Today, MoveOn Media Action received a personal response from Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons to our e-mail to him yesterday about the effect of newspaper cuts on news quality.

Our string of correspondence is below…

Adam Green

Civic Communications Director

MoveOn.org Civic Action

---

From: Noah T. Winer
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 5:08 PM
To: 'Dennis FitzSimons'
Cc: Gary Weitman
Subject: RE: Responding to your e-mail of Dec. 22

December 23, 2005

Dear Mr. FitzSimons:

Thank you for your response. You bring up four provocative points that deserve further examination.

1) You were emphatic that “most of the positions impacted by the recent staff reductions at our newspapers were outside the newsroom.” 

This begs two questions.

First, what is the precise number of newsroom staff cuts at Tribune Company newspapers in “recent” and other numerous rounds of staff cuts under your leadership?

And more important, by being so emphatic about this distinction between newsroom and other staff cuts, are you acknowledging newsroom staff reductions—when they are made—do spread news staff too thin and hurt reporters’ ability to deliver strong watchdog journalism to the public? If so, will you pledge that if profits in your publishing division this year are as high or higher than they were last year, Tribune Company papers will not be forced to eliminate any newsroom positions next year? Furthermore, will you work to restore the reporters, editors, researchers, and other newsroom positions that were eliminated at Tribune Company papers under your leadership?

2) You also state that “Quality journalism is achieved by employing talented reporters, writers, editors and photographers…and giving them the freedom and resources they need to perform their jobs. That's something we do every day.”

Again, this begs two questions.

First, the Tribune Company’s recent newspaper cuts included firing Newsday editor Lonnie Isabel, who helped lead the paper to Pulitzer Prize winning reporting [1]. Earlier this year, Newsday also lost Pulitzer/Polk/Peabody prize-winning reporter Laurie Garrett, who wrote this about the Tribune Company in her exit memo: “They serve their stockholders first, Wall St. second and somewhere far down the list comes service to newspaper readerships.” [2] Last year, the Baltimore Sun lost 21-year veteran reporter Scott Shane to the New York Times. One newsroom staffer there pointed out that many of the reporters who are leaving the paper “are moving up to papers bigger than The Sun. This does not reinforce the concept that the new management is just getting rid of ‘dead wood.’ It’s live wood that’s leaving.” [3] Would you acknowledge that the loss of these seasoned journalism professionals and others who are being fired, bought out, or otherwise let go was a blow to quality journalism at the Tribune Company?

Second, the Tribune Company recently forced the elimination of research positions at the Baltimore Sun—along with support staff at other papers. Reporters who are already stretched thin were told they have to learn professional research skills and perform their own library research for their stories. What are Tribune Company investors being told about this economically inefficient situation—where reporters must now spend hours on research tasks that professional researchers used to do in minutes? And isn’t slashing researchers and other support staff the polar opposite of giving reporters the “resources they need to perform their jobs”?

3) You also state “we have to remain financially strong” and “doing so enables us to continue investing in our businesses and delivering the high-quality journalism our readers have come to expect.”

Once again, this begs two questions.

First, can the Tribune Company seriously cry poverty as justification for eliminating hundreds of newspaper staff positions at the same time your publishing division made $585.9 million in profit through September of this year—a $93.6 million increase since the same time last year?

Second, isn’t your claim of “investing” in “high-quality journalism” by slashing newspaper staff, and stretching reporters too thin time and again in recent years, an ironic example of redefining the problem as the solution? If the goal is “financial strength” and “high-quality journalism,” will you pledge that if profits in your publishing division this year are as high or higher than they were last year, Tribune Company papers will not be forced to eliminate any newsroom positions next year? And again, will you work to restore the reporters, editors, researchers, and other newsroom positions that were eliminated at Tribune Company papers under your leadership?

4) You assert that local publishers and editors “interact” with readers “on a continuous basis.” 

True to form, this begs two questions.

First, if local readers expressed outrage that the Tribune Company was slashing local newspaper staff, are you actually stating that local editors and publishers have the power to reject the Tribune Company’s mandated staff cuts? If not, then the fact that local editors and publishers interact with local readers is irrelevant. If they do have such power, will you free local Tribune Company publishers and editors—many of whom preside over very profitable newspapers—to make public statements about whether they support or oppose recent rounds of staff cuts at their newspapers?

