CNN pitches a cheaper alternative to the AP

CNN, in the afterglow of an election season of record ratings for cable news, is elbowing in on a new line of business: catering to financially strained newspapers looking for an alternative to The Associated Press.

For nearly a month, a trial version of CNN’s wire service has been on display in some newspapers. But this week editors from about 30 papers will visit Atlanta to hear CNN’s plans to broaden a service to provide coverage of big national and international events — and maybe local ones — on a smaller scale and at a lower cost than The A.P.

“The reality is we don’t have a lot of relationships with newspapers,” said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. “We have relationships with TV stations around the world.” Mr. Walton said the meeting this week, which CNN has billed the “CNN Newspaper Summit,” is “kind of a get-to-know-you.”

With its CNN Wire, the company is going up against the largest news-gathering operation in the world in The A.P., and it must convince editors that it can offer something that is well outside its broadcast expertise — which may not be a tough task given the dire circumstances newspapers face. In addition, a number of newspapers are unhappy with the cost of The A.P., a nonprofit corporation that is owned by the 1,400 papers that are its members. Some newspapers have even given notice that they intend to leave The A.P. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/business/media/01cnn.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Iraqi Journalist Hurls Shoes at Bush, Denounces Him on TV as a ‘Dog’

The New York Times - BAGHDAD — President Bush made a valedictory visit on Sunday to Iraq, the country that will largely define his legacy, but the trip will more likely be remembered for the unscripted moment when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at Mr. Bush’s head and denounced him on live television as a “dog” who had delivered death and sorrow here from nearly six years of war.

The drama unfolded shortly after Mr. Bush appeared at a news conference in Baghdad with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to highlight the newly adopted security agreement between the United States and Iraq. The agreement includes a commitment to withdraw all American forces by the end of 2011.

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/middleeast/15prexy.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Plain Dealer Reporter Sues Orchestra, Newspaper for Defamation

The New York Times - A classical music critic who was removed from his post at The Cleveland Plain Dealer after a history of negative reviews of the Cleveland Orchestra’s music director struck back on Thursday with a lawsuit.

The critic, Donald Rosenberg, charged that orchestra officials had waged a “campaign of vilification” against him and that his bosses at the newspaper had caved in to demands that he be ousted.

“It’s key that people realize that journalists have to be given the freedom to operate without pressure from outside sources,” Mr. Rosenberg said in a telephone interview. Mr. Rosenberg stressed that his complaint was directed at the orchestra’s management and not its musicians.

Mr. Rosenberg remains at the paper as a music reporter and dance critic and writes some music reviews, but not of the Cleveland Orchestra. The paper in September assigned a former intern who had worked with Mr. Rosenberg to do that job.

Mr. Rosenberg’s suit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, names the newspaper and the orchestra’s parent, the Musical Arts Association, as defendants. Also named are Susan Goldberg, the newspaper’s editor; Gary Hanson, the orchestra’s executive director; Richard Bogomolny, its chairman and president; and James Ireland III, a board member and former president.

Mr. Rosenberg, 56, charged the defendants with defamation. He accused orchestra management of tortious interference with his job, and the paper and Ms. Goldberg of age discrimination and violating Ohio’s free speech principle. The suit seeks damages of at least $50,000. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/media/12plain.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Newsweek Cuts Jobs, Undergoes Makeover

Editors' Note: Newsweek is going to undergo a redesign and become more "idea driven." Translation: More ad friendly content, and less news. - MT

The Wall Street Journal - Newsweek magazine, as expected, told employees Thursday it will cut staff as it adjusts to a weakening financial position and prepares for an overhaul of the magazine early next year that is likely to lead to a downsizing of its 2.6 million circulation.

In a meeting with the weekly's staff, Ann McDaniel, vice president at parent Washington Post Co., said Newsweek is reopening voluntary buyouts offered in the spring, when the magazine shed 111 jobs. She said the new buyout package isn't as generous as the previous one and would affect a smaller group of employees but would be open to some who weren't eligible before.

n a memo sent to employees later in the day, Ms. McDaniel said 65 people will receive the buyout offer and another 10 jobs will be eliminated. All eligible employees will be notified by the end of the day on Friday and they have 45 days to decide whether to take the offer, plus another seven days to change their minds.

In February, Newsweek plans to introduce what Ms. McDaniel called a "new strategy," including a revamped magazine and Web site, that will support a broader move toward becoming a less print-focused publication.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122902553783299119.html

The Newspaper Bubble, Too, Has Burst

The New York Times - The bankruptcy filing of the Tribune Company on Monday is just the latest, largest evidence that the American newspaper industry is suffering the hangover from an immense buying spree in 2006 and 2007 at what turned out to be the worst possible time for the buyers, just as the business was about to enter a drastic decline.

Newspapers would be in trouble either way. The steady leak of advertising and readers from print to the Web has become a widening torrent in this recession year. Most newspapers remain profitable, but the margins are dropping fast, with the industry losing about 15 percent of its ad revenue this year.

But the companies in the weakest condition are there largely because they borrowed a lot of money to buy papers, often at inflated prices, and the biggest of those deals were struck in 2006 and early 2007. Tribune’s was the biggest of those deals, $8.2 billion to take private the company whose assets include The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and 23 television stations, a transaction that almost tripled the company’s debt.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/business/media/10paper.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Tribune Files for Bankruptcy

Tribune Co. prepares for bankruptcy

The Wall Street Journal - Tribune Co. is preparing for a possible filing for bankruptcy-court protection as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter, in another sign of trouble for the newspaper industry.

