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Date Posted: 08:09:38 08/12/18 Sun
Author: Paul Block’s ghost
Subject: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Post-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103

They’ll be dropping two days of print production a week — and it sounds like more change is coming.

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Replies:

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- G Real, 06:36:08 08/13/18 Mon [1]

>http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Pos
>t-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103
>
>They’ll be dropping two days of print production a
>week — and it sounds like more change is coming.
A front page story by Shribman that contains not a shred of detail about these great changes, including those taking effect within the month. Just whistling in the dark.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Pour Richard, 07:05:18 08/13/18 Mon [1]

This is the heart of Allan Block's thinking:
"Why are we doing this?” Mr. Block asked. "Print is going away. If you project even five years into the future you cannot imagine there’s a print business that will be vibrant nationally or internationally. We have to acknowledge what is happening. It’s time to put our great digital players fully into the game."

That may or may not be true. He may be exaggerating his case to make it look better that the PG is abandoning print sooner or later after 232 years of print, probably sooner, by saying everyone's doing it. But that may be just a minority view. Ask the NYTimes, the WallStJournal, the WashPost, even USAToday. I don't hear them saying, like Chicken Little, the print sky is falling. Block may just be trying to spread the blame, make it an industry problem -- while he is asking his loyal subscribers to pay the same amount for 29 percent less print product. I don't hear him saying that as a matter of fairness, we have cut our subscription cost by 29 percent.

And I think he has already put all his digital cards on the table, and many think a lot of it is crap.

But, overall, he just exudes that attitude of the rich and powerful who really think they have a right to do anything and to ignore what subscribers want to know. People want to know only a few things: He won't say which two days are being cut out in two weeks (my guess is it's Saturday for sure and Tuesday -- could be Wednesday and not Tuesday). He won't say what the schedule is to cut out more print days and which days will go. Two more days to be cut, when? All five days to be cut, when? Why did they spend something like $70 million on a brand new print plant not too long ago if "print is going away" -- did all that sneak up on them? Did all this crisis arrive because the Blocks and the top managers' salaries will finally have to be cut, which they find unacceptable? What will we wrap a fish in when there are no more newspapers?




>http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Pos
>t-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103
>
>They’ll be dropping two days of print production a
>week — and it sounds like more change is coming.


[ Edit | View ]

[> [> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Pour Richard, 13:43:42 08/15/18 Wed [1]

Well, Lisa Hurm, PG VP/GM, finally, in the third graf, revealed the days of no print -- Saturdays and Tuesdays, starting the 25th. They printed (remember that?) her letter today on A-5 (guess John Block was busy). But she is still coy about when the rest of the days go printless -- "eventually it will be necessary to transition to a primarily digital delivery system." She beefs that up a good bit, ominously, later in the letter: "The good news is that many of you have already joined us on our journey towards an exclusively digital delivery." When's that journey comin' in for a landing, Lisa?

We are to line our bird cage floors with what, again, Lisa? Well, maybe all those newspaper home-delivery people, who will have so much time on their hands, can come up with a new company called: Bird Cage Solutions.

She also says, "This year, new tariffs on newsprint have compounded the already high expense of printing a daily newspaper," as she plugs the digital offerings, PG NewsSlide, PGe and the post-gazette.com website. I'm betting John and dead-ringer Allan told her not to blame Trump for his ill-advised and counterproductive stiff tariffs on Canadian goods, which led to Canada putting tariffs (20 to 30 percent?) on newsprint that the entire U.S. newspaper industry relies on. Thanks, Trump.

And she confidently states: "We are confident you'll find PGe and PG NewsSlide to be superior delivery methods to print." File that under whistling past the graveyard, Lisa -- who has a lovely little head shot of her by her signature at the bottom.

But what about the 80-year-old guy who grabs the "print" sports section on the way into the bathroom every morning? He's more interested in not sliding off the toilet than using PG NewsSlide, Lisa. What about him?

Well, she didn't forget him after all, friends. She ends the missive: "We appreciate your loyalty and trust as we embrace the future." Thanks, Lisa.

Kids, maybe you, too, can grow up to be a PG VP/GM (or work at the FBI, CIA, IBM or GE?), though without newspapers. That is, if there is a Post-Gazette at all.