Second, will you agree to sit down with some of your customers to discuss their concerns about the impact of Tribune Company staff cuts on the quality of their local news? Surely, this is not too much to ask.

At the end of the day, investors and consumers will be best off if the Tribune Company acknowledges this point: the best way to attract readers is not to slash the quality of local news, but to invest in strong watchdog journalism. Consumers know that when newspaper staffs are stretched too thin, they have a diminished ability to ask tough questions, hold politicians and corporations accountable, and deliver the truth to the public.

We are committed to ensuring that the public is fully informed of the decisions that the Tribune Company is making—including the decision about whether your readers are important enough to be heard by you directly. We sincerely hope you accept this invitation to meet with them.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Noah T. Winer

Director, MoveOn Media Action

Adam Green

Civic Communications Director, MoveOn.org Civic Action

Sources:

1. "Newsday eliminates two deputy managing editor jobs" Poynter Online, September 13, 2005

http://poynter.org/forum/default.asp?id=memos&DGPCrSrt=&DGPCrPg=3

2. "Laurie Garrett's memo to Newsday colleagues," Poynter Online, February 28, 2005

http://poynter.org/forum/default.asp?id=memos&DGPCrSrt=&DGPCrPg=6

3. “Race to the Bottom,” Baltimore City Paper Online, August 11, 2004

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=8674

---

From: Dennis FitzSimons
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 12:22 PM
To: Noah Winer
Subject: Responding to your e-mail of Dec. 22

Dear Mr. Winer,

Thanks for your e-mail.    

Tribune Company is one of this country's leading news organizations. We have nearly 4000 journalists on staff at our 11 newspapers, 26 television stations, and dozens of websites.  Our newspapers are the largest and best equipped news-gathering organizations in their local market.  In fact, most of the positions impacted by the recent staff reductions at our newspapers were outside the newsroom.  Your characterization otherwise is inaccurate. 

But, outstanding journalism isn't just about staffing levels-numbers alone don't determine quality journalism, as I am sure you'd agree.  Quality journalism is achieved by employing talented reporters, writers, editors and photographers who are dedicated to covering their local communities and important national beats--and giving them the freedom and resources they need to perform their jobs.  That's something we do every day.  The latest example of our investment in continued improvement is our new, state-of-the art news bureau where our Washington, D.C.-based newspaper and broadcast journalists work.         

Tribune's commitment to quality journalism and to serving the readers and advertisers of its local communities hasn't changed one bit. But, the media environment is changing and we have to change with it.  Consumers have more media choices than ever before, and competition for their attention is fierce.  Tribune's edge is its unique ability to cover its local communities like no one else can.  In order to keep that edge, we have to remain financially strong; doing so enables us to continue investing in our businesses and delivering the high-quality journalism our readers have come to expect throughout our 158-year history.

While I appreciate the concerns you've expressed, I respectfully disagree with your conclusions.   The publishers and editors of our newspapers and the general managers and news directors of our television stations interact with readers, viewers and customers on a continuous basis.  These meetings keep us in close touch with the communities where we do business.  We will continue to invest in great journalism that will best serve our communities, our customers and our nation.

Thank you again for your e-mail and your interest in Tribune Company.

Sincerely,

Dennis FitzSimons

---

From: Weitman, Gary
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 11:41 AM
To: 'Noah T. Winer'
Subject: RE: Please deliver this message to Mr. FitzSimons

Dear Mr. Winer,

I have shared your e-mail with our Chairman and CEO, Dennis FitzSimons.  He will be responding directly to you by e-mail shortly.

Gary Weitman

VP/Corporate Communications

Tribune Company

-----Original Message-----
From: Noah T. Winer
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 11:04 AM
To: Weitman, Gary
Subject: Please deliver this message to Mr. FitzSimons

December 22, 2005

Gary Weitman

Vice President/Communications

Tribune Company

Dear Mr. Weitman:

On behalf of MoveOn Media Action, we would like to follow up on our December 7 personal request to Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons for a meeting between him and some of his customers. These customers are concerned about the Tribune Company's decision to cut 800 staffers from 8 local newspapers across the nation, despite increased profit at the company's publishing division.

Since December 7, when MoveOn Media Action members hand-delivered over 45,000 petition signatures to you, 14,000 more local consumers have signed. The public is sending a clear message to the Tribune Company: the best way to attract readers is not to slash the quality of local news, but to invest in strong watchdog journalism. Consumers know that when newspaper staff are stretched too thin, they have a diminished ability to ask tough questions, hold politicians and corporations accountable, and deliver the truth to the public.