In recent days, as Tribune continued talks with lenders to restructure its debt, the newspaper-and-television concern hired Lazard Ltd. as its financial adviser, as well as legal counsel for a possible trip through bankruptcy court, according to people familiar with the matter.

A Tribune spokesman said the company doesn't comment on rumors or speculation. Tribune owns eight major daily newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, and a string of local TV stations.

A spokesman for investment bank Lazard didn't respond to a request for comment.

Tribune's latest actions underscore the deepening distress enveloping Tribune and other newspaper publishers. Their businesses are being battered by dwindling advertising sales, and they are carrying debt loads that are unmanageable under current market conditions. Insider insiders expect some papers will need to fold or seek protection from creditors to reorganize in coming months.

Tribune has been on wobbly footing since last December, when real-estate mogul Samuel Zell led a debt-backed deal to take the company private. Tribune so far has stayed ahead of its $12 billion in borrowings with the help of asset sales. Now, however, dwindling profits are tightening the noose.

The company's cash flow may not be enough to cover nearly $1 billion in interest payments due this year, and Tribune owes a $512 million debt payment in June.

One of Tribune's most pressing concerns: By the end of the year, the company is likely to be in violation of debt terms that limit borrowings to nine times its adjusted profits. The ratio stood at 8.3 at the end of the second quarter, before Tribune reported an 83% decline in operating profit for the three months ended Sept 28.

Violations of such debt covenants have become commonplace for newspaper companies as profits have ebbed in recent months. Lenders so far have been willing to give the companies a pass in exchange for higher interest rates and other concessions, but Tribune has little wiggle room. Terms of the company's debt already are so loose and its financial standing so unsteady that a covenant waiver may not help.

To be sure, a restructuring outside of bankruptcy court remains an option for Tribune. Executives have indicated previously that the debt talks are amicable, and it remains possible the two sides can agree to rework the company's borrowings on their own, as other newspaper publishers are doing.

Tribune's hiring of Lazard, meanwhile, brings it a firm experienced in debt restructuring, and one that has become a go-to adviser for newspaper companies in financial distress.

Even as its financial performance worsens, Tribune has some options. A sale of its Chicago Cubs baseball team is under way, and Tribune owns valuable stakes in businesses including the cable-TV channel Food Network.

Tribune already has auctioned off pieces of the company, including the Long Island, N.Y., daily Newsday to raise cash. Now, however, frozen credit markets have depressed sale prices.

Selling off more newspapers may not be a viable option because buyers are scarce and Tribune may be better off holding onto the profits from its papers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122868944355686385.html?mg=com-wsj

What's Behind Long Time TV Anchors Leaving? Cost

Ernie Bjorkman, of KWGN in Denver, with co-anchor Kellie MacMullan. The station told Mr. Bjorkman that he would be laid off in a consolidation.


Editor's Note: I routinely watched Ernie for a number of years when I worked for the Denver Post. He was a fixture in Denver broadcasting and will certainly be missed. Media companies keep pushing salaries down. Meanwhile, viewers/readers complain about the quality of content and how local newscasts have offer little value. In the past, viewers connected with long-time anchors. There was a relationship that kept viewers coming back for more. When will Big Media realize there is a direct relationship between content and ratings? - MT

The New York Times - One of the most familiar voices in Denver is about to sign off for the last time.

In October, three weeks after Ernie Bjorkman, an institution in Colorado television, signed a new annual contract worth close to a quarter of a million dollars, he was told he was being let go by KWGN, the CW affiliate in Denver, a victim of consolidation with another station.

In the self-assured baritone of his profession, Mr. Bjorkman, a 36-year television veteran who will be paid through the end of his contract period, said, “I don’t think we’re going to see the anchor people grow old with the audience anymore.”

Across the country, longtime local TV anchors are a dying breed. Facing an economic slump and a severe advertising downturn, many stations have cut costs drastically in the last year, and veteran anchors, with their expensive contracts, seem to be shouldering a disproportionate share of the cutbacks. When station managers are forced to make cuts, hefty anchor salaries are a tempting target.

In Chicago, the 23-year anchor Diann Burns was laid off from WBBM. In Boston, the renowned sports anchor Bob Lobel was let go by WBZ. In Houston, the 26-year veteran Carolyn Campbell was dismissed from KHOU.

Almost all of the country’s 1,300 television stations with network affiliations have a face, or a pair of faces, that represent their news operations better than any logo or commercial can. Many years after signing off, the larger-than-life characters are still fixtures of newscast lore, like Bill Beutel in New York, Fahey Flynn in Chicago and Ann Bishop in Miami.

While some anchors in top markets can still command million-dollar salaries — like Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons on WNBC in New York — the positions are becoming more vulnerable to the market forces thatare roiling local TV, analysts say.

Local TV, although it lacks the glamour of the network nightly news or the prestige of print newspapers, remains the most popular single source of news in the United States. Slightly more than half of the population watches local news regularly, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, while only 34 percent read a newspaper each day and 29 percent watch a network evening newscast.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/business/media/01anchor.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink