J/S STAFF CUTS TO BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW
CARTOONIST STUART CARLSON CONFIRMS DEPARTURE
REAL ESTATE SECTION LOSES ITS LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
NO BUSINESS LIKE NEWS-BUSINESS
REAL ESTATE SECTION LOSES ITS LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
NO BUSINESS LIKE NEWS-BUSINESS
Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com
By Michael Horne
And the Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team
[For more recent news from July, 2009 go here.]
Round II of the voluntary mandatory staff reductions at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will reach its denouement tomorrow, Friday, August 1st, 2008 when the names of departing staffers will be released, sources said.
Apparently, editors eliminated the position of Editorial Cartoonist, ably held by Stuart Carlson, who has long been in the first ranks of his profession, as recognized by the wide syndication of his works in national publications. The bosses led him to believe his job would be the first on the chopping block, and it seems like he took the bait.
Carlson sent the following in a reply to a Milwaukeeworld e-mail:
Hi, Michael,
'Fraid it's true. Given the cutbacks planned at the JS I was told they could no longer "justify" having a full-time editorial cartoonist. Although I'm taking the buyout, I'm not going willingly. I'm being forced out.
Another sterling decision by the best and brightest in the paper's management.
I'll continue to be nationally syndicated in papers like the Wash Post.
I'll be looking for some other career around here.
Hope all is well with you.
Yours,
Stuart Carlson
Green Bay will remain a Major League city, since the Press Gazette will still have an editorial cartoonist on staff.. The Journal Sentinel for a time had two -- Carlson and Gary Markstein, now an illustrator for the paper.
It appears editors told Joanne Cleaver that her Real Estate section is slated for its demise; the editorial pages will be reduced to one and that the business section might be merged with the news department. Paul Sevart, a Senior Editor in the news department is expected to take the buyout, as is editorial writer Jerry Resler.
Also thinking about splitting are Stanley Miller, Mary Zahn, Amy Rinard, (whose departure is said to be certain) Larry Sussman, Alan Borsuk, Joanne Weintraub and Tim Cuprisin. At this rate, it seems there will likely be an unsupportable surplus of editors at the paper, so look for reductions there too. There are many other names, but I ain't been able to git 'em yet. A number of last-minute applications are expected.
Editor Marty Kaiser dropped in at the Copy Desk yesterday to mention that the company's quota of voluntary departures was not yet met. The Day and Evening copy desk functions might be merged. The editors probably thought they were being fair when they announced that everybody had a target on their back -- Great for morale!
The departing staff members will likely not find other writing or reporting jobs in this city. Most are considering a shift in career. One, aspiring for certification in a professional discipline, was asked how long it would take him to get his license in the new field.
"That depends if I go to school full time or part time," he responded.
[UPDATE: Tuesday, August 5th, 2008. Things are still in flux at the Journal Sentinel, and the list of departees has not been finalized. However, Cuprisin, Borsuk, Miller and Markstein decided against applying for the buyout. The remainder of the names posted above are believed to be taking the buyout.
In addition, Avi Lank and Mike Nichols have applied for the buyout.
It should be remembered that management may decide to terminate some employees in order to meet their quota. Thus, there is considerable uncertainty remaining at the company. --Ed.]
By Michael Horne
And the Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team
[For more recent news from July, 2009 go here.]
Round II of the voluntary mandatory staff reductions at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will reach its denouement tomorrow, Friday, August 1st, 2008 when the names of departing staffers will be released, sources said.
Apparently, editors eliminated the position of Editorial Cartoonist, ably held by Stuart Carlson, who has long been in the first ranks of his profession, as recognized by the wide syndication of his works in national publications. The bosses led him to believe his job would be the first on the chopping block, and it seems like he took the bait.
Carlson sent the following in a reply to a Milwaukeeworld e-mail:
Hi, Michael,
'Fraid it's true. Given the cutbacks planned at the JS I was told they could no longer "justify" having a full-time editorial cartoonist. Although I'm taking the buyout, I'm not going willingly. I'm being forced out.
Another sterling decision by the best and brightest in the paper's management.
I'll continue to be nationally syndicated in papers like the Wash Post.
I'll be looking for some other career around here.
Hope all is well with you.
Yours,
Stuart Carlson
Green Bay will remain a Major League city, since the Press Gazette will still have an editorial cartoonist on staff.. The Journal Sentinel for a time had two -- Carlson and Gary Markstein, now an illustrator for the paper.
It appears editors told Joanne Cleaver that her Real Estate section is slated for its demise; the editorial pages will be reduced to one and that the business section might be merged with the news department. Paul Sevart, a Senior Editor in the news department is expected to take the buyout, as is editorial writer Jerry Resler.
