Showing posts with label Blogosphere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogosphere. Show all posts

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Some thoughts on “Union says more job cuts coming at the Baltimore Sun”

Union says more job cuts coming at the Baltimore Sun” Thursday, November 13, 2008 Baltimore Business Journal - by Julekha Dash Staff



Hat Tip: The Gunpowder Chronicle



November 15th, 2008 - My thoughts, for what they are worth…



Lately the topic of another round of layoffs and adjustments in the business of Tribune and the Baltimore Sun has been the subject of some discussions among several of us who work for Tribune. (See my media disclosure here. I work for Tribune.)



I have also been a critic of the Baltimore Sun’s political coverage in the past and I agree that the widespread perception of bias on the part of the Baltimore Sun has been detrimental to the overall health of the paper.



Moreover I continue to believe that liberal media bias plagues too much of the traditional mainstream media.



However, when I read criticism that involves hyperbolic name-calling, the critic loses the argument with me. (And yes, I am aware of past columns and blog posts in which I have engaged in some name calling… I guess I am a recovering name caller…)



Nevertheless, the editorial board of the Baltimore Sun continues to promote the paper in an unfavorable light. The fact that I disagree with much of the editorial slant does not concern me. What concerns me is that all too often the position of the board is inconsistent, displays situational principles, and is personality driven.



Perhaps this is simply the nature of the beast, but I would much rather see objective consistent community-benefit-driven analysis and commentary, instead of a newspaper editorial board parroting the talking points and spin of a particular individual, political party, or ideology.



To say it clearly, anything Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or Maryland Governor O’Malley = GOOD. Anything conservative, Arizona Sen. John McCain, or former Governor Robert l. Ehrlich = BAD.



If you need a more recent example, take a look at slots: Slots under Governor Ehrlich = BAD. Slots under Governor O’Malley = GOOD. What changed…?



However, the local community newspaper arm of Tribune – The Baltimore Sun, the Patuxent Publishing Company, (Explore Baltimore Co., Explore Carroll Co. - the paper for which I write, and Explore Howard Co.,) continues to deliver quality news and reporting. Of course, part of the reason for that is that those of us on the local community level have a higher level of accountability in that we can often be found at the same pizza parlor and grocery store check out line with the very folks we cover.



Nonetheless, the current economic times are a strain on all businesses, including newspapers, the metros, and the community newspapers alike.



In spite of the bewildering approach of the Baltimore Sun’s editorial board, most all the reporters are quite professional, talented, and objective in their reporting.



In the end they all have families and unless a particular individual displays a personal animus or maliciousness; critics of the paper may benefit from a more constructive engagement with the reporters. And I hate to see anyone lose his or her job – especially these days.



And especially a writer: What do you call a writer without a significant other? Homeless.



There is a growing perception that the management of the Baltimore Sun is trying hard to adjust to the times – with more accessibility and less of the condescending arrogance that has manifested in the corporate personality of the paper in the past.



As an aside; whether I agree or disagree with the columnists, I like the sharp writing of most of the columnists (and most of the reporters) – and I like the paper’s recent foray into blogs. And I like the improvements in the web site.



The debate about blogger journalists versus traditional print media journalists has been getting increasingly boring – see 20070112 Some wisdom about the silliest debate in journalism. There are good and bad in both camps. If you don’t like a particular writer, don’t read them.



I read writers – not headlines - and not papers...



Attempting to promote blogs and new media by carelessly denigrating traditional print media is a disservice to all journalists and journalism and brings all of us down.



Considering the challenges at the local level, in Maryland and the nation; the press has, if anything, an increased responsibility and there is an important role for the Baltimore Sun to play.



We need greater cooperation, collaboration – and we need all hands on deck.



Kevin Dayhoff



******

Union says more job cuts coming at the Baltimore Sun



Thursday, November 13, 2008



Baltimore Business Journal - by
Julekha Dash Staff


A
Baltimore Sun union said Thursday it expects another round of job cuts at the newspaper, and officials are preparing to fight any future layoffs.



The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild said it expects more job cuts within days. Angie Kuhl, a unit chair with the union, said she does not know how many job cuts are planned. But union officials don’t expect buyouts to be offered, as they have been in the past, and the cuts will impact the newsroom.



Renee Mutchnik, a Baltimore Sun spokeswoman, said Sun management has no comment.



The Sun eliminated 100 positions at the paper in August. It also recently eliminated its standalone Maryland and Business sections as part of an overall redesign.



[…]



Tribune Co., the Sun’s parent, posted a $124 million third quarter loss this month.



The newspaper, Maryland’s largest daily publication, saw its average Sunday circulation number fall 3.9 percent to 350,640 during the period.



Read the entire article here: Union says more job cuts coming at the Baltimore Sun



Tribune Co. posts $124M loss



http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/11/10/daily53.html



20081113 Some thoughts on
Union says more job cuts coming at the Baltimore Sun

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Jump on the new media bandwagon by Richard Simon, Multimedia Reporter

Jump on the new media bandwagon by Richard Simon, Multimedia Reporter

On the Record

October 24, 2008

Richard Simon has an interesting post about the new social media on the web site “On the Record

I’ve been pretty positively impressed with Facebook for keeping track of friends and colleagues who are now spread throughout the far corners of the globe…

Meanwhile Mr. Simon writes:

When I was in college four short months ago, almost everyone I knew had a Facebook or MySpace account. If you didn’t have one (I was in this camp for a little bit), you felt like you were out of the loop on so many issues. Little did I know that outside of the land of academia, this still holds true.

