Tuesday Morning Media News
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:45 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Wayne Beane Update Senior vice-president of production, Russ Newton, informed me yesterday that Wayne Beane’s sudden retirement was by his choosing, and he was not forced to retire. I will believe Russ at this moment, but if anyone else leaves to spend more time with his or her families, I will question their departure.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:31 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  I'm Watching Your Back This past weekend was rather busy for myself, with my daughter Joanna and I spending Saturday at a day spa in Temecula. Joanna had her hair trimmed, and highlighted, while also having a manicure and pedicure.

As Joanna enjoyed her beauty treatment I spent two hours having every muscle in my body massaged with hot smooth rocks, which left me sore afterwards, but I slept very well Saturday and Sunday nights as a result. With all the stress at the newspaper, treat yourself to a massage once in awhile; you won’t be sorry, just a little lighter in the wallet.

And speaking about being lighter in the wallet, the Los Angeles Times Security is actively investigating the vandalism occurring at the Olympic Facility. I have contacted Wells Fargo Bank and Washington Mutual for the exact times my cards have been used at Yum Yum Donuts, so Times security can view the video from the merchant to identify the culprit in the thief’s.

I had not even bothered to see where my Visa card was used until last night, and discovered the dummy had used my credit card at Yum Yum donuts twice for charges of $4.08 and $2.98.

Last Friday before the pressroom started the swing shift Dan Lippiatt informed every one of the break-ins at a shift meeting, and urged everyone to file a report with security if they have experienced a loss. Apparently the reports filed with security are but the tip of the iceberg, as many have shared that their lockers have been opened in their absence, but have not reported the break-ins because they felt the company did not care.

One of the main reasons I have this blog is to keep my colleagues informed, so many things are presented here to stay abreast of the industry, and in this case, make all Operation Employees aware of the dangers of storing anything of value in their personal lockers.

Lets hope Times security can locate the thief before a pressman finds them, because some in the pressroom will apply vigilante justice to vent their anger.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:21 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Saturday Night Links

Blogging and the Shifting Definitions of Journalism - Lamar White

Set Your Alarm: Page One Ads Are Coming - Huffington Post

Newspapers earnings: How much worse will it get? - Blogging Stocks

New Competition For 'Metro'? - Philadelphia Will Do

Blogger Luke Ford and KTLA reporter Eric Spillman debate ethics - LAT

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:58 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Operations Employees at the Los Angeles Times When the Mafia takes one of their own out, they always say “Its nothing personal, its just business”, the same holds true for management when they let a employee go, its not personal, its just business, which we witnessed first hand this week at Olympic.

As the Tribune continues on the downward spiral, especially with double digit decreases in revenue; it will only be a business decision to outsource Operations to trim costs and increase profits. I know what we’re told, that we cannot outsource Operations, but I also still vividly recall being told there would be no further buyouts, four buyouts ago.

Credibility means a lot, which leads to the meeting in which everyone working in Operations was informed their jobs were secure, and all the Times truck drivers and mechanics were let go shortly after the meeting, and outsourced to Ryder Trucking.

Many of the articles I post in the daily links are meant for my fellow workers, especially regarding outsourcing at other newspapers, don’t think for a moment we are not seen as a way of increasing profits, we all have targets on our backs, and will be eliminated when possible.

If you do not believe me take a look to our north, the San Francisco Chronicle, which has a very strong union, will be letting everyone go in May of 2009 as Transcontinental takes over the production of the newspaper.

We have heard for four years that we will be bringing in new products to produce at our printing facilities, yet no extra work has materialized, and most likely will never arrive.

My message to all of my colleagues in Operations, watch your spending habits, cut back where you can, and by all means place your credits cards in a secure place for emergencies only.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:11 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  An Awesome Experience Have you ever seen the commercial where the troops are entering the airport and waiting passengers begin to applaude?

Well, I had the opportunity to experience that very same scenario while awaiting my flight on Thursday morning at Ontario Airport. And, I must say it was an experience second to that of seeing my first-born child for the first time! It was one I will never forget.

After giving up my seat on my initial flight (and reaping the benefits for doing so), I was just sitting and waiting for departure, a group of uniformed soldiers entered my waiting section. To see them initially gave me chills, as I wasn't sure if they were there to represent Homeland Security or to report to their assigned duties. Fortunately, they were there to welcome troops returning from Iraq.

As passengers deplaned, they saw an elderly gentleman wearing a veterans hat. They greeted him with handshakes and words of respect. And his smile clearly displayed his appreciation for the recognition he received.

Then, came the troops. OMG! As they exited the walkway from the plane, the chills took over me, the applause began, camera flashes came out of nowhere and tears streamed from adults and children alike.

Afterwards, the troops gathered in a group, listened to their instructions, and were on their way. I have a couple of pictures to post after my return to SoCal.

To see this gives one a renewed appreciation for our freedom and those who make it possible.

God Bless Our Troops! 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 8:36 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Friday Night Media News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:16 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Summer Vacation Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer. I've been busy the last few weeks with my daughter's All Star Softball team. They were a 12U (12 & under) team and they played their hearts out. It was great while it lasted but now it's over.

Now I'm looking forward to spending the remainder of summer enjoying the summer concerts in the park, taking long evening walks and working on my tan on my days off from work.

I hope everyone gets an opportunity to recharge yourself by relaxing, counting your blessings and enjoying all that summer has to offer.

Please pray for our troops...they need our support now that the desert heat is upon them. My son-in-law (currently in Iraq) has said that temperatures during the day can reach 125 degrees! I will not complain about the heat in Southern California as long as I know we have members of our military enduring much more.

God bless everyone!

Jade 

posted by Jade | ¶ 3:46 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  LA Cowboy: Unasked Questions About Downtown, Transportation, Housing and Grand Avenue! Brady Westwater has published a masterful story on his blog that belongs in the Los Angeles Times Opinion Section, click on the link below to see what I mean.


LA Cowboy: Unasked Questions About Downtown, Transportation, Housing and Grand Avenue! 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 3:04 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  San Francisco Peninsula Press Club: Guild fears it may be decertified The East Bay Express's Robert Gammon, a former union official at the Alameda Newspaper Group, writes this morning that the planned merger of ANG's newsrooms with the Contra Costa Times might cause owner MediaNews to push for a decertification of the Guild at ANG. (Publisher John Armstrong described his consolidation plans in a memo posted here yesterday. Here's a link to a George Avalos story describing the consolidation.)

The merger would mix non-union employees at the Contra Costa Times with the unionized workers at the ANG papers, including the Oakland Tribune, San Mateo County Times, etc.

After the merger, if the combined news operation has more non-union than union members, the employees can circulate a petition calling for a decertification election of all employees in the bargaining unit. Gammon said Guild officials are counting heads.

Decertification means the Guild would no longer be the exclusive bargaining agent for employees, which would effectively end union representation.

San Francisco Peninsula Press Club: Guild fears it may be decertified 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 2:59 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Thank you David Hiller This is starting out as a very unusual day for myself, giving positive raves to two Tribune executives in the same day. Standby as I pinch myself and see if I’m dreaming? Well, it appears I am wide-awake.

I have been ever so passionate about the lack of communications given to my colleagues and myself at the Los Angeles Times Operations Departments, my regular readers are aware of this.

Yesterday the publisher of the Times, David Hiller, announced the creation of a tool on the Times Intranet that will allow the workers, without company email accounts, to communicate their ideas to committees and upper management at the newspaper.

GREAT IDEA David, and we thank you. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:34 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Where's Boi from Troy?  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:57 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Message from David Hiller - Publisher LAT From: Hiller, David
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 1:50 PM
To: zzAll LATimes Employees
Subject: Suggestion Box on TimesLink

Folks,

My experience is that most of the best ideas on changing and improving our business come from colleagues who see opportunities in their dealings with readers, online users, advertisers, other departments, etc. — in other words, their first hand experiences. A lot of you have sent me emails and notes with your suggestions, and I know a ton of ideas get raised directly in your departments.

