July 31, 2009

Final Sun Newspapers out in Ohio; staff down to 34

Advance Publications will cut staff to 34 and eliminate 11 of 22 weekly Sun Newspapers in northern Ohio as a previously announced consolidation .that includes shifting some work to its Cleveland Plain Dealer continues.

The last edition of 11 newspapers in the weekly chain appeared on newsstands for the last time July 30. Ideastream, facing its own layoffs, reported readers in Euclid, Bedford, Maple Heights/Garfield, Twinsburg, and Nordonia Heights will no longer get any Sun newspaper.

NewsNet5 reported the remaining newspapers will expand their coverage boundaries to include the other six communities losing their newspapers.

The Cleveland Scene reported "Sun CEO Keith Mathis filed paperwork with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services projecting the elimination of 115 jobs, including 30 reporters, 26 sales reps, three photographers, and dozens of support staff and skill positions."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer will take over accounting, payroll and retail duties and deliver Sun papers to homes, the Scene reported.

Online, the newspapers published a few farewells, including:
"Journalism has come a long way since I first picked up a reporter's notebook. I was the first woman editor of an Air Force newspaper. Right now, I'm looking at a newsroom where the executive editor is a woman, three women are line editors, my assistant editor is a woman and every reporter on my staff, except for the sports writer, is a woman."

She was one of 11 editors; the reorganization calls for four editors and four assistant editors, according to the Cleveland Scene.
  • The Reward was worth the risk for Jarrod Zickefoose, who is moving to a new assignment and ends seven years of column writing that began reluctantly.
  • Mary Jane Skala says Thanks for 20 years of memories. She'll continue writing a column, but first "I'm going to throw my sleeping bag in my car and head West. As I gaze at the stars and raft a river or two, I'll reflect on 20 years of editing these papers, a job I've loved. "
  • Remarkable Ronda (Armstrong) tells us in This chapter is ending, but another beginning. that she will "move forward with the mission of my organization, the Morning Glory Literary Society -- taking the transformational power of writing into prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, drug treatment centers -- any and everywhere people are suffering in order to help them find peace, healing and balance."
The first ever front page of Garfield-Maple Heights Sun is published.
Sun Newspapers will publish under 11 mastheads when the reorganization plan is complete, according to a post on cleveland.com

The Cleveland Scene also reported that enough employees accepted a severance package so no layoffs were necessary.

You can learn more in a post I wrote: Inside Out (mcwflint): 'Nifty content' not enough so Advance Publications closing weekly newspapers in Ohio

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Fascination with journalists, jobs leads to suggested reading

Stroll over to Free From Editors if you want to read about the newspaper days when
"... you would get drunk and screw up and get fired, but it wasn't a big deal because you would go to another newspaper."
Jim of L-Town starts with a tale from his dad about reporter John Clark and gangster Mickey Cohen in "a story from the "Front Page" " and embellishes with some findings from a Google search.

If you want to know more about journalists of today, Charles Apple continues his tradition of wishing folks in the field a happy birthday with biography posts.

Or perhaps you're more interested in a job in journalism. Jim of L-Town had a request for journalism job resources on a day when emailing, not commenting or posting, was in the realm of my possibility. I sent him my hot list - hey, a girl can dream - and Jim pulled them together in a post.

Tonight, I sent him a link to another - Scooping the News, which also posts five newspaper jobs a week.

Speaking of scoops, make sure you know where you are online before you interview for a job. It's an uncomfortable feeling when a prospective employer is the first to tell you about your 3,000 posts on a Staten Island web site

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July 28, 2009

Finding advice on surviving the layoff

Doom and gloom at Conde Nast properties drew in some advice to those who might get laid off.

Or read about the SARA model in a post which also describes how poorly one laid-off employee handled the news.

The model, by the way is:
"Surprise, Anger, Rejection before finally Accepting the bad news."
Once you get to the last step, head over to another post where there's more advice for those laid off and those staying.. Among those quoted is tech journalist Robert Scoble, who reminds those of us without jobs that:
"Getting a job is now your profession."

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Consultant: A next generation in Ann Arbor

Project consultant Jeff Jarvis posts about the possibilities of annarbor.com

Commenters weigh in, asking might if this be an Advance plan and complaining of a wasted opportunity with this launch.

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Ouch! That was one mean set of words

Who says you need sticks or stones to hurt?

"So you're the one who took Frank's place" draws the ire of a new reporter at a Michigan newspaper.

"How are you liking your retirement? still hurts Hal Tarleton nine months after a layoff that followed 29 years of employment at the same newspaper.

A simple "So you’re the new Frank” would work better for Holly Setter, now working at the Ionia Sentinel-Standard, not "So you're the one who took Frank's place."'
"Perhaps I’m being touchy, but that seems to imply that he left it unwillingly, that I was cheaper labor that the paper hired to cut costs. Which isn’t remotely true — Frank opted to leave for a number of reasons (so I’ve been told, from Frank himself among others) but in large part because he wanted to explore another career and life in Texas."
Holly, who got the job one day before graduation, is one of two full-time reporters at the daily. She did not steal the job.

