The Paper Trail

Dean Singleton Memo

2008-07-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Talk of MediaNews' financial problems is nothing new. But the news that Standard & Poors Ratings Services has lowered the company's credit rating has again raised questions about the stability of the newspaper chain.

MediaNews is one of several media companies that have way too much debt and could be in danger of going bankrupt, according to recent articles.

Today, MediaNews CEO Dean Singleton responded to those reports with a memo to employees.

Here it is:

TO: All MediaNews Group Employees

FROM: CEO Dean Singleton and President Jody Lodovic:

RE: RECENT PRESS

Many of you have probably heard or read the recent negative press surrounding
the newspaper industry, including MediaNews Group. The focus on MediaNews Group
was prompted by a recent downgrade by Standard & Poors. Given the speculation and
innuendo contained in recent stories, we wanted to provide as much clarity to each of you as possible.

Before getting into specifics, we want to put the recent S&P downgrade into
context. MediaNews is not alone, nor is the newspaper industry unique. Unprecedented
turmoil in the financial markets and the economic challenges faced by many industries
has resulted in a great deal of dislocation and irrational behavior in the market place.

Rating agencies such as S&P and Moody's have been criticized and threatened for not reacting quick enough to update their ratings. It is our opinion (shared by others) that the rating agencies have now gone to an extreme and are being overly conservative with their ratings. As a result, every newspaper company, including MediaNews Group, has been downgraded multiple times during the past year. While we can debate whether these downgrades were warranted, we acknowledge that the economic headwinds we (and many others) face pose a real challenge. Let us assure you, MediaNews Group is up for the challenge!

We also want to address the speculation regarding the recent leadership changes
at Hearst. While it is not appropriate for us to address the specific reasons for the change, we can tell you that Hearst remains committed to and supportive of MediaNews Group. In fact, we expect to announce another transaction with Hearst shortly which will better position us to weather the current economic storm. We and Hearst have identified several areas where we can work together for our collective benefit, as well as for the potential benefit of the industry. Some of these strategies, such as our joint Kaango and PSA investment and formation of the Yahoo! consortium, are already underway. We look forward to expanding our efforts with Hearst in the future.

Aside from the matters addressed above, we are sure other questions come to
mind about the future of newspapers and MediaNews Group. Let us address a few that
come to mind.

Is MediaNews Group meeting financial commitments under the terms
of its various debt agreements?

Yes, MediaNews is in compliance with the terms of its bank
agreements and continues to take steps to reduce its total debt and
expects to remain in compliance in the future. As has been the case
in the past, MediaNews may from time to time seek amendments
of its debt agreements as necessary to provide maximum
flexibility.

Is MediaNews concerned about the level of its debt?

Certainly, given the economic environment we are in, we would
rather have less debt. But, this is not our first rodeo. In the last
newspaper recession (in the early nineties), we operated with
higher relative levels of debt. We came out well positioned and
led the industry in growth for much of the next decade. With our
collective efforts, we will lead the charge again!

Is MediaNews looking to buy more newspapers in the near term?

While Mediapews believes the future of newspapers is bright,
MediaNews is not currently looking to acquire more newspapers.
We believe our resources should be more internally focused on
reinventing our current newspaper model to support future growth
plans. That said, we believe that consolidation within the industry
is inevitable and will help facilitate the change necessary for
newspapers to thrive well into the future. MediaNews expects to
be a leader in that consolidation effort.

MediaNews has always been focused on cutting costs. Is there a
different strategy for the future?

Unfortunately, all newspapers are faced with making significant
cost cuts. Declining revenue and higher newsprint prices, as well
as ever increasing benefit costs, simply leave no choice.

The recent necessary downsizing at some of our newspapers was a
difficult decision, from both a personal and professional
perspective, and we will certainly miss our cohorts. Each played
an important role in the company, and there departure, through no
fault of their own, leaves a whole that the rest of our employees
will have to find a way to fill.

MediaNews doesn't believe cost cutting is a long term strategy.
However, we recognize that there is a structural change in our
business, and we must align our cost structure accordingly. That is
precisely why we engaged Bain last Fall - to provide us a roadmap
to build the newspaper company of the future by leveraging the
vast resources of the entire company. Individual newspapers can
only cut costs so far without impacting the perceived value to
advertisers and readers. Accordingly, we must work together (as
well as with other companies) to find new and creative ways to
streamline operations in ways that are transparent to both readers
and advertisers. In fact, we believe it is possible to improve our
products and services and operate more efficiently at the same
time.

Unfortunately, gone are the days where we can operate as a
collection of standalone newspapers. We must leverage our
collective resources and position ourselves to reinvest in our
business going forward in order to provide the tools and resources
to ensure success in the future. And, we are starting to do just that,
with significant investments in the sales, marketing and research
arenas.

We hope that this addresses many of your questions and conveys
MediaNews Group's commitment to taking the necessary steps to ensure our
future success. No one said change was easy, and the current economic
environment makes it all the more challenging. But the rewards for successfully
navigating through this period of transformation will be great.

We truly believe in the future of newspapers, the services they perform
and the value they provide. You, our employees, are our most valuable asset.
And, if we all work together, MediaNews will lead the industry into the future!
We recognize and appreciate your efforts and dedication during this
challenging time.

Remember: Together we can!

One big Bay Area union!

2008-06-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the folks at Bay Area Newspaper Group, who voted on Friday to unionize their newspapers.

The vote means about 200 reporters, copy editors, clerks and editorial employees at the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and East Bay newspapers will be covered by the Northern California Media Workers Guild. They'll begin negotiations on their first contract with MediaNews management soon.

This is a big win for workers there, who had organized in order to ensure greater employee input as MediaNews seeks to consolidate operations at the Bay Area newspapers.

You can learn more about the vote and background, but in the meantime, here's a big hurrah for the guild and workers in the Bay Area.

One Big Newspaper Union in the Bay Area

2008-06-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

On June 13, employees at nine newspapers owned by MediaNews in the East Bay will vote on whether they want to be represented by the Newspaper Guild.

This is a big vote and it comes nearly a year after MediaNews consolidated operations in the East Bay and revoked recognition of the union at the Alameda Newspaper Group. Rather than roll over, the workers organized, reached out to their colleagues at the Contra Costa Times and launched an effort to create a bigger, more powerful union.

What do they want? A seat at the table with management and the opportunity to have some input on the decisions that affect their jobs and the quality of their journalism.

You can learn more about their effort and sign a petition in support of their vote to create a new guild for the East Bay Newspaper Group.

Ron Kaye

2008-04-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

We lost a great editor today.
Ron Kaye leaves the paper after 23 years.
He has been the backbone and personality of the Daily News for so long and he made the newsroom a fun, challenging and kooky place to work.
As a manager, he is respectful of his employees, yet pushes us to dig deeper, be more creative and do this job more passionately. That's been an inspiration, especially over the last year as the newsroom budget was cut and cut again.
But Ron really showed his true character in February during the layoffs. He met with every person let go. He apologized. He cried for the newsroom. We were told the truth and treated with dignity. And that is what every worker deserves from their boss.
I could go on and on.

Here's Ron's goodbye message:

Everyone:
All good things in life come to an end sooner or later, even my love affair
with the Daily News.
What will always be with me is my love and respect for all of you.
You've shown in the last two plus years just how talented and capable you
are working together -- so capable you've made me obsolete. Under the
circumstances, I'll always be grateful for that. Doug Hanes will be
announcing my successor on Monday and I hope you will give that person the same effort and support you've given me. You have made this into a real newspaper with a soul and passion and creativity and shown your commitment to discover how this newspaper, any newspaper, can survive in the digital age. I know it can be done and I wish you all the best in whatever you, wherever the road leads you.
Thanks for everything, these have been the happiest and most fulfilling
years of my life. Keep the faith, love always.

The state of newspapers

2008-03-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Public radio has a story on the sorry state of newspapers that includes an interview with Brent Hopkins, our own reporter turned cop.

What the publisher said

2008-03-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Publisher Doug Hanes and LANG CEO Ed Moss visited the newsroom Monday explain the state of the company and take questions on the layoffs and the health of the company. I wasn't there but colleagues said the message was that the company has made a lot less money this year and the layoffs were an attempt to "stop the bleeding."

They acknowledged that cost-cutting is not a growth strategy.

The big LANG effort to consolidate is a bust, at least for the Daily News, it appears. The company is breaking into three clusters: Inland division overseeing San Gabriel Valley to the Inland Empire, South Bay with the Breeze and the Press-Telegram, and the Daily News on its own.

Publisher pays a visit?

2008-03-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

Good evening,

I'm told Daily News Publisher Douglas Hanes may come by the newsroom Monday to talk with staff about the state of our paper. I hope so. We've gone through a rotten week and taken a serious hit to the newsroom. People need some reassurance that the company has a strategy to weather these difficult economic times, beyond cutting staff. I think our publisher will find a creative, flexible, hard-working newsroom that is committed to ensuring the Daily News is a professional and profitable enterprise.

Our colleagues

2008-03-01T12:34:00.001-08:00

Hi all,
We lost some awesome co-workers yesterday and it didn't seem right to let them leave without a virtual toast. Here's to colleagues who worked hard, made an impact and helped make the Daily News a rewarding and generally kooky, fun place to work. Your talent, humor and commitment will be missed. We wish you success in your next gig.

Robert Avege - sports clerk, started Sept. 2007 - "The sports department got to know Robert during the 2006 World Cup, when he walked over from accounting every day at lunchtime to watch games on the TV in that corner of the newsroom. Later he joined sports to help the editors -- immeasurably -- with the finances. Without Robert, who was born in Ghana and educated in London, the office discussions of Arsenal soccer will never be the same."

Semhar Debessai - features reporter, started Sept. 2006 - "There is Sem, who was always hungry both figuratively and in reality. Not a big fan of junk food, she was always looking an hour two earlier than lunchtime for something healthy that would give her a little burst. And she inspired me with her dedication to the craft. When she got the nod from the folks downstairs to join the in crowd online, she opted to stick around and kick it with us old school. That was impressive. Whatever it is that makes a person yearn to be a writer and a journalist, a real one, not a professional dilettante, that stuff in the marrow that makes you stick to it, Sem has it. And she's taking it out the door with her. I hope wherever she ends up she finds something to sink her teeth into."

Alex Dobuzinskis - reporter, started Jan. 2004 - "Alex is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Must be because he's Canadian. Alex was one of the hardest working reporters at the Daily News who was able to put out several stories in a day and he did it with a strong sense of passion and heart that it's going to be tough to work without him. He covered Glendale and the Northeast area of the San Fernando Valley, areas which are already under covered anyway. Readers in those areas will be poorer without this intrepid reporter.

Lisa Friedman - Washington D.C. reporter, started 2001 - "Lisa is a virtual force of nature, indefatigable in tracking down wily legislators and holding their feet to the fire. As a consummate driven journalist, she has worked long hours, weekends and nights pursuing lawmakers through the halls of the Capitol in search of the hottest stories. She has not only untangled political speak, but has found the life amid what could otherwise be dry and boring policy moves. She has approached all of this with nearly endless cheer and a spirit of teamwork. Her bright perspective, hard work and key connections in Washington will be sorely missed."

Karen (Duffy) Walker-Gindick - paginator/news design desk, started in 1981 - "So renowned is Karen that she has a copy desk phenomenon named after her. To "duffy", as in "I duffied that headline" means that you wrote the hed to fit perfectly the first time. A duffy is something that happens serendipitously due to the skill of the headline writer."

Heather Gripp - sports reporter, started Nov. 1997 - "Grippster! She loved baseball more than anything. If you gave Heather a choice between going to a baseball game, and a 10-day all-expenses paid trip to Europe, she'd choose the ballpark in a second. Her year was divided up into two parts, Baseball season and the offseason. Along the way, Heather became one of the more respected sportswriters covering the area. Coaches, players, parents all knew her. And when guys that she covered in high school made it to the big leagues, they always remembered Heather, and made time to talk to her, no matter what was going on with their new teams."

Minerva Hernandez - editorial assistant, Dec. 1990 - "Minerva was often the first person people would talk to when they called the newsroom and she always tried to help. Her patience was a marvel and she managed to be nice even to the crankiest, nastiest caller. And Minerva played a key role in breaking one of the paper's biggest news stories -- interviewing Corina Villaraigosa's mother by phone in Spanish about Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's affair with a Telemundo reporter."

Brent Hopkins - reporter, started Dec. 2000 - "I think we're all still in shock that Brent is leaving, and to be a LAPD cop, of all things. But I guess he does have a thing for suspenders and fedoras. This is a guy who started as an intern out of UCLA and got on as a full-time business reporter, leaping onto the front page in a Superman suit running up a store aisle with a shopping cart for a photo to accompany a story about "Retail Heroics." And then he started writing really damn well - a la Joseph Mitchell - and coming up with some of the most creative stuff I've seen here. A bright spot in a windowless office. I wish you the best luck in the new chapter of your life. I think you'll make a great cop, a true life action hero trading in the Super suit for a blue uniform. Now you'll really get to apply that "More Cowbell" method at the cop shop. Although it might look kinda funny. And you'd probably get written up in the consent decree."

Ben Jauron - editorial assistant, started Nov. 2002 - "Gruff, smart and surprisingly sweet. Ben would stomp around the newsroom, throwing out his snide, dead-on observations of life and politics. "

Matt Kredell - sports reporter, started Dec. 1998 - " One of the most versatile writers on our staff. He's excelled at every level, and on every beat he's covered. He started out as an agate clerk with us when he was 19. Matt hit his stride on the USC basketball beat in 2007 and the Kings hockey beat this season. Matt's work on the Kings blog is a success story, maintaining traffic that ranked behind only the USC and UCLA blogs .His writing is sharp, insightful and full of depth. The only good thing about Matt leaving is that someone else has a chance to win the fantasy football league next year."

Val Kuklenski - features reporter/copy editor, started Sep. 1999 - "Dogged in pursuit of factual accuracy, and to top it off, she has a quick wit and wicked sense of humor. Val is a sister. She was full of kind and smart words during those woozy moments in my pregnancy. And when my daughter was born, she doted on her like an aunt. She has been a kind of sherpa for me in motherhood and work. When I needed professional guidance, I could always look over to her corner for some off-the-cuff wisdom or a sympathetic ear. She is full of passion, and never shied from letting you know where she stood. When Bush won in 2004, Val was so depressed she called in sick that day. I rang her up at home to make sure she was ok. I don't remember her exact words but she talked then about giving up newspapering to do political work. Maybe now she will."

Matt McHale - sports columnist, started Aug. 1996 - "Matt was here on and off for 20 years, covering the sublime (Kirk Gibson and the 1988 Dodgers World Series championship team) and the ridiculous (some really bad Kings hockey teams) with the same good humor before becoming a deputy sports editor and sharing his story-telling gift with many a young writer. One of this papers' wisest voices. Matt's probably logged more time in press boxes across the country than the rest of our staff combined. A great, great baseball writer. If you ever want to really find out what was happening with the Dodgers during their glory years, Matt's your guy. The last couple of years, he's had some health issues to overcome, but he's never complained about it. The last few weeks, Matt's been writing again. Columns, features, and his first love, baseball. If you have a chance, go back and read some of his last articles, they are some of the finest stories in the paper. Everybody roots for him to regain his health and get back to writing great stuff."

Tom Mendoza - photographer, started July 1990 - "The photo crew lost Tom Mendoza today and we’re all sad to see him go. I’ve known Tom since 1986 from College of the Canyons where he was known as one of the “Photo Gods.” He was good, pretty damn good. I wanted to grow up and be just like him but better looking! Well the latter one worked out for me. But as a photographer, he is one talented shooter who never let that get into his head. He just has the eye and knows the shot to get no matter what it was. When it came down to sports however, forget about it! He knew the sport, the players and exactly who to look for and what to look for. It’s sad to see him go, but he’s got other plans for his talent that’s not in journalism anymore, but still graphic related and driven by all the cash flowing around the survivors in the real estate industry. We’ll all miss you, Tom, and don’t forget us when you’re hanging out with
the Trumps!"

Elizabeth Pyles - librarian and administrative assistant, started Sept. 1994 - "Liz is always seen with a smile. When you pass her in the hall or ask her for help, she is always gracious and kind. Her positive attitude in challenging times has been incredible and will carry her through to her next success."

Rick Quist - executive editor emeritus, started Sept. 1972 - "Rick came to work here when God was a boy. He's the go-to-guy for the history of the Daily News, as a well as the history of the San Fernando Valley. Rick is the soft-hearted-est guys around despite his somewhat gruff exterior. Just a big goofball. Nightside people know him for constantly putting the days news events to the tune of whatever tune was running around that evening. He was always plunking in a jasper - a Rick term for a little dab of a story with no significance to fill a hole - or demanding a jeremy (a headline that must fit) on a story. Everybody who knows him looks up to him. A good man with a long history of keeping this place going."

Fred Shuster - music critic, April 1989 - "He talks like Woody Allen but could do the physical comedy like Harold Lloyd. Fred is a classic. Take the time we were all sitting at our desks when he got up and ambled over to the Zebra Lounge and after arching an eyebrow back at us once or twice, suddenly charged the table, heaving his half-century of mass across the smooth oak surface. Then he came back, sat down and made a few calls. There aren't many people like that in most offices but every newsroom especially should have one - if only to keep the absurd at hand and the tragic at bay. Fred's wicked sense of humor made me seek him out when I wanted a good, hearty laugh -- not the fake, polite kind of laugh -- the real ones when you look at the person and think, wow, is he really this clever and funny. His departure will leave a huge void and the level of wit in the newsroom will take a devastating hit."

Mike Tetreault - editor of letters to the editor, started Aug. 1983 - "Mike wants the world to believe he's a curmudgeon. Sometimes he even tricks people into believing it, at least briefly. The problem is, he can never pull it off for long. His compassion and his humor always shine through. It's what made him one of the most liked folks in all the newsroom. He isn't much of a curmudgeon, but he'd been a great colleague."

Terri Thuente - photo editor, started Dec. 1989 - "Aside from being my Assistant Director of Photography, Terri was my little sister that carried a big stick. We both started at the Daily News on December 4, 1989. As a photographer Terri was a hard charging news photographer that could immediately soften for a sensitive feature story. Her editing skills eventually brought her in as a photo editor. Terri would scare the hell out of a new reporter. You must do this and you must do that---or else. Over time they discovered her soft side (unless they were a UCLA fan). The Daily News photo family has grown and then shrunk over the years. We have all come to appreciate the tremendous effort Terri made to mentor and celebrate the work of an amazing group of journalists. I will mostly miss a close friend as we shared the life and times of our families changing over the years. If you want to keep an eye on what she is doing in her life after the Daily News, go to tntphotoproductions.com. Go get-em Terri."

Edna Trunnell-Simpson - photo editorial assistant, started Feb. 1990 - "This woman with the spirit of an excited school kid just amazed me every day. With all of the challenges in her personal life Edna brought a cheerful can do approach to everything she did. She learned photography and has made it a passion in her life that will carry on long after her days at the Daily News are a distant memory. Edna just wanted to help in any way she could. She has been the unofficial Daily News family historian. I can't begin to count how many baby showers, farewell parties and other celebrations that she photographed for all departments. She is so loved and will be missed by so many of us that were touched by her kindness."

Billy Witz - sports reporter, started Aug. 1994 - "Since joining the Daily News from the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Billy has covered UCLA football and basketball, Galaxy soccer and pro football with a bright and analytical eye, never afraid to tick off a coach with well-considered criticism. A really good guy who says he's never wanted to write a book but clearly has one in him. My favorite Billy story: My first year I had to work the Sunday night shift in the office, answering calls, taking scores, typing up roundups. One time, Billy called in needing to dictate a story. He was at LAX, trying to track down Mike Riley, who was taking a flight into town in order to interview for the UCLA football coaching job. No one had been able to get this guy, or any information on the top candidates for the job. So Billy went to LAX, bought a ticket at the counter on his credit card to get through security and tracked Riley down, as he was coming off the plane. He called me in the office, dictated a perfect story off the top of his head, then tried to get the ticket refunded. That's dedication!

We are happy to learn that Darnell Felton - sports clerk, started March 1996 - and Mohammed Sanati - picture desk editor, started June 2004 - are expected to be back in the newsroom soon as freelancers.

Thanks to Sandra Barrera, Naush Boghossian, Carol Bidwell, Judi Erickson, Chris Weinkopf, Ramona Shelburne, Kevin Modesti, Mary Gautschy, Simone Schramm, Jason Kandel, John Lazar and Dean Musgrove for sending providing comments.

Coming back after a dark day

2008-03-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,

I want thank everybody in the newsroom for showing such class and compassion Friday. It was an awful day. But it was moving to see how everyone came together to support each other, from bringing in coffee and treats in the morning, to the hugs and encouraging words for colleagues who were packing up their stuff. Really, it's you guys and your commitment that has made the job worthwhile. And that's what is going to make it worth coming back to work on Monday.

I've also been heartened by the community response to the news of our layoffs. The comments on dailynews.com show that readers care about the product and they are not happy with the dwindling staff and coverage.

Over the last week, I couldn't help but feel like I was in mourning for the Daily News, and perhaps even journalism. I've already gone through four of the five stages of grief.

Denial: "They can't possibly cut 22 people from our already lean newsroom."

Anger: "Those out-of-touch suits don't know anything about journalism!"

Bargaining: "Maybe we can save some people by job-sharing, taking on new work, anything?"

Depression: "This is the worst day in the paper's history. The Daily News will never be the same."

Next comes acceptance. I'm not really sure I want to accept what's happening to the Daily News and our industry. But I've learned a few things from Mr. Brent Hopkins, including the power of optimism. With his constant, upbeat attitude Brent was able to push himself to do incredible work and inspire his colleagues to do the same.

We can still do great work at the Daily News. We still have the power to tell compelling stories, take amazing photos, design eye-catching pages and write the headlines that demand attention. It's a rough time, sure. But we'll survive.

And now it's time for my own goodbye

2008-02-29T12:26:00.001-08:00

Hey gang,

Alright, I've already embarrassed myself saying my farewells, so I'll make this quick before I trip myself up. I took the buyout and, once I get seven years of crap off my desk, I'll be out of here. This is a horrible day for many people and I hate to leave on a note like this.

But I'm not going to take the sad memories-- they'll fade away in time. Instead, I'm going to remember all the great, wonderful, insane and beautiful characters who make this place come alive. I'll remember fights over stories, fires, long nights, lawsuits and scanner traffic-- and loving every minute of it. I'll remember Ron lighting his coat on fire to get rid of an errant thread-- and him telling me that he had to hold his nose and get my copy to the level of "barely publishable." Yeah, that's the guy I hold up as my journalistic mentor.

Both as a reporter and as a union guy, it's been an honor to serve alongside you. I will miss you all, but know that the paper and the union will both survive and thrive long after I'm gone. It will be different, it will be challenging, but I've meant every word I've spoken about the strength and character of this staff. You guys are the absolute best and you will keep the fires burning, for the readers, for the community and, most importantly, for each other.

It's hard to write these words -- probably the only time I've ever had trouble running off at the mouth here -- but every one of them is true. You guys are like my family and you always will be. No matter where we all end up, in and out of the business, I will always look back at the people here and the work they do as the best.

I'm going to end now and head off to my next adventure. Thanks to everyone who's made this such a great ride and best of luck to you all.

Respectfully,
Brent

afropic@gmail.com
(310) 562-4315

More buyout news and a company response

2008-02-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

This will probably be brief, because I'm running on empty here, but I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on the latest news regarding the layoffs and buyouts. Tomorrow will be the day that no one's looking forward to, but I've been impressed how well everyone's managed to stay focused. I could barely spell my name right in my byline, so your continued hard work is crazy.

In the morning and again in the afternoon, Kerry and I met with Jim Janiga from HR. In the morning, Ron joined us, in the afternoon, Vicki DiPaolo also represented the guild. Janiga seemed open and even contrite-- he apologized for not coming to us sooner and acknowledged that communication on the company's end had been poor. He blamed the sputtering economy for the company's woes and said it had to eliminate nearly $1 million from the budget to stem the money losses.

