The Ugly Truth About the Continuing Meltdown at The New York Times

Ad Age Media News
 

If You Care About the Newspaper Of Record, Prepare to Get Your Outrage on

By: Simon Dumenco

Arthur Sulzberger

In this week's New York magazine, contributing editor Joe Hagan's got an epic piece titled "A New York Times Whodunit" and subtitled "Who slew Times CEO Janet Robinson? 

Was it Arthur Sulzberger's new lady friend? 

The advertising market? 

The frustrated web guru? 

Or the ambitious Sulzberger cousin?" 

(If you're a print subscriber, you also get to see the story teased on the cover with this line: "The Times' $24 Million Divorce.") A little advice for those of you needing to catch up on your media gossip after the long Memorial Day weekend: Click over and devour it right now! It's a must-read.

Janet Robinson

In chronicling the back-story behind last December's surprise ouster (er, "retirement") of Robinson, who had been CEO of The New York Times Company since 2004, Hagan serves up a dishy narrative that's richly detailed (he spoke to more than 30 insiders over the course of months of reporting), absurd, inadvertently funny and -- if you care anything at all about America's newspaper of record and the future of journalism -- completely maddening.

Really, Aaron Sorkin needs to option it right now and turn it into an Oscar-winning screenplay.

Hagan's tale is well stocked with family intrigue, internecine corporate battles, frayed alliances, betrayals and even romance (both office-platonic and literal), but the big picture here is that under Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., who has been chairman of The New York Times Company since 1997, the once wide-ranging company has "shrunk dramatically" both in ambition and in market cap (from $7 billion at its peak to roughly $1 billion today). "Despite the shrinkage," Hagan writes, "the company has retained essentially the same top-heavy management, which it has kept well compensated." Even on the way out, as Hagan outlines in regard to Robinson's golden parachute:

[H]er exit package amounted to almost $24 million, nearly half the company's profits in 2011.... About $11 million of Robinson's exit package was from her pension and retirement plan. Another roughly $7 million consisted of her yearly compensation and awards, and stock options she was entitled to after her years at the Times. But she also received a $4.5 million consulting contract, a kind of gratuitous bonus that didn't look or smell right to anyone who was toiling on Eighth Avenue and worrying over pensions in danger of being frozen in ongoing labor negotiations.

I've been obsessed with the compensation structure at the shrinking Times for awhile now, but Hagan's stark accounting -- especially that part about "nearly half the company's profits in 2011" -- still made my jaw drop. 

Full disclosure: I used to be on staff at New York, and have very occasionally freelanced for it in the years since, but my relationship with the magazine today is purely reader/fan. Also, Joe Hagan and I were technically colleagues at the short-lived media website Inside.com circa 2000-2001 (he was a reporter, I was a columnist), though we never worked on anything together.

Simon Dumenco is the "Media Guy" media columnist for Advertising Age. Follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.

IATSE Local One Reaches Tentative Agreement with Empire New York Producers

IATSE Local One President ,James J. Claffey, Jr., announced late Friday night that a tentative agreement had been reached with the producers of Empire New York and as a goodwill gesture pulled the picket line. 

IATSE Local One President, James C. Claffey Jr., announces agreement

The contract includes Local One, the Theatrical Teamsters, IA Local 751 and AGVA. 

"Local One IATSE can't stand by while a non-union entertainment operation pitches its tent, even temporarily, in the heart of the Broadway theater district, the working home of thousands of entertainment professionals," said James J. Claffey Jr., president of the 3000-member, 126-year-old stage local, in a statement earlier last week. "Though the number of Local One IATSE jobs we're taking about are no more than a handful of jobs, we will exercise all our legal rights to ensure these employees have union rights and protections."

Packing up the picket signs

A signed contract is expected over the weekend. The lines will be reinstated Tuesday, May 29th at 6:00 p.m. if the signed contract does not appear.

