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McClatchy CEO Pruitt on Star Tribune sale
12/26/2006 5:48:18 PM

December 26, 2006

To: McClatchy employees
From: Gary Pruitt, CEO

Many of you will have heard or read by now that McClatchy has agreed to sell the Minneapolis Star Tribune to Avista Capital Partners. We expect the deal to close in the first quarter of 2007.

And while there were a dozen newspaper transactions associated with our acquisition of Knight Ridder earlier this year, I know this particular deal comes as an unsettling surprise. Selling an established McClatchy paper certainly is not business-as-usual for us.

Details about the deal are available in the attached press release, but I want to speak directly to you about one point: this deal came about because of very specific conditions involving the Star Tribune and today's changing media landscape. We have no plans to sell any other newspapers.

In fact, we struck this deal to make the company stronger overall. While it is painful and difficult to say farewell to talented and hardworking colleagues at the Star Tribune , we know that McClatchy will be in a stronger position going forward as we work with you in building the news company of the future.

Following the sale and the debt repayment it allows, McClatchy will be in better shape to navigate through changing conditions. It will improve our operating performance, increase operational flexibility and give us freedom to make investments to extend our growing online operations.

This sale might lead some to conclude that McClatchy has doubts about the direction of our company or that the Knight Ridder acquisition has proved ill advised. Both conclusions are wrong. Thanks to the Knight Ridder additions, our portfolio of newspapers and related enterprises has never been stronger. We are not complacent about the future, but we are very confident. We are not waiting for events to overtake us; we are actively building our future together instead.

Our mission remains unchanged: to bring the benefits of independent, public service journalism to the communities we serve. It has animated this company for nearly 150 years, and it animates us still.

If you have questions about this deal or what it means to you, please talk with your supervisor, or write to us directly at questions@mcclatchy.com. We have much hard work ahead of us, but we can approach the future more confidently as a result of the sale we have announced today.

Star Tribune publisher's message to employees
12/26/2006 5:40:04 PM

** High Priority **

Star Tribune Being Sold

By Keith Moyer
Publisher and President

The McClatchy Company, our parent corporation, has reached a definitive agreement to sell the Star Tribune to Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm. The sale will close in early spring.

McClatchy, based on the reevaluation of its strategy, has been conducting a confidential sale of the Star Tribune over recent weeks, and Avista was the successful bidder.

We understand that this is surprising news and that you will have many questions, which we will address as best we can in the days and weeks to come. [We have prepared answers to what we believe will be the most frequently asked questions, and that document is available on Stribnet.]

This much I can tell you with certainty today: Avista is a company that believes in the future of newspapers and is strongly committed to the success of the Star Tribune.

Avista also is committed to keeping the Star Tribune's management team intact. And your leadership team, to a person, is committed to the Star Tribune and its employees. We very much look forward to working with Avista in the years ahead to make our already market-leading company even stronger -- despite the current challenging and changing media environment.

Avista's overarching strategy is to invest primarily in media, healthcare and energy companies. And, through its impressive team of investment and industry experts it seeks to partner with management teams to add value to well-positioned businesses such as the Star Tribune.

I have had the opportunity to get to know Avista leadership quite well recently, and I can say this without hesitation: They are progressive, very smart, good-hearted people who believe that no other media platform can reach a local audience as effectively as newspapers and their product extensions./CONTINUED BELOW

Star Tribune publisher's message to employees
12/26/2006 5:39:21 PM

I'm sure you are wondering what prompted McClatchy to sell the Star Tribune. In making the announcement, McClatchy President and CEO Gary Pruitt, said: "The Star Tribune is a great newspaper with talented staff and management. It is a profitable business that has generated significant returns for the company over the years.

"However, as we continued to analyze our business following the Knight Ridder acquisition, it became clear that selling the Star Tribune strengthens McClatchy's competitive position. This decision will better align our portfolio for today's changing media environment."

McClatchy, in its public announcement, says a detailed analysis of the company's portfolio identified a number of unique financial tax benefits associated with the sale of the Star Tribune that would serve the long-term interests of the company and its shareholders.

I want to thank Gary and all of those at McClatchy for their investment in the Star Tribune since buying the newspaper in 1998. Their steady, forthright stewardship has been appreciated and has made the newspaper, its web site and other interests better. We wish them nothing but the best going forward.

After the sale closes, the Star Tribune will be run by a board of directors appointed by Avista. I will be on the board.

Chris Harte, a member of Avista's executive advisory board, will serve as Chairman of the Star Tribune, and I will report to Chris.

