Union and Peoria take on Wall Street -- Can the PJS be saved?

PEORIA -- So it's come to this:  the union representing editorial and circulation employees at the Peoria Journal Star must take on Wall Street for the newspaper to survive as authentic journalism.

Even the Peoria mayor Jim Ardis agrees.  He appeared at an April 9 news conference where the  union, Local 86 of the United Media Guild, formerly the Newspaper Guild, announced a radio ad campaign to persuade PJS publisher Ken Mauser to stop trying to slash PJS jobs and pay on behalf of GateHouse Media, the New York-based owner of the newspaper.

Ardis released a letter to Mauser saying: "I fail to see how additional moves against employees and staffing would allow the newspaper to continue as a valuable public watchdog and community resource. Surely less is not more when it comes to reporting the news." Most of the City Council members also signed the letter.

The union's contract expired last August, and negotiations are on-going.  GateHouse wants to outsource the 36 district managers, who oversee the carriers, and the copy desk, perhaps a dozen journalists who set up stories, proof read them and create headlines.

GateHouse also wants a 3 percent wage cut, and an 80 percent increase in health insurance premiums, aside from the loss of perhaps 50 jobs and the salaries that they carry, over $1 million annually.

It's pure corporate greed. 

The paper is profitable, union officers said. GateHouse, whose stock price has tanked, is apparently looting the newspaper to provide $1.4 million in executive bonuses last year, and an $800,000 bonus this year to CEO Michael Reed.

At the news conference Ardis commented on how much the newspaper has declined since GateHouse bought it five years ago. The corporate policies are "contributing to the decimation of our once proud newspaper," he said.

GateHouse is also apparently trying to bust the 76-member union, the only organization with the resources to protest what's happening. It once had about 120 members.

The PJS is still the largest downstate Illinois daily, but everyone acknowledges it is a shadow of its former self, even as it remains profitable in its monopoly market.

It's fat with advertising, and most of that money now leaves Peoria for Wall Street, reportedly millions yearly. That's also true of the other downstate communities where GateHouse owns the newspapers, everywhere except Bloomington. Talk about a monopoly!

That outside New York ownership is also an issue. Why should people in New York be deciding what readers in Peoria receive as news, Local 86 president Phil Luciano, a reporter and columnist, said.

Can the PJS survive as a glorified shopper?  It has lost perhaps half of the editorial staff since GateHouse bought it. 

It no longer covers bankruptcies, even though that was a widely read column. It sends reporters to cover cheap and easy soft features that fill space (kids at school, people enjoying good weather in a park, for example), leaving them no time to perform the paper's traditional watchdog investigative function.

It even has outsourced advertising design overseas, which means delays for the advertisers.  How long will they put up with that? Those advertising department employees had no union protection. 

It recently laid off the photo editor of 30 years, and is using "supplied" photos -- gradually killing off photo journalism, since there is no guarantee these photos are not altered or even represent what they are said to represent.

It already runs news releases and stories from readers masquerading as news stories.  People write and pay for the obituaries, without the acknowledgement they are paid, though it's no secret.  They can say anything, true or false.

When the integrity of news reporting and photo journalism is destroyed, newspapers have no reason for existing, and the public will have no idea what is really taking place in their communities. If journalism is the foundation for democracy -- and it is -- what happens to democracy?

Former experienced PJS journalists now populate the public relations offices of the major institutions in Peoria. 

The managing editor is leaving to take a job at Illinois State University overseeing the campus paper. He'll have some job security there as a state employee. Others remaining at the paper have their resumes in circulation.

The PJS appears to be in meltdown mode, but it's not the union's fault.

The union says it just wants "a fair contract that preserves Peoria jobs and maintains solid, locally produced and edited journalism in Peoria."

If that doesn't happen, what then? A subscriber strike?  An advertising strike?  A new, alternative newspaper? Must the community of readers and advertisers in Peoria destroy Wall Street's cash cow to save journalism?

As a PJS retiree, I am horrified by what is happening. Stay tuned.

Here's a recording of the radio ad. It asks the public to call Mauser at 309/686-3000 to protest. Or you can try an email at [email protected].

PEORIA NEWSPAPER GUILD_final_ad

 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 UPDATE 4/10/12:  Here's a terrific interview on this topic by the Peoria NPR station, WCBU-FM.

