is clearly not the end of the world, it's just one more thing stacked on the big wall of cutbacks and cutoffs. In other words, it's certainly not a good sign for those bureaus or the Orlando Sentinel in general.

We (kinda, sorta) want you (in a cold shoulder-like way)

(I cannot make these things up, I really can't.)

This past Friday, nestled in the back of the Calender section was a column that practically begged readers not to drop their subscriptions. The column, attributed to a Commander Coconut, said the following:

"There's a lot of talk about canceling subscriptions, which, in my opinion, will make things worse. My dad had a couple of daily subscriptions when I was a kid, plus the Chicago Sunday papers, so I could no more live without a daily fix than I could live without breathing -- even if the Sentinel is whittled down to eight pages total, which it may be if too many people cancel. This is when we need your support. We're struggling for our lives and our livelihoods. No papers? Who would be the government watchdog? Who would compile the obits? How would you keep up with the arts?

I'm hoping gas prices have hit their high, and I'm hoping that newspapers have hit their low."

What? Okay, the last time I checked the Orlando Sentinel was a business (especially after it was privatized) and the readers were consumers. Consumers demand, businesses supply. Not the other way around. When a business offers less (or a lesser quality) of its product at a proportionally higher price (or any price), people demand less of this product. Therefore, if you are a newspaper who is dwindling in size or content, you cannot expect consumers to continue to purchase your product.

Now, obviously a city newspaper is useful to the city, but that same city is useful to that same paper. It's a symbiotic relationship. The city owes the paper no great debt, but if the Orlando Sentinel wants great support from city then it does owe something.

Note: I've heard that Commander Coconut is not a current member of the paper's staff (he just has his own column), but the Orlando Sentinel ran this column and it was in their paper- so it's theirs.

Another thing that belongs to the Orlando Sentinel is the non-truth that Dana Eagles, Staff Development and Investigations Editor, told me last Friday. I haven't mentioned it until now, but I paid the Orlando Sentinel a visit last Friday (although I didn't make it any farther the lobby) and had a nice phone chat with Mr. Eagles. In this conversation, Mr. Eagles blatantly told me that he was not the person (and never was the person) to speak to if one must speak with someone about the changes at the Sentinel. Yet, a few weeks earlier a memo explicitly stated this:

"Below you will find a Q&A we have created for your use in dealing with readers/subscribers who may call or write about the redesigned Sentinel...Dana Eagles will be the point person for a complainer who MUST speak with someone else."

He tried to shove me off to the human resources and marketing spokesperson, I clearly wanted to speak with other than her (i.e.: someone else). He didn't want to speak with me, seemingly because I had questions. Yeah, he sounded like he was from a newspaper that needs my support.

Not long, after this visit (more on that later) I found out I'd pretty much been blacklisted from the paper. Apparently, when Charlotte Hall decides you are a speck, unworthy of speaking to her, the whole paper follows suite. But, the paper does still need my support... right?

Civility

Hey everyone,

I've found all the different conversations and questions that have been shared here really interesting. We've had some of the Sentinel's management visit the blog, we've had direct responses from them. I think that the sharing of these different viewpoints has been healthy. Despite, there being people out there who would like nothing more than to put a gag on our not-so-sweet opinions about the current state of the Orlando Sentinel... we are being heard.

But, I do want to stress that we make sure the words that are being heard from us are not slander. In the past few days, some people have simply gotten down and dirty, not just harsh but vulgar with their words. We've had people name calling, bickering and making personal attacks on people who aren't even in charge. When, some people on here do things like this it makes everyone look bad, it makes us all look like vengeful, venom spitting people. It makes us look no better the people than the people who've been pulling politics at the Orlando Sentinel. It gives people a reason to write the opinions here off as just a bitter minority.

And the worst thing about just being plain nasty to each other is that it in no way contributes to the goal of the blog. The idea is that we want to have good newspaper in Orlando and we do not feel that the current product of the Orlando Sentinel is giving us that. We are supposed to talking about our frustration with the current product Orlando Sentinel, expressing what we want from the paper, and calling out the Sentinel's management (and parent company) on poor choices made for the paper.

That said we want you to express your opinions on the current product of Orlando Sentinel, but let's try to keep things on topic and most of all- civil.