Chris is a highly experienced newspaperman, who served as publisher of Knight Ridder newspapers in Akron, Ohio and State College, Penn., and was publisher of the Guy Gannett Company newspaper in Portland, Maine.

In his remarks to Star Tribune employees today, Chris said:

"The Star Tribune has proven to us that it can change, diversify and grow in the face of changing market conditions.

"You have strong management, hard-working and talented employees, a strong market and a powerful brand that you know how to leverage. That, in a nutshell, is why we found this acquisition so attractive.

"Avista Capital Management is a company that prides itself on creating long-term value by supporting strong management teams and finding new strategies for growth. We are patient investors who look to the future*

"We have not only invested in an exceptionally strong brand but also in the people in every department of this company who make it what it is.

"We at Avista look forward to working with you in making the Star Tribune grow and prosper."

I am truly excited by the prospects of working with Chris and Avista and know you will be too.

Going forward, it will be business as usual during the transition from McClatchy to Avista. We'll put out a great newspaper tomorrow, and we'll continue to do so every day of every year to come -- and I know all of you can be counted on to make sure of that.

And starting today and throughout the transition, we'll be telling you more about Avista and its other holdings and we'll be providing you with answers as they become clear to your likely questions concerning this change of ownership. Go to Stribnet for regular updates on the transition.

Thank you.

WSJ offers free papers, website access on Jan. 2
12/26/2006 3:55:55 PM

Dow Jones release

****MEDIA ALERT****

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL FREE AT NEWSSTANDS NATIONWIDE ON JAN 2, TO DEBUT NEW DESIGN

The Print Journal Will Be Free on Newsstands Across the Country and
The Online Journal at WSJ.Com Will also be Free

WHAT: The redesigned Wall Street Journal will launch on Jan. 2, 2007 and to encourage consumer trial, the Journal will be free at newsstands nationwide as part of the largest sampling in its 117-year history. Nearly 500,000 copies will be free and The Wall Street Journal Online, the largest subscription news site on the Web, will also be free that day.

A cornerstone of the Journal will be an increased focus on interpretation, insight and ideas -- more of “What the News Means, not just "What Happened.” Other changes include new content features, innovative newspaper navigation and better print-online alignment.

WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007

WHERE: Newsstands Nationwide – Specific Locations To Be Announced

Philadelphia Guild ratifies contract
12/19/2006 7:40:31 AM

Philadelphia Newspaper Guild bulletin

GUILD RATIFIES 498-69
December 18, 2006

A new three-year contract was ratified by Guild members with a 498-69 vote. The final vote was announced after 9 p.m., at the end of a meeting that started at 7 p.m.

At the start of the meeting, Diane Mastrull, chair of the Inquirer-Daily News unit, with some 900-plus members, recommended members accept the “unanimous vote of the bargaining committee” for approval.

There were some 200 members present at the peak of the meeting, held in Congregation Rodeph Shalom Synagogue on North Broad Street. Some 275 members, who were unable to attend the meeting, voted by absentee ballot.

Speaking about the contract, Mastrull said, “it could have been far worse.”

After her recommendation the floor was open for comments and questions. Thirteen members spoke, a majority of them having questions about pension provisions in the contract. Only one speaker directly urged rejection of the contract.

After the questions subsided and a motion was approved to start the vote, another motion was presented, and approved after some debate.

That motion "instructs the (Guild) Executive Board to discuss - and pass -- a resolution saying the following:

1- Because of their tight-fisted, slash-and-burn, anti-labor tactics, we have NO CONFIDENCE in the new owners’ actual desire to publish great newspapers.

2- Because of the new owners’ recent record of poor business decisions, which includes hiring executives while promising layoffs of union workers, we have NO FAITH in their desire to treat employees with fairness and dignity.

3- Because of the yawning chasm between what the new owners promised and what they now are delivering, we have NO STOMACH to hear any more of their cheerful prattle.

For the new owners we have "No Confidence, “No Faith, “No Stomach."

Notes from Dow Jones CEO's town hall meetings
12/15/2006 10:57:23 AM

Dow Jones union leaders' report on Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino's town hall meetings

Friends,

For those who couldn't make it one of Rich Zannino's town hall meetings this week we wanted to offer a brief recap on a couple of points. Rich suggested that it should "all be off the record," and we certainly respect that when it comes to Rich's comments about the future of the company portfolio and specific plans for revitalizing the company as we move forward, but we don't think there's anything wrong with sharing a few comments he made about your money, your benefits and your job.

First of all, as we expected, he avoided any debate on the company's regressive contract proposals while repeating his oft-stated "commitment to quality product and people." When questioned directly in New York about the health care proposals and substandard wage offers, he suggested those were topics that would be better addressed at the bargaining table -- after saying that the benefits we have now are "too generous."