But to make sure we’re getting as many good ideas as we can, we are implementing a suggestion that came from several of you — creating an electronic suggestion box on TimesLink.

I hope you’ll click on it to submit your ideas, feedback, and insight. If you have a suggestion that will improve our business, save money, increase circulation or revenue, or just make the day to day operations of your department more efficient — we want to know. Also, be sure to pass along ideas and suggestions you hear from our customers, or your neighbors, or things you see competing media doing that we ought to consider.

We’ll take a good look at everything, get back to everybody who sends something in, and put the best ideas into action fast.

As “Times Change,” my guess is experience will again show that you have the best ideas about how we move ahead.

I look forward to hearing from you.

David 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:41 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Brilliant Move Dennis FitzSimons My confidence in the CEO of the Tribune Company, Dennis FitzSimons, ability to turn the fortunes of the media company around has been low. I would not go as far as Ken Reich, and call him a numbskull, but I have lost sleep many nights wondering when all the ado and dust will settle?

Wednesday when the Tribune Company announced historic revenues declines, I fully expected a major sell off of Tribune stock. But Dennis saved the day when he told the world the financing for the repurchase of 127 million shares of outstanding Tribune stock was secured, causing the stock to gain $1.05 for the day.

The last two hurdles for taking Tribune private will be the vote by Tribunites across the country on August 21st, and a ruling by the FCC on cross ownership of media in the same market.

Brilliant move Wednesday Dennis.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:08 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Take Back the Times: NYTimes Business Skill, Tribune Ineptitude There's no getting away from the fact that these are difficult times in the newspaper business. But some companies are doing better at coping with their problems than others.

This is clear from two articles in the New York Times Business section that ran yesterday. One showed how the managers of the New York Times Co. are quite skillful, while the managers of the Tribune Co. are the numbskulls that we have gotten to know so well.

For additional laugh's, click on the link below.

Take Back the Times: NYTimes Business Skill, Tribune Ineptitude 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:38 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Hazards of Outsourcing at the Newspaper I was astounded by the response from my colleagues regarding the thief’s at the Los Angeles Times Olympic Facility; I had no clue so many lockers were being vandalized and valuables taken while the workers were manning the printing presses.

Bill Conover told me his ipod was removed from his locker, John Rickett had $300.00 cash taken from him, Dennis Rios lost his change jar, and the list could go on for many more lines.

I have discovered all the lockers that have been broken into have one common denominator, the lockers were protected with a Master combination lock. Apparently the locks can be disabled with a sharp blow from a heavy object, my Master lock now opens with a strong downward tug, rendering the lock obsolete.

Ed Santos, Bill Conover, and Craig Steer have shown me how their Master locks open with a little tug, as mine does, making our locks nothing more than adornments hanging from our lockers.

The Los Angeles Times Grapevine tells me management is considering outsourcing our security guards again. I say again, because we tried this four or five years ago, and employees lost car stereos, their lunches, and anything that was not bolted down. I’m not implying it was the outside contractor’s, but the thief’s stopped when Los Angeles Times security was brought back to Olympic.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:00 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Aaron Proctor for Pasadena Mayor Aaron Proctor is returning to Pasadena and running for mayor in this world famous foothill city in mid-August, I’m personally not familiar with Mr. Proctor, but I think this is about to change very soon.

As a child I could not stand the taste of beets, but as I have aged, they now taste extremely good in my old age. The same goes for politics, I never paid much attention to what politicians said, but now that I’m in my fifties I have developed a taste for what is being said.

Allow me to introduce Aaron Proctor in this short video.



For further information on Aaron Proctor, visit Pasadena's Political Underbelly Blog. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:24 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Speculation? "Half of the American people have never read a newspaper.
Half have never voted for President.
One hopes it is the same half."
--Gore Vidal, author.

from Dan Poynter's Parapublishing site. 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 7:22 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  My Book Is On Clearance Get Lost With Easy-Writer
You know you're "out there" once the anthology you're in goes on sale. Experimental Travel is on sale through Lonely Planet, the travel guide company. Yup, it's gone down to $9.99, which means that once this stash is gone, it'll only be found in used bookstores, trashbins, and the homes of travelers who have about forty travelguides all lined up.....

read the rest on my blog! Leave me a note! 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 10:18 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Comedy at Biaccis Pizza in Upland With my sister and her family in town for the next few days I find my time limited, and will blog as I can the next few days.

We are headed to Biaccis for pizza, sodas, and comedy, the comedy is free, so join us at 9:00 p.m. tonight. The title will take you to their MySpace page. Tonight's show is hosted by the famous Bruce Jingles, sidekick of Jeff Garcia.

Biaccis Pizza
775 N. Central Ave.
Upland, CA 91786
909-946-0990 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 6:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Traffic Alert - Downtown Demonstration Traffic Alert

Date: August 4th, 2007, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Demonstration: Victory Outreach - Stop the Violence
Location: Figueroa & Pico

March Route:
Northbound Figueroa to 11th Street
Eastbound 11th Street to Main Street
Northbound on Main Street to City Hall South

Event is expected to draw 10,000 people. There are no official street closures at this time, however rolling closures are expected. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 6:30 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Wanted, Old Photographs of Bob Bagwell Calling all pressmen, if you have any photographs of Bob Bagwell would you please share them with melinda.marquez@latimes.com for Bob's upcoming anniversary party. And for you current employees, can you see Mike Gibson in this old picture? Mike is second from the right, and enters press impositions into the computer system now days.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:44 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Thursday Morning Media News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:56 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Wayne Beane Retiring this Friday from Olympic
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 1:37 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Goldstein's Article Dropped for Being Innovative Just incase you would like to read Patrick Goldstein’s killed article, Kevin Roderick has it posted on LAObserved.

And Nikki Finke has a great follow up which is a must read. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:13 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Take Back the Times: Patrick Goldstein's Column Should Run In LAT It was with considerable astonishment that I read that Patrick Goldstein's column suggesting a way the L.Å. Times might earn enough money selling music on its Web site to compensate for not putting ads on Page 1, had been killed by management.

[CUT]

It is obvious Tribune thinks Page 1 ads are great. Anything to stem the revenue losses caused by its own downsizing and denigration of the newspaper. These Chicago idiots have screwed around with the newspaper for seven years, and now they are fixing to disgrace it with yet another cheap, sleazy, classless innovation, the Page 1 ads.

Continue reading Ken Reich by clicking on link below.


Take Back the Times: Patrick Goldstein's Column Should Run In LAT 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:01 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Company News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:21 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Shares up this Morning

Second quarter 2007 results from continuing operations included the following:

• A charge of $.08 per diluted share for the elimination of approximately 450 positions at publishing and corporate.
• A charge of $.07 per diluted share for the write-off of Los Angeles Times plant equipment related to the previously closed San Fernando Valley facility.
• A net non-operating loss of $.15 per diluted share.

Second quarter 2006 results from continuing operations included the following:

• A gain of $.01 per diluted share related to the Company’s share of a one-time favorable income tax adjustment recorded at CareerBuilder.
• A net non-operating loss of $.03 per diluted share.

Tribune presents earnings per share amounts on a generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") basis only. This differs from the pro forma earnings per share amounts supplied by broker analysts to databases such as First Call.

"Our second quarter results reflect the difficult advertising environment, although strongcost controls partially offset revenue declines," said Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman,president and chief executive officer. "Publishing was impacted by soft print advertising and comparisons to record real estate spending, particularly in Florida, in 2006. However, second quarter interactive revenues increased 17 percent over the same period last year. In television, the telecom and entertainment categories showed growth. Demand was softacross other categories and there was little political spending versus last year. As we look to Tribune’s second half, year-over-year comparisons will ease and new revenue initiatives are expected to contribute to publishing results. The launch of new CW and syndicated shows will positively impact our television group."