Thanks,
Kai

Now for your own personal amusement (or sorrow) a few "interesting" words from Lee Abrams:

AUGUST 04, 2008
THINK PIECE: THOUGHTS ON THE REINVENTION AND WHY WE WILL PREVAIL
THINK PIECE: THOUGHTS ON THE REINVENTION AND WHY WE WILL PREVAIL

Activity is continuing on the newspaper reinvent front, and some interesting creative developments on the TV side. A few thoughts:

LOLLAPALLOZA IN CHICAGO: The Chicago Tribune did a spectacular job with the Lollapalooza festival over the weekend in Chicago. Highlights included:

*Great PRE-SELL. Instead of an after the fact report, they were all over it BEFORE it happened so readers could have a full overview beforehand so it's actual usable information instead of a backwards looking "review".

*Visibility. It wasn't hidden. It hit you like a 2x4.

With that said, it posed a few questions/thoughts;

*No doubt the Tribune had to cover an event of this magnitude, but I think papers need to have the same PRE-EVENT attitude toward the other mainstream musical events. Lollapalooza is a bit young skewing in light of our "natural" target that is more 40+.

--Never before has there been a more powerful 40+ music consumer. In fact, that’s where the money is. Check the top grossing concerts on 2007.

TOP CONCERTS
1. Hannah Montana
2. The Police
3. Céline Dion
4. Kenny Chesney
5. Van Halen
6. Bruce Springsteen
7. Jimmy Buffett
8. Bon Jovi
9. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
10. Dave Matthews Band

...almost exclusively older skewing. Hannah Montana isn't, but the average attendee was 9 so you could say that parents were a pretty key factor here.

My point is that newspapers need to get as excited about Kenney Chesney or Van Halen as they do about the interesting alternative bands...or opera. It's that un-sexy, non adventurous middle ground that NEEDS newspapers to make decisions and learn BEFORE the event. As powerful as the web is, newspapers are still the medium of choice for A LOT of these huge artists and it's in our best interest to give the readers the information, as newspapers do best, BEFORE the fact. And, historically, the music people embrace during their "musically formative years" of 16-20 is what they like for life. Sure, there are musically sophisticated people who continue to grow, but MOST people live for the music from these years...and you aren't going to change them. Take a 90 year old---you can bet that his Hip Hop was Big Band...That's a reason Hip Hop will never die---it's establishing itself to 16-20 year olds...and it will be their music for life. If we are targeting 40+, embrace THEIR musical generation which is still VERY active!

Prior to joining Tribune, I talked to 8 or 9 major artist managers and newspapers are pretty much off their radar. We need to put it back on. Not hard to do.

SPEAKING OF BEFORE THE FACT: A lot of discussion about News Forecasts. A vehicle to be more than yesterday’s news. For example--On Monday (or every day) giving readers a five day forecast. Accuweather and the Weather Channel don’t have an exclusive on this. We can be MORE than yesterday. We can be NOW and tomorrow IF we pull out the 2x4 and give some high visibility to what is COMING.Many papers say they do that already, and they do, but it's SO subtle, it’s an afterthought instead of a "trademark" that is SO visible; it becomes a noticeable and reliable feature.

REPORTERS OR PERSONAITIES: TV has anchors...The internet has bloggers...radio has morning shows. Maybe newspapers need more personalities too. I think it’s in our best interest to SELL our reporters are personalities. If we don’t--no one will do it for us. Personalities are critical in today’s media puzzle. We NEED more than names...we need characters and ...personalities.

THE SACRED NEWSPAPER LOGO: Debate at a few papers about the sacred logo. I wonder why Coke or Google can maintain their logo but get inventive with its treatment, but newspapers are afraid to touch it with interesting treatments. I'm not saying goof around with it, but if Derek Jeter can use a pink bat to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’d think a newspaper can get off the tired "sacred" thing and think along those same lines.

MORE ON WEB BRANDING: Some amazing reinvents going on (I call it reinvent because redesign is something that papers seem to do periodically, and this is MUCH bigger than that), but often the Website remains "For more go to....").

The problem is that we are SO generic in a very specific and competitive space. "For More Go to paper.com" kind of approach. Whereas, our site is:

*An AMAZING collection on information...video, audio, stats, maps, what to eat, what NOT to eat (health inspections), movies, music, hell---EVERYTHING!

*Probably perceived as a "newspaper website" (yawn).