But there were a couple of interesting points scattered amid his overview of the company's portfolio and plans for the future.

He made it clear that some of the savings the company expects from those hikes in your share of the cost of health care would go to fund new investments and the rest would go to the "bottom line." There was no suggestion that the hike in health care premiums was designed in any way to cover higher company expenses. In other words, they don't need to cut our benefits. They just want to take money they're spending on us and spend it elsewhere.

As for jobs -- both those lost and those in danger -- Rich seemed to suggest that "they were taking one for the team," implying that somehow losing your job was easier to accept-- perhaps even noble -- when you realized that your demise was building a more profitable Dow Jones.

Rich presented his thoughts on the challenges facing Dow Jones in the new marketplace -- and suggested some interesting ideas about the kind of company we need to become. What he didn't seem to understand was that Dow Jones can't keep trying to finance its plans out of our pockets.

There was nothing in his presentation that changed our minds about the need for a quality contract. In fact, Rich declared that everything he hopes to achieve depends on the continuing quality of the product and the people who produce it.

We'll be back at the bargaining table Tuesday, December 19th-- and
we'll continue pressing the message: Quality People Deserve A Quality
Contract. More money. Better benefits. Stronger job protections. Improved working conditions.

Steve Yount
President

Jim Browning
Bargaining Committee Chair

No fireworks at Philly Guild meeting
12/14/2006 9:51:33 AM

Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia bulletin

GUILD EXPLAINS CONTRACT TO MEMBERS IN MARATHON MEETING

The fireworks that some expected never materialized last night at a Guild meeting that lasted from 7 p.m. until 10:20 p.m. The meeting was somber as a funeral, as some hard-won benefits won over decades were given the last rites as a dozen members of the Guild negotiating team, and leadership, expressed bitterness about a contract they are forced to recommend to members.

More than 200 members attended. The Guild has some 900 members.

Guild leaders patiently answered questions about editorial and advertising rules, seniority, the pension, sick leave and other issues. Members were more mournful than mad, and they applauded the efforts of negotiators who have put in endless hours over the course of many days to come up with a contract that they themselves termed a "bitter pill." A few shed tears last night by the end of the meeting.

Several Guild members strongly questioned aspects of the contract and asked about the ramifications of rejecting it at a ratification meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at Temple Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St.

"This is not 1985," said Inquirer-Daily News Unit Chair Diane Mastrull, in reference to a 46-day strike, the longest in the papers' history. There is no guarantee of jobs "when we put down those picket signs."

The contract's only improvements, which Mastrull termed "minor," came for the Suburban Writers and Photographers unit. Members in that unit are paid less for the same work as members in the main unit.

Addressing the members, Mastrull said, "you can be angry" and cited a "sense of betrayal" the Guild feels about the publisher, but the Guild's bottom line was "to save jobs."

"Be angry, be disgusted, but direct it at people who overpaid for these papers so we have to bail them out."

Local President Henry Holcomb said the recommended, disagreeable contract, provides a foundation on which the Guild can build when business improves in the newspaper industry.

Union reacts to WSJ deal with breakingviews
12/13/2006 11:02:51 AM

Dow Jones union reacts to WSJ deal with breakingviews

From: Steven Yount
Date: December 12, 2006 4:57:55 PM EST
Subject: Newsroom Outsourcing?

Friends,

The Wall Street Journal has said it will begin running the "breakingviews" Wall Street column daily. It's a column of stock-market commentary produced by an outside group, including former Financial Times reporters -- and a move that smacks of the Journal outsourcing its core news coverage.

Not only is management closing the Journal's Canadian bureaus and firing Journal correspondents in Canada, they no longer are willing to pay our own staff reporters to provide the high-quality coverage that is central to the mission of The Wall Street Journal.

Worse, this is the most sensitive kind of reporting that The Wall Street Journal produces.

Stories that have the potential to move markets can lead to serious problems -- and have, at other publications as well as at the Journal, where a reporter in the 1980s was caught selling advance tips about his stories to Wall Street traders. That reporter went to jail and the Journal suffered the worst scandal in its history. In response to that scandal, the Journal set up extensive internal controls to prevent such a thing ever from happening again here.

When it produces news in-house, the Journal and Dow Jones can ensure that strong controls are in place to prevent this kind of abuse. Once it relinquishes that control to an outsider -- whoever that outsider is -- the famous and time-tested Dow Jones guarantee of quality becomes that much weaker. That's particularly true if the outsider has a wide range of clients with competing interests.