"Our going-private transaction is on track and the financing for it is fully committed,"FitzSimons added. "We anticipate closing the transaction in the fourth quarter, following FCC approval, and expect to be in full compliance with our credit agreements."

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:26 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Another Fifty-Two Week Low for Tribune Tribune stock set another fifty-two week low this afternoon, losing one dollar per share and closing at $27.17. Let's hope the morning finanicial reports for the company aren't as bad as predicted, or we could see the stock dropping like a rock in morning trading.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:13 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  For Kanani...One Is Never Too Old Hey Kanani,

Life never ceases to amaze!

Nubia 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 10:50 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Bob Bagwell to Celebrate 60 Years with the Los Angeles Times
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:24 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Fiction: Memory Of A Friend
Get Lost With Easy-Writer

She was fun. We could talk for hours. Horses, dogs, Irish verse. Myths, memoirs and novels. We would exchange cookies at Christmas. She had a laugh, loud, straight from the belly, almost a guffaw. 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 11:48 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Tina Kim Live this Thursday The Pressroom’s favorite comedian, Tina Kim, will be on stage this Thursday at the J Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Los Angeles.1119 S. Olive Street ------ Los Angeles, CA 90015t

Tickets are $15.00 in advance at www.tinakim.com or $20.00 at the door.

NO DRINK MINIMUMS -- there will be a DJ etc, so you can hang out after the show or before the show.

Doors open at 7:00 PM for my show and my show starts at 8:30 PM. I will have a few opening acts. You can eat at the restaurant if you are hungry or you can order bar food at my show in the lounge. They have great food and cocktails here.

There is free parking on the street, a parking garage across the street from the lounge or valet parking at the lounge, and the prices vary on their valet parking for some reason, anywhere fromfive dollars to ten dollars. Not sure what they are going tocharge for my show but my instinct says ten dollars. I know how you Asians always want to know the price down to the last penny :)

Log onto J Lounge Los Angeles for more information.

I will have a few opening comics and then I will close the show. The whole show with my opening comics will be one and a half hours long.Afterwards you are welcome to stay and hang out with me.

Tickets are $15.00 in advance through my website only in advance orit is $20.00 cash only at the door. Please log onto Tina Kim Shows to get your advance tickets. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:17 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tuesday Morning Media News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:16 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Los Angeles Times Explosion 1910 Did union activist bomb the Los Angeles Times or was it the natural gas leak many employees complained about for weeks prior to the explosion?

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:45 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Sets New Fifty-two Week Low Thank God for the weekend, not much happens financially on Saturday and Sunday, but come Monday and the news isn’t good for Tribune employees. Tribune Company stock closed at a record fifty-two week low today on fears of what Tribune will announce on Wednesday, possible historic declines in profits.

Tribune stock closed at $28.17 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 5:36 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Monday Media Links  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:52 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Save Our Trade: Teamsters Shop Steward Training The Teamsters will be holding a Training Class for Shop Stewards on Saturday September 15th 2007 in Monrovia. Anyone who is interested in becoming a Shop Steward should not miss this class. There is no cost to attend or for training materials you will receive in this course.

This training is open to anyone who is interested in the information it will provide. It will give an understanding of what a shop steward's duties, rights and responsibility's are to the members, and how to enforce our contract, as well as cover the Grievence Process.

If you're interested in attending this training class, contact Ronnie at admin@saveourtrade.com or you can RSVP directly by calling (626) 357-6476

Save Our Trade: Teamsters Shop Steward Training 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:21 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Understand the HealthCare Crisis without Michael Moore.
But enjoy Dr. Hui and Pinky on pinkyshow



And here's more on pinkyshow, which is on YOUTUBE.
 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 4:09 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Los Angeles Blogosphere Today
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:19 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Video Blogging at the Los Angeles Times Several months ago Jacob Soboroff brought his crew to the Times Olympic Plant for his video blog, incase you missed it on Native Intelligence, here’s the footage staring senior vice-president of production, Russ Newton.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:43 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Thanks for returning my Debit Card

My colleague Ed Santos and I share the same locker room and identical combination locks for our lockers. I have been having a very hard time lately opening my lock, and noted Ed was also experiencing the same difficulty.

Last Tuesday before leaving for Los Angeles I made a quick pit stop at Valero for gasoline, a Monster drink, and a pack of Marlboro's, using my Wells Fargo debit card.

On Thursday afternoon I attempted to make a purchase at Albertson's but could not locate my debit card, so I charged my fried chicken and cookies with my Visa Card, before driving to work.

When I returned home from work on Thursday night I looked high and far for my debit card, and somehow became distracted, and forgot about it. Last night I stopped at Walmarts to buy my daughter some shampoo and conditioner, and when I reached the cashier I recalled I did not have my debit card, so I would have to charge the purchase.

Odd thing, my debit card reappeared, so I was able to make my purchase my normal way, and I thought no more of this. Actually chalked it up to my old age.

As I scanned my checking account online I see I'm not senile yet! Someone had indeed taken my debit card from my locker between Tuesday and Friday, how do I know this? There was a purchase of $5.87 at a Yum Yum Donut in East Los Angeles on Wednesday, and I have not visited a Yum Yum or any other donut shop in months.

I guess I should feel lucky I only had to buy donuts for them. Don't leave anything of value in the locker rooms at work, or you may get taken.

UPDATE 10:45 p.m.

Folks, I discovered someone had used my debit card thirty minutes before departing for dinner, across the street from our former production facility in Chatsworth, at the Stone Fire Grill. Saul Daniels, former Los Angeles Times writer, invited the pressmen to a free dinner tonight, and it was great.

As I told my colleagues about my debit card problem, I pulled my small wallet from my pocket and showed everyone where I store my debit card. I then proceeded to show them where I keep my credit card, and discovered it was missing in action.

Seems when our friendly thief returned my debit card; he lifted my Washington Mutual Visa card from my wallet. I had an extremely hard time enjoying my company and the great tasting food at that point, and wondered how much damage could be done?

I had planned to stop by Jesse’s after dinner, but thought I better get home and take care of this matter as soon as possible.

As I logged onto the credit card web site, I held my breath wondering how much of my eleven thousand dollars in credit was spent? To my relief, only $7.06 was applied to my credit card, which was then blocked from any further use.

Last year we had a major problem with thefts at the Times Olympic Plant, several computers vanished, as well as cash from employee lockers, taken while everyone was working. The thief was apprehended, then escorted to the front gate and banned from company property, he could not be terminated because he was an outside contractor.

I would like to know why the Los Angeles Police Department were not called when the thief was caught? Just because someone is in this country without a visa or passport, is no reason to allow them to walk away free. If I catch someone in my locker, I promised they will not be walked to the front gate, they will be carried out.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 3:41 PM 8 Comments Links to this post

  All Doubt Removed
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 2:07 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Saturday Morning Media Links

New Chicagotribune.com Offers Fresh Look - PR Newswire

Samuel Zell to the Board of Directors - Edgar online

FCC Holding Public Hearing on Media Ownership - Stop Big Media

Questions about Tribune's ability to Complete its Buyout - Old Oregonion

Tribune’s No-Confidence Vote From Bond Investors - WSJ

Times Goes North for Consumer Columnist - Kevin Roderick

Daily Herald delivers pay cuts to staff - Chicago Tribune

It's not the Blogs I Hate, it's their fans - The Globe & Mail

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:13 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Heard Any Good News About Tribune Lately?  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:48 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Writerly Pause: former journalist Dave Cunningham guestblogs
Critique Groups: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Who could be worse at taking criticism than a writer? We’re such thin-skinned animals – so easily bruised, so slow to heal, so protective of our babies..... 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 1:14 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Sinking - Will the Captain go down with the Ship? Just when we thought the news about the Tribune Company could get no worse, they may now miss an interest payment. Click on the title for the full story from Bloomberg, and also visit Mark Lacter on LA Biz Observed.