>This is the heart of Allan Block's thinking:
>"Why are we doing this?” Mr. Block asked. "Print is
>going away. If you project even five years into the
>future you cannot imagine there’s a print business
>that will be vibrant nationally or internationally. We
>have to acknowledge what is happening. It’s time to
>put our great digital players fully into the game."
>
>That may or may not be true. He may be exaggerating
>his case to make it look better that the PG is
>abandoning print sooner or later after 232 years of
>print, probably sooner, by saying everyone's doing it.
>But that may be just a minority view. Ask the NYTimes,
>the WallStJournal, the WashPost, even USAToday. I
>don't hear them saying, like Chicken Little, the print
>sky is falling. Block may just be trying to spread the
>blame, make it an industry problem -- while he is
>asking his loyal subscribers to pay the same amount
>for 29 percent less print product. I don't hear him
>saying that as a matter of fairness, we have cut our
>subscription cost by 29 percent.
>
>And I think he has already put all his digital cards
>on the table, and many think a lot of it is crap.
>
>But, overall, he just exudes that attitude of the rich
>and powerful who really think they have a right to do
>anything and to ignore what subscribers want to know.
>People want to know only a few things: He won't say
>which two days are being cut out in two weeks (my
>guess is it's Saturday for sure and Tuesday -- could
>be Wednesday and not Tuesday). He won't say what the
>schedule is to cut out more print days and which days
>will go. Two more days to be cut, when? All five days
>to be cut, when? Why did they spend something like $70
>million on a brand new print plant not too long ago if
>"print is going away" -- did all that sneak up on
>them? Did all this crisis arrive because the Blocks
>and the top managers' salaries will finally have to be
>cut, which they find unacceptable? What will we wrap a
>fish in when there are no more newspapers?
>
>
>
>
>>http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Po
>s
>>t-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103
>>
>>They’ll be dropping two days of print production a
>>week — and it sounds like more change is coming.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Kid on a Bicycle, 23:25:46 08/24/18 Fri [1]

in a strange twist, a midweek (not sunday) edition of the PG was available a couple days ago at a newsstand north of I-80.

Not sure if this is a regular thing now, but if if so, it is a reverse of a decision a few years back to eliminate newsstand distribution pretty much anywhere north of the Beaver/Lawrence line.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Part-time paper, 06:12:56 09/04/18 Tue [1]

There was no paper Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.

Thanksgiving week there will be no paper Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

OTOH, Christmas and New Year's fall on a Tuesday this year so ... in yer face PG!

>http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Pos
>t-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103
>
>They’ll be dropping two days of print production a
>week — and it sounds like more change is coming.


[ Edit | View ]

[> [> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- The Count, 18:48:44 09/04/18 Tue [1]

They have cut out all holiday editions except Thanksgiving. They gotta print and deliver a big paper Thanksgiving to crank up the holiday ads for black Friday and every day after till Dec. 26.

I did forget today and looked for the paper. My wife said it's Tuesday, no paper. But none Saturday and Monday, too, true.

The Blocks' ad campaign keeps descending lower, insulting about every demographic, and will go down as one of the worst in history, it seems. But like their new hero, antihero Trump, the operating ethic is smash what's there, and put nothing good in its place, as the whole point is to get people to notice you.





>There was no paper Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
>
>Thanksgiving week there will be no paper Saturday,
>Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
>
>OTOH, Christmas and New Year's fall on a Tuesday this
>year so ... in yer face PG!
>
>>http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Po
>s
>>t-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103
>>
>>They’ll be dropping two days of print production a
>>week — and it sounds like more change is coming.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Who Deanie, 05:18:11 09/05/18 Wed [1]

The strategy of publicly flipping the old-subscribers the bird in their TV ad campaign, adopting an extreme editorial viewpoint by elevating Burris and his disingenuous blather and firing Rogers isn't enough. The delusion that going all digital as fast as possible, therefore forcing everyone to adapt or else, causing revenues to skyrocket points to one thing.

Print may indeed be going away, but so is the Post-Gazette. It's just a matter of when.

>http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/08/12/Pos
>t-Gazette-embarks-on-new-profile/stories/201808120103
>
>They’ll be dropping two days of print production a
>week — and it sounds like more change is coming.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Bladed Wedge, 05:34:26 09/05/18 Wed [1]

Does anyone know if there have been staff reductions or other reductions at the printing location? I haven't seen any stories regarding that. I know there are some guys in the union with a bunch of years under their belt, but what is everyone doing on the days they don't print?


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Three Times a Charm, 02:58:53 11/18/18 Sun [1]

Heard on good authority that the next PG move to a mere 3x a week is coming soon.


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[> [> Re: Changes coming at the Post-Gazette -- Pour Richard, 12:43:05 11/19/18 Mon [1]

I guess printing/delivery would continue on Thursday and Sunday, the biggest ad days, and probably Monday, for Steelers coverage. I suppose Wed or Fri could be in there instead of Monday, but, hey, this is Stillers Nation.

What of jobs?

If they print just 3 days, do they need as many pressmen, etc. manning that new printing plant? I suppose it depends on whether they can recruit enough clients for whom they could adapt the presses to do their ads for mailing, etc., or print anything else they can line up.

Will they need as many Teamsters to deliver out of trucks? Probably same answer, depending on what else they can print out there and where the product needs to go.

And what of neighborhood paper delivery people? If you do deliver the PG only three mornings, can you afford to not get another job, which might preclude you delivering the paper? Would they have to step up newsstand and box sales to offset any trouble keeping home delivery people employed?



>Heard on good authority that the next PG move to a
>mere 3x a week is coming soon.


[ Edit | View ]


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