Economy hurts even the big boys of media

By Peter Merchlewitz

The recent economic stutter is on everyone's minds these days. Can I afford to go back to school? Can our family make the annual holiday vacations to distant relatives? The list goes on and on.

One would be surprised to find that this crisis doesn't affect just us mere mortals, trying to get by, day to day. According to The Editors Weblog, it appears that even media giants such as The New York times are quickly trying to figure out what cuts they can make to meet their ends meet before the Repo Man comes knocking at their door.

The bottom line for the short-term financial picture for the Times is that it owes $453 million more than it has.

Blodget reports, based on recent NYTCo. filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

What NYT has:
• $46 million of cash
• $366 million owed to it by advertisers
Total: $412 million

What NYT owes:
• $398 million of short-term debt (due in May)
• $161 million of accounts payable (newsprint, travel, etc.)
• $100 million of payroll (salaries)
• $159 million of other expenses
• $50 million owed on long-term debt and rent
Total: $865 million

So the question is, what can the NYT do to cut costs and remain afloat? Will cutting jobs be enough? Will they need to end print editions?

Whatever they decide to do, they'll need to find a solution that both allows them to maintain their status and have the resources to provide quality news coverage before it's too late.

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The Glitz, The Glamour, and The Glory

By: Kelsey Knutson

The media has a solid reputation for sticking its nose into business that does not belong to them. However, isn't the media supposed to seek out the truth and report it?

But we must ask, what truths do we as a society need to care about? Does my well-being depend and hang in balance on whether Jennifer Aniston is pregnant or not? Or can I not sleep peacefully if I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is dating... or what her sexual orientation is for that case? (You can tell that I do actually pay attention this stuff.)

Television shows like E! and Access Hollywood are dedicated to giving us updates on the lives of movie starts and music idols. Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Paula Abdul, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie. But, who cares?

The answer is everyone cares. The real question is, why?

It's human nature for us to want to know what is going on with other people's lives. So why not inquire about the lives of the rich and famous and... somewhat... talented?

This interest goes beyond Hollywood. We now see special features and articles in gossip magazines about our political figures and sports heros.

The media feeds into our interest of other people's lives.

The media gives us information and opportunity. And above all, it gives us access. 

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Newspapers consider merger to stay afloat

By: Erin Floro

 

All across the country newspapers are facing an economic crisis, with more than 24,000 jobs being cut this past year.  The Internet is taking over not only their readers but also television, radio, and magazine audiences. 

 

With this decline and dropping revenues, some newspapers are trying to restructure to stay alive.  This is the case for the Star-Telegram, a Fort Worth Texas paper.  Staffed with 400 journalists its newsroom was once considered huge for a paper its size.  This paper has been a moneymaker for decades. 

 

On Friday, November 7, the Star-Telegram announced it may collaborate with the Dallas Morning News, it’s oldest rival.  Advertising, its major source of revenue dropped 17.5 percent in September.  Annual revenue is $40 million lower than 2006.  Stock price of its parent company, the McClatchy Co., fell 87 percent last year.  Analysts have speculated bankruptcy.

 

The Star-Telegram has eliminated 250 positions three times this year, accounting for one-fifth of the work force.  Its historic headquarters building in downtown Fort Worth has been put up for sale, shocking to many who want the presence of the paper to remain in the business district. 

 

Employees of the newspaper are also very concerned about job security with the approaching merger.

 

Falling circulation has affected both papers.  In the past year, the Star-Telegram circulation fell to 3.9 percent while the Morning News reported a 9 percent drop in only six months.  They are looking at combining their daily print runs as printing is a major expense.

 

With only 220 journalists, including those who work online, declining revenue, and their overwhelming debt, the Star-Telegram believes that the consolidation with the Morning News makes sense.

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Mind blowing tools

By: Sarah Keller

The web is constantly finding bigger and better ways to demonstrate reporting. In an article from the New York Times today, it discussed how google has now made up a search engine that people can go onto to see if they have flu like symptoms. This search engine even has the ability to say in advance what location is going to get hit with the flu next.

This just blows my mind that something like this can be reported about. In my last blog I talked about the how people can view a map and click on a state to see how many people voted for which presidential candidate, I then said who knows what they will think of next. Well this is definitely another step in altering our world with online reporting, I really cannot wait to see what people will think of next to report about online.

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Perfect Match

By: Alex Jones

Recently the Des Moines Register published a story about Shannon Michelle Rew, an Indianola resident who had an affair with a 15 year old boy.

Rew being 37 herself was attracted to the boy after her daughter had dated him for 6 months. There seems to be an epidemic of older adults targeting young children. My thought is where is the balance?

It seems that the media only portrays naughty priests or attractive cougars on the prowl. I want average Joe's to create a better balance of who is portrayed in the media for corrupting the youth with their sex. 

Where are the men in these stories? The middle school basketball coach that seduced his young female player. I want to know where the heterosexual males fall along this story? They're out there so why are they not getting the media coverage that bubbly soccer moms or priests are getting?

Who is to say one is worse than the other?   

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Associated Press plays god

By: Kathryn Lisk

Romenesko posted a blog informing editors that after Thursday, Nov. 14 at 3 a.m. EST, an Associated Press change will go into effect. 

"The AP will use the title and first and family names on the first reference," said Romenesko's blogger. Essentially, instead of writing "President Bush" in first reference, AP style will ask for "President George Bush". This also applies for "President-elect Barack Obama" and other commonly known leaders. 

I understand why the change is being made, but can't help from wondering what it's like to work for the Associated Press style team. This group of individuals dictates how thousands of reporters around the globe write. 

Obviously this change will only cause minor shifts in the stories that are reported. However, the AP Stylebook demands specific rules on hundreds of words, phrases, numbers, etc. They play an extremely important and powerful role in today's journalism world.

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It starts here and sometimes ends here

By: Shauna Agan

It has happened so recently lately that one does not know if they are watching the entertainment or politics. While politics appearing on the late night television shows is not a new trend, it has sure become a trend in recent years.

In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would run for office in the California gubernatorial race. This was not just any announcement though. He made his announcement to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.

His announcement proved to be successful when he was elected as the governor of California. Maybe that is why Senator John McCain also chose to use this form of medium to announce his bid for presidency in March of 2007.

Although there was already much speculation that McCain would run for president, he made it official on The Late Show with David Letterman. His announcement proved to be successful for a while as he claimed the GOP seat in the bid for presidency.

Following McCain, another GOP candidate, Fred Thompson also entered the race using the late shows as his media option. In Sept. 2007, Thompson announced during "The Tonight Show" that he would run for President of the United States.

A week after the elections, Leno was the first person to receive an interview with McCain, who had been defeated.

So many politicians are resorting to the late night entertainment media to announce their candidacy and give interviews to, but why? Does it have anything to do with the ‘serious’ media options such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc. is not good enough?

I believe it has to do with the relaxed atmosphere these hosts provide to the politicians. When giving interviews to other journalists in media, the politicians feel as if they are being stuck between a rock and a hard place when some of the questions are asked. Hosts such as Leno and Letterman put a humorous light on the situation.

I also believe it has a lot to do with the American public. More individuals watch the late shows than watch actual news channels, so it is a smart move for these candidates to announce their bids for presidency via entertainment programs. It grabs the attention of the public.

I believe using the late night entertainment media is a very smart decision on the politician’s half.

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