Politico: USA Today to Expand Regional Reporting: Will It Cover USA?

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Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas and Miami will get more exposure in Gannett Co.-owned flagship USA Today as the daily intends to bolster its regional coverage of breaking news and enterprise stories, Politico reported this week.

USA Today reporter Alan Gomez already has his marching orders for 2014 as he will relocate to Miami where he also will be the daily's correspondent for Latin America and South America, according to the Politico article.  USA Today has endured a turbulent 2013, doubling its newsstand price, waffling about erecting a paywall and thinning its newsroom herd through voluntary retirements (see "TUOL" posts 9/26/13 & 3/13/13).

USA Today, a hotel chain fave because it slips so easily under guest room doors, is further increasing its brand as Gannett plans in the coming year to insert a condensed version of the daily into 35 smaller dailies in its newspaper empire, with a goal toward ultimately appearing in all 81 of its print properties, according to Politico.

Ingwerson Takes the Helm of Christian Science Monitor Next Month

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After 14 years as managing editor of The Christian Science Monitor, Marshall Ingwerson will become editor next month, the Associated Press reported today.

John Yemma, a former Boston Globe and Dallas Morning News reporter who has been the Monitor's editor since 2008, is stepping down to concentrate on writing, the AP article stated.  Before becoming managing editor of the 105-year-old Monitor, which became digital-only in April 2009, Ingwerson was, at various times,  the paper's correspondent in Moscow, Miami, Washington and Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Register Daily Newspaper to Debut in 2014

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A seven-day daily newspaper focused on Los Angeles local news, the Los Angeles Register, will debut in 2014, the Orange County Register ("OCR") reported yesterday.

Owner Aaron Kushner, whose 2100 Trust LLC purchased Freedom Communications Inc. in July 2012, boosted the OCR staff by 200, to provide local LA coverage  to challenge The Los Angeles Times. The OCR article said the Register also plans to unveil LA-area community weeklies next year.

Two Prominent New England Dailies on the Block

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Autumn in New England and the leaves--and daily newspapers--continue to fall.

If you have oodles of cash on hand and a slight masochistic streak, you might contact Stevens, a privately held independent financial services firm, and put in a bid for The Providence Journal, which the Rhode Island Public Radio Website (www.ripr.org) reports is for sale.

ProJo's owner, Dallas-based A.H. Belo, which doled out $1.5 billion in 1997 to purchase the Providence daily and its associated tv stations, is looking to unload ProJo, so that it can focus its attention on its core market in Big D, according to the RIPR post.

Meanwhile, last week John Henry, gazillionaire owner of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Globe, told staffers at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette--New England's third-largest daily--that he was looking for an interested local party to purchase the T & G, which was part of Henry's  $70 million Globe acquisition from the New York Times (see "TUOL" post 8/6/13).  The Times paid $296 million for the T & G in 2000, which it folded into its New England Media Group, along with the Globe.

Couldn't have been too comforting for Worcester editorial staffers to read Henry's October 27 letter in the Globe titled "Why I Bought the Globe" that failed to even mention his T& G acquisition. No potential buyers have stepped forward, though Gatehouse Media, Inc., freshly emerged from a structured Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is rumored to be interested.

UPDATE: In Sun-Times Darkroom, A Positive Development

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In a deal negotiated by the Chicago Newspaper Guild, the Chicago Sun-Times will reinstate four photographers and pay $2,000 in severance to each photojournalist it canned earlier this year who agrees to waive his or her right to sue the tabloid daily over being sacked, Romanesko.com reported today.

In a cost-cutting move, the Sun-Times shuttered its 28-member photo department in May (see "TUOL" post 5/30/13) and has been illustrating stories with file photos, wire pictures and images snapped by reporters. The four shutterbugs who were rehired may be assigned to any one of the Sun-Times five newspaper units, according to the Romanesko post.

SF Chronicle Food Section Fold-In: Recipe for Disaster?

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Reports in foodie-centric San Francisco that the award-winning Food section of the Hearst-Corp.-owned San Francisco Chronicle may be folded into a lifestyle section is stirring controversy, according to a report in yesterday's New York Times.

Chronicle Publisher Jeffrey Johnson would not comment in the Times article on reports that the Food section would combine with content from the Home section and be part of a lifestyle section tentatively called Artisan.  The Chronicle, a multiple winner of the James Beard Foundation award for stellar food coverage and perhaps the only daily that sells its own honey and maintains a roof garden and test kitchen in a building separate from the newsroom HQ, may be forced into the move--reportedly, by Feb. 2014-- by declining readership and dwindling ad page revenues.

