Citing financial projections, The Oklahoman terminates 46 positions (Gazette, 1/19/11)


OPUBCO, publisher of The Oklahoman daily newspaper, announced that it has laid off 46 employees today, the third round of layoffs in about two years.

The reduction in staff brings the total number of employees to 690, according to a statement posted on the newspaper’s website, and the layoffs affect most major departments at the company.

complete story here
http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-10581-citing-financial-projections-the-oklahoman-terminates-46-positions.html

We lost good, hard-working, experienced journalists today. Before joking about this, making casual slurs, etc., please consider that these are real people with real hardships.

I hope they all get back on track soon!

This is very sad. And one wonders, how can they continue to put out a major newspaper with fewer and fewer journalists? It already seems increasingly slim on content.

Absolutely Steve.

Have been around a few layoffs in my day, know that it is never a fun experience even if you are one of the ones spared. Thoughts are with you and your colleagues.

Steve, is the newspaper experiencing a drop in circulation or advertising revenue? I'm guilty of doing a lot of my reading online and it was never my intent to affect circulation by doing so, but obviously if I'm not alone that's going to be an effect.

This is very sad. And one wonders, how can they continue to put out a major newspaper with fewer and fewer journalists? It already seems increasingly slim on content.

"Some guy got shot today, click the Twitter or Facebook link for the latest word of mouth details."

I do not know what the answer is for newspapers, so important and interval to local life especially...they have to recreate themselves to battle the Internet ...

Think the answer lies somewhere in what the landline phone companies did as people switched to cell phones...those companies invested and in some cases bought the cell phone companies...

I think The Oklahoman is doing a pretty good job with digital offerings. I've already read The Oklahoman this morning on my iPad which I think is a pretty good experience. I also have it on my Kindle and I usually have it with me. I find I prefer reading words on the Kindle so I often see an article on the iPad first and then read the article on the Kindle later. Both of those are paid subscriptions. I do not find myself reading much news on my iPhone.

There is a pretty good offering of video, too; although, that's not really something I use and it is only on the iPad.

There are more and more Internet services for which I am willing to buy subscriptions and that includes on my various mobile devices. A few years ago I would have been much more resistant but I've become more accustomed to paying for content I want and which is easily available.

the only big suprise is that this did not happen sooner and that it was not a bigger layoff ... the daily ok is trying to get this digital thing goign ... but even they may have joined the party to late ... newspapers are a dieing business

I read newsok about 20 times a day. I think their digital offering is very strong.

I read newsok about 20 times a day. I think their digital offering is very strong.

Yes, I agree.

Guess I'm old school, I prefer the paper in hand.

Guess I'm old school, I prefer the paper in hand.

I take the USA today at home and read the Oklahoman digitally throughout the day.

I too prefer a paper in hand, most of the time.

I believe they actually just won an award or were ranked among the best of newspapers in the entire country offering digital content. I'm sure Steve knows.

Reading big chunks on a smartphone doesn't do it for me. The Kindle is enjoyable, as I suppose the iPad will be when 2.0 comes out.

For me it's all about the credibility of the source. Any knucklehead can upload content to the Internet, and I'm not going to waste time test-driving an unproven product unless highly-recommended by many others. I want people who have been screened by established information sources (publishers & editors). Otherwise - to paraphrase the old joke - it really MIGHT BE a dog who is writing the column I'm reading.

I like the blend of old & new technologies - NYT.com, WSJ.com, Bloomberg.com, etc.

Probably just a fad thing, but for me, I like to follow a well thought out twitter stream from news sources to get an idea what's going on and then click the link if I want more info. Seems to be very up to the minute but can get really repetitive when all my sources start reporting on the same headline.

It's just a sign of the times. Takes less staff to manage digital media than it does to produce hard copy paper forms of it. As more people go to the internet to get their news and fewer people buy the actual paper version of the paper, I think you're going to see more of this.

