Monday, July 28, 2008
UPDATED: More layoffs at Dallas Morning News; freebie Quick to become weekly
Updated 11:49 a.m., July 29, 2008
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Two Belo-related rumors that have been circulating for weeks came true: 1. Freebie daily Quick will go weekly (before it dies its inevitable death), and 2. Belo will eliminate another 15% of its workforce, starting with voluntary buyouts and then ultimately layoffs. Maybe some of the staff from Quick? According to a company statement, total revenue decreased 15 percent in the second quarter versus the prior year, and advertising revenue, including print and Internet, was down 21 percent.
UPDATE: On Tuesday July 29, the DMN says it will lose "around 40 of its approximately 390 full-time newsroom staffers", and will focus future coverage on "areas thought to be of greatest interest to readers"; that Quick will "more intensely focus on the entertainment interests of young single adults"; and that the News will try to generate more cash by "forming new organizations that focus on specific areas of consumer and business interest".
Posted by T.G.
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Comments
Mike Orren Staff
Buyout blog here: http://newsbuyout08.blogspot.com/
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
David Goodspeed Verified
so how the heck are they going to be able to do the free daily that is coming in august?
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Prof Einstein.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
AnnMarie Wilson Verified
Hmm you think the paper might have succeeded if it printed real news instead of fluff?
There's reason most of use get our news online from International sources.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Teresa Gubbins Staff
can't to hear what the paper decides will be the "areas of greatest interest to readers".
also curious about what "new organizations" it will form focusing on "specific areas of consumer and business interest".
a bunch of DMN employees have joined Facebook in the past month
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
Spot on AnnMarie. After Mikey got me back on the Fry's mailing list, my last vestige of reliance was gone.
Maybe they'll sell Shale.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
"a bunch of DMN employees have joined Facebook in the past month"
In fact, this is the first time I learned about a story like this first via my Facebook friend feed.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Mike Orren Staff
Tgub, as a online subscriber to the DMN, I got the following email last week:
"How’d you like to get first right of refusal on event tickets?
Or a special notice when there are big savings on big ticket items?
Discounts to restaurants, theme parks, retail stores…
All before anyone else even knows about it.
Because we’re The Dallas Morning News, we get these kind of deals from our advertisers all the time. Sometimes the public doesn’t even see them.
But, since you either read the paper, participate in our contests or are registered on dallasnews.com, we’re going to pass them on to you via email if you…
CLICK HERE
This is just between us—no third parties need to know—and we’re only going to send you the deals that you deem relevant.
It can start now. But you have to click!
View our privacy policy.
If you wish to unsubscribe from communications such as this, please click here or send your request referencing this message to: Opt-Out Request, The Dallas Morning News, 400 S. Record Street, Dallas, TX 75202.
Hmm. There's something oddly familiar sounding there.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Howard Wen Verified
If the DMN is really serious about giving Dallasites what they want (verses what they really need... like, you know, hard hitting news), then they should convert the paper to a daily tabloid format where most of the cover stories are sports related.
Looks at the size of the sports section of the DMN (or Quick) compared with the other sections. It says to me that Dallasites care more about sports than local news or, even worse, business -- these two latter subjects affect the average Dallasite more directly, yet, based on the dominance of sports coverage in the DMN (and on local Belo stations), all that most Dallasites give a crap about is sports.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
Sports? That's the big heavy section I used to have to read the Fry's ad on the back of, right? Lot's of rich guys patting each other's behinds? Yeah, that's a lot of paper for something that only affects a few hundred people's commute on game days (mine included - ::sigh::).
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
AnnMarie Wilson Verified
What is it with this city/state and sports? We really need to educate folks that there's a big world out there - and it doesn't always include over paid, spoiled athletes.
Why yes, this does drive me insane...
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
jtmbls Anonymous
I was reading an article (online) today that was just basically to complain about Austin police officers being the highest paid po-po in the state of Texas. Bet they don’t make near the salary of even a benchwarmer on one of our pro teams.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
It's not even just sports - it's football. You've got HIGH SCHOOL football coaches making 6 figure salaries in DFW and making half that.
Maybe that's why education in Texas is ranked so low compared to other states.
Also, I dare you to go to the DaMN website and not see something about Cowboys training camp on the front page - usually as one of the main stories. Freaking training camp!?
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
DaMN -- nice one x*x. I'm stealin' it.
SO Mikey - thoughts on a sports section for Peg ::tee hee::
How about a Marching Band column?
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
I just realized my mini rant doesn't make a DaMN bit of sense. I was trying to rant that some high school football coaches make six figures while math and science teachers make half that. What I ended up writing was mumbo jumbo.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Erin Rice Staff
Speaking of sports talk, we're going to be refining and extending some of our sports coverage in the upcoming weeks and months.
As the new "sports editor" you can be sure that you'll get your professional sports coverage. But we're also interested in sport as it relates your life, more specifically living a healthy lifestyle and the kinds of activities that Dallasites can participate in. Hopefully there's not too much sports apathy among our readers, because you will see some more of it here, but not in the same way you see it elsewhere.
You can be certain, however, that FC Dallas coverage will keep coming on strong. You would have to pry that coverage from my cold, dead, smaller-than-average fingers.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
Does it at least come with a Fry's ad?
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
xdavidwattsx Anonymous
Erin,
Don't get me wrong, I love sports I just get tired of all football all the time and all Cowboy talk all the time. It gets OLD!
I'm all for talk and pimping of local running clubs or local softball teams. They are active topics of mine. Alex B. can tell you all about a super awesome softball team.
Also, the DRC Half Marathon and White Rock Marathon are some of the best events in the city all year. Tens of thousands of people turn out for them both to run and cheer people on.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Erin Rice Staff
I understand completely, just a plug for what's to come.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Howard Wen Verified
@Jason Rice:
In fact, I was told by some colleagues that Fry's originally would place their back-page ads in the Business section (makes sense, right?). But then they realized that they got a much better response by placing it on the back page of the Sports section. So that's why you mostly find their full page ads on the back page of Sports.
Just count the number of pages that the Sports section has over the Business. (On Sundays, the DMN has TWO sections dedicated to Sports!) And count the number of syndicated stories verses locally written stories. Oh, and read the stories and gauge the journalistic quality of the Sports section coverage verses the Business (or the Metropolitan) section. The answer is pretty obvious: Dallas is a sports loving town, and the DMN caters only to that audience.
And haven't you guys ever noticed that the biggest business and local-area related news (which get the most press) often have a connection to local sports in some way? (i.e. The Cotton Bowl, local bond issues, the access of DART to sporting venues, Victory Park, unfounded rumors of Mark Cuban's local real estate interests from a sports angle, etc.). If you want REAL local business news, you have to pick up the Dallas Business Journal.
Quick is the worst offender. Many times it has 4 pages of sports verses 1 page of lamely summarized local business -- sometimes Quick doesn't even bother to include business.
For a city that lots of people demonize as one where most of its people are fixated on making money, you'd think there would be more interest in reading local business news, right? But the reality is: Nada.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Michael Schaefer Verified
How does NeighborsGo.com fit into all of this. Isn't that run by DMN? Is that their attempt to be more like Pegasus?
As for the Cowboys, all you have to do is look at the success of The Ticket and that should explain everything.
:)
Go Cowboys!!!
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Michael Schaefer Verified
"For a city that lots of people demonize as one where most of its people are fixated on making money, you'd think there would be more interest in reading local business news, right? But the reality is: Nada."
Nothing is more boring than the business section of the newspaper. That's the section that immediately goes in the cat litter box. Plus, most people that find that interesting read the Wall Street Journal and Dallas Business Journal.
11 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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