Newspapers once provided food for thought, but among Chronicle readers, the thoughts are about food.

Down at the Wire

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The 96-year-old E.W. Scripps Co.-owned Scripps Howard News Service, which provides syndicated news stories to newspapers nationwide, is shutting down, Bloomberg News reported today.

The wire service was done in by the same dwindling circulation and plunging advertising sales that has crippled print editions of the newspaper industry. A transition from Scripps Howard clients to the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services is expected to be completed by January 2014.

The Cincinnati-based news service, whose distinguished alumni include famed World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle, will eliminate seven wire-related editorial slots in its Washington, D.C. bureau. Like most media companies nowadays, Scripps is shifting its emphasis to its online and television audience.

Citizen Journalism Takes a Hit in Denver After Post Layoffs

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About a third of the staff of YourHub, the citizen journalism oasis of The Denver Post, has been laid off, Editor Greg Moore confirmed.

As reported initially by the Blogs.westward.com blog, the Post is pink-slipping a digital photo editor and five YourHub community managers in a cost-savings move. The Rocky Mountain News launched YourHub in 2005 and shepherded it until 2009.

YourHub will continue on in a more streamlined fashion after the 29 percent reduction in staff, the Post confirmed.

Xtra! Xtra! Weep All About It: Newspaper Industry to Lose $1b in Ad Revenue in 2013

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The newspaper industry will lose $1 billion in advertising revenue by the time the sun sets on 2013, according to a press release by Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper owner.

As reported by The Huffington Post and Poynter.org web sites, the industry expects to earn $1.18 billion less in ad revenues this year compared to 2012 numbers. Ad revenues are off 5.9 percent at Gannett, which owns flagship national daily USA Today and 81 other newspapers.

The Newspaper Association of American reports seven consecutive years of declining print advertising in the newspaper industry.

(Not Divine) Providence Journal Staffers Accept Buyouts; Layoffs Loom

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A dozen Guild members of the Providence Journal are taking the money and running, but the voluntary buyouts by four newsroom staffers and eight advertising dept. employees are not expected to spare the daily further layoffs, WPRI-TV's blog (www.wpri.com) reported.

Among editorial staffers who took the buyout are a religion writer, an investigative/legal reporter and syndicated columnist Froma Harrop, according to WPRI-TV. Declining circulation and Second Quarter ad revenues, which were off 14 percent compared to a year ago, likely means pending newsroom layoffs. Management last month told the Guild they were looking to eliminate 30 jobs.

Over a three-year period from 2008 to 2011, more than 240 jobs were lost at the Journal.

News Blogger Lauding Energy Co. 'Juiced' by Utility

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Community-owned nonprofit utility CPS Energy can do no wrong in the eyes of Robert Rivard.

In the past year alone, Rivard, one-time news editor of the San Antonio Express-News, creator of the Rivard Report news site and principal of the Arsenal Group public relations consulting firm, has written a dozen articles singing the praise of CPS Energy and its CEO, even as the latter drew flak for alleged expense account indiscretions and the energy provider sparked controversy over a solar power project.

Unfortunately, according to an Express-News article this week, Rivard neglected to mention in his paeans to CPS that the utility paid his Arsenal Group $41,000 last year to assess its public relations strategy and critique its communications department. Not to mention (as Rivard subsequently did) that CPS hired his spouse, a former Business Wire Veep, earlier this year to be its director of integrated communications.

The Express-News article reported that Rivard conceded that it was an oversight not to make a disclosure in the Rivard Report articles that CPS Energy was sweetening his personal pot through their professional relationship.  On the subject of conflicts of interest,"TUOL" can't top the late New York Times columnist and executive editor, A.M. Rosenthal, who once said that personally, he didn't care if  "[y]ou f--- an elephant, so long as you don't cover the circus."

"TUOL" hopes Mr. Rivard finds some utility in Rosenthal's observation.

Down at the Wire

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Reuters is slashing five percent of its editorial workforce worldwide, the New York Observer (www.Observer.com) reported today.

Coming on the heels of the wire service's decision to abandon consumer facing site Reuters Next after a two-year gestation period, Reuters President and Editor in Chief Stephen Adler said the reduction in force would affect all levels of the news agency, including management.

USA Today Ponders Paywall as Newsstand Price Set to Double

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USA Today President and Publisher Larry Kramer today clarified his comments that appeared in the New York Post that the national newspaper was considering erecting a paywall to charge online readers, telling Poynter.org that  "no plan exists" for the Gannett Co.-owned flagship daily to charge digital readers.