He said he'd ask the publisher to meet with the newsroom soon and more regularly and we stressed the need for open communication. If this company's going to get out of this horrible situation, it's going to need all the good ideas it can get its hands on. Hopefully, he'll come around soon and share the plan going forward and be receptive to new ideas.

Janiga said this would be the last cuts for the meantime and that the company would not freeze jobs going forward. If people quit following the layoffs, the laidoff employees will be the first offered their jobs back.

With that in mind, if you're thinking of leaving in the next month or so, but didn't want to volunteer on the super-tight timeframe today, come forward quickly-- you don't have to actually take the buyout or leave tomorrow, but let Ron or Melissa know so perhaps they can work something out. You could save someone's job, as I'm glad to see a few people have already done.

Alright folks, that's all I've got for this night-- more to come soon and thanks for everything. This is going to be a rough week, but you will get through this, no matter what.

-Brent

More kind words

2008-02-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Former ACE Phil Browne e-mailed this along. I always liked and respected him and was glad to hear his voice (in e-mail form).

------

While I have been somewhat derelict in staying connected with my old friends and colleagues at the Daily News, I have been watching the happenings at the DN, and in the industry, with venomous disgust.

And I second Andrea Cavanaugh's advice and sentiments.

When we all graduated from University we were driven by a deep sense of public duty, the challenge to understand and make sense of the world, and an unbreakable desire to create shared meaning to expand peoples' myopic world views. We did that through dedicating ourselves to the craft, chasing the story, making every effort to become quick subject matter experts and, most importantly, by becoming fiercely dedicated to the truth.

The problem is: Very few people actually care anymore which, at the end of the day, is the root cause of this decade's public execution of journalism.

I will spare you my continuing monologue on the "business," but I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to those who will fall victim to this disturbing trend tomorrow. I have worked and socialized with many of you, and you are the best of the best.

Lastly, I want to impart to all of you the importance of nurturing your writing, editing and reporting skills and expanding them beyond the confines of "traditional" newsgathering. While journalism will always be around, traditional practices have gone the way of the dinosaur. If you want to remain competitive and relevant, it's time to get creative and learn how to use your skills in other formats, distribution channels and industries.

There is a whole world waiting for you that will appreciate you beyond this ungrateful industry, and you'll make a lot more money doing it. Don't get down. Take action and keep control of your life.

Never forget the words of Hunter Thompson:

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

Lastly, many of you know where I am now, and I am consistently hiring as my department continues to expand. I have other leads as well. My door is always open to you. Contact me if you're interested.

With all respect and honor,

Phillip Browne
phillip.browne@gmail.com

A kind word from an old friend

2008-02-28T00:06:00.000-08:00

Hey guys-

Andrea Cavanaugh was kind enough to post this. I'm tinkering with the comments style and may have messed some things up, so hopefully others will come through:

My heart goes out to all of you - I've been through layoffs in another industry, and as Brent says, it's terrible for those who go and also hard on those left behind.

But there's life outside the DN - all of you have amazing skills and resources that you can apply elsewhere, and you may even find that you get more satisfaction and make more money doing it. And you can always satisfy your appetite for muckraking through freelancing, volunteer work, etc.

It's a shame what's happening to the news biz, but it's a sign of the times. The dream died hard for me - I came to journalism late in life, but I wanted to be a reporter ever since I was a little girl eavesdropping on my parents and their friends. However, the DN is the paper that inspires diehard newshounds to pursue other careers.

Don't lose hope - you'll survive and even prosper. My best wishes go out to all of my former colleagues at the DN.

-Andrea

The bad news finally comes

2008-02-27T20:53:00.002-08:00

Hey gang,

This is the hardest e-mail I've had to write yet and hope that this isn't the first you're hearing of the news today. It's not unexpected-- it's been floating like an evil cloud over us for weeks, but that doesn't make it any easier to acknowledge it. The cuts have finally come.

Here's the bottom line: Corporate will cut 22 jobs in Editorial by the end of the week, bringing us down to 100 people in the newsroom. They'll be spread between management and rank-and-file, but the numbers will vary depending on who volunteers by noon tomorrow. The company will offer its usual package of one week's pay for each year of service, minimum of two, maximum of six. Those who volunteer or get laid off will also get three months of COBRA healthcare and the company will not contest your unemployment. It will also offer letters of recommendation. There is no difference in package whether you volunteer or you're laid off, but volunteering will save someone else's job, so if anyone's already got a job lined up, please speak up and do so quickly.

Layoffs will be determined by job, length of service and performance-- I don't have any insight as to who's vulnerable and who isn't. I think the pain will be felt equally across the room. According to Ron, the original plan called for 10 more reporters to lose their jobs, but Dean Singleton personally rejected that plan and asked the cuts be less steep. That's some consolation, but not much.

Afterward, Kerry and I circulated the letter that several of you helped draft and got tremendous response. We'll deliver it to the publisher and HR first thing in the morning and will formally request that he meet with the newsroom to share the plan going forward. If he's going to slash our jobs, the least he can do is tell us his plan to get us out of this mess. I will keep you posted as soon as we get a response. We also hope to meet with HR in the afternoon for an explanation why the cuts were announced so suddenly and why people weren't given the courtesy of more time to prepare.

This is the worst day I've ever seen here at the paper and I'm sure Friday will be even worse. There is nothing I can say that will make it OK or even make it make sense. These are disastrous cuts that will seriously hamper our ability to produce the paper and Web content at the level our readers expect. It risks erasing all the great leaps forward we've made online and in print.

The next few months will be intensely painful, both for the people who lose their jobs and those who stay behind. As I've said to many of you, the real losers are the people who rely on this newspaper-- they won't be able to find the information they need anymore. Their events won't get covered. Their sense of community will get a little shakier. Once the dedicated journalists who've made this place what it is leave, their expertise will never be replaced. Maybe people won't notice it right away, but in a year, maybe two, maybe more, they'll realize there's a gaping hole left behind that can never be filled in.

This is particularly heartbreaking to me because you guys have given this place everything and asked for little in return. You've sacrificed yourselves for love of the craft and love of the community and the work you've done is amazing. The paper's thinner and our coverage isn't as expansive as it once was, but the stories, photos, layouts, headlines-- everything-- has been fantastic. I'm so proud to see the work you do on a daily basis and honored to be a part of it. I'm heartsick to see such a great operation so callously dismantled.

This is not the end of the Daily News and the people who stay behind will continue to put out as good a paper as they possibly can every day, but it will be very hard. Then again, it's never been easy and the crazy folks who make this place so vibrant and alive will never let this company's mismanagement snuff them out. You'll continue to give more than the beancounters deserve and keep coming back before because y'all are the most wonderful, talented, bad-ass journalists around. Somehow, the spirit will survive, as it always does.

I'll close with some words from Ron, who's been under tremendous stress trying to manage this in recent weeks. When he broke down in the middle of his speech, it was one of the rawest, most genuine moments of emotion I've seen in this newsroom in my career. While I'm sure he's wrecked his health over this and taken on a godawful amount of stress, I'm glad that if we had to hear this from someone, it came from a true leader with character.

"I'm not going to defend the past," he said. "I can only hope and pray that the future's better. You all are great and I'm sorry."

And then, as the stunned silence faded away, we all went back to work and put out the paper.

Thank you for everything,
Brent

PS- If any of you need anything, never hesitate to call me or Kerry. We're all going to have to help each other as much as possible, whether we stay or go, in the next few months.

Whining? Are you kidding me?

2008-02-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

(Note-- I wrote this a few days ago, slept on it, wondered if I should post it, then figured I might as well. While I appreciate Mr. Singleton's efforts to reduce our job losses, I thought he might want to know what it's really like at the properties his company's running into the ground-- BH)

I ran across post on HowardOwens.com yesterday, linked by Jim Romenesko. Owens, whom I'm told is a a respected Internet journalist, attended the Newspaper Association of America conference on the changing business and caught a presentation by our owner, Dean Singleton.

“If you read Romenesko every day and you hear our people in newsrooms whine — they whine and whine and whine wishing for the old days to come back," Singleton said. "Damn it, I wish the old days would come back, too, but wishing for it isn’t going to make it happen. You must be focused on the future.”

Now normally, I try to be respectful of Mr. Singleton, but with all the craziness in the air right now, I can't shut up. This is flat-out ridiculous and shows just how out of touch he is with his company.

Perhaps I shouldn't take this personally. Perhaps he meant some other paper. But, since he didn't qualify his statement, I'd like to respond, particularly to this follow-up comment:

“When we had to make cuts at one of our larger papers somebody in one of our unions put out a letter that said, ‘Well, we won’t be able to put out the same newspaper we have over the past 30 years.’ I said, ‘Precisely. Our readers don’t wnat the same newspaper we’ve been putting out over the past 30 years.’”

The same newspaper? We've desperately been trying to put out a new newspaper and a new Web site with every tool at our disposal, but we are constantly stymied by the company's refusal to make even basic investment in technology. We're well aware of the need for change and have gone out of our way to adapt and grow.

Long before the company proclaimed that it believed that online video would be the next big thing, we requested cameras and found ways to shoot, edit and post movies quickly. When requests for even basic gear got denied, we used our own personal equipment and asked for nothing in return.

This newsroom has embraced blogs and incorporated them into our lives. We post at night, on weekends, even while on vacation. But since the company chose a sub-par server, updating our sites frequently takes longer than it does to create the posts. Today, our readers were treated to blank pages because traffic overloaded the server once again. Our online advertising staff is so small, no one's been able to monetize the tremendous traffic our blogs generate, cutting us off from a key source of revenue for the future.

Rather than shrinking from the constant, Internet news cycle, we've aggressively adapted to it and made our Web site dynamic and interactive. Unfortunately, our Web software, a proprietary program unique to MediaNews, lags significantly between posting time and updating on the site. Just as having a paper come out late is unacceptable in the print world, we will never be able to win over readers and advertisers if our site lags 15-30 minutes behind the competition.

On two recent occasions, when we've needed it most, the site has failed us. During the Malibu fire in November, I came in specifically to update the Web, but found myself locked out and unable to do anything because of software problems. On election night, when we developed a comprehensive online plan to keep people updated with all the news we could gather, the traffic overwhelmed our servers. The information was there, as was the desire from readers, but we couldn't link them because we didn't have the proper infrastructure.

Mr. Singleton, the employees of this company constantly sacrifice because they believe in the product and believe in good journalism. We'd like the quality of a paper 30 years ago, true, but we're also realistic about the pressures of today and are trying our hardest to keep this place alive and vital. But unless you give us the tools to do so, we're like soldiers without rifles.

We realize the financial pinch you're in and have tried our hardest to help fight our way out of this mess, but until you offer us some assistance, we won't be able to put up much of a fight. We're all professionals and understand business is bad, but please don't insult our dedication and desire to do good work for our readers.

Sincerely,
Brent Hopkins

Daily News update 2/26

2008-02-26T19:45:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

The rollercoaster continues. There have been many rumors floating, but I must stress that there's nothing definite. Kerry and I met with Ron today and asked for an update-- he was unable to give us much. We expect there will probably be a staff meeting called Wednesday afternoon and that they will offer buyouts, but this is not certain. I wish I had some news to offer, because I hate this confusion and darkness as much as everyone, but all I can say is that as soon as we hear anything, we'll let you know.

We've worked up a final draft of a letter to the publisher asking him to consider the deep impact upon the staff and the product, which we will circulate for signature tomorrow and will formally request a meeting to ask for the plan going forward. We will not sit idly by as this happens, but will try to engage the company and find the least painful way out.

Hang in there,
Brent

50 years-- a reflection on a different era

2008-02-25T06:53:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Unfortunately, no news on the job front. There may be an announcement today, but then again, there's supposed to have been something imminent for three weeks now, so don't count on it. If we don't hear something soon, we'll request an official meeting for information, but in the meantime will keep working to figure out ways to go forward. I hate to keep everyone dangling like this, but I will say thank you for continuing to perform under great pressure.

As long as I'm writing, I wanted to take a moment to say farewell and reflect on the retirement of our legendary restaurant critic, Larry Lipson. For a far more eloquent take, check out his final column (http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8265930), which he said, with characteristic modesty, appeared on the front page due to a slow news day. I think we can all agree that wasn't the case. He'd worked for the company for half a century before sipping his final glass of wine, noting his last appetizer ingredient and discreetly noting his final dessert.

Whenever I went into a place with a Larry review posted on the wall, I knew it would be worthwhile -- and the restaurant owners knew it, too. I remember grabbing lunch in a now-shuttered Mexican joint on Vanowen whose owner sighed with regret when he learned that we worked at the paper.

"Daily News..." he said, fretfully. "Larry came in here the one night I ran out of tamales. It looked like I didn't know what I was doing...."

When we gathered around to wish him well in his Costa Rican retirement last week, people joked about his longevity at the paper-- he'd outlasted three different newspaper names, at least three different owners, countless editors and publishers and seen the journalism world change immeasurably. He'd been filing copy before many of us were even born, but he still kept at it.

And, in light of all the problems for the industry right now, the scene really got me thinking. How many other people in that crowd will make it to 50 years at the Daily News? Not just because of the possible layoffs, but because of the industry climate? Not many, if any, I'd wager. The business just isn't structured to reward longevity anymore, unfortunately.

Where companies once saw long-term, knowledgeable employees as assets, they're now considered liabilities because of their higher wages and the cost of their health care. An employee used to be rewarded for many years of service with a pension and retirement package that would take care of them in return for their hard work. Now, you're lucky if you get some cupcakes and a card signed by your coworkers. Once you're out that door, you're on your own.

That's really a shame, not just for the worker, but for the company and the product it produces. Unlike a factory, where new technology can literally replace people, our kind of work gets better with age and experience. We've all got to grow and open ourselves up to new kinds of journalism, whether it's videos, blogs, online packages or anything else, but in general, the more time you spend at a paper, the better you are at your job. When guys with 50 years of experience retire, it's impossible to replace that institutional knowledge, no matter how well their replacement can perform.

One of the biggest keys to building that knowledge is a sense of security. All of us knew journalism wasn't a lucrative profession when we got started, but we did it for love of the craft. As long as you could expect to make a decent living and afford basic things-- a home, a car, an education for your kids-- you could spend your time focusing on honing that craft, rather than constantly jumping from job to job and starting all over again.

It's particularly sad to see the business go through cycles like it is these days, because it will drive a lot of good people away from the industry, many of them for good. As they go back to school, get government jobs, join non-profits, or become spokespeople, the profession will lose a lot of great talent and many great minds. The people themselves will be fine, but the papers for which they once worked, whether it's the Times or the Daily News, will lose invaluable experience and skills.

This isn't the apocalypse of journalism; it's not even going to be the end of the Daily News. The looming layoffs will likely be painful, but the paper will survive and the hardcores will still be there to keep the flame burning. But until the people who keep buying and running newspapers come around and make the business stable so people can hope to earn a living once again, that flame will keep dimming.

And until it goes out altogether, you guys are going to keep performing like champs. No matter how bleak things get, you keep punching away. I'm proud to call you my colleagues and honored to work among you. Let's hope that the bottom-line guys will feel the same way, too.

-Brent

Wait and See

2008-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Since we haven't heard anything yet and probably won't today, let's hold off on meeting after work. We've all been through the wringer this week and could use a little time to decompress. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything, but in the meantime, keep up the good work and hang in there.

-Brent

Wednesday meeting recap

2008-02-20T23:04:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

So no news is good news, I suppose. While it seemed like the company was poised to announce buyout offers, no news ever came. Apparently, they're re-reviewing plans yet again to see how they can cut costs without wrecking the paper. It's not the best news, but it's certainly better than some of the talk heard in recent weeks, so I hope that provides some hope.

Thanks to all of you who made the meeting at the Kandels tonight-- we were quite pleased with the turnout and made a lot of progress. There's too much to discuss now (because, well, I'm running out of battery power on the laptop and energy in my mind), so we'll have a few catch up sessions tomorrow and Friday to fill people in in person and solicit ideas on how to go forward.

Kerry and I will be around the DN around noon to take your questions over lunch. We'll grab a couple pizzas and talk on break and let everyone in on the plan and what we've heard. Then on Friday, if there are still unanswered questions, we can meet quickly after work at El Torito to talk over drinks.

If you can't make either of those, feel free to grab us or any other member to chat at any time. Things are looking tough, but we're not going to just sit around and hope for the best. Together, we can take a stand and keep this place alive.

Thanks for your time and we'll see ya tomorrow,
Brent

Two pieces of newspaper news

2008-02-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Nothing new on the layoff front, I'm afraid. From what I hear, lists of possible cuts have been submitted to the corporate guys and we may have some news soon. I don't think it'll be the end of the world, but I do think it will be the beginning of a rocky, uncertain few months. We hope to have some sort of news soon and will have plenty to talk about on Wednesday night. Thanks to everyone who RSVP'd, and please keep 'em coming. This is when we need you most.

In the interim, here's a few pieces of news floating around the industry. They're all pretty grim, unfortunately.

First, here's the MediaNews quarterly report:
The company saw revenue slide from $372 million in the second quarter of '06 to $345 million this time, a 7.3 percent dip. Profits increased 33 percent, however, from $12.9 million in 2006's second quarter to $17.4 million in the most recent quarter. That appears to be mainly on a one-time gain of $12.5 million on sales of assets, so that's not great news. (Thanks to John McCoy for the link)

Secondly, Ad Age tells us that 1 in 4 media jobs have vanished since 1990. That's no surprise-- staffs have contracted every year I've been in the biz and they'll probably continue to shrink. But seeing the numbers laid out in that fashion is pretty sobering. The mag's advice? Go into marketing, instead. There also's some decent growth in online media jobs, so our skills remain in demand, even if our jobs are not valued by the people who cut the checks.

I'm going to forward some job leads around that have come into my inbox lately-- as I've said many times before, I'm always sad to see anyone leave, but I think it's wise for all of us to keep our eyes open for other options.

As I've said many times in the last few weeks, I'm struggling for the right tone here. I don't want to run down the news paper that I love, nor do I want to paint a portrait of impending doom. This place will survive and there will still be opportunities to do the great work you do now. But it will also be a very different newspaper and I don't want anyone to be caught off guard. It will be challenging, it will be frustrating, but we will get through this.

That's all for now-- hang in there and we'll see you on Wednesday.

-Brent

Daily News update/ meeting

2008-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I wish I had more to add over last week's message, but details of the layoff plan are still very murky. I know this is a time of great anxiety for all of us, but you guys have done a great job in putting out the paper with this hanging over our heads. You are truly a credit to the profession.

I'm sure many of you saw the closed-door meeting on Friday between the editors. I don't know what was discussed within, so I won't speculate. But I do know this: the corporate folks are looking for serious, deep cuts. From the talk I'm hearing, this could greatly affect the way we cover the news in this town and further cut into an already strapped newsroom. I haven't heard numbers or a specific date -- I'm sure they're probably both flexible. Whatever the case, this is not the time to sit by and wonder what will happen next. This is a time to make sure we're ready to respond.

With that in mind, we're going to be meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Jason and Kerry Kandel's in Sherman Oaks. Any members who can make it, we need your help. We need as many of you as possible, because we've got serious stuff to discuss. Anyone who's interested but unable to make Weds. night, please let us know and we'll find another time to meet with you one on one.

And if you're not a member yet, this would be a good time to get involved. I'm not saying this as a union recruiting pitch, I'm saying it because this is going to take all the minds we've got available. I have a lot of faith in this staff's intelligence and creativity, and I know the job takes a lot out of all of us. But we need you-- we need each other. Please help us protect our jobs and our future.

Thank you-- I hope to have more news for you soon.

-Brent

(Anyone who needs the address, e-mail me)

What's Going On?

2008-02-10T23:07:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

Let me begin by saying this has been one of my greatest weeks at the Daily News. Not because of anything I did myself, but because of what we accomplished together. The seamless way the staff pulled together through the challenge of election night, then the Winnetka shooting was nothing short of amazing. I can truly say this is the best we've ever been in all my time at the paper and we should all be proud of the work we've put together under extremely trying conditions. I've never felt better or more proud about being part of this staff.

At any time, the work would have been amazing, but given the added pressure hanging over the newsroom, it was unbelievable. I've heard the same bits of news that many of you are hearing about coming cuts in Editorial and elsewhere at the paper. Like you, I don't have specifics about time or numbers, but whatever the case, it's extremely troubling. I don't think anything has been decided, nor have the people I've spoken with given me anything definite, but it's deeply disappointing that MediaNews is even considering cutting into a paper that's been slowly strangled for years. The journalists who report for work each day at this paper give so much of themselves without asking for much in return, yet it often seems like the only rewards are more cuts and fewer resources.

I don't know what the plan is -- this may be an early idea or the changes may be coming soon. It's with great hesitation that I even address it, because I don't want to alarm anyone unnecessarily. At the same time, since the news has been floating around with added urgency, I don't want anyone to be caught unaware. We've been down this road before and had it turn out to be nothing, but my sense is that the corporate folks will continue their seemingly relentless quest for cuts.

The union leadership held a meeting on Thursday night to discuss how to respond to any cuts or reorganization and I came away encouraged. While no one wants to have to face such an unpleasant reality, if and when it comes, we will be ready. We intend not only to continue the dialogue that we've had with the company, but to broaden it by bringing in new leaders to augment what we have so far. There are many extremely sharp minds in this newsroom and we intend to harness as many as possible so if one of us moves on, another will pick up where they left off. That will provide us with much greater stability and hope in the months ahead.

I'm sorry to have to even address this -- as you know, I always try to look for the up-side of things and celebrate our successes-- but the gravity of the situation made me feel I needed to speak up. Hopefully, by getting things out in the open, we can get things settled and get back to the business of putting out the paper. As we've proved this week, we can certainly rise to challenging circumstances and will do so again whenever need be.

Thanks for your time and if anyone hears anything beyond just rumor, please let me know. We will try to get to the bottom of things and keep you in the loop as best we can. And thank you, once again, for all that you do-- you guys are truly the best.

-Brent

Thursday! Fun! Rock!

2008-02-03T22:24:00.001-08:00

Hey folks,

Dinner's rapidly heating on the stove, so this will be a short union update, but I just wanted to remind everyone that we'll be getting together on Thursday night at El Torito after work. It's been a long time since we've kicked back and enjoyed each other's company outside of work, so c'mon down. We'll be there after 6 for a few hours-- first round of drinks and appetizers are on us.

And separately, I know there's still some confusion going around about the way the new holidays work. I'll clear it up with Janiga next time I see him, but as I understand it, on top of the regular holidays, we get two floating days, too. One (called the birthday holiday) can be used anytime by bargaining unit members (namely, us), while the other one (the anniversary holiday), can be used within 45 days of your date-of-hire anniversary. I've heard some managers say, incorrectly, that they're the only one who gets the anniversary holiday.

Nah, as far as I know, we all get it. I realize that explanation's that clear, so if you've got questions, let me know.

As a final note, that was a darn nice looking front page today, with good stuff from Susan, Tony, Mike and some copy and design folks whom I wish I could identify. Made me feel good to pick up the paper.

Anyhow, thanks for your time and we'll look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

-Brent

Union Happy Hour
When: Thursday, 2/7, 6 pm to 9ish
Where: 6040 Canoga Ave/Oxnard
Price: Free
Subjects of Conversation: work, life, the elections, seen any good movies lately?, and, possibly, my terrible skills at karaoke.

Thoughts pingponging left and right in the rain

2008-01-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

Greetings, friends,

This will be a quick one, featuring more of other peoples' thoughts than my own, but I wanted to shoot a couple things your way to begin another week.

I already wrote about Jim O'Shea's sad goodbye from the Times last week, so I won't linger on that much longer. I did want to pick up on one thing he said in his farewell remarks (which I'm picking up from LAObserved):

"We journalists have our faults, but we also have a lot to offer. Too often we’ve been dismissed as budgetary adolescents who can’t be trusted to conserve our resources. That is wrong. Journalists and not accountants should seize responsibility for the financial health of our newspapers so journalists can make decisions about the size of our staffs and how much news remains in our papers and web sites."