Is this the formula for the WSJ of the future -- homogenized news, prepared by outsiders who don't ask for healthcare or retirement, and who can't talk back?

For the cynics who always thought the Journal’s new masters were prepared to sacrifice quality in the name of cost cutting, this might be prove to be the smoking gun.

We certainly hope not.

Steve Yount
President [Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees]

Jim Browning
Bargaining Committee Chair

Columnist Ivins takes time off
12/13/2006 10:53:01 AM

This advisory moved from Creators Syndicate on Tuesday

BC-ivins 12/12/06
NOTE TO MOLLY IVINS EDITORS: MOLLY HAS DECIDED THAT SHE NEEDS TO TAKE A BREAK FROM HER COLUMN WHILE SHE UNDERGOES THE LATEST ROUND OF CANCER TREATMENT. SHE PLANS ON RESUMING HER COLUMN IN THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY. DURING THIS TIME, WE WILL BE OFFERING COLUMNS BY SUSAN ESTRICH AND FROMA HARROP AS SUBSTITUTES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CREATORS SYNDICATE SALES REPRESENTATIVE AT (310) 337-7003. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. -- CREATORS SYNDICATE

Tenative agreement at Philadelphia papers
12/13/2006 7:35:21 AM

Philadelphia Newspaper Guild bulletin

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN GUILD AND COMPANY

Dec. 13, 2006

The Guild and the PN reached a tentative agreement on all issues at 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.

"It's a package requiring a lot of sacrifice from our members. But it is a package that is far less devastating than what the Company originally proposed," said Unit Chairwoman Diane Mastrull, who led the negotiating team into holding onto many of our benefits.

There's no sugar coating this contract. It is a disappointing, giveback deal.

We will discuss elements of the contract more fully Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Congregation Rodeph Shalom Synagogue. This is not a ratification meeting, but one will be held as soon as we can book an appropriate sized venue.

Below is a brief description of the hot-button issues.

DURATION: 3 years. The contract expires at Midnight August 31, 2009.

WAGES: Employees shall receive no pay increase in the first year. Full-time employees shall receive a $1,500 bonus (paid in two parts) in the second year. Employees shall receive a $25 per week raise in the third year. Due to rising increases in health and welfare costs, it is possible that some if not all of this money will be diverted into the Guild's health and welfare fund which is responsible for your sick benefits.

PENSION: The Guild and PN will work through the Pension Board, which is comprised of three Guild trustees and three PN trustees, to merge with a multi-employer pension plan by Dec. 31, 2007. A multi-employer plan is a pension plan in which more than one employer participates. Many single-employer pension plans nowadays are also merging into multi-employer pension plans which provide economic incentives to companies and which are considered safer investments than single-employer funds./CONTINUED BELOW

Tenative agreement at Philadelphia papers
12/13/2006 7:34:12 AM

Because our plan is healthy, it is an attractive merger partner and we are hoping to negotiate a seat on the board of the new fund. Employees will receive an additional year of benefit service credit on their pensions for the year 2007. Once merged into a multi-employer plan, our pension may be frozen, but there is also an option to keep the plan alive, with employee contributions coming through payroll diversions.

The Company will give $4 million to the Guild earmarked as a contribution to the new multi-employer plan or to fund an employee's existing 401(k) or establish a 401(k) for employees who do not yet have such an account. There are however, no plans for PN to contribute any additional money, or ongoing "match" to employees' 401(k) accounts.

There is tremendous financial incentive for the employer if the Pension Trustees can successfully establish a multi-employer plan merger. However, if such a merger does not take place, the company may eventually assume sole administration of the pension fund.

Because so many members have said they have little to no trust for our new owners, we have negotiated extraordinary transparency so we may monitor the plan and additionally, have full legal recourse in the event of any appearance of impropriety by PN with the pension fund.

Despite members' concerns, PN will not be able to invest our pension fund recklessly. Under the strict federal laws of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the employer shall be obligated to invest our pension fund with the utmost caution.

SICK TIME: A Guild member can take up to 40 weeks sick time, depending on how long he /she has worked here (Article 21 of the current contract) but they will be paid at 65 percent of their salary rather than at 100 percent as it is today. In the event of injury or hospitalization, benefits (at 65 percent pay) shall begin on the first day of absence. For the first absence due to illness in any calendar year, employees will be paid at 100 percent for up to three days of absence. After the first three days, they shall be paid at 65 percent. If an employee is not absent due to illness between either January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007 or July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 he/she may earn an additional "pass" of up to three days of pay at 100 percent. Employees can carry a "pass" into the next calendar year, but can at no time hold more than two. If the employee does not have a pass and calls out sick, he/she will not be paid until the fourth day of illness at which point they will be paid at 65 percent rate.