The Tribune Company lets down its investors and consumers across the country every day it fails to realize the best business model is one that invests in strong watchdog journalism. The goal of our petition drive is to remind you of this. The rules of the game are changing, and there will be a growing consumer backlash as long as corporate media owners like the Tribune Company insist on cutting the quality of news.

Below are some photos and news articles from the first of our person-to-person petition drives held by MoveOn Media Action members in Baltimore, Maryland and Allentown, Pennsylvania this past week. Also included are a photo, audio, and news links from our personal petition delivery to Mr. FitzSimons. We would appreciate if you would share this information with Mr. FitzSimons so he fully understands the growing public backlash against the Tribune Company's news cuts.

We reiterate our offer for Mr. FitzSimons to meet with some of his customers to discuss their concerns about the impact of staff cuts on the quality of their local news. They would be willing to travel to Chicago from around the country to attend the meeting. At your earliest convenience, please let us know if Mr. FitzSimons is willing to hear these customers' concerns. We are confident that once he understands the growing backlash from consumers, he will be able to adjust his business decisions to the betterment of both newspaper readers and investors.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Noah T. Winer

Director, MoveOn Media Action

Adam Green

Civic Communications Director, MoveOn.org Civic Action

MoveOn Media Action is a project of MoveOn.org Civic Action - a 501(c)(4) distinct from MoveOn's political action committee. MoveOn Media Action empowers regular people to reform the media and fight back when news organizations abandon their journalistic duty to be a vigilant watchdog for the public. It was formed because MoveOn members felt this was an important priority for the organization.

BALTIMORE PETITION DRIVE - DEC. 16, 2005

Photos by Andy Cook (Available at http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1291)

Photos by Doug Schmenner (Available at http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1291)

BALTIMORE SUN

MoveOn protests Tribune job cuts

Reductions by newspaper publishing unit criticized in downtown petition drive

December 17, 2005

EXCERPT:

Opponents of staff cuts at newspapers owned by the Tribune Co., including The Sun and the Los Angeles Times, fanned out yesterday in downtown Baltimore to press their case that the reductions will compromise the press' ability to serve as society's watchdog.

An activist from MoveOn Media Action, which has criticized cutbacks at eight Tribune newspapers, told The Sun that the nationwide campaign will continue until the Chicago company stops reducing staffs to save money.

...

"The fundamental question is, what obligation do media companies have to ensure quality journalism at the same time they make a profit?" asked Adam Green, a MoveOn activist.

"We're making an example of the Tribune Co. that hopefully will serve as a lesson for the entire industry - don't cut quality journalism."

Green said the petition effort has so far garnered 58,587 signatures, including almost 4,000 in Baltimore. About 45,000 were handed to Dennis J. FitzSimons, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Tribune, at a conference with financial analysts in New York last week.

"The media is drifting away from its duty to be a strong watchdog for the public," Green said. "Who's there to advocate for journalists when their jobs are being cut?"

Full article at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.to.media17dec17,1,335784.story

MORNING CALL (ALLENTOWN)

MoveOn.org to seek petition signers in Allentown
Protest of jobs cuts at Tribune newspapers moves to downtown.
December 16, 2005

EXCERPT:

MoveOn.org members will take their online petition drive to the streets of downtown Allentown today, trying to gather signatures protesting job cuts at The Morning Call.

Local members of the civic and political action group plan to solicit signatures from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Seventh and Hamilton streets, group leaders said.

MoveOn.org says it has gathered 1,200 signatures online since the first week of the month, when the group started petitions protesting job cuts at eight newspapers owned by Tribune Co. of Chicago.

The Morning Call, the Lehigh Valley's largest newspaper, laid off about 50 people late last month. The newspaper also eliminated an unspecified number of jobs by buying out senior employees and leaving open jobs unfilled. Officials said the newspaper made the cuts to meet Tribune's budget targets. The newspaper employed about 950 people before the cuts. Most of the job cuts involved the Chronicles, a group of 11 weekly community newspapers that operated independently of The Morning Call's newsroom. The Chronicles, which employed 32 people, are being closed.

MoveOn.org says layoffs stretch newspapers' staffs and limit their ability to deliver strong community journalism.

...