And to that, I say: well said. Mr. O'Shea is entirely right and it's refreshing to hear that coming from a newsroom leader. What a shame it has to come as he's being shown the door, but that doesn't make his sentiment any less valid. It doesn't have to come with us storming the accountants' offices with pitchforks and pickaxes. We can seize back control another way-- through producing work people want to read and pay for. While I don't think we'll ever get rid of the dollar-chasers and long distance micromanagers, we can at least keep them at bay by putting out a good product.

Actually, let me amend that to say "continuing to put out a good product." This paper/Web site has come a long way in recent years, largely through the creativity and hard work of people like you. So, as uncertain as the future looks for the industry, we're gonna have to keep at it.

A second thing to notice, one of our former colleagues, Mark Lacter, tracked down our former boss, Tracy Rafter. Read his link (http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2008/01/post_133.php) to the LABJ story (http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=95627375.5222179.1579019.7445456.9627555.004&aID2=121454). She's working for a business group that aims to counteract the political power of unions. Out of respect for the woman who used to bring us ice cream, I'll refrain from comment, but you can probably guess how I feel about that.

And thirdly, to end on a positive note, check out this letter from one of our union pals to the north (http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=4531). Sara Steffens is one of the folks with the herculean task of taking on MediaNews' BANG anti-union campaign. It's a tall order, but her message is one of the most reassuring, reasonable descriptions of the values of a union I've ever read. And a reminder of things we should learn from and follow. Well said, sister.

OK, folks, that'll do it for me on this rainy, rainy Sunday. Hope everyone's dry, warm and enjoying themselves. We'll see y'all soon at happy hour.

-Brent

More crosstown trouble

2008-01-20T23:29:00.001-08:00

Greetings, friends,

As much as I enjoy when we beat the Times on a story, I take no pleasure when I see things like this. As Marty Kaplan says at the end, it seems like this is a story we hear every few months, with an editor or publisher getting the axe for refusing to take it to the necks of their staff. And whether it's in our company or our competitor, it's always a shame.

A shame because this should be a time for our business to focus on the fascinating opportunities ahead, rather than the bottom line and the ever-shrinking budget. Sure, it's easy for me to say that, dreaming big with other people's money. But I don't think I'm being crazy or naive here-- this is a time when we need more journalists and more innovation, not cutbacks and a race to the bottom.

Whether it's the elections, the volatility in the entertainment world, the Olympics, the (perhaps) recession or that war we seem to hear about from time to time, people want news like never before. While I was waiting in line to get a sandwich today, everyone was on their Blackberries and cell phones, looking at e-mails and news updates. A lot of the time, I'm not all that excited about the news they're reading ("Is Britney really insane?" "Is 50 on 'roids?" or "Clinton's political career is finished/revived/on the rocks/rebounding/troubled/better than ever!"), but it's clear people still want their information.

I wish there were more vision in the industry right now, with leaders who'd stand up and not just get fired to stave off cuts, but who'd go the other way. Companies should be fighting to carve out the market share of tomorrow instead of killing themselves in the scrabble for the dwindling supplies of customer of the past. Sure, the owners give it lip service whenever they consolidate or make another executive hire, but it's rare when you see mass hirings instead of mass layoffs.

So, as it so often does, it comes down to us. Not just at the Daily News, but everywhere in this crazily bouncing business. If we're not getting the vision from above, we're going to have to do it ourselves. That's not to say there's no vision or no plans from our superiors-- we've got plenty of sharp minds (and, coincidentally enough, quite a few of them are ex-union members, but we'll talk about that some other time)-- but since we're the ones who do the work every day, we're the ones best equipped to figure out how to do it better.

For an odd analogy, let me reach back a few weeks to our annual potluck. This is consistently my favorite day of the year at work, one that has nothing to do with any grand corporate strategy. Here's why: the company holiday party was always pretty lousy, so much so that when they canceled it this year, I don't think I heard any complaints. But the potluck, put together with crockpots and microwaved casseroles, laid out in a photo lab and entertained with a boom box, is always a damn good time. We get good food, a nice break from our desks and an hour to relax and enjoy each other's company away from the deadline hassles.

And why? Because we did it ourselves. No insincere corporate gestures, no crappy rubber turkey and lukewarm gravy. We didn't even have a Christmas tree this year, just an inflatable one. But it woulda made Charlie Brown proud and I thought it was pretty cool, in a goofy sort of way. We were just a bunch of people taking a little time out of a crazy time of year to come together and celebrate.

But it shouldn't end there. We're always going to have to support one another like that. We're always going to have to find ways to do our jobs when the corporate pinchpennies and tighfists cut us off. It's hard, it's frustrating and it's often not right that we put so much of ourselves into the job, only to watch our reward come back in the form of layoffs, cutbacks and more disappointment.

And you guys keep doing it and doing it damn well. You crank out great work, come up with new ideas and consistently impress me with your creativity and effort. You put out a great product, day in and day out, often in spite of the industry climate. You make me proud to work here and proud to call you my friends.

I'll end my little sermon now and let you get on with your evenings, but I hope you'll find some truth in this. You guys are an amazing bunch of journalists, and even more, an amazing bunch of people. And if anyone can figure a way out of this mess that the industry has gotten itself into, it's you.

Thank you for your time, your efforts and your great work, as always.

-Brent

Darn it! Delayed!

2008-01-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Man, one week into the new year and I already screwed up on my goal of regular Sunday messages. An anonymous commenter already caught me on it, too, darn the luck! But I can at least offer an excuse, albeit a dumb one: I left my laptop power cord at work and thus had no juice to get my battered machine working until tonight. My apologies to those of you who were anxiously awaiting my weekly ramblings.

On Saturday, Kerry and I went down to the local and met with Vicki and Lesley Phillips from The Newspaper Guild, as well as several of our counterparts at the P-T. We had a good, lengthy session about ways to bring the two units into closer collaboration and how to get folks at both newspapers energized about joining and maintaining the union. With them in negotiations and us a year away, now is definitely the time to keep on our toes. Thanks to Lesley for lots of good ideas and energy.

With that in mind, we'll be coming to you guys soon to find better ways to get everyone involved on some level. While we've got a great unit here, we'll be much stronger if we can get more folks in leadership positions. We want this to reflect everyone's voices, not just my usual droning, so start thinking of how you'd like to be involved.

To get that started, let's all get together for a happy hour on Thurs., Feb 7, around 6 p.m. at our old haunt, the local El Torito. I'll send out a reminder. I've been saying we should hang out for months, now I'm finally getting off my keister and doing something about it. I'll send ya a reminder as the date draws nigh.

And finally, I wanted to highlight some of the great work y'all've been cranking out as of late. I was remiss in not noting the excellent work the Crime team did on the end-of-year homicide page -- Rachel, Rick and Jason all did some very touching stories, while Hans contributed some nice photos. The audio slideshows are particularly well done. And, back in the old-fashioned world of good ol' stories, I couldn't help but notice some killer quotes in Glenn's story on the SAG awards. It's not a subject I'd normally be all that excited about, but because of the way he told it, it really popped.

Alright, folks, that'll do it for now. Keep rockin' and I'll have more news to come.

-Brent

The return of the Sunday night missive

2008-01-06T18:23:00.001-08:00

Hey folks,

Now that the new year has begun, I've resolved to be more dutiful with my union communiqués, so here we go, back to the Sunday updates. This one will be brief, but there should be more following soon.

First off, Ben Jauron shared with me the unfortunate news that his father, Michael, has died. He's been off arranging the funeral and getting his affairs in order, and it sounds like he's got everything under control, but we should all keep him in our thoughts. I never knew his dad and the two weren't close, but Ben's a hell of a guy, so let's offer him whatever support he needs. Our condolences go out to you and the rest of the family, sir.

Secondly, if any of you folks are free on Saturday, January 12, from 10AM – 3PM, we'll be meeting with our Long Beach counterparts to coordinate how to rally the membership. This is a time of huge change, for our company, for the industry and for the nation as a whole-- we can play a role in shaping how that change plays out. I know this is short notice and that we've all got busy weekends, but if any of you can spare some time, I'd really appreciate it if some people could join us. The meeting will be at the union local at 7844 Rosecrans Ave. Paramount, Ca. 90723. Please RSVP to me so we can get an accurate head count. Thanks a bunch.

And as a third, and final note, I've got two pieces of good news about holidays in '08. In case you missed the memo, we hit our vacation goal and earned the extra floating holiday. They're calling it an anniversary day, which they want you to take relatively close to your anniversary with the company (I want to say it's 45 days, but I don't have it in front of me). And though the memo does not note this, the other floating holiday does NOT have to be taken on your birthday, as per the union contract. I double-checked with Janiga and will ask Ron to put out a note next time I see him. Thanks to Val for pointing that out!

Alright, let's all go out and have another rockin' week. Many thanks to all of you and hope to see you Saturday.

-Brent

The end of the year and what's to come

2007-12-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

In the last few months, I've been an absolutely abysmal blogger. First, I got wrapped up in work-related stuff, then the holidays came, and, gosh, where has the time gone? As always, the union work didn't stop-- I just didn't get off my butt to post about it. And for that, please forgive me. So now, as I write from vacation, allow me a brief moment to reflect on where we've been and where we're going.

This has been a challenging year on many levels. We saw layoffs, cutbacks and underfunding and, as is always the case, were asked to do more work with less resources. With the growth of the Internet, through live posts on dailynews.com, blogs and increased multimedia reporting, I'd say that everyone on this staff has had to take on more work. I know I've blogged through breakfast and fallen asleep on my keyboard editing photos, and I know I'm nowhere near the hardest working among us.

With that in mind, I'm pleased to say we've risen to the challenge. From one end of the newsroom, from art to sports, we've embraced the new tasks and gotten on with things. We're still figuring out how to do it in some areas, nothing's ever as smooth as it should be, and we're still miles behind where we should be, but all-in-all, we're lookin' good.

We've seen major reorganizations in many sections and new formats for the paper and dailynews.com. And when management needed input on how to implement that change, union members were the ones speaking up and leading the way. That's certainly not the case elsewhere in MediaNews (see this story in the Bay Area or the staff blog in Long Beach to see places where the relationship ain't so good).

The reason we're so lucky to enjoy that good relationship is you. Your continued dedication and hard work, regardless of the circumstance, allows us to keep moving ahead. Singleton and his closeminded managers elsewhere in the chain say that unions don't work because they prevent good work from being done-- this is clearly not the case at the Daily News. Here, union members consistently work the hardest and come up with the best ideas. I'm sure if the anti-union crowd looked a little harder at the other properties, they'd find the same thing.

I've been saying for a long time that we've come a long way but still have far to travel. And that's still true. It's tiring, I know. I get weary like the rest of you and hope for the day when the struggle will be over. But I don't see that ever truly coming-- we're always going to be fighting for resources and respect and 2008 will be no different. But we're well positioned for the struggles ahead and I have total confidence that we'll come out ahead. We've got the sharpest, most creative minds on our side and the most energetic bunch of journalists I know working every day to make this a better place.

I'll close now-- I ought to get off and see some sights, I suppose-- but there will be many more messages to come and plenty to do in the new year. In the meantime, thanks for everything you've done and all your positive attitudes. You're the ones that make the struggles worthwhile.

Happy New Year and Adios,
Brent

Long time, no blog

2007-10-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

Hello, my friends,

It's been quite awhile since I've hunkered down over my keyboard to yak about the newsroom, either in my capacity as a union guy or as part of the erstwhile News task force. Normally, I keep those separate, but I realize that at a time like this, it doesn't matter. We're all working toward the same objective, so I'll just send this out to everyone. Forgive the long delay in messages-- like all of you, I've been very busy working. On several fronts, actually. And while I'm tired, I'm feeling good about things.

The last few days have been absolutely crazy. The fires hit us in our potential Achilles heel, starting on a Sunday in locations faraway from the office. We're at our thinnest staff levels, everyone's spread out, trying to have a normal weekend and nobody's thinking of disaster and mayhem. But when the smoke started popping up, sometimes seemingly at every corner of the sky, no one panicked. We got our assignments and we went to work.

Disasters were not always our finest moments in the past, but this one was different. We didn't have the dozens of staffers that the Times threw at the story -- their staff list was longer than some of our stories-- but we held our own and put out some great stories and amazing pictures. In the midst of all the craziness on Sunday night, I even sat down with John McCoy and he laid down an awesome voiceover to a video. He nailed it in one take.

We had our share of challenges, certainly. Had we known the Canyon Country fire would get so much larger than Malibu, we probably would have shifted resources there earlier. And the screwups with printing and delivering the paper were certainly disheartening, but all the efforts did not go for nothing. At the same time we were cursing our slip-ups in print, dailynews.com had its best day for traffic ever. We got more than half a million page views, led by interactive maps and those rockin' photos. And you guys just kept feeding it, giving people the content they craved. In a tight situation, which would have been challenging under even ideal circumstances, you guys stepped up and kicked ass.

There's no secret why this happened: we were all working together. Pat Aidem was editing on Sunday, but she went to Malibu, only to come back, write it up and shift gears to the Canyon Country blaze. Jerry Berrios, who's only had a few weeks to familiarize herself with the area, jumped right in. Reporters and photographers came in on their days off. Page designers and copy editors juggled late-breaking stories to accommodate the shifting nature of the story. Our Web staff, similarly strapped on a weekend, cranked.

Throughout the whole thing, I never heard anyone complain. And for a bunch of journalists, that's as damn close to a miracle as we'll ever see.

While things have subsided and the fires have calmed down, we're going to have to keep this spirit alive. To all of you who participated in the News task force, your suggestions enabled this smooth coverage to unfold. To you union members, it's that spirit of togetherness that allowed us to flourish. As we'll discuss more in coming weeks, The Newspaper Guild will be offering us a lot more help to foster that togetherness, opening communications with our fellow media workers at other papers and looking for ways to partner with management to improve the health of the paper.

And I expect that the company will follow suit. While we've been able to produce tremendous results with little manpower and outdated equipment, we will need more resources if we want to keep it up. We will be working with the Daily News to ensure that as we keep fighting, we have the proper tools.

These are not easy times, at this paper or in this industry. I've been saying that for so long, I don't really remember an easy time, though. It seems like we jump from one crisis to the next, always riding one wave right into the following one. But you guys, the people who keep this place alive, are the toughest, smartest, most badass bunch of journalists around. With your talent, hard work and unity, we will get through this and anything else that comes along.

And with that said, I'll close. Thanks for the hard work and let's keep our fingers crossed for a little break from the fires-- if for no other reason, I'd like to put my ridiculous safari jacket away for a bit and go back to dressing like a regular hack reporter.

You rock and thank you,
Brent

Other journalistic craziness

2007-09-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Publisher and destroyer of good journalism Wendy McCaw is back in the news, taking the stand in the trial over the allegedly illegal firing of reporters for union activities. Her vision of good journalism is so skewed I won't even begin to get into it, so I'll let you guys read on and make your own conclusions. Whether it's recklessly dictating news content or screwing over her employees, McCaw provides a sadly perfect example of why it's nice to have a union around to protect you.

(Thanks to LA Observed for the original link to the Independent's post)

A parallel universe that's even weirder

2007-09-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so readers of this blog (all six of you) know that MediaNews can occasionally hand down some strange edicts-- the argument over how many personal items can be kept on desks at a sister paper comes to mind-- but I'm glad we've never had to put up with crap like this: Prove your kids are yours.

Kevin Roderick of LA Observed shares an emailed back-and-forth between Tribune and an unnamed Times employee regarding the company's new policy regarding dependents. From Kevin's post:

The Tribune Company has come up with a new tactic to cut costs and annoy the hell out of its employees — again. It seems that everyone on the staff at the L.A. Times (and so I assume KTLA) has to prove that their spouses and children really are theirs, and thus eligible for medical benefits. Though wasteful and mildly insulting it sounds easy enough, but apparently it's not. They call it a "Mercer Audit" and its demands have some staffers in an uproar.

Now there's a great way to keep your workers motivated...

So Much to Discuss

2007-09-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Sorry for the lapse in communications, but things have been flying around so quickly as of late, I haven't had much time to sit down and catch my breath to write. But, now that it's late and my neighbor is still plunking away on his guitar, might as well unload with a multitude of news. So, in no particular order, here goes-- remind me if I forgot anyone.

First off, check your paychecks-- everyone should have received the union raise for the most recent pay period. The company doesn't like giving out those raises. It likes to make everything merit-based and has resisted increased annual raises in the past, but I look at it this way: everyone here works hard and does it well each day. You've all earned those dollars, so this is a merit raise. It's not enough, nor will it ever be-- your work is so valuable there's no way it could ever be farely compensated. But it's definitely richly deserved, so thank you to everyone who cranks, day in and day out to put this paper out. You guys truly are the best.

Secondly, I wanted to let you know that we're working much more closely with the Guild's national folks to build strength here in Southern California. It's early yet, but we're going to see a lot more collaboration with our fellow union members at the Press-Telegram and there will be a lot of good union activity in months to come. I'm pleased to say that I think that most of this will be progressive stuff, too-- finding ways to reinforce our role as an advocate of good journalism, to encourage people to support their local newspaper and to find ways to invigorate the product, rather than in opposition to the company. I don't have specifics yet, but based on the early discussions, I think we're definitely on the right path.

Speaking of that, I've noticed a lot of changes at work in the last few months. Some of it comes from new leadership, as mentioned in the previous post, along with new management in Sports and Online, but most significantly, it comes from the staff. Whether it's new beat coverage and a return to project work in Metro, comprehensive multimedia coverage in Sports, a constantly improving Web site or the big switch to LA.com, the paper feels much more alive now. While I'm glad to see that the company has chosen innovative editors, the biggest driver of that change is y'all. You've stepped up and taken ownership of the product and it really shows.

And please join me in wishing Jason and Kerry Kandel a pleasant and exciting trip to Colombia. After Jason headed to Albania on a State Department trip to discuss journalism last year, he was recalled once again to speak to a group of reporters in Bogota. Based on his expertise covering cops and organized crime, he'll be teaching them this week about the American justice system and its relationship with the media. Throughout his many roles here at the paper, Jason's always been a hell of a hard worker and a committed reporter (just check out his piece on the untimely death of ex-boxer Charlie Brown today (http://www.dailynews.com/ci_6980523)). I'm sure his audience will be well-served with his long experience and colorful flair for description. Godspeed and good luck, my friends, have a safe and productive voyage.

OK, that'll do it for me for one evening. Thanks for listening, as always.

-Brent

New city editor

2007-09-11T10:34:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all,

This is just a cut-and-paste from Ron's message, but I wanted to pass along the good news that ACE Judi Erickson has been promoted to City Editor. I've enjoyed working with her to reshape news coverage in the last few months and I can tell you she's sharp, hard-working and an excellent boss. We'll be in good hands with her at the helm.

-Brent

Ron's text follows:

Everyone:

I'm very pleased to announce that Judi Erickson has been named City Editor.

She succeeds Barbara Jones who is coordinating content with our sister MediaNews papers and will play a key content role in the efforts to develop and put together the common pages we'll soon be producing with the Breeze and Long Beach.

Judi has done a terrific job coming up fresh ideas and working with the staff to help us move forward as we try to reinvent journalism that works for our existing readers and attracts new ones to the Daily News.

I don't need to tell any of you what a challenging time this is for everyone in newspapers. But it's also a creative opportunity to try out new ideas and to do things differently. I think we've made a lot of progress but clearly have a long way to go. I think we've got a great staff and management team that can work together to tap into our talent and to channel it to create a newspaper that's more interesting, entertaining and informative to more people.

Join me in congratulating Judi on her well-deserved promotion.

Ron

A Time to Come Together

2007-08-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

After all the angst over layoffs and realignment in the last month, I know the last thing most of us want to think about is more job strife. But, as we all know in the newspaper business, things never let up and life is never easy. While we survived the latest storm and y'all have done an amazing job of putting out the paper and growing the Web site under tough conditions, our journey isn't over yet.

Several of you have mentioned this story on the Huffington Post to me recently and someone posted an anonymous comment on the blog worrying that we'd be the next target of MediaNews Group's cost-cutting attacks on its workers. It's not an unfounded worry, either. This company can be absolutely ruthless in its methods of trying to make a dollar and we're definitely monitoring the situation to the North carefully.

Let me put some fears to rest, however. We don't believe there's any imminent threat to our jobs or livelihoods here at the Daily News, owing to our strong partnership and mutual respect with management. On the union level, we're also reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Northern California and I've spoken with both our local president and representatives from the Guild about the situation. We're all working together to make sure the company realizes it will be best served by working with its employees for mutual benefit rather than driving them away. I have full confidence that we'll succeed.

And while that reassures me, we can't do it alone. We'll need you.

There are two things you can do to help us keep this paper alive and bring back some measure of sanity to this industry. First off, keep doing the great work you're currently producing. No matter how challenging things get, you always do an amazing job with very little to work with. Your dedication and craftsmanship is our saving grace.

Secondly, you can join the union. To those of you who've already signed up, thank you, you're the strength that keeps us going. To those of you who haven't come aboard yet, please help us.

In the past year, our scrappy, little gang at the Daily News has seen its greatest challenges since we started turning things around six years ago. But we've also met those challenges and lived to see some of our greatest successes. Throughout all the cutbacks and chaos, we've managed to stick up for you hard-working folks who put out the paper every day. We've worked with management to minimize the damage, help folks who've lost their jobs, incorporate new technology and skills into our work and, most importantly, helped bring about a more positive, creative atmosphere.

If we're going to keep fighting our way down this road, we need your help. The more creative minds we get working on how to stay afloat in the future, the easier the task will be.

So sure, things are a long way from perfect right now and the industry conditions are far from ideal. But just as we labor together to put out a great paper, we can join again to keep it alive. Please join us in our mission to help us all.

Thanks,
Brent

Moving On and Ahead

2007-08-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

This has been an incredibly hectic, incredibly stressful month, one that has shown tremendous ups and downs. It seemed like the picture changed by the hour and while we had plenty of discouraging days, we managed to survive.

While the layoffs, buyouts and bureau closings were a dark, sad time that took away good friends and longtime colleagues, they also served as a reminder of the fine caliber of people with whom we work. Rather than put other people out of jobs, photographers Jeff Goldwater and David Sprague, reporters Jim Skeen, Gideon Rubin and Eric Leach all chose to take the buyout and move on to other things in life. They're all longtime, dedicated employees and their selfless act in a tough time will not be forgotten. I'll miss working with each one of them, along with the other folks who've left, and can't thank them enough for all they've done.

For the folks who choose to stay and keep putting out the paper under challenging circumstances, as well, I salute you. The cuts and daily grind of the paper have whittled us down to the hardest of the hardcore, so for everyone who keeps fighting to keep this thing alive: thank you. I can't think of a better group of people to keep good quality journalism alive.

It was also gratifying to see that through all this that, in spite of the corporate pressure to make numbers, that people remembered the human toll. My old boss, Dan Anderson, called to offer support and passed along several job leads for the folks who left the paper. Ron Kaye handled the cuts with a level of sensitivity and care that went far beyond what his job demanded. And even Jim Janiga, the company's HR director who was once such a frustrating opponent, proved to be tremendously helpful in straightening out benefits and taking care of everyone.

Unfortunately, at the same time this brought out the best in some, it brought out the worst in others. I was furious to read the insulting comments of some anonymous poster on The Paper Trail who suggested that we should somehow be grateful to MediaNews for treating its workers so well and that this was a smart move to get rid of unnecessary coverage. Only the worst corporate hack would say such a thing and I was glad to see subsequent posters jump on them.

The shame of it is that this anonymous company partisan is not alone in their petty, small-mindedness. That's pretty much the corporate line at the moment, as we saw today in Oakland. Moves like that and the political infighting in the company will only drag us all down in the long run. In months ahead, we're going to have to join with our fellow workers throughout the company to fight back that short-sighted mentality.

And while I think that struggle will go on for some time, it appears that we've cleared our most immediate hurdle at the Daily News. Throughout all this chaos, you guys have performed phenomenally, producing sharp coverage in every section and a product that we can truly be proud of. While we have our occasional off days, I can honestly say that this is the best staff and best paper we've had since I started working here. You guys are truly an inspiration and it's a pleasure to work with you.

So please join me in thanking our friends who are saying farewell for everything they've done for this paper and the rest of us. While we may find ourselves working in different places, different towns and different jobs, we won't forget you and what you mean to us. And for those of you who are sticking around, congratulate yourselves for enduring another rough patch with grace. Situations like this bring out the best in us and you've all definitely met the challenge like champs. Keep up the fine work and thank you for everything.