The T.P.U. Local One I.A.T.S.E. Executive Board congratulates the hundreds upon hundreds of Brothers & Sisters of Local One; Members and representatives of the IATSE;  AFM Local 802; AGVA; ATPAM; IATSE Locals 52, 600, 751, 764, 794, and 798; IBEW local 1212; IBT, Theatrical Teamsters Local 817; and The Newspaper Guild, CWA Local 31003; who in a very strong showing of solidarity demonstrated that in unity there is strength and that the labor movement in New York City is alive and well.

Local One IATSE (www.iatselocalone.org), James J. Claffey, Jr., President, is the premiere stagecraft union in the world, representing 3,100 stage and studio electricians, set carpenters, sound designers, audio technicians, moving-light operators, riggers and special effects people in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester and Rockland. 

Local One members construct, install, maintain, and operate the lighting and sound equipment, the scenery and special effects which thrill and delight audiences attending Broadway shows; concerts at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall; the magnificent, spectacular productions at The Metropolitan Opera and throughout Lincoln Center; and the many entertainment and news broadcasts from CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and PBS. Local One technicians work behind the scenes at numerous cable TV studios, major corporate industrials and special events.

IATSE Job Action at Empire New York Continues

TPU Local One IATSE Recording-Corresponding Secretary, Robert C. Score reported: "The rainy weather did not deter the spirit of Local One members turning out in full force on 45th Street to peacefully demonstrate at the Empire New York tent show on Thursday evening. The support from the neighborhood continues to escalate with a cascade of honking horns from the passing trucks, taxis and cars filling the night air with the music of solidarity", Brother Score wrote.

Broadcast Union News photo by Bob Daraio

He continued; "The passing of a FDNY truck with lights swirling brought cheers and fists in the air! The relationship with the NYPD assigned to the site remains cordial and cooperative."

Recording-Corresponding Secretary, Robert C. Score,  thanked members for participating and "once again demonstrating the strength and resolve of the greatest Local in the land!"  He further reminded everyone that "the battle is not over. The Call of Your Union is now Friday, May 25th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., 45th Street and 8th Ave." Brother Score sent, "A big shout out to the Theatrical Teamsters for their tremendous showing and support!"

The Local One stagehands were joined on the picket line outside the Empire New York tent by representatives of AGVA, UFM Local 802, IBT Local 817, and TNG-CWA Local 31003.

In an interview with Bloomberg's Philip Boroff, Frank Connolly Jr., secretary treasurer of Theatrical Teamsters Local 817, whose members load and unload sets and equipment in and out of theaters, noted that his union dates back to 1926 and the stagehands’ union was organized in 1886. He said “Spiegelworld” producers declined to negotiate. 

“I don’t think it would add very much to their costs,” he said of hiring Teamsters, who also picketed. “They can’t just walk into ground zero of the theater district to operate without talking to anybody.”

Theater goers deciding to cross the picket line to attend David J. Foster and Ross Mollison's non-union Spiegelworld production were greeted by the giant rat and angry stagehands who politely suggested they might enjoy one of the many fine Broadway Shows, staffed by union crews, conveniently located nearby, instead.  

A number of patrons tried to have their ticket price refunded at the box office, but were refused. Many chose to forgo supporting union busting anyway and went elsewhere for their evening's entertainment.

Local One President James C. Claffey

 Bloomberg photo by Philip Borof

"Local One IATSE can't stand by while a non-union entertainment operation pitches its tent, even temporarily, in the heart of the Broadway theater district, the working home of thousands of entertainment professionals," said James J. Claffey, president of the 3000-member, 126-year-old stage local. "Though the number of Local One IATSE jobs we're taking about are no more than a handful of jobs, we will exercise all our legal rights to ensure these employees have union rights and protections."

NY Daily News photo by Bryan Smith

The New York Daily News wrote:  "Demonstrators have been stationed outside the show since last Friday. The protest Tuesday was described by the group as "a big push" and the largest demonstration by Local One since November 2007, when it went on strike to protest a cut in jobs and wages. Asked why Local One did not protest the show when it ran downtown, a spokesman said: "This is in our face."  As the demonstration went on, nonunion workers struggled to move equipment into the venue. Local One official Mickey Fox hollered: "Need help with that? Join the union."