MoveOn leaders drew attention to their campaign this month by trying to present petitions to Tribune Chief Executive Officer Dennis FitzSimons at an investment conference in New York. The petitions were eventually taken by Gary Weitman, Tribune's vice president of communications.

''We're going to continue to force the issue,'' Green said. ''This is not a one-day campaign or a one-week campaign.''

Full article at:
http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-moveondec16,0,3290732.story

EDITOR & PUBLISHER

MoveOn.org Extends Petition Drive Against Tribune Job Cuts
December 20, 2005

EXCERPT:

NEW YORK In the most recent bout of MoveOn.org actions against Tribune Company job cuts, the progressive advocacy group solicited petition signatures from community members in Baltimore and Allentown, where two Tribune Co. newspapers have significantly reduced staffs.

MoveOn organizers have gathered about 4,000 signatures from Baltimore residents and 1,200 in Allentown, online and during the Dec. 16 drive, asking the Baltimore Sun and Allentown Morning Call not to cut jobs at the papers. The Morning Call eliminated 50 positions in November and bought out an unspecified number of senior employees. The Sun lost about 70 jobs this year through buyouts.

"Part of the reason we're doing these drives is there are lots of people out there, who we met on Friday, who don't have e-mail addresses but who care deeply about local news," said MoveOn organizer Adam Green. After attending the Baltimore petition push, Green said many readers admitted an underlying frustration with ever-shrinking local coverage but hadn't drawn the connection to newsroom cuts.

Organizers of these actions say the Tribune Co. is decreasing its newspapers' ability to serve the public need for "watchdog" journalism by reducing budgets, which has precipitated the loss of about 800 positions across the company. MoveOn points out that these budget constraints were imposed despite a September Tribune Co. report that its year-over-year profit increased $93 million, or 19%, in 2005.

"In the big picture, we want to create an environment where media corporations can no longer ignore the public's desire for strong watchdog journalism," Green said. "In this particular case, we aim to pressure the Tribune Company to reverse the recent cuts to quality journalism they forced on local papers around the country."

...

Members of MoveOn also tried to deliver 45,000 petition signatures to Tribune Co. CEO Dennis FitzSimons at Credit Suisse First Boston's annual Global Media Conference in New York Dec. 7. The organizers were turned away and FitzSimons declined to respond to questions from a MoveOn.org member inside the conference, but the Tribune Co. has maintained in written statements that it still is deeply invested in strong news coverage and committed "to serve our communities exceptionally well."

Full article at:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001701040

NEW YORK CITY PETITION DELIVERY TO FITZSIMONS - DEC. 7, 2005

Photo by Rob Terhune (Available at http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1291)

From Nikkei business newspaper, Japan

At a media investor's conference in New York City, MoveOn Media Action hand-delivered 45,000 petition signatures to Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons. After FitzSimons made a presentation and Q & A began, MoveOn Media Action Director Noah T. Winer was first to ask a question.

AUDIO:  Hear Winer's Q& A Question To Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons

http://cdn.moveon.org/content/audio/NoahQandA.mp3

AUDIO:  Hear Winer's Post-Event Invitation To FitzSimons To Meet With His Customers

http://cdn.moveon.org/content/audio/NoahPostPanel.mp3

TRANSCRIPTS:

http://civic.moveon.org/mediaaction/stopcuts_nyc.html

NEWSDAY

National petition drive challenges newspaper cuts

December 7, 2005

EXCERPT:

A civic advocacy group plans to "confront" Tribune Co. chief executive Dennis FitzSimons today to present him with 45,000 signatures protesting deep staff cuts at Newsday and other Tribune newspapers.

"We're letting corporate owners know that if they decide to abandon strong watchdog journalism in their business decisions, there will be a backlash against them," said Adam Green, civic communications director for MoveOn Civic Action, an arm of the grassroots online political action committee MoveOn.org.

The left-leaning advocacy group launched an online petition drive to protest the cutbacks, which it says threaten the newspapers' vital watchdog role as the company continues its quest for corporate profits. FitzSimons will be attending a media investment conference in Manhattan today.

Pointing to more than 650 recent job cuts at eight Tribune newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times and Newsday (where 171 editorial and corporate positions have been trimmed since October), the group blitzed the Internet with e-mails suggesting the moves were motivated by corporate greed and subterfuge.