-Brent

Daily News update

2007-07-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

For those of you who didn't hear the budget news, Ron laid it out for us today: on August 12, the Daily News is eliminating zone coverage in Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley. We'll lose the SAC and AV wraps and the staffing will be greatly reduced.

Out of three reporter positions and one photographer in AV, three reporters, a clerk, a photographer and the bureau chief in SAC, we'll have one reporter in each office and one editor for both. Coverage will be dramatically curtailed, with those bureau staffers contributing to the main sheet. I believe some pressmen lost their jobs, as well, but that's out of my area of expertise, so I can't talk specifics.

The company's offering buyouts equal to one week's pay for each year of service, up to six years and three months paid COBRA health care. For those reporters and photographers who don't want to take the buyouts, they'll be offered jobs in Woodland Hills, which would lead to a few more layoffs elsewhere.

While I appreciate Ron's attempts to minimize job loss and that he personally informed the staff involved, rather than sending an e-mail or someone else to do his dirty work, today is a terrible day. Once again, MediaNews' corporate moneyhounds have put profit ahead of people and good journalism, and that's horrible for everyone involved. While the overall job loss should be relatively minor, that doesn't matter much when it's your job that's eliminated. My heart goes out to the people who've worked so hard up there and we'll all need to keep our eyes out for other employment possibilities for them.

We'll know in a few days how this all works out, who chooses to stay and who chooses to move on. Whatever decision they make, we're here to ensure things go smoothly and fairly. And we will support every one of them all the way, no matter when they stop at the Daily News. To the budget watchers in Denver, these are just numbers on a page, but to us, these our our friends and colleagues. We'll look out for them to the last.

I know this is not an easy time for anyone, but I hope that for those who choose to stick around, you'll continue to believe in the paper and each other. Throughout all this craziness, you've done fantastic work and should be really proud of everything you've accomplished. Thank you for all your dedication and skill-- while the corporate budgeteers may not appreciate it, the people of this community do. Hang in there and I'll share more news for you as soon as I have it.

-Brent

Why It Matters

2007-07-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

When I opened my copy of Time magazine this morning, I found our rather ashen-looking mayor staring back at me from page 18. Alongside Michael Chertoff warning about the dangers of terrorists and Richard Carmona complaining about the politicization of the surgeon general's job, Villaraigosa said "I don't believe tht the details of my personal life are relevant to my job as mayor."

The reason people from Chula Vista to Bangor, Maine know that the mayor stepped outside his marriage to take up with Mirthala Salinas comes directly from our newsroom. Had Beth Barrett not broken that hotly anticipated story, he wouldn't have to be answering those tough questions right now. And it's not just a national story-- this showed up in the Guardian, leaving many Brits to scratch their heads, no doubt, and wonder, "who's this Villa-what's-his-name bloke? And what are those crazy Angelenos up to now, anyhow?"

As they keep reading, they see that "the little Daily News outhustled the LA Times," to borrow a line from a recent Kevin Roderick podcast. It didn't take fancy gizmos, a staff of hundreds or anything besides good, hard work from Beth, Nancy, Minerva, Miriam, Judi, Ron and everyone else who pitched in on it. With dedication and great reporting skills, they broke a story that grabbed the eyes of people all over the world.

And though that was essentially a print story, without all the online hoo-ha that we've been building up lately, it was through Dailynews.com that the world paid attention. That's the same Web site that was named best in the state by CNPA yesterday. With our tiny staff, nickel budget and clunky system, we held our own against newspapers large and small all across California. We did so due to your hard work and excellent content. You (and Josh Kleinbaum, most of all) made people care.

While my main purpose here is to recognize everyone's fine contributions to this paper, I'm not doing this just to brag. As I've noted before, the industry is in an extremely rocky patch right now and conditions are terrible everywhere. As our corporate overseers look for more ways to wring every last cent out of the Daily News with minimal investment in return, we're going to have learn to adapt and survive.

The only way we'll be able to do that is if we work together. We've got to put in a universally solid effort every day and look out for one another all the time if we're going to get through this. We're blessed with an amazingly talented staff, innovative editors and a wealth of subjects to cover, but we've got a hard fight to stay alive in this rotten corporate environment. The more we hang together, the easier that fight will be.

And it's worth fighting, too. I was reminded of that recently when I went out to cover a funeral mass of a soldier killed in Iraq. We'd run a front page obituary the day before and several people at the mass came over to talk to me afterward. Neither one knew the man who died, but they came to pay their respects because they were moved by his story of sacrifice.

"Thank you for coming," one guy told me. "I'm glad the Daily News is here-- you always let me know what's happening in my community."

So whether it's for people reading us in Nottingham or North Hollywood, we've got to keep at it. You guys are smart, talented and hard-working and it shows every day in the product you put out. Let's keep that alive.

Thanks,
Brent

Change-- Not Just for The Vending Machine

2007-06-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Though I'm off this week to burn some vacation time (in my personal quest to get Janiga to shave his head), I wanted to offer some quick thoughts about the state of flux that the paper and the business are in right now. While it's a hectic, challenging time, I've been extremely encouraged by what I've seen in the last few weeks.

When we asked for volunteers to help us change the city desk structure, we got suggestions from every department and every level. There've been so many good ideas, we haven't been able to condense them all into a workable list yet, but thanks to your feedback, we'll have plenty to work with as we tackle the problem of how to cover the news in this new environment. The news task force has already found things we can implement quickly to change Metro and after a pause this week, we'll be right back at it next week when more of us have used up this vacation time.

In a related note, I went to a day-long training session paid for by the company out in San Gabriel on Monday, along with Semhar, Ansel from LA.com and Josh. Another contingent of Daily News photographers and reporters attended a second training today and I'm sure they heard the same thing we did: video is going to be a major priority for the company in the future, so we're all going to have to think differently.

They were quite specific that this doesn't mean that we're all going to become like TV reporters-- there's much more leeway to have fun with the projects, cover them creatively and try different angles. And while some stories don't lend themselves to video, we're all going to have to look for online components to every story we do. If there's no video, we've got to find things to blog about, audio clips, links to maps and documents. We also have to think with speed in mind-- in the Internet news cycle, time matters just as much as content, so we've got to look at doing better work faster than our competitors and ways to manage the stories once they're put up on the site.

This is a new, unusual world we're in. A year ago, I never thought about video, nor did I worry about getting stories up quickly or promoting them once they went live. Now, we've got to do that on just about everything we produce. It will be a hard adjustment that will take us into unfamiliar territory-- but we can do it.

The response from much of the staff to this period of change has been phenomenal. As Ron rumbles through the newsroom, bellowing "More Cowbell!", you've given it to him. You're producing better content, looking at it from an online perspective and looking at ways to make things better, instead of grousing about how things used to be. That's exactly the attitude we'll need to thrive in the online world.

So thanks to everyone who's lent a hand in recent weeks and let's keep that energy going. The waters may be rough at the moment, but we're still afloat. Keep up the good work.

-Brent

PS - Thanks to all who inquired about the online classes offered by the union-- I hope to have more info for you as soon as I return from vacation on Tuesday. Thanks!

More Executive News

2007-06-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

You probably saw the news about our new CEO and publisher, Edward Moss. It was a surprise when word started circulating through the newsroom this morning, so I spoke to Ron this afternoon to see what it means for us. The short answer is that we should come out fine-- while it'll take some time to adjust to a new boss, he's an ex-Greensheet guy who's spent a long time in the business and hopefully remembers the unique, unusual opportunities that we've got here in LA.

On his brief tour through the newsroom, he seemed like a friendly enough gentleman, so let's welcome him back to the DN and look forward to finding ways to work together. We're in a period of intense change here now and we'll enjoy showing him all of our capabilities. Under his predecessors, the union's established a good relationship with management and found ways to collaborate for make things better all around. It's my hope that we'll be able to continue that for a long time to come.

Thanks for your time and keep up the fine work,
Brent

Thanks, Barb.

2007-06-07T00:57:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to take a quick moment to acknowledge our outgoing city editor, Barbara Jones, who's given endless hours of labor to this paper. I've seen her in at 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., Saturday, Sunday, holidays and even on vacation. It can be a thankless job, but she's led us through challenging times and deserves our thanks as she moves on to her new job as content coordinator.

And, even before she officially begins, she helped me out on my "Price is Right" assignment today. At first, I was just planning to stick with a straightforward, standard story. She prodded me to get some interesting trivia for a graphic and after I found some, I started thinking of all the different ways we could jazz it up. By the end of the day, we had a story, a trivia box, a photo gallery (with the help of the always-excellent Mr. McCoy), YouTube links and a staff-produced video. It wasn't hard to do, but it made the story much more complete. We can all do that on all kinds of stories, giving people a reason to get their news from Dailynews.com and our paper, rather than the competition.

So thanks for the kick in the pants today, Barb, and for everything else. We'll look forward to working with you in your new capacity in the uncharted period ahed.

I Can't Think of a Clever Title

2007-06-07T00:17:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

I've spent the last five minutes trying to think of something good to call this message, but all I come up with are cliches and bad political slogans. So, I'll bypass that and get right to the point.

The business that we love is in freefall. Media companies are slashing staff left and right (see LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News), readership is dropping, revenues are drying up and, to top it all off with one last kick in the ass, our jobs are being outsourced to India (www.pasadenanow.com). I've talked to a lot of people in the newsroom in the last few months and time and again, they use the same analogy: the ship is sinking.

I think we'd be naive to pretend otherwise. The model that worked when I started seven years ago doesn't anymore. The model that worked last summer doesn't work anymore. There are no blueprints, no Idiot's Guide to Saving Journalism. The whole industry is freaking out and no one knows the way out of this mess.

Yes, this is frightening, but at the same time, I think we've got a shot. I had a long talk with Ron last week, which is probably how I got put on this News Task Force thingy, and I came away very encouraged. I borrowed your sinking ship analogy and gave it a twist that I think could apply to us.

While our situation is dire-- not only is the ship sinking, we're like a little sloop with a tiny crew facing down the Royal Navy's finest ship of the line. We're baling out water with one hand and trying to aim the cannons with the other, all while stamping out a fire with our feet. We're in an indisputably tight spot, but it's not time to leap overboard just yet.

First off, we've got a crazy pirate captain in Ron Kaye (and an important counterbalance with Melissa), who's shown a willingness to entertain just about any idea to keep us afloat. And instead of giving in and sinking, he's got us pointed right at that monster ship and we've let all the sails fly. We're going to give 'em our best broadside, ram ahead and fight this out hand-to-hand, and dammit, we're going to be the ones left standing.

Ever since I came here as an intern, we've always been the understaffed, underfunded, under-equipped underdog. And while I'd love that to change, we're always going to be that way-- and we're going to find a way to make that our advantage. While we don't have the resources of our larger competitors, we've got an incredible array of minds, great work ethic and an ability to think beyond the way things used to be done.

Look at how much dailynews.com has changed in the past year, since Josh took it over. We've got great blogs, multimedia content and continuous updates, all from content generated by this staff. It didn't take tons of new staffers or new machines, we just had to change the way we did business. Once we embraced the Web, you guys stepped up and made it happen.

And that's what we're going to have to do in the next few months as we shake up the whole paper, starting with news and throughout this entire room. We're going to have to throw out what doesn't work, hang onto the ideas that do and grab ahold of new ways of getting people their news. If we can do that, we can save the jobs that we've built our lives around. If we don't, we're all going to bobbing in the water as the ship slips beneath the waves for the last time.

And while Ron seems to have the right plan to lead, the captain's only one part of the equation-- it's the crew who gets things done. As his announcement makes clear today, we're going to be the ones who come up with the ideas that'll get us out of this jam. And that's fantastic news, because this is one talented, creative staff. I have full confidence that we can come together to patch the holes, extinguish the fires, bring our cannons to bear and sail home victoriously.

So, that long-winded introduction aside (my apologies, the closest thing I had to a meal before 9 p.m. today was a cup of coffee), let's get moving. While Judi Erickson, who's shown a great willingness to embrace change, and I are tasked with looking at the news side of things, we want all of you guys to make suggestions. Sports, copy, design, photo, library, everyone should bring us your ideas. In the next few weeks, we're going to race to gather as many suggestions as possible and put them into action immediately.

I know that change is hard and frightening, but it's something that we're going to have to do. And that's why the union's here, as well-- to ensure that as we change, we do so fairly and equitably. The members of this union have stepped up to be the newsroom leaders in recent years, so I'll expect them to continue to lead the way by speaking up with their best ideas and looking out for their colleagues. With their guidance, we have nothng to fear as we change for the uncertain times ahead.

Anyone interested in joining the news task force, e-mail me or Judi as soon as you can. Even if you've just got an idea or two, send them our way. We need your help and we need it quickly. We cannot and will not fail. It will not be easy, it will not be pretty, it will take a lot of work and a lot of time. But we will do this together. We will get through this and thrive.

Thank you for your time, your hard work and your support. We'll need it all in the months to come.

-Brent

Nice Move

2007-05-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Just wanted to offer a quick note of congratulations to Jason Kandel, who's moving over from Valley News to cover breaking news for Dailynews.com. He's covered everything from heinous crime to fun neighborhood features and played an instrumental role along with Eugene in making the East of the 5 blog a great read. No matter his assignment, he's always had boundless enthusiasm and energy-- which will serve him well as he begins the grind at 5:30 to start updating the site.

This is an important job as we keep improving dailynews.com, one that will hopefully draw more and more eyes in coming months. Let's keep our own eyes on what all he comes up with and learn from it-- we're going to need to to stay alive in this business.

So well done, Mr. Kandel, and congratulations. You've definitely earned this job through hard work.

-Brent

Truly Awesome News

2007-05-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all,

In case you didn't see the message yesterday, let me share the very, very cool news that Dailynews.com is a finalist in the CNPA awards, making it one of the two best Web sites in the state to enter the annual contest. For that, two rounds of congratulations are in order.

The first goes to our former member Josh Kleinbaum, who's run the site as online editor for the past year. In that time, he's completely transformed it from an out-of-date shell into a much more versatile, reliable news source. Under his stewardship, we've added blogs, audio recordings, video, Web updates, better breaking news and interactive maps and graphics. And he did it all with a tiny, though talented staff, minimal resources and little time. In the final seven months of last year, Josh jumped us years ahead. We all owe him tremendous thanks.

And the second round goes to you guys. No matter how many good ideas he comes up with, it's you as the staff who provides the site with content. You're the ones podcasting, blogging, creating photo galleries and graphics. You're the ones editing videos and breaking stories online. And, most importantly, you're still developing and executing good, old-fashioned journalism alongside the new technology. No matter how much whiz-bang stuff we've got, we're only going to be as good as our stories and you're the ones who relentlessly churn out that great stuff.

Our site, much like our paper as a whole, still needs work, but we're getting there. As overhauls go through to make it crisper, cleaner and more efficient, it will only improve. In coming months, I expect to see the site really break out and shine-- you'll be the ones to pull it along the way.

So far, the partnership between the union and the company has produced excellent results. It was our contacts and relationships elsewhere in the industry that allowed us to collaborate on ways to update our jobs for the modern Web. Rather than standing in the way of these changes to our workplace, we've embraced them and played a role in integrating them into the newsroom. It's been especially heartening to see union members take the lead in so many ways -- I'm sure that spirit of working together will only grow stronger as we come across new opportunities and technologies.

And while contest wins are nice, the real test of the site's effectiveness is performance. That's the future, folks, and if we want to keep alive in this turbulent world of journalism, we're going to have to work even harder to ensure we get old readers to make the leap online and bring in new folks. Based on what we've done so far, I have every confidence we can do it. Thank you for all your hard work-- we'll need it and enjoy its benefits for years to come.

-Brent

Dos Kudos (times two, plus one)

2007-05-08T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

This will be a short one, 'cause I'm on the verge of zonking out onto my keyboard in a matter of minutes, but I wanted to send out some props to our friends for some jobs well done. And thus, in no particular order....

Alex Dobuzinskis has been on a tear up in Santa Clarita as of late, covering both amusing debates over grammar and politics (http://www.dailynews.com/search//ci_5789626) and heart-wrenching tragedy (http://www.dailynews.com/search//ci_5814493). Nice job, pal.

Dana Bartholomew served up a good one with his feature on some recently unearthed Steinbeck treasures (http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_5813075). As always, he conveys a great sense of drama and excitement with his unmistakable style.

Kerry Kandel had the daunting task of making a real estate and development story on Warner Center interesting and did so quite nicely today (http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_5827886). Most importantly, it has significant added features on the Web, including a cool interactive graphic-- we've all gotta think of ways to spruce up our work with content like that.

Rachel Uranga's done a fine job of getting into the May Day controversy (along with Rick Orlov and Kerry, as well) (http://www.dailynews.com/ci_5842162), keeping folks apprised of the talk of the town.

And, in a related note, but in a different sort of way, I was glad to see our own John McCoy quoted in the LA Times today in his capacity as president of the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles. Not only is John an excellent shooter, he's also always been a great advocate for good journalism and the protection of our colleagues. It made me proud to see him weighing in on the May Day mess and glad to see him taking a role in the discussion on how to handle this sad event and its fallout.

Alright, my typing is becoming increasingly unreliable, so here, I'll close. Thanks to all and to all a good night.

-Brent

Good Work, Sir.

2007-04-25T13:42:00.001-07:00

Hey gang,

I've been shamefully remiss in noting the promotion of one of our members to a very important position. If you missed the Unisys message the other day, I'm very happy to share the news that Kevin Modesti has taken a job as LANG Sports Editor, which will give him the challenging task of coordinating coverage of the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels, Clippers, UCLA, USC and just about every other sport in SoCal.

It's hard to think of a better man for the job. Not only does Kevin's expertise in local sports date back to his days with the Herald-Examiner, he combines both clear, elegant writing with an easy-going, level-headed persona. He's also been a loyal supporter of the union in his time as a member and has worked hard to keep our Sports section excellent through a challenging few years. This will not be an easy job, but he's definitely up to the challenge.

So thanks for all the good things you've done so far, Kevin, and best of luck to you in your new role. It's always hard to lose a good guy like you from our ranks, but it's even better to see them go on to bigger, more important things. Congratulations all around.

-Brent

The Business

2007-04-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Normally, I'm a pretty kick back guy. I try to find the good in this industry, focus on my stories, enjoy my colleagues' company and enjoy the work. Flipping through the journalism world right now, though, it's tough not to shake your head in frustration.

To the north, we've got the owner of the Santa Barbara News Press going from clueless to downright evil (http://www.independent.com/news/2007/apr/22/shameless-news-press-breaks-out-kiddie-porn/). Downtown, we've got the Times' corporate overseers further running a fine paper into the ground (http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/04/heres_the_lat_buyout_deal.php). Both these used to be excellent career options for local journalists, but due to catastrophic local ownership at the first and foolish distant ownership at the latter, things aren't looking so hot at either. The Guild is attempting to assist the workers at both job sites, hoping to provide some support where both companies have failed.

At times like this, I'm reminded all the more about how important it is that we hang in together at the Daily News. We survived last fall's layoffs, corporate cutbacks and years of both neglect and starvation as MediaNews focused its energies and dollars elsewhere, but it's not enough just to survive. At times, it feels like the whole industry's cutting its own throat and I don't want to just hang on and fight for the leftover scraps.

I want to see us fight our way out of this. I want to see us figure out what readers want in print and on the Internet. As I've said many times, whether it's over beers at El Torito, riding around on assignment or through these long-winded e-mails, I think we can do it. We've got a staff full of smart, creative, forward-thinking people and if we're going to get through this rough patch, we're going to have to put all that energy to work.

And if we're going to do it, we've got to think of this as more than just a place to spend nine hours a day. This isn't just a job-- for those of us who've ridden out the layoffs, attrition and contraction, it's part of who we are. We could probably make more money waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory and have less stress working in PR. But that's not why we do this-- we do this because, when it's done right, there's no better job in the world.

Right now, it doesn't feel like that at the Daily News. We're getting there. We've made a lot of progress. We've made it more worker-friendly, we've started wading into the video/audio/blog world, we've finally established a productive dialogue with the bosses. But we need more.

Call it a family, a team, a brotherhood-- whatever you want. That's the attitude we're going to need if we're going to survive. We're never going to be the LA Times, so we're going to have to enjoy being what we are. We're the crazy, unpredictable underdog who still manages to get our shots in with the big boys and that's what should make this whole enterprise fun. We've got to work with each other and think about this beyond what's going in tomorrow's paper or what affects just one of us, one department, one category of workers. We've got to pull together, today, tomorrow, every day.

There's no reason we can't do it. If you've got a good idea, speak up about it. If you've got a problem, keep on it until you get a solution. Unlike the folks at the News Press and the Times, we can do that without fear of retaliation. If we work together, we've got a lot of power and if we don't take advantage of it, we'll have ourselves to blame when our jobs disappear.

This may be preachy, this may be overly optimistic, but I believe it's the truth. I'm sick of seeing my friends leave. I'm sick of seeing good people's talent get wasted on ridiculous assignments due to mismanagement or apathy. I'm sick of seeing us get accustomed to crap that should be straightened out with a simple conversation, just 'cause that's the way things have always been. We've got to do better or we're not going to matter anymore.

I'll get off my pulpit for one evening and quit yakking at you. Most of you know this, most of you do it, but I just wanted to get this out there. We may not have the money, we may not have the prestige, but we can make this a great paper. It's going to take time and a hell of a lot of effort, but I have no doubt that we can get there. Thank you for all your hard work and keep at it-- we're going to need a lot more in the months to come. Then, hopefully, we'll be able to look back at what we've done with pride.

-Brent

Adios, Amigo

2007-04-19T14:33:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

As much as I want to be unselfish and happy for my good friend Brad Greenberg, I've got to say that I'm truly sorry to share the news that he's accepted a job as a staff writer with the Jewish Journal. In his year and several months at the Daily News, Brad has written some fantastic stories on poker, murder and neighborhood nitpicking, created a great niche covering religion and started a thoughtful blog.

He's also been a great asset to this newsroom, speaking up about how to improve this crazy paper and bringing a distinct, clever writing style to its pages. He's been my sounding board for ideas for this union and my stories, a great peer editor and a dear friend. I expect the latter to continue, but he'll be hard to replace in the other capacities. Happy trails and mazel tov, my devout Christian, culturally Jewish pal. We'll miss you.

-Brent

Sunday Night Wrap Up.

2007-04-15T21:45:00.001-07:00

Hey Folks,

Greetings, friends. My poor Padres have just been skunked by the Dodgers, so I type this with heavy heart. It being Jackie Robinson Day and all, I will grudgingly say that the Dodgers outplayed my boys and then I'll move on to happier things.

Things such as congratulations... Please join me in saluting our friend, colleague and fellow member John McCoy, whose shot of the fire above the Hollywood sign was named California Picture of the Month award for March from AP. John's always good at finding a different angle on his subject, and though I can't find a link to it, trust me, it was a rockin' shot. In other photo news, I neglected to mention Andy Holzman's win in the APNEC awards alongside Dennis last week-- though Andy's not a member of our esteemed crew of unionistas, he's a heck of a shooter and deserves credit for a job well done. And finally, for photos, Hans Gutknecht did his usual masterful job with the latest in our Ripatti series, both in pictures and helping out in interviews.

I usually just use this blog to recognize our members' work, but a few things have come across my inbox that were worth mentioning, so I also wanted to point out three other cool pieces of work. First, check out Heather Gripp's story on a former CSUN basketball coach: http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_5614880 (thanks to Gideon for the recommendation) and also Ramona Shelburne's piece on the Imus flap (http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_5636521). Then, for something that's both clever and outright funny, look to our sister paper, the Press Telegram, for Jeff Gritchen's video on the Long Beach Grand Prix: (http://www.insidesocal.com/video/videos/what_does_a_race_car_sound_lik.html).

Speaking of good work, in a slightly different way, I just got a card in the mail from our old colleague Jennifer Radcliffe, who, along with her husband Will, has become the proud parent of Atticus Riley Radcliffe, a very handsome young man born March 16. He was 8 lbs., 13 oz. and 20 inches long, with a full head of hair and a thoughtful expression to boot. Fantastic news all around.