Comments

[Clare Howard]

Thanks for keeping the community informed about the erosion of value at the Journal Star.
Yes, strong newspapers are foundational to democracy, and newspapers also help strengthen community wellness and economic vitality. Newspapers help identify problems and contribute to solutions. Every business and resident of central Illinois benefits from a strong Journal Star.
Taxpayers support schools, government, health departments, streets, sanitation and more. The newspaper should be informing readers how their money is being used . . . not providing endless coverage of weather, celebrity readers visiting schools and every manufactured "media day" concocted by PR people.
Five years ago, I spoke with a number of community leaders about buying the Journal Star. It's not too late . . . either buy or start anew.

[Mike Foster]

Bad, sad, mad times at our old school paper.

[Michelle]

To respond to your comment, "People write and pay for the obituaries, without the acknowledgement they are paid, though it's no secret. They can say anything, true or false."
There is an area in the obituary section every day that reads: "ABOUT OBITUARIES, Obituaries in the Journal Star are provided by funeral homes in accordance with the wishes of the families of the deceased. Death notices and basic obituaries, as defined by the Journal Star, are free when the deceased was a current or past resident of central Illinois. Beyond that, funeral homes are charged on the basis of length."

[elaine]

OK, I stand corrected on the paid part. But not the part about true or false. Thanks.

[Theresa Matthews]

I am sorry to hear of the troubles facing PJS writers. Having delivered this hometown newspaper for years it deeply saddens me to see the business change and journalists lost, especially to a P.R. department. We rely on journalists and reporters for their ability and commitment to unveil the truth and accurately capture the moments in history that define our daily lives. Were it not for the responsible reporting of my local journalists at the News and Observer, the following stories may have gone unnoticed or edited out altogether. These local stories may or may not have made it to the pages of the PJS as they have nationwide and worldwide significance:(1) The 1980's TCE contamination of groundwater at Camp Lejune and the stories of the ill-health that many military families have since endured. (Unfortunately military personnel and family members covered under Tricare are exempt from protection by the GINA act due to a loophole. Should genetic susceptibility become an issue as these cases are individually reviewed for merit, hopefully journalists will be vigilant. After all, TCE is toxic to everyone's genes.) (2) The embarrassing revelation of a Duke cancer researcher whose bogus, worthless gene based tests resulted in incorrect cancer treatment. He was not called out by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center statisticians that immediately found problems with his data and attempted to sound the alarm. Instead, he was outed by a trade
publication that noted he falsified parts of his resume. He resigned in 2011 but was found working in a coastal cancer center in 2012. Apparently a Duke colleague had written a letter of recommendation. (3) Coverage of the N.C. Eugenics program that ran from 1929 to 1974. The state forcefully sterilized 7600 people during this time. While other states with eugenics programs dissolved their programs after WWII,N.C. actually increased their efforts and began to target the black community. The program utilized I.Q. exams incorrectly to label victims as "feebleminded" To date, with the window of compensation opportunity closing, only 78 of the 7600 have been identified. As I exited the first ever public meeting recounting the history of this unbelievable program that was advertised in my local paper, several well-spoken victims who had mustered the strength to comment about their horrifying ordeals personally stopped me and stated: "If this could happen to me, it could happen to you!" (Indeed.)I then reflect on headlines that recently reported the NIH awarded $6.4 million dollars to UNC researchers to explore some of the complex ethical, logistical and legal issues involved in handling patients' genetic information. The pages on the dark era marking the N.C. eugenics program haven't even been recorded in all of our children's history books. For my federal taxpayer dollars, I want to know why a state that didn't have a dark and successful eugenics program was awarded this task!
We all like to read feel good stories and articles about local events and people. But, the bigger issue is what the derailment and disintegration of the newspaper industry really means to us all. Journalists and reporters bring light to the dark allowing for a democracy to work with checks and balances. When access to the truth is obstructed and journalists are no longer free to cover the news that keeps us free, we are bankrupting our future. When I recount the stories of those victims and look at those late dates, I know that increasingly this Brave New World needs journalists now more than ever in Peoria.

[Vonster]

I wish the PJS had written about the official misconduct during the development of the Midtown plaza, Wreck plex, Cat stadium, Kellar trail and new downtown hotel...