Layoffs are scary but I am seeing a ton og high paying jobs on employment boards -

http://www.realmatch.com
http://www.monster.com
http://www.simplyhired.com

Dont dwell on the layoff, look to the future!

Pulp, is the Sentinel talking buyouts, or just plain layoffs? Earlier talk was that buyouts weren't going to be part of the plan.

I'm hearing buyouts, but that may be wishful thinking. The newspaper is not issuing memos or emails on this -- it's all going around by word of mouth and the word is that it will be buyouts. That could change, though.

sure, "involuntary buyouts" for the most part.

The list is mostly reporters and editors who are going to be involuntarily laid off. Some veteran reporters and editors who may or may not be on the list are coming forward to volunteer themselves in exchange for the severance, two weeks for each year of service up to a year of pay. Supposedly, an online editor who has worked here about 35 years started it by going into Earl Maucker and volunteering. Other people heard that he had been accepted and started volunteering themselves. This should help save some jobs of younger people in the newsroom.

Linda K remains one of the best and most responsible journalists (and government reporters)I worked with during my 40 years as a print scribe.
Her leaving is a metaphor of the dark days ahead for the news biz; Her talent and high standards aside, Linda's departure will have a tragic impact on the Sentinel newsroom's already dwindling institutional knowledge.

Is today Black Friday in SunSentinelLand or what? Anybody know if heads will be rolling today?

I've heard that there are editors who only supervise three or fewer reporters. I'd be nervous if I was one of those editors.

... they'll be the first to go.

Interesting how the Internet department isn't immune to the culling.

Hearing that most decisions won't be made on merit. Some will be punished for being perceived as more marketable than others. But who exactly is marketable in this market? And won't it be great to be left with employees who bring fewer skills to the table than many who are jettisoned?

Hearing that most layoffs won't be merit-based... though that probably won't surprise anyone.

They may let the more marketable people go, as if there's anyone marketable in this market. And they'll be left with a newspaper full of people who don't have as many skills as they ones who left. Idiots.

Well, they can always go over to the dark side--public relations and internal communications. Not as fun but the money pays the bills until someone can figure out something innovative for a society that doesn't like hard copy news any more.

Here's an idea... just because I like news guys... why not figure out how to develop a new technology to deliver news to some sort of READABLE hand held device. Then you could push out the news without delivery issues.

"Here's an idea... just because I like news guys... why not figure out how to develop a new technology to deliver news to some sort of READABLE hand held device. Then you could push out the news without delivery issues."

Aren't those gizmos called "Blackberries"?

What's the big deal?
Earl Maucker will still afford gas for his yacht.

Damn good thing Randy Michaels doesn't know jack s. shit about the newspaper game.
Otherwise, here's how the pending house-cleaning at the Sun-Sentinel would work.
Using the first five months as a baseline:
1. Any reporter who failed to produce an average of two by-lined stories a week -out door.
2. With certain unique exceptions, any reporter who averages more than two hours a day at the computer - out the door.
3. Any editor who did not handle* (read, edit, etc.) copy on a daily basis - out the door.
4. Any editor who spends more than 10 hours attending meetings during their regular work week.
Now there'd be a blazing inferno of deadwood worth watching.

250 seems to be the standard number of layoffs, buyouts at each paper in florida.

are the owners conspiring?

if these papers can really operate with 250 fewer people, why didn't they before?

and if so, why aren't the publishers, accountants and bean counters who allowed the bloat all those years the first to go?

Among those "volunteering," Lou Toman, heart and soul of the SS. Bummer. Bad day for journalism.

Loooooooooouuuuuuuu! He's awesome.

What a dismal day. Some of the finest photojournalists I've ever worked with were at the S-S, especially in Palm Beach. (And, for the record, I'm not a photo person. I'm on the word side.)

My heart aches today for all the good, decent, hard working people at the S-S.

In the words of Sam Zell while speaking to the LA Times news staff: "I'm your Viagra!"
Which leaves me wondering if Sam's the Viagra in all this, who is the KY?

If we know who the Viagra is, then who's the "Santorum"? (If you don't get this, see www.spreadingsantorum.com)

That's one of the odder comments I've seen. Who Da Santorum first appears to be spam, especially with the viagra reference. But spam doesn't collect on posts immediately. Usually a post will have to be up at least a couple weeks before the spammers start to attack it (it rarely ever gets through to the actual site sice it collects in the blog's junk mail, which I have to clean every day). I went to www.spreadingsantorum.com and it is, as the name suggests, an anti-Rick Santorum website. It's a slightly profane little piece of work that hasn't been updated with a new post since 2004 (since there's nothing to attack santorum about now that's he's out of the public eye) that was inspired by the former senator's anti-gay rhetoric (the profane opening page makes that clear). Provides a trip back in political time, but all in all, an odd thing for a casual visitor to promote

Santorum was a profane little piece of work himself.

They are called blackberries. the sentinel hasn't figured out how to get more then the top stories on a handheld. (Which is the future of this business)

Even worse, it won't even call up a story if it's linked.

All the talk is about layoffs in the editorial side, what about all the buyouts that are going to happen in the support side, IT, HR, and even, (gulp)---SALES. Yes, a few of the higher paid sales staff have been cut including this writer. The real problem is that they've never cut any managers on the sales side. Just wait until Sam starts cutting into that overpaid blubber. And you thought the Japanese were the only country still whaling, wait until you see what the kingdom of Zellonia has up it's sleeve.

That weird bit of SPAM is part of the internet'a evolution, just like those incoherent emails you sometimes get: "Canned peaches are not likely chimney sweep black mamba cootie shake well I'll be." Emails like that don't promote a damned thing -- it's the machines trying to shake themselves awake and talk to us. Bet on it.

Terrible terrible terrible with the SS and The Palm Beach Post and all of that, but it's nothing compared to what'll happen when the web develops imperatives and decides to shut down the whole goddamned combine. And that'll happen any day now.

- TD, PhD.

"Position Elimination" was Ackerley Communications buzzword.

Sam,

Here what I would do:

-Cut an education writer.
-Cut a couple Deputy Managing Editors.
-Combine some municipal beats
-Too many assistant editors for the number of people they supervise
-Cut the Day Assignment Editors. WTF does that mean anyway?
-Back off on courts coverage. Most stories are old news by the time they get to court anyway.
-Take some people off the print side -- which is dying anyway -- and have them write for Web only
-Stop wasting money on stock tables
-Stop covering areas north of Bointon Beach. It's pointless.
-Close the Cuba bureau
-Cut a deal with Orlando to cover the statehouse
-Stop publishing so many A-section pages. People don't read local papers for international news

Sun Sentinel: Shrinking its way to success.

The Slime Slantinel became a left wing rag and circulation dropped - oh well. They have supported liberalism, corrupt liberal Broward County politicians, illegal immigration, multiculturalism, diversity and endless pandering to homosexuals. This agenda has led to families dropping subscriptions, illegals flooding in who cannot read in English or cannot read, white flight from South Florida and a continued decline in circulation. Good luck selling papers to all those illegal aliens.

A lot of newspapers are holding up against the Internet but the papers with liberal editorializing have been harmed the most. Newspapers also have a huge "carbon footprint", contribute to "global warming" and destroy trees so it is no great loss.

Save a tree read a blog,

I never started my lil blog because I thought the MSM's were saying the discourse I thought was missing anyway.

It should be easy for them to move to the
i-net they might not get the subscription money but more advertising than any tom dick or harry blog gets.

One has to wonder how it will end up.