the cuts at the orlando sentinel were just that. no buyouts were offered this time around.

anon, that's not what i hear--
and y'all, I know. It's pathetic that all the press people, business side people, etc., aren't included, but I'm just not getting that information at this point.

Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 2:31 AM
To: My Partners
Subject: A message from Sam Zell

Due to the current Tribune financial situation, changes will be made to the Business Travel standards and Procedures Manual. Effective Monday the following revised procedures apply:

Lodging
All employees are encouraged to stay with relatives and friends while on business travel. If weather permits, public areas such as parks should be used as temporary lodging sites. Bus terminals, train stations, and office lobbies may provide shelter in periods of inclement weather.

Transportation
Hitchhiking is the preferred mode of travel in lieu of commercial transport. Luminescent safety vests will be issued to all employees prior to their departure on business trips. Bus transportation will be used only when work schedules require such travel. Airline tickets will be authorized in extreme circumstances and the lowest fares will be used. For example, if a meeting is scheduled in Seattle, but the lower fare can be obtained by traveling to Detroit, then travel to Detroit will be substituted for travel to Seattle.

Meals
Expenditures for meals will be limited to an absolute minimum. It should be noted that certain grocery and specialty chains, such as Hickory Farms, General Nutrition centers, and, Costco, Sams stores etc. often provide free samples of promotional items. Entire meals can be obtained in this manner. Travelers should also be familiar with indigenous roots, berries, and other protein sources available at their destinations. If restaurants must be utilized, travelers should use "all you can eat" salad bars. This is especially effective for employees traveling together as one plate can be used to feed the entire group. Employees are also encouraged to bring their own food on business travel. Cans of tuna fish, Spam, and Beefaroni can be consumed at your leisure without the necessary bother of heating or costly preparation.

Miscellaneous
All employees are encouraged to devise innovative techniques in effort to save company dollars. One enterprising individual has already suggested that money could be raised during airport layover periods which could be used to defray travel expenses. In support of this idea, red caps will be issued to all employees prior to their departure so that they may earn tips by helping others with their luggage. Small plastic roses and ball point pens will also be available to employees so that sales may be made as time permits.

Remember- YOU OWN THIS PLACE. I’m just running it into the ground.

Ten pressroom were laid off on Friday, including two bosses.

Also, two from interactive were let go, including a woman who was hired six months ago.

Once again, the Sentinel tried to scam their most loyal readers, the senior citizens.

The Sentinel tried to raise their delivery fee. Why? Because the customer complained about their late delivery. Hmmm.

I see, when a company provides poor service, customers are supposed to pay more to correct the problem.

Fortunatly, the senior citizens - many of them who survived the real depression and won World War II - are using common sense and are reminding the Sentinel that the ones who pay the bills is the real boss.

That Onion-like memo would be funnier if it wasn't so eerily real.

Regarding comment by anony:
Talked to some of my old press buddies and there were no layoffs in the pressroom on Fri. Where do you get your info as I get mine straight from the horses mouth?

Cinema Dave:

At the risk of sounding ageist, pandering to bluehairs is part of what killed newspapers to begin with.

I sat in meetings where upper- and mid-level editors fretted over doing things like listing URLs in the paper because they didn't want to alienate older readers.

I remember conversations about moving the classifieds and stock tables online BEFORE Craigslist and other sites had a chokehold on the market. But this was pooh-poohed because our older readers would protest.

No one acknowledged the elephant in the room: those readers were dying off by the hour and we were only taking baby steps to position ourselves where the growth was happening.

So, I thank seniors for their service in the war (pick one) and I admire their grit during hard times, but they're no longer relevant to the media industry -- unless they're like my 66-year-old mother and have presences on Facebook and MySpace and can IM and text message as well as their grandkids.

Yes, there were layoffs in the pressroom last Friday,including two bosses. Specicially found out from pressmen, including one of the remaining two managers.
Also, three in prepress on Monday were laid off.

To clarify, the pressroom, prepress, multimedia cuts were at the Sun-Sentinel.

I must say that when I worked for The Oralndo Sentinel from '79 to '93 , when times were better, it was the best place to work. They were very generous. We had company picnics, the work out room, generous incentive plans, fed us like pigs on holidays as well as giving us %10 of our salary in stock for free every year. I have never seen one of those qualities at The Palm Beach Post. I would have given my left nut to have been able to keep my job there but like I said they always opened their wallet wide. They sent us on trips to stay in luxurious lodges for a weekend up in Canada, Tenn., and a few other places. They flew us on the Tribune Co. private jet to Canada and this was all just for winning an incentive program. I could go on and on but these things happening these days with the newspapers are just a sign of the times. I don't blame them or any of these newspapers for doing what they have to do to survive but The Sentinel took great care of us when they could.

Reply to: Those were the Days.......
I was on those flights from Orlando to Canada several times for winning and
being involved in the incentive programs, which was all paid for by the paper mills. But you are right it is a sign of the times, I left the Orlando Sentinel on my own several years ago but I have not forgotten. In my current position as Pressroom Management I have had to also look at operating costs and planned far in advance for the coming days. We are running so lean that we cannot put out a paper without the current Press Guys and Mailroom people, and in a pinch I still run the press from time!! to time!!! Cuz You Never Know