The Oklahoman -- and Steve in particular -- has done a great job of embracing New Media. They were one of the very first papers to be on the web, digitized their entire archives sometime ago, create lots of their own video, ported to multiple platforms early, etc., etc.

Apart from subscription and print advertising which of course have suffered greatly due to many other alternatives, revenue for classified ads has almost complete dried up with the advent of eBay, Criagslist and the like. The web is simply a much better place for these ads and that money is gone from newspapers forever (these revenues have dropped about 75% in the last 10 years).

Ironically, while New Media is effectively killing off newspapers, they need their reporting more than ever. Print is really the only place where professional reporting is performed and therefore that's where the real NEWS comes from. So, we have all these electronic and broadcast outlets with millions of hours and screens to fill, and less and less real news. Which is exactly why there is so much commentary instead of reporting. People are just repeating what is reported in the papers then talking about it over and over.

Which is pretty much what we do here. Along with a decent blend of citizen reporting, of course.

As much as there is power in thousands of people who are out in the community and posting here, we still need the professional press to lend credibility and to confirm/verify.


I think in the longer term what will happen is there will be larger business that employ some local reporters and that the print media will be slowly abandoned. You could see one publishing company acquiring the shell of many regional papers and centralizing all the administrative work in one place, with local bureaus. More like the AP/UPI model.

People are always going to want local news and you need reputable reporters to provide that. But a lot of these papers will cease to exist in the next 10 years.

The Oklahoman has been at the forefront of digital newspaper delivery for a long time. They have a very strong staff and a huge commitment to it. They have been given numerous awards for their electronic sections. They were somewhat pioneers by partnering with Channel 9 early on to provide video content to augment their print.

The problem these days is that if you participate in the electronic delivery you still cannot abandon the print. When you have to keep adding services and not obsoleting anything something has to give. It is a problem in all marketing. We have to have all the electronic services, but printed catalogs and brochures are still required. Therefore, electronics hasn't made it cheaper for us (though by itself it is very cost efficient) but rather just added a layer of cost. Paper publications are in that proverbial rock and hard place.

I believe they actually just won an award or were ranked among the best of newspapers in the entire country offering digital content. I'm sure Steve knows.

Awards don't equal revenue.

Awards don't equal revenue.

Oh...I thought awards came with a prize of $100 million in new, guaranteed revenue. That's what all my awards come with.

Awards don't equal revenue.

But they do often reflect the consensus of your peers that you are doing the right things the right way. And, I believe the hits on the site show it to be extremely popular and used.

Myself and several of my friends will soon be cancelling our Oklahoman subscription, due to the continued anti-OU attitude (by several of the more "prominent" sports journalists) of the sports section and the fact there is little substantial news in it anymore. Mostly adds. All the news anyone needs is now found elsewhere. JMO.

The problem these days is that if you participate in the electronic delivery you still cannot abandon the print. When you have to keep adding services and not obsoleting anything something has to give. It is a problem in all marketing. We have to have all the electronic services, but printed catalogs and brochures are still required. Therefore, electronics hasn't made it cheaper for us (though by itself it is very cost efficient) but rather just added a layer of cost. Paper publications are in that proverbial rock and hard place.

I don't know how newspapers make money off their digital editions. You can only cover it with so many obnoxious advertisments and popups, and I'll add the Oklahoman is pretty good about keeping those to a minimum. If you charge for an online subscription, most will just move on to the next news site or just eventually track down a poached copy of the story on sites like OKCTalk. Its a very difficult spot to be in for that industry.

I shudder at a future where the only news sources are the Huffington Post, Drudge Report, babble that comes over Twitter feeds, etc., but sadly it may be more probable than most people think.

Myself and several of my friends will soon be cancelling our Oklahoman subscription, due to the continued anti-OU attitude (by several of the more "prominent" sports journalists) of the sports section and the fact there is little substantial news in it anymore. Mostly adds. All the news anyone needs is now found elsewhere. JMO.