Alright, all this congratulation has left me in a festive mood, so let's act on, shall we? I'd say it's high time we met up for happy hour, so let's do so on Thursday, April 19. Just for convenience sake, we'll trot across the parking lot to El Torito at the corner of Canoga and Oxnard, around 6 p.m. or so. We'll chat about the paper, the industry, good times and whatever else suits your fancy. Hope to see you all there.

And till then, keep up the fine work and I'll chat with y'all soon.
-Brent

Ah-hah! The Return of Sunday!

2007-04-09T00:33:00.001-07:00

Hey Gang,

The computer demons have finally been banished and I can get back to business. Given the late hour, this will be brief, but hopefully followed up soon.

First, let's look at congratulating some of our comrades in words and pictures--

--Dennis, who always has a great touch for telling the stories that make up this community, picked up an award from the AP for his column on special needs kids at the prom (it almost made me cry, no joke) http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_5572966.

--Troy pulled off an unusual feature with aplomb on Friday, telling the tale of a sheriff's deputy with a hump and a badge: http://www.dailynews.com/SEARCH//ci_5603679

--Alex showed off his range last week up in SAC, landing a front-pager with a Magic Mountain piece one day http://www.dailynews.com/SEARCH//ci_5587890, then a touching tale of a slain teacher the next, http://www.dailynews.com/SEARCH//ci_5611989

--and Mr. Blog, Greg Hernandez, took on yet another responsibility with a tennis blog called Deuce. At this point, I think that Greg has stopped sleeping altogether and probably finds a way to blog while standing in line at the grocery store. Check out his latest creation at: http://www.insidesocal.com/tennis/

That's it for now. We'll chat soon and don't forget to point out good work that I miss, so's I can spread the word where it's deserved. Thanks, y'all....

-Brent

Three More

2007-04-03T18:26:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

I got so caught up in the online side of things, I forgot to point out a pair of other good stories from the good ol' newspaper. First off, if you want to see one of the best quotes I've read in a long time, check Val's piece http://www.dailynews.com/health/ci_5572209 and then read on for a surprisingly hilarious second take on colonoscopies http://www.dailynews.com/health/ci_5571280. I never thought I'd be so entertained by this subject. ... nicely done, Val.

In Sports, Steve got me over my heartbreak over UCLA's loss in the Final Four (http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_5568960) with a sensitive, well-written piece on the Bruins' failure to make it to the championship. It did not, however, make me get over finishing behind Naush in the office pool. So (completely honestly) thank you, Steve and (grudgingly), good picks, Boghossian.

And on another front, Alex had a nice one today on the war over whose part of Santa Clarita's nicer (or more meth-ridden) http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_5580289. Not living there, I'm not conversant on all the issues raised, but I found myself really getting into it. Cool stuff, dude.

That'll do it for now-- keep me posted if you guys see other good work I'm missing. I know a lot of good stuff slips by and I always want to give y'all credit where it's due.

-Brent

The Internets

2007-04-03T18:01:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys,

This is going to be extremely short, but I wanted to point your eyes to some cool stuff some of our members are doing on the Internet to augment their traditional print work. It's yet another example of the rapidly-changing nature of the business and how we can take advantage of the new technologies.

First off, Jason (and Eugene, as well) have been putting together a hyper-localized look at Glendale/Burbank at East of the Five (www.insidesocal.com/east). Between Valley News, Daily News and other local media links, they're building an impressive online community there that tells you all the haps of that part of town. It's good stuff.

And speaking of good stuff, Brad's gotten into the action with The God Blog, highlighting religious issues all over the Web (www.insidesocal.com/godblog). Well-written, thoughtful coverage of religion's often a rare thing, online or otherwise, but Brad does a good job of finding salient issues from a wide variety of sources. Just as he does in his print reporting, he offers an insightful, clever look at a world that many reporters avoid altogether.

So these are two completely different subjects, but they harness the Web in the same way: bringing together good print reporting of our own, important niches and views from different sources. We all should look at ways to work that into our jobs.

Alright, enough for now and more to follow. I'm still checking on dates for next week, but let's try to get together towards the back end for a happy hour to talk about this and all the other crazy stuff going on in the business.

-Brent

More Not-So-Great News

2007-03-26T23:37:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

Dana passed along this link, which is more not-so-great news about the industry as a whole.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/business/media/26paper.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Just another reminder that we've gotta be on the top of our game all the time, not just in print but on the Web, as well. People need news now more than ever, so we've got to find ways to get them to come check us out. You've done a great job of adapting in recent years, so keep that up and hopefully we can figure out a way to bring old-style journalism to the new-style audience.

-Brent

Across Town...

2007-03-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

This is a bit peripheral to us at the Daily News, but I figure that we all benefit from a strong newspaper business, so I thought I'd pass this along. As you know, the Guild is stepping up its efforts to help out the newsroom at the LA Times during its seemingly unending string of bad luck. They've launched a new web site, tribunewatch.org, where folks in the industry can check out all the various goings-on at that company, so I thought I'd spread the word.

Separately, if you guys missed David Carr's piece in the NYT about last week's editorial mess-up at the Times, it's a very good read. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/business/media/26carr.html?ref=media

I was particularly struck by former editor John Carroll's comment about the role the staff has played in fighting off corporate meddling: “It is a nonunion paper in which labor has taken ownership of the place,” he said. “They have played an important role in building it, and they don’t want to see it damaged.”

While that's great that the staff has rallied like that-- we've certainly found that's the best way to keep things together here-- if they're going to keep that up, a union would certainly come in handy. As you guys come into contact with your counterparts over there, don't forget to remind them that we're here to help them on that angle. ... then we'll go back to trying to beat 'em on stories.

Alright, more to follow soon about more Daily News-esque news.

-Brent

Some Not So Fun Reading

2007-03-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Brad Greenberg passed along this link to a Columbia Journalism Review piece that's worth checking out-- it's pretty grim news for the business, but brings up a lot of important things to consider: http://www.cjr.org/issues/2007/2/Klein.asp

While it sounds like things are quite a bit worse at some of these other papers than what we've been through in the past few years, it's a good reminder of how tough the industry is right now and how much we've gotta do to stay afloat. Your continual hard work and dedication to both this union and this paper make the fight easier, but we're definitely going to need all that effort in the years ahead. Thanks again and keep it up.

-Brent

Back in the Land of Switched-On

2007-03-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

After yet another computer blackout, I have my machine back temporarily-- my apologies for the long delay in communication, but at least for an afternoon, I'm back online. And so, what better to do on this beautiful summery day than catch y'all up on the latest union news.

Firstly, let me share the good news that we've got yet another new member, Gideon Rubin of the AV bureau. Gideon started out as a freelancer covering the Lancaster Jethawks, then moved over into regional sports then recently started covering news up in Palmdale. He has proved himself to be both an extremely resilient and versatile employee and staunch defender of his coworkers. That's a great combination that many of you exemplify -- the willingness to work hard and speak up when things could be done better -- so I'm glad to welcome him to the crew. You'll fit in nicely here, sir.

Secondly, Alex made a good suggestion that we re-start the writers' workshops that we held in the past. We kind of got sidetracked on that after several productive sessions, so let's get that going again sometime soon. I can try to set something up after work, but if someone else would like to take the lead in organizing one, I'm more than happy to hand it over. Any takers?

And finally, it's been far too long since we've enjoyed a little happy hour relaxation. Let's try to get together sometime in the next couple weeks and kick back. Details TBA.

That's all for now-- thanks for your patience in these long dark periods. There's been plenty going on, but this malingering laptop has kept me unplugged for far too long... Thanks again and I'll chat with y'all soon.

-Brent

Reaching Out

2007-01-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

I've been a little incommunicado as of late since my computer decided it wanted to die again... my apologies, but I did want to make you aware of another union movement afoot across town. After the morale-killing dismissal of Dean Baquet and a string of confusing moves by Tribune, the Guild has reached out to the newsroom at the LA Times in an attempt to offer them some support. Our local's providing assistance and advice and it appears that there's growing interest from the folks at the Times. Though the company has fought off union organizing attempts in the past, the Teamsters recently won a victory in the press room and the Guild has had productive talks with staffers.

If you want to read one endorsement, I see Jamie Court, the consumer activist who blogs for the Huffington Post, has taken note. (As a note of disclosure, I've quoted Court in his role with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer rights in the past when I covered business, but have not spoken to him about this, or anything else, for quite some time) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-court/time-to-unionize-the-la-t_b_39617.html

I'll leave the particulars to the Guild experts (http://chainlinks.org/news.php?ID=3217), but I did want to add my own quick perspective. As we've seen at the Daily News (and I'm sure it's similar at much larger places like the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, all Guild papers), a union doesn't instantly resolve all the issues, but it can be tremendously helpful. We still have our share of struggles, but at the very least, we've got a voice in the debate in how the newsroom changes. When the layoff notices hang over our heads or the corporate office begins rumbling with ideas that could hurt us, it's the contract that protects us and the relationship that helps us all. I hope that the workers at the Times will find a similar experience and if they've got questions on how things work here, encourage them to get in touch with us.

Thanks for listening and best of luck to everyone.

-Brent
afropic@hotmail.com

A Brief Note and a Few Quick Things

2007-01-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to shoot a couple quick union-related things your way on this fine Monday evening. There's no unifying theme, so I'll keep it brief.

First all, I wanted to pass along the news that we'll soon be getting DSL service in both City Hall and the County office. Working together with management, we were finally able to convince the company to rewire those remaining two bureaus so we can finally all get on the new system. This'll make working from those locations light years easier, not just for the folks who use them every day, but all of us who occasionally pass through. Thanks are in order for Kerry, Rick and Troy, who helped us make our case and finally got it nailed down.

I guess the thing that's worth noting for that and for other things that we all deal with daily, is not to accept the status quo. In a similar note, I just got sent to Vegas to cover a convention along with Brad Greenberg and Hans Gutknecht for three days. It never occurred to me to ask to go, but I've got a forward-thinking editor who was able to make the case we should send someone. And we were able to talk our way into adding on another reporter and photographer, which I initially thought would be too expensive. The only thing that mattered to Melissa when we pitched it was that we'd get good quality work out of the trip, which I think we definitely did.

So that's a little convoluted, but the point is: don't always assume that we can't get things fixed or do things differently. I fall into that trap, too, but we've gotta get out of that old Daily News mentality. We're always going to have to fight for resources and things will never be as good as we want them-- that's why this union exists-- but it's also not as bleak as we sometimes think it is. Whenever you see a way to improve things, speak up and we'll work our way to where we need to be.

Ok, one final thing, the ever popular shout-out, before I sign off. I know I've highlighted Greg Hernandez's work before, but his unflagging efforts in the last few weeks deserve more notice. Not only is he continuing to kick ass online, with his inexhaustable appetite for blogging, both on Out in Hollywood and On The Red Carpet, but he wrote a fantastic piece on coming out in Hollywood (http://www.dailynews.com/ci_4960653) last week. That's exactly what we're gonna have to do to stay afloat in the future-- we've got to come up with innovative product for the Web but still present compelling product for the print edition, too. Keep rockin', Herny, and well done.

That'll do it for tonight-- thanks again to all of you and let's hang out soon.

-Brent

Thoughts for the New Year

2007-01-03T01:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

Another year has come and gone and here we are with the calendar spread out blank once again. I just wanted to steal a quick moment to let you know what's going on on the union front and thank you once again for all your hard work. We definitely went through our share of challenges in 2006, but as always, you guys stepped up and made it through in fine form.

This is a lousy time in the newspaper business, without question. Whether it was layoffs, corporate disarray or consolidation, it felt like just one long stream of bad news in our industry last year. Given that this job isn't easy even during happier times, it's all the more remarkable that y'all have kept at it throughout. Though our resources are strapped and our newshole keeps shrinking, we still manage to put out a damn good paper every day.

With that in mind, I want to thank the people who'll never get enough praise for the work they do. I use this blog to shine the light on reporters and photographers sometimes-- never enough, but I try to highlight good work by our members when I get a chance-- but I never can thank the workhorses of this paper enough. So rather than highlight particular pieces of work, let me just take this time to say thanks to the copy editors, designers, web folks and everyone else who slaves to get this content out every day. You're the ones who give up your nights, weekends and holidays to keep us in business and we all owe you, so thank you, not only to our members, but to everyone who puts in that laudable effort.

As we step into 2007, I'm sure we'll face more challenges and good times as well, but I have a good feeling about where we're headed. Whether it's adapting to new technology, as a number have you have done with blogs, videos and podcasts, or finding new ways to streamline the work, you guys keep fighting to keep us alive. Though this can be a frightening period at times as newspapers struggle to adapt to a changing market, you guys keep looking for ways to survive. Hopefully, we'll be the ones to figure out how to change and stay essential-- and I think that we will.

With that in mind, our union has been changing and staying proactive, as well. In this past year, we've added new members, branched into different parts of the newsroom, certified a new steward and cultivated a stronger relationship with management. When times were bad, especially during the layoff worries during the fall, we were able to find ways to help our members and minimize the damage to editorial. And when things were looking up, we've looked for ways to prepare for the road ahead. As a result of our discussions with management, we've been able to get new equipment and training for the staff.

And in 2007, we'll be continuing to reach out. In a few weeks, we'll be meeting with our counterparts at other papers throughout the state to discuss ways to work together more closely in this ever-shrinking biz. We'll keep looking for ways to better represent you at the Daily News and will be on the lookout for ways to keep evolving. Your suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.

So that's my soapbox for one evening. Thanks again for everything and best of luck to everyone in the year ahead.

-Brent

It's Official

2006-12-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks,

After months of rumors, y'all probably heard the news today, but for those of you who're out of the office, MediaNews finally got its hands on the Daily Breeze (http://www.dailynews.com/ci_4847248). Let's hope the company treats their employees with the respect they've begun to offer us, rather than an ugly rerun of the Mercury News purchase.

And since this blog gets read elsewhere, if there are any Daily Breeze staffers out there checking us out: welcome to the company and we'll look forward to working with you. If there's anything we can do to make the transition go more smoothly, please let us know. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

-Brent

Dec. 11 Day of Action

2006-12-11T07:33:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

As a follow-on for last week's support of our coworkers at the San Jose Mercury News, The Newspaper Guild has organized a national day of action today to remind people of the drastic job cuts seen in the last few years. Whether it's the layoffs and job freezes we've seen right here at the Daily News, the cuts down at the Press-Telegram, the ones threatened across town at the Times, we've seen far too much of this locally and nationwide.

Whenever news of the cuts comes out and makes the rounds on the journalism Web sites, it's easy to shrug your shoulders and figure that as long as it wasn't your job that it's no big deal. It's a very big deal, whether it's at our own paper, our company or even our competitors. Each job lost makes the business smaller and a harder place to compete. For those of us who'd like to make this a career, it's becoming an increasingly tight and bleak landscape.

And that's a shame, something that I think that people outside of the business can't really appreciate. It's not just that these thousands of cuts take food off the tables of families. Every time we get stretched more thinly, that's less news we can cover and less service we can offer to the public. Newspapers have played a crucial role in our democracy since this country was just a bunch of maligned colonies, so the worse they're pared down to maximize profits, the worse off the country becomes.

So with that in mind, if you've got some time today, drop by my desk. I'll have stickers we can wear that the Guild has put out and, if you're available at 2:30 p.m., come on over and whomever's interested in learning more, I'll buy you all coffee across the street. It's a very small thing compared with some of the actions planned nationwide (http://www.savejournalism.org/), but let's use a few minutes out of our day to talk about ways we can remind our company, our industry, and most importantly, our readers about why our jobs are indispensible and why these cuts cannot continue.

Thanks for your support and I'll see you later on today.

-Brent

Daily Breeze Sale

2006-12-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

Just a quick note, in case you guys missed it yesterday. Looks like the long-rumored deal for MediaNews to pick up the Daily Breeze is close to completion:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/4862761.html

LAObserved reported later in the day that there'd been some sort of hold-up, however, so your guess is as good as mine as to when it'll really go down. Whatever the case, I'll keep you posted on whatever I hear.

-Brent

Support "Black Monday" for San Jose on Dec. 4th

2006-12-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

Tomorrow, Dec. 4th, our coworkers in San Jose are going to experience one of the cruelest, most terrible ways to ring in the holiday season that I can imagine. MediaNews, after purchasing the Mercury News as an industry leader and supposed jewel of its California empire, will begin gutting its staff with up to 69 layoffs of union positions.

Some of you mentioned the posting that made LA Observed on Friday, which can be linked to here: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/?p=489#more-489. As if it weren't bad enough that they're cutting these people's jobs right before Christmas, they're forcing the entire staff to stay home and await phone calls to tell them whether they'll come in to work or whether they'll be allowed to clean out their desks on a weekend.

If there were a textbook called "How to Kill Employee Morale," this would be a featured lesson. Our layoffs a few weeks ago were terrible, make no mistake, but there was at least an attempt to minimize the cuts and to take care of the affected people. This is an awful reminder that no matter how things are going for us -- and they could certainly stand to be a lot better, don't get me wrong-- that this corporation is not afraid to employ ruthless, soul-less plans to achieve its financial goals. And that in times like this, we have to rely on each other for support.

With that in mind, I hope you'll join in this call for unity with our friends to the north that I've attached below. Tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 4th, workers at other papers across the state and elsewhere in the country will be wearing black clothes and armbands to show the people who're getting laid off and those who'll be left endure a stripped-down operation that we haven't forgotten them.

These are the same people who've helped us look for jobs for our own laid-off employees. We've met them in other newsrooms, competed with them on beats, run into them at holiday parties, known them from college. They're in the same shoes we were six weeks ago, only their predicament is much worse. So if you've got a black shirt, black pants, black hat, anything that you can wear tomorrow, we can send them a message that they're not alone.

Whether you're a union member or not, please consider this request-- these people have been there for us, now this is the least we can do to show them the same respect. Thank you, as always. You guys have made the last six weeks a lot easier to stomach, so keep up that good work.

-Brent

forwarded message below:
----------------

November 29, 2006

Wear black to support
San Jose Guild members
on Monday, December 4

Dear Minnesota Guild members,

I've attached a message below that was forwarded to us yesterday by Luther
Jackson, administrative officer of the San Jose Newspaper Guild. Leaders of
that local have been working non-stop to prepare for as many as 69 layoffs
that are to occur at the MediaNews-owned San Jose Mercury News next week;
more Guild jobs are expected to lost to outsourcing in the spring. You can
learn more by visiting the local's website at www.sjguild.org.

In a demonstration scheduled for Monday, December 4, Guild members in San
Jose will be wearing black to show their support for co-workers who will
lose their jobs. We're asking that Minnesota Guild members at the Star
Tribune and the Pioneer Press show their support for and solidarity with our
brothers and sisters in San Jose by wearing black, too, on Monday, December
4.

Monday's event will be a prelude to a national day of action scheduled one
week later on Monday, December 11, about which you'll be hearing more from
your unit leaders in the coming days. To learn more about actions planned
for that date, please visit www.savejournalism.org.

Thanks in advance for wearing black on December 4 to support laid off
workers in San Jose.

Darren Carroll
Executive officer
Minnesota Newspaper Guild

www.shoptalknet.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

>>> "Luther Jackson" Luther@SJGuild.org> 11/28/2006 12:02 PM >>

Next week, the Mercury News will tell as many as 69 Guild members they will
be out of a job by December 19.

Personally and professionally, we will miss each of them. They have been
friends and coworkers who have helped make the Merc an outstanding paper and
a special place at which to work. They and those of us remaining, who will
be expected to do their jobs, as well as our own, deserve better.

Out of respect for them, your leadership at the Guild is asking all members
to wear black to work on Monday, December 4. Doing so will be both a
tribute to them and a silent, important show of unity. This solidarity
action will also show our concerns about the impact of job cuts on quality
and customer service.

These are difficult times for the Mercury News and for our union. It is
critical that we stand behind members of our bargaining team as they
negotiate to protect us from carte blanche consolidation that would put all
of our jobs at risk.

Wearing black will signal that they have our confidence and support.

If black isn't your style, we will have black armbands for you. Your
mobilizer should be in contact with you this week.

We also have plenty of Save the Merc bumper stickers, which we encourage you
to put on our car or hand to a friend of the Merc.

Thanks,

John Fensterwald (editorial)
Bill Russell (advertising)
Co-Chairs, Guild Strategy/Community Outreach Committee
________________________________

Luther Jackson
Executive Officer, San Jose Newspaper Guild
TNG/CWA Local 39098
Luther@SJGuild.org
www.SJGuild.org

What's Going On...

2006-11-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks,

Sorry for the gap in responses-- in the midst of all the recent shakeups, my computer seems to have up and died, so I've been getting by on borrowed machines and library terminals to tend to my union correspondence. And, golly, there's been a lot of it lately.

I'm still seeking out job leads for our friends who got laid off and though as you're all well aware, the industry's pretty lousy right now, have managed to turn up a few promising things with the help of other union locals and friends elsewhere in the industry. Anything you guys come across, journalism or otherwise, please let me know and I'll pass it along to 'em.

On another note, I went on an interesting trip last week up to Bakersfield to gather some information about how the Californian has brought more multimedia and Internet work into the newsroom. This is a big push, both on the union and the company side, 'cause we're all going to have to figure out how to adapt to the changing world of journalism. So, we worked out a little partnership-- the union paid travel costs and the paper paid for the time I was gone and sent along online editor Josh Kleinbaum, as well.

I'm glad to report that the trip was fascinating. With just a small crew of dedicated personnel, the Californian has put together a Web site that's become a model for much of the industry. More importantly, they've found ways to work the new technology into the newsroom so it doesn't become too much of a burden on the staff. As a result, they're making money, online readership is up and the staff seems pretty jazzed about having new reporting tools at hand. Josh and I are now working with Ron and Melissa to figure out ways that we can adapt some of those tools for use at the Daily News.

So that's all I've got for the moment, but I'll hopefully be in touch soon. In the meantime, thanks for your support and nice job putting out the paper lately-- we've had some good looking stuff across the board in the last few weeks.

-Brent

Happy Hour

2006-11-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks,

With the election mostly behind us, last week's upheaval dying down and a whole lot of stuff to talk about, it's high time we got together for drinks. So, let's meet up this Thursday, Nov. 9, around 6 p.m. at the El Torito on Canoga. While it's not my favorite place, we always seem to draw a good turnout there, so come kick back and enjoy some fellowship with folks at the DN. Drinks and snacks are on us, hope to see you there...

What: Union Happy Hour
When: Thursday, 11/9, 6 p.m.- 8ish
Where: El Torito, Canoga and Oxnard
Cost: Absolutely free.

See ya there,
Brent

-----
PS: For those of you unable to make this one, we'll try to hold another on a weekend sometime soon. We never want to forget our pals on the nightshift...

Our Man in Albania

2006-11-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

After all the heavy duty stuff of late, it's time to shift gears a bit to throw some much-deserved props to our own Jason Kandel of Valley News. By the time most of you read this, the intrepid Mr. K. will be blasting off for Albania, where he'll be addressing the country's nascent independent press on the challenges of covering organized crime.

He's on this mission, recruited by the US State Department, as a result of his excellent work in the past covering the Russian-Armenian mob's activities in Glendale. He's spent the past few weeks studying up on the history of American crime syndicates and he'll bring with him a vast knowledge of cops, crooks, crime and justice.

From when I sat next to him in my earliest days at the Daily News to today, I've always been impressed by his drive and love of the craft of journalism. I don't think I've ever met anyone who cares as much or tries as hard to hone his skills, regardless of the subject. I'm consistently amazed by his dedication and great attitude toward the work.

Please join me in congratulating him and wishing both him and Kerry, who'll be joining him later, a safe and pleasant journey home. We'll look forward to hearing about your tales of adventure upon your return. Godspeed and take a bunch of pictures...

-Brent

What Now?

2006-11-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

So it's been a week since we all stood together and heard the sobering news about the layoffs, the new executives and the challenges facing our entire business. The circulation numbers that followed didn't help, nor did the increasing number of job losses throughout the industry. As we see on an increasingly frequent basis, this career path we've all stepped into is not an easy one.

