WARREN BUFFETT CAN’T SAVE LEE FROM QUARTERLY DECLINE
A few weeks ago, word leaked that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway had snapped up a bunch of shares of Lee Enterprises stock as part of an overall newspaper-stock-portfolio enhancement. The theory: They figured newspaper stocks were undervalued and looked to turn a tidy profit by buying low, low, low.
And in the case of Lee, the Davenport, Iowa-based company that owns (in a partnership with Gannett) the Arizona Daily Star, it was about as low as it can go while maintaining the minimum $1 requirement for placement on the New York Stock Exchange. When the Buffett announcement was made public, investors jumped on the stock, and it ballooned to about $1.80.
Since then, the balloon has been losing air. It didn’t help that Lee’s third-quarter report showed yet another loss: The publishing outlet suffered a $1.4 million decline for the three-month period that ended June 24. On one hand, that’s way better than the $115 million it lost in the same quarter a year ago, but on the other hand, much of that loss had to do with a debt arrangement that pushed Lee to a structured bankruptcy settlement. This loss is post-bankruptcy.
Furthermore, actual revenue was down, from $187 million last year to $179 million in 2012.
“In nearly all our markets, the slow economic recovery seems to start and stall unpredictably, producing erratic overall revenue results from month to month,” said Lee Chairman and CEO Mary Junck in a quote from a press release that reads an awful lot like a bunch of other quotes from Lee financial press releases. “In May, for example, total revenue equaled a year ago, making it our best month since December 2006. It was sandwiched between less-desirable results in April and June, producing quarterly totals nearer the year-to-date trend.”
Lee also rolled out online subscription (aka paywall) models for 11 more papers and figures to move closer to setting up the template for most of its publications—presumably including the Arizona Daily Star—before the year is out.
Lee stock traded at $1.28 on Monday, July 23.
O’DELL JUMPS TO ‘ARIZONA REPUBLIC’
Rob O’Dell, who most recently handled computer-assisted reporting duties at the Arizona Daily Star prior to a stint as the paper’s city-budget and Rio Nuevo reporter, has accepted a multi-faceted position with The Arizona Republic.
“It is a great opportunity for me. I am really impressed with the Republic,” said O’Dell via e-mail. “The position is senior investigative reporter/computer assisted reporter. I get to work on my own stories and will collaborate with reporters covering county, state and federal government, politics, real estate, border and immigration, among others. I will also train younger reporters on computer-assisted reporting.”
O’Dell worked for the North County Times near San Diego and Ohio’s Hamilton Journal-News before joining the Star in 2005.
“My time at the Star was great. I really enjoyed it,” O’Dell said. “I worked with a number of great people and worked on many, many stories I am really proud of.”
AZPM ADDS MORNING HOSTS, UNVEILS PLANS FOR FUTURE (SORT OF)
Arizona Public Media, the public-broadcasting outlet housed at the UA, has hired a morning host/newscaster and associate director of development.
John Weaver now occupies the morning host/newscaster role for the organization’s NPR affiliate. Weaver spent seven years with Minnesota Public Radio before accepting the Tucson relocation.
Enrique Aldana has been tabbed as Arizona Public Media’s new associate director of development, a fundraising position. Aldana spent eight years as an advertising sales manager with Tucson Newspapers and its predecessor companies prior to the new gig.
The Weekly also obtained a copy of a July 3 company memo by general manager Jack Gibson. In it, he references a then-pending July 5 Media Watch article regarding the dismissal of long-time reporter Robert Rappaport and vaguely outlines the organization’s future plans.
“As you may already know, last week, we informed longtime employee Robert Rappaport that his annual contract would not be renewed. You may hear rumblings in the community (or hallways) about ‘layoffs.’ There are no other planned reductions in workforce at AZPM. In fact, we have several open positions we are working to fill (see below). Non-renewals are always ‘unsettling,’ and our policy is not to comment publicly on personnel/employment issues to protect the privacy of the individual. Unfortunately, I suspect you will read or hear more about this transition in the coming days and weeks. I also suspect that the ‘facts’ will be ‘limited,'” said the memo, which incorporates a curious use of quotations.
Perhaps the “facts” were “limited” because AZPM largely hid behind the classic “no comment” veil.
The memo continued with a brushstroke approach toward its continuing pursuit of online-related content.
“As part of our strategic realignment, AZPM management decided to consolidate radio announcing and ‘newscasting’ duties to allow us to redeploy precious (and limited) resources to our growing online activities and Arizona Illustrated v2.0 (launching January 2013). We have been piloting this consolidated news approach with NPR 89.1 morning host Steve Shadley since March. Our NPR 89.1 afternoon announcer Dan Kruse will continue to host afternoons and has begun to deliver the news as well.”
With Weaver’s arrival, Shadley has been reassigned to a producer/reporter position. “I want to publicly thank Steve for ‘stepping up’ and for working with us to try out the consolidated host/newscaster role,” the memo continued.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2012.
Well, maybe I better rethink my support of AZPM.
David Close was shown the door earlier this year.
Jack Gibson seems to be a bit of a sleeze.
BTW, Arizona Illustrated is going to change format, too. Check into it. Perhaps Mr. Nintzel already knows the details, if he’s had his ears open around the studios.
Mr. Weaver needs to learn how to pronounce some Southern Arizona place names.
I was appalled last year when I learned that the salary for Mr. Gibson was close to $178,000.00. That was the salary for 2010. Must be a lot bigger now. That is close to $15,000.00 a month and $3,750.00 per week!! What has APM gained? Constant reminders on KUAT-TV this Summer, that they were $68,000 short for their last drive. Begging every loyal person on fixed incomes to please send more!! While their King makes a fortune. Worse yet, is the dismantling of a class organization and the departure of broadcast legends in Arizona, such as Rappaport, Close and Buckmaster!! That $178,000 could provide a stronger leader than what we currently have!! Time to clean house!!
And the beat goes on… I was one of the first “targets” of “Sleaze-Bag Jack Gibson” several years ago… this was a published report from that time period…
Changes at NPR stations prompts newsman to retire
Inside Tucson Business
When it comes to economic realities, public broadcasting has marched to the beat of a different drummer n especially in Arizona, where the major public TV and radio stations operate under the auspices of our major universities.
At the KUAT Communications Group, there have been some changes in the last few months. One who hasn’t seen them as changes for good is Nelson Warnell, a news veteran with almost 30 years experience in local radio, who seized the opportunity to retire earlier this year.
“Quality is no longer job one,” Warnell says of the University of Arizona’s two radio stations, National Public Radio affiliates KUAZ 89.1-FM/1550-AM and classical music KUAT-FM 90.5-FM/89.7-FM.
As a result, he says, he thinks listeners are getting an inferior product these days.
Jack Gibson, who took over 13 months ago as general manager and director of the KUAT Communications Group, acknowledges there have been some changes, mostly related to consolidating separate radio and TV departments into one in which “content producers” are responsible for programming that can air on the radio stations, KUAT-TV 6 as well as KUAT MultiMedia, on-campus and cable television channels.
Gibson says there are 14 people working as “content producers,” which is four more than existed previously under the old system.
Warnell had specific examples of changes that have not been for the better. Some of them dealt with management interference, which Gibson says is not coming from him. He said the points were better responded to by Peter Michaels, news director for KUAZ/KUAT.
Here are Warnell’s points:
• Routine fact and pronunciation checking and rewriting stories for clarity and grammar is no longer being done and considered “too picky” detail work.
“I’m not clear on what he means by that,” Michaels said, adding that normal journalistic practices should not have changed.
• In an apparent effort to cut expenses, the news gathering operations of the radio stations and KUAT-TV 6 have been merged resulting in features done for “Arizona Illustrated” being rebroadcast on the radio stations, complete with references to what’s appearing on the screen. “Television journalism does not automatically translate into good radio journalism and vice versa,” Warnell said.
Michaels said some of the features created for “Arizona Illustrated” are reworked and aired on a radio program titled “Arizona Spotlight” but the majority of reports on the radio are created specifically for radio. If there has been a higher number of reports being reworked lately, Michaels said it probably has something to do with the fact that host Julie Bierach had been out on maternity leave. Michaels also disputed the notion of trying to cut costs, saying the station is still sending reporters on assignments. Reporters recently have returned from San Diego, Prescott and Washington, D.C.
