Newsletter of the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild
Membership meeting
- WHEN: Noon, Wednesday, July 8.
- WHERE: Turner Hall
- AGENDA: Discussion on a proposal to merge with another Guild local, changes to the steward system and a new webmaster. Lunch will be served.
Wanted: Webmaster
The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild is seeking a webmaster to rebuild and maintain our website. The ideal candidate must have an excellent knowledge of WordPress, php, html and css. If interested, please contact Tom Silverstein, Ashley Luthern or Zeina Makky.
JMG era begins for Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel entered a new era on April 1, officially becoming part of the new Journal Media Group with papers from The E.W. Scripps Co.
Tim Stautberg is president and CEO of the new JMG, and Betsy Brenner remains publisher of the paper. WTMJ radio and TV are no longer our partners in Journal Communications; they’re part of Scripps now.
Besides the changes in name and leadership, the most noticeable change for the newsroom so far has been the April 1 conversion from Gmail and Google Docs to Microsoft Outlook Web Access and Office 365, which the former Scripps papers use. The transition did not go smoothly, and many newsroom employees had trouble getting their emails in their inbox or getting on the correct distribution lists. Most problems have been resolved and documents migrated over, though some glitches remain.
The phone system also was replaced in June, causing more technical headaches. A few problems with health insurance
were reported after the merger, mostly for buyout-takers. Note that the number on the new insurance ID cards has changed, even though the coverage didn’t.
On the positive side, employees’ 401(k) funds have been successfully transferred from Fidelity to Vanguard, where they are now accessible.
On the stock front, Journal Communications shareholders received 0.5176 Scripps shares and 0.1950 shares of the new JMG for each JRN share they owned. For the first time in years, a dividend was declared in May: 4 cents a share.
No Guild members leave in latest buyout
Faced with yet another edict from bottom-line obsessed executives to slash the budget, newsroom management was not able to maintain existing staffing levels of an ever-dwindling newsroom roster.
But to the credit of editor George Stanley, who kept open lines of communication with the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild while assessing all of his options, not a single bargaining unit member left the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through either layoff or buyout.
Publisher Betsy Brenner announced May 19 that the company would be accepting applications for buyouts from Journal Sentinel employees — the eighth time it has done so since 2008 and the first time since the newspaper-for- broadcast swap with The E.W. Scripps Co. created Journal Media Group on April 1.
The new company’s first buyout offer was significantly lower than ones Journal Communications Inc. had offered, allowing for two weeks pay for every year served but capping the total at 40 weeks. Previously, the cap had been at 52 weeks. Six months of paid COBRA benefits were also included.
In her letter to employees announcing the buyout, Brenner said, “A disappointing 2014 Holiday season and sluggish retail sales in First Quarter 2015 produced unexpected economic hurdles for our companies.”
Forecasts for revenue the rest of this year apparently aren’t good, but rather than use any of the $10 million JMG received in the swap with Scripps, it decided to once again trim its best asset.
At the Journal Sentinel no one on the bargaining unit lost their job, but it doesn’t mean the newsroom didn’t take a hit. The staff will be reduced because of fellowship absences and one transfer from the newsroom to the corporate side.
This will present a challenge for us to maintain the amazing level of production we have managed with a bargaining unit of slightly more than 100.
We have been at a breaking point with staffing for some time, especially on the copy and production desks. Despite our best efforts to maintain broad coverage, we know tough decisions lie ahead for what and how we cover our community.
None of us is a stranger to going the extra mile; we’ve been doing it every day. But it is imperative now more than ever that we are diligent about claiming overtime, night differential and substitution pay.
Occasional overtime is understandable, but the company needs to understand that financially it doesn’t make sense to cut staff and then turn around and pay excessive amounts of overtime.
We want the Journal Sentinel to be a shining example of what a committed and united newsroom can do, but continually ridding the workplace of those who produce the content only weakens the product.
It should be management’s priority to keep staffing levels high and find ways to deal with revenue concerns in ways that don’t threaten the strength of our publication.