That is honestly the first time I have ever heard of the Oklahoman having an anti-OU bias, either from an OU or OSU fan. You sure your not reading the Dallas Morning News?

babble that comes over Twitter feeds

The babble on my Twitter feed comes from NPR, the Daily Oklahoman, Reuters, CNN, NY Times, Time, AP, BBC, etc. Outlets I rarely had the time to follow prior to the advent of electronic media and (heaven forbid) Twitter. Future looks pretty good for those who want news if you ask me.

But they do often reflect the consensus of your peers that you are doing the right things the right way. And, I believe the hits on the site show it to be extremely popular and used.

So says the industry that keeps shooting itself in the foot and can't figure out a sustainable revenue model.

Myself and several of my friends will soon be cancelling our Oklahoman subscription, due to the continued anti-OU attitude (by several of the more "prominent" sports journalists) of the sports section and the fact there is little substantial news in it anymore. Mostly adds. All the news anyone needs is now found elsewhere. JMO.

This is hilarious. Anti-OU? Wow. I know OSU fans complain of this but never have heard an OU fan complain of a local media bias against OU.

How do they report this in their paper? Does the title read, "We Laid Off 46 Valued Employees Yesterday"?


Myself and several of my friends will soon be cancelling our Oklahoman subscription, due to the continued anti-OU attitude (by several of the more "prominent" sports journalists) of the sports section and the fact there is little substantial news in it anymore. Mostly adds. All the news anyone needs is now found elsewhere. JMO.

From an OSU fan....hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, get a life. Pfffft!

Yeah this is definitely the first time I've heard of an anti-OU bias at the Oklahoman.

Isn't the OU stadium named after the owner of the newspaper?

Isn't the OU stadium named after the owner of the newspaper?

Yes, to recognize significant contributions, the stadium name was changed a while back to The Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Also the indoor practice facility to the east of the stadium is named in honor of Jim and Christie (Gaylord) Everest.
Also, the new facilities of the Gaylord College of Journalism + were largely advanced through the generosity of the family.

This is very sad. I believe - strongly - that news is not just news. Quality news operations are run by professionally trained journalists. Yes, they make mistakes, but bloggers-as-journalists just don't have relevance to me. I believe in good newspapers. I believe The Oklahoman has excellent digital/new media products, but I think the loss of professional journalists is something we should all mourn. In fact, it's scary. I don't go to a mechanic for dental work or to a dentist for auto maintenance. I want my news from journalists. BTW, keep up the good work, Steve.

Edit - I just came across the thread about The Oklahoman now charging for the TV guide. I also defend that practice here:
http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=24381&p=393664#post393664

It's a different world folks!

The announcement as it appeared in the Oklahoman contained this statement, roughly halfway through:


...the newspaper's home delivery subscriptions in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area increased in 2010 over the previous year as measured by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the industry's auditing arm.

Now papers have cooked the circulation books before, but the ABC will slap them down if they find out, or worse: about five years ago, some fakers who'd worked for Tribune Co. were actually charged with fraud.

The announcement as it appeared in the Oklahoman contained this statement, roughly halfway through:



Now papers have cooked the circulation books before, but the ABC will slap them down if they find out, or worse: about five years ago, some fakers who'd worked for Tribune Co. were actually charged with fraud.

Check Standard Rate and Data...a reliable publication...the insertion bible of advertising...

When I saw this, first thing came to mind was wasteful spending. They torn down their building on 15th and completely rebuild on the spot. It is a shame they made that decision rather than keeping employees on the payroll.

The announcement as it appeared in the Oklahoman contained this statement, roughly halfway through:



Now papers have cooked the circulation books before, but the ABC will slap them down if they find out, or worse: about

five years ago, some fakers who'd worked for Tribune Co. were actually charged with fraud.

I dont doubt this at all...My whole freakin neighborhood signed up the Wed/Sun special for 15 bucks

When I saw this, first thing came to mind was wasteful spending. They torn down their building on 15th and completely rebuild on the spot. It is a shame they made that decision rather than keeping employees on the payroll.