In fact, it's a dynamic and exciting experience that is A KEY PART of the NEW perception we want to create about the newspapers' BRAND!

So, as a place holder/thought starter, there's "THE WORLD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS"---...but the point is that whatever we use, it should be something that is a powerful, positive, non cheesy statement that DEFINES what to expect when you click to ct.com.

Things like "Breaking News and More" or 'Go to' are WAY WAY too generic to push people to our site and equally important--to enhance our image as a very exciting and modern BRAND.

Q&A: Got asked a bunch of questions about newspapers and the future. Thought I'd shares some thoughts:

1. What specifically are the traditions/habits of newspapers that you think need to change and why? (I’ve got most of what I think you think on this in general. Assumptions, compartmentalization, competitiveness, etc.) But . . . A few more specifics would be helpful. . .

IT’S REALLY ALL ABOUT THE ABILITY TO LIBERATE YOURSELF FROM THE PAST. RESPECT IT, BUT THINK TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY IN TERMS OF NOW. IT'S A HARD THING TO DO...BUT CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. IT DOESN’T MEAN THROWING OUT THE PAST...IT'S JUST A WAY OF THINKING. CALL IT CULTURE OR WHATEVER, IT’S THE ABILITY AND WILL TO WITH GREAT FOCUS, CONCERTRATE ON WHAT IT TAKES TO ENGAGE READERS ...NOW….AND TO THINK COMPETITIVELY. REALLY COMPETITIVELY. TAKE OUR STRENGTHS…AND DELIVER THEM BETTER THAN WE EVER HAVE, IN A WAY THAT CUTS THROUGH, IS NOTICABLE, AND BRINGS THINGS THAT NEWSPAPERS DO BEST TO THE FOREGROUND.What is at the heart of it? Is it that papers shouldn’t try to do everything? Do less but do those things better in terms of coverage and resources? With space and personnel cutbacks, hard choices will have to be made. Where do we go?

YES, UNLIKE THE PAST, THERE ARE MANY, MANY MORE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE TO GET THEIR NEWS AND WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON OUR STRENGTHS TO RECLAIM GROUND. IT DOES MEAN DOING FEWER THINGS UNQUESTONABLY BETTER. NEWSPAPERS OFTEN SUFFER FROM BEING VERY GENERIC IN A SPECIFICITY DRIVEN MEDIA ENVIRONMENT. ONE OF THE REASONS IM SO FOCUSED ON THE GRAPHIC ELEMENT AND THE INTELLECT. NEWSPAPERS OWN THOSE, WE NEED TO PUSH THESE ATTRIBUTES OUT BETTER.
2. Would you close foreign bureaus or fight to keep them open?

IT'S NOT MY CALL BUT I THINK A GLOBAL PRESENCE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR FUTURE. LOCAL IS KING BUT WE NEEDED TO BE "COMPLETE".
3. Do any of the changes you want most and first touch on the journalism at the Trib papers? Do you see a lot of stuff in the papers that doesn’t belong?

I THINK THE JOURNALISM IS GENERALLY OUTSTANDING, THOUGH I THINK DOING MORE WITH MORE IMPORTANT STORIES AT THE EXPENSE OF MARGINALLY INTERESTING ONES IS A REALITY. LIKE TV, WHERE THERE'S LIMITED TIME AND YOU NEED TO HIT HOT BUTTONS STORY AFTER STORY, THE NEW REALITY OF NEWSPAPERS IS LIMITED SPACE SO THE SAME PRINCIPALS APPLY
4. What do you think the societal value is of newspapers? You told me you’re a big fan of newspapers. What are you a fan of? When we spoke you said to my question about the role of newspapers “the same as it always was,” but could you please jot down a sentence or two about that. Newspapers have traditionally functioned as way of keeping citizens informed about their government and their world. They entertain. They sometimes take an active role in politics, as in Watergate. The constitution guarantees the right of a free press. It’s important, right? Could you give me a couple of lines on this?