Paywalls already are in place at national dailies, The New York Times and Wall St. Journal, not to mention Gannett's 80 other daily newspapers (see "TUOL" post 2/23/12). With a combined digital and print readership of 1,674,306 that makes it the nation's third largest newspaper, USA Today suffered a 12 percent drop-off in circulation revenue during the Second Quarter of 2013, according to the Post article.

USA Today is days away from doubling its single-copy price to $2 from $1, the first price hike in six years. The increase, necessitated by sagging circulation and ad revenues, is prompting Gannett to remove many of its iconic white, tv-shaped newspaper boxes. Rather than expect faithful followers to jingle as they walk down the street with a pocketful of quarters, Gannett instead has hammered out deals with Starbucks and the Duane Reade pharmacy chain to serve as outlets where the daily may be purchased.

In an attempt to inject new life into the brand, a section including articles from the Life, Money and News sections of USA Today will begin to appear in Gannett-owned dailies in Indianapolis, Appleton (Wis.), Fort Myers and Rochester. Gannett has dubbed the experiment Project Butterfly for reasons unclear to "TUOL," except perhaps that the insect and the paper weigh about the same nowadays and both are more likely to face a gaining net than net gains.

From Lloyds to Droids

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After 279 years, Lloyd's List, which covers the global shipping industry and boasts of being the world's oldest continuously published newspaper, will become digital-only by year's end, according to owner Informa.

Lloyd's List debuted in 1734 as a notice pinned on the wall of a London coffee shop, according to an article in today's The Guardian. The move was dictated by Lloyd's List's smartphone and tablet-carrying readers. In a June survey conducted by the publication, 97 percent preferred digital access to Lloyd's shipping industry news, which effectively sank the print edition.

Miami Herald to Launch Caliente Tabloid This Month

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McClatchy Co.-owned The Miami Herald this month will debut Caliente, a tabloid aimed at the city's substantial Spanish-speaking community.

Initially uncovered by the Random Pixels blog and later reported by The Huffington Post, roughly 70,000 copies of Caliente will be distributed to targeted neighborhoods in Little Havana and Hialeah beginning Sept. 18. Caliente will not be staffed by reporters from either the Miami Herald or its Spanish counterpart, El Nuevo Herald, according to the HuffPo article. The tabloid will include Latin American news, celebrity gossip, sports, horoscopes, articles about telenovelas and, in what already is a lightning rod attracting criticism, a Chica Caliente feature boasting a bikini model.

Ay! Caramba. Maybe the tabloid should be called Sol because it apes Rupert Murdoch's The Sun in its penchant for scantily clad women.

Slow News Day in Portland?

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It's not news that there's no love lost between the local press and 64-year-old Paul LePage, Maine's 74th Governor.

LePage, the Republican former Mayor of Waterville who became governor in January 2011, once told students that buying a newspaper was akin to paying someone to lie to you.  It's also a poorly kept secret that the loose-lipped LePage often sparks controversy with shoot-from-the-hip comments, whether referring to the IRS as the "new Gestapo," or commenting that the local NAACP chapter offended by his non-participation in Martin Luther King Day events could "kiss his butt."

Still, no further proof is needed that we're in the throes of the Dog Days of Summer than the kerfuffle fueled by the Portland Press Herald over a recent lame LePage witticism. Sitting in an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet simulator at Berwick defense contractor Pratt & Whitney facility last week, LePage was captured in video footage responding to a question about what he wanted to do, saying: "I want to find the Portland Press Herald building and blow it up." Not wanting to let his bon mot go unnoticed, LePage, when asked later at the event by a WMTW-TV reporter if he had any targets in mind when he was in the simulator, replied: "The Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News." Guess you had to be there.

The Press Herald  wrote a story about the remarks, eliciting criticism about the comments from political opponents of the Governor. The daily even went so far as to ask the FBI in Portland about the statements, only to be told--probably in a monotone--that the FBI responds to threats that are specific and credible, which the law enforcement mavens concluded LePage's statements were not.

The Press Herald has more important fish to fry, such as figuring out how to stay afloat in a newspaper-unfriendly economic environment (see "TUOL" post 10/14/11), and  Gov. LePage, who holds the state record for vetoing bills and is a GOP small government champion, might consider adding a joke writer to his staff.

When the tireless staff of "TUOL" wants to be stunned, shocked, or wowed by news events, it bypasses the Press Herald and heads directly to The Huffington Post for photos of actresses not wearing make-up or sideboob photos of Miley Cyrus.

