News & Observer
It isn't "Throwback Thursday" yet it feels like old times. I'm covering the Board of Aldermen (after a more-than-a-decade pause) and Orange County/Northern Chatham at large once again. This time, for the Chapel Hill News | News & Observer. I won't be covering affordable housing for the time being as I continue as Chair of the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners until January, but of course I can pass those stories along and encourage good coverage (like any good reporter would). This is freelance work, not full time, but I'm so glad to at least have my toes in the waters of local coverage once again.
First story should appear on Wednesday. If you have news about Carrboro or the County at large, please send it my way!
Email to jean.bolduc@gmail.com or Tweet to @jeanbolduc
This semester I have served OrangePolitics as a student intern to complete a minimum 30-hour service-learning requirement for a sociology class entitled “Social and Economic Justice.” The course is a capstone requirement for all social and economic justice minors like myself and has allowed my professor the opportunity to chronicle the development of the Occupy movement over the course of the semester. Admittedly, I am privileged. But, having studied the birth and spread of this movement, I was shocked when a local demonstration against corporate hegemony of the wealthiest Americans (unaffiliated directly with the Occupy Chapel Hill demonstrations) took a dramatic turn a little more than a week ago, as a police tactical team of more than 25 officers arrested eight demonstrators in a vacant Franklin Street building.
Raleigh, N.C. — The News & Observer
in Raleigh is cutting salaries of all employees earning $25,000 or more
per year and also eliminating 78 jobs in the latest series of
cost-cutting measures.
- http://www.wral.com/business/story/4748286/
While this was not unexpected it is nevertheless disappointing news. It is especially sad to think not only of the 78 employees who will lose their jobs but also of all the remaining employees who are taking significant cuts in pay and forced furloughs. Boy, McClatchy has certainly made a mess of things with their desire to be bigger (and better?).
Fiona Morgan at the Independent reports that a number of newsroom staff have accepted the buyout offers that the McClatchy-owned News & Observer offered last month.
Among them is Samiha Khanna, who covers Durham County and its school
system; Matt Dees, a former Durham city reporter who was recently
transferred to the Orange County bureau; and Cheryl Johnston Sadgrove,
who covers Orange County government. Until the newsroom is reorganized
to adjust for these losses, that leaves one Orange County and four
Durham reporters.
- Triangulator: N&O loses more reporters, 9/22/08
I still can't understand the business model that has them eliminating the one uniquely valuable thing that the paper has. No-one's going to buy the paper just to pick up wire reports and local classifieds. Or as McClatchy's CEO said:
Fiona Morgan, over at the Indy,
reports that the N&O's parent company
McClatchy has the
Chapel Hill News building up for sale.
"I think if we got the right price, we'd be interested in talking with somebody," John Drescher, The N&O's executive editor, said in an interview.
Is this inevitable? Can the Carrboro Citizen pick up the slack? Is it time for more startup papers to run tight ships with old school newspaper values?
I for one am pretty sad it has come to this but am not surprised one bit. For more details see another recent article by Morgan called
What's Up? More bad news at The N&O.
Fiona Morgan at the Indy has written a scathing analysis of the Durham Herald-Sun situation. As they also publish the Chapel Hill Herald, her conclusions
don't bode well for local media coverage in the future. It's also
really sad to read that Ginny Hoyle will depart. Given the reported
cutbacks at the N&O, it sure looks like this could be a great opportunity for the Daily Tar Heel to have an even more significant impact in this market.
The Herald-Sun's circulation has declined by 38 percent and its staff by more than half since the Paducah, Ky.-based Paxton Media Group bought the newspaper. Paxton, a private company, owns 32 newspapers, including seven in North Carolina, and one television station. But as chains go, it's a small-time operation. Most of its papers are in small Southeastern and Midwestern towns where there is no competing publication. The Herald-Sun continues to be its biggest newspaper.
But that paper is shrinking in every conceivable way.
- Indyweek.com: The Herald-Sun's nosedive, August 6, 2008
The Independent reports that veteran journalist Mark Schultz will be returning to Orange County:
The N&O has also lured away longtime H-S reporter and current metro editor Mark Schultz, who will be in charge of both the Orange County bureau of the newspaper and its community paper there, The Chapel Hill News.
This can only be good news for the local news. It indicates a serious commitment to our area by the N&O and a willingness to compete with the Herald for coverage and circulation. The competition should keep both papers engaged in Orange County, much to our benefit.
From a reader's perspective, Schultz did a great job when he previously edited the Chapel Hill Herald. He is a fitting replacement for Ted Vaden.
Welcome back, Mark.
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