October 27, 2008
by callmecrusader
http://iowaindependent.com/3264/the-register-may-cut-some-editorial-staff
Exact numbers and timing of layoffs remain unknown
By Jason Hancock 8/1/08 1:09 PM
The Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest newspaper, could begin reducing its staff over the coming months, sources inside the company told the Iowa Independent today……
“There is not a lot of positive work being done in the newsroom,” one staff member said. “All the old heads think they are going to be cut (because of high salaries), and all the young bucks think they are going to go.”…
The discussion did not come as a shock to most of the staff, according to sources who attended the meeting. Last month Gannett Co. Inc., The Register’s parent company, reported a 36-percent plunge in second-quarter profits. The company earned $233 million in the second quarter, compared with $366 million in the same period a year ago. The year-earlier profit was boosted by gains on the sale of several newspapers. Excluding those gains, the decline in earnings was 18 percent….
Gannett does not break down earnings by individual paper, so the financial solvency of The Register is hard to quantify. But the paper’s circulation figures, like those of newspapers around the country, are pointing downward. Circulation has fallen virtually every year since 1994, when The Register’s daily circulation stood at 184,959 and Sunday at 318,542. By 2007, those numbers had fallen to 146,050 daily and 233,229 on Sundays….
In May the paper reduced the width of its pages. In a story explaining the move, Washburn said it was to make the paper “easier to handle” and more readable, however most observers viewed it as a way to cut printing costs…
I remembered reading something about the Des Moines Register and its circulation figures and possible staff reduction. It took opening up the October 26 “Opinion” section of The Des Moines Sunday Register to make it clear to me why such a discussion on reducing staff, width of pages, and fewer readers is occurring.
As I look at the “Opinion” section, or should I say Propaganda Section, there is a theme in the making, a big red flag as to what will be coming my way. The front page shouts LIBERAL! There staring back at me is large color photo of Barack Obama with an American Flag in the back ground and an Obama quote I suppose put there to inspire readers (not me!). Most of the entire front page is devoted to why America needs a Barack Obama for President, with some digs and put downs of John McCain stuck in the middle of the article. Oh, and let me not forget to mention here that there is additional demeaning of Sarah Palin.
On Page 20P I find a letter to the editor about John McCain by Henry Scott Wallace with a notation that “the writer’s grandfather, Henry A. Wallace, served as secretary of agriculture…. Under President Franklin Roosevelt”…. As if it should matter who was related to who in order for me to see John McCain in the negative way as the writer does.
In the Voices & Commentary (Page 30P) Rekha Basu enlightens her readers that the ‘U.S. needs a pro-science president’ and guess what? On “science education…Obama scores significantly higher than McCain…”
Carol Hunter explains how the editorial board made its endorsements- that Obama “impressed’ the board. No kidding, Carol! You used up a lot of print space to tell us that you made your “measuring stick” work for the Liberal Agenda of your newspaper!
And, I can’t forget Dear David Yepsen. This week he hammered away at the rural republican base, McCain, Sarah Palin (her clothing was on his mind), continued with his tirade against Christopher Reed, and ended his column with wondering if Becky Greenwald will out Tom Latham… and will Democrats win more that 60 House seats? Yepsen used poll numbers to elevate the Democrats and step on Republicans. No wonder there is such a smiling photo of Dear David at the top of the column!
And finally, I come to Page 40P. Charles Krauthammer is allowed some space to make “the case for McCain”. The end of his column says volumes to me as he wrote about the ‘barbarians being at the gates’: “Whom do you want on the parapet? I’m for the guy who can tell the lion for the lamb.” Charles hits on one of the reasons McCain would be a stronger president than Obama. Others were sited in his article.
Oh, wait- not to be out done on this page Froma Harfop writes “Palin drove the stake into hearts of the centrists”. Froma spends much of her print space slamming Sarah Palin, and ends her column this way: ” The new Obama might have won over the fence sitters under any scenario, but one thing is obvious: If McCain had named Ridge as his running mate, he’d be getting a whole lot more love right now.” I read. I thought. I decide. NO to giving love to Ridge! But then, I am not a “centrist” and “former Hillary Clinton supporter”. No wonder, no love for Ridge from me!
After my time spent on the Sunday Propaganda Section of the Des Moines Sunday Register I note one other important piece of information shared on the front page.
The First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In the end, The Register has every right to print a propaganda page. I have the right to point out how one-sided their “Opinions” are. I have the right to express that it comes as no surprise to me that their circulation numbers are down. Iowans may not have a lot of choice in what major newspaper they have access to read. We do have a choice about buying into the propaganda. We do have the choice to search out more balanced sources of information. I am here to suggest that Iowa voters/taxpayers do their own thinking and not rely solely on the Liberal Des Moines Register as their news source.
