Some interesting you-know-what is hitting the fan over at Ann Arbor News that is not likely to be reported there: this might be a slight exaggeration, but it would appear that the paper is being all but closed down by the company that owns it.
A couple of interesting links to blog posts below the “Read More” part:
I heard about this first via an email that was circulating in my department that linked to Jim “formerly of the AAN” Carty’s blog, “Major changes announced at Ann Arbor News, Booth Newspapers.” Jim wrote:
My former co-workers at The Ann Arbor News were told in a meeting this morning that most copy editing, page design and graphics jobs were being moved to The Grand Rapids Press and the Kalamazoo Gazette, as well as some advertising and support jobs. Similar announcements were made at other Booth newspapers in Michigan.
Carty’s post goes on to give various updates as the news broke at the AAN as the day went on.
And then, over at The Ann Arbor Chronicle (which is run by former AAN-types and is kind of a blog, kind of not), Mary “also formally AAN” Morgan wrote a story headlined “Buyouts Hit The Ann Arbor News Copy editing and design desks consolidating in Grand Rapids.” Mary writes:
Paperwork for the buyout won’t be given to employees until Friday, according to several sources. But in broad strokes, they were told that most employees in the newsroom will be offered buyouts, which will likely include two weeks of pay for every year of service and some kind of health care coverage. Some of the people eligible for the buyout need only have a minimum five years of service. It’s unclear if that will apply to all buyout offers. People who don’t take the offer risk being reassigned to another paper.
Copy editors, page designers and graphic artists – essentially, the production staff – are being told that if they don’t accept a buyout, they’ll have to work from the Grand Rapids Press office.
This all makes the AAN’s recent closing of its Ypsilanti office make a certain amount of sense.
On the one hand, it’s pretty sad/pathetic when an area the size of Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti/Washtenaw county is on the verge of no longer being served by print news/media. Granted, I tend to read my news not in the paper form but online; still, it takes staffs to make that news appear, on the page or on the screen. So as much as I embrace blogging, citizen journalism, etc., etc., this is a bummer.
On the other hand, I think the AANews has never been a great paper and has increasingly been a less than good paper. For me, the “we won’t endorse anyone in the Presidential race” op-ed piece was pretty much the last straw. We were planning on canceling our paper delivery whenever we got around to it.
The economy is in the dumper and this is probably not the time to be getting into the traditional newspaper business for sure. Heck, there’s even a blog with the not so subtle title Newspaper Death Watch that covers the decline of newspapers (and, in its view, the rise of journalism). Hopefully, something will rise from these local ashes on the Internet. We’re already seeing it with the Ypsilanti Citizen, The Ann Arbor Chronicle, and the still vibrant local blogosphere, not to mention the fine folks at the Eastern Echo, WEMU, and even that Michigan Daily thing.
So, maybe, if the Ann Arbor News keeps going down what seems to be the inevitable path of becoming little more than a vehicle for grocery store coupons with a few wire stories thrown in for good measure, maybe we will all be able to go on?
I remember when the A2 News purchased and killed the Ypsilanti Press several years ago. That gave rise to the Ypsi Courier. Early this summer I puchased a 1 year subscription to the A2 News that works out to .25 cents per day. I won’t miss what I have come to know as the A2 U of M Sports Newspaper!