On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 3:19 PM, Dennis Claxton <ddclaxton at earthlink.net>wrote:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/media/17paper.html?_r=1&em=&pagewanted=print
>
> March 17, 2009
>
> Seattle Paper Shifts Entirely to the Web
>
> By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
>
> The Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper will produce its last printed
> edition on Tuesday and become an Internet-only news source, the Hearst
> Corporation said on Monday, making it by far the largest American newspaper
> to take that leap.
>
> But the P-I, as it is called, will resemble a local Huffington Post more
> than a traditional newspaper, with a news staff of about 20 people rather
> than the 165 it has had, and a site consisting mostly of commentary, advice
> and links to other news sites, along with some original reporting.
>
> The site has recruited some current and former government officials to
> write columns, and it will keep some of the popular columnists and bloggers
> who already work there, in addition to the large number of unpaid local
> bloggers whose work appears on the site. Hearst also plans to repackage
> material from its large stable of magazines for the site.
>
> The site described by executives might compete less directly with the P-I’s
> traditional rival, The Seattle Times, than with another local news and
> commentary site, Crosscut. Hearst hopes to capitalize on the healthy Web
> traffic The P-I already has, about 1.8 million unique visitors a month,
> according to Nielsen Online. It usually outranks the online readership of
> its traditional rival, The Seattle Times, despite having much smaller print
> circulation, 118,000 on weekdays last year, compared with 199,000 for The
> Times.
>
> The P-I lost $14 million last year, according to Hearst, and its transition
> to an all-digital product will be closely watched in an industry that is
> fast losing revenue, is casting around for a new economic model and still
> relies on print for about 90 percent of its revenue. The company recently
> instructed all of its newspapers to look for ways to charge for digital
> content on mobile devices, if not online.
>
> “We clearly believe we are in a period of innovation and experimentation,
> and that’s what this new SeattlePI.com represents,” said Steven R. Swartz,
> president of Hearst’s newspaper division. “We think we’ll learn a lot, and
> we think the Seattle market, being so digitally focused, is a great place to
> try this.”
>
> As for what will happen to The P-I’s Web traffic, he said, “We don’t know
> what to expect.”
>
> The Times and The P-I have had a joint operating agreement for decades,
> under which The Times handles all non-newsroom operations for both, like
> printing, delivery, advertising and marketing. Hearst executives said they
> were dissolving the agreement, but it was not clear how that would affect
> the precarious finances of The Times. It will no longer have to share
> profits with Hearst, but it will also be unable to share expenses.
>
> The new P-I will be led by Michelle Nicolosi, executive producer of the
> site since 2005, who has been an editor and prize-winning reporter.
>
> David McCumber, the managing editor, and Roger Oglesby, the publisher, will
> not stay with The P-I, but will remain with Hearst in some capacity,
> executives said.
>
> Hearst broke the news to P-I staffers in a newsroom meeting Monday at 10
> a.m. local time, and said it would offer severance packages to about 145
> employees. Because the newspaper has had no business staff of its own, the
> new operation plans to hire more than 20 people in areas like ad sales.
>
> Among the new columnists, Hearst said, will be Norm Rice, a former Seattle
> mayor, and his wife, Constance Rice; a congressman, Jim McDermott; Maria
> Goodloe-Johnson, who heads the city’s public schools; and a former police
> chief, a former United States attorney, and two former governors.
>
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>