I'm running short of time this morning, but will supply as much information as possible tonight. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:18 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Tina Kim on Comics Unleashed At our last Pressmen’s dinner we had a special guest, comic Tina Kim, she entertained the standing only room of current and retired Los Angeles Times workers. And for the men and women that missed the last dinner, here’s something from Tina.





Tina Kim on Comics Unleashed. This aired July 2007. Here are some clips of me on the show. I am sharing it with all the people who wanted to see it. It was a great time and Byron Allen knows how to hook up the food at his studio. Thank you everyone at Entertainment Studios. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:09 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Thursday Chuckle When Bob found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with.

So, one evening he went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said as he walked up to her, "but in just a week or two, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."

Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening and, three days later she became his stepmother.

DUH?!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 6:40 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Media Links for Thursday Afternoon
McClatchy prefers to stay in Careerbuilder - Reuters
Press Club adds 'San Francisco' to its name - SF Peninsula Press Club
Media General's 2Q Profit Dips 75% - Associated Press
Page One ads for Newsday - Newsday
Sun to share content with WMAR, MPT - Baltimore Sun
Private Capital Management Dumps Publishers - Newsosaur
NY Post on WWD/Bernstein/Finke - Kate Coe
Murdoch’s Arrival Worries Journal Employees - NYT
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:03 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Take Back the Times: Will Tribune Become Another Carter-Hawley-Hale? To put it mildly, things do not look good.

I wonder, in fact, if the district attorneys of Cook, Los Angeles and other counties where the Tribune papers and television stations operate should not initiate an inquiry to determine whether there have been illegalities in recent Tribune downsizing moves, and whether it would be appropriate to seek court injunctions to halt them.

There's no question that, if they fall flat on their faces, FitzSimons, Hiller, O'Shea, the whole Tribune executive, will get huge severance payments.

But, in case of failure, the employees will be left with nothing.

Read Ken's entire story by clicking on link below.

Take Back the Times: Will Tribune Become Another Carter-Hawley-Hale? 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:12 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  What if the Tribune Deal Fails? With all the ado about the Tribune deal not running to completion, I have yet to find a story on which direction the company will take if the Sam Zell deal falls through.

David Hiller, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, is very optimistic the deal will go through, so maybe I should get into the mindset there will be a happy ending for everyone?

But lets say for a moment the transaction fails for one reason or another, the creditors will still want to be repaid, and with a debt of $11.5 billion and assets of $8 billion, who will make up the $3.5 billion difference if the company is broken up piece by piece?

Jim Cramer said it best,

“Why doesn't anyone care about this? Why are we letting these employees put their eggs in one basket? Why are we setting them up as people who will no doubt lose everything? Why isn't someone stopping this ludicrous deal?

My hope is that it can't get financing so it will fail. Then at least these good people, probably incredibly unsophisticated in the ways of rapacious capitalism, would not be wiped out”.

I am incredibly unsophisticated in the ways of rapacious capitalism, which leaves me with more questions than answers on how this deal will work in my best interests? 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:08 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Don't Gamble with my ESOP
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Wednesday Morning Media Links  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:13 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Deal Faltering Last Tuesday the marriage of Sam Zell and the Tribune Company was pegged at fifty-fifty, at best, of being consummated to completion. With the cash flow decline, announced last Friday, the odds have changed to the negative even further.

The FCC uncertainty on granting waivers to the Tribune on cross ownership of television, radio, and newspapers in the same market, could cause this transaction to fizzled as well. The Tribune creditors are now asking to be repaid in eighteen months instead of the seven years as in the original agreement, making the cash flow decline much more severe to this deal.

Today Jim Cramer dropped a bombshell on Tribune Employees, and I really dislike reading Jim Cramer’s articles, because he speaks the truth. In this case, the truth hurts very deeply.

Here are a few of the lines from Jim Cramer story on The Street

“You have to feel terrible about what's about to happen to the Tribune employees. I think they're about to lose everything. This whole $34 bid to take the company private depends on them, in their Aug. 21 vote. Sam Zell has very little skin in the game, given his war chest, and these employees have everything in the game.

The hysterical thing about this particular employee stock ownership plan is that 25 years ago at Harvard Law School we studied the disgrace of the Carter Hawley Hale deal. That was another ESOP takeover, this time with a retailer, done as a defense to takeover -- and everybody got wiped out. The winner was Sam Zell, who bought the retailer's property after the wipeout”.

[snip]

“The astonishing decline in cash flow -- 27% down -- at the Los Angeles Times just tells you this deal will be a huge catastrophe for a lot of people who can't afford it. This Tribune deal is like a slow-motion train wreck that can't be avoided. When the deal was being done the numbers were bad, but not this bad. They are getting worse by the day. The notion that a front-page ad will make a difference is an affront to common sense.

Why doesn't anyone care about this? Why are we letting these employees put their eggs in one basket? Why are we setting them up as people who will no doubt lose everything? Why isn't someone stopping this ludicrous deal?”

Not all Tribune Employees will be losers, a select few sitting in Tribune Towers, will be set for life.

A co-worker put this Tribune mess in perspective, so a simple person like myself could understand, he said “This is a great big shit sandwich, and all Tribune Employees will have to take a bite”. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:41 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tuesday Morning Media News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:31 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Newspapers Accepting Ad's on Front Pages Last Friday David Hiller (Publisher Los Angeles Times) announced, in a company wide message, that the second quarter of this year was the worst experienced by the Los Angeles Times. As a subscriber and thirty-five year pressroom employee at the newspaper, it was rather apparent advertising was off the mark by the smaller products we produce.

My feelings are mixed with the addition of advertisements on the front-page of the Los Angeles Times. A part of me does not want to see this happen, until I look at the twenty-seven percent drop in cash flow, which makes me agreed completely with this new way of generating revenue.

The San Francisco Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, and The Contra Costa Times have already begun inserting advertisements on their front pages, and the Tribune President of Publishing (Scott Smith) has announced that the Chicago Tribune will start accepting front page ad’s on three different sections this week. This will hold true at all Tribune Company newspapers, with the advertisements to be in full color at 1-½ inches deep across the bottom of the front page.

Funny how history repeats itself, newspapers in years gone by, always carried advertisements on their front pages, so this is really nothing new to the newspaper industry. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:51 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Gotta Love Al Martinez... Kanani,

I found this article by Al Martinez quite entertaining...not to mention TRUE:-) 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 10:36 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Message from Scott Smith - Trb Pub President















SOURCES: LAObserved and Romenesko 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 3:08 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Take Back the Times: Conversation Between Hiller And O'Shea, (Satire) Here is a possibly not-so-imaginary conversation between the Chicago toadies -- L.A. Times publisher David Hiller and editor James O'Shea, in wake of Hiller's announcement of plans to put ads on Page 1 of all Tribune newspapers, including the Times.

Hiller: James, that was great. The old carrot and stick. I announce the ads, and you denounce them. That will certainly fool the newsroom.

O'Shea: I don't know. I think they may be catching on to us.

Continue reading Ken Reich by clicking on link below.

Take Back the Times: Conversation Between Hiller And O'Shea, (Satire) 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:36 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Save Our Trade: Negotiation Committee Members meet with GCC/IBT International Representative Mike Huggins The Elected Negotiation Committee Members met for the first time with our GCC/IBT International Representative Mike Huggins. Mike has been in the Union for over 30 years and brings a vast history of experience as a President of his Local, an Organizer and currently as an International Representative. Mike has organized numerous shops and negotiated numerous contracts. I am confident that with Mike's leadership and a very committed Negotiation Committee, we will persevere in creating and negotiating a fair and long overdue collective bargaining agreement.

Mike provided The Committee Members with literature to review so that we can prepare ourselves for, and to understand what to expect in negotiations.