This last week has not been tough for everyone. We've had to figure out how to make do with less people, how to say goodbye to good friends, how to find a way to keep this gig most of us have been doing since high school viable. For our three colleagues who lost their jobs, it's been a hectic, dizzying period of trying to get their bearings as they look for new work. While I've been in touch with all of them and they're all moving forward, they'll all continue to need your support, so don't forget to let them know you're thinking of them.

Actually, that's one good thing that I got out of all this, a reminder that in troubled times, we're not alone. Whether it's as union members, as co-workers, as friends, we're all in this together. I spent a lot of long nights e-mailing friends at other papers looking for jobs for our laid off coworkers last week and was touched to see how quickly they responded with good, solid leads I could pass along. With some luck, we'll find something that'll help get them back in the work world again soon.

And I was also reminded of how lucky we are to be part of this union, as well. Whenever I had a question on how to advise the people looking for work, I sent out e-mails to some of The Newspaper Guild's smartest workers and got back instant feedback. And from you guys, the ones in the middle of it all at the Daily News, I got a feeling of solidarity and support.

This weekend, I went up to San Jose to meet with some people at our new sister paper, the Mercury News. The company's been giving them a hard time at the bargaining table, but they're hanging in there. They're smart, they're passionate and, most importantly, they're working together to make that a better place. We had a lot of good discussions about ways that we can work together throughout the state to support one another, both as MediaNews employees and as fellow journalists.

I wanted to mention that meeting, because I got some very positive feedback from the folks up there about all we've accomplished at the Daily News. They've got a great contract and a fantastic group of guild members, one that dwarfs us in size and extends into departments all throughout their building. And yet when we started talking about how much the unit's grown at our paper and all the ways we've been able to bring people together, they applauded our success. I know it often seems like we're off in our own little world down here, but I wanted you guys to know that other people in the industry look at what we've done together and are using it as an example of how to grow stronger.

The next few months ahead will not be easy, as we adjust to changing staff, financial pressures and dwindling interest from traditional readers. But as we punch our way through all that, don't forget that we're part of a community, whether it's this union, this company, or this business. Today's world feels awfully lonely sometimes and it's a shame that it takes tough times to remind you of your friends. When we lose sight of them, that's when we're really in trouble.

So thanks for everything guys-- you're a hell of a group and I'm proud to be with y'all. Later this week, once all this election stuff's calmed down, let's all get together and have some drinks and blow off some steam. I'll let you know the details as soon as I've got 'em. Thanks again.

-Brent

The Real Enemy

2006-11-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it's nice to see people are reading, at least. And as much of a fan of lively debate as I am, I don't think that attacking the other parts of our organizations will get us anywhere. I understand everyone's frustration, whether it's at LANG, Dean Singleton, or the newspaper business as a whole, but if we're all going to get out of this, we can't waste our energy on tearing each other down.

Much of what you guys say in your posts on both sides is true-- in my time with the company, I've seen that the relationship between the various papers leaves much to be desired. We're probably all too stubborn sometimes, we all feel like we don't get enough respect or resources. And we don't. I haven't been to all the papers, but from the folks I know throughout the chain, I know that there are a lot of hard-working, talented individuals at this company. There's probably some slackers and malcontents at each, but on the whole, the people I've watched all work themselves into the ground, regardless of what sort of job they have.

Pettiness and in-fighting helped get us into this mess, so if we're going to find a way out of it, we've got to quit that nonsense and learn to work together. I'm not saying we all need to line up and march to the company tune, far from it, but we do have to support each other, both as workers and collaborators. And hey, we're grouchy journalists, so I don't expect everyone to get together, hold hands and sing folk songs, either. But the criticism going back and forth offers no solutions, just insulting rhetoric at a time when our industry is reeling and good people are losing their jobs.

As one of the earlier commentors (commenters? people who commented? commentators?) noted, the news business is changing at lightning speed. All the time and energy we put into complaining about the folks who are supposed to be on the same team distracts us from work we ought to be doing to preserve our jobs and our industry. If we see legitimate ways to improve the product or the way the company runs, then we should definitely all speak up-- that's the reason this union exists. But we've got to come up with solutions, not just complain that some other guy's messing up our way of doing things.

As the title of this post alludes to, the real enemy here isn't our company or our sister papers or the Daily News. And as much as I disagree with the Singleton strategy, we can't even totally blame that. The enemy is all the people who don't care about newspapers anymore, don't care to read them, don't care to advertise in them, don't see them as a vital part of their lives. We're not going to win them back by picking on the Daily News or the other parts of the chain-- they couldn't care less about us already and they're certainly not going to be any more interested if they see us attacking one another.

I don't have the answer on how to win back those readers-- I don't think anyone in this business does. But long after we forget about these arguments, I hope we can look back and say that we figured it out together.

-Brent

Big Changes at the Daily News

2006-10-31T00:11:00.000-08:00

Hey Gang,

You've probably all heard the news today, one way or another, but after weeks of speculation about layoffs and reorganization, we finally got some concrete facts. Overall, there were 21 jobs lost, though I've seen conflicting reports about whether they were LANG-wide or just at the Daily News. In the newsroom, we lost three employee positions and one manager. Executive-wise, we also lost our publisher, finance, circulation and human resources directors.

I asked both John McKeon, our new publisher, and Ron Kaye whether there would be more cuts to come. Both said that while they couldn't definitively say that there would never be additional job loss, they expected this to be the last of the cuts. Ron, in particular, seemed upset about having to let the people go, and McKeon seemed to share in his remorse. He said that a strong Daily News, as the flagship paper in the chain, was key to LANG's success and that he hoped to see it grow in the future.

Especially for the folks who lost their jobs, this has clearly been an awful day. I spoke with each of the newsroom employees and while they all handled it with grace and good attitudes, when you remember that these are real people, with real lives, it reminds you how terrible this is. They aren't numbers on a payroll sheet, they're our friends and coworkers, the ones who put in long hours with us to put out the paper under stressful conditions. They will be sorely missed.

And for anyone who didn't see the UNISYS message, I want to thank Kimberly Armendariz, who selflessly came forward and volunteered to give up her job. She stepped up and put herself on the line, which saved another position that would have probably been eliminated. I don't know where it would have come from, but by doing so, she kept one of us in a job. While I'm really sad to see her go, it made me feel good to see such a generous, thoughtful act, especially during such tough times.

With that in mind, I'm asking for all of your help-- we've all got to stick together and help our departed colleagues find new work now. Given the state of the industry at the moment, that'll be a challenge, but if anyone knows of open reporter, designer or copy editor positions, particularly in sports, anywhere, please let me know as soon as possible. The company is trying to do right by them and they're all smart, capable individuals, but any leads anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Ask your friends at other papers and elsewhere in the industry and we'll do our best to make sure they get back on their feet quickly.

Whether we shared an office, a department or just a common goal with them, these people deserve everything we can offer them. If we were in their place, they'd do the same for us, so we've got to pitch in now to help them. Now, more than ever, we've got to look out for one another.

And for those of us left, we've got to pull together, as well. As Ron said in the newsroom meeting, we have got to figure out a way to connect with readers and how to make the paper the best that we possibly can. We've got to come up with new ideas and when we see ways the place better, we've got to take him up on his request for suggestions. This is a staff of tremendously creative, intelligent people and we've got a chance here to fight our way to success.

It's tough to see an upside to a day like this, but if there's any positive news, it's the idea that we can help remake the paper into something we can all take even more pride in. Ron singled out Greg Hernandez in the meeting as an example of someone who's done something unique and powerful with his Out in Hollywood blog, and we can all learn from Greg. He created that blog on his own, he wasn't directed to do so from above, and he's done a masterful job of building it, promoting it and keeping it fresh. We can't just sit on our hands and regret that the business ain't what it used to be, nor can we curse our lack of resources or the historical dysfunction at the Daily News. We can just take Ron up on his offer and build that change on our own terms.

So that's all I've got for this evening-- thank you for listening and thanks for your help. Please keep an eye out for ways we can help the people who lost their jobs. The worst should be over now, so let's find a way to rebuild and move on so we don't end up here again.

-Brent

Sunday Night rap-up

2006-10-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Just wanted to keep you guys posted on the latest news on the union front, which is to say: not much. But, given everything that's going on, that's a good thing.

Still no word on what form the proposed layoffs will take, but the latest I've heard (as of Friday) is that as time has stretched on, the picture has improved and that the number continues to shrink. While I still don't have a hard number or particulars, I was told that things weren't as bad as first feared and that cuts would be considered both out of management and the rest of us. I'm not happy to hear of anyone losing their job, but it makes me feel a little bit better to know that the cuts are being deliberated over, rather than just handed out on a snap basis.

Some of you guys may have seen the posting on Friday from our now-sister paper, the San Jose Mercury News, where the company is threatening 40 layoffs in the newsroom. LAObserved posted a warning to LANG employees in connection with this, and while I normally put a fair amount of confidence in his writing, I disagree in this case. I'm sure the Merc's in for some pain, but I think that their situation is completely separate from ours. It's probably not a coincidence that they're also in negotiations where the company is asking for significant takeaways from their long-standing contract. Whatever the case, while it's a good idea to keep an eye on them, I wouldn't worry unnecessarily about their situation.

In a related note, Kerry, Jason and I went down to the Western District Council meeting of Newspaper Guild locals in Long Beach this weekend. We met with our counterparts and other union activists, along with Guild president Linda Foley, to discuss the state of the industry all up and down the coast. Everyone's in the same boat, facing a changing business and tightfisted owners.

These are always useful gatherings and I came away with some good leads for added collaboration with the other folks at the Merc, Press-Telegram and other California papers. We had a lot of good discussion on the changing technological workplace and how to participate in it. The general consensus was to take on as much of the new work, be it podcasting, video, audio recording or blogging, as possible. By embracing the new technologies, we can prepare union workers to be industry leaders and innovators, rather than the guys who still clung to their typewriters and Speedgraphics. We even got some good ideas to bring back to our respective papers on how they can grow, so hopefully it'll be good for all involved.

And, as one final note, I wanted to share two different pieces of good news from the sports department. First off, please join me in welcoming Chris Wiley of the sports copy desk as our newest member. He's yet another of the unsung crew that makes the always lively section run day in and day out. Even before he joined Chris has been very helpful in the past in keeping an eye out for his fellow colleagues, so we'll be well served to have his support. Thanks, sir, we'll look forward to working with you.

And secondly, I'm glad to share the news of our old friend Richard Perkins, formerly of sports, has landed a job as a lead designer for the Riverside Press-Enterprise. In addition to being a passionate, devoted guy in his job, Rich was a great backer for this union and did a lot for our cause. I'll miss working with him, but am glad to see him off to better things. Best of luck out there, pal, keep up that fire burning...

Ok, my friends, that'll do it for one night. I'll be in touch soon.

-Brent

If You're Interested...

2006-10-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Wish I had some news to slip you on the various goings-on at the paper, but haven't heard anything more beyond what I posted last time. In the meantime, I wanted to pass the word on something completely unrelated to the union, but still worthy.

In my increasingly rare spare time, I'm also an associate board member for SPJ's LA chapter and next week, we'll be hosting a forum on business reporting over in Van Nuys. My apologies if you've already gotten the original SPJ e-mail, but we've received a grand total of two RSVPs to date and I'm really hoping the panelists won't out-number the guests. So if any of you guys are interested, please let me know-- it's cheap, it's local and it should be an informative night. What more could a journalist ask for, huh?

And speaking of which, not to torpedo my own attendance, Rachel Uranga's organized a panel with CCNMA on Black-Latino relations to be held the same evening in Northridge. I don't have the full details with me, but talk to her if you'd like to know more.

Hope to see you at one or the other,
Brent

Contact Brent Hopkins

afropic@hotmail.com

Curious how to make business reporting interesting? Why housing prices
and unemployment affect you and your readers, listeners and viewers?
What EBITDA means and why anyone would care?

Come satisfy that curiosity at a business reporting forum sponsored by
the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional
Journalists on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Panelists -including Frank Mottek of KNX-1070 radio; Mark Lacter, former
editor of the Los Angeles Business Journal and current editor of LABiz
Observed - will discuss how to break into business reporting and how to
make it relevant and interesting to your audience.

What: SPJ-LA Business Reporting Forum

When: Tuesday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m.

Where: Valley Economic Development Center Community Room, 5121 Van Nuys
Blvd., 3rd floor, Van Nuys, CA

91403

Cost: $8 for members, $10 for non-members Dinner and refreshments will
be provided with admission.

Please RSVP by Sunday, Oct. 22 to Brent Hopkins at afropic@hotmail.com

Look for details on SPJ-LA's Web site, http://www.spj.org/losangeles.

Daily News Update

2006-10-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Just wanted to check in and let you know the little bit I've heard since Friday's message. Ron and Melissa met with the LANG execs and the other papers' editors today and made their case for preserving jobs and working more efficiently. From my conversations with both afterward, it seemed like the meetings were productive but it's still likely that we'll lose a few jobs. It hasn't been decided how many, where or when, but Ron said that it would be far fewer than predicted last Friday. Apparently, the new plan will now go up the corporate chain for approval in the next few days, at which point we hope to have some more concrete news.

The upside to this is it sounds like they're not just looking to slash and burn, that they're looking at ways to make the chain run more cohesively and collaboratively. The downside, unfortunately, is that we're still probably going to take a hit. The conversations between the union and management will definitely continue before and after to make sure that whatever happens, everyone gets treated fairly.

I wish I had more to share with you, but that's all I know for the moment. You guys have done a great job of performing under pressure lately and I hope that won't go unnoticed by the folks who will decide the paper's future. As soon as I hear more, I'll make sure to pass it along, but in the meantime, keep up the fine work you do every day.

-Brent

The Rumors and the Truth

2006-10-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

So much for starting the weekend off with an easy Friday, huh? By now, you've probably either heard the rumors, seen LAObserved.com or read Ron's afternoon message, so let me bring you up to speed on what all we've heard on the union side of things. We've been down this road before and I'm sure we'll do it again, but this is serious business.

When the first post went up on LAO today, we heard LANG was seeking deep cuts, between 10 and 20 jobs spread throughout Editorial. I spoke with Ron and shared with him our concern that this would have a crippling effect on the newsroom's ability to put out the newspaper as well as a significant blow to morale. While sympathetic, he had little he could share and asked me to refer questions to Jim Janiga, who handles MediaNews' labor relations. The union began that dialogue this afternoon, though there's no news to share as of yet. Our relationship with Janiga has evolved from adversarial to fairly collegial in recent years, so we hope to continue that throughout this process.

By the afternoon, however, the mood appeared to have shifted. Ron made his case to the LANG execs and came back seeming much more relieved. He said that there could still be some trouble ahead as the company looks for ways to cut expenses, but that the meeting had gone well and would hopefully produce more collaboration throughout the chain. While it was reported earlier that he was considering leaving over the issue, he told me that he felt that we could work through the rocky patch and still put out a product that we can be proud of.

So as it stands now, the LANG folks are going to start crunching numbers and see the best way to continue. There could still be cuts ahead, but rather than just taking them all out of the Daily News, they're going to finally address ways to work better together. We're going to be working with management as closely as possible to preserve as many jobs as we can and demonstrate that any cuts will hurt the paper's longterm health.

On the union front, we're engaged on every front. Kerry and I are talking with Ron and Melissa, union vice president Vicki DiPaolo is speaking with Janiga and we've been in contact with our counterparts at other papers. We will ensure the contract is enforced and that everyone's treated fairly.

And as for what you can do: what you guys do every day. Our best defense is the excellent product we produce. As the number-crunchers look over the Daily News, we've got to show them that they're more than getting their money's worth. Whether it's prep sports, film reviews, biz coverage or local news, we've got so many ways that we excel, we need to remind the people in faraway offices that we do a great job with the limited resources thrown our way. If there's ever been a time to shine and remind them what we're all about, it's now.

Hang in there together and whenever you can see ways to do things better or more intelligently, speak up about it. There may be things we can suggest that will help ease the financial burden without hurting the staff or the paper, so keep an eye out.

So that's all I know at the moment. While this is definitely a serious issue, everyone should stay calm. We've been in plenty of dark spots in the past and we've always found a way to fight our way out. We'll do everything we can to make sure we do this time, too.

Thanks for your time and your help,
Brent

More Money, Less Problems

2006-10-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,

I got a bunch of questions about when we'd be getting our union raise, so I wanted to remind everyone to double check their last paycheck to ensure that you got it. As a result of our contract and the hard work you put in, we all got a 2.25 percent increase in our wages. I know it'll never be enough to pay you all for the important work you do, but it's still the best contract we've seen in years. In times when many of our counterparts in the industry are laying people off and trying to keep a lid on expenses, we've got more of a sense of stability and more money in the bank.

And since our business thrives on anniversary stories, let me take a quick moment to point out some of the union's successes in the past year since the contract was ratified. We've continued to see our membership grow in nearly every department, making us stronger and more representative than we've ever been. We've intervened in disciplinary matters to ensure employees were treated fairly and worked with management to deal with editors who got out of hand. We've helped bring new employees into the newsroom and forged a more collaborative relationship with the paper's leadership to solve problems before they come up.

And most importantly, we've worked like crazy all year long. Our staff is so lean, everyone's gotta pitch in, but it feels good to look around the newsroom and see a talented bunch of people every day. You guys bust it every single day and believe me, that makes our job as the union so much easier. We're not sticking up for slackers; we're working to make things better for a bunch of people who deserve it.

So that's where your raise comes from. And it's also where we need your help-- if we're going to hope for better contracts and better raises in the future, we're going to need more members. We've seen how much better things have gotten as we've grown in membership and there's no reason we can't aim even higher. So if you're already a member, help us bring in more folks to help out. If you haven't joined yet, let us know what we can do to bring you onboard. We want to be here for you, but we need your support and guidance on how best to serve you.

So that's it for this Sunday night missive-- we've made tremendous strides from the old days when our membership meetings could be held in a single booth at Ruby's. The Daily News is a better place than it used to be but we can never settle for just alright-- we've all got to keep at it until it's the paper that we want it to be. Thank you to all of you who help work toward that goal.

-Brent

The Return of the Sunday Night Shout Out.

2006-09-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My apologies, my apologies, for I have been a lazy poster to the blog and dreadful e-mailer as of late. It's not for lack of union work, rest assured, but rather a lack of time and a mind that's been running in nine different directions at once. But, armed with my Famima!! cup of coffee and inspiration from y'all, let me wade back into my usual Sunday night ramblings.

First of all, let me share the good news that we've got another new member. Mr. Rick Coca of the Valley News section has signed on and I hope you'll all join me in welcoming him to our little club. He's an exceedingly cool guy and has made a remarkable trip from intern to stringer to full-time staff member with remarkable speed. He brings the section a passion and commitment to good journalism and brings us yet another member with charisma and integrity. We're glad to have ya, Rick, thanks for believing in what we do.

And now it's time to turn the spotlight on you folks once again. These are just off the top of my head, so any time any of you see good stories, designs, headlines or anything else, let me know so we can give due credit.

Brad Greenberg and Mike Baker had a nice pairing of great story and photo on Romer's driver, Manny(http://dailynews.com/search/ci_4354814). Val Kuklenski portrayed a nice scene to kick off her piece on blind designer Eric B. (http://dailynews.com/search/ci_4379872). Steve Rosenberg's many blogs, particularly Come on Feel the 'Nuys (http://insidesocal.com/feelthenuys/) have become indispensible reading for me at all hours. Glenn Whipp's tested the podcast waters with Bob Strauss (feed://insidesocal.com/dnpodcasts/reeldeal.xml) and talked me out of seeing "All the King's Men." (Thank you, Glenn, though I may still see "Flyboys" in spite of your thoughts... it sounds like my kind of bad movie) And, as I frequently mention, Hans Gutknecht has transformed countless stories we've worked on together, particularly today's Gene LeBell piece, with his rockin' shots. This is all very cool stuff.

As a final, mega shout-out, I wanted to give some props to my former deskmate Greg Hernandez, who's become a tireless blogger (http://www.insidesocal.com/outinhollywood/) and unstoppable chronicler of both entertainment business and gay life in Hollywood. Herny, you never stop amazing me with your productivity and your style. Your "I Love Lucy" quiz online was devilishly hard and oh-so-entertaining. Keep rockin', man.

Jeez, this machine latte ain't wearing off here, so I think I'll go do some laps or drink some water before I turn this into a four hour e-mail. Thanks again for all your support and help-- we need to get together sometime soon and kick back after work. I'll keep you posted...

-Brent

Labor Day

2006-09-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

So every year, it's the same deal around this time. Papers, radio and TV all seize on Labor Day as a time to analyze the shrinking numbers of union members and the decline of the American middle class. They look at the number of people who belong to organized labor, then talk about dischord and disarray in the movement and how once good jobs have fled overseas or disappeared altogether.

And I can't argue with that-- just about any numbers you look at will show you that union membership has declined massively since the Fifties. Private sector jobs with contract protection are becoming more scarce by the year and every week seems to bring more news of formerly stalwart unionized companies cutting jobs, filing for bankruptcy or slashing their pension or health care.

The thing that gets me about all this is the sense of inevitability. I'm sure I'm guilty of this, as well, but it shouldn't be that way. Just as companies should have taken good care of their employees in the past and they should do so now, it was a good idea to join a union in the Fifties and it's a good idea now.

Look at all the things unions got us that we take for granted now-- 40 hour work weeks, weekends off and vacation days like the one we enjoyed today. Just because those have become somewhat standard, have unions outlived their usefulness? Absolutely not.

Now I can't deny that labor has not always acquitted itself particularly well over the years. Every time a union official got arrested for corruption, it was a blow to all of us who try to work honestly and fairly. Each time a union blocked legitimate progress instead of looking for a new way to exist in a new economy, it held everyone else back with it. Every lazy guy who slacked off at work and got away with it because his contract protected him left a bad memory for everyone else who was shouldering their own load. But in that same span, the corporate world has gotten away with plenty of horrendous abuses, as well.

So if we're in this new economy with all its emphasis on personal responsibility and every man for himself, where does that leave labor? Exactly where it's always been-- we've got to be there to stick up for you when times are rough and pull you to better things when times are good. Especially at a time when union membership's on the decline, the movement's just as relevent and important as it's ever been.

Housing prices are still a killer, pensions are disappearing and health care's continuing its upward cost march. Just because numbers have dwindled and good jobs have fled to China and India doesn't mean that unions should pack up and say "well, it was nice while it lasted, but our day is done." As things look uncertain for the American worker, you'd better hope you're not out there alone-- we all need to find ways to adapt our jobs and adapt our talents so we can enjoy the quality of life our parents and grandparents did.

And while we've got miles and miles to go at the Daily News, I'm glad to say that our union is in good shape to work toward that better future. Clearly, we need to make progress in wages and none of us has great health care options. But we've got a lot of smart, hard-working people here who put out a good product-- that'll help lead us in the right direction. And whenever I meet with people outside the paper, whether it's former Newspaper Guild members or the other stewards and officers of CWA, I'm always impressed with their ability to look for new ways to adapt and their willingness to work.

So while the labor movement's taken plenty of hits nationwide, we've never been stronger at the Daily News than today. As wages stagnate for many industries, our contract will get us a raise this month. As people in non-union companies constantly fear that their jobs will get eliminated or sent overseas, we've established a strong working relationship with management to move the company forward so we can all enjoy its success. Because of that relationship, we can talk out our concerns in a civilized manner and get past the petty disputes that screw up regular workplaces-- and if they don't, we can speak up together and ensure that our voices are heard.

So for those of you who've already joined in support, let me say thank you-- it's because of the way you operate that we're better off than we used to be. And for those of you who haven't yet come aboard, please help us. There's plenty of room for improvement, but we'll never get there unless we've got you alongside us.

When I joined this union, we had a handful of members at the Daily News and no real clue on how to represent the newsroom as a whole. We got by on luck and informed guesses and gradually evolved into a fairly competent organization. Today, we've got members in nearly every department, each bureau and most every kind of job. We recently added another steward, Kerry Kandel, who's done a fantastic job of stepping up and looking out for her fellow employees.