What in the world are you talking about?
The paper moved from NW 4 and Broadway in 1992 because its old building was too small and outdated. They donated the historic building and garage across the street to the YMCA. The one building that was torn down was severely damaged by the bombing and was removed by the YMCA to make way for a daycare. This gift to the YMCA is one of the many ways that The Oklahoman has given back to the community over the years.

^^Haha,Steve meet Thunder!

What in the world are you talking about?
The paper moved from NW 4 and Broadway in 1992 because its old building was too small and outdated. They donated the historic building and garage across the street to the YMCA. The one building that was torn down was severely damaged by the bombing and was removed by the YMCA to make way for a daycare. This gift to the YMCA is one of the many ways that The Oklahoman has given back to the community over the years.

Sorry Steve...Thunders description was much more entertaining

We never let facts stand in the way of a good opinion or fabrication on this board.

It is on 15th near Douglas or Midwest Blvd, across from the new 7-11. It bears the Oklahoman label on the building.

It is on 15th near Douglas or Midwest Blvd, across from the new 7-11. It bears the Oklahoman label on the building.

That's probably one of their many distribution warehouses

The announcement as it appeared in the Oklahoman contained this statement, roughly halfway through:



Now papers have cooked the circulation books before, but the ABC will slap them down if they find out, or worse: about five years ago, some fakers who'd worked for Tribune Co. were actually charged with fraud.

Something to keep in mind with that, how much of an increase and like sales tax revenues, have the increases made up for the declines in previous months or years?

That's probably one of their many distribution warehouses

Yeah, but still, they wasted millions on demolishing a building and rebuild on the spot. Millions that could be keeping people on the payroll to support their families.

Yeah, but still, they wasted millions on demolishing a building and rebuild on the spot. Millions that could be keeping people on the payroll to support their families.

A distribution building is worth millions?????

It is on 15th near Douglas or Midwest Blvd, across from the new 7-11. It bears the Oklahoman label on the building.

You're talking about the old "Oklahoma Journal" building. It has nothing to do with the Daily Oklahoman. It was a rival paper.

It is on 15th near Douglas or Midwest Blvd, across from the new 7-11. It bears the Oklahoman label on the building.


You're talking about the old "Oklahoma Journal" building. It has nothing to do with the Daily Oklahoman. It was a rival paper.

Is this the building in question (seems to be at the Uptown Shopping Center corner)?


The Oklahoma Journal rolled off Atkinson's shiny new offset press at SE 15th and Key in Midwest City, bearing the slogan "The Paper That Tells Both Sides." Atkinson published the newspaper until 1980.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=afb14d07-6ffc-4e35-ab8a-1fe1425e2ffc

If it is, I don't think the building was torn down but it did get an exterior facelift a couple of years ago. Seems like it is a law office or something like that (haven't been over that way in a few months). There was a Henry Hudsons (?) that I thnk was a former Der Dutchman (?) that got bulldozed (may be the 7-11) and the building that was katy-corner to the building in question, that housed Capones was torn down (next to the Uptown Thrift Store) and rebuilt I think (still vacant last time I was there).

How do they report this in their paper? Does the title read, "We Laid Off 46 Valued Employees Yesterday"?

Believe this is how the headline appeared in the Oklahoman.


OPUBCO announces reductions

http://newsok.com/opubco-announces-reductions/article/3533663

Have the increases made up for the declines in previous months or years?

Short answer: no, not all of them. Daily circulation is still on the wrong side of 200k, a figure it routinely reached in the 1970s in a metro area two-thirds as large. Still, lots of other papers are doing worse; the Oklahoman is outselling, among others, the Austin American-Statesman, the Commercial Appeal (Memphis), the Tennessean (Nashville), and the San Antonio Express-News. (Figures from ABC, six months ending 9/30/10.)

(Side note: If Commercial Appeal sounds funny to you, you should have been around when they had an afternoon paper: the Press-Scimitar.)