No movement was made at our bargaining session yesterday with the company. We again proposed the company's outsourcing language be shelved for 12 months. And again, the company resisted the proposal - ironically enough, by insisting they want to "negotiate a full contract now" that includes the ultimate flexibility to outsource — even offshore — all our jobs.
Our editor, Rich Archbold, said at last weekend's "Press in Transition" event that our jobs are not in danger, in defiance of all evidence to the contrary. He continues to assure the public – and disgruntled readers – that the newspaper will be around for another hundred years.
We know that our contract fight is not only about jobs. It's about the future of the Press-Telegram.
We go back to the table January 15th.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Holding the line
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28 comments:
Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm convinced.
Thanks for all your help buddy!
Everyone knows Rich Archbold is so out of touch, he won't even walk through the newsroom anymore. He takes the back door.
The union is fighting for the life of this paper!!! And that is quality content what are you doing!!
I bet your a member of the Leadership Long Beach ZZZZZZZZZZZ. The club of Ideas that never stick.
The only difference between the Press-Telegram and the Titanic is the Titanic had a band.
tsk.tsk.tsk. why waste your time on belittling "leadership" long beach? the same lack of follow-up on "ideas" is the routine in the "newsroom," which is actually a shell of empty desks and storage goods in dark spaces.
--- disgruntled and dizzy
Rich plans to be in his office for another hundred years.
Rich's secretary Bernice has way more impact in the newsroom than Rich.
Lets face it she runs the show.
Rich keeps on saying " why is everyone so negative? "
Clueless- Dreamworld
Rich is the worst possible person to sit in that office. Rather than fight for his newspaper, or his newsroom, or Long Beach journalism, he's fighting to save his own ass.
He's made it clear that no price is too high to pay if it means keeping his job. So we have an editor that spends all his time overseeing the destruction of the paper he claims to love.
Way to go Rich, maybe if you offer to wash Singleton's car he'll keep you on for a couple of extra weeks after the PT gets shut down.
Bad enough that our local newspaper is in trouble (like the rest of the industry we're told), but it's a really bad sign when the executive editor has no credibility with his staff. The community isn't listening to him any more either.
When will someone in management take a stand.
We are an empty shell of a ship, with 8 blind captains.
Farewell, Titanic. Your days are numbered.
Perhaps this is naive on my part, but maybe if the P-T lowered their advertising rates they would get more advertisers, and in turn more revenue. I work at a weekly, and I know our comparatively low rates help us survive (not flourish, just survive).
The Long Beach Press-Release
if the P-T lowered their advertising rates they would get more advertisers
Great idea! But the idiots at the union are asking advertisers and readers to BOYCOTT the paper! How are you supposed to raise revenue and save jobs with such a bull-headed move?
- Cannibalism-101-
MediaNews/ Press-Telegram Business model
1. Eliminate content and content producers.
2. Use antiquated and costly equipment.
3. Hire more ad sales people.
4. Publish more failing print advertorial products ( 5. Clout, San Pedro, Downey..)
6. Have 1 editor per 2.25 content producers.
7. Outsource everything possible.
8. Leverage yourself to do death
Get scooped daily by a guy with tape recorder from 1977.
And the best of all....Blame the Union.
Rinse and Repeat
blackberries.blackberries.
blackberries.
first things first: get in touch with reality of the big picture. "rich" archbold is saving money so it looks good on the books, and he gets "rich" with another bonus. that means no blackberries. no reporters. no raises. nada... except a happy rich.
@ anon 11:02am: Boycott? What boycott? The union asked me to make a pledge to cancel my subscription if the P-T management people don't give the workers a fair contract. But the union hasn't come back to me yet and asked for a boycott and I figure its because it isn't ready to pull that trigger. So get your facts straight.
No offense to the staff, but the paper is crap and I'm not buying it anyway. There's nothing in it. You can't blame the workers (or the union) for that. Blame the beancounters.
@ anon 11:02am: Boycott? What boycott? The union asked me to make a pledge to cancel my subscription if the P-T management people don't give the workers a fair contract. But the union hasn't come back to me yet and asked for a boycott and I figure its because it isn't ready to pull that trigger. So get your facts straight.
No offense to the staff, but the paper is crap and I'm not buying it anyway. There's nothing in it. You can't blame the workers (or the union) for that. Blame the beancounters.
Why are you guys so negative ?
Larry Allison and Rich Archbold said that Dean Singleton saved the Press-Telegram.
And he's a really nice guy.
Don't blame Rich, he has no power!! He just tries to play the good accountant rather than fighting for good journalism and the tools they need.
Like a good lap dog he show's Dean Singleton all money he saved and blows smoke up the public's ass, saying word's like " Blog " " Unique Hits " and " flexibility " to try and sound like he know what is going on at MediaNews.
The saddest example of how they keep him out of the loop is he claims and has said we aren't going to outsource the newsroom and then Dean say's at a conference in Florida " Outsource Everything "
Credibility Issue ?
what the hell is the difference between "boycott" and this "pledge to cancel" nonsense? Same thing if you ask me.
No one asked you, but thanks for admitting that you have trouble understanding simple concepts.
Either way, you lose money when you don't sell papers or ads.
Yep. And whose fault is it that circulation is down 30% since Singleton bought the paper? That's right, it must the union's fault that the PT keeps laying off workers.
Less revenue means a loss of jobs.
Wrong. Well, you're factually correct, but that statement is irrelevant to our situation. At the PT, the lesson is that losing jobs means less revenue, not the other way around. But medianews refuses to learn that lesson.
The layoffs started a long time ago, and the layoffs have exceeded the losses in revenue. They're not using the layoffs to make up for lost profits, they're using them to get higher profits. Go look at the numbers.
The union is to blame for your problems!
coach.coach.coach.
our team needs a new coach, and not some joker whose heart and soul are in torrance. the game stats show the coach's inability to offer the public enough quality content for their buck. and the coach has turned his back on the fans and betrayed the players.
Dean is a genius !!!
Dean has chosen the breakdown and profit model or as I call it the " Gordon Gecko Model. ". ( Wall Street )
" Greed for the lack of a better word is good "
Go Dean Go
I'm sure Rich's sticks have tanked and he will hang on until he's 75. Or until his Wang computer stock recovers.
God will you all lighten up.
Here's a joke:
Some friends get together to go hunting in the Maine woods. On their way to the campsite, they pass a farm with a sign posted in front: HUNTING DOG AVAILABLE. So they head up to the farm and ask the owner how much it would cost to borrow the dog for a day.
“His name is Reporter and you can have him for $20 a day,” the owner says. They pay the money, and after setting up camp they get started. Reporter turns out to be a fabulous hunting dog, flushing out all kinds of game. They use him every day and go home agreeing it was money well spent.
For the next few years, the friends return to the same spot in Maine and rent Reporter each day. Over the years, Reporter’s price keeps creeping up: $30, $40, $70. Each time the hunters pay it, because Reporter is a matchless hunting dog.
Then, one year, they head up to the Maine farm and ask to rent the dog. “You can have him for $5,” the owner says.
The friends are stunned. “Last time we were here, you charged us $70 to use the dog,” one of them says. “What happened?”
“Reporter’s no good anymore,” the owner says. “Last year I rented him out and some idiot called him Editor. Now he doesn’t do anything except sit on his ass and bark.”
;)
GO DEAN, GO!
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