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26 Jun 2009 17:41

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Biz: For sale: Former gem of a newspaper, based in Boston. Loses lots of $$$

  • $123 million Assets of the Boston Globe, which the New York Times company is trying to sell quickly, along with (possibly) a second paper
  • $182 million Amount of debt obligations the Globe has – a liability of $58 million. The NYT company recently cut salaries 23%, BTW. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2009 15:55

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Biz, Politics: Thoughts on the news industry in light of a recent crisis

  • What happened? A group that our site has personal ties with, the Society for News Design, lost its president in an ugly and public way. Other sites have covered it much better than we can and will, but suffice it to say, a professional newspaper organization with a long, storied history and thousands of members will struggle to regain its formidable swagger. And honestly, it sucks.
  • Why is this?Ultimately, SND’s problems are a microcosm for the rest of the news industry. They’ve lost members in the wake of massive news-industry layoffs, and many former members complain that the organization focuses too much on big picture surface details at the loss of its rank and file. News companies do the same thing; they’re laying off their future right now.
  • What do we change?Ultimately, SND – and the news industry in general – has to function with the Internet instead of around it. Most newspapers are organized around themselves. The Internet doesn’t cluster to walled gardens – it clusters to smart little ideas here and there. Find ways to play inside the new rules. The old rules don’t work. The structure of news needs a redesign.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

24 May 2009 11:36

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Tech: The latest iPhone app news we got to offer to the masses

  • one Apple’s policy of rejecting apps based on some minor content flaw continues, this time with an eBook reader featuring a book on Kama Sutra.
  • two On Friday, watch maker Cartier sued Apple for hosting iPhone apps which mimicked their expensive time-tickers. On Saturday, they backed off.
  • three Finally, have you tried out the USA Today iPhone app? It’s freaking amazing. It’s easily the high standard as far as newspaper apps go. It freaking rules, kids.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2009 11:06

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Biz, U.S.: The Boston Globe reaches a deal with its last union

  • Crisis averted. Cuts made. Hands shaken. The Boston Globe, which nearly faced a death march this week, narrowly avoided it by getting six of its seven unions to agree to price cuts and a relaxing of a job guarantee policy which was the sticking point. The largest union, the Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents the newsroom, wouldn’t budge on the job security front. An agreement was met last night, but no word – yet – on whether they got to keep job security. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 19:37

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Biz: Why was the Boston Globe in danger? Huge losses.

  • $85 million in losses this year – a huge chunk of change source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 19:29

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Biz: Deals were made, hands were shaken, The Boston Globe lives for now

  • Six of the paper’s seven unions agreed to cuts. The largest didn’t. The Globe, which looked off a cliff last night at the bottom and didn’t like the view, has apparently succeeded in getting enough concessions to stay afloat for the moment. The paper had set a May 1st deadline to get their unions to agree to $20 million in cuts. The only union that didn’t agree was the largest, the Boston Newspaper Guild. At issue are salary cuts and benefits such as lifetime job guarantees, which seem not so smart now that the paper’s bleeding money. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2009 02:34

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Biz, U.S.: The Boston Globe’s currently facing some trying hours

  • Unions and management are butting heads. At stake? The paper itself. The management of The Boston Globe, owned by The New York Times Company, is prepared to file a shutdown notice if it cannot convince its unions to cut costs significantly. The iconic newspaper and the union have for the moment stopped talking, but could start up again tonight. The two sides were fighting against a deadline which conveniently passed at midnight. See that? That’s sweat going down furrowed brows. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 Apr 2009 20:43

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Biz, U.S.: Newspapers fall deeper and deeper into oblivion

  • -7.1% circulation decline in the last six months o_O source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 8 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2009 11:13

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Offbeat, Tech: He’s 90, but David Perlman still knows his science news

Science writer David Perlman of the San Francisco Chronicle will end a newspaper career that’s lasted 78 years. (!) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Apr 2009 23:17

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Biz, World: Advertising, newspapers, Zimbabwe & activism intersect. Whoa.

This may be the boldest advertising campaign we’ve ever seen. Zimbabwean currency, used for ads. Amazing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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