But we can-- and will-- do so much more. And we need your help to do it. When you see something unfair, tell us. When you find a better way to do things, let us know. Better yet, join us. The more members we have, the better chances we have to get stronger contracts and a better workplace. We've worked long and hard to do our part to make this paper into a place we can all be proud of, but it still needs a lot more help.

So think it over as the vacation day fades in your mind- we can get stronger together or go it alone and hope for the best. Judging from what I've seen in the past six years here, I know that working with one another will have the best result, but suit yourself. And regardless of your decision, remember that we're always here for you no matter what's going on. If you ever need anything, just ask us.

Thank you for your time and support,
Brent

Watermelon, Delayed.

2006-08-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Good evening on this fine Wednesday and I hope this finds you well. Just wanted to dash off a couple quick notes on membership, good work and collaboration, then I've got a watermelon that needs attacking in my kitchen.

First off, please join me in welcoming our newest member, Peter Fuertes of the Sports department. Pete works the often-thankless night shift, putting out that section that for so many readers defines the Daily News. He's an incredibly nice dude, a hard worker and shows genuine concern for his colleagues, morale and the paper-- in short, just what we need in a member. Thanks for your support, sir, and welcome to the club.

Secondly, I've been remiss in pointing out some of the good work y'all are doing as of late. I rarely catch it all, so if anyone notices anything cool that I've missed, please let me know so we can shine the light on those who deserve it... but off the top of my head, let's give some much-earned props to Darlene Alilain, who's been putting out some rockin' Sunday biz cover designs. Also, Dana Bartholomew (http://dailynews.com/search/ci_4228610) had a nice feature on a busted pipe and the havoc it's wreaked in a community last week (I never thought I'd want to keep reading in a story about a leaking pipe, but his signature style of narrative kept me oddly captivated-- I aspire to have the flair and snap he puts into everything). Mike Baker had an eye-catching shot of a traffic snarl, where a lady's "it was this big" gesture conveys the frustration of a stranded motorist quite nicely. Brad Greenberg dipped into his religion writing background and turned out a feature on St. Joseph and real estate.

And, today, Fred Shuster had a remarkable little piece on the Kingston Trio in U (http://dailynews.com/search/ci_4251036). It's just a short little Q-and-A, about a band that hasn't been exciting since... well... ever (sorry, Mom). But with his unique combination of wit and detail, he made it into a great read. Fred, you're a true artist.

The thing I love about all this stuff is that these are seemingly mundane things-- a CD reissue, some DWP snafu, etc. and yet due to the talents of our staff, they become interesting and worth checking out. Y'all are what make this a fun, and rewarding, place to work. I'm proud to share the pages with people like you.

And finally, I wanted to point a little background spotlight on a story that I wrote recently to show something we all oughtta work on. I got a lot of nice feedback on my piece about Officer Kristina Ripatti's attempts to adjust to a her new life after being shot, and while I'm thankful, a huge amount of the credit for that story goes to Hans Gutknecht, who took the photos and was the real driver behind it.

Hans wanted to shoot this and knew it had potential, so he did all the groundwork in arranging the proper clearances and establishing the relationships before he even told me he wanted to do the story. With that set-up, it was easy for me to walk in, then on top of all that work, he shot some amazing photos. He then took it to Brian Harr, who did a bang-up job of clearing out space to support the images and text and laying it out. As a reporter, I couldn't have asked for better support.

This hasn't always been a place that welcomed collaboration and still has plenty of backwards, confusing dysfunctional ways. But when we start talking early in a story and bring in the various collaborators quickly, something like this results. We all got something to be proud of and none of that would have happened without Hans' vision and dedication. The more we collaborate, instead of just bringing in the other creative elements after the fact, the stronger all of our work becomes.

But before I start singing "Kumbaya" and my watermelon gets mushy, I'll shut up for one night. I know I get a little wound up in these missives sometimes, but dammit, I mean what I say. You guys are an absolutely amazing bunch of people to work with and I'll never be able to say enough about all the hard work you do.

Thanks for listening,
Brent

Rockin' Photo Exhibit

2006-08-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Just passing along some info from our colleagues at the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles. They're gonna have their first gallery show in their 70-year history, featuring work from the Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, various other sister papers, the Times, Star, AP and Reuters, et al. Since several of our members are among PPGLA's esteemed roster and they're all excellent shooters, let's go out and support them as they show off what they can do.

-Brent

"The Art of Photojournalism"
Sept. 5th- Sept. 31, 2006
Opening reception: Sept. 10, 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Bel Air Camera
10925 Kinross Ave. (at Gayley)
Los Angeles, CA 90024
For more info, visit ppagla.org or call David Sprague at 818-451-7416

Our New Colleagues...

2006-08-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings, My Friends,

My apologies for the recent dearth of e-mails. It's been a busy few weeks that have kept me away from my keyboard, but I've got a few moments to spare to bang this out. I'm hoping that in coming months, we can do more with the blog and bring in some more regulat content, but in the meantime, I wanted to weigh in on a couple of newsroom things.

First off, let me say thank you one final time to our former member Lisa Sodders, now off to her new adventure at RAND Corp. Everyone who worked with her knew of her sunny disposition and seemingly boundless energy, but I want to salute the way she was always first to volunteer for a Saturday shift or a holiday assignment. No one looks forward to those, but she was always happy to take it for the team and we should all be appreciative. She never failed to offer compliments to all of us and always believed in the paper. She was also a loyal, unflagging supporter of this union, something that will be sorely missed in her absence. But I'm glad to see her off to greener pastures and wish her the best in her new gig. Happy Trails, Lisa and enjoy the new opportunities.

And now I want to pay attention to our new colleagues and competitors -- the folks who'll be writing for Valleynews.com. Citizen journalism's gotten a lot of ink in recent years, both dismissive and supportive. To hear some tell it, it's the best thing that could happen to our industry. Others blow it off as just feel-good news. I'm far from an expert in it, but in the early days of our own foray into the waters, it seems like it'll be a good thing.

On the site, I've read about a shaved dog wandering Van Nuys, ruminations on marriage and complaints about neighbors. Pat Aidem wrote a beautiful, heartfelt piece about her husband's heart trouble. Contributors have dipped their toes into politics and taken the site into all kinds of different directions. It's in its nascent stages now, but it looks promising so far.

This isn't the kind of journalism many of us set out to do when we got into this business, but I think it's no less important to the future of our industry. Newspapers aren't what they used to be and all across the country, editors and staffers alike are scrambling to find ways to get people to care about the product. Citizen journalism isn't the only answer, but if it gets people to care about the work all of us do, then that's a good thing.

As a general assignment reporter, this is admittedly kind of scary. All of a sudden, the whole readership's got the same job I do. Whereas a beat reporter can rely on their sources to get a story no one else would, my only sources are the same ones who can now tell the story themselves. That makes my job harder, because now I'm competing against a bunch of new faces. I think I'll still be able to get the good stories, but now, I've got the chance to get beaten in my own paper by my own readers.

So while that's scary, I like the challenge. It should keep us all sharp to know that we're not the only ones with the voice of authority now-- anyone with a computer who can string a sentence together or snap a digital picture can take us on. But just like we relish the chance to compete with the Times or any other media here in town, hoping that our skills, talent and training will produce a superior product, I'm looking forward to that competition. I want to prove I can beat these people and turn out something that they want to read and pass around, just like we'll do with their work.

And I'm glad that as the paper trots down this road, that it's not totally turning the reins over to the folks who've never done it before. I like that not only do we have a mix of Daily News veterans like Jason, Rick and Mark and new folks like Alejandro and Denisse, but that they've been made part of the newsroom. The company could have stuck them off in marketing and paid them crap wages, but instead, they made them reporters, just like any other department.

Rather than going through a fight to organize them and make them union-covered positions, we worked with Ron and Melissa to make these jobs a full-fledged part of Editorial. The same goes with our Web team, who also now enjoys the protection of the union contract. These folks are doing the same work as the rest of us, so they deserve to be treated as such, both by management and the rest of us.

Will Valleynews and programs like it be the thing that puts journalism back on the track to the promised land? Who knows? I haven't spent enough time in the biz to make that judgment. I don't think that the people who've spent decades doing this know that yet. But it's a good start, one that I hope will help keep the job we love and the business we signed on with going for years to come.

Thanks for your time and support, as always,
Brent

Farewell and Lunch

2006-08-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Just wanted to spread the word in case you missed the unisys message that we're going to be throwing a little going away bash for our good friend and co-worker Lisa Sodders, who's off to her next adventure at the RAND Corp. For the past few years, she's covered higher ed, been a tireless union supporter and a much welcome presence in the newsroom for her wizardry with a baking pan. We'll miss her and wish her well in her new gig... This ain't a union event, so you've gotta pay your own way, but it's a reasonably priced place and the food's excellent.

So if you're free on Friday and in the mood for lunch, please join us to send her off in style. Please RSVP to me by Thursday afternoon so we can get a headcount for the reservation. Thanks!

Where: Milano's Italian Restaurant.
Address: 21550 Oxnard St. (just west of Canoga)
Time: noon

-Brent

Let's Hang Out

2006-07-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Gosh, it's been an awful long time since we've had a little time to kick back and enjoy one another's company. So, with that in mind, let's have a little Happy Hour on Thursday, August 4. 'Cause it's a relatively swinging place with ample parking, let's hit the El Torito on Canoga and Oxnard around 6 or so. Drinks and appetizers are on us, so come on out and enjoy a little quality time outside the newsroom walls. Come by after work or stop over for a quick bite of dinner if you're working nights. All are welcome.

Hope to see y'all there.

What: Union happy hour
Where: El Torito 6040 Canoga Ave, Woodland Hills
When: Thursday, August 4, 6 p.m. - 8ish.
Cost: Absolutely free.
Questions? E-mail afropic@hotmail.com

-Brent

Oh, Sad Day...

2006-07-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with the union or the Daily News, so I won't bother to e-mail this out, but for some reason, I can't let go of this message I sent out the other day. Seeing as how I got no response, beyond a slew of hilarious responses suggesting I search out anyone who looked surprisingly youthful, perhaps the blogosphere has some insight into this insidious crime.
-----
Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm sure whomever swiped the men's anti-aging makeup I had on my desk
for a story on, well, men's anti-aging makeup, feels terrible about
the theft. I hope it soothed your wrinkles, if not your guilty
conscience. If it was an accidental jacking, please feel free to drop
it off, no questions asked. And if not, would you mind letting me
know how it worked for the story?

Thanks,
Brent

Don't Take No Junk Off No One.

2006-07-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,

You've probably seen the news of the bloodbath going on up there at the Santa Barbara News-Press, ably compiled on Romenesko and LAObserved-- I don't want to comment on their problems since I only know of them through what I read, but it seems like it's a mess that won't get fixed anytime soon.

I meant to type this up the other night, noting that we don't have to go through awful personnel madness like that because of this union and that one would come in handy for them. And, what do ya know, they went out and hooked up with the Teamsters. Things sound so chaotic right now, they rightly thought that they needed a unified voice if they want to save their jobs and their paper.

I think this is something that we forget, seeing as how we've got a pretty collegial workplace these days. But when times get rough elsewhere, sometimes the union's the only thing standing between your job and getting quoted in the rival paper saying "I don't know what happened-- it used to be such a good place to work."

It's not just at the News-Press, either. Awhile back, in part of my job as one of the stewards, I spoke with some folks at other non-union papers about what organizing has done for us and could do for them. It's amazing what other people go through-- I've heard of workers who are afraid to discuss their wages because their company threatened to fire them, places that don't allow staffers to decorate their desks, jobs that send their employees out on stress-related disability all because there was no one to speak up on their behalf.

So while we've got it pretty good at the Daily News, we can't forget that, nor can we accept it when things fall short here. There've been a lot of changes in the last year to make things more worker-friendly, but we've got to keep at it. Whether it's substandard equipment, bad schedules, bad managers, don't put up with it-- with this union, we've got a great tool to work toward improvements, so let's use it.

If you see something that feels wrong, say so-- do it in a respectful, constructive way, of course, but if that doesn't work, tell us. We're here to listen to your problems and work to find an answer. We're not always going to be able to fix things, but we're certainly going to do our best to make sure everyone gets a fair shake.

Alright, thanks for your time and support, as always. I'm going to be out of the office in lovely Iowa for the next week or so, but you can reach me through e-mail or you can also talk to my co-steward, Kerry Kandel, down at City Hall (kerry_cavanaugh@hotmail.com). If it's an emergency, feel free to call me at 310-562-4315, but it costs approximately $10 zillion a minute when I'm out of the area, so e-mail would be best.

Take it easy until then and let's all get together next week sometime to relax out of this godforsaken heat.

-Brent

New and Noteworthy

2006-07-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Just a quick Friday update for you, now that I've finished destroying my washing machine for one evening... a couple points of excitement from the membership, so please join me in congratulating these folks:

First off, how 'bout a round of applause for Brad Greenberg, who was one of 17 reporters selected by the Gralla Fellows Program to take place in a seminar on religion reporting at Brandeis University. In addition to his tales of homeless poker gurus and murdered models, Mr. Greenberg has continued the sharp religion reporting he did out in San Bernardino. This five-day program, held later this month, aims to expand journalists' understanding of Judaism and the American Jewish experience, according to its Web site. Y'all can find more at: http://poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=104225

Secondly, it seems blog fever is busting out all over at DailyNews.com. In addition to Steve's Come On Feel the Nuys (http://insidesocal.com/feelthenuys/), both Dennis (http://insidesocal.com/mccarthy/) and now Greg Hernandez (http://insidesocal.com/outinhollywood/) have made the leap into the mad world of blogging. Our friends in features got things rolling with Red Carpet and Hollywood Babble On, but things have really taken off in recent weeks since Josh took over the Web site.

What I particularly enjoy about the various blogs is that they have distinct personalities that are very different from what we read in the paper-- Greg can write a box office story like no other, but when you read Out in Hollywood, you get much more of a sense of what he's like as a person. And it's cool to be around someone who's doing that, because it feels like we're doing something exciting again. We're all gonna need that sort of passion if we're gonna keep this strange business of ours afloat in the years to come.

So that's all I've got for the moment-- thanks for your time and I'll catch ya soon.

-Brent

Kudos and a Question

2006-06-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Good Evening, Friends,

It's been awhile since we've shown the spotlight on our friends and co-workers, so I wanted to take a moment to recognize the folks who've done nice work lately before getting into a question for you guys.

So, first off, it looks like the paper took home a few nice prizes from the Press Club awards last night, which you can read about here: http://www.lapressclub.net/awards/ Our members didn't end up with any of the big awards, but talented folks like Brian Harr, Tom Gapen, Mariel Garza, Patrick O'Connor and David Crane all earned well-deserved recognition. Kudos to all of them and the others who garnered nominations.

UPDATED: My apologizes for not recognizing Jon Gerung, whose stunning animated presentations have been a welcome presence to DailyNews.com. Working on his own time, often with his own equipment, he's made some amazing stuff, ranging from James Dean to Superman, all worth checking out.

And outside of that, there's been a plethora of good stuff to read, see and hear lately from our members. I'm sure I'm going to forget a bunch of deserving people, but here are a few that jump out at the moment... First off, the peerless Mr. Bartholomew had a touching piece yesterday on the anniversary of the Sylmar tunnel collapse, one of those ones I wish I'd have written but don't think I would have done it justice in the way he did. Also, Alex had a nice one on the possible sale of Six Flags, made especially striking by the fact that he's only a week into his new gig up in Santa Clarita.

Photowise, David took a nice trip down the heart of Americana with me, displayed in today's Route 66 story (his greatest trick, however, was putting up with me and my hot car the entire day) and Hans is gonna show you some mindblowing shots of Mexican wrestling in Monday's paper.

And outside of the print edition, DailyNews.com has taken a dramatic turn for the better since our alumnus member Josh has taken over. He and his crew have given it more relevant content, kept it fresh throughout the day and found a way to make themselves part of the reporting process, rather than just presenters. To that end, Steve Rosenberg's got a hilarious new blog, with far more information than I'd ever want to know about kids' bathroom habits, and Val put together a nifty audio presentation the other day. It's cool to see that part of the operation coming into its own, rather than just being an alternative version of the print product.

But that's enough back slapping for one night... now onto the question part. Those of you who are active in the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles or SPJ-LA may have heard of the current controversy that's come up about LAPD press credentials and I wanted to get your input. LAPD media relations, apparently flooded with requests from blogs and nontraditional media (such as entertainment shows) for press passes, is looking to establish a new system for issuing credentials. Before they do so, they're reaching out to various journalistic groups to gather some suggestions about how to handle issuing the cards. This wouldn't effect us immediately, because everyone who currently holds a pass would be grandfathered into whatever new rules they come up with.

In my steward capacity (and also, to a lesser extent, through my position as an SPJ associate board member) I've gotten involved with some of the groups who're looking to adopt a position to take back to the cops. The initial suggestion from the LAPD went something along these lines: a two-tiered system where people who regularly cover crime would have essentially a police lines pass, while the other people would get an official card that would not get them across the line. The other, related suggestion, is that news orgs would be issued some sort of a better access pass that they'd keep at the office and hand out to whomever they wanted to assign to a big news event.

Personally, I think both ideas are lousy. With the first, anyone who doesn't regularly cover the cops but happens to witness breaking news would be turned away because they didn't have the proper credential. I'm not a cops guy, myself, but there've certainly been plenty of times I've been asked to cover something breaking because I happened to live nearby or had some connection to the story. Next time there's a disaster, does this mean that everyone who's normally a GA reporter or on a different beat should just stay back at the office while the cops folks do all the work? And for the second proposal, that might work with a 400mm lens or an Academy Awards credential, I'd hate to see the day where a reporter missed a story because they had to leave a scene, drive back to the office to get the supercredential, then return in time to watch the cops clean up and go home.

But it won't do us any good to just point fingers and say the idea's a bad one-- hopefully we, and the other groups involved, will be able to come up with different suggestions that they can use so they'll come up with a policy that works well for everyone. So, with that in mind, anyone got any good ideas? It'll be awhile before this gets sorted out, I'm sure, but I'd be interested in hearing what you all have to say. Thanks.

And that oughtta do it for now-- thanks for your help and time, as always. Let's hang out again soon...

-Brent

Various News

2006-06-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Good Evening, My Friends,

I had a couple quick things I wanted to shoot out to you all real quick. I've been tied up in some other things lately, so I've been a little remiss in my union emails, but hopefully I'll get the desk cleared off and back in order soon. So, without added delay, here goes:

First off, the electronic technology statement issue's still unresolved. Our counterparts down at the Press-Telegram are supposed to have a meeting with HR down there to get an explanation of the monitoring clause; once that's resolved, we should be able to clear things up quickly. In the meantime, just hang onto your sheets. Ron agreed to wait until the issue's clarified, so don't worry about handing them in or, if you already have, don't lose sleep over them. I'm sure we'll get it worked out soon.

Secondly, we've got a pair of open jobs, so if anyone's interested, direct them to the posts below.

That's all for now and stay tuned for our other ongoing adventures,
Brent

SPORTS COPY EDITOR
The Daily News has an opening for a sports copy editor. Main duties include editing copy, writing headlines and some layout and pagination may be involved.

Hours: 40 hours per week, including nights and weekends.

Qualifications: A college degree is required, preferably in journalism, plus 1 year of daily editing experience showing consistently strong performance.

Apply in writing to Jon Clifford no later than 5 p.m., June 26. No phone calls accepted. Applicants must supply a complete resume, samples of editing work, plus names, addresses and phone numbers of their three most recent immediate supervisors.

----
NEWS COPY EDITOR
The Daily News has an opening on the News/Copy desk for a full-time copy editor. Strong knowledge of grammar, style, punctuation and spelling are required as well as an ability to edit for smoothness and flow. Headline skills also are required. Computer-design skills are a plus. A college degree is needed and three years' editing experience is desired, but entry-level applicants will be considered. Written editing, spelling and identification tests will be given, and a tryout may be required.

Hours will be as needed, but the basic shift is 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Candidates must supply a complete resume, including names and phone numbers of their last three supervisors, to Ed Richeson no later than 5 p.m. June 30. Phone calls will not be accepted.

Welcome, Welcome.

2006-06-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Two quick notes on this warm Wednesday evening...

Firstly, please join me in welcoming our newest member, Scott Melesky. Scott joined the paper last winter and works in the always hectic, always stellar Sports department as a copy editor. He's a sharp guy who, like many of us, comes from a union background and joined to have a greater sense of security in the work place. Members like him, who are willing to work hard and enjoy their jobs, yet still see the value of having the union as an advocate, are just what we need. So thanks for your support sir, and welcome.

And while I've got the spotlight in sports, let me give thanks to Richard Perkins, who's been a tireless, eloquent advocate for our cause. I wish I had a tenth of his energy and passion and we're all better off because of his efforts. Rock on, dude, rock on.

Now, on a completely separate note, I've gotten confirmation from the union office that the automatic dues deduction is going smoothly in my trial run. Now that it looks like that works ok, I'll get the paperwork together and send or give it to all of you so we don't have to worry about doing the monthly checks. Hopefully, I'll have that together by mid next week at the latest, so thanks for your patience on that.

That's all for now, folks-- thanks again for everything you all do.

-Brent

Movin' On Up.

2006-05-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,

Now I always hate to announce that we've lost a member, but always love to say that it's for good reasons. Josh Kleinbaum, cops reporter, sports fan, Festivus organizer and card sharp, has jumped the chasm from noble worker to... I suppose we can say noble management.

In case you missed the message from Ron today, Josh will now serve as the online editor for DailyNews.com and the content production will become part of the newsroom. He's got a bunch of cool ideas about how to rev up the site, make it more interactive and bring in new stuff. While I'll miss reading his stories, I can't think of a better dude to run the site in Editorial. While they've done a lot of interesting things to beef it up in recent years, I think he's going to bring a lot of good things with him as he changes chairs.

I can't really say enough good things about Josh, so I'll wrap up with this thought. He got this job because he had vision and a desire not to accept the status quo. He didn't sit around and complain about the way things were done, he figured out a way to try to fix them. His efforts didn't go unnoticed and when it came time to make a change, he carved out a good niche for himself. The same thing goes for Susan and Angie, who're moving around to fill the spot created by his departure-- all three of them have been hard workers who've brought something to the paper.

This place has been slow to change and still has plenty of things that need fixing, but news like this reminds me that we're headed in the right direction. Please join me in congratulating all three of our co-workers and keep up the good work, yourselves.

-Brent

Arrogance and Where it Gets You.

2006-05-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

The local journalism world's been abuzz lately with a pair of media-related scandals, both of which have highlighted a basic fact of good management. In one case, we've seen the former managing editor of the Daily News, Doug Dowie, convicted of some very serious ethical violations after he left the business that could land him in prison for a significant amount of time. In the latter, our neighbor to the north, the Ventura County Star, fired its managing editor Richard Luna for reasons stemming from his bizarre attempt to wrangle a press credential to a sporting event he had no journalistic reason to cover.

Each case has been well documented and since I don't know either of the gentlemen personally, I won't comment on what got them into trouble. But in case you didn't see either, it's worth checking out former DN staffer Colleen Cason's piece on Dowie (http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/coleen_cason/article/0,1375,VCS_221_4716116,00.html) and a letter to Romenesko's Poynter site defending Luna (http://poynter.org/forum/?id=32178) [both links found via LAObserved.com].

In the former, we get an account of Dowie's high pressure, intimidating management style. In the latter, we get a strange attempt to defend a disgraced journalist by his former boss and friend.

The Cason piece details the cause-and-effect of Dowie's attempts to motivate by fear, the subsequent drive to unionize the Daily News and his abrupt departure for the PR world. It wasn't about the money, she says, it was about grievances. That, and plenty of other things, set off years of mistrust and anger at the paper that I'm sure we're still dealing with to this day. To hear people tell it now, the climate was so poisonous, people felt their only options were to quit or to rise together to force change. Because things became so rancorous back then, today, we have the union to fight for us when Dowie-like behavior resurfaces.