Also thinking about splitting are Stanley Miller, Mary Zahn, Amy Rinard, (whose departure is said to be certain) Larry Sussman, Alan Borsuk, Joanne Weintraub and Tim Cuprisin. At this rate, it seems there will likely be an unsupportable surplus of editors at the paper, so look for reductions there too. There are many other names, but I ain't been able to git 'em yet. A number of last-minute applications are expected.
Editor Marty Kaiser dropped in at the Copy Desk yesterday to mention that the company's quota of voluntary departures was not yet met. The Day and Evening copy desk functions might be merged. The editors probably thought they were being fair when they announced that everybody had a target on their back -- Great for morale!
The departing staff members will likely not find other writing or reporting jobs in this city. Most are considering a shift in career. One, aspiring for certification in a professional discipline, was asked how long it would take him to get his license in the new field.
"That depends if I go to school full time or part time," he responded.
[UPDATE: Tuesday, August 5th, 2008. Things are still in flux at the Journal Sentinel, and the list of departees has not been finalized. However, Cuprisin, Borsuk, Miller and Markstein decided against applying for the buyout. The remainder of the names posted above are believed to be taking the buyout.
In addition, Avi Lank and Mike Nichols have applied for the buyout.
It should be remembered that management may decide to terminate some employees in order to meet their quota. Thus, there is considerable uncertainty remaining at the company. --Ed.]
posted by Michael Horne @ 11:42 AM
10 comments
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10 Comments:
I'd rather they keep Cuprisin and lose PaddyMac. Don't they have an union? What are they doing?
Why yes, we do.
Here's some of what the union is doing right now -- http://mkeguild.blogspot.com -- as well as spending countless hours tracking down answers to questions concerned employees have, talking with newsroom employees and preparing to advocate on their behalf if proper procedures aren't followed for determining who will be let go in coming weeks.
Some of the people the JS are cutting loose are among their best. They have been trading down for years. Watch for a further swing to the right, even sloppier reporting and more syndicated crap about Brit Brit and Paris.
I'm 53, and started reading the two original newspapers as a kid. My dad used to bring home the old orange "final" edition on his way home from Downtown. One of the first things I did when I moved from home to my first apartment, was order my own subscription to the Journal. As a spokesperson for an agency, I've been on a first name basis with countless reporters. After reading this news, I'm dropping my subscription. The Metro section is already useless; their idea of "investigative journalism" (Dave Umhoefer's work aside) is to reprint statistics compiled by others. And I'll expand on what someone else wrote: if a moron like McIlheran keeps his job while these reporters and Stu Carlson are pushed out, it doesn't deserve to be called a "newspaper".
As one of the 'best,' (thanks anonymous #2!), it's disheartening that management has continually ignored productivity in both rounds of cutbacks. People self-select out, and while some top performers remain, the inevitable result is that many who stick around do so because they aren't talented enough to get any kind of position elsewhere. How this paper will re-invent itself with the motley mix of stars and black holes that remain, I have no idea.
I knew the JS was headed for the toilet when I came back to Milwaukee after a long absence and found that their automotive section was written, not by staff, but by advertisers. What's next - the real estate section, not eliminated, but written by realtors? The editorials written by representatives of the political organizations? Why not save money and have the cops cover the crime beat as well?
I'd rather they keep Cuprisin and McIlheran.
Carlson's cartoons will be sorely missed. The investigative reporting, I suppose, will follow the model of WTMJ-TV: lift a syndicated report from somewhere else and slap a local byline in front of it.
I've just e-mailed this to the Journal.
To: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The undersigned, all Milwaukee area cartoonists, consider the upcoming dismissal (via buy out) of editorial cartoonist Stuart Carlson a great loss.
The editorial cartoonist, unfortunately a dying breed, is an important part of the identity of any newspaper. It is a tradition as old as the medium itself, and a valuable part of American culture.
We strongly urge the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reconsider its priorities and keep a local editorial cartoonist on staff instead of giving its readers recycled material from a syndicate package, or worse, nothing at all.
Keep it real.
Sincerely,
Tea Krulos, Michael Cothroll, Max Estes, Tim Demeter, Jennifer Janviere, J.Jason Groschopf, David Beyer, Jr., Derek Stuart, Chris Miller
Milwaukee
Much more is going on at the Journal since this post. IT will be outsourced next year, advertising services is being outsourced to India or the Phillipines very soon. Advertisers aren't being told. You most likely will see many of the favorite writers taking the buyout soon. They aren't playing very fair. Morale is down.
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