Time to move on

Frank Konkel says he started at the small daily in the Gatehouse Media Group in September 2007, but knew it was time to leave in May 2009. His original plan was to use the job as a stepping stone and then move on to for a better wage. He had expected to stay longer.
"I was initially grateful for the opportunity, even if I was making less than $10/hour."
He left determined to figure out if he wanted to continue a career in journalism in another location or pursue other interests, including fitness training, government work and freelance writing. Nothing's settled yet and the 2006 Michigan State University graduate is still in Michigan.
"I do miss the people and relationships I made along the way. Those things are, in my opinion, the best aspects of being a journalist."

Told to move on

Hal Tarleton also found much to like about journalism, did he not retire and he's back in the crowded job market - just not in journalism. these days. He wrote:
"My wife brought me back to reality: It's bad enough that I have to start over; it would be even worse if both of us had to start over."

He wrote back in March that the odds of finding something are poor. and not much has changed.

He is getting tired of community members thinking he had something to do with his former newspaper's new look and news emphasis.
"Everyone I've talked to has expressed disgust or exasperation with the redesign. And, unfortunately, I still run into people who think I'm still working there. For them, let me make it clear: I had nothing to do with it!"
The Erstwhile Editor recognizes that perhaps some do so because the announcement of his leaving was " one sentence at the end of a long and rambling "editor's note" without a headline or any real point."
"I have repeatedly had to tell people that, no, I have not retired; I did not want to leave gainful employment. I'm convinced that the newspaper encouraged the misconception that I had retired early. ... I've been gratified by the many people, some of them strangers, who have expressed their disappointment and even anger at my departure from the newspaper. But what's done is done. I'm moving on."
He's moving on in the job search, not moving into retirement.

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Wikipedia for Journalists and other advice coming at Digital Journalism Camp

If I were closer, I'd be over at Steven Walling’s presentation of “Wikipedia for journalists” on August 1. The video is a preview of one of the programs at the Digital Journalism Camp in Oregon.

What's a Digital Journalism Camp?

A post on the camp site says:
"It’s where traditional print and broadcast journalism, blogging and web-based innovation meet. This is not some far-off future for the industry. It’s happening right now, all around us. And reporters, bloggers, editors, and broadcasters have a lot they can learn from each other."
There's even a why posted:
"I want us to shut up about about the death of newspapers and start talking about how we, as journalists, are innovating right now — what’s working, what’s not, and how we can get better at what we do."
Abraham Hyatt left a comment on my original post today to let me know that The Oregonian is only providing space, not hosting, the Digital Journalism Camp on August 1. By providing the space, though, the Advance Publications news organization let the organizers eliminate an admission fee.

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July 27, 2009

How is it going at the Flint newspaper? Who is going and who is returning?

waving hand

Michigan
newsrooms
The Flint Journal
Those affected by the changing of The Flint Journal from a daily newspaper to a three-times a week newspaper can talk by phone to some of the editors this week.

John Hiner, the executive editor of the Flint newspaper, announced the call-in on page one Sunday. (As of 2:01 a.m. Monday, it's not online so I can't link to it and my paper copy recycled.)

Taking the calls is one of the last things editor John Foren will do before leaving July 31. Also heading out after an employee-only cake reception Thursday is Adrienne Wells, most recently director of employee relations.

Why Foren stayed


Foren planned to leave May 31 but stayed when the woman who now has the top role in the newsroom found out May 12 she would be a mother. Ten days later, Marjory Raymer and her husband brought their son home.

She's been gradually returning to work, with her official full-time start Aug. 3. She'll answer calls Wednesday night with Hiner, Foren and others, including the Bay City-based features editor.

Raymer likes how the news is being covered.
"I must say it has been so rewarding to watch how the dedicated and talented crew in the newsroom has adapted to our new model. There is a real hunger in the newsroom to continue to find new and better ways to hone our craft on the Web."

Raymer ready to return



She's anxious to get back - it's the longest she's been away from a newsroom since college.
"This is an exciting time for us all. Reporters have been empowered like never before. And, we are all encouraged to be innovators -- question the way things always have been done and to try things differently. This feels like the new frontier in journalism and The Flint Journal is blazing the trail."
Foren praised Raymer, who he said "is not only a colleague but a friend. I'm not sure I would have basically canceled my summer plans for anyone else."

GM blog praised


Raymer praised Ron Fonger's beat blog on GM and said plans are to continue increasing the number of videos posted.
"There is also a renewed dedication to finding other content of interest to our readers. By aggregating content, our Web site will be the best and most complete source for news and information in Genesee County.

Along with our dedication to developing our Web presence, you will find the same hard news and investigative journalism that makes The Flint Journal great."
Foren, 48, was named The Journal's interim editor in December when Tony Dearing was tapped for an Advance Internet project (AnnAbor.com). Foren got the permanent job in January.

Advance changed Michigan newspapers




Then, this spring Advance Publications announcd changes that affected nearly every newspaper in the family-owned chain. In Michigan, besides pay cuts and pension changes, the changes included the July 24 shuttering of the Ann Arbor News, reducing three mid-Michigan newspapers to three tmes a week while changing their personnel and news structures and creating the AnnArbor.com.