SENIORITY: There are changes in the reduction in force (layoff) language for the newsrooms and for advertising sales people but not for other job categories. In the newsrooms, all classes of editors, artists and photographers will continue to live under straight seniority. However, there are carve outs for some beat reporters, columnists and critics, as designated by what Inquirer editor Bill Marimow and Daily News editor Michael Days have identified as the core functions of their newspapers. The editor may skip over those classes of reporters as he works up the layoff list. He must, however, allow anyone in danger of being laid off and who has held any of those beats for a year to bump less senior employees.

As for the ad department, commissioned sales people will now be merged into the seniority list with salaried sales people based on their dates of hire.

"Bob [Woodward] is a great boss, but..."
12/11/2006 6:22:33 PM

Here's your chance to work for Bob Woodward

Bob Woodward's looking for a new full-time assistant to act as his "right hand man or woman." His ad on a journalism jobs site -- written by current assistant Bill Murphy Jr. -- says: "You will research, report, write and edit. You will also handle administrative matters -- transcribing interview tapes, helping him keep track of his calendar and requests, and running his small office" out of his Washington, DC home.

"Primarily, you will work on whatever major project Bob undertakes next, be it another book, articles for The Washington Post, etc. Most of the time you will be working on several things at once, and sometimes these 'secondary assignments' can take on a life of their own."

The ad continues:

"This is not a job to expect to have for your entire career. The normal model is 'two years or one book,' whichever comes first. It is a great and perhaps unique opportunity to learn from an accomplished journalist and to contribute to in-depth reporting on the most timely topics.

"These are meant as guidelines, and we offer them in part to encourage you to self-select a bit. To be blunt, we are probably NOT looking for someone 24-25 years old, two or three years out of college, looking to move on from his or her first job. Ideally, candidates should have five to eight years experience in journalism, books, or in-depth research and writing."

Murphy says posting the ad "is a bit of an experiment. Our goal is to open up the process and democratize it. We want to cast a wide net, and spread the word about this opportunity."

Woodward's assistant tells applicants:

"First, think about whether you really and truly meet the description of who we are looking for. If you haven’t worked in journalism before or haven’t been a writer, or if you’re really just beginning your career, this probably is not the job for you---at least not yet.

"Second, think about whether you really want to work for one person, being more or less at his beck and call for two years. Bob is a great boss, but this job is intense and demanding, and it's not for everyone."

Tierney's letter to Philly Guild journalists
12/8/2006 7:28:48 AM

Philadelphia Newspaper Guild message to members

Below you will find a 12/7/06 open letter from Brian Tierney to employees of Philadelphia Newspapers, which we are sharing as a public service.

Skipping over the self-serving blather, Brian Tierney writes (on Page 2) that “we are all in this together" - except when it comes to directing the investments of our pension fund.

That's when it becomes "me," not “we."

We have a problem with that for one simple reason: It's OUR money, put there for US by Knight-Ridder. It is not Brian's money to invest. The fund is both safe and healthy.

The text follows:

December 7, 2006
To: PN Employees
From: Brian Tierney
An Open Letter to Employees:

At the very beginning of negotiations with our unions, I said that I would treat our discussions with confidentiality and respect, and not negotiate in public. However, with all the rhetoric going around, I feel we must separate some facts from fiction. Let me highlight a few examples.

We are not proposing to take away anyone’s pension benefit. The Pension Fund is federally guaranteed. We are only proposing to no longer make additional commitments to the Fund. Those employees with many years of service have already earned and vested their pension benefit. The benefit you have will still be paid to you upon your retirement. Employees with many years ahead of them before retirement will have plenty of time to plan for their own retirement with a variety of tax-advantaged plans, for example a 401(k). Everyone’s existing pension is fully protected by law. It is illegal, immoral, and repugnant to take any actions that would threaten the security and
integrity of the Pension Fund.

We are offended by suggestions that our proposal to manage the Fund has the ulterior motive of “raiding the fund" or stealing its capital. Our investors, including another union’s pension fund, are highly visible and respected members of the Philadelphia community. We are saddened by the rumor-mongering that has spread fears among the Guild rank and file. Our proposal to manage the Fund has a simple motive; we want to
maximize the investment returns of the Fund because we are fully responsible for its funding level. We are legally bound to insure the full funding of the Fund, and recent Federal legislation has only strengthened the legal framework of such funding requirements. Since we are on the hook for the unfunded liability, we want the decisionmaking authority to maximize the investment returns of the Fund. The Guild has no incentive to maximize returns since we must fund any shortfalls.