Continue reading by following the link below.

Save Our Trade: Negotiation Committee Members meet with GCC/IBT International Representative Mike Huggins 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Sunday Night Links  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:03 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Spanish Speakers Overlooked in Los Angeles The flagship of the Tribune Company, the Los Angeles Times, has experienced advertising declines in the double digits the past three months, from a year ago, yet the Times generates the largest profit for the Tribune Company.

I need look no further than down my street every morning and notice the absence of the Los Angeles Times on my neighbor’s driveways, to see people are simply not subscribing to our product as they once did in years gone by. When I questioned my next-door neighbor, Rueben, on why he stopped subscribing to the Times he said “Ed, my wife and I compared the Los Angeles Times to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and noticed many of the same stories in both papers. And my wife Gladys enjoys the inserted advertisements, which happen to be identical in both newspapers. We decided to drop the Times and keep the local paper for the news regarding our community, not the news about the Westside of Los Angeles”.

As the Tribune Company moves to cut costs at the end of this year, and share stories across their network of editorial staff from the different media companies they control, the Times will look more like the local community newspapers than a brand of newspaper with unique articles of their own.

The Internet is often blamed for the decline in newspaper readership, and advertising declines, which is true to a certain degree. But one fact cannot be ignored; the demographics of Los Angeles are changing rapidly, from an English-speaking metropolis to Spanish speaking.

Why the Latino market is not even considered by media companies puzzles me, especially in Los Angeles, with the Mexican border but just over one hundred miles to our South.

When I have suggested publishing a Spanish edition of the Los Angeles Times, I have been told the Spanish readers have Hoy to read or the costs would be too high to experiment with a new edition in Spanish.

Adding four or five Spanish only blogs to the online edition of the Los Angeles Times would not cost as much as publishing a hard copy newspaper in Spanish. Marketing and promoting Spanish only blogs would not be too expensive, if we used our own newspapers such as Hoy or KTLA television, which the Tribune owns, in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Times needs to step outside the box and tap into the Spanish speaking community for additional revenue, in an ever changing environment.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:58 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Our First iChat --here with Patricia Wood My friends and I from The Writerly Pause spoke to her today via an ichat.
Her debut new novel is due out on August 2, 2007!
It's called "Lottery."
It's about a man who has a limited IQ who wins the lottery.
It's a wonderful read and I think you'll love it.
Read about it on Pat's new site! She also has a nifty blog.
You can also read my review right here: Easy-Writer Reviews the novel "Lottery" 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 4:44 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  La cucharada interior en el alimento en Los Ángeles
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 4:14 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

  The Inside Scoop on Food in Los Angeles
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 3:06 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Some Things DO Pay Off In the End I recall a day in January, 2006, that I was speaking to a coworker about him having registered in an MPA Program. He was one that I would’ve never imagined going back to school.

After asking many questions, I wondered if I could get into the program. I weighed my circumstances. With me having only work, no children in the nest and no romantic involvement, I decided to inquire. It was “last minute” but, remarkably, I was able to get in just before the first class.

I clearly remember reviewing my first syllabus and wondering: “WTF have I gotten myself into?” Then, after attending about four weeks of classes, decided to hang in there and make this a mission that I’ve wanted to accomplish since graduating undergrad. It was tough (most times); the projects, the papers, no free weekends, taking books on vacations, the Writing Proficiency Exam, the GRE, etc., but always keeping in mind “The Mission.”

So…here I am on the last leg of the mission. Last class of the curriculum! Seven more Tuesday nights. August 28th and classes are done! December 1st & 2nd …COMPS! May, 2008, I get the COLLAR I’ve wanted forever and a sense of accomplishment equal to that of raising my children as a single parent!!!!

I’d like to share the most recent email received from the college. I LOVE IT!

Some Things DO Pay Off In the End!

“Attached is the form that you will need to fill out in order to graduate with you MPA degree. Please do so soon, and send it back to me with your graduation fee. You should be very proud of your accomplishments thus far, and I know your graduation will be a time of great celebration. Comps are just around the corner so best of luck to all of you!”

Patti

Patti Burleson
Roland Tseng College of Extended Learning
California State University at Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, Calif. 91330-8362
http://tseng.college.csun.edu/mpa

STAY POSITIVE, FOLKS and FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 10:17 AM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Saturday Morning Links  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:13 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  James Terry in New Business












Former pressman, James Terry, is now in business for himself for all of your real estate needs, give him a call and tell him we sent you.

UPDATE: Jame's new Toll Free number is (888) 256-7313 thank you Ronnie. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:04 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Message from David Hiller - Publisher LAT From: Hiller, David
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 12:57 PM
To: zzAll LATimes Employees
Subject: Mid-year business update

Folks,

As we move into the second half of our year, I wanted to update you on developments and the game plan for the rest of the year. There are some real positives:

The first half of the Zell/ESOP deal was completed, and we appear on track for completing the rest later this year, including getting all needed regulatory approvals.

We are fully immersed in the “Times Change” process of reinventing our business to succeed in today’s marketplace. More to come on that, including acting on the recommendations of the just completed Reinvent Committee work, in the coming days and weeks.

The bad news is that we continue to face a most challenging revenue environment. Revenue was down 10% in the second quarter, and cash flow down a whopping 27%, making it one of the worst quarters ever experienced. Here again there were some bright spots, with good growth in movies, preprints, online and Hoy, but not enough to offset the ROP decreases in the core print business. Results were similar across Tribune, but overall Tribune was worse than most of the industry (not where we are used to being or want to be).

Fundamentally, the advertising business has changed dramatically. Newspapers, once nearly the only game in town for a lot of advertisers, now face competition like never before – a big part is the Internet, but also cable, cell phones, digital billboards, ads in computer games, you name it.

In paper (ROP) advertising has been especially hit hard, down nearly 20% over the last few years. This is a big issue since ROP advertising has been what historically has surrounded – and paid for – the editorial content in the paper. Moreover, research shows ROP ads are actually one of the big reasons readers buy and look at the paper (unlike most media). We (and our readers) don’t want the paper to turn into a wrap for ad inserts.

Plainly, business as usual in a drastically changed world isn’t cutting it. That’s what our “Times Change” efforts are all about. And for us to sustain ourselves financially, this change has to drive new revenue. We need improvement in the second half of ’07, and then carry it forward after we become a private company owned by ourselves and Zell.

Many things are already in or moving toward the market – the launch of Image (which is slated to go weekly in September), the re-design of Travel; Monday’s launch of Metromix.com; the planned October launch of our new Thursday Calendar tab and broadsheet sections and subsequent new Calendarlive website; and more new interactive product development (with the technology support to make it happen).

We’re looking at how our ad sales go to market and realigning our sales force accordingly, and adding new sales talent in key positions.

We are also looking at expanding the types and positioning of advertising we offer our clients. Here the opportunities include things that may really challenge established traditions, including putting ads on the paper’s front page. There has been a lot of focus on such ads, and I know there a real mix of views and emotions on this subject, so let me tell you what I think of them:

Front page ads will raise several million dollars in revenue, and make a meaningful contribution to improving current trends

We will make sure the revenue is additive, and not just switched from other pages

They will help pay for the content we create for readers, and for our investment in new growth opportunities

They are common at reputable papers across the U.S. and Europe, including in the Wall Street Journal’s much admired re-design

Space taken (1 ½” strip) and related design issues can be managed

We will have standards to ensure the ads look good, not schlocky

If we communicate well, reader reaction should be OK

Remember, one way or another we all impact our revenue business. Everybody who creates content for our readers and users, or manufactures or delivers, or sells to advertisers, handles customer service, or touches our customers in any of the millions of ways we do each day – all of us can and do have an impact.

As always, I am eager to hear your comments and suggestions. Transforming this great company for the future really rests on all our shoulders. It’s a cross-company effort and, more than ever, we need to pull together.


