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Morris Publishing Group to file for bankruptcy
Morris Publishing Group, based in Augusta, Ga., will file a “prepackaged” reorganization plan under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and the Amarillo Globe-News announced Jan. 14.
In addition to the Avalanche-Journal and the Globe-News, Morris owns 11 other daily newspapers, including the Augusta Chronicle, Savannah Morning News and its largest newspaper, the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla.
The plan reportedly will cut the company’s debt of $415 million by nearly 70 percent.
A January 2009 reorganization separated Morris Publishing from its former parent company, Morris Communications LLC.
Freedom announces plan to file for reorganization
Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom Communications, parent company of The Monitor in McAllen, the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, The Brownsville Herald, the Odessa American and many other media outlets, on Jan. 21 announced it had filed a reorganization plan.
The company expects a confirmation hearing for the reorganization plan to be held in early March. Under the reorganization plan, the company’s secured debt would be reduced from $770 million to $325 million.
More than 6,000 current and former employees who participate in the company’s qualified pension plan have been protected from the beginning of the process, said Freedom CEO Burl Osborne. The reorganization plan calls for participants in the company’s non-qualified pension program to have 70 percent of their benefits reinstated.
Freedom Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last August.
Affiliated Media to file for Ch. 11 bankruptcy
Affiliated Media, the holding company for MediaNews Group, the owner of The Denver Post, The Salt Lake Tribune, the El Paso Times and more than a dozen weekly and semiweekly newspapers in Texas, announced a “prepackaged” plan to restructure $930 million in debt under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
According to a story published Jan. 16 in the El Paso Times, the agreement swaps debt for equity, retains the current management team and excludes all of the company’s media properties.
And, because media properties are excluded, advertisers, vendors, employees and subscribers will be unaffected.
MediaNews chairman and CEO William Dean Singleton said no layoffs or wage cuts are planned because of the reorganization.
Open records requests create need for more staff
The city of Richardson got so many requests for public information in 2009 that it had to hire another employee to keep up with the demand, according to a Dec. 31 story in The Dallas Morning News.
The city secretary said she and her assistant have little time to do much other than fulfill requests, which increased from 257 in 2008 to more than 300 in 2009.
An additional records clerk will cost the city about $58,000 in salary and benefits. The clerk will work on requests and handle records management, The Morning News reported.
“Reasons for higher numbers of requests vary. In part, Schmidt said, the public is more aware that they are entitled to information from their government. Also, with residents able to file requests by e-mail or through city Web sites, it’s easier than ever to do so,” reporter Ian McCann wrote in his byline story.
Ruling: Autopsies not open
The Office of the Attorney General ruled that the Southeast Texas Forensic Center’s autopsy records are not subject to the Public Information Act, the Longview News-Journal reported Jan. 1.
In a late-December ruling, Assistant Attorney General Pamela Wissemann stated the records were collected and maintained by the justice of the peace who ordered the autopsy and because the JP is a member of the judiciary, the records are not subject to the Act.
Newspaper forced to move after reporting arrest
The Copperas Cove Leader-Press’s lease on its long-time location on Avenue D in downtown Copperas Cove was not renewed at the end of 2009, eight days after the newspaper reported the arrest its landlord.
The newspaper’s landlord, Jack Smith, was arrested for public intoxication on Oct. 30 during the Copperas Cove High School vs. A&M Consolidated varsity football game.
The landlord’s attorney said the newspaper was not evicted, but that Smith simply decided not to renew the lease.
Leader-Press Publisher Larry Hauk expressed his feelings about the situation in a Dec. 29 news story. “I have no regrets about the coverage of Jack’s arrest in the newspaper. As I’ve said before, we will not be swayed in who or what the Leader-Press covers. I do regret the staff has had to move during the holidays. …”
The newspaper’s new location in Copperas Cove is 2210 E. Highway 190, Suite 1.
Star-Telegram cuts positions
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Jan. 14 reported plans to reduce staff by 28 and eliminate 17 open positions.
“Although we’ve seen improvement in revenue trends recently, we still need to reduce our expenses going forward,” said Star-Telegram President and Publisher Gary Wortel.
The newspaper last downsized in March 2009, when staff was reduced by more than 100.
In other news, on Jan. 13, the Mansfield News-Mirror, long a Texas Press Association member, became a free publication. The News-Mirror is owned by McClatchy, the owner of the Star-Telegram.