TO ME THE NEWSPAPER IS PART OF THE LIFE EXPERIENCE. AN INTELLIGENT LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY AND WORLD THAT YOU CAN ABSORB AT YOUR OWN PACE AS WELL AS A PLACE TO FIND INFORMATION THAT APPEALS TO YOU. IM A BASEBALL FAN AND NOT ONLY SEING THE STATS, BUT GETTING THE INSIDE INFORMATION FROM REPORTERS THAT COVER MY TEAMS IS PRETTY IMPORTANT TO MY DAY. INVSTIGATIVE REPORTING HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT AS THE WORLD IS OFTEN A GREEDY, CORRUPT AND DANGEROUS PLACE. WE'RE NOT ALONE AS BLOGGERS, TV AND OTHER MEDIA ARE ALSO INVESTIGATING, BUT HISTORICALLY PAPERS HAVE DONE THE BEST AND MOST CREDIBLE JOB AND I THINK CONTINUING TO DO SO IS KEY TO THE FUTURE.
5. Last one: The cutbacks and shrinking ambitions of the Trib papers must be having a direct impact on the quality ofthe product you are trying to repackage and sell to readers. How do you deal with that? How does it figure into what he is doing?

QUALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. WE CAN’T LET THE QUALITY SLIP...IT NEEDS TO GROW. IT'S TRICKY BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMIC REALITIES, BUT I AM CONFIDENT THAT AS PAINFUL AS IT IS TO DOWNSIZE, WE WILL INCREASE THE QUALITY OF THE PAPERS. WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT AND WE WILL. IT REMINDS ME OF XM WHERE WE COULD ONLY AFFORD TO STAFF A CHANNEL THAT NORMALLY WOULD HAVE TEN OR MORE EMPLOYEES WITH ONE OR TWO. IT TOOK SOME RADICAL RETHINKING AND DESPITE A LOT OF NAYSAYERS, WE DID IT. THE QUALITY WAS SUPERIOR TO THE LARGE STAFF STATIONS BY ISOLATING THE BEST POSSBLE PEOPLE, RE-THINKING HOW A STATION IS OPERATED, AND THROWING OUT THE OLD OPERATIONAL PLAYBOOK AND BUILDING A NEW ONE THAT TOOK THE ECONOMICS OF OUR BUSINESS INTO PLAY. NEWSPAPERS ARE QUITE DIFFERENT FROM XM OF COURSE, BUT THERE ARE SCORES OF OTHER EXAMPLES WHERE DOWNSIZING DOESN’T NEGATIVELY AFFECT QUALITY. IF YOUR JOB IS AT RISK, THAT IS NOT A CONVINCING ARGUMENT, BUT EMOTIONS ASIDE, IT IS DOABLE.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THINKING DIFFERENTLY: If you think Newspapers are in a difficult state, try the record Industry. You know there's a problem when it's still called the "record" industry but records hardly exist. Along comes Steve Jobs with the I-pod thing. If you think WE are getting nuked by the pundits, this guy was getting it World War Three style from the "what does this geek know about OUR business." I don't think he cared too much about what THEY thought.
Posted by Lee at 08:08 AM

Fix The Sentinel

My 18 year old daughter started this blog because she has deep respect for the institution and mission of the Orlando Sentinel.

Please note what she wrote in one of her earliest posts:
"Despite how it may seem this blog is not a Sentinel slam party. We are not calling for the Sentinel to cease its existence, but rather to cease its existence as a shoddy paper. The things that are said in this blog are said in hopes of sharing frustration, calling out for change, and calling out the Orlando Sentinel (and its owners) on its current product in hopes that they will take a little notice of the city.
That said, all people posting here want very much to have a local paper and think it would a travesty for the city to be without one. But, we don't want just any scraps of newsprint to call itself our paper. The authors of this blog want a paper that cares about the community enough to investigate, cares about journalism enough to report real news and cares about the residents enough not to insult our intelligence with a tabloid-esque newspaper."

Having spent 22 years on the Sentinel staff I'm very passionate about the institution. So what I'm about to write is intended to help, not hurt.

During the past three years The Sentinel has lost many talented staffers, but it still has the ingredients to put out a good strong newspaper. That is not what they're giving readers today. They're feeding us crap and expecting us (the readers) to say it tastes delicious. It's not. It's crap!

But here is what the Sentinel leadership can do:

1. Lose the front-page ads, stickers and fold overs. They're cheesy and remind me of a really bad pennysaver. I assume those front page ads make money, but there are some things you don't do for money, such as make your daughter wear a micro mini and send her out to trick on The Trail.