• Newscasts are taped in advance, sometimes hours ahead of when they air.
Yes, Michaels said, some of the radio station’s newscasts are recorded in advance and, frankly, he wants to do more of it because it facilitates streaming them on the station’s website. “But I don’t know about us doing it hours ahead of time. We always can update them before they air,” Michaels said.
• Management is dictating editorial content, insisting that reports on crime, sports and stories about gasoline prices be limited.
If continuing to report weekend sports scores on a Tuesday is an example of a management dictate, then Michaels said he might be guilty. But he said he has encouraged the staff to develop reports that are not the kind “listeners will hear other places. We don’t do a lot of individual crime stories.”
• Advocacy journalism is creeping in through the use of certain phrases. Warnell said it was one thing when the term “illegal aliens” became “undocumented immigrants” but in one story it went so far as to become “migrants in shoes filled with blood.”
“I don’t recall that last one. If it got on, it slipped by me. I suspect it was a feature and it was used in some sort of context,” Michaels said. “But ‘illegal aliens’ and ‘undocumented immigrants’ are consistent with NPR style and that’s what we’re to use.”
A friend of mine applied for the open announcer position earlier this year. After hearing nothing for two months despite regular bi-weekly calls, he was ultimately informed that they were no longer hiring for the position as the funding was no longer available. Now I read this travesty proving that the management of AZPM are nothing more than prevaricating cowards who lack the honesty or professionalism to tell applicants they have filled the position with someone else.
I have no doubt that Mr. Weaver is eminently qualified for the slot; I hope he takes note of the veracity of his employers and protects himself accordingly.
I find it sad that with an outstanding journalism department at the U of A; there are no avenues for students to cross over to work with the AZPM. It would make sense as well as give the students some real world experience. As a graduate of the school, I remember some comments stating the entities were separate and could not work together. It seems to be there are folks too busy empire building to think outside the box and find a way to work together.
I miss hearing Robert Rappaport! The new guy John Weaver talks way too slow. The only thing that keeps me from falling asleep is his mispronounication of common names. He recently bungled the pronounication of La Cholla and Gabrielle Giffords in the same newscast.
This all boggles my mind. When radio (and television) are in the business of communication, I find it hard to imagine why we have all these new voices who cannot talk. It is not just the mispronunciation of local names (La Cholla was mentioned!), but the fact that Mr. Weaver slurs his words, drops syllables (road “maintance”), and has a sing-song quality like the old DJ’s of my teenage years! There are other people in addition to Mr. Weaver who are now on the air who step on the NPR commentators, drop timing and leave dead air, etc., etc., etc. The professionalism of the new folks is sorely inadequate. I sincerely hope they have come cheap, because I see that one other respondent has mentioned dropping his pledge, and I am planning to drop mine. After 20 years of enjoyable listening, I am now streaming directly from national NPR.
Mary Junck got a big bonus on Wednesday and axed people in Saint Louis Thursday and Friday. Doesn’t bode well for the Tucson crowd.
Other recent mispronunciation: Trico, Houghton.
AZPM, we’re watching… and listening!
I repeatedly have to suppress the urge to reach for the remote during “Arizona Illustrated.” Does no one on that show have any training at the art of the interview?
“Talk a little bit about …..”
“How important is it….”
“How does it make you feel …”
Insipid questioning such as that should be fire-able offenses in any genuine journalistic effort.
The blonde, whose name mercifully escapes me, is the worst offender. The “I’m pretty and on TV and you’re not” attitude is too much to take. I DO change the channel when she comes on.
Any competent interviewer listens to what the subject says, because there might be something that takes the interview on a new and more informative tack. She sits there and waits for the subject to stop speaking so she can ask the next question on her list.
Awful. Just awful.
Arizona Illustrated with Bill Buckmaster was a pleasure to watch and very informative. Bill is the master interviewer and he continues his work with his daily radio show. I wonder and am speculating how Jack Gibson allowed Bill to leave. When I read several of these posts, I am not alone in my disappointment with Arizona Public Media!
The mispronunication continues. This morning John Weaver bungled Canada del Oro and Hirsh’s Shoes.