David 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 2:10 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Thank God it's Friday Links  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:05 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Save Our Trade: Rick Wartzman's American Prospect Article How the press workers at the Los Angeles Times bucked the paper's legacy and organized at the notoriously anti-union employer.

It's tough to imagine what Gen. Harrison Gray Otis -- the bellicose press baron with the steely gaze and a speaking voice once likened to "that of a game warden roaring at seal poachers" -- would make of his family's recent decision to sever the last of its ties with the Los Angeles Times.

The 19th-century publisher, were he looking down upon this vale, couldn't be too happy that his descendants have walked away from the paper he built. At the same time, Otis was a savvy enough businessman that he might at least take some pleasure from the terms of their exit: When all is said and done, his scions will have pocketed about $3.5 billion from their sale of parent Times Mirror Company to Tribune Company.

And yet there's another development at the Times that would undoubtedly elicit no such mixed emotions from the general.

To continue reading click on link below.

Rick Wartzman's American Prospect Article 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:32 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Take Back the Times: O'Shea Drastically Cuts Back L.A. Times Poll I've compared the Chicago-toadying L.A. Times editor, James O'Shea, in the past to Pierre Laval, the Vichy prime minister in occupied France during World War II, whose protestations of loyalty to France were cut short only when de Gaulle executed him for treason after the war was over.

The last time I did this I received a comment protesting the characterization as excessive.

However, I believe the comparison is quite apt. Like Laval, O'Shea continually protests his loyalty to the L.A. Times, even while falling all over himself to follow the orders of Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons to cut costs, lay off personnel and otherwise shepherd the L.A. Times into becoming a more and more inferior product. O'Shea certainly will not end up being executed for his depredations, but I'm confident that one day, and fairly soon, he will be ridden out of Los Angeles on a rail, viewed as a disgrace.

Continue reading by clicking on link below.

O'Shea Drastically Cuts Back L.A. Times Poll 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 5:20 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Lisa C Writes: Thursday's Thought of The Day - Freedom... Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

-Mahatma Ghandi

Lisa C Writes: Thursday's Thought of The Day - Freedom... 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 2:53 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The "Service" Disconnect I just watched the President.
And the Press.
The vote is in from congress. They've voted to bring the troops home. It was a strongly emotional vote --as strong as the time they voted to send everyone into the blasted war. Bush says he'll veto their bill. There is such a gulf of understanding between all sides. I just hated watching the whole freakin' thing.

It is no secret, as Bush has pointed out, that we have "war fatigue" in this country. It's true, but I also think it's combined with a great deal of apathy in our society. Before we embrace this "war fatigue" term, we have to think about it before bandying it about as a reason to close up shop and bring everyone home.

Who has "war fatigue" more? Those who don't serve, have never served, will never serve, would never even consider serving, or those who actually serve? For the former group, their "war fatigue" is that they just want to get on with the business of living and forget about it. This group includes conservatives and liberals, the red and the blue states, those with fancy cars, and those who take buses. It includes those who sit around on Sunday TV and argue, and those who do it on the radio. It also includes those who suggest "just send in the peacekeeping troops" without realizing that they're talking about soldiers.

But for those serving, the stakes are higher. Their tours of duties have been extended, they get called back to serve again --many of them as reserves, who were never meant to take the place of professional soldiers. This doesn't even consider the "war fatigue" of those citizens in the countries where war is an everyday occurrence who have a different reason for wanting the whole thing done and over with.

It was reported this week that the Army has once again failed to meet recruitment goals. Why? Well with the backtracking of the congress and senate on both sides, the eternal hackling of the press, and also the increased violence on the ground, few would volunteer. And now we have the Neocons urging us to go further into Iran, to spread this out even more with no certain definable goal except for "bringing democracy" to them.

So we have a problem. If we're going to send more soldiers in, where are they going to come from? Shall we catch them crossing the border? Shall the INS do sweeps in sweatshops, housekeeping services, gardening companies, restaurants, acrobatic shows in Vegas? Rather than deport them, just toss them in the US Army/Marines/Navy? Could this be their first stepping stone toward citizenship?

Or perhaps we ought to consider author Frank Schaeffer's suggestion, to take a step back and look at the full meaning of service to this country. He and his co-author Kathy Roth-Douquet have suggested a mandatory 2 year service for men and women over the age of 19. Two years of service to the country --choose the military, the peace corps, the teacher corps, medical corps, VISTA, forest service or any number of programs that will help not only build our own democracy, but to bridge the disconnect that I've seen with our lawmakers who first vote for, then start to backpeddle when it comes to support. (And when I say support, I'm also talking about increased pay, more funding for healthcare facilities and services for soldiers, their families and vets).

Perhaps they would not be so quick to recommend, perhaps there wouldn't have been a Wolfowitz to write Neocon theory, a cheerleader like Karl Rove had any of them served in a brutal war. Perhaps they would not wish this on any generation. Our troops are not disposable units. We need to have it so that the last President who had a son or a daughter serve wasn't Roosevelt and that service isn't seen as the last resort for people who have no options. Simply said, we have to find ways to make service to our country seen as something both necessary and honorable. If peace is a goal in our time, then everyone will have to be willing to work for it and help create it. 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 10:28 AM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Thursday Morning News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:44 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Nothing like a woman
who follows directions.
"The president has directed me not to testify concerning White House consideration, deliberations, communications, whether internal or external, relating to the possible dismissal or appointment of United States attorneys," Taylor told the committee.

-Sara Taylor, age 32. former White House political director 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 10:57 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Live For The Moment Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration" mean anything to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched "Jeopardy" on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes in the dryer. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday. I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Little Johnny toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves get longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my "seize the moment" friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy!

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift...Thrown away. Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

Anonymous

STAY POSITIVE, FOLKS! 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 8:24 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Are We in a Recession? As Tribune Employees across the country wait patiently for positive news regarding June advertising revenues, I’m afraid we will see a third month in a row of double digit declines from a year prior. Gauging this decline in advertising by the much slimmer Sunday Los Angeles Times I have delivered, when will the bottom be reached in the newspaper divisions?

Consumers have slowed their spending frenzy due too the lack luster housing market, price increases across the board for food, postage rates, tightened credit, and services. Last January of 2006 I paid nine dollars for a haircut, my barber has increased his prices five times since then, I now pay fourteen dollars for the same haircut, yet the government will report only a slight rise in inflation.

When a worker loses their job and enters the unemployment roles, why is it, after they exhaust their unemployment benefits they have paid into, they are no longer counted as unemployed?

Our economy can be directly measured by the size of your local newspaper, and judging by the size of the Los Angeles Times, our economy is hurting at the moment.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:22 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Peninsula Press Club: Will San Jose be Dean Singleton's Waterloo? Veteran journalist John Bowman, who resigned as editor of the San Mateo County Times rather than make draconian cuts demanded by owner MediaNews Group, questions whether the company's cost-cutting strategy will work in San Jose, where it bought the Mercury News 11 months ago.

MediaNews, the Denver newspaper chain headed by Dean Singleton, is in the midst of its second round of layoffs at the Merc in six months, which have reduced the scope and depth of the former Knight Ridder paper's news coverage. Bowman lives in San Jose. He tells Erin Sherbert of the alt-weekly Metro that readers in his town want more than city hall reports and police stories. They want in-depth investigations and news analysis, something readers are starting to lose in the wake of newsroom cuts.

"I think San Jose is a market where we will have a real test of whether the readers will put up with just anything ... Maybe this is the one market where Dean Singleton can't get away with being Dean Singleton."