"New Yorkers are being kept in the dark about why these cuts are really happening," MoveOn said. "Despite reaping huge profits, Newsday's corporate owners in Chicago simply aren't satisfied - they want more, and they are willing to sacrifice good journalism to get it."

In a statement, a Newsday spokeswoman challenged the notion that the paper is weakening its mission.

Full article at:

http://www.newsday.com/business/local/newyork/ny-bzbottom4542395dec07,0,7758864,print.story

NEWSDAY

Tribune chief defends recent job cuts

December 7, 2005

EXCERPT:

Tribune Co. chief executive Dennis FitzSimons Tuesday rejected charges that cutting newsroom jobs at Newsday and other Tribune newspapers is undermining news coverage, saying the company remains committed to producing quality journalism.

FitzSimons' comments came a day after MoveOn Media Action, an activist group, complained that the job cuts threatened the newspapers' role as community watchdogs. He maintained that Tribune would still emphasize local news stories and other information that readers can get only from a newspaper or its Web site.

...

Tribune officials, who have reduced the company's workforce by 900 jobs, or about 4 percent this year, were confronted at one of the gatherings by activists from an offshoot of the liberal political-action group MoveOn.org.

MoveOn Media Action director Noah T. Winer caused a stir at the Credit Suisse First Boston event by asking FitzSimons if he was concerned about reader backlash to the newsroom cuts. Before FitzSimons could answer, Credit Suisse analyst William Drewry demanded that Winer yield the microphone.

Winer attempted to present what he said were 45,000 signatures on petitions that call on Tribune to stop cutting journalists' jobs. FitzSimons directed a spokesman to take the bundle.

FitzSimons also refused MoveOn's requests to meet with readers. "Other media companies around the country have announced similar staff reductions," said Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman. "We continue to invest far more than anyone in our markets to provide the most comprehensive news coverage in our newspapers and on our Web sites."

Organizers of the MoveOn campaign pledged it would be expanded to other media companies. It was launched last week after Tribune announced payroll cuts at its papers including 72 nonjournalism jobs and 40 vacant positions at Newsday. Last month, the paper also reduced the newsroom staff by 59 people, largely through buyouts. Unlike other Tribune properties, however, the Newsday reductions were fueled by its circulation inflation of about 100,000 copies on weekdays and Sundays going back several years.

...

Full article at:
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bztrib1208,0,6664891.story?coll=ny-business-leadheadlines

REUTERS

Newsroom layoffs stifle journalism-lobbying group
Wed Dec 7, 2005 8:00 PM ET

EXCERPT:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Political lobbying group MoveOn, best known for efforts to unseat U.S. President George W. Bush in the 2004 election, protested job cuts in American newsrooms on Wednesday, saying it would stifle good journalism.

At a media conference in New York, the group delivered a petition with 45,000 signatures to executives of newspaper publisher Tribune Co., objecting to the company's layoffs of more than 800 newspaper workers, which will likely include reporters.

Tribune Co.'s papers include the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

"We're concerned about the ability of newspapers to report news. Good watchdog journalism costs money, but it's what communities rely on newspapers for," Noah Winer, media action director at MoveOn, told Reuters.

In an e-mailed statement, Tribune Co. said, "The media industry is changing and we need to change with it. ... Rather than focus on staff reductions, we would encourage you to focus on the full extent of our commitment to serve our communities exceptionally well."

...

Josh Douglass, a lifelong reader of Tribune Co.'s Newsday, said layoffs at the Long Island, New York-based newspaper could prevent political scandals from coming to light.

"If there are no reporters there to get friendly with people and find out what might be going on behind closed doors, that's a real problem," Douglass said.

Full article at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051208/us_nm/media_moveon_dc_1

NEW YORK TIMES

December 8, 2005

Newspapers Offer a Case for Keeping Them Around

EXCERPT:

In a departure from their usual political activities, members of the political organization MoveOn.org appeared at the conference and tried to confront Dennis J. FitzSimons, the chief executive of the Tribune Company. Representatives of the group demanded he reverse a decision this year to cut 650 employees from papers including The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The Orlando Sentinel. The group charged that such layoffs threaten the ability of newspapers to perform as public watchdogs.

Mr. FitzSimons declined to meet with a representative from the group.

Full article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/08/business/media/08adco.html

LOS ANGELES TIMES

December 8, 2005

Tribune Chief Rejects Assertions on Job Cuts

EXCERPT:

Tribune Co. Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons rejected assertions that cutting newsroom jobs at Tribune newspapers was undermining news coverage, saying the company remained committed to producing quality journalism.

