They say 13 newsroom jobs will be cut. The KNS still had 13 reporters? Who's left?

Ooo. I hate to hear this.

Does this translate into fewer local news stories, and more AP stories, I wonder?

I realize this action relates to the weak economy, but I've been worried about this phenomenon of "fewer original news-gatherers" ever since I became aware of those FCC changes a few years back, that allowed fewer owners to posses greater numbers of media (TV/radio/newspapers)--COUPLED WITH rapid consolidation of newspapers under Gannett and Scripps.

This spooks me a little, and makes me feel that the phenomenon of fewer reporters generally is hitting a little closer to home...

WATE better report on itself. Young Broadcasting is now $0.05 per share.

They say 13 newsroom jobs will be cut. The KNS still had 13 reporters? Who's left?

Even people in the know could only name four or five. Circulation in a tailspin and now they cut they newsroom.

Unbelievable.

This might be a good time to let my subscription run out....

The KNS discredited itself with too many groups of people. Although all papers are facing tough times, there are some that are heads and shoulders above the KNS, the Spartanburg Herald, The State (SC), and the Charlotte Observer to name a few. These papers, in some ways simply by design, fewer page hogging pictures and more text, are better than the KNS.

The KNS took what it saw to be the easy way by aligning itself with forces in Knox Co, it helped those forces, didn't help KNS's circulation or credibility, and now it's paying the price.

Printing the Orange and White petitions for free was wrong on every level. 72 percent of the voters rejected Charter Amendment 4. I don't recall a crushing defeat like that on any Charter Amendment. A lot of people thought that crossed the line. But the problems started long before that.

The poll about whether to endorse the Presidential race was another classic miscue. 70 plus percent of the respondents said don't endorse, so what did the Sentinel do? The opposite, they endorsed the Presidential race.

The unequal coverage of local politics shows a clear slant. Tough on "redneck" Commissioners and soft on a Mayor who reads to children.

The paper has offended each corner of the county. Yet they seem dismayed that people want to cancel their subscriptions and advertisers want to go elsewhere.

People just don't trust the News Sentinel. How do you fix a trust problem?

maybe they will hire you as an independent contract employee to replace the Paoned one you lost earlier this week.

This might be a good time to let my subscription run out....

We kicked our habit almost one year ago, when they charged us for extra ads they sold for last Thanksgiving. Never really went through any withdrawals of any kind. It's saved some trees and my blood pressure is lower too!

This is great news! Lets start a thread on who we hope got the axe!

Is this poorly framed sarcasm or just a nastyass demonstration of mean spiritedness? Either way, I too would be ashamed to put my name to such a steaming pile of stupid. Apologies if your mamma really named you bamboozled, I guess.

Frank Murphy has some names: Betsy Pickle (movie critic), Kevin Cowan (style), Doug Mason (arts), and Linda Lange (travel).

I also heard Roland Julian and Mark Burgess from sports and some support people in the photo department.

Wow, she's been there forever. I hope she and hers land on their feet.

With all due apologies to the digit, I thought the News Sentinel was starting to realize what its niche had to become in the modern world. Local daily papers are passe for reporting national and international news. They can't do it fast enough nor can they do it in depth enough to become relevant contributors on those levels. Their competition on that level is insurmountable given their available resources and medium. Their niche is to completely immerse themselves in local happenings and issues, areas where they are the news player with the greatest available resources. To survive, they have to become more provincial. I hope these changes aren't suggestive of the Sentinel becoming a repository for already cold news stories off the wire. If they're moving in that direction, they might as well just scrap everything but the Obits and the Classifieds.

I think the fact that they are merging the B/local section and the A/front-page national section says they're going to focus on local news.

Not to mention, McElroy says as much in the press release:

"As we make these changes, we will be keeping our focus on five content priorities," said Editor Jack McElroy. "They are: local news and watchdog reporting, local sports coverage, local business news, information about things to do in the area, and content that gets the names, faces and views of the people of the community into their newspaper."

They're going with the Blount Today model!

P.S. "watchdog reporting" - Cas Walker's estate should sue them for trademark infringement!

"They are: local news and watchdog reporting"

That's pretty funny coming from Jack McElroy. The day Ragsdale has the perp walk the Sentinel will have front page headlines about the latest Lumpy Lambert story. The only local news will be about Lumpy Lambert, Paul Pinkston, and Scott Moore.

As long as the Sentinel goes the advertorial route they are screwed. Knoxville doesn't a a giant version of CityView magazine and that is all the Sentinel is.

Need proof? Is this "local reporting"?

(link...)

That is straight unadulterated CityView. I can hardly wait for the next Farragut sweet 16 birthday party expose.

I have the local papers from the day after Pres. Kennedy was killed. Comparing those papers to the local edition after 9/11 is simply no comparison.

The base of newspaper readers has always been small. The KNS, in going after stories that would interest these "readers"
(link...) wound up betraying its base.

As this author said on CSPAN, this phenomena is why newspapers and TV news covered stories about Palin's wardrobe or "Obama girl" or other stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with the issues.

Can the KNS come back by focusing on local news? If they actually cover the news and not dumb it down to where it's just a daily soap opera and celebrity show. I'm not holding my breath.

KNS has been quietly downsizing the ad design department for some time now (25-30 designers on staff in 2005, plus a handful of freelancers; 8 or 9 designers now).

They have been outsourcing most ad design to India for months. I'm not even kidding.

KNS is hurting America.

PILOT = Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.
I wonder how all these layoffs could be effecting the repayment of the pilot they got to build their big new building?
This isn't being talked about much, but some think they are in violation of the agreement.
Anybody else know anything about it?

More breaking news:

(link...)

That's gotta hurt.

Everybody has a gripe with newspapers, but I shudder to think of a world without them -- whether on paper or digital. I think the corporate side has dumbed them down and made years of poor business decisions, but again and again, most newspapers have risen up to earn their keep.

What's happening at KNS is happening all over the country. Anytime an economy recedes, advertising drops, and, boy, has it been receding lately.

I think it's right to criticize the KNS and any other news organization for their failings, but be careful what you wish for.

Despite their flaws, the news business does more to keep governments in check than any other entity.

If the KNS continues to run op-ed pieces like that one on the front page of the editorial section on Sunday, it will quickly doom itself to utter irrelevancy.

A return to the gold standard? I mean does the National Review even print that kind of stuff anymore?