Changes include one publisher and executive editor now over sees the Flint Journal, Saginaw News and Bay City Times. Each news organization also has a female Community Editor (Raymer's new title). The three newspapers, which also became morning newspapers on June 1, share some services and printing through what has become known as Booth MidMichigan. A joint weather package is offered to the Great Lakes Bay Region. A joint business package is labeled Mid-Michigan Business News.
"It was my decision to leave and, while it was a tough one, it feels like the right time to do it.," John said.

Foren ready for new pace


The married father of two teenagers says he looks forward to being around Lansing and his family more.
"My daughter has a year left before college; my son will be a high school sophomore in the fall and has football, basketball and baseball on the schedule. I really want to be around them as much as I can in the next few years. "
Nothing is lined up
"Given the hectic pace of the past few months, I'm also just looking forward to a break. I'm in a position to do that and for that I'm grateful. - Ultimately, I'm guessing I'll steer toward something political in Lansing; I like policy stuff but I know whatever I do will probably also involve writing in some form.

Foren says 'bye in print, online


Speaking of politics, it was his appearance recently as a moderator in the Flint mayoral debate that got some folks asking why he was still in Flint after announcing he'd be gone June 1.

He had a farewell column - Flint's spirit will see it through to its possibilities for the future - in Sunday's newspaper and online. Much of it focused on Sybyl Atwood, before he ended it with two pleas to the community:

"Keep up the good fight. It will yield results, maybe incrementally and in small doses, but progress will come.

And keep reading The Journal, both in print and online. It's part of Flint's fabric and, like the community, is full of spirit and possibilities."

Foren agreed to stay on through July to help with the transition, praising John Hiner and publisher Matt Sharp for being "very good to me" while the three worked on Flint Journal coverage "in our new journalist world."

Foren's career path


Foren was the newspaper's local news editor, overseeing the newsroom and Flint-area coverage, 1999-2009. He joined The Journal in 1985, reporting on some suburban communities before covering Flint government and politics. From 1990-1992, he covered Congress at the newspaper's Washington D.C. Bureau. He then spent three years based in Lansing, covering the Michigan Legislature and the 1994 gubernatorial election. He returned to Flint as a local editor in 1995.

Raymer's career path


Raymer was named Local News editor in January and promoted to the new position of Community Editor in April. She became the newspaper's business editor in January 2008.

Raymer began as a reporter at The Journal in 2000, covering the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. She also covered Flint City Hall, social services and environmental issues. She previously worked as a reporter and copy editor at the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Her husband worked as a copy editor for the Saginaw News before leaving the news business. The last news article on Raymer said her husband, Eric Wisniewski, is an analyst in the Michigan Department of Treasury.

Leaving or coming into a Michigan newsroom? Send me an email with contact information so we can all keep in touch. I've recently wrote about changes in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo and Muskegon and even Livingston County.

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July 26, 2009

Final words on Ann Arbor News

I'm heading to Ann Arbor today to pick up a paper copy of the first AnnArbor.com print edition. But first, let me share a few more links about the closing of the Michigan newspaper.

Innovations in Newspapers says the Ann Arbor News was dead long before it closed. AnnArbor.com came out with "Local community saddened by closing of the Ann Arbor News." (Its earlier stories on the closing are in either land - all earlier blog entries disappeared.)

A Chicago Tribune columnist writes the "Requiem for the hometown newsaper," speaking with a former neighbor Geoff Larcom, who worked for The Ann Arbor News for 24 years.

The Ann Arbor News coverage of itself includes:
 I earlier pulled together many links to the coverage in a Community says goodbye post, including videos of Ann Arbor staff members and the community.


It looks like mlive.com is pulling in a feed from AnnArbor.com to replace what the Ann Arbor News once did to cover the community.

But there are a few kinks to work out, so we know who is writing what.

AnnArbor.com also is linking to some features on mlive.com, at least temporarily. That linking includes an entertainment calendar.

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July 25, 2009

In love: Blogging leader skillful in reply

The directness of a reply to a criticism is exactly why hiring a long-time, curious Internet user was/is a good decision for a news organization.

I first heard about a Tweet criticizing an Arbor Michigan, company for painting its logo on sidewalks. A quick response explained that the logos were chalk, not paint.

The mumblings may have first been posted on Ann Arbor Chronicle's Stopped. Watch. page. where "stories are observations recorded by various Correspondents for The Chronicle in 140 characters or fewer."

Edward Vielmetti, who knows how to find information, responded to the mumblings with Sidewalk chalk is not a crime - AnnArbor.com

In that post, he shares the city ordinance, a video on the day chalk art took over Grand Rapids, Michigan, and another featuring the work of Ann Arbor born artist Kurt Wenner, "who creates the illusion of 3-D images in his anamorphic street paintings."

In comments, that include a comment implying classiness, not legality, is the real issue, Ed and others adds some more links to policies and chalk art.

(Those with long memories or good RSS readers will remember that the site's content leader Tony Dearing told us chalk was a planned marketing tool in a July 3 posting now off the site.
"We're working with an award-winning local marketing agency, re:group, to develop a campaign that will include billboards, posters, radio, bus wraps, Facebook advertising and street marketing that involves everything from chalk ads to coffee sleeves.")
That's how the content rolls when you open the "presses" to people who listen in the community.

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July 24, 2009

Growing number looking at the growing number moving to "Life After Newsroom"

Being an unemployed journalist may lead to a job in a different industry. It might mean creating your own job. It helps me to learn about those who did this successfully, especially in Michigan where the job market is bleak. (See a report about what the employees of the just closed Ann Arbor News face.)

An ex-editor, John Temple is looking at what it means to lose thousands of journalists by looking at one journalist at a time, a journalist who earned what many consider a sign of greatness, a Pulitzer Prize.

He's asking them eight questions, drawing meaning from that. First in the series is Deborah Nelson, whose last newspaper job was Washington investigative editor for the Los Angeles Times.

Then Andrew Schneider of The Pittsburgh Press, another newspaper that no longer exists, answers the questions.
Find some nspiration from a guy who doesn't like unemployment, has a lapel pin that says "write until you die" and just celebrated the $10 made via his blog.

Kim Komenich, who last worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, is now teaching. He began thinking about teaching before the buyout he accepted, allowing him some flexibility. And, it is flexibility that journalists of tomorrow will need.


New jobs in word moving



Joe Grimm has modified the format of his Ask the Recruiter blog to focus on a former journalist each Monday. There are two examples already: The first is Garth Kriewall, a "communications office supervisor" for St. Clair County (Mich.) Regional Educational Service Agency and the second is with Battinto Batts, who holds multiple jobs: Independent contractor, running public relations and marketing business, Batts' Communications, LLC.; and journalism professor at Hampton University.


New jobs: Boy Scout, rentable reporter, car sales



A joint venture with a radio station and the Cleveland Plain Dealer led to a post and show about three journalists finding new careers.

ideastream®'s David C. Barnett brings us the stories of some who've had to leave the media altogether and re-invented themselves in new careers:
  • Jeff Stacklin, who was working for Crain's in Ohio before becoming a professional Boy Scout.
  • Bob Paynter once did investigative reporting at the Akron Beacon Journal and the Plain Dealer. Now, he's an "investigative reporter for rent."

” I’ll look stuff up, I’ll find stuff out, I’ll write it up if you want it."

  • Michelle Maloney, who "lost her job as co-host of a popular morning talk program on Cleveland’s WGAR in January," and is selling cars now.
You can listen plus read about the three.




Cops beat to nursing beat



Another blog, the Ink-Drained Kvetch led me to a cops reporter who turned to nursing. Tracy Gordon Fox wrote about her decision in the New York Times.

Temple's eight questions by the way:
  1. What work did you winner Pulitzer for, when?
  2. Why did you leave your newspaper? When?
  3. What are you doing now? Any reflections on life after newspapers?
  4. What do you hope to do going forward? Will you stay in journalism? How?
  5. What has the downsizing of your former newsroom or closing of your former paper meant to the quality of journalism in your community? For example, are there types of stories not being told? You could use your own experience to provide examples here.
  6. What, if anything, do you think your newspaper should have done differently to prevent the downsizing or closure that cost you your job?
  7. What would you advise young people wanting to pursue a life in journalism today?
  8. Finally, is there anything else you'd like to say about your experience or journalism's future that we haven't covered in these questions?

I wrote about ex-journalists before including Beyond the Buyout, Beyond the Byline or pick up a few ideas on surviving in Buyout journalists, remember this or Journalists not the first to start over or Talent will outlast jobs or careers.

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In search of dreams: Company paying for blogging

An early version of this post was published July 24, then chewed up in a redesign. I republished Aug. 3, prompted by a Fast Company blog post on the same subject.

Knock me over with a feather because this is one job I would not have expected G.D. Gearino to take on: Blogging for pay.

He's in Stephenville, Texas, to "determine how people maintain their dreams for the future in tough times."

The trip, new living quarters and blogging at Stephenville Dreams is being paid for by Carpenter Co.
That's its sleep better site, where you learn the company "has been providing the ultimate in comfort products for over 60 years.... including bedding, carpet cushioning, furniture, bed pillows and mattress pads."

The former Flint Journal reporter says it is an experiment, a test of privately funded journalism.
"It’s rare for a corporation that’s not in the news business to finance a long-term reporting project."
His orders are:
1) Travel to Stephenville (Texas);
(2) find interesting things to write about; and
(3) then write about them.
The gig was arranged through a pr firm, the connection an old buddy Joe Slay. Joe worked with Jon Newman, who gives some background on the campaign in in "the 4th PR idea... OK, maybe 3 1/2")

Says Jon, right after recognizing that all journalists can not blog:
"We’re hoping to follow the NPR model of journalism in which foundations underwrite good journalism. The difference here is that the blog is “underwritten” by a company and its topic is loosely connected to the company’s brand and products."
They tapped "G.D. Gearino, a longtime (30 years) print journalist/columnist and author who has also authored his own blog for more than two years."
"Gearino will spending several weeks in Stephenville, telling the story of the town, its people and their dreams. It is the type of long-form journalism that reporters would kill for but that the current economics of journalism frankly find it hard to support."
Gearino tell us:
"Not only is Carpenter Co., the financier behind this project, not dictating the content of the site, I haven’t yet even met anyone from the company."
There's Twitter stream under Dream_bigger as well as posts already up.

You can read more about Joe and G.D. in the first post. and how an email that should have had a subject line "Fabulous gig awaits willing writer” hooked G.D.

Eavesdrop on his first impressions of the town. Plus since we are late to the game, here is a link to the reason why this town was picked.

Gearino, who wrote "What the Deaf-Mute Heard,” Counting Coup,” "Blue Hole", and "Wrong Guy,"has had a way with words from way back when so the storytelling is mighty fine.

The more that I thought about this "rent a reporter" idea the more comfortable it becomes. The money comes quicker then those who write and wait for the Google ad dollars to flow or books to sell.

What matters is that good writing and interesting stories that probably would remain untold get out there on the medium that people are using. The financing is fairly clear on the site.

Why would a business hire a reporter and stay out of the way? Gearino answers it this way:
"To me, it's like commissioning a famous artist to do a mural at your corporate headquarters. You want the attention that comes with that kind of investment, but you have to be smart enough to get out of the way. If you're gonna hover over the famous artist and tell him how to do his job, why hire him in the first place?"
Or ask yourself this question:
Is an artist's integrity compromised by accepting a commission?
Let's see how this model turns out.

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July 23, 2009

Dancing on the grave: How can nothing be better then something?

So nothing is better then something? That seems to be the reaction of some commenting on the last stories of the final edition.

The comments on stories of the final edition puzzled the Ink-StainedWretch. In Death to the news, the journalism professor, who was an editor of three newspapers says:

"I understand that problem. We tend to overlook viewpoints that support our own because we view those as reasonable and correct. We tend to remember those that oppose our point of view because they seem so extreme and wrong-headed. That’s just human nature.

But what I don’t understand is that some people don’t see the paradox of their celebrating the death of an outlet in which to express their views. The daily Ann Arbor News published comments from people cheering its demise. Tomorrow, those people won’t have that option. How is that a good thing?"

So let's speak of good things - a daughter who loves me and knows me. After today's radiation treatment, she stopped at a newspaper box and picked up one of the last newspapers to carry the name Ann Arbor News.

It was a pleasant surprise on a day that multiple sclerosis has delivered another one-two punch to my body. Or is it the heat that delivered the punch that wakened the ms?

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Updated: A community says goodbye to its newspaper; Ann Arbor News, staff says it right back


More photographs of the last days
online at Mlive.
There are photos and comments on Facebook, sadness on Twitter, and even more in the newspaper that will publish its final edition on Thursday.
In some ways, there's a let's hurry up and get it over with as desks are emptied, belongings carted home and every day brings a new round of lasts at the Ann Arbor News.

A Facebook event asks:
"Leave flowers, notes, cards or mementos on the steps of the Ann Arbor News this week on Thursday, July 23rd, the last day it will be printed after 174 years. Show the employees that we appreciate their work and that we'll miss them and our paper."

Send them jobs instead. A Twitter plea says wear black on Thursday. Journalists take to blogs, posting last photos of the last employees left and other farewells.

Radio host Lucy Ann Lance pens her own "Requiem for the Ann Arbor News" and plays out week of farewells on air:

"Listen for interviews with retired crime reporter Bill Treml, former newsman Jeff Mortimer, former sportswriter Jim Carty, editor Ed Petykiewicz, reporters Tom Gantert, Dan Meisler, and Sven Gustafson, and a panel discussion with reporters Jo Mathis, Geoff Larcom, and Tracy Davis, just to name a few.

"In addition, University of Michigan Professor Anthony Collings (a former CNN international affairs correspondent and author of Words of Fire: Independent Journalists Who Challenge Dictators, Drug Lords, and Other Enemies of a Free Press) will comment on the changing world of journalism."

Over on the newspaper's web site is more evidence of farewells: Letters, photos and videos.

NBC also put together a report last week (Find it on MSNBC)

Even the AnnArbor.com, the online-two-day-a-week on paper noted the final day.

There's acknowledgment that consuming media becomes more difficult in a almost paperless town with multiple outlets of online news.

Lance asks:

"Do you have time to log onto AnnArbor.com, AnnArborChronicle.com, A2Journal.com, MLive.com, DetNews.com, Freep.com, etc. to keep up with your community? Each of those publications offers a unique look into our world.

"Also, are you going to have the time and interest to navigate through 75 different community journalists (bloggers) who will be providing content to AnnArbor.com?"

Further north, those in towns now served by three times a week or weekly newspapers look on in envy. Will we ever get used to obituaries on the television? Will we one day wonder how we did without obituaries over the phone? Recognize the datelines now served up as local that once were identified as "state news."

So many times I've heard the moans of news organizations losing the historical knowledge when buyouts, layoffs and retirements thin the employed ranks. Imagine what's lost when the newspaper closes its doors.

Listen to some of the memories:

Bill Treml, Famed former Ann Arbor News Crime Beat Reporter – Mon., 7/20/09 – Recalling the glorious days of the newsroom and insight on his most famous case, John Norman Collins and the Coed Murders.

Jeff Mortimer, former Ann Arbor News Reporter – Tue., 7/21/09 – Before Level Larcom there was Dump the Dope. Jeff Mortimer pinpoints the day he knew the Ann Arbor News was doomed.

Ed Petykiewicz, Retiring Editor of The Ann Arbor News -Wed., 7/22/09 When Ed Petykiewicz decided to retire from the Ann Arbor News, he had no idea he’d be ushering everyone out and locking the door behind him.

Ann Arbor News Media Panel: Jo Mathis, Geoff Larcom and Tracy E. Davis -Wed., 7/22/09 Between them they have spent nearly 50 years reporting about the Ann Arbor community, and when the Ann Arbor News closes all of that will be gone.


Find many of the Ann Arbor News stories leading up to its closings online. Read some of the shared memories. Folks are writing fan letters to the Ann Arbor News as it crawls to its end.

The news organization gathered own photos, videos and memories for a grand exit:


The Final Videos:


More online on mlive.com and elsewhere. Best taken in small doses.

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AnnArbor.com growing bumper crop of recognition

The AnnArbor.com is getting - and rebroadcasting via Twitter - lots of Internet love. (Love, because any attention is better then no attention right?)

All eyes on AnnArbor.com says a student from Central Michigan University.

NBC also put together a report (Find it on MSNBC)

I thought it was too late for a post started before the Art Fair but delayed by migraines, multiple sclerosis and mom business. But maybe not.

See, I said that the tweets and posts were coming in fast and furious as folks are ramping off to kick off the from-the-groundoup, web-first experiment in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And, they keep coming.

Keep a watch on Free From Editors and Daily Derelict and, of course, AnnArbor.com for updates and discussion.

Wine blogging is hot with Free From Editors jumping back in, debate over at MichWine and Tweet, Tweet, Tweet.

Another whine

Keeping up

Bloggers and others also are commenting, even when they can't raise an interview with staff who are furiously working to get folks trained on software and competing.


M Go Blue is asked about the expected impact of AnnArbor.com on his blog when interviewed as News Innovators on the Frontline. Here's most of that answer, but go read the rest of the entry if you're interested in media innovation.
"I don’t know how much of an impact it will actually have, because the kind of people who are still subscribing to The Ann Arbor News aren’t my core demographic. My core demographic is very male, very young, highly educated, and I would assume, highly internet-oriented. The kind of people who are affected by The Ann Arbor News becoming annarbor.com are generally less hardcore about their sports coverage.

But with the transition to the web, they are promising to link out a lot, so having more of a two-way relationship with the local news sites would help, probably just in terms of Google ranking and maybe some traffic. "

The reinvention of journalism, AnnArbor.com style, is the focus of the fourth and final look at citizen journalism on DetroitMakeItHere.com
“The community team has no parallel in traditional paper organizations,” said (Tony) Dearing, who was previously editor of The Flint Journal, a Booth-owned paper. Staff positions of community director, community producer/copy editor, blog leader and two part-time community assistants, will oversee user-generated content."
More details:
Editorial positions include the news, entertainment and sports groups. Staff and freelance journalists will write stories and produce photos and video for the traditional sections of the site.


Invitations go out - hey, the art fair is going on. we're in the middle plus Meet the entertainment staff; or meet some of the folks who will be blogging. Did you hear about Cindy Heflin and Julian Keeping?

There are apologies - we're sorry about the letter with typos; sorry about a comment lost in the shuffle, and yes, we had to take down the forum as spam swamped us but here's a link of where to find all of the comments. DetroitMakeItHere tells us:
"Leading topics were performing arts (1,498 votes), breaking news (1,200 votes), politics/local government (1,151 votes), entertainment calendar (1,147 votes) and investigative reporting (794 votes)"
The big apology came from the top guy when the site's debut was postponed. Matt Kraner, President of AnnArbor.com tells what happened to Lucy. The online, on-site explanation came from Dearing.

Leaving now

In another state, there's a fond farewell from Michael Rothstein on his way to cover sports:
"This is Draft No. 3 of my see 'ya later post. Each time has come off way too saccharin, way too reflective for someone still on the young side of 30.

Yet that wouldn't seem right, not after four years in Fort Wayne, four years covering Notre Dame and trying to provide new, different and informative content."


Joining now

Closer to home, you can read about upcoming plans from Dusty Diary who soon will blog on "hoboes, junkyards, and consumptives" or from A Woman's Guide to Saner Living.

Ther's a note about her new gig over on AnnArbor Mom. Learn more about Jenn McGee, who will be covering theater. Jeremy Peters is writing about Forth From Its Hinges, or at least that's what his Tweet says as he goes for some crowdsourcing. Maybe a hint from Ask Annie.
The owners of one of the media wonders about the media pie.

We're watching

Over at Kalamazoogle, it is Ann Arbor redux with a post that starts
"Anyone interested in the future of the news business is undoubtedly watching Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Next week, the tech-savvy college town will see its one newspaper fold up and be replaced by a shiny new web site."

