The Daily Gazette has cut another eight full-time positions.
The Schenectady daily newspaper trimmed six jobs in June, and eliminated a dozen positions a year earlier. It now has 151 full time employees and 85 part-timers.
In an announcement on its Web site, the Gazette blamed “adverse business conditions” for the cuts. The newspaper industry has been struggling as many readers have shifted to online sources and advertisers hurt by a down economy have cut back on spending.
Funny how they never blame poor political reporting or biased liberal editorials for the free fall in circulation and advertising at the People's Daily.
oh dear...what wil the poor seniors do? I know a lot of them who look at this TV section as their Bible. Looks like they are trying to cut corners where ever they can.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Gazette to increase home delivery prices Friday, September 26, 2008
SCHENECTADY — The Daily Gazette will increase its home delivery prices Oct. 12, the company announced today. The increases, the first in 12 years, will raise the cost of a 7-day subscription by 50 cents to $4. The 3-day weekend home delivery rate will rise from $1.50 to $2. There will be no increase in the paper’s newsstand price, which will remain 50 cents Monday through Saturday and $2 on Sundays. Assistant General Manager James Grandy said the price hike was necessary due to rising costs, especially increases in newsprint and fuel prices. A portion of the cost increase will also be shared with the carriers who deliver the paper. “Unfortunately, these increases make it necessary for us to raise the price of home delivery,” Grandy said. In addition to rising costs, newspapers nationwide are dealing with reductions in advertising revenue. The Gazette has already taken other cost-saving steps, including the layoff of eight employees, an overhaul of the weekday stock listings and the elimination of its TV Week supplement.
Let's face it...the day of home delivered, hard copy newspapers are becoming at thing of the past. It is ALL internet. Or it's the media coverage on TV. I remember years ago when people actually had magazines delivered to their homes. Not the case so much anymore.
The older generation, some perhaps not so computer literate....still want that paper delivered to them. They read and discuss the paper over morning coffee with their spouse, if still alive, check the ads and maybe cut coupons. That generation will seriously miss gazette's weekly TV additon. Once that 'great' generation passes....it will be internet only.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
CAPITAL REGION Newspapers face rising costs, falling revenues BY JESSICA HARDING Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Jessica Harding at 843-2830 or jharding@dailygazette.net.
With staff cuts, product changes, decreasing circulation and declining profit margins, it’s not a happy time to be in the newspaper industry. “Newspapers are going through tough times like so many other businesses. We’re institutions in the community and people don’t realize that we’re also companies trying to make money as well,” Ken Tingley, editor of the Glens Falls Post-Star, said. “When the economy hurts and retailers are cutting back and may be cutting advertising, we’re hurting.” The Capital Region, which has seven daily newspapers, is no different from other media markets, though newspapers seem to be faring better than most. Current numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations shows that most of the Capital Region’s daily newspapers are holding steady, according to Diane Kennedy, president of the New York Newspaper Publisher’s Association. The most recent numbers are due this month. “It’s hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been awful,” Kennedy said. “There has been a slow decline, but most Web sites are up.” Kennedy also said the Capital Region is the most competitive newspaper market in the country, with daily newspapers in even small cities like Amsterdam, Gloversville, Saratoga and Troy. “It shows that every community really wants its own paper,” Kennedy said. In Amsterdam, the daily paper, the Recorder, changed its format from broadsheet to tabloid as of Monday. Management at the newspaper did not return calls for comment on Monday and Tuesday. Of course, the competition poses additional problems in terms of the amount of advertising dollars available to each outlet. Kennedy said newspapers aren’t just facing competition from each other but from other media like television and radio. Kennedy said the area’s geography, with extremely rural areas, and the regional economy’s dependence on the state workforce also pose potential problems for Capital Region newspapers. Capital Region newspapers are handling their financial problems in a variety of ways. The Post-Star, which is in Warren County in the greater Capital Region, has eliminated its TV book, and changed to a preprinted, fourpage Sunday comics format, which has forced the paper to eliminate some strips and change others. “That’s one of the things we have to explain to our readers, that we don’t have control over what comics we choose,” Tingley said. “The service provides about four different bulk runs and they are pretty similar.” In September, The Daily Gazette, discontinued printing its TV magazine and reduced its stock listings page. The paper also eliminated eight newsroom positions in the same month. “We make changes and difficult ones, most of all reducing staff or changing benefits so we can ensure the future of The Daily Gazette Company,” Dan Beck, general manager of The Daily Gazette Co., said. Beck said the paper’s recent decisions have been driven by both the softening economy and the increase in the cost of newsprint, which has gone up by a third since last year. Beck said the automotive industry, particularly, has been having a difficult year, which has resulted in a reduction in advertising from dealers. The Albany Times Union cut seven newsroom positions in June through buyouts. The Times Union has also changed its TV Book to a tabloid format, reduced the amount of information in its TV slots in the daily paper, and reduced the amount of stock market information. Editor Rex Smith said the paper has also tried to cut down on unpaid space devoted to community events. “Every newspaper is trying to fi gure out how to cope with reduced revenues and the shift of readers to online,” Smith said. “Our goal is to keep as many feet on the street as we can. We’re trying to think the way a reader thinks.” Smith said the Times Union is focusing its coverage on watch dog and investigative journalism especially since it is positioned in the state capital. Smith said the Capital Region’s media market is in better shape than most, with the relative stability of the state’s workforce and the economic promise of high tech development. “Our economic recovery will come sooner than it will to the rest of the country,” Smith said. Smith points to the $60 million promise by the Times Union’s parent company, the Hearst Corp., to build a new printing press and distribution center in the Capital Region as a vote of confidence in the area’s media climate.
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Funny how they never blame poor political reporting or biased liberal editorials for the free fall in circulation and advertising at the People's Daily.