Peninsula Press Club: Will San Jose be Dean Singleton's Waterloo? 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:11 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Metromix Makes Cool Debut

Metromix Makes Cool Debut

Nightlife Hotspots, Listings, Entertainment Reviews and Features from the City’s Progressive Chroniclers Make Online Entertainment Site a Daily Must

LOS ANGELES, July 10, 2007 – The Los Angeles Times Media Group today announced the launch of Metromix http://losangeles.metromix.com/, a hip, fresh and dynamic new site for young and socially active Angelenos looking for the latest in pop culture, local trends and the newest spots to hit on the scene. Through a searchable database of up-to-the-minute entertainment listings, user-generated content and edgy coverage of the city’s hottest new restaurants, bars and clubs, events, music, movies, TV and style scenes, Metromix helps answer that burning question: “What are you doing tonight?”

Headed by Editor Deborah Vankin, who has spent much of her career covering LA’s food, nightlife and shopping scenes, Metromix features a distinctly LA-centric point-of-view from a staff that includes the area’s top tastemakers and leading experts.

“Our database is deep and current, with nearly 7,000 listings for LA restaurants, bars and clubs, as well as reviews, features, neighborhood guides, trend pieces, blogs and video tours,” said Vankin. “We have an incredible team of writers-editors who not only know the scene, but are very much of it and will provide true insider coverage — on everything from underground art events to off-the-radar sample sales to how best to get past the ubiquitous velvet rope.”

The Metromix editorial team includes:

· Deborah Vankin, Editor – Formerly both Restaurants and Books Editor at LA Weekly and Senior Lifestyle Editor at Variety, Vankin was also a freelance arts and lifestyle writer for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Swink magazine.

· Alexandra LeTellier, Managing Editor and Bars/Clubs Editor – Formerly Managing Editor at LA.com where she also covered bars and clubs, LeTellier was a celebrity reporter for In Touch Weekly and professes to have frequented every bar and club in LA.

· Alie Ward, Events Editor – For the past eight years, Ward has immersed herself in LA’s art and music scene as a former freelance columnist for LA Weekly and contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She claims to attend 2.7 events per night.

· Scott T. Sterling, Music Editor – Born in Detroit and raised on everything from Motown to Iggy Pop, Sterling has covered music for the Los Angels Times, LA Weekly, Details, BPM, Remix, Surface, Sweater, Code and URB.

· Jiyeon Yoo, Restaurants Editor – As a former freelance lifestyle writer for Los Angeles Magazine, Yoo recently maintained a fashion blog as Editor for RevolveClothing.com.

· Caroline Ryder, Freelance Style Editor – As a London transplant living in LA, Ryder brings a Euro-chic perspective on fashion and has covered style, art and music for LA Weekly, URB, Swindle, Angeleno and The Book L.A.

“Metromix is an exciting, new online addition to our portfolio of products, directly engaging younger users and local advertisers in a targeted way,” said Robertson Barrett, General Manager of latimes.com and Vice President of the Los Angeles Times Media Group. “With this launch, we’re bringing L.A. an intuitive search engine and great writing by some of the best young talent in town.”

This week’s launch of Metromix in Los Angeles and New York is part of Tribune Company’s plan to expand the web site across all of its newspaper markets. Metromix has been a staple of Chicago’s entertainment scene for the past decade, capturing the highest online engagement among local entertainment guides, per comScore, recognized with numerous awards including the EPpy Award for Best Entertainment Site and the Digital Edge Award for Best Advertising Program and is also available in Orlando and Baltimore.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 1:30 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Employees: It's Time to Take Ownership Ronnie Pineda brought this to my attention and thought all Tribune Employees should see it, I agree information should come from all sources.

Demand That Your Voice Be Heard

Real estate tycoon Sam Zell’s ingenious plan to control the Tribune Company by transferring billions of dollars of debt to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), while denying employees a voice in the governance of the plan or the company, puts our jobs, retirement security and families’ futures at risk!

The ESOP, which is governed by GreatBanc Trust Company, a sole trustee appointed by Tribune management, has already amassed more than $7 billion in debt and will need more than $4 billion more to close the deal. In order to secure the financing, the company had to agree to higher than anticipated interest rates and an accelerated repayment schedule, terms that could lead the company to sell assets and slash jobs. Without a voice, all Tribune employees are at risk.

We cannot afford to let Sam Zell, Tribune management or their “not-so-great” bank run our company into the ground. We must demand a seat at the table before it is too late!

Join the Tribune Employees’ Financial Protection Committee today, sign the petition and demand that your voice be heard.

Full Petition Text:

The proposed Tribune buyout transfers ownership of our company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). A sole management-appointed trustee governs the ESOP which has amassed billions dollars in debt with high interest rates and onerous repayment schedules.

All Tribune employees, whether participants in the ESOP or not, carry the heavy burden of ensuring the survival of our company in an embattled industry now with billions of dollars of new debt. We will not succeed without a seat at the table.

We, the undersigned employees of the Tribune Company, are committed to the long-term success of our company and join together as members of the Tribune Employees' Financial Protection Committee to demand that workers have a voice in our company and our future.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

To view and sign the petition click here. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:47 AM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Growing Old The other day a young person asked me how I felt about getting old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometimes despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own best friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly gadget that I didn't need. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's & 70's, and if I, at the same time wish to weep over a lost love...I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things. Sure over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you loose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't questions myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer the question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have bee, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it)!

Author unknown

Sums it up for me! STAY POSITIVE, FOLKS! 

posted by Nubia | ¶ 8:05 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tuesday Morning Media News  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 6:44 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Vacation Over and Back to the Daily Grind

My vacation has come to an end yesterday as I returned to the pressroom, my clean nails are no more, and my crew members were happy too see me as I was seeing them.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 6:38 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Peninsula Press Club: Chron layoffs loom; too few take buyouts Layoffs could be ahead in the Chronicle newsroom because the number of employees who have so far accepted buyouts has fallen short of the company's goals, local Guild president Michael Cabanatuan (pictured) tells the East Bay Express.

Before this round of layoffs began, the Chronicle had about 400 people in its newsroom. Management has said it wants to cut 100 newsroom employees — 20 from management and 80 from the union. The 20 managers were cut first. Cabanatuan says about 50 union workers have accepted the buyout offer, which is two weeks of pay for every one year of service, topping out at one year of pay. If layoffs were to occur, the Guild contract calls for employees with the least seniority to be cut first.

Click on link below for remainder of article.

Peninsula Press Club: Chron layoffs loom; too few take buyouts 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 10:38 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Report on my visit with author Chester Aaron Chester showing us photos he took as a soldier who liberated Dachau.


Over on The Writerly Pause

"I work in the fields all day, then come in and write every night from about 10:00 - midnight."

While I was on vacation, I went to visit Chester Aaron, the author of short stories, memoirs, recipe books and novels, in his idyllic solar house on a garlic farm tucked away in the foothills of northern California. I marveled as he talked about his life. He's done so much. Like many writers, he came to it after he'd achieved a lot in other fields.

There is something both courtly and down to earth about Chester Aaron...... 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 1:39 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Weird, but kind of fun MyThings is a site where you can post what you've bought, what you own, and get an idea of how much your thing(s) are worth.
Anyway, look. It's weird. I found myself flipping through the arts & antiques section having some fun seeing what clutters THEIR homes. 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 9:48 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Peninsula Press Club: Readers asked to help with paper's dilemma After the layoffs of 31 colleagues and the resignations of 15 more, Merc business columnist Dean Takahashi is asking readers for ideas on how the paper can tailor its product to meet their needs.

"we can make the newspaper more useful to everybody and to make ourselves relevant to readers online. The problem is we’ve got two beasts to feed, our online and print products. The print product makes us most of our money. The online revenue is growing but it has serious competition. Our older readers like the newspapers the way it is. But if we don’t get young readers, then we’ll eventually become irrelevant. No one in our industry has figured out this problem."

Here's his blog and the responses he got back.

Peninsula Press Club: Readers asked to help with paper's dilemma 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:37 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Names... When you start a business, sometimes it's hard to figure out a good name. But imagine the problems if you owned a beauty salon or barber shop! Here are the results.