Paul Dean, Don McKennan, and Bob Daraio on the picket line

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/broadway-stage-workers-union-takes-times-square-protest-empire-york-article-1.1082524#ixzz1vuXx8o52

Actors' Equity Association has offered its support of the protest in a prepared statement: "Actors' Equity Association urges Foster Mollison Entertainment to bargain in good faith with our sister unions, including AGVA and Local One IATSE, to achieve a fair and equitable contract for Spiegelworld 'Empire New York' as it begins its run in the heart of the Broadway theater district. Actors’ Equity firmly believes that our sister unions should be represented at this production." 

"AGVA is the American Guild of Variety Artists, a union that represents theme park performers, circus artists, revue singers and dancers, comedians, skaters and others. AEA is one of "more than a dozen unions whose highly skilled, creative and talented memberships work tirelessly to entertainment audiences on Broadway." Actors' Equity "firmly believes that our sister unions should be represented at this production."

AGVA Representatives joined the picket

According to Variety: "both Local One, the legit theater stagehands union, and AGVA, the union that also negotiates contracts for New York's Cirque du Soleil and Rockettes productions, said in interviews that producers of "Empire" had abruptly stopped communicating with the unions following a round of initial inquiries and discussions." 

The unions plan to continue picketing until producers respond and negotiate in good faith until a fail agreement is reached. 

 
Local One IATSE (www.iatselocalone.org), James J. Claffey, Jr., President, is the premiere stagecraft union in the world, representing 3,100 stage and studio electricians, set carpenters, sound designers, audio technicians, moving-light operators, riggers and special effects people in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester and Rockland. 

Local One members construct, install, maintain, and operate the lighting and sound equipment, the scenery and special effects which thrill and delight audiences attending Broadway shows; concerts at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall; the magnificent, spectacular productions at The Metropolitan Opera and throughout Lincoln Center; and the many entertainment and news broadcasts from CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and PBS. Local One technicians work behind the scenes at numerous cable TV studios, major corporate industrials and special events.

 Visit iatselocalone.org

Take Back The Democratic Party For The Labor Movement

The anti-labor stance taken by so many Democratic Party affiliated elected officials and their staff continues to beg the question:

Why does organized labor continue to throw good money after bad supporting candidates that do not support unions?

We continue to send millions of hard earned union member contributions to "Progressive" Democratic Party endorsed candidates through union PACs in election after election, only to have those candidates throw the labor agenda under the bus after winning their election.

We need to divert some of that funding to a comprehensive, nationwide campaign to take back the Democratic Party for the labor movement.

We need a national AFL-CIO sponsored campaign to raise awareness towards promoting and supporting union members becoming local Democratic Party District Leaders in villages, towns, and cities across America.

Elections are almost never decided at the polls. In most communities the results are a foregone conclusion because the vast majority of voters support one party or the other, voting the same party ticket year after year.

The only was to effect meaningful change in this process is to be in the room where the party picks the candidates.

Support President Obama's re-election, help take back the House of Representatives, elect a filibuster proof Democratic Senate, support State and Municipal Democrats in the upcoming election. But even if we achieve these goals, don't expect anything to change very much in the short run. 

Labor will never regain the political power we have let slip away until we take back the Democratic Party from the inside.

Become a Democratic Party District Leader, urge your union sisters and brothers to do the same. Pick candidates that are union members, champions of worker rights, fair wages, and safe workplaces, and we can change the political landscape and save the American middle-class, creating a bright future for our children, our communities and our nation.



Robert Daraio is a member of the Board of Trustees in the Village of Ossining, New York, where three of the five Village Board members are also union members. Bob is a 2011 MALS graduate of the CUNY Murphy Institute for WorkerEducation and Labor Studies program and is proud to be an IATSE Local One stagehand.

Robert R. Daraio
Recording Secretary
N.Y. Broadcast Trades Council
Delegate, NYC Central Labor Council AFL-CIO

914-774-2646 cellbdaraio@yahoo.com

Local One IATSE to Protest Non-Union Spiegelworld Big-Top Show

 http://broadwayworld.com

Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) will put on its largest demonstration in the theater district since the Great Broadway Strike of 2007 when hundreds of union stage technicians and union supporters take to the line on West 45th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue on Tuesday, May 22, to protest the use of non-union lighting and audio technicians on the non-union tent show, Spiegelworld's "Empire New York."