We have also proposed to allow the membership to accrue additional pension benefits in the legacy Fund. This would involve merging the Guild’s pension into a multiemployer plan that will allow the Guild to increase future benefits. We have already begun looking for merger partners in order to speed this process along./CONTINUED BELOW

Tierney's letter to Philly Guild journalists
12/8/2006 7:27:01 AM

If the fund remains independent, our management of the Fund will be completely transparent; all investment and administration decisions, as well as the Fund’s performance, will be shared with Guild leadership.

What we are proposing is in line with most other companies, both in the media business and other businesses. Ask your friends and neighbors what their companies are doing. Remember, you will continue to be guaranteed your legacy pension benefit, the "severance" pension we already fund, and your current 401(k) plan. And, if we find a merger partner, the Guild could fund additional benefits to the legacy pension.

Will this proposal cost everyone a little more? Perhaps. But it is critically important for everyone to understand how difficult the newspaper business has become. You can look all over the country for examples. We simply can no longer afford the very generous pay and benefits of a bygone era, when newspapers dominated the media. We would much
prefer for everyone to share a little bit in the pain, so that we can spare perhaps dozens of our colleagues from losing their jobs altogether.

There is a silver lining in this cloud. If we can break the downward spiral of this business, if we can save dozens of newsroom jobs, if we can improve the quality of our newspapers, if we can invest in marketing and product and equipment and technology, if we can grow circulation and thereby grow advertising, we can, in fact, win, and win big, together as a team. And that’s my dream. I want these newspapers to be great, and I'm sorry that we must take such painful steps to achieve greatness. But to those of you who understand this vision and understand the need for these difficult decisions, you will understand that it is our only choice.

I am fundamentally optimistic. I want to break the cycles of negative thinking, of "us vs. them." We are all in this together, and need to keep the best interests of this fine journalistic institution in the front of our minds. I want this organization to still be around, to still employ thousands of people, to still make a difference in our community, and to still be relevant for decades and decades to come.

Let's work together to make this happen.

Philly talks to resume Monday
12/7/2006 6:36:27 PM

Bulletin from Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia to members

HANG IN THERE

Dec. 7, 2006

Federal Mediator Walter Bednarczyk said today that he would call back the Guild and the Company to face-to-face bargaining Monday to discuss pension issues.

He strongly suggested that neither party take any action at this time. The Company wants to freeze the pension fund and take full control of our fund away from the joint board of trustees. The union plans to work with its experts through the weekend to come up with a counter proposal.

(Translation: No work stoppage)

Cincy Enquirer offers unpaid vacation plan
12/7/2006 8:18:28 AM

Memo sent to Cincinnati Enquirer staff

Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 9:27 AM
To: Cincinnati-All
Subject: Voluntary Unpaid Vacation Program

We are introducing a Voluntary Unpaid Vacation program designed to give employees more time off from work. Here's how it works:

Who is Eligible: If you are a non-represented full-time employee with at least 90 days of employment, you will have the opportunity to take extra vacation time – unpaid – above and beyond your annual allotment of paid vacation. Taking this voluntary unpaid vacation will NOT reduce your amount of regular paid vacation.

Your supervisor/manager will need to weigh each request and approve it based on the department’s workload, the amount of requests, and other factors within your division. And your department head will have final approval.

Amount of Time Available: There is no specific limit to the amount of unpaid vacation you can take, but that is, of course, subject to your department managers’ discretion. If you are an hourly (non-exempt) employee, you may take single days off without pay. To comply with labor laws, salaried (exempt) employees must take a minimum of 5 consecutive days, during the same pay period, without pay.

Requesting Time Off: Simply fill out the attached form and bring it to your supervisor/manager. Again, all requests for time off are subject to approval by your supervisor/manager and your department head.

When: This program will go into effect January 1, 2007.

Why: From time to time, we've been approached by employees who wish they had more time off. They don’t have enough personal time – sometimes it's because their spouse has amassed more vacation, or sometimes it's just special unforeseen circumstances that arise after all the employee's allotted vacation has been scheduled or taken. Whatever the reason, this program will provide people in those situations with more flexibility to achieving a good work/life balance. This program will have the additional benefit of helping to contain our payroll costs in these challenging times.

Questions: Contact your supervisor/manager or an HR representative.