That post layouts the ownership:
"The paper and the web site are both owned by Booth Newspapers, which also owns the Kalamazoo Gazette. All are owned by Advance Publications, which was formerly known as Newhouse News Service, which is in turn owned by Conde Nast, which owns the New Yorker and Wired and stuff. Whew!"
Then, concludes:

"So maybe they know what they're doing. I've been following the stream from the blog at AnnArbor.com and I think there's a lot to respect. They seem to be developing something that is genuinely different from what a lot of their print colleagues are trying."

About Google

Plus Rick Edmonds at Poynter chimes in with Newhouse's AnnArbor.com Enters a Crowded Field Next Week.
"Former president of Advance.net Jeff Jarvis does online consulting for Advance, and he may be offering a sneak preview of sorts for the site in his recent book, "What Would Google Do?":

"What does a newspaper look like if it is no longer a newspaper? It will be more of a network with a smaller staff of reporters and editors still providing news and recouping value for that. Paper 2.0 will work with and support collections of bloggers, entrepreneurs, citizens and communities that gather and share news. A newspaper is no longer a printing press that turns out money. But as a network, it could be bigger than papers have been in years, reaching deeper into communities, having more of an impact and adding more value. To get there it has to act small and think big and see the world differently."

There's more from Rick:
Ann Arbor's transition from dominance by a traditional newspaper to something else has two interesting echoes in projects of the Knight Foundation, the largest philanthropy fund focused on journalism. A major Knight-sponsored commission is studying information needs of American communities and new ways to satisfy them. Its report and recommendations are due in early fall, and it is safe to assume the context will be a diminishing role of newspapers, if not widespread closures.

Similarly, Knight has had several programs in recent years plowing millions of dollars of seed support to innovative, independent projects, mostly Web-based, calculating the decline in business fortunes and news capacity of traditional media even before it became so apparent.

Grant time

So he asked Gary Kebbel, journalism program director at Knight, if Ann Arbor projects were funded and would the closing of a daily newspaper increase chances of someone getting a grant.
No and no, Kebbel said; grant awards are "based on the merits of the project and [the applicant's] capacity to do it." But "special gaps" may be considered, he added, and may become a bigger factor as more papers fail.

Hard to keep up with the posting about Ann Arbor, my new home away from home. I've been using Publish2 as one way to collect links on AnnArbor.com, Michigan media and AdvancePublications. Join me.

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July 22, 2009

Difficult times for them 50-somethings, Conde Nast folk

Oh no. It's beat on the "old" today. Old, being a relative thing. And not getting it being a relative thing because Tina Brown, 55, says she gets what's happening with media as it shifts from dead-tree editions to digital. Those other folks? Well .....
"It's most difficult, I think, for the people who are in their 50s who are part of a big media organization where they've spent most of their lives. They see it all changing around them and there isn't time for them to make the adjustment, or they fear making it."
That's a quote pulled from today's Chicago Tribune under a headline "Tina Brown: Media will flourish." Poynter's Romensko headline was: "Difficult Times for Old-Media People in their 50s"
and he pulled a more optimistic quote:
"They see it all changing around them and there isn't time for them to make the adjustment, or they fear making it," says Tina Brown. "We're in a transitional period that I think will only last another few years in which [journalists are] not paid the way they were. ...If you're up to seeing the opportunity and recognize it as a transition, or you have enough put away to ride this wave, it's going to be fantastic."
Optimistic is not how you'd describe the mood at Conde Nast, according to the New York Observer. The magazine side of the Newhouse family's media collection is gloomy with the hiring of a consultant (McKinsey and Company), the huge drop in ad sales (37!) for the important September issues, and issuing of an internal memo about the consultant. There are even rumors of a video conference for employees coming up.

Brown left Conde Nast, traditionally a money making division of Advance Publications, 11 years ago.

Let's go back to mulling who sets the blogging rules, the new generational divider.

By the way, when did 55 become the new 65?

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Eccentric fight continues

Matt Friedman, Co-Founder of Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications in Farmington Hills, tells about Birmingham fighting to save the Birmingham Eccentric. How they’re doing it, and why Gannett is giving them a fighting chance.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009:

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Whining about wine: AnnArbor.com watch continues

Looks like the whine to watch for AnnArbor.com is the blogging, especially the wine blogging.

The newness and writing style of It's Just Grape Juice. were examined in a post on Free From Editors.

The closing paragraph raised a concern:
"Apparently the author of this blog is a principal in a company that owns or operates a series of restaurants. Not saying he will, but will the writer slant columns to favor or benefit his own company and who at AnnArbor.com will monitor that? "
Commenters continue the discussion of freebies, transparencies and the challenges of blogging.

On Tuesday, long-time wine blogger Joel Goldberg winds his way through Wine writing's ethical thicket. The post explores some of the issues over on his MichWine, which bills itself as an independent consumer guide to Michigan's wines and wine country.

Followup conversation with Goldberg, who blogs about wine at Ann Arbor Chronicle, reveals his deep knowledge of wine and the ongoing, long time debate on writing about wine.

