Gannett’s The (Monroe) News-Star to Become Satellite Bureau of The (Shreveport) Times

In a move that we at Lincoln Parish News Online had predicted nearly two years ago might happen, Gannett newspapers today announced that effective August 1 of this year, The (Monroe) News-Star will be printed in at the company’s Shreveport, LA site where is also printed The (Shreveport) Times.

From Gannett Blog:

Louisiana’s Monroe News-Star said today that it would move its printing to The Times at Shreveport, effective Aug. 1. The switch will eliminate 12 full-time and 15 part-time jobs, the newspaper says in a story. The two cites are about 100 miles apart.

“New positions will be added in Shreveport with the consolidation,” the story says, “and Monroe employees will be given first option for those positions.”

The Times recently installed a Berliner press that produces a newspaper with an 18-inch depth. In addition, the Berliner press allows advertisers to place color advertising on every page, “which is important in today’s changing media environment,” the paper says.

Presumably, The News-Star will keep its office in Monroe open, but that could eventually change, with today’s technology that enables reporters to work from anywhere that WiFi internet coverage is available.

See our news story from 9/17/09.

Shreveport-Monroe Axis

Last month it was reported that The (Shreveport) Times started construction on a new printing press. This could portend consolidation of the Monroe-Shreveport Gannett Axis and eventually make The (Monroe) News-Star a bureau of Shreveport’s paper. Over the years, when the printing plants in either Monroe or Shreveport had problems, the other’s press took up the slack.

Higher Ed Roundup – 3/11/11

SUNO students sue to shut down Regents

Governor’s tactical error on Regents

Budget woes may force UL program cuts

New Board of Regents member to miss SUNO/UNO merger meeting

Donations to LSUS still come in despite economy, budget cuts

New student group forms to battle budget cuts

Jindal: Higher ed funding won’t drop

Higher Ed Roundup – 3/3/11

SU figures indicted in funds theft

Letter: Regents degrading universities

Jindal’s proposed legislation would allow cuts to protected funds

Program cuts recommended: Southeastern lists at-risk degrees for Regents

Randy Moffett: Our students know they are getting a valuable return on their investment

More on Charles Jones

Today there is this Op-Ed piece in The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune by columnist James Gill.

Former lawmaker Charles Jones is disbarred and about to be behind bars, too: James Gill

If the state Legislature had a yearbook, with a “most likely to end up in prison” section, Charles Jones, D-Monroe, would have been a perpetual contender.

Jones, a legislator from 1980 until he was term-limited out three years ago, was in some kind of scrape from the git-go. The IRS garnisheed his salary both in the House and after his elevation to the Senate in 1992. By the time the lien was lifted in 1999, he had been docked $213,000 over 15 years.

This is the column that should have been written in North Louisiana newspapers, but never was. And never will be.

More on Gannett

Gannett Blog

Furloughs | What the FAQ says about layoffs

How furloughs helped spur $4M in exec bonuses

Furloughs | Dickey on revenues, then and now

Here’s the text of Dickey’s memo on Q1 furloughs

Hattiesburg | 6.5% pay cuts, instead of furloughs

Gannett Imposes One-Week Furlough

From The Wall Street Journal

Gannett Co. said all non-union employees in its U.S. community newspaper unit will be required to take a one-week furlough during the first quarter of the calendar year due to continuing revenue declines in that division.

Gannett executives said the unpaid time off is in response to revenues that remain short of where they were a year ago.

“This was, quite frankly, an option I had hoped we could avoid,” Bob Dickey, president of Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing division, wrote in a memo. “Furloughs, while difficult, do allow us to protect jobs.”

Why We Do What We Do

Today’s editorial in The (Monroe) News-Star is one of the reasons we do what we do.

Council must meter the facts

Governmental activist Byrd Minter also has raised so many questions about water metering and devoted so much time to studying the system over the years that both newspaper reporters and council members almost hate to see him coming.

In other words, taxpaying citizens who want answers from the government they pay for are malcontents who should just shut up and pay their taxes. The decisions on where and how taxpayer money should be spent are to be left to the public’s betters.

This comes from a newspaper who’s executive editor has a husband on the government payroll at ULM.

We know Byrd Minter – Byrd Minter is a friend of ours and he’s not afraid to confront out-of-control government and ask questions.

In all the coverage the News-Star claims to have done on this issue, has anyone at the newspaper ever asked the simple question of how much citizen’s water bills will increase? City Hall “reporter” Stacy Temple sure hasn’t.

So we here at Lincoln Parish News Online (LPNO) will continue to ask the hard questions, dig up the campaign finance records, look at the laws – all the stuff the newspapers won’t do because they’re in bed with government.

Our friend Moon Griffon long ago tagged Gannett’s Capital Bureau reporter Mike Hasten as “Deputy Press Secretary for Government.”

Spot on.

Higher Ed Update – 12/25/10

Revenue should be part of fix for La. colleges

LSU enrollment up 3 percent

LA Newspapers Not the Only Ones Asleep

It seems Louisiana’s newspapers are not the only ones who stand idly by while local government officials steal with impunity.

Where was The Plain Dealer over years of Cuyahoga County corruption?

In the 28 months since the FBI went public with its investigation of corruption in Cuyahoga County government, one question has been asked repeatedly: “Where was The Plain Dealer?”

Someone named “swarley” asked it again in an online comment appended to an Oct. 24 editorial about the long and disgraceful tenure of former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul:

“. . . the worst element in this sordid scandal was the lack of a decent newspaper, which would have investigated the claims, had it not been so busy whistling a happy tune and sitting on its butt . . . for more than a decade, you guys failed to live up to your name, or your responsibilities. You ignored what was going on, you endorsed the crooks every time they were up for re-election . . . At what point are we going to see an expose of how poorly The Pee Dee handled its watchdog responsibilities?”

Gannett LA Newspaper Circ. Still Sucking Wind

Gannett’s Louisiana newspaper circulation is still declining, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) the industry’s official arbiter. The numbers are important because circulation determines advertising rates that can be charged to businesses who want to reach as many potential customers as possible.

Here are the average weekday circulation figures for Gannett’s three largest newspapers for the year ended 9/30/10 compared to 9/30/09:

The (Lafayette) Advertiser (- 6.7%)
The (Monroe) News-Star (-5.1%)
The (Shreveport) Times (-4.2%)

Here are the raw number for 6/30/10 and for 6/30/09.

See here our year ago news story.

Gannett’s LA Newspaper Circulation Plunges