That all makes sense, something I can't say about the letter from Steven A. Smith, editor of the Spokesman Review. In his attempts to stick up for his friend Luna, he wrote some things that I couldn't believe. He took particular umbrage with a quote in the Editor and Publisher story about Luna in which a newsroom source referred to the Star's former ME's shameful departure and responded as such:

"I don't know an editor anywhere to which the "disliked by many" line
would not apply. For Christ's sake, when did being liked by the majority
of a newsroom staff mean diddly. Good editors had damn well better be
disliked by some on the staff, ought to make their bosses nervous and
piss off readers. If this were a popularity contest most of the editors
I know, including me, would be out of work, too, ethical problems or no."

Sure, the guy's emotional because his friend just got marched out of the newsroom a laughingstock, but these comments are nothing short of ludicrous. I know this is a small business where my future employment could be determined by people like Mr. Smith, but when I read arrogant, contempt-laden nonsense like that, I can't keep my mouth shut. If this means I can never get a job from Smith or people who agree with him, so be it.

First off, I know plenty of editors who are not "disliked by many." Secondly, to hold the respect of one's staff up as something to be ridiculed is idiotic. You may not want to hang out with your boss at the end of the day, you may not consider them a friend, but if they want to get anywhere, they'd better be sure you respect them. It would be extraordinarily difficult to want to report to work each day for someone who writes things such as Smith's line: "Newsroom staff, bless their hearts, are like piranhas."

I don't have a long resume, but from the experience I have picked up, both here and elsewhere, I know that a boss who uses fear as a subsitute for leadership is ultimately doomed. Both Dowie and Luna fell from power for other reasons, but the unifying theme is that they didn't have the backing of their staffs. A good editor makes you excited to come to work, pushes you to get that better story, then thanks you and sends you out once again.

A colleague told me recently, "if you've got a good boss, you'd walk across the desert for them." That's certainly true, as is the flip side: if you've got a bad one, the only walk you'll be motivated to take is off to a better job.

This isn't to say a boss can't be tough or that conflict won't spring up. To that extent, Smith is right, this isn't a popularity contest. But there's a difference between being tough and being a tyrant. Pushing your people to get better work is an important part of management; abusing them because of your own personal failings is not. A good editor inspires creative friction, not personal dischord.

Every boss who screams at their employees, slams things around on their desk, humiliates them in public, lords their authority over the ones below them, can get people to work hard. Maybe it's on one story, maybe it's for a week, maybe it's for years. But the day will come, as the two gentlemen here found, that fear disappears. At the Daily News, Dowie lost part of his bite when the union came together and he was faced with an equal who he couldn't arbitrarily boss around. At the Star, Luna's ethical transgressions undid him, but it was the lack of support from the staff that appears to have finished him off.

We've seen similar things here at the paper in recent years, where relations have improved significantly since the chair-throwing era. Though some challenges remain, managers who haven't treated their people right have been moved aside in favor of bosses who understand how to motivate their workers without belittling them. We've still got work to do and some people have been slow to change, but things are on the right road. I'm proud to say that the union and management can usually work together, rather than as bitter adversaries.

Now I've taken up enough of your time, so let me close now with this thought: as a boss, do you want to be the one whose workers would take that desert trek, who'll work hard in good times and defend you in bad ones? Or do you want to end up on your way out, trudging sadly through the newsroom, the same way you sent good people before? It's your call, but judging from the current examples and plenty of others, I know which one I'd pick.

Thanks for your time, as always, and keep up the good work.

-Brent

More Jobs

2006-05-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Just wanted to remind you folks that they're still looking for at least one general assignment reporter in Metro, a copy editor and I think there's still a part time sports reporter gig open, so if you know people who're interested, send 'em the way of Aron Miller, Ed Richeson and Jon Clifford, respectively.

Also, I ran across the post reprinted below online yesterday and thought it would be worth passing along. I'm pretty sure these are part of the YourHub.com program they're looking to launch soon. Sounds like it could be a good opportunity for people breaking into the industry, so spread the word to anyone who'd be a good fit.

That's it for now-- hope to see you on Thursday at Happy Hour.

-Brent

From journalismjobs.com:

The Los Angeles Daily News is seeking reporters for an innovative citizen journalism project that will produce online and print products. We're looking for energetic journalists who can do it all. Jobs involve reporting and writing stories, basic photography, editing and organizing reader submissions, meeting with community groups and managing Web sites. Salary is based experience.
Apply via e-mail only. Send a cover letter, resume and six to 10 work samples to newsjobs@dailynews.com. Please put "community reporter" in the subject line.

Happy Hour

2006-05-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

It's high time that we got together outside of the windowless confines of Woodland Hills and had ourselves a happy hour. So next Thursday, May 25, let's head back to our old haunt at The White Harte for some drinks, some food, perhaps some darts, and conversation. We'll talk biz and shoot the breeze, maybe listen to a little disco music. Good times, right?

Hope to see y'all there-- if you can't make it, we'll have another Sunday get together sometime soon.

What: Union Happy Hour
When: Thursday, 5/25, 6 p.m. til around 8
Where: The White Harte Pub (http://thewhiteharte.com/main.htm)
Address: 22456 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills (just on the west side of the 101)
Cost: absolutely free

-Brent

Another Job Op...

2006-05-15T23:39:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Everyone...

Just wanted to hit you with a quick e-mail about another job opening on the copy desk. It'll be held for internal posting until May 18, but will likely be open beyond that, so spread the word to your qualified friends and coworkers. Each time one of these opens up, we've got an opportunity to personally recommend good people, so let's make the most of it...

The info follows...

-Brent

The Daily News has an opening on the News/Copy desk for a full-time copy editor. Strong knowledge of grammar, style, punctuation and spelling are required as well as an ability to edit for smoothness and flow. Headline skills are also required. Computer-design skills are a plus. A college degree is needed and three years' editing experience is desired but entry-level applicants will be considered. Written editing, spelling and identification tests will be given, and a tryout may be required.

Hours will be as needed, but the basic shift is 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Candidates must supply a complete resume, including names and phone numbers of their last three supervisors, to Ed Richeson no later than 5 p.m. May 18. Phone calls will not be accepted.

The Monday Check-In

2006-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

A busy weekend filled with exciting things such as yet another trip to the mechanic kept me away from my computer, so I wanted to steal a brief Monday moment to get you up to date on things in unionland... there's been plenty of things going on lately, so I'll just serve you up the highlights.

First off, regarding automatic dues deduction. It looks like the savings account I set up through Building Trades Federal Credit Union has begun its automatic deduction from my paycheck, so provided that the first dues withdrawal goes smoothly (which I expect it will), I'll get you all applications so you can set up the same thing. It seems to be the most hassle-free way to pay, so assuming all continues smoothly, hopefully we can all make the switch.

In the meantime, if you could follow the same old drill of making out your May checks for 2.25 times your hourly wage to CWA 9400 and sending them to: CWA local 9400, attn: Vicki Di Paolo, 7844 Rosecrans Ave., Paramount, Ca. 90723, that'd be great. Many thanks, as always.

Secondly, I've got a nice update from our former members Howard and Mariko Beck, who stopped by briefly last week when Howard came to town to cover the NBA playoffs. They brought with them their tiny little daughter, Talia Mirei Beck, who's a wide-eyed, beautiful child. Howard's loving the New York Times and thriving there; Mariko's focusing on Talia at the moment, but will no doubt be back in the journalism game in no time. It's always nice to see your friends and coworkers go on to bigger and better things, which they've certainly both done.

But speaking of good things, I was listening to a radio program the other day where these stuffy sounding NPR types were clearing their throats and wringing their hands about the future of journalism. "Is there going to be anything left?" they clucked. "Can it survive in today's bottom line corporate culture? How much worse can it get?"

Dude, get over it-- that's all I can say. We work for one of the most bottom line-oriented companies in the biz and we still put out some damn good work. Perhaps the days of two-year projects and $50,000 expense accounts are numbered, which don't get me wrong, is a terrible thing. But just because we don't have a company plane doesn't mean the business is dying.

If you want a good example of what we can do, given a little time and a little creativity, look at all the different ways people ran with the Valley at 60 project. I'm biased, of course, because I was one of the writers on it, but look at the talent that's just busting out of Kerry's story on palms, Brad's take on architecture, Rachel's examination on race, Lisa's business piece or David's photos. Everyone who had a hand in it, from the editors to the people who put it together, made it a true collaboration. And if you wanna see some real brilliance (and the future of this business), look at Armando and Jon's interactive graphics, which totally blew my mind.

That's good ol' fashioned community journalism, narrative writing, long-form storytelling, interactivity, creative design-- everything that makes this business relevent and interesting-- all in one package. Our challenge is to take that approach and that creativity and apply it to more stories and different projects.

It's not easy, we've rarely got the time or the resources to do really ambitious work. But we do have the talent and the imagination. Looking at the final product, I saw a lot of things that we need to work on and a lot of things that we did really well-- it made me feel good to play a role in something like this and made me itch to do more. And before the year's up, we're all supposed to get a chance to contribute to that project at the same time we're coming up with new ones. Whether you work in sports, features, news, biz, photo or anywhere else, we've all got a chance to play a role in the projects that make people want to read the Daily News.

So that's why I don't buy all this gum-flapping about the dying future of our industry. Yes, it's changing, yes, it's losing important resources and investments every time some corporate accountant takes their pen to a newsroom budget. But what makes this business worthwhile is the people and the collaborative process. We've got to work harder and more creatively these days, but when we do, we can really turn out some impressive material. As a union, we'll keep fighting our dual battles, ensuring the money's there to support that work and that the commitment to quality continues to promote such enterprise.

Alright, enough of my own gum-flapping for one evening. Thanks for your time, as always-- we've got to have both a strategy meeting and a happy hour sometime soon. I'll get the ball rolling on both and will check in with you soon. In the mean time, keep up the good work...

-Brent

Job Posting

2006-05-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks-

This job posting for sports came across my desk today and I know they're still anxious to fill the two open metro positions, so pass this along to anyone you know who'd be a good fit. This is a chance to shape the way the paper will turn out down the road, so if you know of good people, send them Jon and Barb's way.

-Brent

Posting:

The sports department has an opening for a parttime sports reporter.

Hours: as needed (mostly nights, including weekends) and subject to change.

Apply in writing to Jon Clifford no later than 5 p.m, May 8. No phone calls accepted. Applicants must supply a complete resume, work samples demonstrating proficiency as appropriate and the names, addresses and phone numbers of their three most recent immediate supervisors.

I Believe a Double Dose of Woo-Hoos is in Order

2006-04-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

Ahh, nothing like too much good news to go around. Let me share two completely unrelated, yet very fantastic tidbits about our members with y'all. And so, in chronological order, let's congratulate both...

...Naush Boghossian, our ace education reporter who was honored this week with the California Teachers Association's John Swett award. (http://dailynews.com/search/ci_3760376) She has the tough task of making the mysterious, complex beast known as LAUSD into an understandable, human subject. She consistently brings the real, everyday issues through all the bureaucratic junk and does a damn fine job of it. Though the Daily News story sums up the award news pretty well, it left out important details such as the fact that she's also a fearless poker player, connoisseur of excellent music and sharp dresser. Well done, homie, many congratulations.

and

...Josh Kleinbaum and Nicole Sunkes, who are getting married. In his time at the paper, Josh has written some excellent cops stories, discovered a craps game at Dodger Stadium, written a hilarious first person piece on taking batting practice and emerged as a technology guru. Nicole, an ex-Daily Newser who's gone on to become a Yahoo, was a much appreciated and now greatly-missed colleague. Their poker games, while at times controversial (go to http://www.kleinbaum.org/?p=8#comments for all the gory details) have become a highlight of after-work hanging out. In short, they rock and I hope you'll all join me in wishing them the very best.

-Brent

Ahh, yes, I also forgot to mention this AP award garnered by the our roguish, occasional member Hans Gutknecht and Tina Burch (http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_3733149) awhile back. Congrats to you two, too.

The Buying Spree

2006-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Looks like we just got a bunch of sister papers... you can read all the details at the link below. Since they won't be part of LANG, it likely won't have much effect on us, but this'll have some far-reaching effects on the journalism world for some time to come. Here's hoping for the best for all involved...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060426/mcclatchy_medianews.html?.v=8

-Brent

Welcome Back

2006-04-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

If you didn't see the message in the office today, our former colleague Barbara Correa, who left a couple years ago after giving birth to an amazingly sweet pair of twins, will be returning to take over the Sunday Business slot from the departing Evan Pondel. As the first reporter to handle that beat, a former staffer with a little paper called the Wall Street Journal and the author of a cool blog on biz travel (http://news.yahoo.com/i/2661;_ylt=A0SOwj11dDxE_3YAihis0NUE), she'll be a phenomenal presence in our pages once again. It's tough to think of a more talented, more capable writer to fill the big shoes Evan left than her.

Barbara's return can serve as an important reminder for us, as we try to improve the quality of life at the paper, too. Part of the reason she's coming back is that they've been able to work out a schedule that accomodates both the paper's needs and her responsibilities as a mom-- something that was not exactly a hallmark of the Daily News in the past. Luckily, we've got a more progressive mindset now that allows for better balance between work and home life, so everyone comes out ahead.

Whenever you see a way that things could be improved, whether it allows you to spend more time with your family and still be productive, or a new way to handle the work flow, something we should be covering that we're not, or anything else, speak up about it. We've gotta advocate for these changes whenever possible, because they'll help us all in the long run. Think of all the talented people we've lost over the years because the paper was stuck in its tired, old ways-- hopefully, Barbara's return will be one of many signs that those days are over.

We've still got a long way to go, my friends, but we're getting there. You guys have done a lot of work to help improve things, so keep that up and we'll all enjoy the benefits.

-Brent

The Latest

2006-04-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings, My Friends,

Just wanted to update you guys on the latest on the timecard issue. We made an unexpected splash last week when LAObserved picked up my blog post on the issue and editorialized in support of our position-- it was a surprise, but a very welcome one that hopefully got the word out that micromanaging our days down to the minute is a very bad idea.

I met again today with Ron, Theresa, Laurie Knight and Araceli Leon from HR. Not much new came out of it, aside from Laurie saying that they wanted to find some compromise so they could keep more accurate records without compromising the flexible work schedule we have noe. We all agreed to meet again in the next few weeks to come up with some sort of formal plan that won't violate our contract but still gives them peace of mind. Until then, we'll continue on the regular time card schedule.

To some extent, this is a minor issue, but it's a handy reminder of how having a union comes in handy. If we didn't have that contract, they could implement whatever policy they felt like-- as they do in non-union parts of the Daily News. The current policy they're implementing in other departments states that employees who repeatedly work unauthorized overtime could be subject to disciplinary action. Not much of an incentive to put in extra time in a pinch when you know it could lead to you getting fired, right? The company used to be able to do that to us, under the terms of an old contract, but we successfully got it removed from the last agreement.

I'll keep you guys in the loop on this in coming weeks. Thanks to those of you who've provided suggestions and support-- I think we can figure something out that will work out ok for everyone. Till then, any ideas you have for how to improve the system are more than welcome.

-Brent

The Times They Are A Changin'

2006-04-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Forgive me for the roundabout nature of this post, but it's late and, well, what the heck...

When I was in college, I took a class on Duke Ellington and his impact on American culture (yes, nothing but the most rigorous, taxing classes for me...) and I wrote down something that has stuck with me ever since. As quoted by the professor, the great composer once said "every problem is an opportunity." I've also seen it written as "every problem is a chance for you to do your best." Either way, it's come in handy for me in sort of a pollyanna-ish way ever since.

And here at the Daily News, we've got plenty of problems. Not enough staff, not enough money, not enough time, not enough newshole-- we've always been chasing something, making excuses for why we didn't do something. As we saw yesterday, as Evan Pondel cleaned out his desk, then again next Friday when Lisa Mascaro packs up her famous dual file cabinet, or two weeks back when Dan moved over in City Hall to the competition, we're always going to have great talent who's in demand elsewhere or moves on when the time is right. I didn't know Dave Shelburne very well, but I know that when someone as experienced as him retires, it's impossible to fill that gap.

Right now, we're going through a lot of shifts, again. Beats are changing, sections are juggling people and coverage and we're all dealing with the new computers and publishing system. This is never going to be an easy place to work and at the moment, it appears to have hit one of its flux periods once again. I'm sure what we're feeling here is being felt all throughout this industry.

So the question we've all got to address is how do we deal with those problems? I'm not going to give you the lemons-to-lemonade speech, because it's lame and tired and I've never been much of a motivational speaker. But I would say that rather than chewing our nails and feeling sorry for ourselves, we can stick our hands into the change and make it into what it should be.

We're not going to get a billion dollar investment, we're not going to get a lot of things we'd like, but we can go after the things we can tackle. When Evan left, we lost an important union member who helped guide strategy significantly in the last few years-- we're going to have to go out and find other creative, energetic people out there to pitch in like he did. When people depart the Daily News, if you know of good replacements out there in the biz, recommend them and see if you can get them in here. The more like-minded, intelligent people we've got working alongside us, the easier our job's going to be.

If the staff shuffling has created problems in your department and you see a better way to do things, then speak up about it. While there are still some problematic situations around the room, Ron and Melissa seem to be much more receptive to making changes if it'll benefit both the product and the staff. It's not going to do any of us any good to sit around complaining, but if we figure out a way to improve things, they're likely to take action.

We're going to have to make some changes in how we do things, both in this union and throughout the newsroom, if we want to come out on top in the future, but I think we've got a good shot. We've got an extremely talented, intelligent staff and a growing number of people who've bought into our idea that if we work together, we can make this a worthwhile place to work, not just a brief entry on a resume. As we've done in the past, we can take these problems, as best as we can, and use them to our advantage.

As a closing note, let me point out something that happened in our own news pages this week. In case you missed the story that started it all, check out http://dailynews.com/search/ci_3692441 for Dana's excellent piece on the 82-year-old woman getting ticketed for crossing the street too slowly. That wasn't something that took six months and a $100,000 expense account to write, it didn't need an investigative team (though when the Times finally got around to following it, several days late, they still assigned two people to cover it)-- because Dana's an excellent reporter and even better writer, this piece got read all over the world. He captured the drama of a woman getting caught up in a ridiculous system and told it in a way people across the globe could relate to-- that's what we can do at the Daily News.

Using our limited resources and the talents of our staff, whether they're reporters, designers, copy editors, photographers or librarians, we can find stories like that and share them with people who clearly want to read 'em. We're not going to get that sitting around, complaining about all the things that are screwed up here-- we'll fix what we can and go after all those good stories we can get. If we do that long enough, people will notice that things have swung the other way here.

Alright, I've monopolized the soapbox enough for one early morning. Time for bed and there'll be more news to come soon, I hope. Thanks for your eyes and ears, as always.

-Brent

Correction for "What I Learned in San Francisco"

2006-04-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

Sheepishly, I must share a moment of simultaneous triumph and embarrassment. The triumph comes from Jim Romenesko coming across The Paper Trail and posting a link to yesterday's post regarding what all went on at Western District Council. The embarrassment comes from me misstating some of the circumstances for how the events at the Eugene Register Guard were handled.

Being new to this blog world, I'm not sure how the etiquette works, so rather than compounding the situation, I removed the disputed section and posted an apology to those involved. As I understand it, the event with the mandatory smiling actually happened, but it was resolved differently than I recalled. It was my mistake, plain and simple, so I hope this will be enough to set the record straight and I'm sorry for the inaccuracy and the confusion it may have caused.

I guess what I'll take away from this is that while this isn't a newspaper and was intended just to let you guys know what's going on around the office, that it deserves the same standards as what we do at the paper... and that other people are reading. Hopefully, this will be the last time I'll make a mistake like this and have to clear things up.

Thanks for your time,
Brent

What I Learned in San Francisco

2006-04-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

I've been meaning to update y'all on what I gathered from our fellow journalists at the recent Western District Council of the Newspaper Guild meeting at San Francisco and apologize for the delay. It feels like I've been 9,000 places at once lately, so I'm stealing a bit of free time tonight to get this out there and share the good and bad news from up and down the coast.

Overall, it was a very worthwhile experience, getting to meet with our counterparts from other union papers and hear their tales of triumph and woe. While it sounds like it's a tough time for everyone in the business right now, it heartened me to see that there's a bunch sharp people carrying the flag in journalism and the union-- our efforts are not alone here. There's a bunch of people just like us who are reacting to the changes in the industry with creative ideas and passion for the craft, which was very refreshing to see.

The biggest two issues to come up were the Guild's efforts to help workers at the Knight Ridder papers being spun off by McClatchy become employee-owners and the changes technology has brought into the workplace.

For the former, we listened to a presentation by some staff at the San Jose Mercury News and San Jose Newspaper Guild who devised the plan to partner with a wealthy investor to buy the paper from its new owners. This has attracted major financial backing from former supermarket magnate Ron Burkle and spread onto 11 other papers affected by the proposed sale. I had my reservations at first about its feasibility, but after listening to their plan, I've got to say I'm pretty impressed by how well they've thought things through.

One of the leaders of the plan is a guy by the name of Luther Jackson, who holds an administrative position in their local similar to what Vicki does for us. He's an extremely, extremely sharp guy who's been around the labor movement and newspaper business for quite some time and he really knows his stuff. I won't get into all the details here, but their concept aims to shield the papers from the bottom line mentality that has caused so many problems in this industry over the years. Burkle's company, Yucaipa, would bid up to $2.2 billion for the papers, then enter into partnership with employees who'd roll over their 401(k)s to become employee owners. They'd then hire management companies to run the papers and keep them running healthily.

It's a risky move, but they seem to have considered the options well and are doing some pretty progressive thinking. It'll be a tough process, especially since our own employer MediaNews Group also has its eyes on the properties, but I'm glad to see that they're willing to do things in a nontraditional manner in an attempt to preserve good quality journalism.

For more info about the plan, check out the following links:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a3IwaQ7nuitQ&refer=us
http://onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_031706_newday.html
http://valueplusmedia.com/
http://savethemerc.com

As far as the technology issue, we had a really productive, eye-opening session conducted by Bernie Lunzer, secretary/treasurer for the Guild. I was worried that it would just be a bunch of people complaining that they didn't want to do Internet work or produce multi-media, but it clearly was not. Blogging, audio recording, digital video, crossover onto radio and TV, breaking news updates for the Web-- these are all here to stay in this business. We learned the various different things the newsrooms have to deal with, how they've incorporated it into their workload and what we're all going to have to do in the future.

In the past, unions haven't had a great reputation for accepting new technology, which is why a lot of union folks got laid off and membership dwindled. This wasn't like that-- not only did the people participating find ways to incorporate the added work into their newsrooms, they did it so everyone was treated fairly. We even pushed it beyond that, developing plans to network with one another to push even more technological innovation within the industry and discussing ways the union could help its members learn more.

This is great news on many levels, folks-- it reminds me that the union we belong to is nothing like the stereotype many people have of organized labor. It's forward-thinking, innovative and, most importantly, it cares about the quality of the industry and the product we produce just as much as it does about traditional labor issues. I felt proud to be in a business with people who had their eyes on the road ahead, rather than ones stuck in the past-- the focus of the conference was clearly pushing good journalism, not complaints about the way things used to be. As we labor here to make the Daily News better, there's plenty of people at other union papers trying to do the exact same thing.

While I know this is getting long, I suppose this isn't a bad time to reiterate what I've told people whenever it's come up at the paper: the more new media work we can do, the better. If we can evolve our positions as newsgatherers to include things like online design, multiimedia presentations and breaking news delivery, we'll all be better off in the future. Take the work you can get (so long as it's fair and not overly burdensome, of course) and we'll figure out how to address compensation in future contracts.

CORRECTION: (Wed, 10:41 p.m.)... I'm updating this late after a clarification from the folks at Eugene. It appears I may have misunderstood a disciplinary situation there involving a dispute over supposed mandatory cheerfulness. I think the post was largely correct, but in the interest of preventing further confusion, I'll just take the whole thing off and apologize for any mistakes or subsequent disagreements they may have caused...

Alright, that's it for now. Thanks a lot for taking so much time to read this-- I know it's lengthy, but I think it's important stuff for us all to consider, given the rapidly changing world we're working in. So thanks for your support and your time-- it doesn't go unnoticed here or elsewhere in the business. We got a lot of compliments for our successes at the Daily News at the conference, so what you guys do every day really makes a difference both here and elsewhere in the industry.

Thanks,
Brent