The sight of Roger Parkinson, the sharp-edged former publisher of the Star Tribune, strolling through the newsroom yesterday inspired dozens of tongues to cluck the same two words, “interim publisher.” The innocent explanation for Parkinson’s appearance is that he was in town from Toronto as part of his duties with the local Humphrey Institute and … Read more
While I wait for McClatchy muckety-mucks to respond to my questions I’ll slide along these interesting numbers from the company’s “10Q” report — breaking out the first quarter performance of the Star Tribune this year compared to 2006. It ain’t pretty. God help you if you ever rely on me for advice on your investments, … Read more
I don’t envy Strib writer, Matt McKinney, who has the job of walking the razor’s edge describing the convulsions at the Strib to the satisfaction of both his employers and the general public. But in his May 8 story on the latest round of cuts, there were these graphs … . . . “The Star … Read more
I gotta tell ya, it is a real, “Where to begin?” situation following the no-ups and all-downs of the Star Tribune lately. Indecision over where to begin may explain why what follows is even more scatter-shot and incoherent than usual. 1. As expected, Guild employees of the Star Tribune voted overwhelmingly yesterday to accept the … Read more
Pressured by a small group of colleagues inclined to take the buy-out offer presently on the table, Guild employees at the Star Tribune are expected to accept company terms in a 4 p.m. meeting/vote today. A similar vote yesterday fizzled when Guild members had too many unanswered questions to vote. The offer from Avista Capital … Read more
Being a fellow of modest dreams some days all I want to be is the Readers’ Representative for a big city newspaper, like the Star Tribune. If my dream came true I’d write something like this: . . . Hi, everyone. By now you’ve probably heard of big changes at this paper you’re reading. It … Read more
I see a string of legitimate questions piling up in the “comments” area, about the latest Strib carnage and other topics, and I vow to generate a post dedicated entirely to answering them in the very near future. But among recent comments was this one: . . “As one who’s felt the sting of “dynamic … Read more
Here are the most general ratings. All listeners 12 and older. Comparing the fourth quarter of ’06 with the first quarter of ’07. — — KQRS-FM – 7.2 – 8.0 WCCO-AM – 8.2 – 7.4 KEEY-FM – 6.9 – 6.2 – (K102) KNOW-FM – 4.5 – 5.8 – (MPR News) KDWB-FM – 4.6 – 4.6 … Read more
One by one Strib reporters have been summoned in to a private meeting today with top Strib editors and told what their fate will be — reassignment, opportunity to reapply for current position, opportunity to apply for reassignment, etc. By reports describing post-interview expressions from “glum” to “despondent” to out-right tears, few Strib writers apparently … Read more
Par Ridder’s barnstorming slide show, “Business Literacy”, (given first to the Pioneer Press staff before “right-sizing” them to virtual irrelevancy, and now yesterday to his new staff at the Star Tribune), is essentially a plea to the troops to have pity on the paper’s executive and investor class, which is facing the same severe economic … Read more