2. Dial back on the celebrity gossip in the A section. I respect the financial need to reduce the newshole. So please don't waste that valuable real estate on celebrity news. If I want the latest on Tom and Katie I'll look at the Star while waiting in the checkout line at Publix.

3. Tone down the graphics. Please don't read that as me dissing Bonita (I've never worked directly with Bonita so I'm not qualified to criticize her). Good graphics and design certainly help tell an important story. But a story is about the reporting and the writing.

4. The Sentinel still has many great reporters who know this town. Get out of the way and let them do their jobs. Turn them loose, back them up and encourage them.

5. Make the Sentinel essential. Make it so smart people would not consider leaving the house in the morning until they have read The Sentinel.

6. Focus on the Sentinel's strong suit -- local news. I can find out about Iraq and Washington on MSNBC.com or CNN. Only the Sentinel is in a position to let me know what's happening at city hall or in Pine Castle.

For 24 years I counted on the Sentinel to help me learn about local candidates running for office. No other institution in Central Florida has the capacity to do that.

I'm depending on the Sentinel leadership to produce a newspaper that this community deserves. And we don't deserve crap.

The Flip Side

Earlier today, Mr. Jim Leusner chose to leave a goodbye note in the comment section. It was void of bitterness and condemnation toward the "new" paper, but still (to me at least) spoke of the responsibility of the paper. It seems when the paper fulfilled its responsibility it was a good deal for employees and the community. So, in the spirit of those times, I re-post Mr. Leusner's sentiments.

*If all this makes you wanna gag, because you believe the paper is dying because it has become a liberal publication... then I share this with you simply because Mr. Leusner was regarded one of the best investigative reporters at the paper. So, even if we do not completely agree with his views they should be respected enough to be fully heard.

From Mr. Leusner:

Friends and colleagues:
As you know, today (7/31) is my last day after nearly 30 years at the Orlando Sentinel. I want to thank all of you for being my professional family during that time. What a great run it’s been during the golden era of journalism, the post-Watergate period.

After I was hired here as a 23-year-old in early 1979, I was lucky to meet up with several incredible journalists who helped teach me the ropes. Paul Jenkins, Malcolm Williams, Jim Toner and Jim Squires all shared their vast knowledge or reporting techniques with me, which I have tried to share on stories and special projects or at my Sentinel Newsroom University classes over the years.

I was fortunate to work on so many great stories involving all kinds of subjects: mobsters, bikers, bad cops, serial killers, spies, militias, space shuttle disasters, defense contractors, terrorism/homeland security, corrupt politicians, greedy developers and the pioneers of International Drive. I learned something new every day and got to do interviews at the White House, CIA headquarters, aboard radar planes flying around the Caribbean or on Death Row.

Working with so many other talented Sentinel reporters also taught me a lot. They included: Roger Roy, Dan Tracy, Chris Quinn, Debbie Salamone, Mike Griffin, Sean Holton, Hank Curtis, Pedro Ruz, Tammy Lytle, Anthony Colarossi, Kevin Spear and many others, including the current members of the Breaking News Team.

I was blessed to have worked under the BEST line editors in the company -- Jenkins, Toner, Holton, Gary Gorman, Sal Recchi, Ann Hellmuth, Bob Shaw, Greg Miller and Michelle Guido. So many folks on the copy desk also made my stories better. The graphics folks, page designers and photographers helped illustrate those stories so well. I am grateful to all of them.

To be clear, leaving is my choice. I narrowly missed a buyout last year, but jumped at the chance for a severance package this year so I could go into business for myself after more than 31 years as a reporter.

Despite the rough waters our industry is navigating, you guys need to remember that the work you do is so vital to the democracy -- and history. It's made a difference to many people like my late dad, who educated himself reading the paper -- after dropping out of grade school -- to help his family during the Great Depression.

I wish all of you the best. My thoughts will be with you.
And if this note is too long, at least I was consistent during my Sentinel career!
Regards,
Jim Leusner

Goodbye Talent and Experience

Charlotte says she's sorry (sort of ) in this internal memo, but can apologies really make up for 153 people worth of bloodletting?

From: Hall, Charlotte H
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 4:04 PM
To: OSC DL Editorial
Subject: To the Staff

To All:
Today we completed the process of notifying employees whose jobs are being eliminated. They are talented journalists and represent decades of service to Sentinel readers. We are sorry to see them go, and we wish them well.

