From a memo sent today to News & Record employees from publisher Robin Saul (emphasis mine):

Even though we anticipated these tough times and budgeted for these poor market conditions, the actual performance of our revenues has been worse than expected...

...Beginning in February the News & Record, and all Landmark Publishing newspapers, will require all full-time and part-time employees with benefits to be scheduled for five (5) unpaid days off during the year. At the News & Record these days will be scheduled one day per month through the end of June 2009. The first day will be President's Day, Monday, February 16, with the remaining four days to be announced shortly. Vacation days cannot be used for these days since our intent is to reduce payroll expense.

To minimize inconveniences and confusion for our customers and employees, the News & Record will notify the public we are "closed for business" on these five designated days. We will publish a newspaper and online products on all of these days; therefore, those employees required to work (and those employees regularly scheduled to be off on that day) will have their unpaid day scheduled for a different time during that same payroll period.

We have also decided to enact a wage freeze for the rest of this year, effective immediately. Employees who are promoted or who take on significantly larger responsibilities in a restructuring may be considered for more pay, since we need to work more efficiently in a leaner organizational structure.

Comments

[Beau D. Jackson]

We have also decided to enact a wage freeze for the rest of this year, effective immediately. Employees who are promoted or who take on significantly larger responsibilities in a restructuring may be considered for more pay, since we need to work more efficiently in a leaner organizational structure.

I really hate to see a home town newspaper fail, and I firmly believe there still is a market demand for a home town newspaper. However, JR & the N&R need to realize that thier customers want "news" and not just continous Liberal editorial, that's why the N&R is failing. JR you still have time to turn this around and be truthful with your customers, your first official act should be getting rid of Leonard Pitts, the man is as biased as any bigot I've ever known. Clean up your act and print the news not manufacture or editorialize it, good luck! Beau

[Spag]

Maybe they can whip up another phony racial frenzy, sell more papers, and get back in the game!

[Ed Cone]

JR has nothing to do with Pitts, a syndicated opinion columnist. That's Allen Johnson's turf.

It would be nice, from a business point of view at least, if the problems facing the N&R and the publishing industry were as simple as playing around with content.

Better content wouldn't hurt, which makes the gutting of staffs here and elsewhere even sadder, but the internet has caused deep problems for the traditional business model of publishers across the industry. Classified ads didn't go to Craig's List for ideological reasons, they went because it's free and effective.

[mc]

We canceled our N&R last year. Why? Not much in the paper that was not available on-line from other AP sources. The "local" section was getting smaller and smaller, the neighborhood section on the weekend was a joke. I am not a bb fan or nascar fan (obviously not a native) so the sports section held nothing for me.

[Beau D. Jackson]

JR has nothing to do with Pitts, a syndicated opinion columnist. That's Allen Johnson's turf.

It would be nice, from a business point of view at least, if the problems facing the N&R and the publishing industry were as simple as playing around with content.

Better content wouldn't hurt, which makes the gutting of staffs here and elsewhere even sadder, but the internet has caused deep problems for the traditional business model of publishers across the industry. Classified ads didn't go to Craig's List for ideological reasons, they went because it's free and effective.

I really don't care who's responcible for what, I mention JR because he presents himself visable. Better content is the crux of the matter, I'm sure you are loosing some circulation due to the internet, however, content was the reason I cancelled my subscription, and I suspect the single reason why many others have as well. I believe there are still many people within the N&R circulation market who, like me, likes to have his paper in the morning with a hot cup of coffee, but I'm certainly not going to read, nor support, a perpetualy slanted biased newspaper. Print news without spinning it and that just might salvage a newspaper, but some how or another I just don't think "you get it", denial will put you in the poor house! Beau

[hugh]

A simple solution would be for the paper to become an advocate of the people instead of a mouthpiece for the local government.

[RecycleBill]

Hugb said, "A simple solution would be for the paper to become an advocate of the people instead of a mouthpiece for the local government."

Exactly! A perfect example of the point Hugh makes is in the comments to this post. Specificly #25.

[Big L]

Burn N&R, burn.

The less liberal propaganda masquarading as journalism, the better.

I just pray I live to see the New York Times, MSNBC and CNN fail as well. The sooner the better.

[Tony Rollins]

It is my understanding that Go Triad is on the chopping block and Landmark has all but pulled the plug in preparation for shutting it down in the coming weeks.

[Staffer, Reader, Lamenter]

Too bad they didn't offer UPL or impose wage cuts--a la Roadway trucking--when it could have saved a few more jobs a year or two ago. (Didn't they get that "bass ackwards"?) Oh, well...so much for the genius of the M.B.A.

[Fec]

The Wife maintains a Go Triad ad for her businesses and finds it a good media buy. It cannot be replaced.

[Ian McDowell]

I suspect the N&R's playing the patsy for local government has more to do with its declining readership than its alleged political bias. I suppose they could always find a Ned Beatty lookalike and send him out to take pictures of young girls in local clubs as a way of bringing in more ad revenue.

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

The N&R will lean any direction the Bobblehead wants them to lean. Even if that means bending over and kissing their own...

[Susan Ladd]

There are no plans to kill Go Triad. In fact, it's one of our more successful publications.