The Sun: Erin Won't Go Bragh-less Anymore

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On the 39th anniversary of President Richard M. Nixon announcing he would resign the presidency, The Unruly of Law, as a serious media law and journalism blog, today should post about profound changes in the communications industry and serious challenges facing our deeply entrenched First Amendment principles.

But they don't call 'em the "Dog Days of summer" for nothing, so instead, "TUOL" reports that the Ireland edition of  Rupert Murdoch's tabloid The Sun this week decided to discontinue running photos of topless women on page 3 that will continue to appear in the Great Britain edition because of what Irish edition Editor Paul Clarkson labeled "cultural differences."

As reported by The Guardian, Clarkson explained that Page 3 is a "popular pillar of the Sun in the UK and part of a package (ed. note: some package!) of great journalism, which engages, entertains and informs in equal measure." The Irish Sun, Clarkson went on to say, strives "to cater for our own readers' needs and reflect the cultural differences in Ireland."

Those readers' needs must be behind the reason the Irish Sun on Monday published a nude photo of Hollywood siren Marilyn Monroe that did not display her nipples (Bust Stop?). According to The Guardian article, the Irish Sun, which sells more than 63,000 copies daily--plunging like a neckline from 72,000 a year ago--has thus far drawn one angry complaint over its decision to engage in a cover-up, so to speak, and "TUOL" hopes the protestor had the good sense not to leave his name.

One only hopes that all these years that the Irish Sun displayed Page 3's bare-breasted women didn't contribute to The Troubles. One also hopes that the self-censorship won't prevent The Irish Sun from publishing on this momentous day a photo of President Nixon's bust.

Plain Dealer Dealing Less to Clevelanders; Massive Layoffs & Reduced Home Delivery

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Cleveland, Ohio's second largest city and the nation's 45th largest city, deserves better.

New York-based Advance Publications yesterday pink-slipped 50 newsroom employees at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, one-third of its editorial workforce, as the daily prepares next week to reduce home delivery to four days a week, according to reports by the Associated Press and Crain's Cleveland Business.

Last year, the Plain Dealer slashed its newsroom personnel by a third, from 168 to 110 employees (see "TUOL" post 12/7/12). Business Editor Randy Roguski was among the Newspaper Guild member photogs, page designers and reporters who received a fateful phone call yesterday cutting them loose. The paper plans to publish a six-page supplement this Sunday outlining proposed changes, according to Crain's.

Among those changes will be home delivery of the paper only on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some of the staffers laid off may re-apply for jobs with the Northeast Ohio Media Group, a new digital-emphasizing entity responsible for providing content for Cleveland.com and for handling the Plain Dealer's marketing and ad sales.

The AP article reports the Plain Dealer's weekday circulation is roughly 286,000.

Talkin' Turkey: PM Threatens Times of London with Legal Action

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A month after branding Twitter  a "provocateur" (see "TUOL" post 6/26/13), Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the Times of London in his sites, threatening the daily with legal action over a full-page political ad criticizing him for his "dictatorial rule," Al-Jazeera reported today.

Hollywood's Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn are among the signatories in the ad that objects to the PM's handling of anti-government demonstrations and blames Erdogan for the deaths of five protesters. Demonstrators, whom the PM has condemned as "terrorists" and "looters," are demanding his ouster.

"We will pursue legal channels regarding the Times," Erdogan is quoted as saying in the Al-Jazeera. It's puzzling to "TUOL" what Erdogan believes is being 'broadcast' on such legal channels that would give rise to an actionable claim against the daily for running a paid advertisement.

Ga. Newspaper Chain Dumps Photography Dept.

Southern Community Newspapers, Inc. ("SCNI"), a five-daily, two-weekly newspaper chain, has eliminated its photography department, Poynter.org reports.

Following the ignoble lead of the Chicago Sun-Times (see "TUOL" post 5/30/13), which recently dumped its entire staff of 28 photographers, SCNI boss Michael Gebhart decreed: "Journalists need to write, shoot video, post on the Internet and edit."  Three photographers were pink-slipped by SCNI and a fourth was shifted to a company videographer position.

With the entire newspaper industry reeling in the face of shrinking circulation and declining advertising, a depressing trend is developing (something darkroom photogs are no longer doing) that does a disservice to news consumers. Short-sighted newspaper executives are paying short shrift to the storytelling skills photojournalists bring to the table, and it won't be long before the ripple effects are felt in other news media and in journalism schools.