Wisc. High Court Backs Weekly in Public Records Law Dispute

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In a controversial 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court this week upheld a Court of Appeals ruling ordering county officials to turn over unredacted legal bills paid by the county's insurance carrier to the weekly Juneau County Star-Times, which sought the invoices under the state's Public Records Law [Wis. Stat. secs. 19.31-19.39].

As reported by the Lee Enterprises-owned, Mauston, Wisc.-based Star-Times, the High Court decision written by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson supported the Court of Appeals October 2011, ruling that invoices submitted by a Milwaukee attorney defending the county sheriff in an employment matter involving a subordinate officer to county insurer Wisconsin Mutual Ins. Co. were covered by the Public Records Law. The Appeals Court reversed a circuit court judge's rulings that the bills were exempt because a  private law firm and  private insurance company, and not the county, were parties to the agreement that generated the invoices.

Justice Abrahamson's opinion noted that although the insurance carrier, rather than the county, had retained the law firm to defend Sheriff Brent Oleson, the attorney performed work on the county's behalf, which subjected the invoices to production under the so-called contractors records provision of the Public Records Law [Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36 (3)]. The provision at issue states: "Subject to sub.(12), each authority shall make available for inspection and copying under s. 1935(1) any record produced or collected under a contract entered into by the authority with a person other than an authority to the same extent as if the record were maintained by the authority."

In a strongly worded dissent, Justice David Prosser said the majority's decision failed adequately to address attorney-client privilege by ordering the release of the invoices.  Former Star-Times Publisher George Althoff sued Juneau County in 2010 after heavily redacted versions of the legal bills were produced to the twice-weekly paper. Matt Meyers, current General Manager of the 2,500 circulation weekly, haled his predecessor's efforts to obtain the documents.

The Supreme Court decision remanded the case to Adams County Circuit Judge Charles Pollex, who originally rejected the Star-Times records request. According to the Star-Times article, the paper is seeking attorneys' fees and $100 damages from the county.

North County Times Staff to be Slashed by One-Third

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Eighty employees, including 24 newsroom staffers at the Escondido, Calif.-based North County Times ("NCT") are being pink-slipped by U-T San Diego owner Doug Manchester, Poynter.org reports.

NCT, the product of a 1995 newspaper merger, was purchased last month by Manchester from Lee Enterprises. Manchester, a San Diego real estate developer, informed the California Employment Development Department ("EDD") Monday about the pending layoffs, according to the Poynter post.
Last summer, the NCT alerted the EDD that 56 employees, mostly truck drivers and insert machine operators, were being let go.

Manchester acquired U-T San Diego (formerly known as the San Diego Tribune) from private investor Platinum Equity in November 2011, two years after the Beverly Hills investment firm bought the daily from Copley Press.

St. Louis Post Journos Dispatched

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)Thirteen proved an unlucky number for the Lee Enterprises-owned St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as four editors and nine newsroom staffers were pink-slipped last week, media Web site JimRomanesko.com reported.

Daily circulation at the Post-Dispatch, one of the region's largest dailies, declined from 213,472 to 191,631 last year. Lee purchased the paper from Pulitzer, Inc. seven years ago in a cash deal reportedly totaling $1.46 billion. According to Romanesko, the layoffs occurred in the same week as Lee CEO Mary Junck acquired 500,000 shares of Lee stock for zero dollars.

Economic conditions were blamed for the job reductions. Another 10 employees in the production and advertising departments, also lost their jobs last week, bringing the layoff total to 23.

Newsrooms Continued to Shrink in 2011

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)The largest U.S. newspaper publishers last year combined trimmed their work force more than 7 percent, according to a review of Securities & Exchange Commission filings by Media Daily News (www.mediapost.com).

A.H. Belo, owner of the Dallas Morning News and Providence Journal, among other papers, slashed its job force by 13.6 percent compared to 2010 figures, while its revenues declined 5.3 percent. Media General shrank its newsroom personnel by 9.7 percent, almost matching a 9.1 drop in revenues.

Likewise, the Washington Post Co. newspaper division cut its work force 4.5 percent and suffered a 5 percent decrease in revenues. The McClatchy Co., which owns 30 dailies, reduced its work force by 11.5 percent and experienced a 7.4 percent drop in advertising revenues.

The Gannett Co. axed 6.7 percent of the workers in its publishing division as publishing revenues declined 5.7 percent. E.W. Scripps grew its television holdings, but cut 6.7 percent of its newspaper employees.

The New York Times Co. was the winner among the losers, as it were, lopping off only 2 percent of its newsroom staff, in line with a modest 2.9 percent decrease in revenues. Rounding out the depressing Media Daily News article, Lee Enterprises endured a 6.5 percent drop in staff size, while operating revenues were down 3.1 percent.

Lee Not Free: Paywall-mania on the Horizon

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Buoyed by successful returns on paywalls erected for its Montana and Wyoming online newspapers (see "TUOL" post 8/2/11), Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, Inc. plans to charge subscribers for digital content at most of its holdings by the end of 2012, Thomson Reuters reports.

Lee Chair/CEO Mary Junck says the conglomerate plans to step up its metered payment model paywalls over the next three months. Lee owns 48 newspapers, co-owns four others, and counts another 300 specialty publications among its holdings. It boasts roughly 1.3 million subscribers among 23 states, according to the Thomson Reuters article.

Lee Online Dailies in Montana & Wyoming Erect Paywalls

Image via WikipediaDavenport, Iowa-based media conglomerate Lee Enterprises has erected paywalls for six online dailies among its holdings in Montana and Wyoming, PaidContent.org reports.

Lee, which owns roughly 50 daily newspapers nationwide, has established metered payment models for online versions of The Billings Gazette, Helena Independent Record, The Missoulian, The Ravalli Republic, The Casper Star Tribune and The Montana Standard, the PaidContent article said.  The number of free views offered before visitors are asked to purchase a digital subscription and the always-free online sections varies depending on the publication.

The Billings (Mont.) Gazette, which boasts roughly 38,400 print subscribers, allows 20 articles to be viewed a month digitally before inviting print edition subscribers to pay $1.95 a month or $19.50 annually and non-subscribers $6.95 a month or $69.50 a year. In contrast, the 13,000 print circulation Helena Independent Record charges kick-in after 15 online articles and impose a subscription rate of $1.99 a month/$19.99 yearly for print subscribers and $4.99 a month/$49.99 annually for nonsubscribers.

A discouraging word may seldom be heard on the range in Montana, but if it's going to be read online, residents are going to have to pay to see it.

Are You Ready to Share Some Football?

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe Gannett Co.-owned Green Bay Press-Gazette and the Madison-based Wisconsin State Journal have found their own unique way to celebrate the end of the NFL lockout, according to The Milwaukee Business Journal.

The Journal reports that the Press-Gazette will share its coverage of the Green Bay Packers with the Wisconsin State Journal. In return, the Lee Enterprises-owned Journal will provide coverage of the Univ. of Wisconsin's Badgers sports teams.

Newspaper Industry Economics Reality, meet the Cheeseheads.

St. Louis Post Dispatches 23 Staffers to Unemployment Line

Image via WikipediaTwenty-three employees, none from the editorial department, have been let go by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as ad revenues and circulation remain weak, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

Marketing, production and information technology were targeted in the latest round of layoffs. The Post-Dispatch is owned by Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises. Lee lost $1.5 million in the Second Quarter of 2011, compared to a $3 million profit during the same period in 2010, the Journal reported.