As we told you earlier, about 20 percent of newsroom positions were going to be eliminated this month. Eight of those positions were vacant. The open positions and people who asked for the severance package make up just over two-thirds of the job cuts. Altogether, 52 editorial positions have been eliminated, three of them part-time. Earlier in the year, four open positions were eliminated.

In all departments of the newspaper, the Sentinel has cut 153 positions since Jan. 1, slightly more than a third of them in the newsroom.

We want to thank you for your professionalism and patience in recent weeks. Even during a very painful month, you have produced terrific journalism in the paper and online. Though the newsroom will be smaller, it will be filled with skilled and dedicated journalists. We have much work ahead of us. Tomorrow at 5 p.m. we will hold a staff meeting to talk about moving forward and to announce some organizational changes in the editing staff.

Charlotte and Russ

What's funny about the memo is that I'm sure it was never really meant to reach the people Charlotte should really be apologizing to- the public and the most recent of the layoffs/ buyouts/otherwise volunteering to escape Sentinel wrath:

Judy Alderman

Joy Allen (Copy Editor)

Fran Coker

Lydia Enriquez (Photo/ Design)

Lee Fiedler (Photo Editor)

Julie Fletcher (Photographer)

Jennifer Greenhill Taylor (Orange/Seminole Editor)

Autumn Heep (Photo/ Design)
Anita Hardin (News asst. from Lake County)

Kamuri Kelley (Osceola)

Jim Leusner (Investigative reporter)

Edgardo Martinez (Copy Editor)

April Medina (Copy Editor)

Katherine Norris (News asst. from Downtown Orlando)

Barbara Perez (photographer)
Robert Sargent
Wes Smith

Valerie Turner

Dennis Wall (Photographer)

Tammie Wersinger

*If you see some names missing or notice some have disappeared from the list, please realize that some of the recently departed do not wish to be named.

** I hope that this time around the Sentinel did a more dignified job of notifying people than the nice little "hey you have no job" call at home. Best Wishes to all 153.

One Month Old

A little over a month ago, the Orlando Sentinel debuted its "new and improved" paper. So, in celebration of the new paper's one month birthday, I've decided to see how people like it. 

(For a bigger view, click here)

Now, I'm not the kind of person that makes fun of newborns, but the reactions to this one were somewhere between apathy and annoyance. Some feelings toward the new paper that declined to appear on screen were: "I cancelled my subscription!" (accompanied by a thumbs down) and "It's hard to find anything in the paper, things that used to be on the front page are now all over the place."

Better luck next month, baby Sentinel!

M.I.A.

The week after some serious cuts were made at the Orlando Sentinel and the paper came under fire for not disclosing them, Editor Charlotte Hall is nowhere to be found. Well, she's at least not found in Orlando or the Sentinel building. The current word on her whereabouts is that she's attending a conference and will not be back until next Monday.

Now, maybe her attendance at this conference was planned and arranged many months prior, but would it be completely unheard of to cancel a cameo because your paper's having crisis?Especially, when whatever conference you would be attending is likely full of talk about the newspaper business or at least journalism, both of which are best practiced actively rather than in theory. 

Yet, even in theory--in a hypothetical situation, it does seem like Ms. Charlotte Hall should be (A)  at the Sentinel, instead of (B) at some conference. By definition, an editor is responsible for guiding their staff and the paper through dicey situations. The national coverage of cutbacks at the paper and the management's covering up of those cutbacks seems like a dicey situation. So, it seems like she should be present right now.

But, she's gone and I don't foresee anyone commanding her to return immediately. Therefore, she will remain gone until next week, when she's hopefully helping guide that long awaited "Sentinel cutbacks" report.

Still is it really fair that Ms.Hall can brandish a "get out of jail free" card, while everyone else remains in fear behind bars?

What If?

What if we didn't feel like waiting until the Sentinel decides to publish what will probably be a very sterile report on their "cutbacks"? What if we wanted the report this week? 

What if we didn't have to accept the polished spin they'll likely put on the story as "their word" on the changes? What if we wanted to hear "the report" straight from the mouths of the Orlando Sentinel's management?

What if we could have a dialogue with them rather than a monologue from them?

What if you could ask the Sentinel's management anything about the cutbacks, the changes and the clandestine way they've gone about them?

What would you ask? 

