We Were Print

Shocking: Judge Parker is Back, AJC has a Comics Editor

In reading a Washington Post commentary, Are Too Many Newspaper Comic Polls a Sham?, I was shocked by two points:

Judge Parker is being returned to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The AJC has a Comics Editor.

Judge Parker? Really? You’re not exactly picking up new readers with that stinker.

With the Atlanta Journal-Constitution cutting more than 50 full-time employees, 100 part-time employees and dropping 22 counties from its circulation, does it really need a Comics Editor?

What wasn’t shocking: comics polls don’t mean much. One of the first newspaper jobs I ever had was collecting ballots, inputting data and tabulating the results of my paper’s comics survey. The people who take the time to fill out a 50-plus question survey aren’t necessarily a representative sample.

Also, they have poor handwriting and can’t cut a straight line to save their life.

Will Your Tribune Buyout Check Clear?

A note from my Tribune source…

Anyone who took the buyout and opted not to take the money until 2009 got screwed. As soon as Tribune declared bankruptcy, all of those people were deemed “creditors” and just went on the list of people Tribune can’t pay. It wasn’t a lot of people, but it was some.

The Good News

If you took your Tribune buyout as a lump sum, you get to keep your money.

The Bad News

Folks who decided to take their buyout in payments get to keep what has already been paid but probably won’t get any more checks. As of Tribune’s bankruptcy, folks with deferred payments simply aren’t getting them.

The Worse News

A number of Tribune employees accepted a buyout in 2008 but elected to take the money in 2009 in order to better mitigate the Federal tax bill. Those people are at the bottom of a long list of creditors looking into Tribune’s empty piggy bank. If you see anything, it’ll likely be after folks with secured debt or debt ahead of you has been paid.

One former Tribune employee told me she was expecting a check in excess of $50,000 in 2009 as her buyout, accepted months ago. Instead, she got a notice from the Delaware District of the United States Bankruptcy Court.

As an occasional Tribune consultant, I, too, got a bankruptcy notice from Tribune. Fortunately, they don’t have an outstanding balance. Starting with the notice of their bankruptcy, instead of billing monthly with net 30 day terms, Tribune is going to become a weekly invoice, due on receipt. (If only its employees had that option and the same level of control.)

A Bird in the Hand…

As noted earlier, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Even if you love newspapers, think they will turn around and are bullish on their long-term future, you may want to invest otherwise just in case.

Even a pessimist such as myself would never have imagined that Tribune would leave their bought-out employees high and dry. Prepare for the worst.

Sam Zell’s Note to “Partners”

Love those priorities — the Cubs make his first graf.

Sam Zell

Dec. 8, 2008

Partners,

We just announced that Tribune is restructuring its debt under Chapter 11 protection. I’m sure you saw the speculative coverage last night and this morning. I would have preferred everyone get the news from me first, but since our debt is publicly traded, we had to keep this decision confidential until we had a formal board decision. The Cubs franchise is not part of the filing.

Most importantly, I want to stress that we will continue to operate our business as usual. That includes meeting payroll and covering benefits (such as healthcare, disability and others), and paying vendors for all goods and services they provide to us going forward.

As is routine with Chapter 11 filings, we have filed “First-Day Motions” to get court approval on these and many other programs that are essential to continuing our businesses without disruption. We expect to get approval on these motions within the next few days.

You are also most likely wondering about the other aspects of your compensation. The 401(k) is unaffected by the filing, and in general, the existing benefits in the pension and cash balance plans are also unaffected by the filing. The ESOP is part of the ownership structure, so its value and role long-term will be determined in the restructuring. We believe the structure is a valuable asset to the company and that there are strong reasons to preserve it.

So, how did we get here? It has been, to say the least, the perfect storm. A precipitous decline in revenue and a tough economy have coupled with a credit crisis, making it extremely difficult to support our debt. All of our major advertising categories have been dramatically impacted.

By restructuring our debt, we will reduce the pressure on the company’s operating businesses, enabling us to pursue our vision of creating a sustainable, cutting-edge media company that is valued by our readers, viewers, and advertisers, and that plays a vital role in the communities we serve.

This filing should not impact the way you do your jobs on a day-to-day basis. We will continue to operate responsibly in a challenging environment – aggressively managing costs and maximizing revenue opportunities. These are all things we would do whether or not we were restructuring our debt.

Our challenges are consistent with those facing all media companies, and an increasing number of companies across a variety of industries today. The reality is that we – along with the rest of the country – have very little visibility on where the economy is headed and how our businesses will perform given the recession.

The good news is that we have great brands, and we produce great products every day. It’s up to all of us to continue to focus on what it is we do best.

As your Chairman and CEO, I will continue to be actively engaged in the business and I remain committed to the company, to you and to our lenders. Randy, Gerry and the rest of the management team are equally dedicated to moving this company forward.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions that this email doesn’t cover. I encourage you to visit TribLink where we’ve posted some anticipated Q&A, or call the toll-free number we’ve established – 888-287-7568. We’ll also have information posted on Tribune.com. But, recognize that there is quite a bit we don’t know – or that we cannot confirm – at this point.

I am proud of the work we have done at Tribune in the last year. I’ve seen strong determination to take hold of this company and put it on a new course. As a result, we’ve reduced costs, gained market share, and laid the groundwork for creating a new business model out of traditional media. This restructuring
will give us the time we need to build that model, to secure sustainable and growing cash flow, and to achieve the success the talented partners in this company deserve.

Sam

Tribune Bankrupt? Keep An Eye on Your Company’s Stock

Tribune, taken private last year by Sam Zell, may be considering bankruptcy according to a New York Times story.

Tribune gave its rank and file employees a fair amount of stock through profit sharing. That was great when the shares were trading at $70. As the stock fell into the $30s, our Tribune stock was just a reminder that layoffs were coming and half our nest egg was gone.

Free advice: Diversify. If you still work for a newspaper — any publicly-traded newspaper — and your 401K is flush with company stock, it may be worth talking to your financial advisor. When Enron went toes-up, a lot of its employees were hit with a double-whammy: not only were they suddenly out of work, their Enron-heavy 401Ks were near worthless.

Jobs: Gov Hiring for 2010 U.S. Census Workers

All major U.S. cities will be hiring for census takers in 2009 (for the 2010 US Census) — so take note – there will be hundreds hired.
Pay is between $10 and $22/hr, depending on city.

http://www.census.gov/2010censusjobs

Or check for local listings for these jobs in your own hometown newspaper — if you’ve still got one!

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