New faces in the newsroom
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has filled or is looking to fill a few positions in the newsroom.
Mary Spicuzza, who had been the Wisconsin State Journal’s Capitol reporter, joined the hub team as the early morning GA reporter in March. Gitte Laasby had held that position before she returned to her native Denmark.
Katie O’Connell also joined the hub in March as multiplatform editor/night producer, after Matt Montgomery moved to Sports production and Matt Velazquez to covering Marquette sports. O’Connell had previously worked for MilwaukeeMoms.com and Journal Communications Inc.’s broadcast operations. The company is interviewing candidates to replace Green Bay Packers beat reporter Tyler Dunne, who is returning to his hometown to join the Buffalo News.
The business department has hired BizTimes Milwaukee’s Steve Jagler to replace Gary Miller, who is retiring in early July. Jagler will start in mid-July.
In other staffing news, the interns have arrived. Business, local and projects/watchdog have nine interns; the copy desk has three; features, design and photo each have one intern.
System again working to file for differential pay
Technical problems around the time of the merger kept many people from being able to file for differential pay for about a month. With those issues resolved, please remember to file for qualifying shifts:
• Weekend: You’ll get 85 cents per hour, for every hour in your shift, when at least half of your shift is on a Saturday or Sunday.
• Night: You’ll get 80 cents per hour, for every hour in your shift, when at least half of your shift is between 5 p.m. and 9:30 a.m. and the shift does not qualify for weekend pay.
• Production: Copy editors, page designers, picture editors, online producers and online designers earn 70 cents per hour when working a shift that qualifies for weekend or night differentials.
You can access the differential forms through the Intranet site. Go to apps.jrn.com, launch JSI- Intranet and follow the links for “pay diff” forms.
This same online filing system is also used for call back, substitution and holiday differential.
Need help or have questions? See Emily Ristow or Zeina Makky.
Guild members gather for spring social
Guild members and their families met for a spring social on April 16 at Tutto.
Don Walker made newspaper, us better
From the president
If you’ve covered a beat at the Journal Sentinel over the past 20 years, you’ve undoubtedly received an email at one time or another asking you if it was OK to pursue a story that might cross into your territory.
It almost always came from Don Walker.
Even if you were the most overly protective, insecure melonhead, you had to admire the fact that not only was Don politely asking you if he could intrude on your beat but that the guy had enough knowledge and sources to go there.
Journalism, by nature, is a possessive occupation. We’re always marking our territory and warning others to stay away.
But whenever Don sent me one of those emails, I never thought he was an intruder. I always thought he was watching my back because the only interest he had was making sure every story was covered.
There wasn’t an ounce of ego in what Don Walker did for the Journal Sentinel, just an obsession that not a single piece of news slip through the cracks. The fact that Don sought to cross into so many protected boundaries was not a character flaw; it was a calling. The guy just knew so damn much about everything.
I came to really appreciate those moments Don helped out on my beat. Most of the time I learned something I should have already known. And best of all, it gave me an opportunity to talk to Don.
I miss those conversations. On May 22, Don passed away at the very young age of 62. His time at the Journal Sentinel was technically over but you wouldn’t have known it from all his bylines in the paper. Though he had taken a buyout, he was still covering the arena debate for us through a Marquette University fellowship.
Those who knew Don know there wasn’t anyone on the face of the planet who worked harder or understood the workings of city, county and state government, the business side of professional sports and the inner workings of a newsroom better than him. He was the consummate professional, someone many of us modeled ourselves after when it came to fairness, work ethic and perseverance.
More than that, Don was just a terrific person.
And he was a passionate member of the Guild. He served as a key member of our bargaining team in past negotiations and was a go-to guy for me every time I needed some advice or perspective on talks with the company.
Few people cared more about fairness than Don, and whenever he spotted a wrong in the newsroom he let me know about it. Don may be gone but I swear I talked to him yesterday about one of those things and am supposed to talk to him again tomorrow about something else.
I’m pretty sure that feeling will last a long time. I’m expecting an email from him any day now.