 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 7:34 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Friday Morning Links  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:28 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Just an idea So I had this idea for the Pressmen to raise some money for their biannual dinners.
Sell stuff.
Have Pressmen slogans put on mugs, t shirts and hats.
Make up a calendar of Pressmen and women around the country.
All you need are a few designs and Cafe Press which is print-on-demand. 

posted by Kanani | ¶ 10:26 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Message from Congressman David Dreier Celebrating the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a time for fireworks, picnics, and parades. Millions of Americans celebrate every year with family and friends. Yet few of us appreciate the historical significance of the day, or why July 4, 1776 altered the course of the history of the world.

Independence Day commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The Declaration was drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson, because in addition to being a gifted writer and thinker, he was from Virginia, which was critical in garnering support. Along with fellow founders John Adams and Ben Franklin, Jefferson composed the words that have come to define freedom and independence for millions across the globe

For the signatories, signing the Declaration was surely a thrill, but it was also a great risk. Five of the signers were captured by the British and considered traitors. They suffered torture before they died. Of the 56 men who signed the document, nine fought and died in the Revolutionary War. Others had sons who lost their lives in the fight for our independence. Many of them saw their homes and property seized by the British or destroyed in the war, and they died penniless. Their signatures meant great sacrifice for them and their families.

And so it was with the stroke of a pen that our fight for independence, and the creation of the greatest country in the history of the world began. The fighting of the Revolutionary War followed. It was bloody, and it was long. It ended in 1783, but it was not until 1789 that our Constitution was written and adopted.

This Independence Day, we should all spend some time at the bar-b-que thinking about those who made our freedom possible - the valiant patriots who risked all in 1776, as well as those who do so to this day. America is a great and blessed country. Let's take a moment to remember how it came to be.

Sincerely,
David Dreier
Member of Congress 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:18 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Media News Plus More  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 12:50 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Save Our Trade: LATFCU Not for long... I remember the days when The Los Angeles Times Federal Credit Union was strictly for the employees, ran by employees. Always knew that when I needed some extra money for a vacation, a new car, etc. the Credit Union would be there for me, even if my credit rating was not perfect, I knew that my Credit Union was there for me. Then, in the good name of adjusting to new changes and growing as an institution. I guess bigger and better it is not always good for us. In the process of becoming bigger and better, it turned out to be just like any other bank. Thank you for the memories, soon to be, CitySide Federal Credit Union. Another legacy of The Tribune Co.


Save Our Trade: LATFCU Not for long... 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 12:34 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  I'm Sure Al Martinez Can Relate  

posted by Kanani | ¶ 11:43 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Dodgers 8 Braves 2 My brother Mike invited me to tonight’s Dodger game, and because it’s so hot in Los Angeles at this time, I hesitated for a moment but decided to take him up on the offer. Mike purchased tickets in the all you can eat section, under the scoreboard, and it was still extremely hot at seven tonight. Funny thing, even though you could eat as many Dodger Dogs as you wanted to, we had two dogs each and were satisfied. We did consume five to six sodas or bottles of water each, with beer going for ten dollars per cup we stayed with the included items on the menu.

Don’t remember the last time I visited the stadium, but the new marquee was very impressive and runs around the entire loge section.

Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Brave 8 – 2 Go Dodgers
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:19 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  The Return of Al Martinez to the Los Angeles Times The Nine Writers with Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Al Martinez (in Orange). (back, left) David, Vanessa, Kanani, John, Karine, Paul, Rocky. (L-front) Jo, Al Martinez, & Sovann.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 11:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tribune Press Release Tribune Announces Special Shareholder Meeting



CHICAGO, July 2, 2007 -- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) today announced that a special shareholders meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 21, to consider approval of the merger agreement entered into in connection with the company’s previously announced going-private transaction. Shareholders of record at the close of business on July 12, 2007, will be entitled to vote at the meeting.

The special meeting will be held in Chicago, Illinois. The exact time and location of the meeting will be announced in the definitive proxy materials for the meeting, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and sent to shareholders of record later this month.

To view this press release on the Internet, go to: Tribune 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 4:34 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Caution, Hell and Death Mentioned Within Discovered this blog rater over at Fishbowl Los Angeles and naturally had to rate my blog. Even though I do not have the writing skills of Kate and Maryrav, I am rated on the same level as their blog, that counts doesn't it?

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

My PG rating was generated because hell was mentioned twice and death once, oh no, I have used those key words once again, thank God it does not know what WTF means.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 3:14 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Peninsula Press Club: Black Monday at the Merc Peninsula Press Club: Black Monday at the Merc

This morning, Mercury News newsroom staffers were to be told via phone whether they were going to be laid off. The San Jose paper is cutting 40 members of its newsroom. As the Guild points out in this posting, "This would be a blow at any time but it comes on the heels of nearly two years of deecost-cutting. Since 2000, the newsroom at the Mercury News has been cut in half from about 400 journalists to 200 full-time positions. This bloodletting has to stop." The Merc used this same procedure of calling employees at home to let them know they are fired during the last round of layoffs in January. 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 2:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Mixed News and Other Things  

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 9:02 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Operations Employees Forgotten at The Los Angeles Times Back in the day when I attended Alhambra High School, 1967 to 1969, I ran on the cross-country team, and we were the San Gabriel Valley’s top dogs during that time era. Last night when I went to Long Beach my memories of cross-country were revived, because our team would travel to the golf course on Pacific Coast Highway to run against Long Beach Poly as a training run before our season began.

During the football season our varsity football players wore blue sports jackets signifying they were stars at our high school, never mind the team could not win a game for losing. Matter of fact, the football team may have had the worst record for any team at Alhambra High School.

I’m not certain if the high school still publishes a school newspaper, but when I attended high school our football team was always on the front page of our school newspaper, with headlines such as “Another Great Ball Game, But we lost”, and the cross-country team would always get the last page of the publication, no matter how many wins we scored.

Forty years later I’m left feeling disregarded again, when the Los Angeles Times purged itself of writers and editors, a page of the online edition of the newspaper posted photographs and farewell letters from many in editorial. Not a word could be found online regarding the departure of Operations employees, some with over thirty-five years of service. If the employees of Operations at the Times pondered where they stand with the company, the lack of acknowledgement clearly shows we are not even thought of.

The majority of the photographs posted here are of the men and women that produce the hardcopy of the Los Angeles Times. And before I close I would like to give a hat tip to the following colleagues that have promoted their co-workers in Operations at the Times.

Jesse Espinoza, Ronnie Pineda, Al Albanes, and David Rascon. Click on each person’s name to be redirected to their online work, and none of the men had to be sent to Internet 101 like the writers and editors at the Times, they are all self-taught.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 8:22 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Country Music isn't so Bad After All In my travels through cyberspace I have met many men and women across the globe, but some stand out from others, such as my friend Gayle Mitchell. The two of us met over two years ago and have continued exchanging emails in this time, and Gayle added me to her mailing list for her Real Estate business.

When the invitation to listen to Gayle and her country band, Front Range, play at Di Piazza Restaurant and Lava Lounge in Long Beach arrived, I had to accept. I love almost all-live music, but country, hip-hop, and emo music are not my favorites, that changed last night.

The group played a ninety-minute set, and if the dance floor were not covered with tables and chairs we would have danced. Gayle and Sueannah Nicholas sang duets and solos, and the standing room only crowd loved every minute of their music.

Way to go Gayle.
 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 7:21 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Harvey Tallmon in Recovery from Stroke

Retired pressman Harvey Tallmon (pictured on the right) and long time member of our exclusive club has suffered a stroke.

Harvey returned home yesterday for five hours from the hospital, and is currently undergoing physical therapy.

Lets hope Harvey progresses well with his therapy.

 

posted by Ed Padgett | ¶ 6:36 AM 0 Comments Links to this post