Bye, bye Rocky Mountain

It’s a sad day when a newspaper older than the incorporation of Colorado itself goes out of business.

The Rocky Mountain News, which published its first edition back in 1859, topped their last front page Friday with a letter to readers announcing they would be no more.

The newspaper covered Denver and Colorado.

Is this a sign of the end? Many of the television news stations seem to think so. I've already seen about handful of reports this morning about "The Day the Paper Died," "The End of Newspapers," "A Dying Industry."

It's amazing how television news will latch on to one topic and run with it. I doubt it's the end of news. Certainly, the fact that a publication as old as Rocky Mountain - which was less than two months away from turning 150 - has folded is depressing and ominous, it isn't a paralytic for the rest of the newspaper industry. Just a sign that newspapers, and journalism as a whole, need to work harder and faster at a cure to this disease called the Internet.

A sign of the Times

Patterico got a hold of a memo California Editor David Lauter sent out detailing the changes to the A section as the paper shuts down its California section.

Among the changes, fewer feature stories, shorter stories and less "zoned" Orange County coverage. Lauter comments the changes will not affect good journalism, and the paper continues to strive toward impactful content. But let’s face it, they’ve essentially decided to merge the content from one entire section into another.

Logistically, that is going to mean less stories, and likely less coverage of something — local, national or international news coverage.

Seeing as the L.A. Times is to many the premier paper for Southern California, I’m assuming this could mean less national and international coverage.But we’ll have to see how it all plays out.

Tough times at the San Francisco Chronicle

The Hearst Corp. announced yesterday it would be making “significant” cuts to its staff and/or possibly looking for a buyer for the beleaguered San Francisco Chronicle.

If all that fails, they’ve said they would consider closing the operation down completely.

The SF Chronicle is one of if not the largest publication in Northern California.As a Pulitzer-prize winning paper, seems a shame if it would completely shut down.But I guess that is the reality of the business today.

Cuts coming to the Daily News

The Los Angeles Newspaper Group, which includes the flagship paper LA Daily News, is talking more and more seriously about a universal copy desk stationed out of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune's West Covina office.

We're already a few weeks into a combined copy desk with some of our inland papers. 

Talks of this of universal desk has, of course, also brought talks of layoffs. And it looks like those rumors might be true...

Speaking of state capitol reporting...

This week we're going to be discussing the changes in state capitol reporting among news agencies. Like many other quote "superfluous" bureaus, news outlets are cutting back on the number reporters stationed at locations like Washington or their respective state capitols.

In California, it's no different and I seemed to witness this firsthand this past weekend while dealing with state budget stories for the newspaper group I work for.

As the weekend editor, I often pull stories from the Associated Press to run in our papers, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News and the Whittier Daily News. Over the weekend, we had budgeted to pull an AP story on the state budget, and just add quotes from our area politicians to localize the story. 

It was Saturday night, about one hour before our first deadline and the AP still hadn't moved a new story. Their latest version was from about four hours before, and didn't reflect the most up-to-date news. So getting a little antsy, I decided to call the local Los Angeles AP desk and ask them what was up with the story.

When the AP editor picked up, she gave a bit of insight that nearly threw me off my chair: "We've only got one reporter in Sacramento, so we're waiting....." One reporter? Really, ONE REPORTER??? One reporter covering the largest state deficit in California's history? One reporter covering the fate of a budget packet that could potentially raise taxes on gas and sales tax in the state? One reporter covering a record 30-hour legislative session that had lawmaker falling asleep in their chairs?

I mean, we're talking about the AP here, which has reporters stationed all around the world and provides content to hundreds and hundreds of news agencies. And yet, they could only spare one reporter to cover a possible resolution to California's $42 billion budget deficit.

Talk about a loss in state capitol reporting.... At least I got a story by my deadline.

Bonuses and layoffs were 'coincidental'

Talk about bad timing.

It appears the A.H. Belo Corporation — which owns The Dallas Morning News and The Providence Journal among other holdings — announced almost simultaneously that it would be laying of more 500 employees and giving out bonuses to managers who hit their financial marks.

There’s an explanation for the oxymoron, of course: the layoffs are needed as a cost-cutting effort and the bonuses were promised to these managers a year ago.

Still, doesn’t this kind of remind you of all those banking industry execs who were giving themselves bonuses and planning lavish corporate trips while at the same time receiving bailout money?

I’m just saying....

More changes in my newsroom

One of higher-level managers has "resigned," and his work is essentially being split between two other high-level managers.

Do I smell a forced retirement here?

Just one more way to consolidate positions and save a big chunk of money, I guess....

Times' cut to Cali section starts an uproar

It's been less than a week since the L.A. Times announced it would be cutting its California section, and folding local news into the A-section of the paper ---- and already, the move has sparked a bit of an uproar.

Aside from the fact that the move will eliminate dozens of jobs, a lot of people were close to the local section and don't want to see it disappear.

A Facebook group to save the section had 2,200 members Wednesday morning. It was started by Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti .