Local employees of Media News Group discovered today they will get some unexpected time off.
January 28, 2009
TO: NCN Employees
FROM: NCN Central Office
Dear Fellow Employee of the Times-Standard, Tri City Weekly, Humboldt Beacon and Redwood Times:
In a further effort to help offset the continuing decline in revenue and position the company for future financial success, I am announcing the implementation of a mandatory one (1) week furlough for all employees to be scheduled during the period beginning February 1, 2009 and running through the month of March. All executives and management of the Company will be included. Each employee’s department head will determine the actual week an employee is furloughed.
I realize that we are all working so hard to overcome this difficult time. I know this action will create a strain on our personal budgets, and unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that a furlough will prevent any further layoffs.
Please understand that I am not trivializing the serious nature of furloughs. Implementing unpaid furloughs is indeed a very serious step. This furlough action is unprecedented for our company. But, I am confident that an unpaid furlough will go a long way toward keeping future layoffs, if any, to a minimum.
Over the next few days, your department heads will meet with you to further explain the furlough process and how people will be scheduled. A Q&A sheet is being prepared for distribution. Your human resources contact will be available to assist you and your supervisors. Personal situations will be considered based on seniority and the operational needs of the company. But, such considerations should only influence when a person’s furlough begins and ends, not if a person will or will not be excused from a furlough.
As always, our customers remain our highest priority. Through your dedicated efforts, we have continued to publish quality newspapers and to produce top notch websites. Our challenge is to assure that we remain a strong company and continue to develop innovative new products which provide value-added for our customers.
At this time it is important to understand that we, like many media and other companies, are facing significant financial challenges due to the deep recession. We are not the first and we certainly won’t be the last to implement furloughs or take similar steps in order to address these challenges and keep our financial houses in order. We take these actions on our own because we can and we should…for the long term good of our customers and ourselves.
Thank you for your understanding, your support and your dedication.
Sincerely,
Steve Smith
Vice President, Community Newspapers
Northern California
UPDATE: More from the San Francisco Chronicle
“Furlough” is such a soft sounding word.
Sounds comfy — like a ditch.
Here’s the rub. This is happening not because the Times-Standard is not doing well. It’s the company that owns the Times-Standard — Media News Group — that is going down the toilet. MNG CEO Dean Singleton’s decision to buy the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times has turned out to be a disaster. They are both money pits.
The Times-Standard itself is well-positioned to remain solvent during these times. But our local daily has to send its profits to Denver, where MNG is based, to bail out Singleton’s sinking ship. This is a problem with corporate ownership of local newspapers and concentrating so many media outlets in a few hands.
Bad decision-making by corporate suits in Denver may cost us our local daily. Who knows what is going to happen to the TS if MNG goes under. The company has been teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy for months now. It’s doubtful MNG’s financial position is going to improve anytime soon.
The Times-Standard is a Humboldt County institution. It’s only been owned by MNG for about a dozen of its 150+ years. It’s doubtful the T-S will shut down if MNG goes under. It’s one of the few profitable newspapers in the chain. But if MNG files for bankruptcy, you can expect substantial newsroom staff cuts so the corporation can suck more money out of Humboldt County to pay its creditors. That means the quantity and quality of journalism from our only local daily will suffer even more. It really is an outrage.
An outrage.
And to think, the ER barely cold in the grave.
OH well. No news is good news. Right?
Maybe Arkley will take it over. That would be sweet.
Took long enough for this to happen. I’m not surprised at all. At least they they didn’t announce any lay-offs yet. Good luck T-S brothers and sisters. My thoughts are with you all.
At one point wasn’t Singleton ready to sell? Assuming that’s not an option now, I wonder if organizing a replacement by local people could work?
TS doesn’t even have a media kit, it’s not a “real” paper- it will shutter, and copies will be trucked up weekly from LA where illegals will print them in the back of old chevy vans and el caminos.
At what point will we start calling this a depression and stocking up on staples?
Furlough is one of those words some upper management was excited to be able to pull out of obscurity. Unpaid mandatory time off? I imagine it’s a word about to re-enter our vernacular.
The “furlough” is probably an elaborate attempt to get employees to quit, that way MNG won’t have to pay unemployment. If it laid-off people, they are entitled to it. Ultimately, this amounts to a 25 percent cut in pay for two months. Fucked up.
Indie, I warned Heraldo’s readers a while back to start stocking up on canned goods. I figure that if it was good for people during the first Great Depression, it ought to be good for people during this one. Stocking up on anything that won’t lose its value as fast as dollars will is a good idea. Because once the wild Stimulus Spending of Obama and Congress starts inflation’s merry climb, people who have chosen to rely solely on our paper currency will be sorry.
And speaking of time off? Have you heard about the restaurant employees who decided to work without any pay at all for one day, to help their employer? The media people spin it as a noble gesture. I describe it as voluntary slavery. How would you describe it?
(Whatever we call it, I hope it’s not the wave of the future!)
Benevolent feudalism. And I agree, people should start seriously considering means to be self-sufficient in coming days. It’s good practice anyway.
