Ha! It isn’t just me and it isn’t just The World!
Yep, Lee Enterprises, or the ‘loser patrol’ as a former staff columnist quipped, appears to be running several hometown newspapers into oblivion. Another speaking for a group of Lee Enterprises defectors had this to say –
“There’s no question that Lee Enterprises, the parent company (of Ladue News), is very bottom-line focused,” she said. “Ladue News has always been something of a family business. Even after it was sold to Pulitzer, we were left alone and we were allowed to run independently. Recently, there is more of a shift to (Lee) homogenizing all holdings in St. Louis. That was what people rebelled against.”
Disgruntled staff may help explain why Lee Enterprises ranks number one in a ranking of industry inefficiency.
Below are the top five most inefficient companies in the Publishing industry as ranked by Revenue Per Employee (RPE). Analysts use RPE as a measure to compare the productivity of companies in the same industry.
Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) ranks first with an RPE of $92K; Media General (NYSE:MEG) ranks second with an RPE of $140K; and Dolan Media (NYSE:DM) ranks third with an RPE of $151K.
Gannett (NYSE:GCI) follows with an RPE of $157K and EW Scripps (NYSE:SSP) rounds out the top five with an RPE of $158K.
Not much to argue with here. The downside is it is clear that no matter how much local readers ask for a better paper, the corporate psyche is inclined to ignore the customer. Coos County needs a competing newspaper or to support and help grow the existing independently owned weeklies already operating.
(hat tip/BandonRes)
Watching the incredible impact a responsible and scrappy news organization like Al Jazeera has had on informing people everywhere makes the minimalist reporting from The World look even more pathetic
Yes, Fred, but we must be more sympathetic, after all it is probably quite a trick to carry water for two masters, Lee and the local ‘business’ yocals
The next stop after the World paper in Coos Bay is probably the Siberia Gulag Times. Can you believe that any great newspaper editor would work 30 or more years with the goal of finishing their career in the boonies at a 10,000 cirulation paper that is published “daily” except Sunday’s and holiday’s that the World apparently does not consider to be “days”? Hopefully the local Lee papers publishers are paid well as the Lee chairlady who is paid about $1.5 million annualy is. Follow the Lee stock. The Wall Street Journal site has some great charts. Many of us bought Lee stock at a few pennies – less than the cost of IMC – parent of ORC which is lower than whale poop – two years ago. I bought solely to get a voice as a shareholder. What I found is that Lee does not answer the mail. Lee puffs the stock occasionally. It’s currently at $3. The young of our area understand that they can get CURRENT – not old news – free – including much of the local paper, excluding the retread stories in the food section – elsewhere. Fox, CNN, MSNBC, offeres instant news. Everybody with access to the Internet can get local current events from an extreme left slant to an extreme right slant. Local radio station KWRO offers two hours every Monday afternoon to call in and discuss anything. Have you noticed lately there is much empty space in the local paper; or the very large print; or the half page of self serving cheers and jeers or jibberish from the editor; or retread editorials from elsewhere; or double space typing? When Clark from Idaho arrived we were promised a paper of local content – and much more. The Register Guard with a 12 – not 8 page front section; four and five different many page sections – not one more; costs the same 50 cents at the rack. Most unedited local papers reporters work product is of interest. The local sports editor gives us a quality product. And, the local paper holds up well as a bird cage liner.
Yes, Clark has been a dutiful little soldier for a very select few
What’s with Clarks’ hatchet job on Bob Main? We don’t even know the mettle of the man yet and old Clark has his pencil and shorthand at the ready.You’d think there would be some pride involved, but alas, that was “the old days” when a local paper actually informed the public, not become the arm for special interests.
A competing “newspaper” wouldn’t have to do much more than mimeograph and staple to do a better job. It’s just a trade paper for extractive corporate interests and the Always In The Wings SCDC, FONZI and their Corporate Welfare. That old Clark, the Chamber just gave him their Presidents’ Award for the year.
He certainly earned it didn’t he?