FitzSimons' comments came a day after MoveOn Media Action, an activist group, complained that the cuts threatened the papers' role as community watchdogs. He said that Tribune would still emphasize local news stories and other information that readers can get only from a newspaper or its website.

Full article at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-briefs8.1dec08,1,6038451.story?coll=la-headlines-business

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Tribune chief touts strengths

Cautious forecast for investors amid industry `transition'

Published December 8, 2005

EXCERPT:

By James P. Miller, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune news services contributed to this report

NEW YORK -- Tribune Co. Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons sought to emphasize his company's "fundamental strengths" at a financial conference Wednesday, even as he acknowledged that "clearly, the year hasn't been what we hoped it would be."

...

Group criticizes job cuts

And while the financial community was approvingly toting up the benefits from the industry's job cuts on Wednesday, another group was loudly criticizing the reductions as harmful to U.S. society.

MoveOn Civic Action, an arm of the online political action committee MoveOn.org, roundly attacked Tribune management, saying the company's staff cuts "mean watered-down coverage of local, state and national news."

A handful of MoveOn Civic Action members, some holding signs emblazoned "Let reporters do their jobs" and "Newspaper cuts hurt journalism," staged a demonstration in front of the midtown Manhattan hotel where the CSFB conference was being held.

After failing to catch FitzSimons as he entered the conference, some of the MoveOn Civic Action group entered the ballroom where he was speaking and tried to hand him an "online petition" that they claimed had been signed by 45,000 people who object to Tribune's cuts.

FitzSimons declined to accept the petition, and conference employees took the protesters' microphone away.

With that episode out of the way, the conference returned to a relatively listless question-and-answer session, in which most attendees focused less on the fundamental changes sweeping the industry and more on issues like the prospects for 2006 revenues at Tribune's 26 television stations and how many shares it will buy back in the coming year.

Full article at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0512080037dec08,1,5511593.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW (CJR DAILY)

Dec. 07, 2005

The Big Freeze-Out

In a Close Call, Tribune Co. Almost Meets Its Public

EXCERPT:

Inside the comfort and warmth of the Crowne Plaza hotel near Times Square, Tribune Co. executives droned on to stock market analysts about more job cuts they anticipate in 2006, using the almost Orwellian language of "greater efficiencies" in news-gathering, "focus on cost management" and "redeploying resources." Outside the hotel, frozen MoveOn activists who had gathered 45,000 signatures opposing the company's already announced job cuts in newsrooms were forming a plan.

Huddled on the sidewalk outside the hotel were Adam Green, civic communications director for MoveOn, a few placard-clutching volunteers, and Todd Gitlin, media activist and professor at Columbia's Journalism School. Green and Gitlin made a few remarks for the clutch of reporters and photographers who tried to keep their hands warm scribbling notes and avoiding gawking Times Square tourists. Then it was time to crash the party.

Picking up two cardboard boxes containing the 45,000 signatures and heading through the doors to the hotel -- followed dutifully by a couple photographers and reporters -- Green headed off for his rendezvous with destiny. Sort of. Met at the foot of the escalator by a security guard, Green identified himself and headed up, trailed by a couple of security guards. Once the group hit the second floor, where the conference was being held, a few more security guards -- who refused to identify themselves -- pushed the procession right back toward the "down" escalator, and into the lobby. There, they were met by even more security guards who, apart from being in a pretty bad mood, seemed to relish a little bit of action. They kicked the group back outside, where it regrouped on 49th street.

...

Meantime, inside the conference room, execs from the Tribune Co. were announcing that by the end of the year, it will have cut a full 4 percent of its workforce -- a total of 900 jobs, 800 of which will be in the publishing unit.

Tribune Co.'s publishing operations are taking the brunt of the cuts, according to Dow Jones, even though "[p]ublishing revenue [for Tribune Co.] is flat year-to-date...while broadcasting is down about 5.5 percentage, although both are generating solid cash flow." Indeed, the company's publishing division made a profit of $595.9 million in the first three quarters of the year, a $93.6 million increase from the same period last year.

Despite the Tribune's decision to cut costs by cutting staff -- and thereby putting at risk the quality of the product it offers readers -- readership for the newspaper industry as a whole, as the Wall Street Journal reported today, "remains strong ... On an average weekday, 77 percent of adults in the top 50 markets read a newspaper at least once daily, as do 68 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds...."

