Civil Beat reported this past week that the Star-Advertiser is cutting its staff, beginning with non-union employees.
According to CB, eight people not covered by the union contract had already been laid off.
The article doesn’t identify the fired workers, but news veteran Bob Jones used Facebook to discuss this first round of cuts.
Very strange that not a peep in the local news media about Don Chapman being out as MidWeek editor as part of that paper’s cost-containment layoffs. Longtime chief photographer Natalie Walker gone as well.
Senior editor Terri Hefner currently handling the editor-in-chief duties.
Nothing in the Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat is still running a badly dated piece about potential layoffs.My Facebook posts seem to be the sole source of that news. Odd, yes?
The newspaper has offered a buyout package in an attempt to entice those covered by the NewsGuild/CWA contract to leave voluntarily. Terms of the buyout weren’t disclosed, but it presumably offers at least a modest premium over the contract’s basic terms, which provide for one week of severance pay for each year worked.
To further confuse the situation, the current contract covering about 100 Star-Advertiser employees is due to expire on August 31.
I would expect that there will be several longtime journalists who will take this opportunity to retire.
Oahu Publications, which owns the Star-Advertiser, also owns Midweek, as well as newspapers on Kauai and the Big Island.
Oahu Publications, in turn, is part of the network of newspapers in Canada and the U.S. owned by Black Press, mostly privately controlled by Victoria-based David Black.
Dennis Francis, publisher of Oahu Publications, blamed the job cuts on reductions in advertising by large national chains like Sears and Macy’s.
It isn’t clear whether similar cuts are going to be seen at other newspapers owned by Black Press.
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Oh my! I often wonder how much longer we will have even one daily newspaper.
Drop in advertising revenues? I just picked up the Sunday paper-such that it is. It is almost nothing but ads. By the time I strip all that rubbish out of the paper I can almost put what’s left in my pocket.
ad rates are negotiable.
Craigslist butchered advertising.
Amazon struck the dagger. the black blood of ink is almost gone. to be fair, Amazon is killing everyone. I buy medications there that I literally cannot find anywhere else, or some my pharmacy tells me. Amazon is like going to Mexico.
Some journalists blame readers. That’s like typewriters blaming writers for switching to computers.
technology is the real cause. Try running a business of building wooden ships in 2016. living in the past is futile and foolish.
*so my pharmacy
Perhaps the State should buy the Star-Advertiser. Then the workers would be protected by the HGEA and the UPW.
yes, management could be trained in North Korea. excellent. double plus good.
I knew about the lay offs and wondered why no publicity in the newspaper.
Don Chapman, been there 29 years and Nathalie Walker has been with Midweek for 20 years. Very sad. I would like to see a complete list of those given the pink slips. Auwe.
A newspaper with a reasonable level of integrity would run a simple and straightforward news article about this situation, if for no other reason than to demonstrate its integrity and inoculate itself from criticism for failing to so demonstrate.
Hawaii media are terrible about covering themselves (and Civil Beat is no different).
http://mediaworkers.org/hilo-seeks-aloha-from-opi/
Hilo unit seeks Aloha from OPI
Pacific Media Workers Guild — June 2, 2016
Guild members at the Hawaii Tribune-Herald rallied outside the Big Island newspaper office Thursday morning to demand a fair contract.
Two days of Hilo talks start later Thursday and Friday.
Oahu Publications Inc. (OPI), which bought the daily in December 2014, has shown little willingness to reach a compromise after months of bargaining. OPI also owns the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, where contract talks are expected to begin later this year. The Hilo negotiations appear to be an early signal of what’s coming on Oahu.
The Hilo talks have dragged on despite modest differences on economic issues.
OPI appears to be sending a message that its workers are liars and cheats, with utterly no evidence.
Key issues include OPI demands for random no-cause-needed drug testing — the worst proposal the Guild has ever encountered on this issue.
The company wants a sick leave policy that demands doctor notes and waiting periods to be paid for a health problem.
A sick worker would have to struggle into the office or risk being fired after a couple of absences. Everyone would need to use up vacation time — also being slashed under the OPI proposals — or go unpaid for being sick a day.
“Workers should not be punished for using sick leave. It’s that simple, ” said Tom Callis, Big Island unit chair and Hawaii Vice President of the Media Workers guild local. “The company should realize its employees are its greatest asset; not liabilities.”
Severance, seniority and vacation also have been sticking points.
So sorry about Don. He’s a good guy and I wish I him the best.
T: Old news on Hilo, the contract was ratified a month or so ago……..5 year deal I believe. I heard even a no layoff clause. Given the recent news with the parent OPI, that appears to be a pretty good deal….with lots of Aloha.
It was interesting how they silently eliminated the majority of the MidWeek columnists too. Initially some were cut to every other week, then a few months later, completely cut, just before the eight layoffs. Ironic how they had Don Chapman make the calls to everyone, telling us how the newspaper is changing directions, then he himself gets cut a few days later. Very sad.
This week’s issue of MidWeek is out. Staff box no longer lists Don Chapman or Nathalie Walker though the latter took the cover photo and others inside.
reality bytes:
Macy’s will be closing about 100 stores in an attempt to trim its footprint as more customers shop online, the department store announced today.
“This country is overstored given evolving customer shopping habits,” Macy’s Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet said during a call with analysts discussing the company’s second-quarter financial results.
Sales at Macy’s stores open at least a year were down 2.6 percent compared with the second quarter of 2015, the sixth consecutive quarter in which comparable sales dropped.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many jobs might be cut as Macy’s has not finalized the list of locations that will close, said spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz.
The 100 stores, most of which will close early in 2017, represent about 15 percent of all of Macy’s full-line stores.
They “often don’t represent the customer shopping experience that reflects our aspirations for Macy’s brand,” Hoguet said.
Shutting down less-profitable stores will let Macy’s focus on improving its top stores and growing online sales, she said.
I also was employed before the layoffs. When I heard about Don and Nathalie, I was very sad…there were also several others who were GREAT and amazing writers, people, and loyal employees who were let go–with no notice, or even much thanks, after years of service. My heart hurts for them, but truly hope that only better will come to them now.