BTW, a great animated doc about the underlying reasons we’re in this economic mess in the first place. It’s called “Money as Debt” and it focuses on the history of the international banking elite.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279
Like I stated before, get ready for the big one folks. If you’ve ever wondered how the not-so-great-depression started, just take note of whats been happening. Now America wakes from the dream, into a dark reality….the product of deception and lies unfolds.
check out my channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PeterSchiffVideos
“At what point will we start calling this a depression and stocking up on staples?”
It’s staples? Crap, I’ve been saving paper clips!
You know, the sad part is that people have been screaming about what was happening to the American worker for years now, and it was predicted that as soon as the fat of the land was used up, that the economy was going to crash.
I hope that this is not too much information, but what’s going on in Washington right now is nothing more that deciding who is going to end up with the fleece that they have taken from the American people. The Republicans have most of the fleece now, and the reason that they are against the bailout is it will devalue the cash that they have stacked in their vaults. The Democrats attitude is “Screw them, If they won’t share their money, we will just print our own and make theirs worthless”. I don’t think that any of them are worried about the people without jobs.
Tell me where I’m wrong
I don’t know if you are wrong or not, Ernie. The current economic condition is certainly precarious. I try to keep a rotating stock of non perishable foods on hand, extra H2O, in case of a power outage, or if we have a storm or an earthquake.
ten major threats facing the dollar
now i have chinese hyperinflation to worry about.
The real fleece is made of gold, if you have gold then you’re in fair shape financially. Ozzy’s video link does a great job explaining the situation today in the world financial market.
If you have any dollar assets as an investment, sell them off for commodity stock……gold and silver are also good for the long run. Have no faith in the dollar folks, it will be near worthless once this really unfolds. Learn to live on the land, learn to fish and hunt….learn to grow food. We’re going back to the basics of living. Wake up, the dream is gone. Life is more important at this point, be healthy and well people and love your neighbor.
If you have savings, think about pulling it from your bank…..stash it in the walls of your house or a safe. America has no more industrial base, we have no production, and so we ultimately will have no power. The truth hurts, I know. An economy based on consumption is a false economy. Bring back industry……renewable energy investment could be the key. But first we must fall entirely to regroup, it’ll be painful but entirely necessary.
no doubt many of us can hear the swirling of the direction things are going, but few prepare for longer scale disruptions of the food supply. do we actually have weeks, months, or a half year of supplies?
good to know that when times are hard the farmers get growin’.
The first “depression” was just a banker plan to steal the money granted in the Constitution- gold and silver coins. Don’t forget how the jew roosenvelt gave our gold coins to bankers and made it illegal for Sovereign Citizens to own gold. Just google pre-33 us gold and see what was stolen from you. In 1965 the bankers stole the silver, and the paper printing has gone on until the scam is up.
Question is- will we fight them and take back what is ours, or will we bow to banker owned soldiers called “law enforcement” and live like third world dogs homeless in the land our Fore Fathers created?
Reading in this morning’s newpaper about an elderly man freezing to death in his home, because the power company cut of his power due to unpaid bills, is ghastly. Why couldn’t someone from the power company call or stop by to see if he was OK? All of us need to participate and look out for each other, including utility companies. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Ah yes, the jews. Betrayers of christ, right? Or some such malarkey. Why don’t you put your robes back on and get back in the closet?
I happen to be an employee of this company and really don’t appreciate my personal financial business spread across all of Humboldt County’s media. Thank you for picking at the dead carcass that happen to be some peoples attempt at a career. Maybe when it happens to you, you will think twice about your petty gossip.
Ozzy, I’m sorry, but there is something a bit trite about your condolence effort. You’ve been pissed for months that you got laid off and can’t get a job and have been looking forward to this day so you could say I told you so. Face it, misery loves company.
White Christian Conservative – You’re a contemptible racist, a fool and a jerk.
Keep it up; you’re helping build a progressive majority every time you open your mouth.
With the millions of job cuts in the private sector because our economy is tanking,why is it our state employees seem to think they are somehow immune ? The Gov. has asked them to take a 2 day a month furlough because the State can’t pay its bills.Their response, a lawsuit.Its not as if he is asking them to work two days without pay.With proposed tax increases looming,this action is a -slap in the face- to all of us,especially those that have lost their jobs.
The government is even talking about cutting postal service to 5 days a week! Holy cow.
where is your money granted by The Constitution? Oh? Stolen by banks….
It’s time to deny the government the ability to travel on The Sovereign Citizen’s roads and tax THEM, not the other way around.
Roosenvelt wasnt jewish, his right hand man that created the federal reserve…he happened to be.
Go to Costco, stock up, Pete Schiff speaks truth.
Is it illegal? Our friend OldTown Icon Jumbo is giving away free DVD movies of “Humboldt County The Movie” at Has-Beans coffee shop in Eureka! He claims to be the first to post it on YouTube. I think it’s worth the $5.00 donation.
Who is Pete Schiff?
Somebody let the loonies out of the bin on this thread. Take your money out of the bank and buy gold? Are you kidding? Dealing with these economic problems is going to take lots of hard work and a start is reversing the economic policies that got us here in the first place.