"Empire New York" begins previews Tuesday, May 22, for an opening May 31. Spiegelworld is pitching its self-described "infamous tent" at 265 West 45th Street. By all reports, the work force is entirely non-union.

"Local One IATSE can't stand by while a non-union entertainment operation pitches its tent, even temporarily, in the heart of the Broadway theater district, the working home of thousands of entertainment professionals," said James J. Claffey, president of the 3000-member, 126-year-old stage local. "Though the number of Local One IATSE jobs we're taking about are no more than a handful of jobs, we will exercise all our legal rights to ensure these employees have union rights and protections."

To that end, Mr. Claffey called out Local One's membership last Friday, May 18, to occupy a line in front 265 West 45th Street tent entrance with a big push planned for Tuesday.

Spiegelworld, according to press reports is "presented in New York by Related Companies and Boston Properties." Both are two of the largest real estate companies in the world who may not be aware of the labor dispute on their doorstep.

Spiegelworld Impresario Ross Mollison, who claims to have created "the greatest show New York has ever known" is about to face, as Mr. Claffey often repeats, the "greatest Local in the land."

Local One IATSE (www.iatselocalone.org), James J. Claffey, Jr., President, is the premiere stagecraft union in the world, representing 3,100 stage and studio electricians, set carpenters, sound designers, audio technicians, moving-light operators, riggers and special effects people in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester and Rockland.

Local One members construct, install, maintain, and operate the lighting and sound equipment, the scenery and special effects which thrill and delight audiences attending Broadway shows; concerts at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall; the magnificent, spectacular productions at The Metropolitan Opera and throughout Lincoln Center; and the many entertainment and news broadcasts from CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and PBS. Local One technicians work behind the scenes at numerous cable TV studios, major corporate industrials and special events.

Read more: http://broadwayworld.com/article/Local-One-IATSE-to-Protest-Non-Union-Spiegelworld-Big-Top-Show-EMPIRE-NEW-YORK-20120521#ixzz1vYOdbMNl

Local One Stagehands Protest Non-Union Foster Entertainment

T.P.U. Local One I.A.T.S.E Members are picketing outside the construction site at 45th Street and 8th Avenue, where Foster Entertainment, Inc. is using a non-union construction crew to build and intends to use non-union stagehands to run their new tented Circus show, "Empire New York".

Call Foster Entertainment, Inc. CEO David J. Foster now at 917-514-6791. 

David J. Foster

Tell David to use union labor and provide safe working conditions on their construction site.

Tell David to sign a contract with Local One to provide the best stagehands in the world to run "Empire New York". 

Call David J. Foster at 917-514-6791 now.

NY Times Management Can't Have it Both Ways

New York Times journalists call on management to settle

 

New York Times journalists Jim Dwyer, David Dunlap, Joyce Wadler and Barry Bearak join their colleagues on calling on New York Times management to settle. The Newspaper Guild of New York is locked in contract negotiations with management of The New York Times. The Guild's contract expired March 31, 2011.

New York Times Staffers: If Management Doesn't Pony Up, Lots Of Us Will Quit

By Henry Blodget, Business Insider

The New York Times and its journalist union, the Newspaper Guild of New York, have yet to reach an agreement on a new contract.

The video below, produced by the Guild, features three New York Times Pulitzer Prize winners talking about how great the Times is--and, implicitly, how horrible it will be for everyone if management wins.

One of the journalists, Kevin Sack, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, makes a not-so-vague reference to greener pastures at the Huffington Post, et al., noting that some online publications are now rich enough that they can pay great journalists more than they make at the Times.he other journalists, Dan Barry and Amy Harmon, talk about the joy of having pensions and getting paid well and working at the company that is the gold standard for journalism.