Waco Citizen celebrates 65th year in business
Publisher Bill Foster celebrated the Waco Citizen’s 65th year in business with a 28-page special anniversary edition dated Jan. 7.
In his front-page column, Foster tells readers the edition is “a lot about ourselves and the family because we have been making the paper and related events happen during these first 65 years in business.
“You will notice the first ‘paper’ we published was in our garage in 1944. In the ’50s I started making decisions and had to take the checkbook away from my dad, because he would buy something and I would have to pay for it.”
Foster observes that many people who worked for him at the Waco Citizen “got a start to a bigger occupation.”
He recalls the great tornado of May 11, 1953, the special issue he published featuring a gay wedding, and the newspaper’s forced removal from downtown Waco in an urban renewal effort.
Foster also recounts hand-setting type for the newspaper in 1944 and steps that have led to modern digital production at the Waco Citizen.
Kerrville Daily Times celebrates 100 years
In its New Year’s Day issue, The Kerrville Daily Times encouraged readers to send in old photos and rare copies of the newspaper or clipped articles.
Publisher Mike Graxiola invited readers to “join us as we celebrate our centennial throughout 2010.”
The newspaper, part of Houston-based Southern Newspapers Inc., traces its lineage to the Center Point News, founded in 1910. A group of investors moved the newspaper to Kerrville in 1925, consolidated it with The Latest, and renamed it The Hill View Times. James J. Starkey changed the name to The Kerrville Times in 1926. The newspaper became The Kerrville Daily Times in 1949 and printed its first weekend edition in 1976.
Bosque County News is renamed Meridian Tribune
Mark Henry, publisher, announced in the Jan. 6 edition of the Bosque County News that the newspaper has changed its name to the Meridian Tribune.
Reverting to the Meridian Tribune flag is a gesture intended to honor the city and all the readers and advertisers throughout Bosque County, Henry said.
The Meridian Tribune started in March 1893 and continued publication until 17 or 18 years ago, when it was purchased by the Bosque County News, a competing newspaper that started a few years earlier, Henry said.
Publisher’s plan would cover 4 West Texas communities
On page 1 of the Jan. 21 issue of The Rankin News, Publisher Hal Hutchens wrote to his readers:
“As I look back at the 85 years and over 4,200 issues since the first publication rolled off the presses back in 1925, it’s unimaginable to me that a small town paper like The Rankin News could have ever survived for as long as it has.
“And as we travel into the 21st century and a time when we see the world consumed with instant news from internet and television and we read about newspapers across the country, large and small, closing their doors, I am overwhelmed and proud that the people of Upton County have continued to support this little weekly paper through it all.”
Hutchens followed with a recap of the history of his county-seat newspaper and its predecessors, working toward the present.
“Since taking over the paper in 1998 I’ve been fortunate in my planning. The Rankin News has so far survived the toughest recession since the Great Depression and is doing reasonably well. I’m not making much money by any means, but with two area newspapers having already closed their doors in the past year, and others still in question, I’m still able to crank up the press and turn out a paper each week and that’s worth a lot to me.”
The Iraan News, 20 miles south of Rankin, and The McCamey News, 20 miles east of Rankin, both closed in early 2009. So the picture is: a cluster of triangulated cities in West Texas. McCamey news content was picked up by The Crane News, the Crane County seat weekly newspaper about 20 miles north of McCamey.
Hutchens sought to have The Rankin News named the official newspaper for McCamey but let go of the idea and continued with his plan to serve Rankin while providing news and advertising services for other towns in his region that currently don’t have their own newspapers. His plan is called the Pecos River Dispatch, a newspaper that would cover Rankin, Iraan, Midkiff (20 miles from Rankin in the northeast corner of Upton County) and Sheffield (20 miles south of Iraan, in east Pecos County).
“A town can’t grow without a newspaper,” Hutchens said in a Feb. 13 telephone interview. “These communities in my area, the ones I want to serve, are small enough to feel the pain of one family moving out and the joy of just one family moving in. It’s not at all like in big city, where the economic impact of one family might go unnoticed.”
Hutchens said he plans to submit a name change to the U.S. Postal Service, converting The Rankin News to the Pecos River Dispatch.
The Rankin News’ 2009 postal statement listed a paid circulation of 289. Upton County’s population is listed at 3,283.
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