Keith Bulling
Vice President / Human Resources
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Merc union reaches tentative deal on contract
12/4/2006 1:17:41 PM

San Jose Newspaper Guild Bargaining Bulletin #15
December 4, 2006

After a 20-hour bargaining session that ended at 7:45 a.m. this morning, the Guild and the Mercury News reached a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract.

As a result, the company will reduce its number of Guild layoffs from 69 to 27.51 full-time equivalent positions. The layoffs will be announced tonight and tomorrow. As part of the agreement, the company will guarantee no further layoffs in the bargaining unit at least through June 30, 2007.

The Guild will allow 45 jobs to be moved to the new San Ramon center from finance and the classified call center. Affected individuals will have the option of taking a buy-out for two weeks pay for every year of service, capped at 10 weeks, and two months of paid health care. The company said it expects the finance jobs to move in March and the call center to move in June, at the earliest.

The agreement provides 2 percent wage increases in each year (divided into 1.5 percent and .5 percent roughly every six months) and a $1,000 signing bonus for members (pro-rated for part-timers). The signing bonus is designed to ease the transition to a new health plan, in which members will be paying about 20 percent of premiums for Blue Cross plans and 30 percent for Kaiser. Current part-timers working more than 18.75 hours a week will be grandfathered for coverage; future part-timers will have to work 30 hours for coverage. Current retirees also will be grandfathered with access to health plans if they pay the full premiums.

The pension plan will be frozen and replaced with a 401K matching contribution of up to 3 percent if an employee contributes 6 percent.

Guild members will use their vacation accrued in 2006 in 2007 and not accrue any vacation during that year. Beginning in 2008, vacation will be on an "earn-as-you-go" basis, meaning you earn vacation in the same year you take it.

The company will be able to coordinate news coverage and advertising sales with other MediaNews papers and take content from those publications. A new jurisdiction provision will provide that use of such content shall not result in layoffs in the bargaining unit.

Among the major demands dropped by the company in the final hours were the elimination of the contract's "evergreen clause," which keeps the contract in effect after expiration in the event a new agreement has not been reached; a two-tier wage system; a broad "management rights" clause; and a 40-hour workweek.

The terms, including the first pay increase of 1.5 percent, would go into effect after ratification. A ratification meeting date has not yet been scheduled. The contract term would end Oct. 31, 2008.

Although the company had set a Nov. 30 deadline for reaching a new deal in order to reduce the number of layoffs, and talks broke off that day, Executive Editor Susan Goldberg and SJ Newspaper Guild President Becky Bartindale initiated an informal discussion Friday morning that eventually led to the agreement.

More details will be available in the coming days.

Representing the company were Jeff Kiel, Andy Huntington, Marshall Anstandig, Susan Goldberg and Kathleen Slattery.

Representing the Guild were Sylvia Ulloa, Nick Warner, Dennis Uyeno, Luther Jackson, Becky Bartindale, Mary Anne Ostrom and Barry Witt.

Imitation is the sincerest form of larceny
12/4/2006 10:13:33 AM



Greenberg, unnamed billionaire eye NYT Co.
11/29/2006 2:23:01 PM

CNBC press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CNBC EXCLUSIVE: CNBC's CHARLIE GASPARINO SAYS HANK GREENBERG AND ANOTHER UNNAMED BILLIONAIRE ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY

In a CNBC EXCLUSIVE, Charlie Gasparino reports that Hank Greenberg, Former Chairman and CEO of AIG, has approached investment bankers and is actively engaged in trying to buy The New York Times Company. Gasparino also reports that an unnamed billionaire is also interested in buying the Company. Gasparino reported the story in his weekly "Street Stories" segement during CNBC's "Power Lunch."

Please see transcript below.

DATE: November 29, 2006
NETWORK: CNBC
PROGRAM: "Power Lunch"
TIME: 1:15 pm ET

----------------------------------------------------------------
SUE HERERA: CHARLIE GASPARINO JOINS US NOW WITH HIS STREET STORIES THAT HE'S HEARING ABOUT THE REPORT IN THE NEW YORK POST, CHARLIE, THAT HANK GREENBERG IS BUYING SHARES OF NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY. YOU THINK HE WANTS TO BE MORE THAN JUST AN INVESTOR HERE, RIGHT?