Share your question(s) in the comments or here: shrinkingsentinel@yahoo.com

Editors in study say shrinking newsrooms damages quality of journalism

Editors in study say shrinking newsrooms damages quality of journalism.

It's posted at orlandosentinel.com !

Coming Clean Pt.1: Admitting Heavy Vacations

As previously mentioned the Sentinel management is taking "baby steps" toward honesty. This memo that was to their staff is their first shot at it:
Winefordner moves to Ed Board 7/17/2008

Terri Winefordner is moving from her role as Assistant Features News Editor to the Editorial Board, where she will be in charge of Op-ed content and Letters to the Editor. Terri already has begun training and will assume her new role on Monday. Senior Reporter Mary Shanklin also is helping out with the Editorial Board during a period of heavy vacations. Mary previously worked on the Ed Board.

What are heavy vacations?

Are "heavy vacations" what happens when the size of your editorial board goes from 12 people to 4 people? Because if so, I had no idea that leaving the newspaper forever was considered a vacation.

News to me!

Sentinel management comes clean?

There's nothing like being called out by a leading trade magazine's website, or at least apparently there's nothing quite like that to the Orlando Sentinel management. Just one article in Editor & Publisher (that heavyily cited blogs "leaking" what shouldn't have needed to be leaked) and they seem to have change their tune.

In less than 24 hours the revised statements below were issued to Editor & Publisher :
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.

Also, included in the new Editor & Publisher article was part of the memo below:
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

Isn't that heartwarming?

Now, about three weeks after news of buyouts/layoffs broke, Sentinel management has finally decided to acknowledge the changes. They've finally decided to air out their own laundry, even though we (you, me and everyone we know) have already taken long whiffs of their stench. The memo to the staff even had the nerve to claim to "want to update you on the terminations". Who was updated by that? Who thinks they even cared that anyone was updated?

But efficiently updating staff isn't what's important, right?

What's important is that the Sentinel management claims they'll publicly disclose "the cutbacks". What they won't disclose are any future "cutbacks" (that seem like they are on the horizon). They'll probably skip the parts about penny pinching on employee expenses. The fact some positions were completely eliminated will probably be glossed over. And they'll probably in no way address any of the sentiments about the redesign, which is doing nearly as much damage to the paper as the layoffs. But, I'm sure the "next" report in about 2011 will include all that too.

Sentinel PR plan: Delusion

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.

A closer look at Sentinel's numbers

Yesterday was a big day of loss at the Orlando Sentinel, but only one of many previous days. Whether the Sentinel's management wants you to know it or not the newspaper (newsroom, editorial board and all) has been shrinking for a while now. 

To put things in perspective: When the newspaper first moved into its current location at 633 N. Orange Ave, they had 1,200 employees. About 4-5 years ago, the paper had a staff of 1,300 people. Currently, the Orlando Sentinel as an entire paper has less than 1000 employees and a staff of less 250 people in its newsroom.

Along with loss of employees, most people would think its fair to say the Sentinel's circulation has shrunk as well. Yet, on the front page the paper boasts "reaching 1.2 million weekly in print and online". While, it can be noted that the same subscript used to say 1.3 million (so it reflects some change), the numbers are still questionable. 

In the newspaper business, the numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) are pretty much the only ones that matter. Those are basically the numbers that matter to advertisers and basically the only definite numbers of a paper's readership. It can be assumed that more than one person read each copy of the newspaper, but nobody has any proof. In the Sentinel's case the only proven number of readers- its circulation- were recorded by the ABC as follows:

Monday- Friday: 227,593

Saturday: 225,275

Sunday: 332,030

No matter which way you use the averages of those numbers, you do not get anything near to 1.2 million people definitely reading the paper.

Yet, the Sentinel is most likely boasting its readership (an indefinite number). The paper admittedly includes people (reading, randomly clicking) online in its readership, which could work if those people read the online version as a newspaper. But how can anyone tell? How does the OrlandoSentinel.com know whether these people are actual readers? Are they counting computer cookies? If so, then aren't one time vistors and people checking backlinks being included in readership? How many stories does a visitors have to read to be counted as readership? Do they even make sure those people read any stories? 

I would love to know how their boasted readership is calculated. Because if they are being at all loose with numbers, then that's a big fat mislead on the top of the newspaper.

So, who are these 1.2 million?