(Do a deep Internet dive and find Goldberg at Annarbor.com, in old Prodigy wine bulletins, described as a Michigan Wine Warrior and elsewhere. While diving, you're likely to find this ethics discussion dates back to the '90s.

Goldberg tells me the 1990s are "when Robert Parker presided over things on Prodigy, and his ethical example set the gold standard for many of us: wine writers and critics don't accept anything or allow any conflicts to exist, period."

Even Goldberg says that's hard to do, especially without an endless source of money.

In his latest post, Goldberg first recalls a conversation with a colleague who says he's a promoter, not a journalist, who writes about wine. That leads Goldberg to ask:
  1. When readers see a magazine article or wine column with his name attached, how many stop to parse whether the author's role is one of "journalist" or "promoter"?
  2. How many other fields of journalism require the reader even to consider a question like that?
The rest of Tuesday's post on Goldberg's site is on new wine blogger at AnnArbor.com

Goldberg acknowledges that Eric Arsenault, a certified sommelier, "doubtless has the chops to write about wine" in It's Just Grape Juice."

"His ethical standards may be impeccable. But the position he'll occupy -- highly-visible wine writer for a dominant local news outlet -- presents an insurmountable appearance of conflict with the interests and demands of his nicely-paid day job."

Goldberg then shares examples of why he sees AnnArbor.com facing an impossible task of monitoring.

But I remember Gary Vaynerchuk praised as a hero who used "traditional advertising techniques to build his family’s local wine business into a national industry leader" and soared higher by leveraging "social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine."

So are most people - those not steeped in the history of tradition of wine journalism, or plain old journalism - willing to let someone benefit from blogging, twittering and relationships so they can benefit from a person's passion and knowledge?

If readers know the possible conflicts because they are openly stated, does that make it OK?

Is it an age thing?

By the way, I hope to write more about Goldberg as the former retail shop owner works toward finishing his working life as a wine journalist. His site is about to under go a transformation. And it will be different to write about someone becoming a journalist for a change.

Updated 7/23/09: Here's a link to the blog on annarbor.com.

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July 21, 2009

A final farewell in Livingston County

waving hand

Michigan
newsrooms:
Today: Livingston
Community
News

Related posts:
Grand
Rapids

Muskegon

Kalamazoo

There's a staff photo and some words in the final edition of the Livingston Community News, an edition of the Ann Arbor News for six years.

Jim Jagdfeld's photo captures Jamie Charbeneau-Pisella, Lisa Carolin, Jason Deegan, Casey Hans, Laurie Humphrey, Eric Lucas, Cathy Sales, Leanne Smith, and Tom Tolen.

Nearly all share their home email and plans in columns online.

Jamie Charbeneau-Pisella. shares she's planing to open a photo studio and finish a children's book in her final column.

Also planning a children's book is Laurie Humprey

Jason Deegan is hopeful a freelance assignment or even a job will keep him on the sports scene he's covered since 1995.

You'll also find highlights of careers and some ideas for the future in columns by:
Rick Fitzgerald left long ago, his column still online.


Are you a Michigan journalist leaving or coming? Send the details my way.

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What? You're only on Facebook, not Twitter. Oh dear, are you retired already?



I'm still recovering from migraine mush mixed up with "You Will Rest, MS" so you get this reminder about how fast media changes these days. Laughter heals, right?

Start with the video and then skip down to read more about Facebook musings.


By the way, before I get all serious on you Ben Walker is looking for 50 Twitter messages to set to music. Learn more on his blog, I Hate Mornings.

Speaking of music, DigiDave really helped make up my missing the 10th annual Flint Folk Music Festival this weekend with his great post of converting journalism bloggers into musicians. Susan Mernit as Carol King? Jeff Jarvis as Pete Townshend? Or go and check how he nailed so many. Share comments.

We had some dueling laptops tonight as my start page isn't my daughter's and I wasn't following her instructions very well when she directed me to an article about Facebook dying 'cause too many "old people" are joining. She wanted me to read Is Facebook Past Its Prime. Oh. MSN can be so confusing.

We both agree "young people" are not going to Twitter.

In this household the two under 30 don't Twitter and the two over 50 do. (Or make that three over 50 since I twitter publicly at mcwflint or mcwgs, if you prefer Girl Scout-type tweeting.)

Facebook gets 1 under 30 and 2 over 50, MySpace gets two heavy users under 30 and 1 light over 50, blogging gets two of us - one on each side of the 30 divide.

I'm the only one on FriendFeed, where in some recent migraine mush moments, I managed to unsubscribe some folks when I meant to subscribe to them. (I'm hoping they were not folks drawn to my feed because this blogger labeled me one of 10 interesting FriendFeeders to follow. Of course, he didn't say anything about skill, just that I find "Journalism, New media, Health Care" interesting.)

(Reminder to self if I'm so unfortunate to get another one of the four-day headbangers, don't go on FriendFeed, don't write emails to men in charge of the large ink pots no matter how irritating the errors are, don't post comments on blogs, and stay away from Twitter and Facebook until at least eight hours after the last dose of meds. You'll keep more friends/followers/links/lives.)

Thanks to Mashable for the Top 5 Twitter Songs.

I think I need more sleep. Or is that caffeine?

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