CHARLIE GASPARINO: YEAH, I THINK THIS STORY GOES BEYOND HIM TRYING TO BE AN ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDER TO GET THE FAMILY TO PRODUCE MORE PROFITS FOR SHAREHOLDERS. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, HANK GREENBERG IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN TRYING TO BUY THE ENTIRE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY. THAT HE HAS APPROACHED INVESTMENT BANKERS AND ASKED THEM IF THEY WOULD WORK FOR HIM SO THEY COULD PUT TOGETHER SOME SORT OF A PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY. NOW, INVESTMENT BANKERS HAVE TOLD HIM IT WOULD BE NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE. IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, THE NEW YORK TIMES HAS TWO CLASSES OF STOCK, THE FAMILY CONTROLS THE VOTING STOCK WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR HANK GREENBERG TO COME IN THERE OR ESSENTIALLY ANY INVESTOR TO COME IN THERE AND BUY THE COMPANY. BUT GREENBERG IS INTENT ON PUSHING THE ENVELOPE ON THIS.

SUE: WHY?

CHARLIE: TWO THINGS. GREENBERG BELIEVES THIS IS AN UNDER VALUED ASSET. NUMBER TWO, THERE IS A LOT OF EGO HERE. JACK WELSH [SIC] IS OUT THERE TALKING ABOUT BUYING THE BOSTON GLOBE. HANK GREENBERG WANTS TO BE IN THERE. HE'S GOT MONEY TO BURN. AND I BELIEVE THERE IS A LITTLE REVENGE HERE. LET'S FACE IT. THE NEW YORK TIMES HASN'T BEEN SO NICE TO HANK GREENBERG OVER THE YEARS ESPECIALLY AS HE CAME UNDER INVESTIGATION WITH ELIOT SPITZER. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND GREENBERG IS INTENT ON DOING THIS THEV HE'S APPROACHED INVESTMENT BANKERS. HE ISN'T THE ONLY ONE. APPARENTLY THERE IS ANOTHER BILLIONAIRE OR NEAR BILLIONAIRE INVESTOR OUT THERE LOOKING TO BUY THE NEW YORK TIMES. FROM WHAT I HEAR, A LOT OF PEOPLE SPECULATING, THAT COULD BE JACK WELSH [SIC] AS WELL.

SUE: THEY WANT THE PLATFORM, CORRECT? THE PROFITS, THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS HAS NOT BEEN PROFITABLE. THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THE VOICE, EDITORIAL VOICE?

CHARLIE: YOU'RE WRONG ABOUT THAT. NEWSPAPERS IS VERY PROFITABLE. IT'S GROWTH THEY DON'T HAVE. THESE GUYS HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, THEY HAVE MONEY TO BURN AND YOU DO GET A GREAT PLATFORM AND YOU DO GET AN ASSET THAT IF YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY DOWN THE ROAD.

Cartoonist Varela does discusses Herald standoff
11/29/2006 1:54:13 PM

Mega TV press release

For Immediate Release

MEGA TV AIRS FIRST INTERVIEW WITH CARTOONIST JOSE VARELA

Miami - November 29th, 2006 - Mega TV announced today that its very own Maria Elvira Salazar, host of "Polos Opuestos," sat down with cartoonist Jose Varela. This will be Varela’s first interview since making headlines last week when he barricaded himself on the 6th floor of The Miami Herald building and declared himself as the publisher of the Spanish daily "El Nuevo Herald."

In this provocative interview, Varela told Mega TV viewers how he walked into the El Nuevo Herald offices on that fateful Friday afternoon armed with a knife and a plastic toy gun, demanding justice for the Cuban exile community from the "El Nuevo Herald's" newsroom. He also shared how the SWAT team took him away after he surrendered.

"I never thought my life was in danger," said Varela. "Yes, I got scared when the SWAT team shut down the lights in the building, but I relaxed when I turned on CNN and saw that they were covering the incident. I knew then that they could not kill me."

Varela was also joined by radio disc jockeys Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero, morning show hosts of Spanish Broadcasting System’s El Vacilón de la Mañana on El Zol 95.7. Santos and Ferrero collected more than $15,000 dollars from the Miami community to help Varela post bail. The two disc jockeys also shared how they were able to generate that kind of money in just four hours.
.
Varela goes on to share how he was mistreated by the directive of "El Nuevo Herald." Varela commented, "They see everything black and white, Bush or Fidel. They don’t see any shades of grey, which in unfortunate because life does not work that way. They would toss away my work; my cartoons were censured. Management's actions sent the newspaper back to the Stone Age. Throwing away my work was like tearing me to pieces."

A majority of Mega TV viewers agreed with the actions of Mr. Varela. When asked to vote via phone whether Varela's actions were heroic or irresponsible, 85% of Mega TV viewers considered Varela a hero, while only 15% considered him irresponsible.

This exclusive interview brought answers to many of the questions considered from that fateful Friday afternoon, reiterating Mega TV’s commitment to serving the South Florida community with up-to-date coverage on the issues that impact the community most.

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