And the video makes a strong point at the end when it notes that CEO Janet Robinson's exit package was a startling ~$25 million--and that the total annual cost of what the Guild is asking for for all its New York Times employees is only 80% of that.

Not surprisingly, however, the video does not acknowledge the reality of the New York Times's situation, which is that the business is shrinking.

Most Americans would love to get paid more and have excellent pensions and benefits.

But most Americans don't have those things.

So while most Americans can certainly relate to the disgust at egregious compensation awarded to mediocre CEOs, they also likely won't have much sympathy for the plight of extremely well-educated and talented journalists who, as the video notes, could get paid more to work elsewhere.

UPDATE: After publishing this post, I got a note from Kevin Sack saying that he and his colleagues had not in any way threatened to leave, as my original headline suggested. (I heard Kevin's words as a veiled threat--or at least the frank "statement of economic reality" that he refers to below--but I've toned the headline down accordingly):

As you know, the assertion in your item about our participation in the Guild video is an absurd distortion of both our actual words and our intent. None of us is threatening to quit, to join the Huffington Post or any other outlet, and none of us said as much in the video. Indeed, we participated in the video precisely because we love our jobs, and the Times, and hope to preserve its high quality. Our point was that others among us have left, for financially greener pastures now made available by an increasingly competitive digital marketplace, and that the paper can expect this trend to accelerate if compensation is effectively reduced through a pension freeze. This was not a personalized threat, only a generalized statement of economic reality.  In the end, the video expresses our devotion to the Times and our deep desire -- even expectation -- that the Times will treat us fairly in these contract negotiations. Please feel free to correct the misimpression you have left.

Dan Barry
Amy Harmon
Kevin Sack

Jim Romenesko: NYT JOURNALISTS URGE BOSSES TO SETTLE CONTRACT DISPUTE:

In this video, Pulitzer-winning Times journalists Kevin Sack, Dan Barry and Amy Harmon call on Times management “to end the strife gripping the newsroom.”

EARLIER POSTS:

* NYT staffers take protest to shareholders’ meeting
* Times editors address contract-talks concerns

New York Times journos: Not the fiercest union advocates

By Erik Wemple

The Washington Post 

The video above answers the pressing question of whether newspaper veterans can serve as fierce union advocates: They could use some training.

There’s too much even handedness and high-mindedness to get really riled up about the position of the New York Times Co. in the ongoing negotiations with the Newspaper Guild of New York. In the two minute-plus presentation, Times national correspondent Amy Harmon says “it’s frustrating” that the negotiations “haven’t gone anywhere.” Reporter Kevin Sack laments that the Times could bleed talent to competitors willing to pay great salaries. Reporter Dan Barry gets a touch more direct: “I like having my pension, and I’d like to keep it.”

In a brief chat, Barry acknowledges: “We’re probably better journalists than union advocates.” Harmon on the same topic: “We want to uphold the quality of the paper. Everyone I know feels that way — that’s what we’re fighting for. I don’t think that makes us bad activists.”

No matter, really: The slide near the end of the video, about former CEO Janet Robinson’s exit package, provides a militant finishing agent.

By Erik Wemple  |  06:19 PM ET, 05/08/2012

Tags:  dan barry, amy harmon, new york times, guild, negotiations, new york times, Newspaper guild of New york

New York Times Guild Members “Willing to Fight”

NYTimes eXaminer

An antidote to the "paper of record"

By Chris Spannos

 

Strife is gripping the New York Times newsroom and members of the Newspaper Guild are demanding that management settle on a contract.

“We’re in the15th month of talks with no end in sight,” Grant Glickson, chair of the Times Newspaper Guild bargaining unit, told NYT eXaminer.

The Guild’s contract expired March 31, 2011. They have been locked in negotiations with Times management since then.

The Guild’s struggle to secure a new contract comes in the wake of increasing insecurity for staffers at the newspaper.

Last Wednesday, the day after May Day, the Times company laid off 50 non-union staff members.