Last night,
Warschawski, a Baltimore public relations firm, hosted a “Martini Marketing Event” at Luckie’s Tavern in Power Plant Live, where social networking guru Peter Shankman spoke about the current state and future of social media.

If you’re not familiar with Shankman’s work, he is the founder and CEO of
The Geek Factory and a go-to guy on marketing issues for CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

The lecture was pretty eye-opening as Shankman talked about how prevalent social media has become. At one point, Shankman said “social media is life.” He asked the attendees to raise their hands if they had a Facebook account, and almost every hand went up.


[...]

Read Mr. Simon’s entire post here: Jump on the new media bandwagon

20081024 Jump on the new media bandwagon by Richard Simon

Friday, September 12, 2008

On the Record: Is your linking legal?

On the Record: Is your linking legal?

Posted by Jackie Sauter Filed Under
law September 12, 2008

Ever wonder if your Web site hyperlinks were legal? I never did, but now I do.

Jennifer Reisinger of Sheboygan, Wis. received a cease-and-desist letter over a link on her site for her business as a Web developer. The link went to the home page for the Sheboygan Police Department. She immediately removed it, probably thinking the whole matter was finished — but it wasn’t.

Read the rest of the post here: Is your linking legal?

20080912 On the Record is your linking legal

Thursday, January 3, 2008

20080102 Fragmentary patchworks


Fragmentary patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements.

January 2nd, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

Happy New Year Mr. Isaac Smith. Thanks for the mention - The List (No, Not the Washington Post's). [Free State Politics Maryland's online progressive community.]

Michael Swartz's list of local blogs to watch in 2008 is pretty good. It is missing a few good blogs of note, however…

As much as I agreed with most, but not all, of Mr. Swartz’s list, your list is right on the money. I also miss Stephanie Dray’s Jousting for Justice. And I am very happy that Crablaw's Maryland Weekly is back…

And thanks for calling to our attention the Washington Post’s list: Year in Review 2007 - “The List: What's In and Out for 2008” BY HANK STUEVER - WASHINGTON POST STAFF WRITER - – what a hoot. (And don’t miss giving The Year That Was 2007 by Brian Griffiths a good read. He obviously spent some time thinking about it…)

Your post could not have been timed better as it came shortly after a conversation with a dear colleague who said they like my blog – although I’m too liberal.

Ay caramba - whatever.

Along that thread, another colleague said “Dayhoff … your problem is that you like everybody.”

To that I plead guilty – life is way to short. Then again, maybe not – I don’t like mean people; and that personality defect occurs in folks from all political persuasions.

I simply do not allow politics to dictate my friends - - and I don’t like folks who do pick their friends based on politics. (I’ll be having lunch later in the week with a dear friend with whom I disagree about everything when it comes to politics.) I can disagree with folks about issues, but more often than not – I like the person…

As far as your observation: “… his actual blog hard to read -- its look is extremely busy and most of the posts are just link aggregations…” Hey, you oughta be in my head…

At least with the blog, there is an attempt at organization… I also find my blog “hard to read” and try as I might, after blogging for a number of years, it is still way too busy.

Perhaps my blog is a manifestation of being a hypergraphic attention deficit disorder hyperactive dyslexic. Maybe – just maybe, one day I’ll figure out what I’m doing. Being a technology geek – one would’ve thought blogging would be easy for me. It is not.

At this point, on the blog evolutionary scale, my blog is a monkey on roller skates. The monkey may or may not be wearing a pink tutu - this is for you to decide.

Years ago, I thought blogging would be easy for a columnist and short story writer. It has not been the case. And within the last number of months, I picked up a third (newspaper) column every week; which just proves the “Peter Principle” is real. I’m now way beyond my intellectual and cognitive abilities.

Heckfire – some days, I’m proud to have even found the time, much less the cognitive abilities - to post “link aggregations.”

Meanwhile, I am painstakingly determined to promote constant attention on current procedures of transacting business focusing emphasis on innovative ways to better, if not supercede, the expectations of quality. What I really need in order to navigate the treacherous waters that lie ahead is a list of specific unknown problems I will encounter.

Always remember, the purpose of my blog is to discuss fragmentary patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements as juxtaposed by the undeniable command mortality of insignificant self-inflicted syntactic semiotic economics which sometimes may cause irreproducible results unless there is a pre-emptive digital fallibility matrix which would require an integrated third-generational triangulated refinement of indefinite managerial potential.

As I wax philosophic with metaphysical postulations, incomplete aphorisms and inconsistent sophism that allows me to conclude, more and more sure, that the only true thing about anything is nothing.

Now I know you believe you understand what you think I just said but I am sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

As always, your thoughtful consideration is appreciated regardless of the outcome on any particular issue. Whether we agree or disagree, always find my door open for friendly civil and constructive dialogue.

Pray for my wife.

Best wishes for a great 2008.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed