http://www.sjguild.org Representing employees of the San Jose Mercury News and Monterey County Herald Copyright 2009 San Jose Newspaper Guild en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:01:53 -0500 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:01:53 -0500 http://www.sjguild.org/rss/jpg/GuildNews.jpg http://www.sjguild.org 140 55 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065960 Tampa Tribune parent Media General Inc. (MEG) announced the pricing of its offering of $300 million of senior secured notes that will help spread out the maturities of its approximately $730 million in debt. The notes will carry an interest rate of 11.75%. With its price set at a discount to face value, the notes yield maturity is 12.25%. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065960 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065522 McClatchy Co. shares tumbled Friday along with the broader market after the newspaper publisher agreed to pay steep interest rates to push back its deadline for repaying debt. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065522 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065601 Some 50 top executives of The New York Times, including Publisher and Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. met earlier this week in a New York restaurant with Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who demonstrated the iPad and talked it up as "the future of media," according to a report by Daniel Maurer on New York magazine’s Web site. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065601 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_newsroom_turmoil_2 An arbitrator has rejected the Santa Barbara News-Press’ $25 million claim against its former editor and ordered the newspaper’s owner to pay more than $900,000 in fees stemming from their dispute. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100205/ap_on_bi_ge/us_newsroom_turmoil_2 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065468 The Seattle Times Co. has renegotiated its debt, giving the publisher increased ability to continue publishing "high quality, independent journalism," as the company indicated in a letter updating its readers on its financial status. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065468 http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/02/journos-arent-helpless-against-market.html Without question, there never has been a bigger response to this blog than the one that greeted the piece the other day encouraging journalists to demand to be paid decently for their work. http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/02/journos-arent-helpless-against-market.html http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/02/google-news-to-publishers-lets-make-love-not-war035.html In the view of some traditional media execs, Google is a digital vampire or a parasite or tech tapeworm using someone else’s content to profit. As that rhetoric heated up in the past year, Google has responded not with equal amounts of invective but with entreaties to help publishers. http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/02/google-news-to-publishers-lets-make-love-not-war035.html http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065180 Monster Worldwide’s agreed acquisition of Yahoo’s recruitment platform HotJobs means as many as 200 papers will be shut out of of the Yahoo newspaper consortium (NPC). http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065180 http://www.contentbridges.com/2010/01/arthur-and-the-blue-people.html As if the New York Times’ Arthur Sulzberger and Janet Robinson didn’t have enough headaches, trying to figure out how to fend off that other daily beast known as the Wall Street Journal. Until December, 2007, when Rupert Murdoch pulled off the coup of his lifetime, cajoling, wheedling and finally hard-lining just enough of the Bancroft family into selling the prize Journal to him, the Journal had been a national business daily — not the Times’ direct competition. http://www.contentbridges.com/2010/01/arthur-and-the-blue-people.html http://www.sjguild.org/index.php?ID=7220 The MediaNews bankruptcy marches ahead. So far, proceedings in Delaware bankruptcy court seem to agree with the idea that Chapter 11 proceedings will be limited to MNG’s holding company, Affiliated Media Inc., and will not affect employees or union contracts. David R. Hock of Cohen, Weiss and Simon represented The Newspaper Guild/Communications Workers of America locals at the first day hearing on Jan. 26. It appears the pre-packaged bankruptcy will come to a swift conclusion, heading for confirmation without objection on March 4. http://www.sjguild.org/index.php?ID=7220