...

But back to the action on the ground, where all was not lost, and if nothing else, a small moral victory was scored. As a reporter for Paidcontent.org wrote, MoveOn activist Noah Winer actually managed to make it past the security phalanx and into the conference, where he "made a mini-speech and tried to present a petition with 45,000 signatures protesting the job cuts." In a wish-we-had-been-there moment, Winer asked Tribune Chairman Dennis FitzSimons, "Many of us are wondering why you're cutting the ability to deliver news your readers want. Will you meet with some of those consumers? They're outside." Needless to say, Winer didn't get a response.

But as Paidcontent.org tells us in an update, Winer tracked down FitzSimons after the meeting, "ask[ing] repeatedly if he would meet with "his customers." FitzSimons looked at him, and said,

"No."

It's not surprising that FitzSimons wouldn't give Winer the time of day -- after all, it's pretty obvious at this point that neither quality journalism nor engaging critics of its business tactics is high on Tribune Co.'s list of priorities. However, cutting newsroom staffs -- from Los Angeles to Chicago to Baltimore to Orlando to Hartford -- is.

Bold added. Full article at:

http://www.cjrdaily.org/behind_the_news/in_a_close_call_tribune_co_alm.php

AdAge.com

NEWSPAPER CEOS ASSURE ANALYSTS OF COST-CUTTING

Even as MoveOn.org Protestor Lambasts Tribune Co. for Doing So

December 07, 2005

EXCERPT:

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Top newspaper executives put on brave faces at a series of presentations today, emphasizing their journalism, growing Internet investments, increasing interaction with readers and new advertiser venues both online and off.

...

Protestor crashes Tribune presentation

Not everybody bought that line; a protestor crashed Tribune's later presentation at the Credit Suisse First Boston Media Week conference, the other big media confab going on in New York this week.

The protestor, from MoveOn.org Media Action, took the microphone at the start of the question-and-answer session to berate executives over job cuts and deliver about 45,000 petition signatures backing his position. "Since the Tribune publishing division has had a profit this year of $585.9 million, many of us are wondering why you're cutting the ability to deliver the news that consumers want," he said. (That profit figure refers to the first three quarters of the year.)

Receiving no answer, the activist handed the signatures to a Tribune corporate-communications executive after the session. Tribune had no new comment on the MoveOn campaign, but said in a statement earlier this week that it continues to invest far more than anyone else in its markets to provide comprehensive news coverage.

'Commitment to serve'

"Rather than focus on staff reductions, we would encourage you to focus on the full extent of our commitment to serve our communities exceptionally well," the statement said.

Other presentations went off without disruption -- even if the disruptive forces roiling the industry remained evident.

Full article at:

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47074

AdAge.com

NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS IN MOVEON'S CROSS HAIRS

PAC Crashes Media Confab, Blasts Tribune Over Recent Job Cuts

December 12, 2005

EXCERPT:

Newspaper publishers looking to cut costs are no longer just the enemy of fearful journalists-they're the enemy of democracy.

At least that is what MoveOn.org wants the public to believe. The group, an offshoot of the political action committee founded to raise money to oppose President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq, last week crashed the Tribune Co.'s presentation at a media conference. In a move that creates an unexpected politicization of newspaper management-and another burden for already beleaguered publishers-the group began the question-and-answer period by blasting job cuts and turning over 45,000 petition signatures in support of fired workers.

``Since the Tribune publishing division has had a profit this year of $585.9 million,'' a protestor said, referring to the first three quarters of 2005, ``many of us are wondering why you're cutting the ability to deliver the news that consumers want.''

Papers habitually face protests from activists who perceive ideological bias, like the people who often stand quietly outside The New York Times with placards showing a fetus. But two weeks ago, MoveOn.org Civic Action began telling members that eliminating newspaper jobs undermines the press's watchdog role, singling out Tribune's 900 staff cuts this year. Press reports have amplified the charge. And its organizers said they were considering expanding the campaign, perhaps by buying shares to gain access to Tribune's spring meeting.

It garnered mixed reactions off the bat. ``I think that what MoveOn.org is doing is great,'' said Jill Porter, a columnist at a Knight Ridder paper, The Philadelphia Daily News. ``I really hope they take up our cause as well.''

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December12, 2005 Print Edition, Ad Age