Yeah, we got the announcement down here yesterday. I wonder if the T-S will also see the new plan to “cut costs” come February. If not, consider yourselves lucky.
I’ve been under the MediaNews umbrella for most of my ten years in newspapers. I have absolutely nothing nice to say about the corporation or Dean Singleton.
Hey Faulk! No, I have been sincere about my concern that you folks at the T-S could get laid-off, even though some of YOU could use a vacation.
About the lay-off, I haven’t been this happy in a long time. So thanks for asking. :)
Looks like me and most State employees are going to get furloughed. Two days a month means 10% less pay. I’m grateful to still have a job for now. Tough times and a legislature that doesn’t give a shit. Not a good combination for the citizens. I sympathize with you News guys- I know the pay ain’t what it should be in that industry either.
The folks with the white sheets on their backs were never in the closet. Never in OUR closet, anyway. We wouldn’t have them.
I dunno, I’m sure that whoever sold the TS to Singleton was very happy to get the bigger bucks that a large corporation can and will pay when making an acquisition.
Just like Hurwitz got PL because he was willing and able to pay more than what the stock trading price was. Usually, locals are much stingier and only buy stuff thats “distressed” and devalued, like the way Hobart Brown’s building in Ferndale went for only $100,000.
The downside is that local jobs get more linked to outside economic factors in hard times as well as easy ones. It just seems greedy to me to expect to get world class prices when times are good but then demand local economic insulation when times are bad.
This is all too bad- rumor is the county is also doing something similar calling it a furlough too.
Like the T-S, the people at the Redwood Times are also being affected by this, even though it’s a solvent newspaper in Southern Humboldt. Gosh, am I happy that I write for the Indie. At least our losses are our own, not the parent corporation’s in Denver.
“Who is Peter Schiff?”
Here’s a video of me back in 2002 (two parts), discussing and predicting the fall of the housing market and the value of the dollar. I was right……sell your US dollar assets and buy gold folks. This is not a drill.
Corporate Death Stars focus has not meandered
To atrocious greed they have always pandered.
Working people have often get slandered.
The greedy honchos have a license to be sub-standard
cause they can count politician cronies from districts gerrymandered
Corporate Death Stars focus has not meandered
To atrocious greed they have always pandered.
Working people have often been slandered.
The greedy honchos have a license to be sub-standard
cause they can count on politician cronies from districts gerrymandered
Perhaps this is a good time for Arkley to buy the Times Standard. Instead of all profits being sucked out and sent to Denver, they would stay in the community.
No, remember, you didn’t like that local paper?
Dude, Ozzy — I have better things to do than write to you on the blog walls. Besides, if I have something to say, I attach my name to it.
Another blogger working down in Willits is being furloughed as well. How many papers does that company own?
http://the101corridor.wordpress.com/
Sorry to see you called out and tar’d Peter Schiff ::
The Shedlock-Schiff Affair: A Chronicle. Popular econoblogger Michael “Mish” Shedlock triggered a firestorm this week when he took down outspoken investment advisor Peter Schiff, claiming that although Schiff may have been right about the U.S. economy imploding, clients who had invested in his funds in the hopes of profiting from his prophecies had seen their accounts decimated. Big Picture author Barry Ritholtz predicted Shedlock’s post would set off fireworks “via a major media outlet.” He was right. Today, WSJ’s Right Forecast by Schiff, Wrong Plan? does exactly that. “Peter Schiff predicted a collapse of the U.S. financial system. The bust-up he didn’t foresee was the one that made mincemeat of investors who took his advice in 2008.” Meanwhile, Schiff responds, saying that “the crisis is just beginning and the movements thus far in the dollar, commodities, and foreign stocks, are mere head fakes. Once the speculators have been flushed from the markets, the underlying long-term trends I have been following should return in earnest.”
The investment numbers speak for themselves, if you’ve invested with my firm you’ll understand that the age of easy money is over. I have many critics so I’m used to this response. Once the speculators fall and the failing leadership of corporations is forced to collapse, then I’ll invest in the dollar again. Basically, America is trying to remodel it’s house when it has no money(a grotesque extreme makeover). We are broke folks, America’s investment sector has been duped into a large scale Maddoff scam. Our economy is a house of cards, some businesses will survive through this, but many will not. This isn’t over by any means. I have many enemies because of the truth that I speak related to the economy. At some point, China, Germany, Saudi Arabia and a few other countries that own our debt will catch on……..when they try to cash in on their investments, they’ll realize America has no money; then the house of cards will fall. We’ve been living in a big orgasmic fantasy of consumption. Now the bull is a bear, and he will sleep until the market readjusts. Give it 10 years folks. Mark my words. Oh and, TWJ is a propaganda tool……believe it and you’re also a fool.
“Another blogger working down in Willits is being furloughed as well. How many papers does that company own?”
If I recall correctly, in Mendocino County, Media News owns the Willits, Fort Bragg, and Ukiah papers.
Wow! Bad plan having one company in control of so many papers…
Thanks Christina.
Indeed, like running a newspaper. You can also stop those obnoxious e-mails while you’re at it.