Glickson, who has been active with the Guild for 18 of his 24 years at the newspaper, said that the union provides “A measure of job security; an enhanced severance package; superior health insurance that can’t be unilaterally cut by the company; a defined-benefit pension plan (management’s plan was frozen years ago); union representation in case of discipline; plus all benefits that come with collective bargaining.”

The Times gave former CEO Janet Robinson a $24.4 million severance package at the end of last year. The Guild says that the annual cost of everything it is seeking in negotiations is about 80 percent of that package and would cover 1,100 employees.

 New York Times journalists
call on management to
settle contract dispute

In a video published Monday, “New York Times journalists call on management to settle contract dispute,” Times reporters expressed their frustration:

“It’s frustrating that the contract negotiations haven’t gotten anywhere. And, you know, we’re living with this uncertainty all the time,” said Amy Harmon who is a Times reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

The Guild provides pay scales and benefits at the Times that continue to set the standard for newspapers across the nation.

Another Times reporter, Kevin Sack, commenting on the excellence of the paper and benefits of being in the Guild said in the video, “… all that is put at risk by these negotiations that we’re in the middle of right now.”

“This is important to us. Let’s do something about it,” said Harmon.

Explaining the role of the Newspaper Guild in today’s economic crisis, Glickson told NYTX that “Historically, labor unions have helped build and maintain the middle class, and the wages and benefits the Guild’s contract provide should help members get through these tough times – times many of our members are reporting on and analyzing.”

NYTX asked Glickson about the recent actions Times staffers have taken to protest silently outside the Page-One meeting last March, and also protesting at a shareholder meeting late last April.

“Members of the Times unit have never been so engaged or willing to fight to preserve the protections and benefits that have historically been in their contract.”

“These demonstrations are evidence of that as they were all organized by our members, not the Guild,” he said.

Glickson explained that the union’s only role in the protests was to provide buttons, stickers and signs and that the members did the rest.

Chris Spannos is Editor of NYT eXaminer. See all NYTX coverage of Times staff and labor.

New York Times Journalists Call On Management to Settle Contract Dispute.

Pulitzer Prize winning Times journalists Kevin Sack, Dan Barry and Amy Harmon describe their frustration, and call on management to end the strife gripping the newsroom. The Newspaper Guild of New York is locked in contract negotiations with management of The New York Times. The Guild's contract expired March 31, 2011. 


See more at SaveOurTimes


Times vets CEOs

By Keith J. Kelly

The New York Times continues to press its search for a new CEO to replace the ousted Janet Robinson.

Most Times watchers think the company needs to name someone with deep digital experience to impress Wall Street. So far, the names that have surfaced as prospective candidates include more of the media old guard, including Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz and former Newsweek president Alan Spoon.

Jim Citron, at head-hunting firm Spencer Stuart, is handling the search. A Spencer Stuart spokesman declined comment.

Meanwhile, contract talks between the Times and the Newspaper Guild of New York, which had stalled for nearly a year since the old contract expired on March 31, are still contentious but the two sides are talking.

One of the most volatile issues in the stalled talks was the insistence by Chairman Arthur “Pinch” Sulzberger and his negotiators that the defined benefit pension plan was getting too expensive and would have to be scrapped in favor of a 401(k) plan — paid for largely by employee contributions.

Last week, the Guild said for the first time that the Times had agreed to listen to proposals that could lead to some kind of hybrid plan.

Guild President Bill O’Meara said that when he asked the Times’ lead negotiator, Bernard Plum, if he was open to the idea of having pension experts come in to discuss the issue, Plum said yes.

O’Meara, in a letter to Guild members, quoted Plum as stating, “We are definitely interested and gratified that you’re attempting to put forward a proposal to fix costs. We’re going to go into this with a completely open mind.”

The Guild yesterday released a new video in which three Pulitzer Prize winners, Kevin Sack, Dan Barry and Amy Harmon, criticize Times management for the slow pace of negotiations — but the video mixes in some compliments and is less of a broadside than past video blasts from the union, which represents 1,100 employees.

When Media Ink called the Times, it responded as it had on previous occasions: “We look forward to reaching a full and fair agreement with the Guild.”
The talks are slated to resume tomorrow.

kkelly@nypost.com